Rue | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 25

Ibeth was losing her mind.

He has them. Lucien has my brothers. They could be alive or they could be dead. 'Regards' could mean anything. And with Lucien they probably mean the former.

She wasn't breathing. She knew that. Her chest felt incredibly tight. Her body ached. Was she still sitting on the couch? It didn't feel like it. Her body weighed nothing very suddenly, as if she'd ceased to exist. Maybe dying was a better alternative if she was going to have to live without her brothers.

Klaus snapped her out of it, pressing his wrist to her mouth and having her drink his blood. "Love, drink," he coaxed, holding her face as she trembled. He feared the sudden news of her brothers being captured could really be that final push that overwhelmed her and caused severe distress on her and the baby.

"He's gonna kill them," she whimpered, eyes wild as she kept herself from ingesting any blood. "He's gonna kill the last two brothers I have left. He warned me about you, he said that you'd target Nick and Jackson to hurt me, to control me. And now he's gone and done the same thing, he's doing it to hurt me because he knows Aurora is gone—"

"Drink," Klaus coaxed, hearing the heartbeat in her womb growing faster and faster.

She did, between tears. "I'm gonna lose them," she whispered once he'd made her lay down with her legs up, having contacted Hayley to mobilize the wolves. "I'm gonna lose my brothers."

"I will not allow that to happen," he said firmly. "I will save them."

"You'd just be exposing yourself to Lucien... it's not safe."

"It will be. I have a plan. I need your permission to command the wolves. I believe if they use the same strategies that Hayley did today... a battle in wolf form... it will be sufficient to distract Lucien and allow us to make the rescue. I cannot promise lives will not be lost, but I do not believe there is any other way. We have already lost Rebekah, and Kol cannot leave the St. James. You cannot go into this battle— you cannot even be anywhere near it. Hayley and I will lead the wolves. You need only give your permission..."

"You have it," she said, rubbing her forehead. "This goes beyond just me now. Nick is just a kid. Just please... don't force them into it. Anyone who wants to help can help, and please... do your best to lose as few people as possible."

"I will," he promised. "In the meantime... you stay here. Do your best not to worry. Please... it is not good for you. I do not know if it is possible to miscarry a hybrid child, but..."

"Please bring them back safely," she whispered. "Please, please..."

"I will do my very best. That is a promise."

She didn't think she'd have to wait by herself. But she should have expected it. They needed all hands on deck, which meant Hayley and all the Mikaelsons went to convene with the wolves. Vincent and Cami left to retrieve some dark objects that they thought might be useful against Lucien.

Which meant Ibeth was alone in the house with Hope, both of them crying. Her Grandma Mary called her, trying to distract both herself and her granddaughter. But honestly, it didn't make either of them feel better. They were all just too anxious.

Then, at last, she received word from Hayley, 'We're coming home.'

Carrying Hope in her arms, she ran downstairs, skidding to a halt in the doorway and beginning to pace back and forth, like a pendulum on a clock counting the seconds until she'd see them rush in. Jackson and Nick would run into her arms and everything would be just fine. Maybe they'd be a little scratched up but that was nothing a little wolf healing and vampire blood couldn't fix.