A rewrite of The Hunters: Destiny Rising. By LJ. SMITH.
LJ.SMITH created Klaus.
A stand alone monster.
No family.
No redeeming qualities.
"I'm one of the Old Ones! An Original! Do you know what that means? I've never died. Every one of you has di...
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Elena couldn't move. She felt numb, her limbs heavy and frozen. Her heartbeat faster and faster, the rush of blood thundering in her ears, but she stayed still.
Before the fire, Klaus stretched and smiled, holding his hands out in front of him. He turned them slowly, examining them, admiring his long fingers and strong forearms.
"Unscarred," he said. He spoke softly, but his words resonated across the clearing. "I'm whole again." He tipped his head back to see the three quarter moon high above him and his smile widened. "And back home," he said.
Ethan wriggled out of a shocked Stefan's loosened grip and dropped to his knees. "Klaus," he said worshipfully.
Klaus glanced down at him with an indifferent sort of curiosity. Ethan opened his mouth to say more, his face ecstatic, but before he could, Klaus reached out, wrapped his strong, graceful hands around Ethan's jaw and pulled.
With a terrible noise of tendons ripping, Ethan's head came away from his neck like a stopper lifting from a jar. His body slumped lifelessly to one side, abandoned. Klaus lifted up the head and held it above him as blood streamed down his arms. Around him, Ethan's followers quivered in fear, but none of them moved.
Near Elena, Chloe gasped. Stefan, his face spattered with Ethan's blood, was watching Klaus narrowly, angling his body to find a good position to attack.
No, Elena thought, frightened, willing Stefan back. She hadn't forgotten how strong Klaus was. As if he'd heard her thoughts, Stefan eased back a little, darting an alert glance at their assembled troops, all watching Klaus now with horror.
Klaus gazed at Ethan's slack face for a moment, then tossed the head aside. Holding his right hand up to his mouth, he licked at Ethan's blood thoughtfully with a long pink tongue.
Elena's stomach turned uneasily. Seeing him kill Ethan so casually had been horrible enough, but there was something obscene in the thoughtless sensual pleasure he took in tasting the rivulets of blood.
