Protecting Them (Only His Series: Book 3) *NEW VERSION*

Chapter 38

Alex's P.O.V

I lightly knocked on my bedroom door as I walked in. Charles looked up at me from where he was sitting. I was bringing him Freya's tonic to drink. Hayley and Victor had drank theirs, and Victor said he'd give Daniel his when he got to the compound. He also mentioned how Daniel was now starting to help out with the pack a lot.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked.

"That witch got in my head." I sat down next to him at the end of my bed. "I could have hurt you, hurt my siblings," Charles said, clearly thinking of the worst possible outcomes that could have happened today.

"Here. Drink this," I said and handed him the cup in my hands. "Freya said it will keep her from getting in again." Charles took it from my hand, stared at it for a moment before drinking it.

"I can feel her, Mom," Charles expressed. "Dahlia... She's nothing but darkness." He quickly turned to me. "I say we take the kids and the pack and we leave town tonight."

"No."

"But-"

"No but's, Charles, I'm not leaving Klaus and I'm definitely not going to take our children away from him." I scolded and stood up in front of him. "We are not a family that runs, and even if we did; she'll find us anyway."

"They're not safe here. Klaus is going to fight Dahlia head on and you know it," Charles said desperately. "I know every inch of the Bayou. Out there, we're the predators. We can keep Cordelia and Leo safe, and at the very least, it will buy us some time to figure out how to get rid of the witch for good."

"I said no Charles. I won't run. Klaus and his siblings are my family, your sibling's family," I explained to him.

"You know who else is part of that family? Dahlia!" Charles looked as though he felt bad for his outburst, and his tone became gentler. "You're right, ok? Normally I wouldn't suggest running, and I hate backing away from a fight, but this one started a thousand years ago...it's not our war, and it certainly isn't theirs," He stated while pointing to the nursery. I rubbed my arms, and looked away, understanding where he was coming from now. In a way, he was right too. He just wanted to protect them. Charles sighed and stood up to leave the room. "Just think about it, ok?" I looked at him and gave him a small nod, although I knew what my final decision was. I wasn't going to run.

~

Charles was laying on the table, while Freya drew an infinity symbol on his chest, using the burned end of a sage smudge-stick. I stood next to Rebekah and Freya ready to intervene if needed. As for Henrik, he left to help Klaus. Apparently, my love was going to have a chat with Mikael and see if they could work together to kill Dahlia. It was going to end horribly and my only wish is that Klaus comes home alive whether they beat Dahlia tonight or not.

"By doing this we should be able to trace Dahlia's signature all the way back to the source of her power. But I'll need to dig deep," Freya explained. "Rebekah, if I may channel you?" Rebekah looked uneasy, but she nodded in agreement and I looked down at Charles in concern.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" I asked him again and my son laughed nervously.

"Piece of cake," Charles said and I sighed, before giving the witches their space to work. I still didn't like this plan, but we needed to know where Dahlia was.

Rebekah took Freya's hands in hers and held them over Charles's body. "Inveniere potencia reparon malefica. Inveniere potencia reparon malifica," Freya and Rebekah chanted. As they chanted, Charles's back arched painfully as he groaned in agony. After a moment, Rebekah immediately let go, though I assumed she did so because of the spell being too much for her. She was still new to this whole magic thing after all. Rebekah stared at her hands in fright.