-12-

(AN: for the sake of my AU timeline, it would be easier to just explain that during that time on the show where the Mikaelsons are in coffins waiting for Hayley to find the cure to their bites from Marcel, Hayley actually cures them much earlier and they only lose 2 years as opposed to 5. There is no Inadu/The Hollow storyline with Hope so Marcel does not initially allow them back into the city even though he lets Klaus go (for Hope).)

[13 years ago. Hope age 4]

They moved around at first until Hayley had taken Hope to a playground near the loft they were renting in Georgia. Elijah always lagged a city or town behind, ensuring they hadn't been followed and that no traces were left. The less Marcel knew about their whereabouts, the better. His bite could kill them all and he wasn't thrilled with the Mikaelsons – but had let them go as Hope grew and cried for her family.

Klaus traveled close by, as did Rebekah. Kol running from his own demons just a flight away with Freya. They should have another safe location spelled by now in Tennessee. Hope would like Memphis.

Hayley and his daughter entered noisily through the door, bringing the smell of sun in their hair. Hope perched herself aside him, taking his cold hand into her humid grip. He pressed his lips to her wind stricken hair, catching Hayley's eyes from where she stood at the kitchen sink.

"I'm going to go change," she told him, pulling at her damp shirt.

Hope slipped off the couch, using his knee for leverage before springing off behind her mother. Klaus looked after her, amused at her vitality despite the summer's mugginess. He glanced away when Hope pushed the door open too far just as Hayley was stepping into a pair of shorts.

Klaus stood then, placing a record on Hope's lime green portable vinyl player. She had an ear for music and told them once she preferred the parts between the music that she could hear best from vinyl. He knew what she meant because he enjoyed them just the same. The breathy scratching and pitches he'd never have picked up on as a human. Just another reminder that his child that grew and flourished like any other child, was no human at all -her powers seemingly endless.

Hayley's voice called from the bedroom, growing louder as she followed Hope's skipping dance into the open living space. "Rebekah texted that she and Elijah are hung up for now, but everything is fine. You'll stay tonight?"

Klaus usually stayed close by across the main street when the others caught up, as they tended to rent smaller spaces to keep off of the radar. When he didn't answer, just accepted Hope's hand prompted by a lazy blues song that caught her spirit, Hayley sighed and he knew they would argue yet again tonight. But for now his daughter wanted to dance and there was a calm in his chest.

They had chicken marsala Hayley brought up from the restaurant below their loft, chewing slowly and sipping at wine as Hope hummed along with her music. They both chuckled when she fell asleep on the balcony while they named constellations and nursed their drinks.

"I'll put her to bed," Hayley whispered, scooping Hope up effortlessly from the space against his side she always tucked perfectly into. Hayley's cheek inadvertently grazed his nose but he seemed to be the only to notice.

She returned with a new bottle of wine and he watched her take a gulp straight from it. A little dribbled down the corner of her mouth, leaving a stain in its path, only to disappear after she thumbed it away. He hid a smile as he rolled over the labels he'd assigned to her in his mind as they came to life before him. Seemingly shy smile that hid a biting tongue. A classically beautiful face that he secretly itched to paint. Behind the regality of a power thrust onto her so quickly; hybrid and queen, she was still just a young girl who put her feet on furniture and a wolf's temperament that tugged at his own.

"What is it?" he finally asked, holding his hand out for the bottle.

She didn't look at him when she replied, but focused on the stars. "Hope likes it here. I think we should stay. Let her have a real childhood where she goes to school and makes friends."

He didn't answer, just drank longer and deeper before handing the bottle back. They corresponded like this for a while until they had killed two bottles; she doing all the talking and he remaining still. She provided a well thought out list of reasons they should stay, ending with, "Elijah and Rebekah agree."

He looked at her then, the alcohol causing the movement to feel warm. "And if I disagree?"

She flinched but took his hand, bumping knuckles clumsily before threading her fingers with his. The touch was unexpected and felt foreign at first. Until it didn't.

Her voice was husky and eyes glossy under the sharp waning moon. "She's our daughter and I need you to agree."

He could feel her nervous pulse through her slender cool fingers. Janis Joplin still played softly through the opened French doors. He did not fully listen to Hayley's story about meeting kids on the playground and Hope begging to invite them over for a play date. He just watched the mother of his child plead for permission to give her a happy life. The wine took away her usual precise way of enunciating and added an emotionally fueled fluidity to her usually restrained mannerisms when he was near.

If Hayley were the conniving sort, the way she held his gaze now, and his fingers too, he would believe her to be playing on his emotions to get her way. The way Katarina fooled Elijah time and again with the same games. But the thing about Hayley was that she was likely one of the truest people he had ever met. She simply wanted him to be on her side – Hope's side.

"Okay," he finally agreed, his voice barely rising above the crickets. Her smile was infectious and it might have been the calmest he had felt in ages.

When their fingers finally untangled he watched her suck in her wine stained bottom lip before asking mischievously if he'd like another drink before bed. He held her gaze for some time, watching her prominent cat-like eyes flick back and forth in question. She had pulled her hair up and still smelled of the sun even whilst bathed in moonlight. There was something different in the way both Hayley and Hope scented when he honed in on his wolf side. Some sort of residual genetics anchoring them as his family perhaps. He often wondered if she could scent it too but they seldom connected like this so it wasn't a topic he felt he could approach without purpose. Just a mere curiosity.

Klaus stood then and sighed, looking down at her relaxed body, "Ah, little wolf."

She accepted his hand and stood to follow him to the kitchen. He felt those eyes, the color of earthy moss, watch him move around gathering two shot glasses and his half full bottle of bourbon. She arched an eyebrow and smiled, "Well, this on top of wine and you'll be carrying me to bed."

His hand froze mid pour, eyes sliding up to meet hers. He inwardly chuckled when she must have realized how that sounded. She ducked her head then, a smile tugging at her lips, "You know what I meant."

The glass made a hollow scrape when he slid it under her eye level, tapping the rim a few times with a gentle press of his middle finger, before pouring his own. She met his eyes again as he raised the shot glass to toast.

"To Hope," he murmured, clanking into her glass.

They ended up back on the balcony because the bourbon went so well with her elation. He let her talk and laugh, mostly stories about Hope he'd already heard but craved just the same. He probably shouldn't have let her finish off his bottle but it was worth seeing her try to be quiet when they decided it was time to retire. Klaus covered her mouth with his hand when she almost woke Hope with a startled yelp after he stepped on a squeaky toy.

She leaned back into him, her body shaking with silent laughter as they watched Hope flop around the small bed. Once still, Klaus removed his hand, wiping his dampened palm playfully on her shirt.

"I could watch her sleep all night," she sighed.

He tugged Hayley gently by the arm to her own room, wondering if this was the first time she had let loose since finding out she was carrying his child. The alcohol was starting to affect him even as his tolerance was at an ancient vampire level. It was warm and comforting, much like this entire evening had been with his daughter and her mother.

He hovered in the doorway, leaning against the frame, and watched her flop onto her bed. When she had tucked the pillow under her cheek, her eyes fluttered lazily open to peer at him.

"Thank you Klaus. We'll make a beautiful life for her here."

Her words were slurred but he was grateful for them. Truth be told, the thought of staying still long enough for someone to cause his daughter harm was like a hot fire being lit at his feet. His family was tired and his daughter deserved a life. He knew that. They knew that. He supposed if the evil were to catch up, it might as well be sooner than later while they were all still together and ready to fight.

Her eyes close but she mumbled something else. Something that twisted both beautifully and tragically in his gut.

"You're such a wonderful father to her."

Hayley's breathing turned heavy so he checked in on Hope once more before pulling out the couch mattress. His heart full, he slept.

Hayley felt cool little hands between her shoulder blades and the tickle of hair across her forehead when Hope's small lips pressed to her cheek.

"You smell like alcohol," Hope stated.

"Mommy drank too much last night," Hayley admitted, trying to sit up slowly. They couldn't shelter Hope from everything…

Hayley winced at the slicing pain rippling from head to toe. Being a hybrid had its perks. Usually there was no hangover and no repercussions to a heavy night of any sort of substance abuse, but she hadn't been tending to her vampiric needs these past few days. It was as if she had the flu but worse, her every movement felt like jagged metal shards scraping against one another.

"Can I have an egg?" Hope asked, eyes puffy with sleep and pillow creases on her youthful cheeks.

Hayley dropped a kiss to her freckled nose. Hope grinned and skipped into the kitchen as Hayley shuffled behind her, listening as Hope explained she wanted the egg yolk kind of runny and the white part done. Hayley stopped short when she spotted Klaus still asleep on the pullout couch, tangled from the waist down in ivory sheets. One palm laid flat on his bare stomach while the other was tossed to the side, dangling from the bed.

Hope followed Hayley's frozen gaze, lighting up when she noticed her father. Klaus made a moaning sound when she crawled up aside him, tickling playfully beneath his chin. He gathered the squealing girl up in his arms, tumbling around with her like a couple of pups.

Usually, Hayley would never interrupt moments like these. She loved watching the relationship between father and daughter – loved watching him be the sort of dad girls dream of. But, the warmth was slowly leaving Hayley like an upward trickle of condensation from all limbs into her heart. She'd need to feed very soon.

Weakly she caught his eye and nodded for him to follow her. The concern on his face reaffirmed that she needed blood; there's a sort of pale gray that takes over the skin if time stretches too long between feeds. She caught sight of her reflection after rushing into the bathroom, a sinking nausea swallowing her from throat to gut.

Hayley sat on the lip of the tub, barely feeling the porcelain under her grasp. Klaus quickly shut the door behind him and knelt before her, peering up in concern.

She began to tell him as quietly as she could that he'd need to somehow compel someone to slip by that she could feed on. She refused to let Hope see her this way. He listened to each of her quickly thought out plans until finally he shook his head and then called over his shoulder to Hope through the door, "Put on a record sweetheart, I'll make you breakfast after I help Mom."

He returned his gaze to hers when Hope's B.B. King record scratched the start of a swaying tune. Hayley allowed him to pull her up by the elbows and steady her at the waist. His fingers pushed into her hips with every enunciation as he stated firmly, "You must feed now – from me."

Hayley felt a stir in her gut at the realization he was right. She wasn't strong enough to slip out the door and compel someone. God, this was such a bad blood crash -worse one yet. Hope would be confused if they brought a stranger into the bathroom.

There was no other way. Still, it gave Hayley hesitance. She knew what it felt like on the other end. Elijah had fed from her in the midst of lovemaking, though she'd never fed on someone she knew.

Her eyes trailed down to where his pulse thrummed gently against his neck and then to his wrist. She didn't know which would be less awkward. She didn't want to hurt him, she didn't have the grace that Elijah did when slipping his fangs into her skin. It was a funny thought; having a fear of hurting an ancient vampire who would just heal anyway.

"Don't think about it, just do it. Wherever you're comfortable," he murmured beneath the music. Hope's hums were further away now, disappearing along with the heavy thudding of her skipping feet.

Hayley nodded and only noticed his hands were still pressed into her curves after her fangs struck through the skin of his neck and he gripped her harder. Usually she compelled someone to not be afraid and to stand still. The pulse was usually steady and easy enough to drink. Klaus was not calm, there was no ignoring his quickened pulse or the curse that slipped from his lips when her tongue tried to slow the flow. She would process all this later, for now her instincts had taken completely over and all she wanted was more of what was trickling warmly down her throat. His taste was different than anything she'd drank before and it was dizzying.

His hands left her waist and she heard him place his palms roughly to the wall behind them, steadying himself. She needed to slow down but had never experienced this sort of pull before. He would have to stop her and she began to wonder if he was lacking the ability – like her – to do so.

Hope's voice, muffled at the door, caused her to snap out of it and unlatch, stumbling back into the wall between his outstretched arms. "Come dance with me Daddy!"

Klaus's voice caused something in her belly to yank; thick and deep like the low strums of bass in Hope's music still lazily blaring. "Just a minute darling."

His eyes returned to hers, his palms slipping down the tiled wall to hang by his sides. She felt his blood cooling on her chin and a droplet run down her neck. His eyes trailed along with it before looking away and slowly backing up into the sink, turning to wet his hands. She watched in a glazed over haze, his blood pumping deliciously warm and thriving in every cell of her body. There was a moment of euphoria reminding her of the ecstasy pills she tried in her teens.

Klaus's movements were swift and precise as he wet the drying blood on his neck. She'd done better than she had thought in the midst of all the hunger. It was a clean bite with little spill. Most of the blood had ended up on herself. He toweled his neck and turned around after wetting his hands again. With a silent finger he beckoned her over until she stood close enough that he could quickly wet her neck and face before pressing and swiping the towel this way and that against her skin. Hayley realized, closing her eyes briefly, that she was aroused -pulsing, dampened, and on fire. There's no way he couldn't scent that...

He was dabbing the corner of her parted lips when he finally caught her gaze. "Sorry, I didn't have time to warn you of…"

The high? The connection? The fire that was muddying up her mind and causing something to ignite where it really shouldn't; not ever?

"Oh god…" she whispered, her eyes shutting tight. He must have heard him too because Klaus swung the door open, ready to put space between them.

It was too late of course, as these things always seemed to go. Elijah and Rebekah stood with Hope in the kitchen. For a moment there was a long silence, only the dripping of the sink filling the room. Rebekah cleared her throat and said slowly, "Hope darling, come show me that new dinosaur lamp in your room."

The look Rebekah tossed to the both of them read with apprehension and shock. Hayley's brain struggled to slice through the haze and was grateful when Klaus spoke sure and steady to a statuesque Elijah.

"This is most certainly not what it looks like," Klaus stated, chin held a little too high. Hayley watched Elijah's eyes flicker down to eye both of them. She cringed when she realized she stood in her white tank and underwear while Klaus only in his boxers. Her tongue darted out to taste the blood that had been left at the corner of her mouth in plain sight and noticed the smear of blood from her lips at Klaus's jawline when she had pulled away.

Elijah folded his arms and shifted on both his feet, raising a hand to point between them. With two sucks of air he finally spoke in that controlled manner, "If it's not what it looks like, then she did not feed from you just now in your underwear…brother?"

The way he said the last word, it felt coated in acid.

Klaus walked past him and into the living room to start to pull on his clothes, speaking as he moved swiftly, "We had no other options. Hayley was weak and we needed something quick and discrete."

Elijah remained silent as Klaus said goodbye to Hope and exited without so much as a glance towards Hayley. Rebekah announced she would take Hope out for breakfast and to text her if they wanted to join them later at the park. Elijah thanked her and walked to their bedroom, hands tucked into his pants pockets. She followed, feeling better than she had since she first turned and fed. She felt like she could take on the world twice. But even that didn't help the creeping guilt at being so weak that she had to feed from Klaus -and even weaker that her body responded as it did. Still did. She shifted on her feet, the dampness between her thighs an unmistakable consequence.

"Elijah," she began softly.

He just opened her drawers and tossed a fresh tank and shorts to the bed before turning to pull her shirt up her raised arms. She bit her lip when his eyes caressed her erect nipples and his jaw twitched when she raked a hand over the breast that had caught the droplet of Klaus's blood, unseen from her shirt.

"I understand why, where, and whom you fed from. It's just that…" he trailed off for a moment to run the pads of his fingertips down the length of her bare back. Her skin was on fire beneath his touch. He continued, "I also understand what it feels like to feed from a hybrid. Original blood no less, I can imagine only intensifies the experience."

"It never got – " she swallowed and shuddered when his fingers, cool and steady, slipped beneath her panties, " – got like it is with you. Nothing else happened."

One of his hands slid to the front of her, middle finger dipping between her drenched slit. He said in that dignified way he waltzed through his words, "I'm about to give you the best orgasm of your young life, Miss Marshall. Could we cease any conversation of my brother?"

He nodded towards the bed. Hayley obediently crawled atop the creaking mattress. Blues music still vibrated warmly from the living room, setting a different tone to this encounter; sensual and fiery. She always enjoyed watching Elijah shed his clothes. It was like he peeled away his cool and collected exterior, baring this raw and ravenous creature beneath that bathed her in a deeply rooted desire.

He was right, this would be an intense experience thanks to his brother's borrowed blood. She cried out the moment his mouth was buried between her thighs and she felt it everywhere.

Every thought, feeling and emotion was heightened and when he finally buried himself deep inside her, eyes trapping her own with a vigor, she let go in a flurry of sharp gasps and thick sighing moans.

She didn't mention that Klaus's scent and taste swarmed her body and thoughts during every moment of it. He was there inside of her and igniting something purely uncontrollable in the parts she always considered her wolf's. Now that her wolf was fed, it didn't want to go hungry again.

[10 years ago, Hope age 7]

Elijah watched Niklaus flinch each time Hayley cried out, the desks' wood creaking under his brother's grip. He had always known Niklaus cared for Hayley beyond what was admitted. Of course he did. The lengths taken to push her away were simply out of fear of letting someone who could potentially hurt him, in. Hayley gave Niklaus a child and she could hurt him severely if she wanted. No other held power like that and it certainly took Niklaus time to adjust to the fact that despite the power, Hayley wasn't out to get him and that she truly wanted Hope to have the big family she never had herself.

She never gave up on him, and in doing so Hayley found herself letting him in too. Elijah saw it every time they came together. Every time they interacted with Hope together. It was like two puzzle pieces left at the end of a nearly completed puzzle that you keep passing by until the unexpected realization that they fit quite nicely the whole time. Family felt complete with Hayley truly in it.

"Niklaus," Elijah murmured, touching his shoulder.

Klaus continued to stare towards the closed door, noises of Hayley struggling behind them. His younger brother asked thickly, "did Freya tell you?"

Elijah sighed. He had agreed to make himself scarce so that Hayley would feel comfortable receiving what she needed. She'd need to feed from a vampire to replenish what she would lose from taking the potion. Freya believed it would be most beneficial to come from someone whose blood ran similar to her own. A hybrid's blood to replenish her hybrid needs. Being part werewolf, her bite would be venomous to any one of them…except Klaus. Any one of them could slice into an artery and fill up as many glasses as she needed, but it was Niklaus's that would bind the wolf and vampire healing together as Freya put it. This was the logical choice. He knew this. He had accepted this.

"She'll be high as a kite, I'm sorry I'll miss it," Elijah replied lightly. It was a sincere statement.

Klaus let out a light chuckle but it didn't reach his eyes. He looked spread too thin already with the way his lips drew tightly together and jaw stayed clenched. Elijah knew his brother was thinking of a million different plans and many of them didn't involve playing nurse. He was proud of Niklaus but also apprehensive. Why, he wasn't certain. Perhaps it was because Elijah should be able to be there for Hayley while Hope had her father. The roles weren't quite right and that had always been an avoided topic; keeping their heads down and taking it as it comes.

Elijah suspected it was equally unsettling for Niklaus to know his daughter sought out her uncle more frequently the older she got. They shared a unique bond that he was still unsure of how to address with the others, but that was neither here nor there. Right now, he had to make sure his brother was ready for his role. Klaus could not leave her for a second as the rest of them worked on a cure or a counter spell.

In doing so, they would need to count on Marcellus to take the reins. This was something Elijah was less enthusiastic about, but Niklaus and Hayley trusted him despite obvious reasons not to. Those reasons seemingly only obvious to himself, of course. Every moment seemed like a potential power grab that Marcellus would forever be waiting for. Luckily, Rebekah had a way of taming Marcellus in ways only a lover can.

Now, Rebekah appeared at the top of the stone stairs, a relieved look behind her tired eyes. "She's feeling pretty great right now. Freya needs to get to work with what we have so far and I'll head to Mystic Falls immediately. I'd highly recommend taking some video to text us later, Nik. I think I prefer high Hayley!"

Elijah ignored the twinge of something less than pleasant in his chest, choosing to walk Rebekah to the car instead of saying goodbye. Hope sat in the back of the town car Marcellus's people used to do his bidding, her large blue eyes tugging at him like a hand at the back of a shirt, demanding to be seen. He could almost feel her annoyance at the disruption of usual life through the glass.

He turned his back to her so that she couldn't see his words as he said them, "Sister, thank you for everything and thank Caroline for me."

"She wanted no part in this until I showed her Hope's baby pictures. I sent that little video of her singing and skipping on the dining table while Nik was trying to listen to his phone messages. God that never gets old," Rebekah tossed her hair back with a sigh.

Elijah merely gave a small nod and turned towards Hope in the car. She was getting fingerprints all over the window by writing messages in the fogged up glass. He took in a long draw of air and tried not to get too frustrated with the child.

As soon as he slid into the backseat aside her and murmured for the driver to take them to his loft, Hope dove under his arm to rest against his chest. Within minutes she had fallen into a deep sleep, her small arm dropping limply across him like a seat belt. As the car rolled through traffic, Elijah watched the glow of New Orleans city lights streak over the mouth her father gave her and the cheekbones of her mother.

Elijah felt a twinge of remorse that he had felt irritated with the task of taking her on while Hayley was suffering. The child just needed to feel safe again and it made him feel bittersweet that it was with him she found such safety. He supposed it was fitting. She was Niklaus's and it seemed everything of Niklaus's ended up being under Elijah's charge -whether his brother realized it or not.

"I still haven't looked in the mirror," Hayley admitted. Klaus could tell she was growing squirmy under his pensive and unwavering gaze. They were holed up in his bedroom, only the flicker of candles and the glow of the adjoining bathroom light he left on in case she'd be needing to rush towards it.

"No need," he quickly responded, blinking away, "I was just lost in my thoughts, love. You look as you always do, minus the pallor of someone who feeds as they should."

Hayley wrapped an arm around the bedpost, stabbing her bare toe towards his shin. He hovered nearby, staring expectantly and shifting on his feet. She let out a groan and mumbled, "Fine, I'll drink your blood – only because the party animal in me wants to kick this up a notch."

Klaus handed her the glass of now cold blood and watched her swirl it around a bit; crimson caking the sides like syrup. She darted the tip of her tongue out to sample his taste and he had to look away. He was only reminded of what happened the last time she drank from him, three years ago.

"Before I drink this can I ask you something?" Hayley broke the silence as he hovered above her, his eyes anywhere but on her mouth and that glass of him. He nodded and she proceeded slowly, "what if the bond comes back?"

Klaus pursed his lips and blinked away. There was a time not long ago that she had to feed from him in a pinch. The effects had been...interesting. The memories drifted over him as Hayley settled further into the bed.

Inquisitive little wolf. She was never afraid of a challenge and always questioned things. This part filtered straight down to Hope, softening him to parts of Hayley he'd passed over before he started seeing them in their daughter. From their endearingly goofy laugh to the way they blinked under duress—slow and exaggerated like a cat's.

He offered his hand, and she let him pull her to stand before him. The sun was setting behind buildings, offering an orange glow before the street lights took over. Her dark lashes caught the glow as she glanced down at the glass that hovered near her full lips.

"If I told you most likely yes, would you still drink it?" Klaus asked. He was stalling, really.

She shrugged and took a big gulp. He smiled when she closed her eyes and leaned her head to the bedpost. She was likely feeling warmer already as his blood trickled into her belly.

After a long lazy smile, she murmured, "everyone tastes a little different. Just like everyone smells a little different."

Klaus wondered just how many she had ingested since turning into a hybrid. He was curious about her always, but she wasn't his to prod. He remembered the creeping feeling of pride and almost relief that she took to being a hybrid in ways that were less noble and more instinctively fueled.

Hayley listened to what her wolf wanted and she fed it, never hiding that fact. She was bold and she could be brutal; he absolutely loved that about her. Killing for revenge when Hope was gone with Rebekah; a smile at his face when they exchanged glances at Elijah's reaction. Revenge kills were something else to a wolf; they were enjoyable in a satiating way –much like a cigarette after sex to some.

She was peering at him as if she knew he would have insight on the ins and outs of feeding as a vampire. Klaus supposed Elijah never went into it because she never asked. That was just the way they both were.

"Did you know," he began, touching her shoulder briefly, "hybrids are the only ones that can detect the differences in a vampire's blood?"

She leaned towards his touch, which he secretly liked, and perched on the end of his bed. He stood in front of her, continuing, "I am curious what else we share as I never had the chance to fully learn about other hybrids."

She flopped back onto the bed, her legs dangling and back stretching like a feline. A twinge of guilt kept him from exploring the lines of her stretched body with his gaze.

Hayley knit her brows and stated, "you sure do have a sudden vat of knowledge on our species."

"My wolf commands me a lot more since meeting yours..." He was speaking of that morning she fed from him in Georgia. The bond that developed and woke his wolf from a very long and deep slumber. His needs and wants as a vampire were challenged by who he was beneath it all. So many years he had ignored the werewolf gene, he was out of touch.

Hayley stared at her hands. Then, she stood with a sudden grace and ease and they were toe to toe – he felt like running.

"What do I taste like?" she asked, tilting her head. He realized she was truly so inebriated that she was asking him to sample her blood. As if they needed to strengthen this hunger that took months to deplete. The bond was something they had to let fade, but something they didn't address was that while it faded -it was impossible to delete.

Klaus swallowed hard and shook his head. He would not feed on what was not his. Elijah loved this girl in ways he had not seen in so long. Though, the poor fool tried with Katarina before her much gratifying death. Not that he got to gloat whilst buried inside of Caroline against a mossy oak.

Instead, he fed her knowledge, in hopes her potion induced fleeting attention span would carry her away from the inquiry. He rambled on as animatedly as he could about how their wolf side comes out in a way it could not before.

"Vampirism enhances what we had before and what we had was quite a stack of sensory upgrades to our human counterparts. Sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste…we are slightly superior to other vampires. It's different when we touch now, isn't it?" He reached out to settle his palm on her shoulder. It was his go-to gesture and it had always meant he cared and he would fight for her. She was Elijah's and Hope's, after all – and they were his.

"Yes, like a warm hum right beneath the skin. I didn't know you felt it too," Hayley murmured, placing a hand at the wrist next to her sharp jaw. He hated that his entire body responded. And a part of him loved it. That part of him that would act if not for the love of his brother and the fear of repercussions with his daughter if he messed it all up. It was the part of being human that enhanced with each supernatural layer until it became a main driving force and the hardest of all to tamper down.

He swallowed against something tight and stated lowly, "I think, perhaps, Little Wolf, that it is time to sleep. You will need your strength. Freya left something for just that, and as luck has it, enough for me to indulge as well."

She let out a chuckle that resonated sweetly like a chime when he placed a joint between his lips and lit it. He wiggled his eyebrows playfully as he took a few quick hits, blowing the smoke above in a thick cloud. It was not the best he has had, but what was anymore?

Watching her smoke with precision led him to believe this was far from her first rodeo, though she did only take very small hits. They ended up sitting side by side, backs pressed to the headboard and legs lazily splayed across his unsullied comforter.

Hayley just hummed and closed her eyes, head rolling to the side. Klaus watched her for a moment, before startling at Elijah's presence. He loomed in the doorway, straightening his tie before clearing his throat.

"Hope is asleep in her bed, I'll take Hayley to mine. How is she?" Elijah inquired in that delicate and crisp tongue Klaus had grown to draw comfort from through the years.

Klaus placed a hand at Elijah's back, hoping to convey that he understood the boundaries and that he took proper care of Hayley.

"Better for now. Thank you for making sure Hope had stability and safety today, brother," Klaus told him earnestly.

After Elijah left, with a limp Hayley dangling gracefully from his brother's steady arms, Klaus closed himself off to think. This was so much more than an angry Kenner mutt taking out revenge. This was a plot against his family's power and it affected his little girl.

His phone rang just as he blew out the last candle and melted into his pillow that still smelled like Hayley. Letting out a frustrated moan, he blindly grabbed for it from the nightstand, knocking a pile of books to the floor.

"Yes?" he barked into the phone. It was Marcel.

For the next several minutes he let Marcel brief him on his finding. So far, Klaus's father's pack offered their cooperation in tracking down Jackson's relatives.

"I think working with Jonah will be more helpful than harmful. He's got a lot of intel and connections within the wolf community all over the world. He's already tracked down two Kenner wolves and my guys are on it."

"Very well. Schedule a meeting."

[Five Years Ago. Hope age 12]

"Playing Daddy again, are we?" Aunt Rebekah purred behind the ajar door. Hope bit her lip and ducked her head. They wouldn't hear her breathing or the puttering of her heart – never could when they drank past her bedtime.

The slow scrape of a dresser drawer closing drifted between the pause in conversation; Hope took the chance to sit closer to the door undetected. She drew her knees to her chin and hugged them tightly. Benny told her she was a glutton for punishment for eavesdropping on them so often. He was snoring now from her room at Uncle Elijah's, making it harder for her to hear her aunt and uncle.

"She prefers it here, I will not force her to stay with Niklaus while he processes this turn in events."

Rebekah's laughter tickled the air, light and melodic. "Turn in events? Oh Elijah, lovey. Dearest brother. Is that what you're calling it?"

"I call it as it is."

"They are getting married in a week and they asked you to -"

"Hush," he cut in sharply.

"Sorry, it's the wine. I'm angry for you, brother. You shouldn't agree to such things."

"I have no choice in the matter. If this unification offers Hayley and Hope further protection then I will play my part. There is nothing more to discuss. Let us discuss why you are staying with me instead of Marcel yet again."

"Fine. And you know why. Your air conditioner works."

Hope didn't have to see inside the room to know what sort of amused expression Uncle Elijah wore.

"How is Hope handling all this? Does she know about the ceremony you're participating in?"

"She does not know, therefore she's handling it just fine. She understands her parents will marry to unify the packs to strengthen protection for the family. The rest is none of her concern."

"Not that you aren't doing a wonderful job with her, but if you think she's handling it just fine then you're mad."

Hope's mind flipped through the memory of her meltdown at dinner a few nights ago. Her dad was being a complete dick and wouldn't let her see her mom that whole day. Uncle Elijah had gotten to and she wasn't even allowed inside the home while they all talked with Jonah. So yeah, she set the room on fire. Briefly. Uncle Elijah had been so devoid of any emotion he just sat there watching her freak out pyrotechnics show.

All damn day she needed her mom and now all she had was her zombie uncle and grumpy father to turn to. She had sat back down after the fires were extinguished with her magic and the looks on their faces when she explained herself...kind of made her sad. It's like they finally knew she was suffering too.

She'd said, "I started my period and I don't know what to do. I couldn't reach any of my aunts on the phone all day and you wouldn't let me see mom."

Uncle Elijah had left and come back with every variety of pads and tampons offered in New Orleans in the time it took her dad to explain the science behind menstruation. Just for fun she'd pretended not to understand how babies are made when he got to the reproduction functions. Benny had taught her everything about sex so far, which he'd learned from the pack boys and Jonah's porn collection.

Later, she hadn't felt like asking her dad but her relationship with Uncle Elijah had really taken off since their bonding experience over a night of food poisoning. He handled it like a champ and she never ate street shrimp tacos again. So,she had no problem asking him bluntly, "can vampires smell when a girl is on her period?"

The answer was yes but he explained that it barely registered because his instincts and senses hone in on fresh cuts and wounds. Everything else was noticed but dismissed and forgettable. She thought maybe he was just trying to make her feel better because she'd overheard a few of Marcel's men talking about how sweet and alluring the scent was in the young ones. She hoped they never got assigned to her security detail for sure.

The light clicked off in Elijah's room, leaving Hope alone in the cool dark hallway. The wine always knocked Aunt Rebekah out much quicker than Uncle Elijah. In fact, she'd better sneak off now because sometimes he came out to check on her and to make sure she'd blown out all her candles before bed.

Hope stood as quietly as she could and tip toed through the living room...but ended up tripping over the chess set he'd asked her to put up earlier that night. He was emerging from the hallway already, shirtless and carrying two empty wineglasses by their stems. A pawn rolled noisily in circles on the hardwoods, he stopped it with a bare toe.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked softly, stooping down to pick up the chess piece. He rolled it around in his free hand before tossing it to her outreached palm. She caught it effortlessly and followed him into the small kitchen, sliding into a bar stool that overlooked the sink.

As he rinsed the wineglasses, she replied, "cramps I guess. Hey...remember your promise?"

"Which one?" he arched a brow and offered a gentle smile.

"The one where you swore no more secrets about mom. I deserve to know what's happening to her always. You promised."

Elijah's hand was warm and heavy atop her clasped fingers. "Your mother is fine, nothing has changed. What are you worried about?"

"Does my mom want to be married to my dad?"

"Of course. It will make the pack stronger and joining with your grandfather Ansel's pack may have been on your shoulders if embracing your werewolf legacy is something you decided to embark on. This way, a political marriage won't be necessary for you."

Hope wondered if he really thought she was too young to understand that that's not what was happening here. The Crescents didn't want to join packs with the North Eastern Atlantic pack. Hell, who would? They were all extremely stuck in their old ways and their traditions were kind of barbaric. That's what she overheard Elijah and her father say.

"But you and mom are in love."

He glanced up tersely. "You're worried about my feelings on the matter?"

"Well...yes. You don't smile as much and your aura is all muddy. I can't lose you too."

"Oh, dear girl," was all he said. Maybe it was all he could say.

Hope fessed up, knowing she'd end up asking at the wrong time or in front of the wrong person eventually. "I heard you and Aunt Rebekah. What did my parents ask you to do that's got her so angry with them?"

He huffed and shot her a disapproving scowl. "Just as I keep your secrets safe, there are some things I must keep for your parents. It is just a minor detail in the ceremony and nothing that concerns you. Please do not speak of it again. And no more eavesdropping. Truly child, you are as mischievous as both your parents combined." He dropped a kiss to her head, adding softly, "and twice as sweet."

Hope let him lead her back to bed, smiling when Benny let out a loud snore as Elijah stepped over their pile of blankets on the floor. They used to share a bed but her dad put a stop to it even though Benny preferred gay porn and had zero interest in her budding body. Uncle Elijah was pretty lenient when it came to their sleeping arrangements ever since she cried and didn't speak to her father for a full week and a half after he also put a stop to her sleeping in the same bed as Elijah. Growing older seemed more like a punishment than anything. She was still the same person as she was before the boobs and bleeding uterus, it made no sense.

"Sleep well," he whispered, after draping the comforter over her. She could smell his skin and longed for the nights she'd been allowed to breathe him in and curl against his side until falling asleep. Now she never fell asleep fast and rarely slept the whole night. Too many worries and thoughts.

Hope yawned before replying, "you too. Love you."

Uncle Elijah paused in the doorway and she thought he looked older even though be never aged. Maybe he was tired. Maybe he was lying and his muddy aura meant he was devastated. Only devastated people's aura's were the color of shit.

AN: Thank you for the lovely reviews and hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm eager to reveal to you all just what this secret aspect of the unification ceremony entails. Stay tuned! More soon!