The Jewel of the New Orleans ⚜ The Originals

Chapter 15: Secrets

"Ready?" Colette asked Hayley as the final wolf from the pack appeared. Eve had gotten into contact with the rest of the pack when the girls had brought an unconscious Celeste in the early morning hours.

Hayley looked to Eve, who handed her a loaded shotgun, nodding. "Ready."

Colette ripped the duct tape from Celeste's face, backing up to Hayley's side. With the woman tied up, she was now only slightly less of a threat. At least Colette hoped the spell she placed on her would keep her from fighting back magically. "So what's this, payback? Look. I'm sorry I tricked you. I wasn't after you."

"What, and we were just collateral damage?" Eve questioned her. "You almost burned her and Jackson alive in that plantation fire."

With her hands tied behind her back against a tree, Celeste struggled to free herself. Hayley let out a warning shot in the direction of the water. "Careful, Sabine, or Celeste or whatever you like to call yourself. Sudden moves make me jumpy." She cocked the gun. " And homicidal."

"What, you're gonna kill me, honey?"

"No," Colette answered. "We know better than that. You'd just off yourself and jump into another body. We can't have that. And if you try anything on me or anyone else here, these two are likely to shoot your kneecaps and I'll just heal you. We'll do it over and over until we get what we want. And you know how much I dislike violence."

Celeste rolled her eyes. "So, what do you want?"

"Back in the 90's, you inhabited a witch named Brynne Deveraux, remember? Marcel had her, you, put a curse on a lot of werewolves so they'd only turn human on a full moon," said Hayley.

"And since I can't just Siphon your magic and undo it myself, you need to undo the curse," Colette told her.

They let Celeste go. Well sort of. While she was no longer tied to the tree her wrists remained bound by rope as she worked on the cure. Colette watched her carefully to make sure she didn't add or do anything to ruin the Crescents' chances of being free from this curse.

She mixed together all the ingredients in a mason jar, the liquid a dark green from the herbs. With one hand Celeste tossed the stick she was using to mix with to the side and passed the jar off to Hayley. "Here. It's herbs ground into paste. It'll act as a conduit for the spell. On the next full moon, your people become human. Feed it to them, the curse will be broken."

"Great way to poison us all at once." Hayley looked from the jar to Celeste.

"Look. I know you have no reason to trust me, but, Hayley, I actually like you. I actually like you too." Celeste turned her attention towards Colette. "I was you, caring for Elijah when he cared more for his brother, and I ended up dead. So did a lot of others. This, call it a chance for me to give you what I was too in love to give myself. It's a chance to free yourselves from The Originals."

"You believe her?" Eve asked.

The wolves snarled, but not at Celeste.

"Whatever she's promised you, it's a lie."

"Elijah, it's okay. I'm okay," Hayley said, looking back at Colette. "We're okay."

Elijah pointed to his former lover. "She cannot be trusted."

Colette crossed her arms in front of her chest. "She was the only one who could save this pack. I tried everything I could. She was the thing I was missing, what this pack was missing to become human again."

"Do you have any idea what she has done to our family?" Elijah questioned her.

"I know you want revenge, and come the next full moon, when I'm sure her cure works, she's all yours," said Hayley.