"I get air for two minutes and this happens."
Lexi storms into Hayley's bedroom with a bucket of ice water. She practically shoves Rebekah off the bed to place her hand against the wolf's forehead. "She is burning up," Lexi whisper to herself. She takes Rebekah's rag and soaks it in the ice water before she places it back on Hayley.
"I feel like I've been microwaved," Hayley groans.
"Hey," Rebekah snaps as she begins to pace. "Just because you're carrying a baby doesn't mean you get to act like one! I'm sure our little niece is healing you up as we speak."
"Where's Elijah?" Lexi asks.
"He said he'd be here any second."
"That's not good enough!" Lexi jumps off the bed as her eyes flicker bright red. "This baby is obviously dying, Rebekah. We need them now."
Rebekah staggers back a step. "Lexi, calm down."
"Calm down?" Lexi scoffs as she rests her arm over her head. "Calm down?! After everything I did to get down here without any connections, you have the audacity to tell me to calm down?"
Before Lexi can yell more, Elijah rushes into the room, his eyes instantly falling on Hayley. A woman runs in behind him.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Rebekah demands.
Lexi bites her lip. "Sophie Deveraux, I presume. The witch-bitch who tethered her life to Hayley's? Is that the only reason we can't kill her?"
Elijah holds out his hand. "Let her do what she can."
Sophie glances between the Originals, her guilty gaze finally landing on Hayley. "I may know a way to slow the fever down, but I'm gonna need some herbs. I can text you a list."
Rebekah narrows her eyes. "Fine. Happy to play the fetch girl. Come on, Lexi."
"Alexis stays here," Elijah says.
"Oh, do I?" Lexi clenches her jaw. She crosses her arms, but Elijah can see her fists waiting to punch something.
He sighs. "You know more about werewolves than anyone else. We need you here."
Lexi runs a hand down her face. "Fine." She sits on the bed and takes Hayley's hand. Black veins snake up her arms as she winces. "Rebekah, call if you cannot find anything."
The older blonde stomps away, leaving just Lexi, Elijah, Hayley, and Sophie. "Let's move her down to the pool. The tide is rising," Sophie says as she looks out the window. When she takes a step towards Hayley, Lexi growls. She throws her hands up in defense as Elijah steps in front of her.
"You think about touching her, and I will end you," Lexi snaps, her canines on display. "I just lost one pack, I will not let you take another."
Elijah's gaze softens as Sophie frowns. "I'm confused. I thought Klaus was the only hybrid," she says as Lexi gently helps Hayley sit up, wrapping a blanket around her. "but you are obviously a werewolf."
"The Original," Lexi replies with a glare. Sophie stumbles back a step. "I see you know me."
"I-I thought it was Klaus," she breathes. "Klaus is the Original Hybrid—"
"And I am the Original Alpha. Get over it." Lexi holds Hayley by the waist, wincing as the woman groans in pain. "Elijah, help me." Elijah lifts Hayley into his grasp, alleviating Lexi of all weight. Lexi purses her lips together. "Show off."
By the time they get to the pool, the sun had already set. Hayley sits by the edge as Sophie works on a spell using the herbs Rebekah had gotten. Elijah sits with Hayley while Lexi watches Sophie closely, Rebekah by her side.
"She's burning up!" Elijah calls out as he takes off his suit jacket. "We need to do this now."
"Get her in the water," Lexi tells him, helping Hayley dip into the pool and into his arms. She gasps for air as sweat beads down her face.
"I don't see how a midnight swim is supposed to help," Rebekah says.
Lexi takes the herb mixture from Sophie. "Hayley's temperature is extremely high. The water with the help of the herbs should cool her down." Jumping into the water, Lexi forces the herbs down Hayley's throat. "'Lijah, you have to get her heart rate down."
"How?" He asks as Hayley chokes on the herbs.
"Hold her." Lexi moves his arms around Hayley's body. "It's a natural human remedy to slow the heart and reduce blood pressure." Lexi wades away, splashing her own face with the cool water. "We need to hurry."
"Don't worry," Elijah says. "Davina will break the link, we just have to give her time."
Suddenly, Hayley cries out in pain, holding her bulging stomach. She thrashes in Elijah's grip as he struggles to keep holding her. "Alexis!" He shouts.
Lexi rushes up to them, her hands covering Hayley's stomach. Veins crawl up her arms like snakes as she groans from the pain. "Come on, Davina," she whispers as Hayley continues wiggling.
As Hayley curls up and her screams stop, Lexi hears Sophie say, "I just felt it lift."
Lexi lets Hayley float on her own feet as Sophie pricks her hand with her earring. Elijah checks Hayley's hand to find no mark. "The link is broken," Lexi sighs, splashing her face. "It's over."
"Come on," Elijah says softly, his hand on Hayley's back. "Let's go."
"Elijah," Sophie calls out as he passes her. He pauses. "as soon as your brother finds out that the link is broken, he'll kill Agnes. I know you don't owe me anything, but please, don't let him kill her."
Elijah rushes out of the pool to grab his phone.
"Elijah! She's our only access to the power we need to survive," Sophie begs. "Promise me that you'll stop him."
Elijah places the phone against his ear. "It's me. Where are you?" He waits for Klaus' reply. "Don't hurt her. I'll be there shortly." As he hangs up, he looks back at Sophie. "I'll make you one last promise. I won't let my brother kill Agnes."
Sophie nods as Elijah walks away with his jacket and shoes, Rebekah following. Lexi smirks to herself, choosing to let her body float on the surface of the water, the cool liquid soaking her skin.
"You should've made him choose his words more carefully," Lexi says after dunking her head. When she meets Sophie's gaze, she shrugs. "I wouldn't be surprised if you find Agnes without a head."
Sophie frowns as Lexi wades out of the pool, taking a spare towel and running it down her face. "But he promised Klaus wouldn't kill her," Sophie says.
Lexi clicks her tongue. "Did he promise we wouldn't?" She asks. "I don't seem to remember him mentioning himself, Rebekah, or me, did he?"
Sophie goes pale.
"I'd get far away from this house if I were you."
Sophie jumps out of the pool, grabs her things, and races from the mansion, leaving just Hayley and Lexi by the water. Hayley hoists herself out of the pool. "You are super badass, you know that?"
"Thanks," Lexi says with a small smile. "Do you know why I came here, Hayley?" The wolf shakes her head. "Klaus knows that I am the only person he trusts to protect you, and I almost failed today. First day on the job, and you almost die."
"It's not your fault." Hayley wrings out her hair. "And, trust me, it would have happened with or without you. I'm just glad she's safe." She presses her hand against her belly.
Lexi's eyes follow Hayley's hands. "It's a girl, then?"
Hayley nods with a grin. "She's a fighter."
"Just like her mother." Lexi offers Hayley a dry towel.
As Hayley takes it, she says, "And her aunt." She lowers her head a fraction of an inch. "I've always wanted to meet the Original Alpha. To be honest, I—"
"Thought it was Klaus?" Lexi arches an eyebrow. "There was a reason for that. It was selfish, but Mikael always thought that Klaus was the Original Alpha too." She clenches her jaw. "It was a way of protecting myself, I guess. I knew what Mikael would do if he ever found out. No one bothered to correct him."
"Who's Mikael?" Hayley asks.
Lexi purses her lips. "Story for another day, yeah?" She sighs. "Get dried off. We can play some chess if you like."
"I hate chess," Hayley groans.
"Dirty Pictionary?" Lexi suggests with a laugh before she steps into the house, her hearing still focused on Hayley. She pauses with a frown when she finds Elijah and Rebekah before the front door. "I would have thought you'd have left by now," she says as she leans against the doorframe. "What's keeping you?" When Lexi sees the tears on Rebekah's cheeks, her entire body tenses. "What happened?" She asks, taking Rebekah's hand.
"He'll never leave Klaus," she says, her gaze never leaving Elijah.
"Then why don't you stay?" Elijah asks. The three Originals form a small triangle with Rebekah closest to the exit.
Rebekah shakes her head. "This thing that you and Klaus and Marcel have, I want no part of it. I just want to be free." Rebekah sniffles as she looks down at her feet.
Slowly, Elijah presses a kiss to Rebekah's cheek. "Well, then, go," he says. "You are free."
Rebekah presses her lips together to contain her sobs. "And you, Lexi? Will you come with me?"
Lexi blinks. "I cannot."
"Why?" Rebekah squeezes her hand. "Right now, you hate Klaus. Why can't you leave with me?"
Lexi shakes her head, trying to slip her hand free of Rebekah. "I can't tell you, sister, now please—" Lexi finally takes her hand back. "Do not make my refusal harder than it has to be."
More tears spill down Rebekah's cheeks. "Just tell me!"
Tears well up in Lexi's eyes, letting the moon reflect off of the shimmer. "You do not understand—"
"Then tell us," Elijah says as he narrows his eyes. "You have been hiding something this entire time."
"You cannot fix it, Elijah," Lexi replies desperately. "There is no reason for you to know. It is my problem—my life."
"And yet you refuse to leave," Rebekah spits bitterly. "You are just like our brothers, Lexi." Lexi shakes her head, but Rebekah continues. "You love them more than you love me, is that it?"
"No!" Lexi exclaims.
"Then why?"
"He'll kill them!" Lexi pulls away with wide eyes, a trembling hand covering her mouth. She repeats the phrase in a whisper as if the words are a revelation to her—as if they are now real.
Elijah frowns sharing a glance with Rebekah. "What are you talking about?"
Lexi runs away without giving them an answer.
—|—|—|—
When Lexi returns, she finds a young vampire standing at the door. Without a second of hesitation, she thrusts her hand through his back and grabs his heart. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Lexi asks, her voice deathly calm.
The vampire chokes as he grabs at his chest. Hayley, who stands within the house gasps as her eyes widen. "Lexi, stop!" She yells.
"Not until I get my answer."
"His name is Josh," Hayley says frantically. "Let him go, he's not going to hurt me."
After a moment more of listening to the vampire, Lexi lets go of him, letting him crash to the ground. "Oh my god," he breathes when he looks up to see her wiping the blood off of her hand. "Who the hell are you?"
"Lexi," she replies as she kneels down next to him, pulling him by the hair so he looks into her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"K-Klaus compelled me to spy for him," Josh says. "and I came because Marcel knows he's been lying about where he lives." Lexi lets go of him and steps into the house. "So, where is he?"
"I am not my brother's keeper, Joshua," Lexi replies while pursing her lips. She stands in front of Hayley with her hand on the door.
"Just tell him to call me," Josh says. When Lexi arches an eyebrow, he adds, "Please?"
She nods. "I apologize for almost ripping your heart out," she tells him. "We're all careful these days. And most friends of Klaus are enemies of mine. Good luck, Josh. I mean it."
He nods with a confused frown before he walks away from the house. When Lexi closes the door, she presses her forehead against the wood and sighs.
"You don't have to always be on the offensive, you know?" Hayley says with her arms crossed.
"Yes, I do." Lexi spins around, her eyes flashing red. Hayley's respond in yellow. "I lost two pack members two weeks ago. Klaus dragged me down here to take care of you. I am not going to let another beta die, do you understand me?" Hayley gulps and nods in response. "Now, run along. Get some sleep."
Hayley stumbles back before she walks off, her pace too fast to be normal. Lexi sighs and shakes her head.
A knock at the door makes her roll her eyes. "Joshua, so help me—"
She freezes when she sees the man at the door. Her lips part in surprise.
"Hey, there, Lexi," Marcel says with a grin. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Marcel," she breathes. "I-I knew you were alive but..." His grin falters when genuine happiness flickers over her expression. "You've done well for yourself, I see. Built an empire. Klaus must be proud."
"Right, after you all left me for dead," Marcel replies.
"We thought you were gone," she tells him, her eyebrows furrowed. "I had no idea of your survival until Klaus called me down here. Marcel, I swear, we would not have left you had we known. You have to believe me."
With a frown, Marcel holds up his hands. "Calm down, I believe you." Lexi lets out a relieved sigh. "Do you know where I can find Klaus?"
"Off in the Quarter somewhere, I suppose," Lexi replies. "He was quite frustrated with us today. Perhaps a bar?"
"Thank you, Lexi." Marcel sends her a smile. "It's good to know at least one of you cares."
"I think you should look for Rebekah," Lexi says. "She cares about you the most. I don't think she ever forgave herself for what happened."
Marcel purses his lips. "Noted. Good night."
She nods in response, closing the door behind her.
Sniffing the air, she groans. "Hayley, I told you to go rest," she says as she walks through the house and exits through the back. She steps on Hayley's jacket. Pausing, Lexi's nostrils flare.
She frowns as a familiar scent surrounds her. "Hayley?" She calls out. "Hayley, where are you? Come back inside!"
Lexi gasps as someone wraps an am around her neck, jamming a syringe into her skin. She throws her head into the assailant's face, but the syringe had broken her skin. Her vision dances as she stumbles, falling to her knees as the attacker gets back up. "No," she mutters when she sees his face. "I thought we were done with you."
"Sorry, Lexi," Tyler Lockwood says as he holds her shoulders. "But I can't have you interfering."
Before she passes out, she feels his fangs sink into her wrist.
TYLER, GET THE F AWAY! He annoys me so much.
Hope you enjoyed!
-L