Forever Original | Alaric Saltzman

Chapter 47

A month had quite nearly passed since she and Tristan had reunited.

Hilda had refused to return to the Compound, knowing she would rain destruction on it if she came in contact with Elijah. Tristan had been more than happy to let her stay with him.

Freya had brought her some of her things. Hilda had been given a separate room, not that that was really necessary, since she spent every night in Tristan's bed, anyway. She only went out to see Hope at the Kenner apartment, but did not try to come across any of her other siblings. It was clear Freya wished for Hilda to be with them, but she would not stand to be anywhere near her elder brother.

Alaric had called her two days after Halloween, just to check up on her. She'd been walking around the Davilla Estate when she picked up the call.

"How have things been?" he said, sounding better than before.

"They've been alright," she said. She hadn't yet told him what happened on Halloween. "How do you feel?"

"A bit better. Damon's keeping me really busy, almost like he's afraid one of us is going to lose our minds if we don't do something. With Elena asleep... poor guy has nothing else to do. But tell me, how was the party? I was a bit worried that something went wrong."

"It was... overwhelming. Fun, and all that, but I learned a lot of things that made me... really hate my brother."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"Er... how do I say this bluntly— Elijah's the reason Tristan and I broke up."

"But... how?"

"He compelled him to break up with me. He's the reason he said such mean things. He did the same to Aurora, to make her break it off with Klaus... I haven't seen him but I can't imagine how he'll react if he learns the truth. Elijah just did... several things that ruined us. Klaus and I were both so convinced we were unlovable for all these centuries. That first major heartbreak made us terrible. It was that pain that kept me from turning people, you know. I just thought... I'm going to live forever and I'm going to feel pain this badly because of my vampiric nature... why would I want someone else to go through that? That, and, well, killing just helped me get my anger out."

"So from what I'm gathering, Elijah's still alive?"

"He is, because I don't intend to go and see him. I'm staying here... with Tristan."

"Oh." Alaric immediately frowned, and he was glad she couldn't see it.

"Why? What's the matter?"

"I mean, I just imagine you're letting that anger build up by not unleashing it right away."

"Ugh, I know... but I don't want to go and trash my home. I'm calm here, so I'm staying."

Alaric pursed his lips. "Well, is he treating you alright?"

"He is," she said, finding herself blushing. At that moment, Alaric was simply her friend. Her feelings for him seemed to have evaporated with the revelation that she and Tristan had never been meant to be apart. "It's been... rather eventful."

Alaric wasn't sure why this made him so angry, but it did, and he squeezed the phone in his hand. He tried to play it off as though he was interested as her best friend, but really, he was dreading what he was about to find out. "So you two—?"

"Yep," said Hilda, a dreamy look on her face. "That was worth a thousand years of waiting. He was so patient and sweet. He said we didn't have to, but I really wanted to, especially after what I found out."

She continued to talk about it, but Alaric wasn't listening. He muted himself so she wouldn't hear him gritting his teeth and swearing loudly. Why was he so cross? She had every right to sleep with whoever she wanted to sleep with. In fact, he should be proud of her for feeling comfortable enough to push past her trauma after so many years. She had shown tremendous growth and it should have been something to celebrate. She wasn't held back anymore, and she was comfortable with her body again. Instead, he found himself picturing that he was punching Tristan right in his stupid face...