POWERLESS • mikaelson mate

chapter fourteen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The car ride was eerily silent. I continuously tapped my foot and rested my head against the window, looking out at the passing scenery. My concern for Rebekah, paired with the awkwardness of being in proximity to Elijah, made the three hour drive feel like a lifetime. It was clear that unlike Kol and Finn, Elijah held a grudge against me and I did not know whether I blamed him or not. I knew how painful the sting of rejection could be but the coldness in which he regarded me seemed unnecessarily cruel.

"New Orleans," Kol muttered as we passed a road sign, "Why is it always New Orleans?"

Kol sat beside me in the back seat, whilst Finn and Elijah sat in the front. Every now and then, Elijah would glance back at me through the rearview mirror as he drove. The attention filled me with both anxiety and curiosity.

"I take it you have history here?" I asked, growing more nervous by the second. I could practically feel us getting closer and closer to Rebekah and I was terrified about what we might find. The cruelty of witches was something I had experienced firsthand and the thought of my mate suffering at their hands had dread forming in my stomach.

"That would be putting it lightly." Elijah commented.

"Why would the witches of New Orleans want Rebekah?" I asked my mates.

"We all made enemies here, Klaus especially." Kol answered.

"On the contrary, I did not have much of a chance to make enemies since I spent most of the time daggered in a coffin." Finn said grimly and I felt the urge to place my hand over his in comfort. I doubted he would mind but we barely knew each other so I refrained, fiddling with my hair to keep my hands busy.

"Speaking of, where is our delightful brother?" Kol drawled, "Is he too busy tormenting his local townsfolk to catch a flight to help save his dear sister?"

"I thought it best that we keep word of this to ourselves," Elijah said decisively, "I fear he might cause more harm than good should he learn that our sister has been captured by witches."

"Was there a group vote that I missed or did you put yourself in charge?" Kol raised an eyebrow.

"Kol, please, now is not the time." Finn said, seemingly taking over the role of peacekeeper.

Kol let out a long sigh, rolling his eyes as he leaned his head back on the seat and tapped his hand restlessly on his knee. Seeing the dynamics between the siblings was interesting to say the least. It was chaotic with only three of them so I could not fathom the complete and utter mayhem that must ensue when they were all together. Although, from what Kol had told me, it had been many years since they were last all together.

I opened my mouth but whatever I was about to say disappeared when I felt a tugging in my chest. My eyes widened at the strength of it and I let out a choked gasp, which alerted all of my mates. Elijah glanced at me in the rearview mirror in concern as he continued to drive. Finn turned around in his seat whilst Kol frowned and placed a hand over mine.

"What is it, Kresley?" Kol asked urgently, his eyes scanning my face, desperately seeking an answer.

"I can feel the bond," I said with a shaky breath, "I have never felt the bond this strong with any of you before."

Usually, the mating bond was a warm and subtle flutter in my chest that alerted me when one of my mates was near. It got stronger the nearer they were to me, but even then, it was not particularly strong. The current tug in my chest was anything but subtle. It felt urgent, almost painful and I grimaced.

"What does that mean?" Finn asked, looking towards Kol, who shook his head helplessly.

"I have no idea."

"Stop the car!" I pleaded, the pulling sensation becoming unbearable.

Elijah slammed on the breaks and as soon as the car came to a stop, I hastily undid my seatbelt and practically fell out of the car. Sweat drenched my forehead and my eyes desperately searched my surroundings. I stood on the sidewalk and beside me was a row of seemingly regular houses. Kol quickly followed me out of the car using vampire speed and placed a hand on my arm to steady me.

"Are you alright, darling?" he asked as Elijah and Finn climbed out of the car.

All three brothers wore matching expressions of confusion and concern. I let out a shaky sigh, resting my head against Kol's shoulder as I focused on the feeling inside of me. It had to be leading me to Rebekah. With a shaky sigh, I followed the feeling, taking one step after another. The Mikaelsons exchanged looks as they followed after me until I stopped in front of a house.

"I think that Rebekah is here." I said, nodding towards the house.

Kol blinked at the house, surprise coating his features, "I know this place, it belonged to Dowager Fauline."

"Care to shed any light on why Rebekah might be here?" I asked breathily, the feeling in my chest tugging once more.

"There is no reason that Rebekah should be here," Kol said with a frown. I hastily moved towards the house but Kol wrapped a hand around my wrist, stopping my progress, "Kresley, you cannot go in there."

"I have to!" I argued, "If Rebekah is in there-"

"No, darling, you have to understand, if you go in there, you will not be able to come out." Kol explained with panicked eyes.

"Explain." Elijah instructed, taking a step toward him.

"About a century ago, I was working with some witches to create a dagger that would work on Klaus. I'd had enough of being trapped in a coffin and thought he might benefit from some timeout. I came to this house to steal a diamond that would help me create a dagger but I was caught." Kol said through gritted teeth and I blinked up at him.

I knew that the Mikaelsons had experienced their fair share of squabbles over the centuries but this sounded more like a war. I was reminded of just how naive I still was. I was no longer timid and afraid like I once had been but I was still young and inexperienced. I had stupidly assumed that if I could earn the trust and forgiveness of my mates that we could be one big happy family. Given their long, complex history, however, happiness might only be possible if they were separated from each other.

"A witch working for Klaus trapped my allies inside that house with a spell," Kol continued, "These days, it is used to isolate witches deemed unfit for society and the boundary spell prevents anyone who enters from leaving."

"Sounds like somewhere I'd get thrown into." I said under my breath, looking down at my hands, a conduit of so much destruction.

"As if we would ever let that happen." Elijah scoffed, adjusting his cufflinks and I didn't quite know how I felt about his words, "Are you certain that our sister is in there?"

"Positive," I nodded, "The mate bond is practically pulling me into that house."

"Why would Rebekah be in there?" I asked but none of them seemed to have an answer, "Can we break the boundary spell?"

"A powerful witch could and you are a very powerful witch, darling," Kol said, "But by bringing down the spell, we would be letting dozens of witches run free, some of whom are guilty of unspeakable things."

"How else are we meant to get Rebekah out?" I said, casting an impatient look towards the house where my mate was currently trapped. Kol hesitated and I raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"The mate bond links us together, so if one of us were to remain outside, the others should be able to leave." Kol explained nervously.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

"Darling, it would require a completed mate bond."

His words crashed into me, leaving my heart pounding.

Rebekah and I may have broken each other, but the love I felt for her had never once waivered. I needed to rescue her, to hold her in my arms and beg for a third chance that I definitely did not deserve. I wanted to find a witch to reverse my inability to conceive so that I could give her everything her heart desired, including the children she was so desperate for. I needed her back but to get her back, I needed to do the very thing I had spent so long running from.

I weighed my options before I looked up at Kol with a shaky smile, "I'll do it."