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"CULLEN." JANE-ANNE smiles as she notices the familiar girl sitting at the bar. "Third time this week."
"I can't help but keep coming back." Cullen replies, a smile of her own on her face. "The food and the company is amazing."
Jane-Anne heart clenches for the sweet girl, a feeling of guilt washing over her. "How much longer you staying in town?"
"I don't know." Cullen shrugs, looking over the menu. "After high school I decided to take a gap year and wait on going to college, but know I'm nineteen and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I will say though New Orleans knows how to party."
"That we do." Jane-Anne nods. "Have you thought anymore about what I was talking to you about? Practicing ancestral magic."
"Yeah." Cullen sighs, handing the menu back to Jane-Anne. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm not from New Orleans. Your ancestors aren't mine, it would almost feel wrong."
"You don't have to be from New Orleans to practice ancestral magic Cullen." Jane-Anne tells the girl.
"While the thought of practicing ancient magic sounds thrilling, I need to get home." Cullen mumbles, standing from her seat. "It's getting late and I would like to go to sleep at a reasonable hour tonight."
"Wait, Cullen." Jane-Anne walks around the counter, resting her hand on Cullen's shoulder. "Just a heads up, be careful on your way home. You know Marcel and his vamps think they own New Orleans."
Cullen smiles at the older woman's warning. "I know Jane, I'll be careful. See ya." All was well for Cullen as she walked out of the small restaurant, what she didn't know was her entire world would soon be turned upside down and the piece of hair Jane-Anne had pulled off her shirt would be the confirmation of it all.
-
"What the hell?" Cullen groans, as her eyes begin to adjust to the low light around her. She looks around in confusion, noticing she was in the cemetery where all the witches came to practice magic. Cullen's eyes widen when she sees a familiar face. "Sophie? What's going on?" The last thing she remembered was getting to her front door and before she could open it everything went black.
"Jane-Anne's dead." Sophie mutters, staring at the ground.
"What?" Cullen breathes out, standing up from her position on the ground.
"Marcel killed Jane-Anne because she did magic." Sophie explains.
"Why would Jane-Anne do magic? She knows how things are run around here, why would she risk it?" Cullen questions.
"She did it for you." Sophie states, finally looking at Cullen.
"For me?" Cullen takes a step back. "What did I do?"
"You slept with a very dangerous person." Sophie exclaims, no malice or hatred in her voice, just a simple fact.
"Excuse me?" Cullen blanches.
"Does the name Klaus Mikaelson ring a bell?" Sophie questions, moving to stand in front of Cullen.
Cullen is quiet for a minute as she thinks, trying to rack her brain for any trace of that name. "No." Cullen finally decides. "I don't think I've ever heard that name before."
"He would have been blonde, blue eyes, British accent, you would have slept with him about four weeks ago." Sophie lists off.
"Ok what does any of this have to do with Jane-Anne?" Cullen interrupts.
"You're pregnant, Cullen." Sophie states. "And Jane-Anne died confirming it."
The world around Cullen stops as the words leave Sophie's mouth. "No. Is this some kind of joke? I am not pregnant."
"You are." Sophie confirms. "And the father of your child is a 1000 year old original hybrid." And just like before, the world around Cullen went black, except this time it wasn't the witches doing.
-
The first thing Cullen hears when she wakes up is Sophie's voice. "Bring her in." The brunette hears Sophie call as Cullen is practically lifted from the ground. Cullen takes a deep breath as she spots two men. One very familiar, the other not so much. "This is Cullen." Sophie introduces, glancing towards Klaus. "I assume you remember her."
Klaus laughs, glancing between Cullen and Sophie. "You are all out of your minds if you think some liquor-fueled one-night stand no offense, sweetheart, means a thing to me."
Cullen rolls her eyes at the man's words, if she had known he was such an ass in the first place she never would have slept with him. He wasn't wrong about the one night stand being liquor fueled though, the night it happened Cullen had been out all night partying. The night had been a blur and her and Klaus hadn't even introduced themselves before they were back in her apartment.
"Marcel may be able to keep us from practicing real magic in this town but as keepers of the balance we still know when nature has cooked up something new." Sophie speaks up. "For example I have a special gift of sensing when a girl is pregnant."
"What?" Klaus barely whispers. "What are you saying?"
"Niklaus." Elijah begins, a small smile on his face. "The girl is carrying your child."
"No." Klaus shakes his head. "It's impossible. Vampires cannot procreate."
"But werewolves can." Sophie raises her voice. "Magic made you a vampire but you were born a werewolf. You're the original hybrid, the first of your kind and this pregnancy is one of natures loopholes."
"You've been with someone else." Klaus practically growls as he spins around to face Cullen. "Admit it! It didn't take a genius to tell that night you had, had more than a couple drinks. You could have been with anyone."
"Are you slut shaming me?" Cullen questions, taking a step forward. "Yeah I partied that night, but you were the only person I slept with. I'm being held here against my will, if it wasn't yours I would have fessed up."
"My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy." Sophie adds. "Because of Jane-Anne's sacrifice the lives of this girl and her baby are now controlled by us. If you don't help us take down Marcel... so help me Cullen won't live long enough to see her first maternity dress."
"Sophie." Cullen calls, confusion laced in her voice.
"Enough of this, if you want Marcel dead he's dead. I'll do it myself." Elijah speaks up.
"No." Sophie shakes her head. "We can't. Not yet. We have a clear plan that we need to follow and there are rules."
Everyone is quiet for a moment before Klaus turns to face Sophie. "How dare you command me? Threaten me with what you wrongfully perceive to be my weakness? I won't hear anymore lies."
"Niklaus." Elijah stops his brother. "Listen." Klaus follows his brothers instructions, turning back towards Cullen. Glancing down at the girls stomach he uses his enhanced hearing to listen to the barely there heartbeat of his child. His eyes widen as the rhythmic thumping fills his ears, for a moment it brings tears to his eyes. Klaus doesn't like how he feels when he looks at Cullen and listens to the sound of their child's heartbeat so he turns to Elijah, a fake smirk on his face.
"Kill her and the baby." Klaus mutters. "What do I care?"
