Rue | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 1

December 24, 2012

"I'll do it."

She shouldn't have opened her mouth. Shouldn't have made an offer to lose her freedom and maybe even her life.

But she couldn't take it back. Not when she saw the relief in Hayley's eyes, the way her shoulders relaxed, the way hope radiated off of her when she realized that maybe she wouldn't have to give up her freedom (and her relationship with Elijah, which everyone knew about) to help her Pack.

There was always another way to do these things.

"You mean it?" asked Hayley softly, scarcely able to believe it herself.

The woman across from her nodded, ignoring the way her hands trembled as she internalized what it would mean to take on this task.

"Yes," she spoke after a brief pause. "You said it yourself— you and Klaus are the only hybrids left. Your parents and mine parents arranged a marriage between you and Jackson before they knew everything was going to go to shit. You are not bound by it. You shouldn't feel like you have to marry one another for the sake of the Pack. He may have been in love with you for many years, but that was not the case for you. Neither of you should have to deal with the many cons of arranged marriages."

She unclenched her hands, watching as blood flowed back into her fingertips. "I'm the oldest. I'm the Alpha. It should be me. My duty, my responsibility, my sacrifice. The Unificiation Ritual will happen. And if one day, you fall in love with my brother, you are welcome to marry him. But marry him because you love him, not because you feel obligated to help the pack." She swallowed the lump in her throat, speaking into existence that which she dreaded, "I will marry Klaus and accept the gift for the pack."

They heard a loud thump behind them. Jackson tossed aside the axe he'd been working with, staring at the woman beside Hayley with an angry expression. "No. No way in hell," he said. "You're not marrying him!"

"We need this ritual to get the wolves back, you said it yourself," his sister replied. "As soon as Hayley offered the idea to you, you turned it down, and it isn't fair to either of you if you're bound by an arranged marriage when you're both so young and you don't love each other that way. Klaus is going to want to control the pack anyway, Jackson. If I'm his wife,maybe I can work things out so he doesn't cross a line. If you marry Hayley, what's to stop him from killing you right after the ceremony and putting himself in as Alpha? He will have a say in what gets done anyway. Maybe if I give him a direct responsibility, if I integrate him into the Pack and force him to interact with all of us, he'll care more about our people than he would if he's the puppet master behind-the-scenes."

"And how do you know he won't kill you ten seconds after you marry him? How do you know he won't beat you half to death the whole time you're married to him?"

"I don't. But unless there's a way to turn some other decent werewolf into a hybrid, someone who is willing to give up their freedom for the sake of this pack... then we're out of options. Klaus will try to control us either way. He wants to be part of a wolf pack, even if he doesn't admit it. Maybe, just maybe, our way of giving him that and encouraging him to show empathy at the same time is... to do this."

"Damn it," said Jackson. "Damn it, Ibeth." He knew deep down that there really wasn't any other choice; no one in their pack wanted to become a hybrid, and they didn't know many wolves from outside of New Orleans. Those they did know would never be willing to make such a sacrifice. "Grandma Mary is going to kill you."

It wouldn't be the first nor the last time that Mary Dumas would be this furious with her granddaughter. But at the present moment, Ibeth Kenner didn't care what her grandmother thought of her plan.