Dark Moon | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 47

Esmeray had not been ready to rule the French Quarter.

She had watched the vampires bow down and just sort of gulped and said "Okay" before telling them to do whatever they wished to pay respects to their dead. She and Klaus returned to the mansion, with Esmeray trembling in shock.

"Love, talk to me," coaxed Klaus as he brought her to her room. "What are you feeling?"

"I'm not even a vampire," she mumbled, furrowing her eyebrows. "What was Marcel thinking? Is— is he trying to turn us against each other by giving me the leadership you wanted? He's a fool if he thinks that'll work— you would wholeheartedly support me even if I wasn't your Alpha."

She shuffled around her room, grabbing at random things and moving them around because she was too anxious to do anything else. Klaus could see her hands were unsteady, and the room seemed to be doing its own bit of quaking beneath their feet. "Or is it because he would just rather bow down to me than to you and I was there and it happened?"

The hybrid put her hands on either side of her head, still trying to understand, and attempting to stop herself from causing any damage to the house. "Or was it because I told him that it wasn't his city and he thought it was the right thing to do? Giving it back to the wolves, through me?"

"Or perhaps," said Klaus, stopping her before she could start to rummage through her desk. He put his arms around her to keep her from grabbing anything, hugging her and resting his head on her shoulder. "He preferred an intelligent and very capable hybrid who can make rational decisions despite her temper, and who won't be as violent as her boyfriend, who put on a very pitiful performance today?"

Esmeray scowled, though she started to calm down slightly. "Your performance wasn't pitiful. You were outnumbered."

"As were you. You tore through them like they were puppets. How? Does this mean you've unlocked your hybrid side without a ritual?"

"No... I feel normal again. Or at least— not energized with my hybrid powers. I was just talking to Hayley about how ancient wolves talked to their inner wolves to turn at will without being hybrids. It had to do with emotion and spiritual energy. But I don't know how it's possible. I was angry, but I've been angry before. I was scared, but I've been scared before."

Klaus pursed his lips. "Well, love, you seem to have been scared in a different way."

"What do you mean?"

"Normally, you fear for your own life. You've never feared this much for another's life. With Anya, you never saw it coming. The attackers were gone before you had a chance to retaliate. This time, you knew I was going to be harmed."

"And I was afraid they'd find a way to put you down with the dagger," she murmured. "That might be it. My inner wolf listened because of how desperate I was to save the life of someone I cared about. But what if it's just because I've been doing it wrong? This time, I had no choice but to contact my inner wolf— I was restrained and weak. In the Bayou, Hayley was in danger and I just acted with magic, I didn't try to tap into my wolf side because I just didn't think it would work. Still... I've begged my inner wolf to help me before when I've really needed it, and nothing. It has to do with emotion, but..."

Klaus seemed to have an idea what it could be. "The bloody mate bond," he sighed. "It must be that. You know, a person will feel as though they fight a lot harder when they're fighting to protect someone they love. If you're fighting to save your soulmate... the connection could have been strong enough to give a temporary burst..."

"It just doesn't fully make sense in my head. I didn't hear my inner wolf speak to me, Klaus. Why would it give me power without saying anything? I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to hear something."