09: Blast from the Past

“She seems to be doing great,” Cami remarked as she and Klaus watched Rebekah instruct Bella to defend herself against Kol. More often than not, she had him on the floor within seconds. Of course, he wasn’t using his vampire abilities, but Cami was surprised that he didn’t mind getting his ass kicked by a tiny girl.

“She’s doing brilliantly,” Klaus agreed as he leaned against the balustrade and narrowed his eyes on his brother when he made Bella trip and fall on the mat. “When my brother isn’t trying to kill her.”

“Relax, she’s doing fine,” she gently pat Klaus on his arm. “Did you remove the compulsion yet?”

“Which one? The one where she knows we’re not going to hurt her or the one that’s stopped her from having sex with my leg?”

“She humped your leg?” Cami laughed. “Aren’t you supposed to hump hers?”

Klaus looked at her with a murderous one on his face.

“Hey, just saying. You kicked that door open, you should have expected that answer,” she said defensively, putting her hands up. “But yes, I meant that one.”

“I removed it about a week ago,” Klaus quickly replied.

“And?”

“And, nothing.”

“Give me something to work with, Klaus. Did she revert back to before?”

“No, she hasn’t changed since I removed it,” he replied, gripping the balustrade as Kol yet again had Bella on the floor. “Perhaps she’s taken the physical activity with my siblings a little bit further, but other than that, she seems to be doing alright.”

“Is she still keeping you up at night?”

He let out a soft growl. “Let’s just say that she’s exhibiting normal behavior for a human.”

“I agree,” Cami smiled at him. “Congratulations, she seems to be functioning as a normal human being.”

“Who’s afraid of the outside.”

She hummed as a response before actually responding. “Convenient for you? At least she won’t leave on her own volition.”

“She’s not ready, Cami. She said so herself. And even if she does end up liking what’s out there and decides to leave, I suppose that will be alright.”

“Will it?”

Klaus sighed and shook his head. “It’s a shame my temper got the best of me when I confronted the witch, Becky. She had supplied the Cullens with a potion to make her blood safe from other vampires and turning. I wish I had taken more time in getting more information. Such as, what else did she do to that potion? Why do I feel the need to protect her with all I have? Why do I feel so lost when I’m not near her?” He let go of the balustrade in case he’d rip it apart in his aggravation. “I’m not complaining. She’s delightful, but I have things to do, and when I’m out, I’m easily distracted and feel the need to go back.”

“Are you sure it’s not just love or lust?”

“I am fairly sure Camille because it started the moment Kol brought her in in her unconscious form,” he shot at her. “I should not have killed that witch and Marcel has asked Davina to look into it, but I haven’t heard anything back.”

“How is she with you?”

“She often seeks me out and then we sit on the sofa together for hours. Or she watches me paint,” he said with a soft smile. “On occasion, she follows me around while I go and talk to Marcel or watch him with his vampires.”

“You should do something different with her. Have a romantic dinner. Or a picnic on the roof. Something fun. Just you and her.”

“Are you suggesting I take her on a date? Are you mad?” He blinked at her. “What are we supposed to do on a date?”

“Talk?”

“Camille,” he shook his head laughing. “We talk every night, almost.”

“Make it something special, come on, she’ll like that.”

He looked over the balustrade and saw his siblings trying hard not to burst out in laughter. He let out a growl and looked back at her.

“Tell her she’s beautiful. How gorgeous she looks, even if it’s just her sweatpants and a shirt,” Cami shrugged. “I don’t know, give her compliments.” She then grinned widely. “Give her some alcohol.”

“No.”

“Oh come on, you know how to woo girls, don’t you?” Cami said teasingly. “Or did you forget in your old age? Give her the real deal, I mean, she’s probably never experienced it before!”

He was just about to say something in his fury when he picked up the scent of one of those toy wolves from Washington. This could only mean one thing; the wolf he had hired had found his home and Klaus was going to grill him for answers about Bella. How did the wolf find them anyway?

“Ah! Found you!” Jacob’s voice sounded. “You’re a hard girl to find!”

Bella froze into place as she heard Jacob’s voice. She had her back turned to him, and wasn’t going to turn back. That part was over. She didn’t have to deal with this anymore, not again. Or did she? She had never told Kol or Klaus about Jacob because he was their friend. Or at least Klaus’ as he had put him in the position with the Cullens, probably well paid too. She couldn’t make herself look bad for Klaus.

“Who are you?” Rebekah asked as he looked at the young man. He appeared to be some type of hippie, his long hair tied casually with a hair tie and arms the size of a planet. “You’re Klaus’ wolf.”

“I am. Jacob Black, nice to meet you.”

She took a deep breath and looked up to see Klaus look down at them from the balcony, his eyes firmly set on Jacob. He looked like as if he was thinking to come downstairs or stay up there with Cami. No doubt they had been talking about her. They always did. And despite they all encouraged Bella to be herself, learn about herself and learn how to think for herself, they had let Jacob in their home. Only because they didn’t know. But if she told, she was afraid that they’d hurt him.

“Good to see you again, mate,” Kol greeted him. “Where have you been?”

“My dad – the tribe – wanted to make sure I was alright,” Jacob explained with half a shrug. “I’m a grown man; I can do whatever I want. I wanted to see how she was doing.”

What would Buffy do in a situation like this? Or Faith – Willow, even? They’d tell him to go away. That’s what. Bella was angry he had come by, no doubt with the best intentions, but he should have known better. She’d turn around and tell him to leave. Yes. Easy like that. But she was afraid that if she’d turn around, she’d be on her knees in an instant, and everyone would put one and one together and be on top of him within a blink. Even Klaus.

She kept looking up to Klaus, willing him to look at her, to see that it wasn’t quite alright with Jacob here, but she had to use her voice, and right now, she couldn’t. When she felt arms around her, she startled and looked behind her, relieved it being Rebekah.

“Come, let’s get you out of here. Breathe,” she crooned and started to push her towards the stairs. “Nik, something’s not right,” she muttered to her brother as she continued to maneuver Bella up the stairs.

Bella took a deep breath, unaware she had stopped breathing and allowed Rebekah to take her away. But it was a sign of weakness, wasn’t it? To allow herself to be taken away. At least she now knew it hadn’t been anyone’s idea to ask Jacob over. “I’m fine,” she managed to bring out, her voice soft.

“Poppycock,” Rebekah replied as she lead Bella into Klaus’ study. “Would you like to talk about it?”

Bella shook her head as she breathed in Klaus’ scent despite him not being in the room. She moved to her favorite spot on the sofa and pulled her feet on the couch, looking at Rebekah. “I’m sorry.”

“You just sit here, alright, love? I’m going to check and see what my brothers are up to. Would you like us to kill Jacob?”

“No!” Bella said shocked. “No!”

“I take that as a ‘maybe’. If you’re not talking, he will.”

Sighing, she nodded and watched Rebekah leave the room.

Rebekah was glad her brothers had their conniving asshat hats on and were pleasantly talking with Jacob over a cup of tea one of the servants quickly had set down on the table. Fortunately, they had moved Jacob into one of the rooms, out of earshot of everyone on the street. When Rebekah’s entrance was noticed by Klaus, he turned to Jacob with a smirk. “That’s my sister Rebekah.”

“Hi,” Jacob greeted her.

“Hello,” she replied politely, closing the French doors and stood there so whatever happened, he couldn’t escape.

“So, now that pleasantries are out of the way,” Klaus said, looking at the man as he took a sip of his tea. “My brother didn’t want to say much about life at the Cullens, could you enlighten us some more?”

“Sure, why not?” Jacob smiled, looking at Kol. “I can’t believe you didn’t want to tell them things.”

“Certain things should remain unsaid, but by all means, answer all my brother’s questions so I won’t have to.”

“What do you want to know, Klaus?”

Klaus seemed to think for a moment, but Kol and Rebekah both knew he already had his questions ready. He was going to lull the wolf into a false sense of security and strike. “How many humans were there in the main building?”

“Apart from Bella? Ah.. uhm… a handful. They were part of the Royal Guard, spent most of their time in the basement or out front. Mostly big, burly criminals, though.”

“But none in Bella’s position?”

“Hell no,” Jacob huffed. “Who would want to be in her position anyway?”

Klaus cocked his head. “You make it sound as if she volunteered.”

“Well, I don’t know the specifics. She was already there when I came,” Jacob explained. “All I know is that she belonged to Edward. She doesn’t speak, you see. Besides, I was too busy to keep an eye on Carlisle, like you asked.”

“What was your position?”

“I was a part of the Royal Guard.”

All three Originals couldn’t hide their scowls when he said that. Rebekah realized that it was the reason Bella shut down. “Nik…”

“I’ve got this, sister,” he said gently before looking at Jacob again. “You were there for six years, and you saw a human girl being used and abused. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because that weren’t your instructions, besides, she was fine.”

“How many times was she brought to the Royal Guard by Edward?”

“A few times a week.”

“For how long?”

“A couple of hours, there were a lot of guys she had to entertain, why are you asking me all this?”

“Did you ever participate?”

“Hell yeah!” Jacob responded with a broad smile on his face. “As you know, she’s very talented, and I had to because you know, they’d have found out I wasn’t one of them.”

“As we know?” Klaus fumed – his self-restraint faltering.

Jacob snorted and looked at Kol. “She was your present; you’re saying you’re not even using her?”

“She wasn’t my present, mate,” Kol spat, taking a few steps towards his sister because he wanted to rip out Jacob’s heart, but wanted it to be Klaus to do so. “I’ve been nothing more but her friend for the last year.”

“It’s your loss,” he shrugged. “Anyway, I came to see her, can I?”

“No,” Klaus growled as he pulled Jacob off the sofa and dragged him off to the basement, locking him in one of the holding cells. He was going to kill him later. Slowly. Peel off his skin. Plenty of time to do so. There was more information to be learned from the idiot. Why had he sent Jacob in anyway? Couldn’t he have sent in a more competent asshole?

Klaus punched the wall and walked back into the cell. He threw Jacob against the nearest wall and without warning ripped out his heart. “You should have known better, pup.”

“I applaud your self-restraint, brother,” Kol quipped from behind him.

“Shut up,” Klaus muttered as he ripped off one of Jacob’s arm and pointed it at Kol. “You should have told me.”

“Why? What would that have fixed? Absolutely nothing! As I told you, some things aren’t my story to tell. This was his story to tell. And Bella’s, but she wisely shuts up about it, trying to ignore it from ever have happened.”

“You should have told me!” Klaus roared at his brother before chucking the arm at his head. “This wolf came here to see if he could have another round with her! If you had told me, I would have hunted him down and killed him before she ever had to see him again!”

“Fine, you want me to tell how the entire Royal Guard had their way with Bella? How their dicks filled up every hole of her body? How she often had three guys on her? How Edward threw her in the basement for them to enjoy her and that your friend Jacob was one of them and often the first to have his way with her?” Kol blurted at his brother. “How sometimes Edward even came down to watch? Carlisle, even? That your friend Jacob was a dimwitted asshole and you should have made a better choice? And if it wasn’t sex they were having, that they had to hurt her with whips because she spilled something or she had gained a pound? That a lot more happened in the six months that I was in?”

Kol grabbed the arm and threw it back at his brother. “Seriously, Klaus, does it make you feel better now that you know? Or does it make you feel sick as I’m feeling right now?”

Klaus was quiet for a moment as he let his brother’s words sink in. “You’re just saying that.”

“Oh, I wish!” Kol breezed as he let out his frustration on Jacob’s dead body by tearing off a leg and breaking it for emphasis. “Oh, I so wish, Niklaus. I’ve seen a lot of horrors in my days, most of the time of my own creation that I really don’t mind talking about. But this? When I said it wasn’t my story to tell, I meant it.”

“I’m going to hunt them all down,” he said with a low growl. “You’d better be comfortable with giving me names.”

“Right now you’re going to clean yourself up,” Rebekah said as she walked into the cell and blinked at the maimed body of Jacob. “That’s all you can do? You’re losing your touch,” she said, looking at Klaus. “However, as I said, you’re going to clean yourself up, calm down and take care of this frightened ball of tension sitting in your study.”

He rushed upstairs, not bothering to clean up and blinked as he saw Bella half undressed and on her knees on the floor. He swallowed hard; she was so beautiful. Shaking his urges out of his head – he was so worked up, he wanted to bury himself deep inside of her to make sure she’d stay with him, to be sure she’d stay. With him. He wanted to, but if he’d do it now, he would be no better than the people she was rescued from. It was her move. And she was frightened.

Klaus got out of his shirt and quickly cleaned up his hands and retrieved a robe he could wrap Bella in. “Come, love,” he placated her, helping her up from the floor and putting the robe around her before helping her sit down on the sofa. “Are you alright?”

“I’m all right,” she murmured as she hugged the robe tightly and looked at him with tears in her eyes. Actual tears. Klaus was surprised to see tears as she hadn’t cried before. Ever. The date of her last time cried Cami had found in the journal was engraved in his mind.

“Sure you are,” he smiled at her, gently drying her tears with a cloth he pulled out of his pocket. She was even beautiful when she was crying. “What’s all this then?”

“I’m fine,” she repeated as she looked at him, and he felt his heart shatter. “It’s okay.”

“What’s okay?”

“If you want to return me.”

“Now why would I wish to do that? Aren’t you happy here? Don’t you like us anymore?”

“I do!” She nearly crawled into his lap at that. “I do, I do! I don’t want you to return me! But Jacob…”

“You no longer have to worry about him, love,” he said kindly and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “If you don’t want to leave, you’re not going anywhere, and I will do my absolute best to ensure they’re not coming back to steal you away from me.”

“You want to keep me?” She asked hopeful, her big eyes looking up at him, filled with hope.

He smiled at her and nodded. “I would like very much to keep you and more, dear, but one thing at a time. I promise you, you’re not leaving until you decide you want to leave.”

“But I like you and Kol and Rebekah and even Elijah. I don’t want to leave.”

“Then don’t,” he put his arm around her and pulled her against him, in the same manner they’ve been sitting for hours on end together, he knew it made her feel safe. “You’re safe with me. You’ll always be safe with me, that’s a promise.”

 

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