Strange Fates

Chapter 14: The Walk Home

A/N: Warnings for blood, attempted assault, bad guys dying in bad ways.

***

The last thing you wanted to do was crawl out of bed and pull yourself together to open up your shop. Unfortunately for you, you had an appointment scheduled with a buyer. Even if you decided to reschedule, you'd have to go in to get his information so you might as well just open up for a bit.

Your mates were no happier about your departure than you were but they promised a home cooked meal and a movie together once you got home. That at least gave you something to look forward to at the end of the day. You met your client and did some housekeeping tasks around the shop before deciding to close up early. You paused at the door and considered calling one of the guys to escort you home but quickly decided against it. Afterall, there were several hours of daylight remaining and you wanted to surprise them when you got home early.

You resettled your bag on your shoulder as you walked, adjusting its heavier than normal weight. You'd come across a couple of books you thought Elijah might want to add to his collection, one for Kol about early covens and one for Klaus about the life of one of his favorite painters. That one had been of particular interest when you came across it as you were certain the Nicolas mentioned in the pages as one of the man's confidants was none other than Niklaus. The hybrid always enjoyed reading about his historical exploits.

Your smile faded as a large hand wrapped around your upper arm and tugged you sideways into an alley. Annoyance flared through you as you twisted in the grip and were unable to get away. Son of a bitch. "You must have some majorly shitty karma if I'm the random victim you plucked off the street. You're not going to have a good day, asshole."

The man snorted and shoved you away from him, your back colliding with the building behind you. You grunted and let your bag drop down your arm so you could grab the handle and swing it at your attacker. He snatched it mid-arc and yanked it from your hold before tossing it aside as if it weighed nothing.

He snarled and stepped closer as you mentally went through the magic at your disposal. You'd practiced your magic for years but had never actually been forced to defend yourself with it. "You're a feisty thing for a whore."

You frowned at the man, brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"

Another step and his body pressed against yours, holding you in place as he sneered down at you, having at least a good six inches on you. He inhaled deeply and the motion screamed werewolf. Shit. "Apparently the rumors are true. Never thought I'd see the day those Mikaelson bastards shared anything, let alone a woman. Ain't you the lucky one?"

So, this was no random mugging. You were targeted, sought out. You were suddenly torn between killing your attacker and incapacitating him. Surely your mates would have questions for him but your immediate instinct was to destroy the threat to your family. The internal debate ended the moment he reached for the button on your jeans.

"Maybe I should show you what you've been missing. Show you how a real man fucks."

You slammed your palms against either side of his head. "How the fuck would you know?" When you separated your hands, the werewolf disintegrated before you. There really was no other word for it. The spell was extreme, vicious, and one you never thought you would actually use. Your attacker was taken apart at a molecular level leaving nothing behind but blood and visceral matter. Unfortunately, you were wearing a good deal of it.

Though you were doing your best to keep yourself together, you trembled violently. You'd never killed someone before and while you didn't regret it in the least, it was still a shock to your system. Several minutes later, you were composed enough to realize that someone was calling your name. More than one someone in fact. "I'm here," you called back, hoping their enhanced hearing would be able to pick you out from the sounds of the city.