Chapter 12: Bonding

Kol had decided some privacy was in order when phoning his brother. Not because he didn’t want anyone to hear what his brother was saying, but mostly out of embarrassment. He didn’t want to call Niklaus for this, but he knew that he had to if they were going to take down the Cullens for once and for all.

I’m not finished yet, Kol,” Klaus’ voice sounded over the phone. “There are more hybrids to be made.”

Kol knew that this was going to be his brother’s answer, or at least along those lines.

Have you verified this information?”

Of course he had. He had asked Selene to do a locator spell and had found them, exactly where Peter said they were. “Yes.”

I don’t know, Kol. We were supposed to leave them alone. They’re not harming anybody right now.”

“Myriam isn’t around, is she?” Kol mused. “If she were, you wouldn’t have used those exact words.”

It was quiet on the other end of the line for a moment. “Perhaps I wouldn’t have chosen those words, no.”

“They’re using family money to start over, Nik. They’ll come for Bella.”

Not for a very long time.”

How was Niklaus so sure? Kol tiredly pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine, we’ll do it without your brilliant and gifted mind. I suppose that ‘Always and Forever’ still doesn’t count for me. That I’m still not family enough for you.”

I’m not saying that, Kol! I’m saying that we have enough time to prepare for war. Why do you think I’m creating hybrids?”

“Because you can. Because you’ve always wanted a family who doesn’t talk back!”

To create an army, brother.”

“I’ve got an army for you!”

It was quiet on the other end of the line for a while before Klaus sighed deeply. “Hybrids won’t break that easily. I have ten at this point.”

What was his brother saying? “Huh?”

Not everything I do is for my own betterment, Kol. I have to admit, the possibilities are endless now that I can make hybrids, no matter how many times the transition doesn’t take for some werewolves,” Klaus spoke gently. “I did start out with the idea of using them for my own personal army, but you are correct, we have an army of vampires. So why not use my hybrids to protect our family and have them fight for us against the Cullens?”

“Oh.” As always, his brother surprised him. But why had he acted so egotistical to begin with? To keep up the rouse of being a dick? Then again, Kol wasn’t entirely straightforward to his brother, either, was he?

The sooner the headache is gone, the quicker I can go back to being selfish. Why won’t you lot come to Mystic Falls? It’ll give me some more time to find some more suitable werewolves around here and it’d be so much fun to see young Stefan beg for Miss Bella’s forgiveness for what he did to her.”

“Nik…”

There’s still time, Kol. Myriam and I have our own sources. There’s no need to get all worried just yet. Come back to Mystic Falls for awhile. Our siblings would love to see you again.”

“You’re keeping the coffins there.”

I promise that I won’t stick a dagger in you.” Klaus then let out a snort. “I believe that if anyone would try to hurt you that Miss Bella will become very dangerous.”

Kol huffed. “I’ll put it up for a vote. I don’t particularly fancy Bella meeting any of those idiots ever again.”

Don’t do anything stupid, Kol. For you to think that I think of her as less than family is ridiculous. She’s just as much family as you are. Call me back later.”

After a few moments of staring at his now disconnected phone, he rejoined Bella, Jasper, Selene and Jasper’s friends in the courtyard. Bella was quietly eating her cucumber sandwiches while Jasper and Peter were in conversation with each other. Even Selene tried to hold a conversation with Charlotte. “You look confused,” Bella’s voice sounded and when he looked at her again, she had that wonderful smile of hers on her face. “You feel confused.”

“Yeah, my brother has his ways to keep me on my toes, I suppose,” he replied as he sat on the armrest of the chair she was sitting on. Kol let out a deep breath and shrugged. “He wants to use the hybrids he’s creating against the Cullens.”

“That could be just the thing that might tip the balance,” Jasper said thoughtfully and then grinned. “And you thought he went there for selfishness.”

“He didn’t deny that he did in the first place. He wants us to go to Mystic Falls so that he can continue to make hybrids while we form a plan.”

“United you and your siblings are a much larger threat than by yourself.”

“But I’ve got an army of vampires at my disposal; the witches like me.”

“Do you know how hard it is for me not to kill them when I’m training them?” Jasper pointed out. “Granted, they know how to fight Cold Ones now, but if they get caught in our grasp, we can kill them. At least hybrids are a bit more sturdy than that.”

“So, what you’re saying is that we take our best and brightest and camp out in Mystic Falls?”

“I’m saying that despite the security we have here in New Orleans, it’s a big city. Especially if the Cullens have their friends as back up, there will be a lot of civilian casualties should they decide to come here before we hit them first. Mystic Falls is a small town. Nobody will bat an eye when it gets wiped out due to a natural catastrophe. New Orleans, however, they’ve suffered enough, wouldn’t you think?”

“There is no doubt that most of New Orleans will be slaughtered should the Cullens make the first move. I also believe that they know that it’s just one Mikaelson here and that the others are still far away,” Peter added carefully. “No offense to you, but your brothers are the ones who are feared for their warfare, you’re just known for your love of witches and your bloodlust.”

It took every fibre in his being not to launch himself at Peter and tear him apart for insulting him. It wasn’t an insult; it was the truth, he knew that. He wasn’t less than his siblings, he was merely… different. His expertise lay in other areas. “We’re going to Mystic Falls then?”

“I’ll have Abeebee and the rest of Myriam’s team stay behind to keep an eye out here,” Jasper nodded. “Perhaps Charlotte could stay behind too.”

“Oh, sure,” Charlotte grinned. “Abeebee and I have a lot to catch up on!” A huge smile appeared on her face then. “She’s so limber.”

“No hanky panky with my girl, Charlotte,” Jasper warned her. “Now that I’m back full time, she’s all mine.”

Charlotte stuck out her tongue to him as she nestled herself against Peter. “When are you leaving? I can’t wait to party.”

~o.O.o~

Kol had to admit, he was a little worried about Bella when they were on their way to Mystic Falls. While she had two quiet places in New Orleans, she wouldn’t have any in Mystic Falls and he hoped that she wouldn’t relapse now that she was doing so well.

She was curled up on the passenger seat of the car, snug in her comfy clothes and wearing one of his worn shirts. There were more dirty shirts in the bag in the boot of the car, and he hoped that her smelling of him would deter the damn Salvatores from laying a finger on her. If not, he’d kill them. They’ve fooled around long enough, they were pitiful excuses for vampires, only fun to fuck around with. Ah, maybe he’d settle for repeatedly snapping their necks, their entertainment value was priceless.

“What are you thinking about?” Bella asked as she looked away from the window she was staring out of. “You don’t have to go fight the Cullens, you know.”

“Why? Do you want to go back?”

“No.”

“Then we’re going to do this. You’re family now, Bella, and that means that we’ll do everything in our power to keep our family safe.” Kol smiled at her then. “I’ve told you this before, didn’t I?”

Sighing, she nodded. “I think it’s unreal and what has happened is unreal and that I’ll wake up from my dream any time soon and I have to get back to work.”

Kol let out a dark chuckle. “Now, if this was a dream, it would be incredibly fucked up.”

Bella shrugged. “It wouldn’t surprise me. They’ve done worse.”

“I assure you, this is all very real,” Kol put his hand on her leg and gently squeezed it as if to verify that he, in fact, was real. “Which is why we’re going to fight the Cullens, end them for once and for all. Ultimate destruction had been nice to begin with, but our priority was to get you girls out and make sure they weren’t able to touch their own money and assets anymore.”

“Little did you know about their cousins.”

“We believed they would stay hands off,” Kol gritted his teeth as he gripped his steering wheel with his free hand. “Will you be alright in Mystic Falls?”

“Of course,” she smiled at him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because of Stefan and my brother Elijah. For what they did to you.”

Bella eyed him curiously. “It seems like you have a bigger problem with that than I do.” Granted, she didn’t really fancy seeing Stefan again. He broke her in half and let her fall out a window. He deserved to die, but it was what he needed at the time and she facilitated that need. It was a good thing that Kol had promised that he wouldn’t kill anybody who had hurt her when she was still with the Cullens, apart from the Cullens themselves. It hadn’t been the client’s fault.

“I promised you that I wouldn’t kill anyone,” he smiled at her. “Will you be alright with staying at the family mansion?”

“Don’t worry about me, Kol. I’m more worried that something happens to you.”

“Like yourself, I can’t die, darling,” Kol smirked as he put his foot down on the pedal to speed up the car and prove a point. “Well, not unless they have White Oak lying around.”

“Again, I wouldn’t be surprised if they would have just that.”

Letting out a breath he wasn’t aware of holding, he squeezed her knee again. “It’s alright to be scared, darling. But I promise you, we will end your nightmare.”

~o.O.o~

“Elijah deserved a time-out,” Klaus greeted them as he opened the car door for Bella upon arriving in Mystic Falls. “After we disposed of our beloved Mother, I knew that it would be good for our brother to have some rest. After all,” he smiled at Bella as he helped her out of the car. “He did unspeakable things to the latest addition to our family.”

“Kol!”

“I didn’t dagger him, darling, that was all Niklaus,” Kol grinned widely. “Although, I have to admit, life without Elijah is always easier, so good job, Nik!”

“Am I missing something here?” Klaus asked amused as he saw the look on Bella’s face. She was ready to murder him if she could!

“Bella doesn’t believe in punishment for those who have hurt her while she was working. She sees what she did as therapy, in a way, and that all the hatred should be focused on the Cullens for exploitation.”

“Well, that’s rubbish.”

“And I’m still here,” Bella replied as she looked at Klaus. She knew that he was doing only what he was used to doing and couldn’t fault him. “And I suppose it’s alright, I trust you in doing the right thing.”

“Elijah would not approve of my hybrids, nor of the plans we’re going to make to take down those Cold Ones for once and for all. He’d rather cuddle them to death,” Klaus continued before he ushered his sibling and Bella inside. “How was your little trip? What do you think of our home in New Orleans, Bella?”

“Turns out that she’s well acquainted with our home in New Orleans,” Kol retorted coolly. “Your precious Marcel was no stranger to the services the Cullens provided.”

Klaus was amused. “Was he now? He didn’t feel too high and mighty for such a thing? You’d think he’d have masses of women at his feet, worshipping him, by the amount of charm he holds!”

Kol groaned, feeling sick. “Sometimes I wonder if you have a man crush on him.”

“Please, brother, he’s like a son to me.”

“Whom you haven’t seen in nearly a century and claimed New Orleans as his own,” Kol sneered. “Well done, Nik.”

Bella could feel the agitation between the two brothers grow and it suffocated her. Kicking Klaus in the shins to let go of her, she walked into the house, leaving them to fight about whatever the issue was between them. The house still looked immaculate, not a spec of dust anywhere, and since she’d left the home she could tell nothing had been moved, either. Nor replaced.

“Oh, I see my brother brought his harlot with him,” Rebekah sounded bored as she looked up from her place on the sofa in the sitting room. “Word of advice, he’ll lose interest in you soon enough.”

Bella smiled at that. “Don’t you look beautiful today, Rebekah.”

Rebekah sighed exasperatedly. “Oh, he instructed you to get on my good side, didn’t he?”

She was confused. Hadn’t Klaus told Rebekah that Bella was coming? “No?”

The vampire sighed again as she turned around again, dismissing Bella to continue to read her book. “Then I don’t know why you’re even talking to me.”

Bella didn’t like to be around people much, not without Kol anyway, but she could sense that Rebekah didn’t want her gone. Bella didn’t want to be gone, either, because she happened to like Rebekah. Pushing away the urge to do as she was told, she sat down on the couch next to Rebekah and pushed the book down before extending her hand. “We’ve met before. Perhaps I looked a little different, I don’t quite understand how that worked, but we’ve met before. I’m Bella and you and I had some amazing sex.”

Rebekah blinked at her. “You do know that I could kill you with my pinkie.”

Sighing, Bella relaxed into the couch. “No wonder you guys argue a lot, you’re never telling things to each other. Things of importance,” she sighed again. “And here I thought you’d remember us having mindblowing sex, which isn’t going to happen again, you know. Seeing as Kol won’t want that.”

“Wait, wait… explain!”

“Did Klaus explain to you who Myriam is?”

“No,” Rebekah scrunched up her nose as she put the book down. “She’s quite something, though. I never thought Nik would be able to have a committed relationship. Now, if only he’d let me have one…”

“Myriam runs a brothel and strip club that masks as a rescue operation for people who’ve been hurt by the supernatural,” Bella rolled her eyes. Why didn’t Klaus tell Rebekah anything? She was his sibling, wasn’t she? “She set it up with Klaus.”

Rebekah was impressed and confused. “Huh.”

“You know, don’t you? You know everything and you decided to pretend not to know any of it because it sounds so out of character for your brother,” Bella said after a brief pause. “You approve of his actions, don’t you? You’re proud!”

“If the stories are true then yes, I suppose Niklaus has surprised me.”

“Isn’t family supposed to be about sharing everything of importance? Such as their big plans or people in their lives…” Bella pulled her legs underneath her as she looked at Rebekah. “No offense, I’m the last person to talk about family. Jasper and I are still trying to work things out together.”

“Again, who are you, exactly? How dare you talk to me like you know me?”

“Rebekah, I like you. Your brothers have nothing to do with me wanting to talk to you,” Bella tried, but she could sense that Rebekah’s mood had changed and really didn’t want her around. There was a loneliness underneath her façade and a part of Bella wished that she wouldn’t have to give up. Bella shifted a little and stared off in space in silence while Rebekah picked up her book again. After a while, Bella spoke up again. “You truly don’t know who I am?”

“Of course I do, duckie,” Rebekah sighed tiredly, there was frustration underneath it now. “I’ve overheard Nik and Myriam countless of times, talking about girls like you and the Cold Ones and whatnot and it broke my heart, for you. And here you are, my brother’s girlfriend, making it clear that you’re his by wearing his shirt underneath those ugly dungarees.”

Bella let out a snort. “I picked them out myself, they’re not ugly, they’re extremely comfortable and your brother smells nice. And if you let me, I want to be your friend.”

She seemed to think for a moment before nodding and putting her book away. “Alright, friend, let’s go out for a drink at the Mystic Grill. I can’t wait to see the faces of those brats when I walk in with you!”

Bella was slightly hesitant about that. While she had been quite alright with making sure that the emotions of feelings of others weren’t bothering her with Kol around, she didn’t believe she was ready to go out without him. Or at least go out in a new town without knowing what to expect. “Uh…”

“You’ll be fine, little one, we’re merely going to have some harmless fun! I love to torment the baby vamps!” Rebekah said, a malicious excitement dripping from every word. “No doubt Nik and Kol won’t even notice we’re leaving, they’re still having a go at each other.”

“Where’s Myriam?”

“Looking after Nik’s little puppies seeing as Nik wanted to be here when you arrived,” she motioned towards the door. “No doubt to pick a fight with Kol over small things.” Rebekah got up and pulled Bella off the sofa before pulling her along with her, passing her squabbling brothers on the way. “Later, brothers. I’m taking Bella into town and not to worry, I’ll make sure she’s safe.”

Before Kol or Klaus could react, Rebekah had Bella in the car and they were heading into town. She wasn’t quite sure what to think of that, but at least she had gotten through to Rebekah some how. Or was Rebekah merely going to use her to tease the Salvatores? Would they even run into them? Would they run into Elena, perhaps? Kol had promised to give her a call so that Bella could apologize, but he never did and she hadn’t bothered to keep asking him to do so, knowing it would only agitate him even further. Was this even a good idea?

2 Comments:

  1. There are plans for the Salvatore brothers and ‘shopping’ isn’t really ‘shopping’. Also; Rebekah is bored and a great actress.

  2. Oh boy. should be an interesting shopping trip. especially since Bekah isn’t sure about Bella and acts completely blind. she might not know everything but i think Bella is right that she knows something if she can win bekah. .all hell is going to break loose when the cullens come for her especially when Bekah meets Rosalie lol that going to be a fight from hell that will be something to behold lol. Update again soon. I want to know what happened when they run into stefan and Damon. especially since she is a bit frightened of stefan.

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