•|•
Elijah returned home to find a puddle of blood on the floor of the courtyard. When he walked toward it to take a closer look, he noticed a trail of paw prints that eventually turn into human footprints. The prints lead to a dead woman's body, which is propped up against the fountain. Elijah followed another trail of footprints to the bathroom, where Isabel was draining the tub where she had taken a bubble bath. He looked to the side to see two more bodies propped up against the wall next to the tub.
"Have you come to check up on me?" She asked not looking up from the drain where the blood colored watered swirled out.
"You've had an eventful evening." He noted.
"I was having a bad day, so Nik took me out to the Cauldron. Wouldn't you know, we ran into some nasty little witches."
"So, would you like me to remove your leftovers?" The Original asked sarcastically.
Isabel rolled her as she stretched her legs that were previously curled to her chest. Elijah stepped over the body and into the bathroom, and Isabel finally stood up in the tub, not at all concerned about Elijah seeing her naked, bubble-covered body. Elijah, clearly not pleased, reached for a towel and offered it to the hybrid, though he doesn't avert his eyes from her body.
"Don't look at me with those judgy little eyes, Elijah! What I did is no worse than anything Nik has ever done." She defended herself, wrapping the towel around her body.
Elijah looked concerned and exasperated with her words and behavior. "I would hope that you would hold yourself to a higher standard than Niklaus."
"I'm a hybrid now, and I have a new uncontrollable werewolf temper to go along with my very new appetite. And the witches who tried to kill my baby are worth nothing more than food. So excuse me."
Isabel brushed past Elijah and returned to her room to change.
Elijah briskly walked to his brother with a frown covering his face. "You took her on a witch hunt?" He asked incredulously.
"I simply wanted to persuade those witches to locate the white oak stake for me. When they proved unable to do so, I let Bel have her fun with them."
"She grows more savage by the day! Can you not see that she is falling apart?" Elijah asked in disgust.
"Perhaps the problem is your high standards? Bel is one of us now. Being a vampire only exaggerates what you truly are, and wolves are wild things. She knows she can never live up to the pretty little picture you paint of her in your head. Your judgment only hurts her more." Klaus told him honestly. "Let her do as she pleases. It's her only way of coping, brother."
"I am trying to help her, and I asked you to help her, brother."
Klaus angrily raised to his feet. "I am helping! You should have seen her last night! Covered in witches' blood and for once she was not frowning or crying or staring off onto the distance and in fact was smiling! She is embracing this. A little less criticism from you, and Bel will be just fine."
Elijah exasperatedly said, "Niklaus! The mother of your child deserves much better than just fine!" The two glare at each other. "You'll take her to the Bayou. Find any remaining wolves. Perhaps her people can reach her. Now, more than ever, she needs a connection to something, some of her humanity, some degree of dignity," Elijah said before angrily storming out of the room, leaving Klaus to consider his advice.
"Are you killing people...to death? Again?" Isabel heard from behind her. She walked into his view from behind her dresser in only her bra and underwear causing Andrew to quickly turned red and divert his eyes to hers. "Woah, uh." He gulped thickly. "That's-"
"Shut up, Drew." She rolled her eyes and chuckled. She quickly threw on her dress before falling down in her bed. "Is that all you came here to talk about? Cuz 'Lijah beat you to it." She told him bitterly.
"No no." He told her as he walked to the side of her bed and plopped himself next to her. "I just wanted to be with my favorite werewolf before she leaves me again."
≪≫•≪≫•≪≫
The blonde werewolf grabbed the apple out of the mans hand and bit into it quickly.
"Hey. That was mine." He complained, his blue eyes shooting down to her.
"It is not yours. I saw you steal it." She pouted. "Not very nice by the way. Using your little witchy powers." She grinned.
"And you don't seem surprised?" He asked taking the apple back from her hand and taking a bite out of it as well.
She grinned at him and flashed her blue eyes quickly. "No. Not very surprised at all. I could practically feel the magic radiating off you." She took the apple back and twirled around allowing her dress to flare out before walking ahead of him and he felt the need to follow her as a wide smile crossed his handsome face.
"You seem very happy." He commented as he caught up with her.
"You're a breath of fresh air. I like being around you. I feel free. And it's nice. Better then being stuck cooped up with the brothers."
"I'm honored." He smiled at her. Once she finished taking a way to big bite out of her apple he noticed some apple juice dribble down her chin as she chewed. He laughed at her and she turned pink. She swallowed harshly and he quickly wiped the stuff off her face. "You're pretty when you blush."
Isabel bowed her head down and clasped her hands behind her back as she blushed a deeper shade. "You really think I'm pretty?"
"Oh, I think you're stunning," he said confidently.
He noticed her deep blush and he smirked. "Don't get shy on me now, darling."
"Oh put a sock in it Kaleb." She glared at him playfully.
"I may be inclined to stop teasing you if you come with me to have some tea and get to know each other better."
"Hm. What are you playing at Kaleb?" She asked suspiciously. Kaleb grinned mischievously and shrugged. "Just tea?"
He nodded his head. "I'm not gonna bite. I promise." He offered his hand and she reluctantly slid her hand in his.
Kaleb led Isabel to a nearby coffee shop where they had tea and a few breaded foods. Isabel laughed softly when the witch opened the door for her and pulled her seat out for her and bought her tea.
"Are you trying to show off how much of a gentleman you can be?" She asked in amusement.
He shrugged, grinning at her. "Well I have to try to gain points for a beautiful blonde to like me."
"Complimenting me. Bringing me here. Buying me tea. All to gain some points? In hopes I would like you? You are certainly something else Kaleb Westphall," she said with amusement in her blue eyes.
Kaleb only smiled at her. As Isabel looked into his icy blue eyes she couldn't help but keep a smile on her face. He had become her friend in such a short time. He had helped her so easily. Almost effortlessly. She felt like a fun new Isabel. She felt like her yet like she found a new part of herself. Like she wasn't held down by her actions and feelings.
"What is it you want to know about me?" She asked as she was passed her tea.
"How about your family?"
"It's a little complicated. Are you sure you want to hear it?" She asked sipping on her tea.
"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know, darling."
"Hm. Okay." She sat her tea down and shuffled her chair closer to the table. "Well my birth parents were killed when I was around two years old along with my older brother. I have recently found my half sister and we are trying to get closer and get over all that happened in our past brief encounters. My adoptive parents? Well they are actually my step aunt and step uncle. My adoptive dad left when my cousin Matt and I were only eight. My adoptive mother came and went. And my older adoptive sister died when I was in Junior year."
Kaleb looked guilty and frowned at the table. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that first."
Isabel shook her head and placed her hand on his to assure him she was fine. "No it's okay. Because now I have a new family. And I love them no matter how bad they get."
Kaleb stared at her with a certain kind of gentleness in his eyes. "They are very lucky to have someone like you." He told her.
"What about your family?" She asked, retracting her hand and drinking some of her tea.
"My family? Oh no. They're all crazy loons." He shrugged nonchalantly.
"Now I know where you got your personality from." She laughed. "It must run in the family. Are there more of you? They crazy too?"
"All except one." He told her smiling slightly.
"They mean a lot to you? Yeah?" She asked.
"Definitely. Ever since I met her and my brothers got her to join us she became very important to me. I didn't know it at first but it all happened so fast."
"A girl?" She raised her brows suggestively.
"The most beautiful girl I've ever seen." He admitted. "Both inside and out."
"You must really like her. I'm assuming."
"Like her is an understatement. I love her. More then I've loved anything. She's probably the best thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life." He told her with a serious expression. She sat her tea down and watched him talk about the girl he supposedly loved. "She's the only one who ever tried to help me. She's been there for me when I felt intense anger. When I felt down. She's tamed me without trying. She wanted to help me with one thing but ended up helping a lot more than she thinks. And when I left her is when I finally started to figure it all out."
Isabel smiled at his honest confession. "And where is this girl now?"
The witch looked away with a frown on his face. "With my older brothers. They don't want to let her go. And I don't think they'd let her come to me."
"Then do something about it. Take her back from your brothers. Show her what she means to you. You deserve to be happy." She smiled.
"I am doing something about it now, Isabel." He told her. "I'm definitely doing it now."
"That's good Kaleb. Because if she means that much to you and she helped you be a better version of yourself then you shouldn't ever let her go." Isabel told him softly. "Show that you love her. And get her back."
Koleb smiled softly at her. "I am."
Isabel smiled back. "Just promise that you'll fight for her. That you won't give up easily. I truly believe someone like you deserves someone who makes you feel the way she does."
He nodded. "I promise." She took another drink of her tea. "Though I don't do so well with rules and authority I do know how to keep a promise."
"Why am I not surprised by that?" She asked with a laugh. "Who caused it?"
"Caused what?"
She rolled her eyes playfully. "The rule issues?"
"Mom issues. Bit of a control freak. She's the reason I stopped practicing magic for so long."
"Obviously you got back to your magic. The apples and all." She smirked remembering that she ate most of it.
"See I knew there was another reason I asked you out beside you being absolutely beautiful and liking you."
"So this is a date. You tricked me you little sneak." She guessed what he said about that girl was probably just him trying to show how charming he could be. Instead of thinking to deep into it she shook it off.
Kaleb shrugged. "Well if you want to call it a date. Then yes. It's a date."
Isabel pursed her lips for a moment and she scowled at him playfully. "I thought this was just two friends having tea."
"This is just a friendly date. A date with a friend. A friend-date. Those are things aren't they?" He asked as his brows pinched together cutely.
"It's still called a date, Kaleb." Isabel laughed and shook her head in disbelief.
Kaleb ginned happily. "A date it is then!"
Isabel laughed at his enthusiasm. "You're certainly one of a kind, Kaleb."
"I'd like to think so," he said and winked at her.
≪≫•≪≫•≪≫
When getting a call from Andrew while on her 'date' she had been begged to go with Klaus out to the Bayou. She agreed to go but only if he came to which he easily agreed.
Which led to now where Isabel Labonair, Klaus Mikaelson, and Andrew Rogers walked through the werewolf encampments while Isabel looked around for any wolves who may still be around.
"I'm telling you, this place is deserted." Isabel told Klaus.
"No, their scent is fresh. They're hiding."
While Klaus talked, he searched through the empty tents around them. "Which means somewhere nearby, we will find the remnants of your pack."
"...And then what are we going to do?" Isabel asked sounding distressed. "It's not exactly like they're going to welcome us. If there's one thing these people hate more than vampires, it's hybrids. They made that very clear when they steered clear of Andrew. They only tolerated him for me."
"What they hate is their lack of power." He informed the woman. "Hence the willingness of their brethren to deal with that witch in exchange for rings. But, she hasn't gotten to your lot yet, so, we need to get to them first and ensure they align with us."
"Yeah right," Andrew said looking skeptical. "All we gotta do is find them."
"A task I leave to, Bel. Go on!"
Isabel looked at Klaus in confusion. "Well, you're a hybrid now, with heightened senses unlike anything under the sun... besides me." Isabel rolled her eyes at his ego and dramatically sniffed the air. She caught a whiff of something, and closed her eyes for a moment to focus on that one scent. Klaus and Andrew watched her curiously, but after a moment, the wolf opened her eyes and frowned before sighing in agitation.
"This is so stupid. I can't find it." Isabel turned to walk away as Andrew shrugged when Klaus looked at him and started to follow his side.
"Your people need a leader!" He yelled out to Isabel, stopping her in her tracks. "You are their Queen!"
"I am a mess! One minute I'm okay, the next I'm not. All I can think about is how much I miss my daughters." She told him.
Klaus slowly walked over to her with a saddened expression. "Do you think you're alone in that pain?"
"How many times have you even thought about her?" She asked.
"I have not stopped thinking about her, my love." He told her softly. "When it pains me, I seek comfort in the idea of what I will do to those who wish the girls harm. And would have continued to harm them."
Isabel and Klaus watch each other quietly before Klaus looked away and gestured toward an overturned chair, which a mans jacket was laying on.
The newest hybrid sighed and reluctantly sniffed the sleeve of the jacket to get a scent.
"Concentrate, my little queen."
Isabel moves her head around to track the scent she found on the jacket and when she did she followed the direction it was leading her towards. Klaus and Andrew shared a brief look and smiled proudly.
≪≫•≪≫•≪≫
Oliver and the rest of the Crescents in the Bayou are gathering up their belongings in a clearing while Isabel, Klaus, and Andrew watch them from in the woods while they determine how to proceed.
"So, Jack is nowhere to be seen," Isabel said after searching the crowd for her shaggy haired friend.
"And Oliver seems to think he's the Alpha. That little bitch." Andrew cussed angrily as he glared at Oliver.
"They're not going to listen to me, Nik." Isabel shook her head.
"The birthmark on your shoulder did not disappear when you became a hybrid. Go on, talk to them." He urged the hybrid.
Nervously, Isabel slowly made her way toward the group of Crescents as Klaus and Andrew followed behind her. Her pack all turn to face her and defensively form a circle around them minus Hayley who looked worried.
"The hell you three want?" Oliver spat at them.
"Hold your tongue, or I'll tear it from your gaping mouth." Klaus threatened.
Isabel huffed and scolded Klaus with a look before turning back to Oliver. "We didn't come here to fight, Oliver. Our pack has been divided by people who want us to be their slaves. What we need right now is a leader. Someone who will reunite us and make us strong again. Someone who will fight for our pack. If you let me, I can be that person for you."
"You think we can trust you? You're not one of us! Hell, you're not even a wolf." Oliver spat angrily. "You're a blood-sucking vampire parasite!"
Klaus rolled his eyes dramatically.
"You want to say that again and see what happens, Oliver? I told you not to mess with me."
"You tough girl, you're gonna attack me? In front of all them?" He asked gesturing to all the wolves surrounding them. "You'll just give them another reason to say yes to Cassie and her moonlight rings." Isabel frowned and seemed to be retreating into herself which Klaus noticed. And it pissed him off. "Yeah, they would rather follow a witch than you. Me? Hell, I'd rather die than follow you."
Furious, Klaus vamp-sped over to Oliver and knocked him flat on his back before he stomped on his chest with his boot.
"Well, at least you didn't drag this out," Klaus said angrily.
"Hey, Nik! Let him go!" Isabel shouted sounding almost like a little kid who's toy was taken away. "Come on."
"Or don't." Andrew crossed his arms with a smirk on his face. "I'm good with this."
"You need to learn about the art of politics, my love. You gain support by killing your detractors!" He told the girl.
"Niklaus." She growled. "They may not like me very much, but these people, including Oliver, are my family. So let him go. Now." She demanded.
Klaus looked around at all of the wolves who are watching intently and smiled before releasing Oliver. "You see? There's your Queen." He told the pack as he pointed at Isabel. "Powerful, fearless, and, unlike me, merciful. Not to mention absolutely gorgeous." He turned to address Isabel. "These people need to show you more respect. How you handle them now is up to you." He turned to leave, but Isabel, stopped him with a confused look on her face.
"Where are you going, Nik?"
Klaus turned back to her. "I'm going to find the witch. Seems I need to educate her as to what she may or may not do in my city." He smirked before vamp-speeding away.
"Listen, Oliver. I want this pack to rise again. Not be slaves to the humans, the witches or even the vampires. I want everyone here to have a better life. This pack deserves respect in the French Quarter. And I know you want this pack to be able to defend themselves and have power. The only way we can do this is if we unite. Because we are stronger together," she said with a determined look on her face.
"That's my sister!" Hayley yelled happily from within the pack.
Oliver looked at his pack then at the Creacent Queen. He sighed and took her extended hand.
"Well what do we have to do my Queen?"
≪≫•≪≫•≪≫
Isabel had left the Bayou early so she could prepare rooms for the Crescents while Andrew and Hayley stayed behind to help pack before they left the Bayou for good.
Isabel noticed Elijah and Klaus looking troubled and immediately got worried.
"Did something happen? What's wrong?"
The two brothers shared a conflicted look as she walked over to the two.
"It is worse than we thought." Klaus told her and Elijah. "I met the witch, Cassie. I studied her- her presence, the way she carried herself, the fervor with which she voiced her hatred of our kind. I looked into that girl's eyes, and, I swear to you, Elijah, she's not just guided by our mother. She is our mother."
Isabel's eyes widen while Elijah, already overwhelmed and worried about his earlier encounter with Mikael, became absolutely flabbergasted by this revelation by Klaus.
"Esther's back?" Isabel asked worriedly. "What is happening?"
"I'm going to kill her," Klaus said furiously. "I will boil her bones and feed them to the dogs, if that's what it takes."
"Niklaus-"
"What?" Klaus snapped in panic. "What could possibly be more important than the return of our mother?"
Elijah sighed and reluctantly said, "...Our father. I saw him standing there in the flesh as you do now."
"How is he back?" Isabel asked as she was starting to feel like a caged animal.
"He was enslaved with some spell cast by Davina. He holds the stake. If she chooses to release him..."
"Davina..." Isabel sighed and sped to her room and picked her phone from her nightstand to dial her witch friends number. She walked to the edge of the balcony where she could see her parabatai's.
Klaus was visibly shocked by this revelation, but it only served to make him more determined. "Well, then there's only one question we need to ask, isn't there? Which of our parents do we kill first?"
Isabel got the voice automated system instead of Davina. "Perhaps Esther." She spoke up. "If she's already showing herself we're more likely to get her. I'm gonna find Mikael tho."
≪≫•≪≫•≪≫
Isabel led her Crescent wolves who aren't aligned with Cassie into the compound. Hayley trailed after them making sure they were safe.
"Take any of the rooms on the first floor." She told her pack mates. "They should all be set up for you." She looked at Hayley once she was close. "Where is Andrew?"
She shrugged. "He had something to do."
Isabel frowned as Klaus walked over to them while Elijah lingered a few feet away.
"Are we running a kennel now?" Klaus asked sarcastically, watching the Crescents all get rooms.
Isabel glanced back at them before staring back at Klaus. "Hayley and I will handle them."
"Our family is under siege. It is not the time for your friends to throw a slumber party."
"If they're not with us, they're with the witches." She told him, trying to convince him they need to stay. "Nik, you asked me to step up, right? This is me stepping up."
Klaus smiled. "Well, it seems I'm a good influence on you after all. I don't see Oliver amongst them. Am I to assume you finished him off?" He asked.
"Unfortunately, I did not. We made a deal. He'll pledge his loyalty to Cassie, report back, and tell me everything that he learns. That or he wouldn't be coming around the pack any longer."
Klaus smiled proudly at his parabatai. "Well done, my little Queen."
Klaus turned and left while Isabel led several werewolf girls to their new bedrooms as Elijah descended the stairs to leave.
Isabel turned back to some more wolves from her pack who have entered the compound. "You girls can just go through here."
Elijah is almost out the door when he ran into the hybrid. "Well, you two have your hands full."
"Were you just leaving?" She asked.
"To be perfectly honest with you, the presence of all of them here, it's... it's a little much." He told her. "But perhaps it's for the best. You should be with your kind."
Let's make a deal. I'll post the next update every time I finish editing a new episode in season 3. Then there is distance between currently writing and already written. And will give me less anxiety as well as give me some form of order.
And I'm low key living for Kol and Isabel. 🤧