POWERLESS • mikaelson mate

chapter six

CHAPTER SIX

"I can't do it." My voice was strained as I spoke. Tears brimmed at my eyes and I quickly brushed them away, averting my gaze from Kol as I did so.

So far, our lessons weren't going particularly well. Every time I try to bring my magic to the surface, a part of me panics and pushes it back down again. Luckily, Kol is very persistent, or else I would have given up hours ago.

"You can't do it yet." Kol corrected me and I fought the urge to roll my eyes, "Every time you try, you make progress."

I let out a frustrated groan, running a hand though my hair and my eyes darted around the garden. His supportive words only succeeded in making me more infuriated with myself. Breathing deeply for a few minutes, I managed to somewhat calm myself. I cupped my hands and tried again.

"It's just not happening, okay?" I threw my hands up in the air when I once again failed. Standing from the bench we were sitting at, I picked up the jumper I'd removed an hour ago and prepared to leave, "This was a stupid idea, I should just go."

"Kresley, wait-"

His hand closed around my wrist and my body jolted at the unexpected touch and I felt a wave of panic rise. Kol let out a hiss and let go of me. I turned around in horror to find him cradling his singed hand.

"Oh my gosh," I whispered, my eyes wide as they took in the sight of my mates burnt palm, "I hurt you."

"It's okay," Kol replied softly. "Given your past, I should have known better than to grab you."

He slowly reached out with his uninjured hand to touch my shoulder comfortingly but I darted out of the way, my gaze fixed on his hand.

"I hurt you." I repeated.

"And it's already healing." Kol waved his palm around, which was looking better by the second, "Perks of being a vampire."

His positivity and forgiveness did nothing to soothe the guilt that welled inside of me. I looked up at him with glassy eyes and his features softened. He took a slow step towards me as if approached a skittish animal. When I didn't move, he took another step and then another until he was close enough that he wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry." I whispered as I buried my face into his chest.

"There's nothing to be sorry for." He told me, holding me close. When I eventually pulled away, he gave me a gentle smile, "Let's go and see what Sidney is up to.

***

Sidney was happily munching on some lettuce when Kol lifted her from the pen and began to tell her how adorable she was. I couldn't help but smile as I watched him interact with her. The tortoise, on the other hand, seemed mildly annoyed at the attention.

"You're the cutest girl in the whole wide world!" He told her in a high pitched voice as he scattered kisses across her shell, "I love you so much!" After concluding their one-sided chat, Kol carefully placed Sidney back into the pen and she went back to eating.

"I don't know about you but I'm feeling rather peckish." Kol declared, "What would you like for lunch?"

"I'm alright with anything." I shrugged.

"I didn't ask what you were alright with, I asked what you would like."

"Honestly, Kol, I will be absolutely fine with whatever." I shook my head as I told him, "I don't want to be a bother."

"You're not a bother, you're my mate." He said simply, "I'd happily give you the world if you asked for it."

My heart fluttered at his words and I looked down at the carpeted floor, a shy smile making an appearance on my face. I looked back up at him and my breath caught in my throat. I couldn't believe that I'd once feared the concept of him. It made me contemplate my other mates; maybe I could have this with them too?

I pushed the thought away as quickly as it came. The beautiful thing about being with Kol was that we didn't have any history; everything was brand new. Whereas, I had a rather ugly past with most of my other mates. The only other mate of mine that I would feel comfortable with is Finn since I have never met him.

A part of me hated Elijah, Klaus and Rebekah for tracking me down. If they had waited for me to be ready, maybe we could have been together?

"The world might be a bit much but I wouldn't mind a grilled cheese sandwich." I finally answered Kol, who smiled warmly at me.

"Coming right up!"

Five minutes later, the two of us were sitting at the kitchen table, thoroughly enjoying our lunch.

"Wow!" I moaned as I ate, "You are an absolutely incredible chef!"

Kol chuckled, "I am when it comes to grilled cheese. If I try to cook literally anything else, I somehow manage to burn it."

"That's impossible!" I accused him.

"Tell that to the multiple fires I have had to put out!"

"Well that settles it, I shall be doing all the cooking from now on!" I laughed as I inhaled the last of the sandwich. When I looked up at Kol, however, his expression had morphed from excitement to something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"You're planning on sticking around then?" He asked with a lopsided smile, which did nothing to hide his anxiety behind the question.

"I... I'd really like to get to know you." I began nervously, "But only if that's okay with-"

"Of course it's okay!" Kol interrupted with a grin, "I would love the opportunity to get to know you, Kresley. You are welcome to stay here for as long as you want."

"I don't want to intrude-"

"You wouldn't be intruding; I actively want you here." Kol reassured me but his smile faded seconds later as panicked eyes flew towards the window. Seconds later, we watched a black car pull into the driveway.

"Kol, what is it?" I asked and he looked back at me with apologetic eyes.

"You might want to go upstairs, Kresley." He warned me as we both stood, "My brother has just arrived."