I Hate That I Love You

Chapter 23

"You should be in Virginia, Hope," Klaus said, approaching her slowly. "It isn't safe for you here."

"Let's skip past the part where you pretend you give a damn about me," Hope said, her voice void of all emotions. "I came here for one reason, and one reason only. To warn you Aurora de Martel is coming for you with a weapon that can kill you."

Klaus stiffened at the name, then sucked in his breath at the words 'a weapon that can kill you'. Truth be told, he had been thinking about death for a while, now. With Elijah gone and Klaus having forced himself away from his daughter... Did he even have a reason to live anymore? Of course, only one hundred years ago, he'd been perfectly content with forsaking Elijah and living his life in the shadows. But even then, he'd had a reason to live. Katherine Pierce, for example. Though he'd never really bothered to chase her across the globe like she insisted he had, he'd still planned out a lot for her. Mikael had been a key factor, too, since Klaus had promised himself to permanently put Mikael six feet under if it was the last thing he ever did. Not to mention the doppelganger curse and his ego screaming at him that he needed to become the Original Hybrid, to become the most powerful being in the world.

None of that mattered to him anymore. By giving up the chance to raise his daughter, by inviting her to hate him for all eternity, he'd given up his lifelong notion of family being always and forever. He didn't regret his choice, of course. He knew how Hope's life would have turned out if he'd been there to influence her. Still... It was painful for him, though he tried not to show it. The sole purpose he had in life anymore was to keep her safe from his enemies.

"Elaborate," Klaus said, his voice just as emotionless as his daughter's.

"I don't know much," Hope replied. "Just that it involves a siphon witch and two ghosts of the past. Do the names Rayna Cruz and Katherine Pierce mean anything to you?" she said sarcastically.

Pierce. That godforsaken doppelganger just couldn't stay dead. And as for Cruz... Well, if anyone could come up with a weapon to kill the unkillable hybrid, it was her.

Maybe, after killing all three of them, Klaus would keep this weapon for himself. To use it when the time was right. Rebekah had told him how much Hope's powers had grown after she had turned into the tribrid. She didn't need him to protect her anymore. She was stronger than even him, more immortal than even him. There was always the 'nature finds a loophole' thing that made sure all lives in the world were balanced and inevitably mortal, but once Klaus rooted out that single thing which could kill Hope and destroyed it for good...

Maybe it was time Klaus Mikaelson finally did the world a favor by leaving it.

After disembowling Aurora, Katherine, and Rayna, of course. For the sake of his satisfaction and for the safety of his family, as well.

"So you came all this way to warn me?" Klaus asked.

"You don't exactly pick up your phone, now do you?" Hope stated. She supposed she could have astral projected herself here, but it was risky business when you didn't know exactly where your destination was. Not to mention, her body would have been left in an incredibly vulnerable position.

"Thank you." The words sounded dry in his mouth. He felt like he should say something more, but he didn't know what. "How's vampire life suiting you?"

"Fine," Hope said. She wanted to leave it at that. If she really didn't care about what he thought of her like she had told herself, then she would have. "I force fed a ripper some blood and he caused a massacre at a high school party." Damn it. So much for self improvement. Hope could practically hear Lizzie sighing in disappointment.

"I... See," Klaus said. Rebekah hadn't told him about this. Neither had Freya. So either Hope was lying, or his sisters had decided it wouldn't do him much good to let him know about his daughter's bloodthirstiness.