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

Chapter 22

Alex's P.O.V

Two vampires brought a the still-bloodied and shackled me forward along with Hayley. We were so weak we couldn't even stand on our own, and when the vampires let go of us, we collapsed onto the floor in between the two groups as Elijah and Klaus stare at us in horror.

"Alexandria Salvatore-Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall, only slightly worse for wear. You'll have to forgive Alex if she seems a bit off. There's enough wolfsbane in her system to kill an entire pack. And Hayley well, she's a brand new Hybrid. However, there they are, as requested, alive. Now, where's my sister?" Tristan said to them.

"She lives. You can thank Elijah for that." Klaus sneers. My husband walked towards Tristan so they were standing eye-to-eye. "I wanted to fly her and hang her skin like a flag. Anyway, enough chit-chat. Let's conclude this tedious business, shall we?"

"My sister first. And, if you're tempted to argue, consider the numbers." Tristan said.

Klaus smirked in amusement and walked even closer to him so that their noses were nearly touching, indicating that he was not threatened by his army. Tristan looks slightly nervous but stands his ground.

After a moment, Klaus rolled his eyes and walked over to a rusty green shipping container, which he opened to reveal Aurora sitting inside with a black hood over her head and her wrists bound behind her back. Tristan, still suspicious, turned back to Aya.

"If they try anything, attack." He said to her. Aya nodded in agreement, and Tristan vamp-sped into the shipping container towards Aurora.

He took off her hood, and her head rolled on her shoulders, still sedated from the drugs earlier. When Tristan looked back at Aya, she nodded at the vampires standing guard over Hayley and me, allowing Klaus and Elijah to take us. Klaus held me in his arms as Elijah did with Hayley. Aurora woke up when Tristan started to break her bonds and smiled at him weakly.

"Oh, brother, you came for me." She said to him and he smiled.

"Always." He said. Tristan stands once he's finished and pulled Aurora to her feet as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Come on. Come on."

While they're hugging, Aurora reached into Tristan's pants pocket and pulled out the Serratura. As soon as she has it, she yanked herself out of his embrace. He looked at her warily when he saw the medallion in her hand and slowly reached out to take it from her, not knowing what she's trying to do.

"Rory...? What are you doing?" Tristan asked.

Before Tristan can react further, Aurora slammed the Serratura against the wall of the shipping container, which activated its power and caused the warehouse to shake for a moment as though an earthquake has just hit. The medallion remained stuck to the wall, and Aurora looked at Tristan with crazed eyes as he, realizing what has just happened, tried to run out of the shipping container and is blocked by an invisible barrier. Tristan looked at Aurora in horror.

"No... Aurora... What have you done to us?" He asked his sister. Aurora looked smug as she walked towards Tristan.

"Not to us..." She said. Much to Tristan's horror, Aurora walked right past the barrier and joined Elijah, Klaus, Hayley, and I outside of it, triggering some kind of secondary barrier. "To you."

Aurora turned so she can face Tristan, but suddenly, a magical haze covered her before it is revealed that it was actually Cami the whole time. Tristan stared at us with a look of cold fury from inside the shipping container.

"What is this?" He asked.

"You know what they say - payback's a bitch." Cami told him.

"How is this possible?" He asked horrified.

"The Serratura creates an impenetrable boundary. Nothing living or dead can pass through." Klaus said smugly.

"And, thanks to your lunatic sister, I'm neither," Cami said and I stared at her. I was standing on my own by now and out of Klaus's arms. I grabbed Cami's arm and pulled her towards me. "She found me in an alleyway and compelled me to drink her blood, then kill myself if you weren't dead."

"So when you called me -" I said and she nodded. I slowly processed the information then turned back to Tristan, whose eyes widen in alarm when he realized that he was truly trapped inside of that shipping container forever.

"No. No. NO!" Tristan yelled and we looked back at him.

"Stay close to me, okay?" I whispered to Cami and she nodded. Tristan stared at the Strixs, who didn't know what to do.

"What are you waiting for? Take them! Now!" Tristan yelled at them. Just as the Strix were about to obey this command, Elijah stepped forward to address them himself, putting his body protectively in front of Hayley, who was barely standing on her feet. While Klaus stood in front of Cami and me protectively.

"Before you rush headlong toward almost certain death... As your sire, I would like you to employ just a little bit of common sense." Elijah said to them and Aya scoffed.

"We are ancient vampires, Elijah - each of us almost as strong as you." She said and he shrugged.

"You might almost be successful in subduing us, but at what price? Most of you will die in the process, and for what? To avenge a fool marching you headlong toward your very extinction in the name of a witch's prophecy? You do realize he engineered absolutely all of this purely to satisfy some petty grievance against my family?" Elijah explained. He turned and walked towards the shipping container, smiling fakely at Tristan as he leaned against the metal door. "Tristan doesn't care for any of you."

"Stop listening to him!" Tristan said furiously. Elijah ignored him and continued to talk to his sire line.

"The only danger here is the choice that you must make. You see, I am not your enemy." Elijah said to them. He stopped in front of Aya and nodded in acknowledgment. "It's true, I delivered you into this existence. I can just as easily pluck you out of it. The choice is yours to make."

Aya looked torn but continued to glare at Elijah as though she was entertaining the idea of fighting them. Marcel saw what she was about to do, walked over, and blocked her way as he whispered in her ear.

"It's done. The moment has passed. Be smart, Aya. Smarter than Tristan. Don't waste any more of our guys." Marcel said. Aya didn't seem pleased that Marcel was ordering her around, but after a moment, she turned back to the rest of the vampires.

"Stand down." She said to them and I let out a breath. Tristan only became more furious to see that the Strix have been convinced to not avenge him.

"You will not abandon me!" Tristan yelled and Aya walked towards Tristan, as he stood trapped inside the shipping container, then gave him a regretful look.

"It's a shame it has to end like this." She said to him.

"Aya, this isn't over!" He said enraged. She put her right hand over her heart in a sort of salute to her former leader.

"May the ghosts of our fallen keep you company." She said coldly. The Strix then begin to leave the warehouse, Aya included, though the rest of us stayed behind. Tristan continued to shout after them.

"Aya. Aya! AYA!"