Eternal || Elijah Mikaelson

CXVIII - Kingmaker

"I'd offer to accompany you myself, but I fear my fragile ego could not endure the litany of insults Hayley has no doubt prepared," Klaus said from the doorway, causing me to roll my eyes and groan, making my disdain for his presence quite clear.

"Yes, I doubt your presence is particularly welcome anywhere," Elijah stated, standing to his feet.

"Including here," I muttered.

Klaus frowned fakely, feigning offense. "My own brother, greeting me with such disdain!" he said, then turned to Freya. "What do you think, Freya? Is he still angry for my part in Hayley's curse? Need I remind him it was my ploy that kept her alive?"

"You're right, Klaus, it was your ploy. So why aren't you helping us to find a way to reverse the curse, if you are as delightful as you make yourself out to be?" I asked, gritting my teeth.

Klaus just rolled his eyes, and Elijah turned to him.

"Of course, Niklaus, forgive me. So, you would call this an act of heroism even as you bask in her torment?" Elijah asked, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

Klaus was unamused. "Or perhaps I'd be more sympathetic if Hayley apologized. After all, it was her that tried to run off with my daughter."

Freya became frustrated, as did I.

"If you two must poke at one another, may I suggest doing it elsewhere?" Freya asked.

Elijah looked to Hope and Freya, then to me, and I could hear him grinding his teeth in an attempt to get rid of the anger. He then turned and walked out of the room, leaving Klaus and I along with a very annoyed Freya behind.

"You know, sometimes I really want to throw you off a cliff just to see how long it would take for your neck to snap back on it's own," I growled, narrowing my eyes at Klaus before following after Elijah.

*

The next morning, Elijah and I took Hope to the bayou. We would host a feast for Hayley and whoever else she wanted to bring along, though she never did bring anyone else. I had prepared many different foods and drinks for her, including her favourite beer in an ice bucket, which she was always happy with.

We laid out the foods on a picnic table with a nice cloth, and we were putting the final dishes on the tabletop when I heard something that I most certainly wasn't excited about.

"Elijah," I stated, after listening for a few more moments.

He looked to me, puzzled, but then he listened closely as well.

"It's a group of humans, none of which we know," I said.

The vehicle soon came to a stop near the river house, and a man soon stepped out. He wore all brown, making it seem as if he wanted to be well camouflaged. He also carried a fairly large gun, perhaps a semiautomatic rifle. I didn't know a lot about guns. I found them useless to our kind, especially when we can crack a neck with one simple swipe of the hand.

"Hell of a spot for a picnic," the man said.

"Yes, if you can tolerate the mosquitoes, it's actually rather serene," Elijah replied. He glanced at me, and from the mere look in his eye, I could tell that he didn't trust them and was more than willing to torture information out of the men that had invaded our gathering. He held up a platter of sandwiches as a feigned peace offering. "Finger sandwich?"

"Trouble is, you're trespassing," the hunter said, ignoring Elijah's offering. I narrowed my eyes at him as he continued. "This whole area is now property of Kingmaker Land Development. In two years, it's gonna be golf courses and condos."

"I take it you're not on the Board of Directors for this little company," I said, a fake smile coming onto my face.

"My team and I are in... Animal control," the hunter said, two similarly dressed men coming up behind him. "There's been an influx of wild predators. My boss pays, uh, top dollar to wipe them out."

I raised a brow. "Wild predators?"

"Wolves, if you could believe it," the hunter said, having the gall to smile about his 'accomplishment'. "Killed a half dozen last night."

Elijah and I looked to each other, before he reached over and turned Hope's stroller away from the men. He didn't want her to see what was to follow.

The hunter raised his gun a little for emphasis, grinning. "And this baby can take a head clean off."

Elijah and I both smiled fakely at the men, and once he was sure that Hope couldn't see the large amount of disfigured bones, he stepped towards them.

"Anyway, I'm gonna have to ask you to clear out ASAP."

The man made the mistake of clapping Elijah on the shoulder, which led to Elijah grabbing his arm and twisting it so hard behind his back that the bones shatter under his skin. The other hunters immediately raised their guns so that they're aimed at Elijah, but he easily sped towards them and disarmed them, then shoved them so hard that they fell onto their backs and were so disoriented that they didn't even bother to get back up again.

The hunter we had been speaking to struggled to his feet, cradling his broken arm to his chest.

I went up to him, grabbed his gun, threw it aside, then took his neck in my hand and squeezed. I stared him directly in the eyes, compelling him to do whatever I said.

"Call off your men. Leave this place, and never come back. Find another line of work. There will be no more dead wolves. Do you understand me?"

"I'm just an independent contractor," the hunter said, struggling to get the words out with the lack of breath. "There are other teams out there. I don't have the authority to-"

I cut him off. "You have no authority at all. Not here."

And with that, I moved my hand to the side at an impossible angle, his neck snapping in my grip. I dropped him to the ground, then looked up to Elijah, panting from the anger that coursed through me. Both of us were furious, and we had a right to be.

If Hayley or anyone else we cared for was dead, I would burn Kingmaker Land Development to the ground.