The Original: Book 5

Chapter 24

"What are you doing?" I asked, seeing Freya setting up candles around a world map.

"Something isn't right," she stared as I came to a stop next to Kol.

"You said you put the prophecy to rest. So, what's the worry?" Kol questioned.

"I didn't sleep last night."

"Well, neither did I, but that's mainly because I have a small human pressing on my bladder twenty-four seven," I announced.

"This is different. I just had this feeling of dread. I don't know if it's my own guilt, or maybe it's my intuition telling me something's coming."

"And what's this?" Kol asked, moving to stand next to her. "Your early warning system?"

"This map is spelled to trace Niklaus' enemies. Let's just hope I'm being paranoid." Freya closed her eyes, starting the spell. As she chanted, tiny red dots appeared all over the map, moving towards one specific location.

"I guess you're not being paranoid when there is, in fact, a horde of killers out to get you."

***

Hearing footsteps on the stairs, I turned seeing Hayley carrying Hope as she supported Freya. "What happened?" I asked, going over to help support her.

"She was poisoned. What are you doing here?" Hayley questioned, letting go of Freya, who fell back onto the couch.

"I was on my way to the compound when I saw a horde of people enter. I figured it would be safer here."

"The prophecy is coming true. This is the day Lucien said would come," Freya affirmed, breathing heavily as I sat next to her.

"There has to be another way out of this. Especially with your magic," Hayley asserted, biting into her wrist. "Here, drink. It won't cure you, but it will help you. Now, Lucien has an antidote to the poison in his penthouse."

"Even if I was cured, the power I used to fight Lucien, it's gone," Freya revealed. "There's nothing that can stop Marcel now."

"There might be one thing. Stay here. Watch Hope."

***

"It's not here. I can't find it," Freya called as we ransacked Lucien's apartment.

"Think, Freya. When you were poisoned before, Klaus stole an antidote from Lucien. It has to be here," Hayley insisted.

"There's no other place to look. If I can't find the cure, I will die."

"We're not going to let you die, Freya," I stated firmly. A panicked voice called out from the hallway, catching our attention. The front doors quickly swung open, Nik and Elijah supporting Kol as they came in. "Oh my god," I muttered, seeing a bite mark on Kol's neck.

He groaned, sitting in one of the chairs by the window, "I'm going to die."

"You're not going to die," Nik argued.

"That sounds familiar. Isn't that what you said to Finn and Cami?"

"Look, Lucien engineered his venom from the seven werewolf packs. So maybe that's the key to a cure."

"Oh, great. That's the first piece in a puzzle none of us will be alive to solve," Freya alleged. "I'm poisoned, Rebekah's hexed, and our brothers are bitten. We need three different cures to three different ailments. Each of which could take years to find and none of us will make it through the day."

***

Seeing Nik make his way out of the penthouse to the elevators, I quickly caught up with him, "where are you going?"

He sighed, turning to face me, "Ellie."

"No. No, you're not going," I stated firmly.

"I have to."

"No, you don't. Nik, if you go, they will kill you. I'm not losing you; not now."

He took a step toward me, "believe me, I wish we could just pack up and disappear, but –,"

I cut him off, "then why don't we?"

"Because they will find us! They will hunt us down and kill us. I'm not letting you or our son get hurt." Tears started to fill Nik's eyes.

"So, you're just going to sacrifice yourself? You're going to let your children grow up without their father?" I questioned, tears falling from my eyes.

"I'm doing this to keep them safe and to save my siblings."

"Please, don't go. I can't do this without you," I mumbled, tears falling faster as Nik put his hands on the sides of my face.

"You can. You're strong. You've taken on a pack of werewolves, twice. You endured torture from your mother, being beaten and burned by your father. You've put up with my crazy, paranoid ass for a hundred years." I let out a small chuckle. "If you can get through all of that, you can get through the rest of whatever life throws at you."

"I love you. So much," I whispered, pressing my lips to his softly.

"And I love you. More than you could ever know," he paused for a moment, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Make sure to tell our son his father loves him. And that I would give anything to be there with him." I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to keep my sobs in as Nik knelt down, pressing a long kiss to my stomach. "I haven't even met you and I already love you." He stood up again, pressing another kiss to my lips. I hesitated in pulling away, knowing that when I did, he would be gone. He pulled away before I did and when I opened my eyes, I saw that the hall around me was empty.

***

"Rebekah, is it over?" Hayley asked, answering her phone. There was talking on the other end, Elijah and I staring at her expectantly, waiting for some good news. "I will. Hang tight. We'll come for you soon." Hanging up, she looked over at me," he's alive." I let out a sigh of relief.

"Rebekah's dagger. It has her blood," Freya stated, sitting around the table with her brothers. It was time for her to start the spell. I handed it over to her and she laid it down on the parchment that had all of their names on it. Freya began to say the incantation, the blood on the parchment spreading over the names. Elijah and Kol began to shake, Freya's nose bleeding. I sent Hayley a worried look, placing a hand on Kol's shoulder in an attempt to control the shaking. The chanting and the shaking stopped, all three siblings now unconscious.

***

I heard the rear door slam shut and a few seconds later, Hayley was climbing into the driver's seat of the moving van. She reached over, tightening Hope's buckle before slowly pulling a white envelope out of her bag. Hayley and I shared a confused look until I saw the handwriting on the front. It was Nik's. Feeling tears fill my eyes, I turned away, looking out the window. I felt the van roar to life as Hayley turned the key in the ignition. Closing my eyes, I rested my head back against the headrest, feeling exhausted from today's events. When I reopened them, I could see that we were nearing the sign telling us that we were leaving New Orleans and to come back soon. Before we could reach it, there was a sharp pain in my stomach. I let out a gasp, feeling something warm and wet trickle down my legs. "Oh my god."

"You okay?" Hayley asked, moving her eyes over to me briefly.

"Turn the van around," I ordered, panic filling my voice.

"What? Why?"

"My water just broke."

That was the last chapter of this book! (The bloopers will be next).

It's been a crazy month for me, so I am currently working my ass off to get the last book finished. The first chapter of the next book will be posted on Friday, so keep an eye out for that. I really hope you guys like it, as it is the final installment in the series.

My character and her story are of my own imagination. They belong to me and nobody else. Please do not steal. Copyright 2018.