𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞.
chapter two, allow it niklaus!

"ENOUGH WITH ALL THE shouting. Little sister, I should have known," brown met blue, momentarily taking the Original aback by surprise. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of the brunette vampire. He took a step back, lips quivering before they pressed together in a cheeky smirk.

    Alexander was quick to capture the moment between the two, his eyes narrowing at their history. Zakiyah raised her chin wearing a mask of confidence that was impenetrable from authenticity. She had a spark in her eyes that was the calm before the storm, her lips twitching at the corners, hinting at her mischief.

   "Ah, Zakiyah," Klaus acknowledged, slicing through the tension that fell upon them. "Bit of a surprise seeing you with Rebekah. I assume the six dead vampires were your doing?"

  "Ease up on her will you?" Rebekah hissed, standing up for her best friend who had yet to speak. Zakiyah shrugged, her lips poised into a cocky grin that made Klaus gulp. "They were very rude to us."

  The English protégé smiled at the memory, enjoying the bloodshed spilled when they violently impaled the vampires with a pool stick. Rebekah giggled when she saw her brother tense at the voice of his former best friend.

   "Trying to victimize two poor, innocent girls just trying to find their way to the Quarter," Rebekah draped her arm over Zakiyah's shoulders, bringing her close. The Reed vampire leaned into the younger Mikaelson, earning a low growl of jealousy from Klaus. "So sorry, were they friends of yours? Oh, that's right, you don't have any friends."

  "I do have friends," Zakiyah couldn't help, but freeze. She tensed in Rebekah's hold, her eyes meeting the Hybrid who was already watching her in deep thought. "I have Marcel."

  Zakiyah couldn't mask her disappointment. She visibly deflated as the rejection broke her heart once more.

"You remember him, don't you?" He asked his sister with a mocking smile. Rebekah's smile fell just as her heart began racing at the thought of her former flame. "Yes, of course you do. He fancies himself the 'King of the Quarter' now, and he has these rules about killing vampires. It'll be fun to see what sort of punishment he comes up with for you both."

Rebekah shook her head. "I nor Zakiyah don't care about Marcel or his rules. Elijah doesn't welch on deals. What did you do to him?"

"Perhaps he's on holiday... or taking a long autumn nap upstairs," Klaus spread out his arms, gesturing at the open space around them. "Well, go on. Take a look around. You remember this house as well as I."

Rebekah began reminiscing about her ex-lover whom her brother murdered in cold blood. The group all stayed silent, yet their pitiful faces were enough to make Klaus chuckle.

"Well, he wasn't good enough for you." Klaus dismissed with a knowing grin.

"Classic," Zakiyah scoffed with a roll of her eyes. Klaus shot her a glare that she smiled at. It made the muscles in his jaw twitch. Rebekah shook her head sadly. "No one was ever good enough for me, Nik, you made sure of that. Now where is Elijah?"

Klaus glanced down at his buzzing phone before making a move toward Zakiyah. He was quick to snatch her from her sister's grip and bring her into his. She gasped, trying to squirm her way out of his tight hold.

"Let me go!" Zakiyah snarled. Her eyes became bloodshot with black veins wiggling underneath the skin of her eyes. Alexander's fingers curled into fists at the sound of her dismay. He wanted to yank the Original's hand from around her tricep, but he knew better than to interfere. "Niklaus, for god's sake allow it!"

"Where are you going taking her with you?" Rebekah frowned. She followed after them, but the hybrid shooed her away. Klaus smiled slyly. "It appears the night is not quite over, yet. I'm off for another drink with Marcel. Zakiyah looks parched and could do with surrounding herself with better company."

"As if you're any better,"  Zakiyah spat venomously. Klaus swallowed his hurt. Zakiyah turned to Rebekah and offered her a small smile. "Don't worry sexy Beks, you are the best company. But I could use a drink and get us some brownie points from Marcel."

Rebekah narrowed her eyes at her friend and sighed. She turned to her brother. "Elijah told me about your plan to take apart Marcel's empire piece by piece. I don't remember it involving you two drinking New Orleans dry together with Zakiyah."

"I know besides Zakiyah you don't have many friends, Rebekah, but what some friends do when they get together is they drink. And when they drink, they tell secrets."

Zakiyah tried releasing her arm from the hybrid but he was too strong against her. She frowned while he smirked victoriously. Hayley watched the pair with a shy smile. They were entertaining to watch in her eyes while Alexander found Klaus to be too codependent.

He didn't like the way Klaus controlled Zakiyah.

"Marcel has somehow found a way to control the entirety of witches in the Quarter, and I aim to uncover the 'how' so I might take it for myself. Finding Elijah didn't make my to-do list today."

Klaus ushered Zakiyah forward as he led them to the front door. He paused in his steps, Zakiyah in tow. She gritted her teeth, her eyes bright with hellfire. Klaus smiled at his sister who was staring after them with worry.

"Oh, and welcome home, little sister." With that, the hybrid shut the door behind them and led the two down the porch and away from earshot. Klaus leaned down, whispering so that the others wouldn't hear, "You and I are due for some catching up, love."

"Wonderful," Zakiyah muttered, yet she couldn't deny the slight fear that began eating away at her fragile heart.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

   ALEXANDER MARSHALL WAS AIMLESSLY surveying the cobwebs that hung all around the cellar. His eyes landed on two coffins, that were too clean for the abandoned room. He raised a brow at the sight, his legs guiding him toward the polished coffins that were sinisterly gleaming from their position.

Almost as if they were waiting for the next body...

  "You think Klaus killed him." Hayley acknowledged the coffins, her stomach feeling tight.

   Alexander felt her presence beside him and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders bringing her in close. It was a comforting act that had stuck since they were kids. He gave her a light squeeze, reassuring her that she was safe with him.

"I'm guessing this is where he stores your bodies,"

   Rebekah nodded at Alex. "Ding, ding, ding! Wow, aren't you just full of surprises? Handsome and smart? No wonder 'Kiyah seems fond of you."

   "What?" Alexander jerked his head back in surprise. Rebekah smiled but didn't elaborate. He wished she did.

  She turned to Hayley, her smile slowly fading as she explained her brother's methods of torture. Alex felt angry for the other Mikaelsons, he couldn't imagine stabbing Hayley and leaving her to rot.

"He sounds like a sick man, respectfully, Rebekah."

  Hayley's eyebrows shot to her hairline. She nodded in agreement with her older brother. "He keeps your coffin on standby." She said incredulously with a shake of her head.

"He likes to be prepared for when his family members inevitably disappoint him," Rebekah opened the coffin and frowned at the emptiness staring back at her. "Elijah's isn't here – he must've stashed him elsewhere."

Hayley clenched her stomach, alerting the taller werewolf. "I feel sick." She swallowed down the morning sickness that threatened to return.

"Let's get you some water and a seat, yeah?" Alex offered with a gentle smile. Hayley nodded, holding onto her brother for support.

"Welcome to the family, love," Rebekah was unfazed, yet her jealousy tainted her delivery at the sight of Alexander's tenderness toward his little sister. She envied what she didn't have. "You should've run the second you realized Elijah was gone."

"Yeah, well, the witches have put some sort of hex on me. As long as I'm carrying this baby, I can't leave New Orleans. If I do, they kill me."

   "They're lucky I can't rip out their throats," Alexander muttered, hating that they were bested. He was trying to come up with solutions on how to undo the hex and get them somewhere safe. "It's pathetic of them to do this to a pregnant woman regardless of the circumstances."

  Rebekah hummed in agreement. She was keeping an eye on the two, but she felt confident in her ability to trust them. "Well, knowing Klaus, he's planning a box for you the second you give birth to whatever's cooking in your tum. He'll most likely kill your brother."

Hayley paled just as Alexander growled.

"'Kiyah and I are leaving as soon as we find Elijah. Being daggered in a box for decades sucks, trust me. You'd best find a way to break that hex and run."

   Rebekah went to continue her search, leaving Hayley and Alexander to consider what she said. Alexander yelled out to her retreating form, "What's the deal with Zakiyah and Klaus?" Rebekah paused in her steps, her back rigid.

  "What do you mean?" Rebekah asked innocently. She turned to face him, the tatted hunter gave her a pointed look. She shrugged him off. "The two aren't together if that's what you're asking."

  "Clearly." Alexander sighed, rubbing his temples as he gestured to his pregnant sister. Hayley blushed, her gaze becoming focused on the ground. "Then what are you asking, Alexander?"

   "I'm asking how she relates to you all," he noticed that they were very exclusive toward people that weren't in their family. He wanted to know how Zakiyah managed to stay alive. What her story was. "Where does she fit in?"

"She's family," Rebekah smiled at the thought. "We saved her life and since then she became apart of us. She's more than our dearest friend, she's our sister. We all are protective of her. Klaus more than anyone at times besides Elijah and I."

  "So why was she fighting against him to let her go when she went with him?" Hayley elbowed her brother's ribs. He shot her a glare that she returned. It didn't sit right with him that Zakiyah was forced to leave against her own free will. "Didn't seem like she felt the same sentiment with him."

   "Family fight all the time, don't be dull," Rebekah replied. She took a deep breath, forcing her lips into a false smile. "If you want to know her story so badly, ask her yourself wolf. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a brother to find so either help or don't."

The Marshall siblings didn't respond, rather, they watched her walk out of the room with an irritated huff. Hayley turned to her brother and crossed her arms over her chest. She gave him a pointed look that made him sigh.

"What?" He asked, mimicking her actions. "I was just curious."

"Curiosity is what killed the cat."

"We're not cats we're wolves so I think we'll be fine," Alexander remarked sarcastically. Hayley punched his tricep. "Ow! The hell you asshole!"

"What's the deal with you trying to know so much about Zakiyah?" Hayley watched her brother's body reaction carefully. She saw the way his Adam's Apple bobbed and the way his shoulders tensed. "Hm?"

"Nothing," he lied. Hayley punched his arm again making him curse. He rubbed the sore area and glared at her. She smiled at his annoyance. "Fine. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but I have the strong urge to gravitate toward her against my better judgment."

"She's dangerous, Alex," Hayley warned.

"So is Klaus but yet he's your baby daddy."

"You're a dick," Hayley mumbled. "All I'm saying is, you're sober I wasn't. Make the smart choice especially since she'll be leaving with Rebekah soon."

"Yeah," Alex agreed, yet his heart told him otherwise. He wrapped his arm around his concerned sister and grinned. "Ease up, Hayls. I won't do anything as stupid as you, I promise."

"I hate you." Hayley groaned, yet the corners of her lips turned into a crooked grin. Alexander tilted his head back and laughed. "I love you too, baby sis."