Claudia Lockwood-Mikaelson

Chapter 49 - Claudia's secrets

The man Rebekah introduced as Ross is thrown off me and for a moment I pause in confusion before Nik appears behind him. I've never seen him so angry.

He is almost in a frenzy, shaking with rage as he struggles to contain it. His eyes shine yellow, his hybrid nature nearly taking control him. I ignore him as he rips out Ross' heart, standing up to dust myself off and fix my top so it's back in place. Luckily Ross didn't get far so there's not much to adjust.

"What are you playing at?" Nik shouts at me covered in blood. Killing Ross hasn't tempered his rage. "You let him do that, you could have killed him in an instant. You're a hybrid you're stronger than him. Why on earth would you not push him off?"

I roll my eyes before walking away. Was my mate always this irritating and irrational? And is he really blaming me for what the disgusting man did? I was so blinded by my love for him I must have been ignorant to it all before. He's quite demanding and unreasonable.

He gapes at my eye roll before vamping in front of me, calming down slightly.

"Are you okay? I wasn't trying to blame you, I just don't understand why you didn't fight him. Did he scare you?" His voice holds so much concern and love but I don't really care.

I still feel our mate bond, shutting down my humanity didn't affect the bond but I don't have any interest in being anywhere near him if he's going to be all shouty and emotional. Once he's calmed down I might speak to him then. If he agrees to stop making this a big deal.

It doesn't matter now Ross is dead anyway.

"Claudia, are you alright?" Nik tries again, noticing my blank stare but attributing it to shock.

I'm not in shock anymore. I feel much better, I feel no fear.

"Of course," I dismiss his overly worried question with ease. "I'm hungry."

The main concern on my mind right now is blood. I'm craving it. How long has it been since I last fed? I don't remember and that's just unacceptable. I need to feed right now. How did I hold off this long?

I vamp over to a young girl of maybe about seventeen and compel her into the alley. I don't bother to compel away her fear. I don't care how she feels because she'll be dead in a minute anyway. If I had emotions I would be more considerate, seeing as I've just been in a similar situation myself but without them nothing holds me back. Her feelings are irrelevant.

Biting into her neck, I drink and drink until every last drop is drained from her body. I feel Nik's hand on my shoulder but I shrug him off. Throwing the girl's body onto the floor, I turn back to my mate.

He is shocked and seems troubled as he looks between the young girl's body and me.

Who would have known that the solution to the hex was easy and doable all along? All I had to do was turn it off. Now I'm completely in control.

"You're not alright, tell me what happened," he demands focusing on Ross rather than my uninhibited feeding, although I'm sure he will want to discuss how I've resisted the hex later.

"He raped me," I say sharply as I walk over to Ross' body to kick it. I feel nothing when I say those words. No twang of fear. Nothing. It's freeing.

"The night of the wedding when I first met you. He raped me. Oh and I killed your nightwalker Nathan when he tried to do the same. Marcel's been looking for his murderer and it was me right under your noses all along. It's me you all swore to kill. A life for a life right?"

I pause and see Nik frozen still as he absorbs my confession.

"I mean, it was self-defence so that should count for something right? Or does Marcel not care about the circumstances surrounding a murder, even if it's rape? Surely he can't condone that."