Esmeray's lips were tingling for hours afterward.

She wasn't sure how long she remained on the ground in Klaus's room, covering her face and giggling. She had texted Damon, and he responded with a kissy emoji and an eggplant emoji. But from there, time became a blur as she replayed the moment over and over in her head, still able to feel the way he'd held her waist and the way he'd caressed her cheek.

"Rebekah was very appalled," teased Hayley once Esmeray came downstairs, her face red.

"She didn't have to barge in," said Esmeray pointedly, though she was still all smiley. Who cared what Rebekah thought? "Besides, she's seen me with a guy before in a lot more of an intimate context."

"Huh?"

"I mean, she and I had a threesome with my best friend, Damon."

"Oh good lord I can't even imagine being confident enough to have a threesome."

"You are hot as fuck, Hayley. But just to let you know— if you're majorly interested in Elijah, you're never going to end up being in a threesome. He's definitely not open to sharing."

Hayley's cheeks turned red as they walked outside. "Am I really that easy to read?"

"You're too worried about him for you not to be attracted to him. I get it."

"He seems so private though, it's hard to understand what he's thinking half the time."

"Trust me, he's attracted to you. He's too respectful to try and make a move until the baby is out of you, but I guarantee he fancies you."

Hayley blushed. "So, what about Klaus, though? Are you two gonna give my kid a sibling anytime soon?"

"Oh, hell no. I'm not ready to be a mom yet, and I think we should deal with one tribrid kid at a time. Are you really okay with us having a kid of our own, or are you just joking?"

"I expect this baby will need a sibling who gets them. Besides, if you're going to be with Klaus and keeping him calm, I don't think it should be a problem. You said he'll be a good dad. I imagine we can all work together properly."

Esmeray nudged her playfully. "And if you and Elijah get together..."

"Shh, I was kidding..."

"No you weren't! He likes kids and he'd be a good stepdad."

"And I can tell you'll be a good stepmom. This kid won't understand the Cinderella backstory at all... he... or she... won't know what it's like to have an evil stepmother. It'll seem too far-fetched. You'll be more like their fairy godmother."

Esmeray smiled in appreciation of her statement, but stopped and looked up as they neared the fence. On the other side, in the woods, was a familiar wolf that made her grin. "Jackson!"

"Who?" asked Hayley, staring at the wolf with patches of brown, black, and white over his fur.

"My wolf friend who was taking care of me. He must have come to check on me. And I bet he can sense the baby's magic from where he was— it led him here." She made to climb over the fence before she heard someone clear her throat behind her.

She saw an unfamiliar woman approaching them with a smile. "You two aren't supposed to be out here."

Esmeray, who wasn't very happy with this intrusion, glared at the woman and stepped protectively in front of Hayley. "This isn't your house, is it?" she said coldly. "You can't tell us where we can or can't be. Who are you?"

"Sorry," said the witch, holding her hands up in surrender. She was amused with Esmeray's comment. "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Sabine." She looked at Hayley. "We met. I'm one of Sophie's friends."

"You're one of the witches," Hayley deduced.

Sabine nodded. "Sophie just asked me to come keep you two company while everyone's out." She looked at Esmeray as if she knew that Esmeray was going to perform a Locator Spell soon to try and find Elijah. She looked up at Jackson and gestured toward him. "You know, it's drawn to you. The child you're carrying is part vampire, part werewolf. You and Klaus made something special."

Hayley sighed. "You sound like Elijah. He genuinely thinks this baby is going to make us one big, happy family, but now he's gone and I don't even know what... 'it' is."

"You know," said Sabine, "I can do something about that, if you want. I mean, find out if it's a boy or girl."

Esmeray was instantly suspicious. "You're not supposed to do magic here."

"It's not magic, just an old trick. I expect you might know it, or a similar version."

Hayley pursed her lips and looked at Esmeray before nodding. "Alright. Let's go inside."

Esmeray was still uncertain about Sabine, but she knew she had work to do. She escorted them into the kitchen, where Sabine wanted Hayley to lay down.

The werewitch moved into another room, and started to perform her Locator Spell. As expected, it didn't work no matter how many times she tried. Davina's power was strong enough to conceal Elijah. Unless Esmeray tapped into Ancestral magic, she wouldn't be able to trace it.

"Damn it," she mumbled, coming back into the kitchen and seeing Sabine was gone. "Where did our random visitor go?"

"I don't know, but she was acting weird..." Hayley furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't know what it means but she said something like... 'nos omnia perditu el eam.'"

"That's not a language I understand," Esmeray said pensively. "But why did she say it?"

"She was just telling me how she thought it was a girl and then she just arched her neck back and was shaking..."

"Oh, well, she must have had a vision. Unless we know what she saw, we'll have no idea what she said. I wouldn't worry about it— some witches just get that and it could mean something or mean nothing."

They couldn't really ponder on what it might mean anyway, considering they never had the spelling of said words. "So, what did Sabine say?" asked Esmeray as she got herself and Hayley something to eat.

"She says she's pretty sure it's a girl," said Hayley, sitting down and holding her belly, which was still fairly flat at the moment. "She scared me a bit, thinking it might be a boy. A mini Klaus."

"Don't be so sure the girl won't be a mini Klaus. I may not have the best memories with my father, but I am him in almost every aspect— the good and the bad."

Hayley groaned. "Oh, please don't tell me my... daughter... might be a girl version of Klaus."

"She might be, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing." She pursed her lips. "Not long before, I had a sort of premonition. It kept me from letting Klaus in my pants because I was really worried we'd make a tribrid baby. I saw this little girl who looked almost exactly like him, and she was painting for me. I think... that might be your daughter."

"Really? But how would you know? What if that was the daughter you and Klaus were supposed to... or are going to... have?"

"I wouldn't know if it was either or. But I can imagine it's your daughter. I don't think she was mine. She was beautiful, Hayley. Now that I know you... I think I can see the aspects of you that she shared. She has your facial structures. I don't know her name or how old she even was in the vision, but she was an artist, like him."

Hayley started to smile gradually as Esmeray continued to speak. She looked down at her belly and ran her thumbs over it. "I might be having a little girl," she whispered, a blush on her cheeks that let Esmeray know that she was really starting to grow excited about the prospect of motherhood.

The house got loud as soon as they finished eating. Esmeray and Hayley weren't sure what happened that left Rebekah and Klaus snarling at each other once they returned, but it led to several doors being slammed, and Hayley sighed to herself before going to her room, while Esmeray made her way to where Klaus would be.

"Hi," she said softly, leaning into the doorway and watching as he tore off the tie he'd been wearing.

"Hello," he muttered, shaking his head and balling up the tie before tossing it across the room. "Did you find Elijah?"

"Unfortunately no. Sorry to add on to what seems to be a platter already full of bad news. Tomorrow, I'll need to try and see into Rebekah's mind and see if we can figure out where she went from there."

Klaus sighed and nodded in understanding. "Not to worry. Elijah will be returning to us soon. You'll be happy to know the witch, Katie, is dead, and Thierry is getting his punishment."

He started furiously unbuttoning his shirt, tearing a seam and making him hiss at the sound. Esmeray closed the door behind her and stepped forward, placing her palms on his back to stop him from ripping it. "What happened, Klaus?"

"Rebekah is being insufferable as usual. It's nothing you need to worry about."

She shrugged and pulled him into a hug, which elicited a gruff sigh from him. "I apologize for my lack of affection, love."

"It's alright. I'm just glad to know that we're taking the next step. I want to ask... do you need to talk? About Marcel or anything else?"

"No. I simply wish you would remain at my side tonight."

"I can do that. Let me go get into some pajamas."

She was back in minutes, and found he still hadn't gotten out of his party clothes. He was gripping the footboard of his bed tightly and staring at the wall. She shut the door once more to alert him that she was there, and came forward to hug him again.

This time, he caught her hands right as they moved around his waist, and set them aside gently before turning around, putting his own hand on the back of her head, and dipping down to kiss her deeply. It caught her by surprise, but she easily relaxed into it, slipping her hands from his abdomen, to around his waist, and up his back, gripping at the unbuttoned shirt as if tempted to tear it off. His other hand had since drifted down her to her waist, tugging at the waistband of her pajama shorts.

They couldn't help it. Their instincts were hard to push aside, and these were the moments that made Esmeray forget nearly all her morals. Her inner wolf wanted more, but she knew they shouldn't, and to her surprise, Klaus was good at holding her back.

"Hang on, love," he said lowly when he realized she'd slipped off his shirt, her hands now roaming over his bare chest.

Esmeray tried to pretend she wasn't doing anything. "I-I was just admiring your u-um... tattoos," she said, tracing her fingers delicately over the birds etched on his skin, emerging from a feather on his shoulder. "You um, didn't have these when I first met you."

"You know how I got them," he said teasingly, knowing she was covering up for herself. "You missed the one on my back." He turned for her to see it, his muscles rippling as he tucked his shoulders back, showing off the triangle on his right shoulder blade.

"They're beautiful," she said awkwardly, trying to pretend she wasn't thinking something inappropriate. She didn't want to be the one breaking the deal considering how understanding he'd been about it.

"You're beautiful, love," he said, facing her once more. "Beautiful..." he dipped down to kiss her throat. "Wonderful..." he kissed another spot. "My little werewitch... my queen... my everything..."

"Klaus," she moaned, tilting her neck back for him as he backed her onto the bed, getting on top of her and holding her hips. "Kiss me, please."

His lips found hers again, and she brought her hands to his head, tugging at his hair. She loved his curls. She brought her legs around his waist, pulling him close to whisper in his ear. "It's okay if you want to feed on me."

This was definitely what he wanted. Blood tasted amazing in general, but hers was the perfect drink. He wasn't sure if it was because of the time period she was born in, or because she was a hybrid, or because she was his soulmate, but it was something he could never quite get enough of.

He bit into her neck and started to drink her blood, making her whimper and pull his hair harder. He didn't feed for very long before pulling back and kissing her again, the blood smearing on her lips and causing her to whimper lightly. He felt his own heart rate accelerating at this— every last instinct was telling him to claim her as his. This time, she was the one who had to stop him when he started slipping his own pants off to minimize the discomfort he was starting to feel in his groin area.

"Hey," she said, tapping his side. "Too far. Please, stop."

"Sorry, love," he grumbled a bit dejectedly. But he found that as soon as he got up, all that arousal was swept away, leaving him relaxed. He felt happy that he'd listened to her. Maybe she was right— she was the Alpha in this relationship and he was satisfied whenever he did what the Alpha wanted.

Esmeray sat up a bit, laying back into his pillows and watching him with great interest as he went to find some night clothes to wear. "Even though I've seen into your mind, it surprises me that you wear pajamas."

"Would you rather I sleep nude?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Not tonight, at least. Maybe in the future. And maybe one day I can do like a nude modeling session for you to paint me."

Klaus smirked and came back beside her, laying down in a manner that allowed him to spoon her from behind, one hand around her front and caressing her stomach, and the other wrapped beneath her and folding back to rest over her shoulder. "It's been a very long time since someone posed for me that way."

"I figured you'd enjoy that. I don't recall when was the last time I told you that you're an incredible artist."

"I imagine you could be an incredible artist, too. You've just never tried to learn."

"I don't think I could do it, even after absorbing your memories."

"I'll show you step by step how to paint one day. I'll let you sit on my lap while you do it."

"Something tells me we won't be painting for very long if your lap is meant to be my chair."

"Are you accusing me of something, love?"

"The inability to control when you get turned on by me? Yes. But it's a two-way street, and I'd feel the same, especially if you'd be resting your head on my shoulder and whispering instructions in my ear. I imagine it's a very intimate way of teaching. If any real instructor did that, they'd be fired."

Klaus chuckled lightly, nuzzling his head into her shoulder and inhaling the heavenly scent that came from her. How was it possible for her to always smell this good? "Two days, love," he teased in her ear.

"You said three earlier!"

"That was hours ago. I am telling you with certainty— two days."

"Maybe I should just anger myself to not go into heat. I don't like it. I wish you could compel me to not go into heat."

"If I could compel you, the world would be a very different place."

"Oh, yes, I forget how sinister your ideas were when we first met. We'd already be ruling the world."

"Is it true the wolves wish for you to be their queen?"

"It would seem so. Every full moon since I met Jackson, he's talked about how the wolves think I'll be the one to bring them back to tradition and help them rebuild what the vampires have been destroying since our youth. It seems quite a bit of wolves are eager to see me take up leadership."

"How would that happen?"

"Jackson thinks that the Alphas of each existing Pack would need to come and find me and acknowledge me as their Alpha. They'd still be reigning over their individual Packs, but I'd be seen as the supreme leader of sorts. I really wouldn't be commanding anyone to do anything, more like getting together with the Alphas and speaking about what each Pack needs. Anya... would speak about relocating Packs to put them together so that they can reproduce and replenish their numbers. I'd be basically running the United Nations version of werewolf politics... which is scary, honestly. I don't know how good I'd be at guiding them all in the right direction. For now, I think I want to wait for your baby to be born before I go off trying to unite everyone. I'll try to use social media and Locator Spells to get in contact with as many Alphas as I can. I could also try a really complicated spell that could help me broadcast a message to every existing werewolf. But that would probably drain me immensely if I'm not a full hybrid."

Klaus took her hand and squeezed it, which helped her realize that in speaking about something that stressed her out a bit, she'd made several things around the room fall out of their places. "I'm sorry," she said sheepishly. "I still forget to be vigilant sometimes. I hate how weak I am."

"Nonsense," he said. "You're anything but weak, love. Your magic is beyond powerful. You've performed many high-level spells that other witches couldn't have dreamed of doing. And you've done it all without consequences such as terrible side effects. Your magic simply lacks control. It doesn't make you weak. It is because of your strength that your magic cannot be controlled without you first binding yourself in a manner that will let your lupine abilities flourish. Don't let your father's past words make you believe that you aren't an astoundingly capable witch."

Esmeray winced. "My father never really respected magic, honestly. He understood that it was important, but in hindsight... he didn't value witches very much. He loved my mother, but there were many instances where he undermined the work that she did. For him, being a wolf was best, and I was a disappointment who couldn't do that properly even if it was my birthright. I wish I knew why I was even born the way I was— what benefit did it yield? It makes me question everything and gives me a headache."

"You, love," Klaus whispered, "were born to bring light into the world. You were born to show the wolves that differences are nothing to be ashamed of. You were born to rule your people and teach them how to be stronger in a time where they've let themselves stray from the might that runs through their veins." He kissed her shoulder tenderly. "I am grateful that my child will grow to know you. That you will teach... her, according to Hayley... how to be independent and fierce without boundaries."

She wiggled in his arms, making him loosen his hold so that she could face him. "And you, Klaus," she said softly, "were born to bring about the most beautiful sceneries onto a canvas. You were born to make art that would last an eternity. You were born to protect those you held near and dear to an extent that others are too cowardly to go to. You were born to be a wonderful father and brother—"

"Do you really believe I can be a wonderful father?" he asked nervously. "We both know that I am not the prime example for 'preeminent brother.'"

"Siblings fight and they hate each other and they sometimes don't speak for a long time. Yes, you've acted unfairly, but you have made an effort to learn from your mistakes. Are you still learning? Also yes. You have only ever wanted what was best for Rebekah, and while you killed those she loved, you saw something she didn't— that deep down, those men didn't love her as deeply as they claimed to. In seeing into your mind, I have seen the things you witnessed her lovers saying or doing that raised red flags— flags that she was all too inclined to ignore because she thought that she was safe from all harm and needn't notice them. Obviously, there is a lot you need to atone for, and a lot you need to stop doing if you want to have a better relationship with your siblings. You need to be honest about your reasoning behind the cruel things you did, not to make an excuse, but to let them see that in that moment, you were doing what you thought was best to protect them. You, in being different and being mistreated more than all of them, sought to save them from themselves and from others, because you learned from Mikael's abuse that sometimes, home isn't where you feel safest. You clearly know what was right and what was wrong. If you acknowledge it in front of them and make every apology count and make them see that you want to be a better man, you will achieve the family peace you've been striving for since a thousand years prior.

"As for being a wonderful father, of course you have the capacity for that. You learned firsthand what it was like to be abused, and you would never let your child go through that again. You know how to be gentle even if you don't think you do. Elijah's onto something, Klaus. You have every fatherly bone needed to feel unconditional love, and this little girl will be your little princess from now until... well, forever. Just you wait. Once Hayley feels her kick for the first time and you feel it, you'll realize that you are more than capable of being a good dad. Will it be hard to adjust at first? For sure. But you have been alive for a thousand years and you have seen other people raise their kids, you raised Marcel, and with this baby, you will watch yourself grow into the incredible man you can be. Of course you're going to be a wonderful father, Klaus, how could you ever think otherwise?"

Klaus was staring at her with such love that she didn't need to hear him say the three words to know what he was feeling. She felt the same, even if she wouldn't think to say it this early in their relationship. "Do you think we moved too fast?" she mumbled quietly after several moments of him just rubbing her back and resting his head on hers. "Or do you think we're not moving fast enough?"

"I may be more inclined to say the latter," he said, bringing his hand up to stroke her hair. "I feel as though I have known you my entire life. Being 'all in' is appropriate at this stage. We have practically known one another for a thousand years. But I will be as patient as you want me to be, love. I can keep my wolf at bay for as long as necessary."

"A part of me wants to just go all the way. Truly. Because I trust you and I want a family with you and I want this all to work out. I just wish it was easier to control my desires when I'm in heat. I hate that I can't stop it unless I feel another strong emotion— that isn't exactly healthy, either. This heat is going to hit stronger because after months of not experiencing it... and now that you and I are together... it's going to be demanding that I pin you down."

"I've offered in the past, but I might as well mention it once more... I can help you in other ways. We needn't go all the way. I will be more than happy to bring you relief even if I do not receive the same thing in return. You are the Alpha, love. I will be pleased doing whatever you wish me to."

"Hmm, so if I sit on your face in two days, you won't complain?"

"I don't think I'd be able to voice any complaints in that position..."

"Klaus!"

A/N: A fluffy Klausmeray chapter because why not? I've been wanting them to get together since Chapter 1 but I had to make it slow burn. It makes me happy to see my babies so in love.