CHAPTER FOURTEEN
blameless

I was completely and utterly speechless, not knowing what to say. Tears welled up at his words and I pressed myself further into his arms. I had not known how much I craved him until this moment.

"Klaus." I whispered, which only made him hold me tighter.

"Morgana." He said my name for the first time, his voice cracking slightly on the final syllable.

I wanted to remain in his hold forever but I knew that there were things that we needed to discuss rather urgently.

"Klaus, there are some things I really need to talk to you about. Is there anywhere private we can go?" I asked gently and my mate pulled away from the hug but kept his hands on my shoulder. He didn't respond, his gaze fixed on my neck with horror. I frowned before remembering that he had held me by my throat upon seeing me for the first time. He had most certainly left a mark.

I brought my hand up and upon touching the bruised flesh, I failed to prevent the quiet whimper that escaped me. Klaus let go of me and took a step back, his eyes remaining on the marks he had left. I covered them from view with my hand as I took a step towards him.

"Hey, it's okay, you didn't know who I was." I murmured. When my words failed to get a reaction from him, I tried again, "I'm okay, Klaus."

His gaze snapped to mine as he swallowed. I took another step forward, reached up and caressed his jaw with my other hand.

"I hurt you." He bit out through clenched teeth.

"Are you going to hurt me again?" I asked and he instantly shook his head, "Then I have nothing to worry about."

"I apologise, there is no excuse-" Klaus began but I cut him off.

"You're forgiven. Now, I really need you to take us somewhere private so we can talk and unfortunately we don't have a lot of time." I told him urgently before his hands landed on my waist and he sped us away using his vampire speed.

When we arrived at our location, I grabbed my head, feeling incredibly dizzy from the inhuman speed. When my head stopped spinning, I looked up to discover that we were in a fairly posh and modern apartment.

"Is this where you've been staying?" I asked as I glanced around.

"This is where I've been staying for the past week." Klaus nodded as he led me to a table and pulled out a chair for me. I settled into it and he sat in the one next to me.

"I like the simplicity. Elijah's place is a little too fancy for my liking." I said, noticing the way his jaw clenched upon hearing his brother's name.

"So you've met Elijah then." Klaus said, an edge of bitterness in his tone.

"Yes, I've known him for just over a month." I elaborated.

"You haven't bonded." He said in a pleased tone and my cheeks heated.

"How do you know that?" I asked with a frown.

"Because you don't carry his bite mark or his scent." Klaus explained simply and my eyes widened.

"Bite mark?" I said in confusion and slight horror.

"Elijah did explain how you complete the bond?" He questioned and I nodded.

"He mentioned we'd have to..." I trailed off, my cheeks heating.

"Fuck?" Klaus finished my sentence and a shocked cough escaped me as I attempted to compose myself. I caught the side of his mouth tilting upwards for a moment at my reaction.

"Yes, but he never mentioned biting!" I said, wincing at the thought.

"An exchange of blood must occur at the point of climax to complete the bond. It doesn't have to be a bite, although vampires prefer it because it leaves a mark to ward away other males. It's completely painless, in fact, you may find it rather pleasurable." Klaus explained and at this point, I feared I might never stop blushing.

My eyes darted to a clock on the other side of the room and I remembered that I had so many things to tell him and such little time to do it. Not knowing how to reveal my first bit of news, I decided to say it quickly like ripping off a band aid.

"Henrik is alive."

Klaus froze and remained that way as I told him the edited down version of how he was alive. When I finished, he was completely speechless for many moments.

"How old is he?" Klaus eventually choked out.

"23, three years older than I am." I replied and he gawked at me, "That's not the only thing I need to tell you." I gave him a shortened version of the past month, including Elijah's plan to kill him. I swallowed at the murderous gaze that appeared as I told him. "Please don't hurt him, I know what he was planning was wrong but he only wanted to do it because of what you did to his siblings."

"Did Elijah tell you why I daggered my siblings?" Klaus did not pause to let me answer and continued speaking, "It was to protect them from our father."

"Your father?" I asked, feeling betrayed at the lack of information Elijah had given me.

"Mikael has been hunting us for centuries, he wants me dead because he blames me for my mother's infidelity. My siblings were drawing too much attention to us so I had to dagger them to protect our family." Klaus explained, raising his voice. I knew his anger was not directed at me but it made me wince all the same.

"Elijah said that you dumped them in the ocean! Was he lying about that?" I asked timidly, questioning everything Elijah had ever told me.

Klaus sighed, "Elijah and I had an argument a couple of decades ago and it got rather heated. In a moment of anger, I told him that I dropped our siblings in the sea. Elijah believes that to be true, but it is not. I love my siblings and I keep them close to me at all times."

Overwhelmed by all this information and how blameless Klaus seemed to be in all of Elijah's accusations, I stood and began to pace the room. Klaus stood from his chair and walked over to me, stopping my frantic pacing. He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and his touch instantly relaxed me.

"Do you think you can forgive Elijah?" I asked hopefully.

"My love, Elijah and I have had many quarrels over the centuries. Some arguments last days, others last decades but in the end, we're family. Always and Forever." He said softly as he stroked a hand down my face, goosebumps erupting from every place he touched.

"You're not anything like the wicked vampire I have heard so much about." I said with a smile and Klaus stopped stroking me and instead caressed my face with his hands.

"Trust me, my love, I can be very wicked." He said with a smirk and I shivered under his gaze, unable to control my sudden need for him.

Our lips collided and I let out a moan at the feeling of his mouth on mine. It felt so perfect, so fated. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him as close as I possibly could. His hands travelled down to my waist and then under my shirt, causing my toes to curl. The feeling of his hands on my bare skin was heavenly but it was not enough. I needed more.

I broke away from the kiss, my breathing heavy and I grabbed the bottom of his shirt and tugged it upwards. Klaus helps me get it over his head before throwing the material somewhere on the floor beside us. I rested my hand on his chest as he reattached our lips. His heart beat.furiously under my palm as his mouth slid downwards and across my neck. Every kiss drew a gasp from my throat.

I made an attempt to unbutton my shirt and let out a small growl in frustration when I failed to loosen the buttons quickly enough. Noticing my predicament, Klaus gripped the material and tore it off of my body before his lips continued their exploration of my body.

"Klaus." I sighed as he kissed my chest and the tops of my breasts.

"You are perfect in every way, Morgana." He whispers against my skin.

If this was the way I lost my virginity, then I would be perfectly happy with that. I was about to suggest that he take us to his bedroom when a crash sounds.

I broke away from Klaus and turned to find the door open with two supernaturals standing in the threshold. One looked livid whilst the other looked devastated.

My other mates had arrived.