Dark Moon | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 35

The rest of the day had been fairly uneventful.

They'd arrived at the house to find that only Nathalie (Nat) was there to greet them. Lyla was down for her nap, and Elvis and Aaron were working at the liquor store.

Nat helped Esmeray get settled into the guest room, much to Lyla's dismay. The little girl had woken up with the sound of all the moving furniture, and had come into the doorway holding a ratty looking stuffed dog that looked to be years old. "Mommy," she whined, rubbing her eyes and looking up. "Is—" she yawned, "Auntie Anya's friend here?"

"Yeah, she is," said Anya, going to pick her niece up and bringing her to the bed where Esmeray was laying out her clothes for the next day. "Lyla, this is Esmeray."

"You can call me Esme," offered the hybrid, smiling and holding her hand out. "It's nice to meet you and your puppy."

Lyla giggled. "This is Buddy. Stay with us!"

"She has to have her own room, Lyla," said Anya, ruffling her hair.

The little girl pouted. "But I want her to stay in my room."

"She talks really well for an almost three-year-old," noted Esmeray when Nat picked her daughter.

"Hearing us talk to her normally did wonders for her speech," said Nat, consoling Lyla, who was getting distressed to hear that Esmeray would not be her roommate during her stay there. "She's really advanced for her age. Aaron reckons we should move somewhere that has more opportunities for her to thrive academically."

"If they leave, that means I get to be Alpha," said Anya proudly. "If I get elected, of course. Our Pack does votes and a brawl to determine it."

Lyla waved at Esmeray, wanting her to hold her instead of her mom. The hybrid took her into her arms, and Lyla rested her head on her shoulder, cuddling up.

It was like Esmeray's entire body suddenly floated off the ground. There was this warmth and happiness that flooded through her, and she started to smile wider. Kids didn't seem so bad right now. Her mind seemed to automatically wander to Klaus and the vision of the little girl who looked like him. Was Anya right? Did nature want a tribrid to exist? It was hard to believe it could even be possible, but her gut was hardly wrong about major things like this. And for her whole body to have suddenly started tingling with joy at the feeling of an adorable baby resting against her chest... nature was definitely plotting something.

Lyla ended up falling asleep again, and Nat took her to her bed so that Esmeray could rest from the trip. "I swear, she loves that stuffed dog to death," observed Anya, watching how her niece clutched to her toy even while asleep. "My Ma gave it to Aaron before she passed, and he gave it to her when she was born. She'll drag it everywhere and won't let anyone clean it even if it's filthy. I forget what it's original color was."

"I can try to clean it, but I imagine she won't be too pleased giving it up," said Esmeray, setting her clothes aside now that they were ready. "I'm probably going to end up sleeping until tomorrow... I'm really tired, and I can wait to eat breakfast."

"Go ahead and rest," said Anya, smiling and helping her draw back the covers of the bed. "Tomorrow, Nat's going to make specially shaped pancakes for Lyla to wake up to. We can set up for the party after breakfast, since everyone will be coming by after noon. Sleep well, Esmeray."

"Thanks for everything, Anya," said Esmeray, curling up in the bed and smiling as the wolf waved, closing the door behind her as she left the room.

_

The next morning, Esmeray tried to wake up early to help with everything, to show her gratitude.

She helped Elvis start the truck after it failed to turn on the first time around. She carried some heavy bags into the house. She fixed the sprinklers with a simple wave of her hand. She aided Aaron in fixing the stove for Nat. She helped Nat make the pancakes. She helped Anya put the finishing touches on a princess gown she'd sewn by hand for Lyla, which basically meant making it shine in the light.