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CHAPTER 24: WITCH HUNT

❝ do you really want to live the rest of your lives as slaves? ❞

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HAYLEY KEPT WONDERING HOW THEY ENDED UP HERE. In another lifetime they were small blue fish that swam in circles around each other. They don't worry about meaningless things like death and ache and she forgot to hit the brakes last July. She is never not looking for a way out of this life, either through a better path or through violence. Isn't everything they do to themselves a sort of violence? Isn't every year that passes a sort of death? So they end up here, and she doesn't know if it's supposed to be fate or just a bad turn of luck. She wasn't even sure if it would matter which one it was.

Hayley first noticed the silence. She climbed out of bed and made her way through the compound. She found her way into the courtyard only to find the unmoving body of a witch leaning against the fountain. She swallowed thickly as her eyes landed on the bloody paw prints that morphed into footprints going up the stairs. She sighed before following the clues up to the second floor and down the long hallway. She hesitated a moment before entering the bathroom at the end of the hall. She couldn't stop the frown from tugging at the corners of her lips at the unsurprising sight before her; Enola relaxing in the bathtub as if there wasn't a whole witch massacre downstairs.

"Come to check up on me?" Enola drawled.

"You have had an eventful night," Hayley noted.

"I was having a bad day, so Nik took me to the Cauldron." Enola shrugged. "Wouldn't you know—we ran into some witches!"

"So would you like me to remove your leftovers?" Hayley scoffed in disbelief.

Enola stood from the tub completely naked as Hayley stood in the doorway unamused. She wore an unreadable expression before grabbing a towel off the rack and tossing it over to her friend who immediately began to dry off. They hadn't had a real conversation in months, though it was obvious that they both needed each other to get through this new transition. They were the only one who knew what the other was going through.

"Oh, don't judge, Hales." Enola droned. "What I did is no worse than anything Nik has ever done."

"Don't compare yourself to Klaus," Hayley pleaded.

"I am like Klaus. I'm a hybrid now. I have a werewolf tempter to go with my new appetite." Enola reminded. "And the witches that tried to kill my baby—they are worth nothing more than food."

Hayley watched with sad eyes as Enola disappeared from sight. She wished there was something she could do. She wished she could help. She wished she could make this all better. And then an idea popped into her head. An idea that just might fix all of their problems.

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Enola and Hayley walked through the bayou in silence. Enola had been out here many times in the past few months while Hayley stayed cooped up in the compound. They had both spent the past few months trying to adjust to their new lifestyles. They had been brutal, not only to others but to themselves as well. They needed to find their humanity again. They needed to find their peace.

"This place is deserted," Enola huffed.

"No. Their scent is fresh." Hayley announced. "They're hiding. Which means somewhere nearby, we will find the remnants of our pack."

"And then what? It's not like they're exactly going to welcome us." Enola scoffed in disbelief. "If there is one thing these people hate more than vampires, it's hybrids."

"What they hate is their lack of power," Hayley corrected. "Which is why they have been so willing to deal with the witches in exchange for moonlight rings. But she hasn't gotten to our pack yet, so we need to find them first and ensure they are on our side."

"Awesome," Enola chuckled humorlessly. "All we have to do is find them."

"A task I am going to leave to you," Hayley hummed.

"What?" Enola blinked.

"You said it yourself; you're a hybrid now." Hayley mocked. "So show me how good you are at using those hybrid senses."

Enola was hesitant. She could only really break every bone in her body. She had no practice with her sense of smell. She only ever wanted to know how to tear people apart. She decided now was as good a time as any to learn a few things, so she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was expecting something magical to happen, but all she could smell was the humid air.

"This is stupid," Enola decided, kicking a crate over in anger.

"Our people need a leader," Hayley spat.

"They have you," Enola reminded. "Why can't you lead them?"

"Because you are way better at leading them than I ever was," Hayley said.

"I am a mess," Enola pointed out. "I cry all day. I feed all night. All I can think about is how much I miss my daughter."

"You are not alone," Hayley shook her head. "I am trying my best to help you, but it is so hard when you won't even talk to me."

"What do you want me to say?" Enola sighed. "That I am hanging on by a thread?"

"That would be a start," Hayley shrugged.

"I don't know what to do, Hales." Enola confessed.

"Let me help you," Hayley begged, motioning to a discarded flannel that sat on a large log. Enola lifted the piece of clothing before taking a rather large inhale. "Concentrate."

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Enola followed the smell of bitterness to a clearing in the woods. She leaned against a nearby tree watching the remainder of the wolves pack up camp. She came to the conclusion that they were in the middle of disappearing again. She noticed that a lot of their people were still missing. They were either dead, working for the witches, or hiding somewhere else. She wanted to help them, but she didn't feel fit enough to lead. She thought that role suited Hayley much more than her.

"So Jackson is gone and now Oliver seems to think that he is the alpha," Enola nodded. "They are not going to listen to me."

"That Crescent mark on your shoulder says otherwise," Hayley said. "Go. Talk to them."

Enola took a deep breath before reluctantly stepping out of the woodworks. She bit back a grimace when all eyes turned to her. She could basically smell their animosity the second they spotted her. She wasn't one of them. Not really. If anyone should talk to them, be their queen, it was Hayley.

"The hell do you two want?" Oliver spat.

"Watch your mouth," Hayley glared, rightfully pissed at Oliver for siding with Francesca and the witches.

"We didn't come here to fight, Oliver." Enola spoke stoically, eyes roaming around the familiar faces. "Our pack has been divided by people that want us to be their slaves. What we need right now is a leader. Someone who will reunite us and make us strong again. Someone who will fight for our pack. I think that someone is Hayley."

"What?" Hayley blinked in surprise.

"You are more qualified to lead these people than I am," Enola said earnestly. "I'm not even a real werewolf."

"That doesn't matter," Hayley shook her head. "You have fought for us harder than anyone else. So if anyone deserves to be our leader, it is you."

"Unfortunately, we can't trust either of you." Oliver announced. "You're not one of us—hell, you're not even wolves. You're vampire parasites."

"You wanna say that again and see what happens, Oliver." Enola glared.

"Tough girl. You gonna attack me? In front of all of them?" Oliver taunted. "Just give them another reason to say yes to Cassie and her moonlight rings. Yeah, they would rather follow a witch than either of you. Me? I would rather die."

Hayley snarled before attacking Oliver. She used her newly acquired vampire speed to rush him. She knocked him to the ground with ease before pinning him down with a combat boot to the chest. The others gasped, jumping back in shock and surprise.

"Do you really want to live the rest of your lives as slaves?" Hayley questioned rhetorically. "Enola and I—we are just like all of you. Lost and afraid. We can fix that. Together."

Enola nodded before turning to leave. She wanted to help her people. She was going to help her people. Even if they claimed that they didn't want it. They needed it. Because their alpha was currently MIA and their stand in was leading them onto the wrong side of this.

"Where are you going?" Hayley called out.

"I am going to find the witch," Enola announced. "Seems like I need to educate her as to what she may or may not do regarding my pack."

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Enola entered Lafayette Cemetery alongside Klaus. She had called and asked if he would be interested in paying the witches a little visit. He had been meaning to stop by for quite some time anyway. Someone needed to put the witches back in their place and who better than the king and queen of New Orleans?

"What happened to decorum? Does no one greet their guests anymore?" Klaus questioned rhetorically, earning an eye roll from Enola. His dramatics seemed to work, catching the attention of the werewolves who had sided with the witches. They were surrounded on all sides. "Well, that's more like it. Although I am rather disappointed at how my once formidable brethren have been neutered by a sixteen year old girl. Where is she? Where is the witch who dares craft moonlight rings without my permission."

"Niklaus," Enola and Klaus turned towards the sudden voice to find Cassie. She was the harvest girl that had been resurrected after Genevieve was killed. She proved to be quite the pain in the ass these past few months, offering werewolves moonlight rings in exchange for allegiance. "And Enola. Come." She didn't wait to see if they would follow as she turned and began to make her way into an empty mausoleum where she proceeded to pour three cups of tea as if she had been expecting them. "I must offer my condolences on the tragic loss of your child."

"Wasn't it your coven who threatened her life?" Enola questioned as they took a seat at the empty table in the middle of the room.

"Is that tea your idea of a peace offering?" Klaus inquired, gently grabbing Enola by the hand.

"Chamomile has lots of healing properties." Cassie informed as she took a seat opposite of them. "Did you know that it's also a flowering plant?"

"I did," Klaus confirmed. "The plants grew wild near my boyhood home, but neither the tea nor your botanical musings explain the reason why you've taken it upon yourself to forge new moonlight rings."

"I assumed it was obvious," Cassie frowned. "An alliance between the wolves and witches would restore balance to our home."

"Well, that's a lofty goal for a teenage girl." Enola noted.

"Long ago the witches and the wolves were at peace. Then came the vampires. A plague made flesh. A curse on this earth. You have no humanity and so you punish those who do." Cassie sighed. "Witches have a coven. Werewolves have a pack. And so we are a constant reminder of everything that you have forsaken. Creatures such as you will always hate the living, and so we will always have to defend ourselves. The rings level the playing field. If we are united, nothing can stand against us."

"It's an ambitious strategy. Allow me to offer a few words of advice, if I may be so bold." Klaus hummed, leaning forever ever so slightly. "New Orleans is a vicious place and your enemies are everywhere. Behind your back. Before your eyes. You will need to remain vigilant against those who would seek to destroy you. Some of whom you may never see coming."

"I've already begun to take precautions," Cassie reassured. "In fact, I'm taking them as we speak."

"Chamomile," Klaus blurted suddenly. "It's the same tea my mother made. How I loathed it."

"Would you have preferred mint?" Cassie inquired.

"You know she was insane—my mother." Klaus hummed. "She believed we were abominations. A curse on this earth stretched out over generations, was how she put it. But she was the true monster. She changed her children, stole our innocence, made us vampires, condemned us to an eternity of blood lust. And then acted as if we were to blame."

"She sounds awful," Cassie frowned. "Are you building to a question, Niklaus?"

"Why do you call him that?" Enola wondered.

"It is his name, is it not?" Cassie inquired.

"You're speaking to him like you know him," Enola pointed out.

"Before she died, a witch revealed that your coven was under my mother's influence." Klaus spoke stoically. "Does she speak to you now?"

"She doesn't have to. I know exactly what she would say." Cassie began with a sweet smile that immediately dropped into a scathing glare. "She would tell you to go to your room for being so rude."

Klaus stood up in a furry. His fists slammed into the stone table, unphased by the werewolves who immediately came to the defense of the young witch. Enola was disgusted, having spent months out in the bayou with the Crescent wolves. She used to envy them. How they protected one another, how they stood by one another, how they fought for one another. They had never been anyone's lap dog and they were not going to start now.

"It's okay," Cassie reassured the lap dog's. "They were just leaving."

"I will happily kill them all," Klaus snarled.

"Then you will have murdered members of the pack you still hope to someday lead," Cassie smirked smugly. "Besides, there is no need for bloodshed. We can always resume this discussion another day. Goodbye, Niklaus. Goodbye, Enola. We will speak again soon."

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Enola sat at the dining room table with Klaus and Elijah. They had all had quite the eventful day. They could use the time to decompress. Though it was clear that they had many things that they needed to discuss. Things that couldn't wait another moment. They made tea—much better than what Cassie made—and settled around the table to debate their next moves.

"It's worse than we thought," Klaus breathed.

"We met Cassie," Enola informed.

"The way she carried herself. The fervor with which she voiced her hatred of our kind." Klaus muttered. "I looked into the girl's eyes and I swear—she is not just guided by our mother, she is our mother."

"What is happening?" Elijah muttered in thought.

"I'm going to kill her," Klaus expressed. "I will boil her bones and feed them to the dogs if that is what it takes."

"How do you know she doesn't have another body on standby, like Celeste?" Enola inquired.

"I don't," Klaus sighed. "But what else are we supposed to do?"

"Niklaus . . . " Elijah interrupted.

"What?" Klaus snapped. "What could possibly be more important than the return of our mother?"

"The return of our father," Elijah confessed.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Enola groaned, running an exhausted hand down her face.

"I saw him standing there in the flesh as you do now," Elijah confessed. "He was enslaved with some spell cast by Davina. He holds the stake. If she chooses to release him . . . "

"Well, then there is only one question we need to ask, isn't there?" Klaus sighed. "Which of our parents do we kill first?"

Before anyone could properly answer, a disruption was heard in the distance. They left their steaming cups of tea and ventured into the courtyard where Hayley could be found leading the Crescent werewolves inside with all of their belongings.

"Take any of the rooms on the first floor," Hayley hummed.

"Are we running a kennel now?" Klaus scoffed in disbelief.

"I forgot to tell you," Enola grimaced. "Hayley and I were hoping the Crescents could stay here—at least until things with the witches settle down!"

"Our family is under siege. It is hardly the time for guests." Elijah voiced his thoughts.

"If they're not with us, they're with the witches." Hayley pointed out.

"They need us," Enola said. "And I need them."

Klaus hesitated for a moment before giving Enola a slight nod. She squealed before jumping into his arms and pulling him in for a grateful kiss that made him melt almost immediately. He would do anything to see her happy. He loved her more than he has ever loved anyone. If this is what she wants, then this is what she gets. End of story.

"I don't see Oliver amongst them," Klaus then noted, eyeing his fiancé. "Am I to assume you finished him off?"

"We made a deal," Enola explained. "He'll pledge his loyalty to Cassie, report back and tell us everything he learns."

Enola has stepped up. Someone had to. If not her then who? She was the only one who could fully grasp what it meant to be both a vampire and a werewolf at the same time. Hayley was a hybrid but was more werewolf than vampire and Klaus was a hybrid but was more vampire than werewolf. Enola was exactly what they needed. Someone who was equal parts soft and vibrant. Equal parts cautious and dauntless. Equal parts loyal and cruel. Equal parts werewolf and vampire.

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AUTHORS NOTE.
hello and welcome! i really hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as i did writing it. they really liked bringing esther and mikael back from the dead like let them restttt. anywhore,, thank you so much for reading. until next time, my loves!!!