CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
chicago

"Are you alright?" I asked Henrik as he pulled himself out of the car with a groan.

"Yeah, I'm good." he said, stretching his back, "Let's just hope that Elijah's informant was correct about this location because I absolutely refuse to get back into that car!"

"Don't be dramatic, Henrik." Elijah chastised his brother as he exited the car. He looked picture perfect, unlike Henrik and I, who were both grumpy and disheveled. "And yes, it appears that my informant was correct."

He pointed across the mostly empty car park to where the familiar lorry sat. A small smile gradually crept onto my face before I banished it. We still had a major obstacle: Klaus.

"What's the plan?" I asked Elijah, who pursed his lips in thought. His brows furrowed for a moment before his gaze snapped towards the warehouse. "What is it?"

Elijah held a finger to his lips and tilted his head towards the warehouse, seemingly listening for something. After a moment, his eyebrows raised in surprise and a smile tugged at his lips.

"It seems that for whatever reason, Klaus has woken our sister." Elijah said to Henrik, "And she is giving him hell."

Elijah sped towards the warehouse and I moved to follow him but Henrik held a hand out to stop me. "We should probably wait here for a moment. I don't want you to get caught between an angry Klaus and a vengeful Rebekah."

"With all due respect, Henrik, you'd have to physically restrain me to stop me." I warned him.

"I am absolutely fine with that." Henrik responded and I shot him a look, "Okay... But stay close to me at all times!"

"Don't I always?"

I followed Henrik into the building, screwing up my nose at the foul smell. It smelt like death, which was probably due to the dead security guard. I gagged and tried to ignore the dead guy as I stepped in between Elijah and Henrik to take in the scene before us. The room was full of coffins and off to the side stood two figures.

I could only see the woman's back, but I felt my heart tug in my chest as I took in her silky blonde hair and silver dress, which looked to be from the 1920s. My heart pounded as I watched her stand in front of Klaus, who pulled a dagger from his stomach and let it drop to the floor.

"Don't pout, you knew it would kill me." Klaus told his sister.

"No, but I was hoping it would hurt more." Rebekah replied and I barely suppressed a gasp at the sound of her voice. It sent shivers up my spine and despite the cold nature of her words, I felt my heart explode with something akin to love.

She turned away from Klaus and I managed to glimpse her face for the first time from where we lingered in the shadows. She was absolutely beautiful, so much so that it brought tears to my eyes. I wanted to run to her, but logic kicked in and reminded me that doing so would not be the best of ideas.

"I understand that you're upset with me, Rebekah," Klaus said, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder, "So I'm going to let that go, just this once."

Rebekah opened her mouth, presumably to argue with her brother, when her eyes landed on me through a gap in the old metal shelves. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide with disbelief. I swallowed nervously and looked to Henrik, who gave me a supportive nod.

I moved out of the shadows and both Rebekah and Klaus gaped at my presence. Elijah and Henrik moved to either side of me, keeping enough of a distance to show that they wouldn't intervene unless absolutely necessary.

"Morgana." Klaus whispered, his eyes wide with horror as he ground his jaw. Either side of him, his hands clenched and unclenched continuously.

Rebekah's head swung in her brother's direction, "You've already met our mate?"

"Yes." Klaus gritted out in answer.

Rebekah looked back at me, her eyes soft as she looked me over. I shifted nervously under her examination. I gnawed at my bottom lip and her attention turned there. Her lips parted and before I could blink, she was in front of me and her arms were wrapping around me in a tight embrace.

The feeling of safety flooded though me and I relaxed in her arms. I met Klaus' gaze over her shoulder momentarily before squeezing my eyes shut to block him out. Slowly, almost reluctantly, Rebekah pulled away from me but kept her hands on my shoulders. Her thumb traced circles on my neck and I let out a shuddering breath.

"You're so beautiful." she murmured and a blush rose to my cheeks.

"Indeed she is." Henrik said from behind me.

In an instant, Rebekah had pushed me behind her and held Henrik against the wall by his throat. I let out a horrified gasp and moved to intervene but Klaus held onto my arm, stopping me. I narrowed my eyes at him and he looked away from me but continued to hold my arm.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Rebekah demanded.

"Don't you recognise me, sister?" Henrik said with a cocky grin that was entirely inappropriate given the current situation. Rebekah frowned, loosening her grip on him but not letting go entirely.

"Henrik?" She asked after a moment, "But that's impossible."

"You might want to redefine your definition of impossible." Klaus commented.

"It's a long story." I commented as Rebekah released her brother.

I pulled myself free of Klaus' hold just as Elijah approached him.

"May I ask why you have freed our sister after denying our mate the chance to meet them several times." Elijah asked, his eyes cold as he stood in front of his brother.

"There was an unexpected problem with creating my hybrids." Klaus told Elijah before turning to Rebekah, "Gloria tells me you know how to contact the Original witch."

"The Original witch?" Rebekah asked, "Is that why you undaggered me?"

"What do you have that Gloria needs?" Klaus asked with a scowl.

Rebekah placed a hand to her chest and her eyes widened in confusion as she looked down.

"Where's my necklace? What did you do with it? I never take it off." Rebekah asked her brother, her growing anger palpable.

"I don't know, I didn't touch it." Klaus denied in an exasperated voice.

"We need to find it, Nik, now! I want it back!" Rebekah raised her voice and I took a step backwards, placing myself behind Henrik.

"Tell me that's not what she needs." Klaus seethed, grabbing her by her shoulders.

"Niklaus." Elijah said in a warning tone but was ignored.

"Tell me that's not what she needs, Rebekah!" Klaus shouted, shaking his sister by the shoulders. I gulped and my hand found Henrik's for comfort.

Rebekah scowled as she pulled away from him as walked over to the coffin she had been in. She patted around it for a moment before letting out a frustrated yell. She picked up the coffin effortlessly and threw it across the room in her anger.

I flinched, the action bringing memories to the surface that I'd rather keep buried. The involuntary jolt of my body caused all eyes to land on me and silence filled the warehouse. Rebekah looked at me, her eyes pleading.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." Rebekah said after a moment, "You shouldn't have seen that."

"It's okay." I replied with a small smile.

"Rebekah, we need to find that necklace." Klaus said, making a noticeable effort to remain somewhat calm.

"Give it a rest Nik," Henrik said, squeezing my hand, "We've been on the road for ages and our girl is exhausted. So if it's not too much hassle, we would appreciate it if you took us to the most luxurious hotel in the city so that Morgana and I can watch TV and eat pizza. Save your scheming for later."

Klaus let out a long sigh, "Fine, but only because you could all use a shower."

"Hey! It's offensive to imply that your mate smells." I huffed, glaring at him.

"If it makes you feel better, you look beautiful." Klaus told me before walking out of the warehouse.

"Beautiful and smelly apparently." I muttered as I followed him, my other mates close behind me.

A/N: I've been looking forward to this scene since I began writing this book! I'm so excited to have finally written it!