Always and Forever (The Hybrid and The Wolf - Book 7)

Chapter 7 - God's Gonna Trouble the Water

Hope was sitting in Kenner's room, watching him sleep. She had tears in her eyes as she remembered her mother's death. She could hear Klaus and Elijah fighting as well as Nina and Hayley fighting Greta, she could also hear Nina calling out her name and Kenner's, and finally, she heard her mother's screams and her father yelling in anguish.

"No!"

Kenner gasped awake, sitting up in his bed. "Mom?"

Hope looked up. "Kenner."

"Mom?" Kenner called, breathing heavily.

Hope stood. "I'm here."

"What happened?" Kenner asked. "Where is she?"

"Breathe," Hope told him, walking closer. "You're safe now."

"Where is Mom?" Kenner asked, making the lights in his room explode.

Hope sat on the bed and gave Kenner a heartbroken look. "I'm sorry."

Kenner looked at her in denial. "What?"

"She's gone," Hope told him.

Kenner shook his head, starting to cry. "No, no. No. No. No, no!" 

Hope hugged him. "Shh, shh."

Kenner broke down, completely. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no."

"Shh," Hope said, trying her best to comfort him.

"No, no, no!" Kenner cried.

Hope and Kenner continued to hold each other as they both cried in devastation over losing their mother.

There was a picture of Nina, Hope and Kenner on the nightstand, all of them smiling.

~*~*~

The next morning, Klaus was sitting in the compound, alone. The sorrow he felt over Nina's death was unfathomable. He thought he had known pain, but in the thousand years he had lived on this earth, nothing compared to what he was feeling at this very moment. He had never experienced true agony until now.

A letter magically appeared, floating down towards him.

Klaus reached to grab it and read it.

Caroline: (voiceover) "Dear Klaus, you and I are no strangers to heartbreak and yet each loss hits more deeply than the one before. I've had to return to my daughters, as I'm sure you can understand. Please know I am a phone call away if you need a friend. With all my sorrow and with love for you and your family. Caroline."

Klaus put the letter down.

Hayley walked in.

Klaus glared at her and rushed towards her, pinning her against the wall as he gripped her throat.

"Klaus . . ." Hayley trailed off.

"How dare you come here?" Klaus said. "I've a mind to rip out your spine."

"Go ahead," Hayley replied with tears in her eyes. "Kill me. I don't care because I would gladly trade places with Nina." Klaus looked at her, critically. "You think you're the only one who loved her? That feels her loss? I loved her too, Klaus. She was my sister. Look, I didn't come here to fight. I came here to give you this."

Hayley held up Nina's engagement ring attached to a silver chain.

Klaus looked at it, his expression softening instantly. He released Hayley and slowly reached to touch the ring.