Losing Him (Only His Series: Book 4) *OLD VERSION*

Chapter 17

Alex's P.O.V 

I was sitting in an armchair in the courtyard, which had been completely made over with Christmas decorations, including a huge tree in the middle of the room that was adorned with white light and gold with red baubles.

Damon called me when he was drunk off his ass. My mom was died...for good this time. She died on Thanksgiving, but Damon has been taking care of the Stefan vs. Julian thing. Which has only gotten worse since Mom died trying to kill her evil lover.

I was playing with my locket that Klaus gave back to me after Aurora took it. I closed my eyes and sighed. Then I opened my eyes and watched with equal parts of curiosity, horror, and exasperation as a compelled woman drained blood from a cut on the palm of her hand into a wine glass. I gave her a confused look.

"Do they, like, pay you?" I asked her. I've never wondered about this till now. Plus I'm a hybrid again. Woohoo! The blood donor smiled at me cheerfully as Klaus waltzed into the room and answered my question.

"Handsomely! And with a generous Christmas bonus." Klaus said and looked over at the woman, who handed him the glass of her blood. "Isn't that right?" The woman smiled weakly and nodded before she left. Klaus smirked at me in amusement as he sat down in the chair next to me to enjoy his morning meal.

"So, you just compel her to nod and agree with whatever you say?" I asked him.

"I compel her to feed me... and to hang the occasional Christmas ornament. She can say whatever the hell she wants." He answered. I laughed despite myself, and Klaus sipped his blood with an amused smile. "You seem better."

"Yeah. Well, I did wake up to our children crying this morning." I said and he chuckled. "Thank you for giving me space to not talk. But I really needed time to think with my mother begin died again and Aurora saying John was alive...."

"She told you about that?" He asked worried and I nodded.

"Yeah, but don't worry," I said and he seemed confused. "She was probably just lying to get what she wanted out of me." He smiled at me. "Why didn't you go with Elijah to help Rebekah? I hope it's not to stay and babysit me." Klaus looked slightly ashamed for a moment as he glanced sheepishly around the room.

"It's not a good idea for him and me to spend hours together in confined spaces, given that the prophecy foretells one family member felled by another," Klaus said. I could see that he was worried again and gave him a reassuring smile.

"You don't think he would hurt you?" I asked him.

"I don't know what to think," Klaus said quietly. He sighed before leaning forward and setting his glass down on the table. "The damn fortune-teller's predictions continue to unfold, despite all our efforts..." My phone began to buzz in the pocket of my jeans, and I reached over to take it. When I looked at the screen, I saw a text from Hayley that read, "Going after Jackson see you soon."

"It's Hayley," I said. Then got another text from Cami asking for my help. I looked at Klaus with a smile. "I have to stay and wait for Hayley. But can you do me a favor and go help Cami?" I asked and he nodded. We kissed and he left to go help my friend while I went upstairs to check on the kids.

~

I rushed downstairs to find Jackson, Freya, and Hayley in the courtyard. Freya was weakly lying back on the couch. Her arm was broken and bound up in a makeshift sling with Jackson's button-down shirt while he paced anxiously. I immediately walked over to them to find out what was going on.

"Hey, I got your text. What happened?" I asked them. I saw how badly injured Freya truly was and walked over to the couch to sit next to her.

"She got jumped. Three vampires, all dressed like yuppies." Jackson said and I sighed.