Forever

Broken Promises

" You broke your promise to Kol."

I sat up quickly. Klaus stood at the foot of the bed. "This is a dream." I realized as I tried to quell my panic. He wasn't actually here. I ran a hand down my face.

It had to stop, because I was going to have a heart attack one of these nights.

This time though, Josh was sleeping next to me, in plain sight of the hybrid who was practically glowering down at him. "Does Kol know?"

At least my plan wasn't ruined.

"He does."

Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm.

"I'll just add him to the list of people that have died because of this ridiculous chase. Though I will admit, I am impressed. I did not expect it to go on this long."

"Maybe that would then be a hint to stop trying to get to me." I crossed my arms. "Or is your ego bruised because not one but two baby vampires have escaped you."

"I could always pay your friends a visit. Remember how fragile they still are."

I knew he would bring them up. "I haven't made good on what I swore I'd do."

He rolled his eyes. "You operate on the assumption that my enemies would align themselves with you, grief stricken 'baby vampire'. I've already used my vast network to lay a bounty on your head. They're far more likely to use you as bait or kill you."

"You did what?"

"I used the same method for Katarina. I never looked for her personally. You however, have my undivided attention."

"What about your baby?" Wouldn't that demon of a baby mama keep him somewhat busy?

"Hope is enjoying her time in our home, surrounded by her adoring loved ones, whilst witchy sister has been allowing us into your dreams."

"Rebekah?"

Klaus held his hands behind his back causally. "Freya actually. Apparently she wasn't quite as dead as we'd initially thought. Another sister to replace that which you lost."

"You don't get to say that to me." Keep it under control. Don't let anything slip.

Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm.

"You betrayed me, little mouse. Did you not expect I would retaliate?"

I bit my tongue. He still didn't know about what Hayley had done.

"Yeah well, me running away, that's what happens when you kill the only people I had left. So I guess we both acted in a way we deemed appropriate for the situation." I brought my knees up. "You are responsible for three of my family's deaths. I swore I'd never forgive you and I won't."

He leaned down, gripping the footboard. "No one has ever truly escaped me. You won't be the first."

"I'll only have to run so long as I don't know how to kill you." And we were close.

Damon and Stefan had been working tirelessly, while I lead the Mikaelsons on a wild chase.

"I can't be killed."

"We'll see. Bonnie said that Nature always has a balance. No one is entirely unstoppable. When I find that chip in your armor, then I'll come for you."

"An admirable attempt I'm sure. People have been trying to do the very same for centuries." His chin lifted.

"Ah but I know things they don't. Things that they've only ever been able to assume. You forget I had full access to your family's knowledge through Kol and even Elijah. Now that I'm immortal, I can spend eternity tormenting you, and you can't hurt me either. Lest you lose Kol and then it'll be your fault you lost another brother."

His jaw clenched and the wood was nearly splintering in his grip. Klaus' next words were forcefully measured. "Freya is working on your location as we speak. It's only a matter of time, little mouse."

"Even if I did want to come back, I'd never stay. Not with Hayley."

"What is it that makes you despise her so, you're not usually one for such blatant hatred. She had to have done something." His head tilted. "Unless-"

There was no way.

Even he wasn't that smart.

"At the time I'd thought nothing of it. Tyler was a member of your little friend group. Surely you'd crossed paths. Your heart raced, but then again, it always did when we were all in the same room." He calmly stood up straight and it made me uneasy. "There has only ever been one period of time during my stay in Mystic Falls where I didn't know where you were. It was the very same occasion that you came back different."

"How can you be so sure? Tyler triggered his curse before I was ever on your radar. I could've met her then." Why was I trying to convince him otherwise?

"But not Elijah's. According to a rather perky blonde friend of yours, his first kill was the very same night you were kidnapped by one Rose Marie in a pathetic attempt to gain her freedom."

I crossed my arms. "So what. Now you know." Panic began to swell beneath my skin. Why was I having a reaction like this? I should be happy. Klaus would've gone after Hayley the second I told him who she was. Back when he was pushing me to tell him.

"Given the choice between the mother of my child and my brother's soulmate, who do you think I'll pick."

"I'm sure the two of you have bonded over the last two years. Why not just keep things the way they are? Better yet, you let me live my life and you go focus on that kid." I actually didn't know who he would decide was worth it, but I wasn't going to bet my life it would be me. "Personally I don't want to go back to threats of violence every five seconds."

Maybe it was that I knew what it was like to be trapped by the Mikaelson family. I kind of felt for Hayley. A little bit. There was no way she had some miracle baby and her every move wasn't watched.

Klaus' following silence was starting to make me sweat. He began to walk around the room, seemingly taking in the various decorations. I watched with bated breath, barely daring to even blink.

I'd hidden any motel insignias before we'd gone to bed. I wasn't going to make the same mistakes.

"Hayley was very taken with the local werewolf pack. Apparently, she had some ancestry there."

I couldn't help but let out an empty laugh. "So you mean to tell me that she got away? Oh that's rich."

"No. I let her go."

"Of course. No one escapes the big bad Mikaelsons. Though that does beg the question, why let her out of your grasp?"

"I would be far more concerned with what will happen when we do catch you. Betrayal is a pesky little thing, isn't it."

My stomach dropped. "What are you going to do?"

Klaus put a hand on his chest. "I'm not the only one you need to worry about, love. You left your soulmate with nothing but a broken promise and he finds you in the bed of another. There's a reason Kol needed to be daggered for as long as he was. He's done things that put me to shame."