CHAPTER TWO | YOU HUNG THE MOON

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DESPITE WHAT FELT LIKE HOURS OF SEARCHING THROUGH THE BAYOU, THEY STILL HAD NOT MANAGED TO FIND HAYLEY. Riley knew that nothing would stop Hayley from seeing her daughter on the one night a month were she was able to hold her and that only made her panic more about the Hybrid's fate. Riley and Elijah continued to wade through the bayou, the Heretic tightly held Hope within her arms whilst Elijah led the way.

"Hayley!" He yelled frantically, making his way through the forest. He halted immediately, putting his arm out in front of Riley before he walked onto another steel-jawed animal trap.

Riley gulped thickly when she noticed the trap covered in blood, as well as a pool of the crimson liquid situated beside it. "Blood. You don't think it's—" 

"—Where is she?" A voice called out from behind them. Jackson emerged from the trees, an angry look on his face whilst blood covered his naked body. "Where the hell is Hayley?"

"That's precisely what we are trying to find out." Elijah answered but he soon noticed that Jackson's leg was seriously wounded, presumably from one of the traps that had been set in the bayou. "Come. You're hurt."

They returned back to where Elijah had previously laid out a meal of the Crescent wolves and to Hope's stroller. Whilst Elijah used a knife to pry out one of the bullets from Jackson's shoulder, Riley placed the littlest Mikaelson into her stroller.

Once he heard Jackson wince in pain, Elijah rolled his sleeve up and bit his wrist. "Take my blood."

"I'm good." Jackson rolled his eyes. Awkwardly, Elijah lowered his arm as another breathless sigh left the Alpha's lips. "We need to find Hayley."

"We've been looking for hours. We've seen nothing apart from—" Riley trailed off with a grim look on her face. "—The bodies."

The wolf nodded with an equally unhappy look. "Hunters set up traps all over the bayou. Mowed us down with gunfire. Any wolf that wasn't taken out scattered." Jackson winced, his eyes flickered to his gunshot wound as he gritted his teeth. "How many bodies?" Neither Riley or Elijah wanted to answer, instead they looked away. Jackson was stunned by the silence. "A trap wouldn't hold Hayley after she turned back. Nothing would stop her from seeing that little girl. Something's wrong."

With her eyes rested on Hope Mikaelson, Riley swallowed thickly. Eventually, she exhaled and looked back toward Jackson. "My thoughts exactly." 

Nodding, Elijah started toward Hope's stroll as if he were preparing to leave. Jackson blinked in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"To take my niece home. Then, Riley and I will continue the search. You stay here, you tend to your dead."

"No! No. I got five hours until I'm a wolf again." His gaze flickered between the couple that seemed insistent on working alone. "Elijah, she's my wife."

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It turned out that Kingmaker Land Development were the company that ordered the poachers into the bayou. The company was run by one of Klaus' old friends, Lucien Castle. Putting two and two together, they knew just who they needed to speak with. 

 "I thought I smelled swamp." Klaus mused without even bothering to turn around to face his audience. Elijah, Riley and Jackson all stood behind him. 

Eventually, he turned to face them and noticed the look of fury on their faces. "What'd you do with Hayley?" 

"Don't play games, Klaus. Just tell us what you've done." Riley folded her arms across her chest. She knew that he would surely deflect and feign innocence as usual.

"Has Jackson misplaced his bride? Come to think about it, I did read that global warming was affecting migration patterns. Try Georgia!" 

"I just left the bodies of people I care about to rot in the woods because you left them defenceless against poachers! Sent by Kingmaker Land Development. That ring a bell?" Klaus' smile soon fell. "Yeah, the CEO Is Lucien Castle. Elijah tells me you two go way back."

Elijah strode forward and walked directly in front of Klaus so they were face-to-face. "So, I will ask you once again— what do you know?"

"As it happens, I just came back from a romp with our good friend Lucien. You can find hm in the penthouse of the gaudy new construction on Canal. And, while you two are catching up, be sure to ask him about the prophetic vision he showed me of our family's spectacular downfall. You could use a good laugh."

The Original vampire sighed, gesturing to both Riley and Jackson. "You two stay here. Niklaus and I will deal with this."

"Actually, as long as Hayley's prowling about on two legs and unaccounted for, I'm staying with my daughter." The Hybrid eyed Jackson up with a pointed look. "And, should I discover that this is yet another cock-eyed scheme for Hayley and you to abscond with her, the paltry remains of your beloved wolf pack will be sniffing at your entrails come morning."

Irritably, Riley sped in front of Klaus before he had a chance to walk away from Jackson. She tilted her head, a venomous look on her face. "If I were you, I'd really consider what kind of parent I was if I were truly incapable of caring about the safety of my daughter's mother. You realise that if anything happens to Hayley, you won't have to worry about anyone leaving with her, because she'll make that choice herself." The vampire brushed past Klaus, bashing his shoulder with her arm before she, Elijah and Jackson left the room.

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"Elijah! What a glorious pleasure!" Lucien Castle gleefully spoke once he answered the door and noticed Elijah Mikaelson was stood in the hallway of his apartment. His gaze flickered to the strawberry-blonde at his side. "Have you brought a delightful snack to welcome me into this fine city?"

"By the looks and smell of it, you've had your fill." Riley noticed the small bloodstain upon his mouth which he had clearly missed with his handkerchief. 

"Oh, a sharp-tongue." Intrigued, Lucien clapped his hands together with a grin. "What's your name, sweetheart?

"Riley." 

"Riley! That's right. The witch girlfriend that Nik killed." He mused, though he tilted his head with slight confusion. "You don't look very dead to me."

"I do apologise for the late hour." Elijah interrupted Lucien's attempt to pry more information about Riley's current state. That was the last thing he wanted to discuss, especially with Lucien.

"Oh, it's no matter. I've long been nostalgic for the days when vampires conducted business in the dark." Elijah attempted to take a step forward to enter Lucien's apartment, but was unable to enter. "It's a boundary spell. No vampire from another sireline can enter without an invitation. Given the circumstances, you know."

"Lucien, we didn't come here to chin-wag. Your little corportation has been butchering wolves in the Bayou Lafourche."

"It's population control." The vampire corrected. "There's viable land out there— viable, that is, once the sudden influx of mangy wildlife has been eliminated."

"By mangy wildlife, you're referring to the Crescent wolf pack?" Riley asked, though Lucien cluelessly shrugged. "Hayley Kenner is missing. She's one of the Alpha's to the Crescent wolves."

Lucien narrowed his eyes in realisation. "The Hybrid Nik knocked up? I'm surprised by your concern, Elijah. When your family left her to prowl the woods for all these months, I just figured the tramp was persona non grata— fair game."

Elijah sent a smirk toward Riley, who extended her hands and caused Lucien's legs to break. Once the vampire had fallen to the ground, Jackson rushed into the apartment and viciously bit Lucien on the arm. "Now, they asked you what your hunters did with my wife. Answers. Now!"

Lucien jumped up to his feet and gave Jackson a challenging glare. "I'll have them inspect the roadkill in the morning."

"Jackson. You haven't got much time left." Riley warned the Crescent wolf, noticing the clock on the wall. He sighed heavily, and disappeared out of the apartment.

"My darling Lucien, I'm quite happy to stand here and watch you die. Or, you could invite my instead. The choice is yours."

"Fine. Come in." Lucien heavily sighed. Elijah stepped into the apartment with ease, followed by Riley. She was able to enter without invitation, since she was part of Klaus' sire line, though refused to without Elijah at her side. "My contacts will get back to me if they have any information about a wolf matching your description."

Riley noticed the bite upon Lucien's forearm as he poured himself a scotch. "If you want any chance of getting that bite healed, you're gonna need Klaus' blood. And, I'm sure he'll give that right to you, once Hayley has been found." 

Their attention was then taken by a woman, seated silently and motionlessly on a chair. Elijah carefully moved the woman's brunette hair from her neck to expose the fang marks. "Oh, feel free to have a drink, either of you. She's not dead. Just mouthy. I compelled her to be quiet."

"You can spare me the counterfeit camaraderie. So, you say you're in conflict with those of my sireline. Am I to assume that the Lord Tristan de Martel is up to his usual tricks?" 

"This is no quarrel, Elijah." Lucien irritably answered back. "We are on the brink of war! Tristan knows that if he kills Klaus, he will eliminate all his enemies."

By the logic of what Lucien was saying, Riley started to panic. "Right, so does that mean your gonna go after Elijah?" 

"No." He answered without hesitation but noticed that Elijah seemed confused by that answer. "If I kill you, then I trade all of the money, the women, the jets, for an eternity on the run from Nik, Rebekah and presumably, your beloved."

Riley shot Lucien a fake smile before Elijah sighed. "Leave the city. No one needs your protection. The White Oak is destroyed. We cannot be killed."

"You're wrong. Talk to Nik. He's seen the prophecy. Visions of darkness surround your family. You are not immune to death, Elijah." Lucien noticed neither Riley or Elijah seemed concerned. "And, you don't seem particularly fazed."

"—Well, I'm no stranger to death, young Lucien. Or third-rate prophecies, for that matter." Elijah got up to his feet, intertwined his hands with Riley and headed toward the door.

"Or maybe immortality has finally soured you. After all, you've abandoned your eternal efforts to save Nik's soul. What's left for the legendary Elijah Mikaelson if not that singular motivation?"

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Chaos had descended the moment that Elijah and Riley returned back to the compound. Hayley had appeared and was spoiling for a fight with the Hybrid, she wanted retribution, but the moment she laid eyes on her daughter, everything changed. They had made an agreement that Jackson and Hayley would move into the apartment across the street with Hope and Klaus would not be invited in. 

"Hey." Riley stepped into the study to see Freya with an ice-pack against her head whilst her gaze remained fixed on her blue pendant. "How's the head?" 

"Pounding." The witch grumbled with a heavy sigh as she straightened herself up. "I suppose I was misguided to believe Hayley's return would ease tensions in this house."

"Misguided. Delusional. Refreshingly optimistic." Elijah's voice carried as he entered the room with a slight grin on his face. He brushed past Riley, placing a kiss against her forehead before his eyes fell back to Freya again. "You're new."

Freya smiled, seemingly thankful for Elijah's encouragement, though she knew something was wrong. "What is it?"

"Riley and I received some unsettling information from Lucien Castle. I don't trust the source, but I trust you." 

Riley folded her arms across her chest and sighed heavily whilst they followed Freya downstairs and into the courtyard. "Lucien claims there's something coming— a prophecy that will destroy us all and there's a weapon capable of doing just that."

"I know just the spell." The Mikaelson witch led them toward a table in the courtyard where Klaus was already waiting. "If you fed on this prophetic witch, her blood is still in your system. If there's a weapon that can kill you, we need to know."

Klaus slice his palm and dripped his blood into a bowl for the witch before he set it in front of her after she finished lighting the candles. She laid out three pieces of paper with Norse runes on them which spelled out Elijah, Rebekah, and Niklaus. 

Freya took a deep breath to compose herself before she dipped her fingers into the bowl of Klaus' blood to make a connection with the witch's visions. "No mentre le prophecie que la otra ve. No mentre le prophecie que la otra ve." As she chanteed, blood began to pour from inside of her right ear and the house began to shake. "No mentre le prophecie que la otra ve. No mentre le prophecie que la otra ve."

"Freya, you need to stop!" Riley worriedly grabbed hold of Freya's arms but despite her pleas, Freya didn't stop. 

The pieces of paper with the names of the Originals suddenly caught on fire within the bowl as Freya's eyes abruptly opened. The flames that engulfed the table immediately disappeared as Freya looked toward them. "It's true. You have a terrible shadow over you. Rebekah, too. If this prophecy is fulfilled, you will all fall. One by friend, one by foe and one by family."

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