Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Astrid couldn't fight the frown that surfaced as Marcel approached her with a wide smile.
He was no longer the malnourished, sickly ten-year-old boy who curled into her when they embraced, but a twenty-five-year-old man with a handsome face and muscular build.
Covered in a sheen layer of sweat from practicing sword-fighting, he was breathing heavily as he pulled her into a hug.
Smiling at the embrace, Astrid's worries momentarily washed away as she wrapped her arms around Marcel's shoulders. He'd grown taller than Nik, meaning Astrid barely brushed against his chin, much to his amusement.
Pulling away, Marcel noticed how tense his mother was, frowning as he placed a large palm on her shoulder.
"Ma, what's wrong?" He asked, as Astrid forced a smile.
She could smell the floral perfume that coated him, she noticed the faded hickey on his collar bone.
Astrid wanted nothing more than for Marcel to settle down with a kind woman, to have children of his own and to live in comfort. But the scent that Marcel was dosed in wasn't a human scent, it a mixture of Rebekah's and her perfume.
When Nik had initially informed Astrid of his growing concern of the relationship between Marcel and Rebekah, Astrid had dismissed it with a wave of a hand and kiss to Nik's lips.
She'd teased her husband he was once again becoming paranoid and that the relationship between Marcel and Rebekah was platonic and friendly.
But as the weeks had passed, Astrid had noticed the subtle changes.
Marcel's cheeks would flush at the sight of Rebekah, whilst the two of them would exchange longing gazes when they thought no one else was watching.
As much as Astrid loved Rebekah and yearned for her to find 'the one', the thought of her with Marcel unsettled her.
Marcel was her son; he'd looked up to Rebekah as an aunt when he'd been a young boy.
It didn't seem right. Rebekah deserved to be happy, but this wasn't the life Marcel deserved.
He needed to find a nice human to settle down and have a family of his own with, Astrid did not want Marcel doomed to the life they lived.
Of course, she wasn't opposed to Marcel being turned after he had children, but Astrid didn't want him to rush the transition, something he found extremely irritating.
Niklaus wasn't too fussed on turning Marcel, but it seemed he was going along with Astrid's wishes of not turning him yet.
Kol had once teased how henpecked Nik was, that was before Kol had decided to try and turn Marcel, feeding the boy his blood and forcing Marcel to watch actors die before his eyes.
