𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧- 𝐄.𝐌

50. Temporary solutions

“elijah.” the soft whisper barely holding back the sniffle stirred dread, fear as well as relief in him. He closed his eyes, composing himself and opened them again, just so he could respond.

"How are you?" he asked her.

"I──I’m not sure." she told him sorrowfully. "I mean, I'm tired, constantly and she's taking more and more control."

Elijah closed the book he had on the desk and rose up from his chair. "Maeve, don't give in to her. Keep fighting, okay? You are stronger than anyone I know. You can take her."

"What if I'm not up for this? What if I──what if I can no longer keep up?" she broke down into tears unable to hold herself. "She whispers such things Elijah. I can't take it anymore. She is feeding on my power."

"Maeve please...we will find a way. You just have to hold on. Please." Elijah looked out the window of his apartment in Manhattan, burning through every memory he had to find a temporary way at least to help Maeve. That was it.he thought.

"Maeve? Shift into your wolf form." he told her.

"What? Why?"

"Remember back at the cabin? You said the voice, the nightmares all stopped after you shifted into your wolf form. If the darkness is tied to your magic, it is inaccessible when you are a fully formed Lycan. Shift into your wolf-form Maeve."

"But it will only delay the inevitable Elijah." said Maeve. Her eyes darted to Klaus who stood hovering over her, with his ears to her conversation.

"It will give us some time, Maeve. Please." Elijah pleaded with her. He could hear some ruffle and muffled voices over the call but could barely make out what they said.

"Brother, Maeve has shifted into her wolf form. We have some time to fix this." answered Klaus over the call. "Stop biting off my jeans! Maeve! Alright, apologises. We have some time to find a work around the prophecy. Huh? How does that sound? Honestly her wolf is as bad as her human form. Stop growling at me. I'm trying to help you."

"I'll be in touch, Niklaus. Try not to pet her. She might just bite you. As entertaining as it would be, I'd prefer it on another occasion when I can witness it myself." Elijah said amused by his brother's reaction.

"Did not ask for your comments, Elijah. Keep them to yourself." Klaus ended the call abruptly. Perhaps it was the first time in seventy-two hours that Elijah had cracked a smile.

"Did I just hear Maeve try to bite Nik?" asked Kol sauntering over to the desk from the corner of the room where he previously sat crowded by large stacks of books.

"Keyword: try. If I know Maeve, one silly mistake and Niklaus might just start facing some very lucid hallucinations." Elijah responded bemusingly before his smile faltered. "Nothing?"

"Like the last several tries. I called Maverick but Ezekiel said they haven't come up with anything."

Elijah hummed before he furrowed his brows, "you called Maverick but Ezekiel answered?"

Kol nodded his head and responded nonchalantly, "they've been dating for about two months now."

"Figures. Now what?"

Kol dropped the book he held in his hand on the table and looked up at his older brother, "I don't know. I am lost, Elijah. There is absolutely nothing anywhere that could help Maeve."

"There has to be something. Somewhere."

"Yes, somewhere...in some old grimoire buried somewhere belonging to someone from some civilization or coven but we don't have it! There's no time. We don't even know how much time we've got left!" yelled Kol.