Hidden | Elijah Mikaelson |

3.5 When it Rains it Pours

The storm was relentless. Night turned into day and the rain was still coming down as hard as it was when the storm started. At this rate, the entire bayou would flood by tonight. I was fortunate to be a hybrid and not get as cold easily as I would have as human, but this rain felt different. It was like my bones were cold and wet and I couldn't shake the chills I had. At least Hope was able to sleep peacefully through this.

Elijah called last night to tell me that Klaus was missing. I knew that meant he was coming after us, and I knew there'd be hell to pay once he found us. I didn't have the heart to tell Hayley and Jackson, but I knew I had to. We needed to put as much distance between us and the city as possible.

I stepped off the porch as my clothes became drenched in seconds and walked over to where Hayley was standing under a little lean-to. I was surprised to see Mary, Jackson's grandmother, here. They must've called her last night.

"What is it?" Hayley asked immediately, seeing the uneasy look on my face.

I glanced around, lowering my voice so the conversation stayed between us. "Elijah called. Klaus is gone," I told her with a sigh.

She shook her head as she processed what I just said, "Then we need to get moving."

"Yeah," I nodded in agreement. I really didn't want to think about Klaus' tyranny if he found us. Klaus and I were always close, but I knew that taking Hope was too far. It was the right thing to do in the moment, but it wasn't far to betray him like that, especially after all we had been through.

Hayley turned to look at the older woman, "Mary, I appreciate you coming but you should know what you're going up against."

"Ancient witch wants to steal my granddaughter? Not on my watch," she replied with a smile and looked down at the table. "I brought something that might come in handy. In my youth, wolves and witches had a peace. Voodoo queen I knew showed me how to use herbs to tell when magic's afoot. Combine Solomon's seal and snapdragon, and burn them." She lit the bundled herbs and set them down in a metal pot. "If the smoke is white, all's clear. If it's black, there's a hex in the air. And if it's red, well, then you know you're in trouble."

Black smoke began to rise from the pot as I felt my stomach drop. Mary pursed her lips together, "Just what I thought. This storm ain't natural."

"It's Dahlia," Hayley sighed as she stared up at the sky. "She's trying to pin us down."

Jackson and another wolf walked up and huddled under the shelter. "The road to the highway is flooded. The quickest way out is on foot through backroads," he explained as he noticed the sunken looks on our faces. "What's wrong?"

"Elijah called," I answered. "Klaus is gone. We don't know where he went."

"That settles it, we got to get out of here," Jackson decided.

"What about everyone else?" I asked them in concern. I didn't want to leave them, but I didn't want them to put themselves in danger by coming with us. Klaus or Dahlia wouldn't hesitate to kill them if it got them closer to us.

Jackson led us to where most of the pack was congregated and raised his voice, "Alright, everybody listen up!" He glanced over at me, letting me know they were ready.

I cleared my throat and anxiously looked at everyone, "I want to thank everyone for coming with us and protecting us. You guys welcomed me as one of your own and showed me more kindness than I ever expected. We're family now. But I can't let you risk your lives for me anymore. Dahlia is coming. She's very powerful, and she's not gonna stop until she gets what she wants. Jack, Hayley, and I will be better off if we take Hope and get as far away as we can. Alone. We'll never be able to show you how grateful we are for everything you've done for us. But we have to leave."