Crossed [2] ➳ K. MIKAELSON

Chapter 31

Kol's POV

"Brother!" Niklaus exclaims, grinning down at me. "Just the person I was looking for!"

"What do you want, Nik? Can't you see I'm busy." I sneer, holding up my half full glass of whiskey. 

"Well with the Astrid situation going on, I figured that you might want to talk." the hybrid details, as I tense up at her name. "Or we can go torture Cortez, if you prefer."

Letting out a sigh, I swallow the rest of my drink and place the empty glass down onto a nearby table. Without saying another word, I brush past my brother and exit the room. If we're going to do this, let's get it over with.

~~~

"Cortez!" I call out to the man, as the two of us enter Rousseau's. The vampire turns to us, crossing his arms against his chest. "Welcome to New Orleans."

"Long time no see." my brother mutters, twirling a stake around in his hand. "You've come all this way, you must be tired. Please, allow us the courtesy of putting you to rest."

Niklaus moves to take a step forward, as a few compelled patrons stand up and put knives to other customers' necks. My brother's friend Cami stands behind the idiot vampire, sporting a terrified expression on her face. 

"Make a move, Niklaus, and everyone here will die." Cortez details, while I roll my eyes at the vampire. "Or you can wait for us all to learn the whereabouts of the white oak. Choice is yours. Either way, I win."

I hate this bloody idiot. Does he really think that my brother and I will let him get away with this? When we don't respond after a few seconds, Gaspar continues.

"So here's how this works, everyone lives...once you let me leave." the idiot explains, smirking over at the two of us.

"So you expect us to let you live, knowing you seek white oak?" I question, narrowing my eyes at the vampire. "We might be old, but we're not stupid."

"It's a shame, how some vampires grow so dim with age." Niklaus comments, glancing around the restaurant. "Killing you will be a mercy."

"Kill me and this quaint eatery turns into a slaughterhouse." Cortez mutters, folding his hands together. "Shining a light on your town's more repulsive activities."

"You know..." Niklaus mumbles, finally looking up to face the baby vampire. "I really liked Belaga."

"Klaus, no!" Cami exclaims, as my brother throws the stake into Gaspar's chest. Before the compelled patrons can move, I speed between the tables, snapping all of their necks. 

Cami runs over to one of the now dead customers and bites into her wrist. Holding the bleeding limb up to the man's mouth, the vampire tries to heal him.

"It won't help." Nik states, trying to get through to his friend. As he leans down to her, Cami brushes him away and flees from the restaurant in anger. 

After she leaves, my attention drifts over to the vampire staked to the wall. Oh, I almost forgot about him.

Before I can do anything, my brother rushes over to the vampire and throws him against the floor. I watch in amusement, as Niklaus breaks a chair apart and stabs one of the legs into Cortez's chest. Gaspar cries out, squirming around in pain. 

While those two have their little playtime, I compel the remaining customers to vacate the restaurant. Once they are gone, I calmly walk over to the entrance and lock the doors behind me. Stalking over to the two, I stand next to my brother.

"I appreciate your patience." I state, smirking down at the idiot. "Now that your victims have gone, compelled by me to remember nothing of this night, the two of you can take your time catching up."

Niklaus kneels down next to the vampire and twists the stake around in his chest. Gaspar groans in pain, before my brother rips it out without another thought. As Nik steps away, he picks up Cortez and pins him against the bar. 

While my brother continues to torture the baby vampire, I retreat behind the bar to grab a nearby bottle of whiskey. Chugging the alcohol back, I watch Niklaus attack Cortez over and over again, until the latter's head is knocked off his body. Swallowing the remaining Jack Daniels, I place the empty container down onto the counter. 

"Have fun, brother?" I question, smirking over at the hybrid. Rolling his eyes, he shrugs his shoulders, moving to leave the restaurant.

Taking a quick glance back at the dead vampire, I follow after my brother, locking the door behind me. Well that was fun.

~~~

As I pour myself another glass of whiskey, I hear the entrance to the room open and someone walk in behind me. They let out a loud sigh, shutting the door slowly. 

"We need to talk." Astrid states, while I take a sip of my drink. 

"Then talk." I mumble, continuing to face away from her. My wife lets out another sigh, before stepping towards me.

"I know that this is a lot to take in." she starts off, crossing her hands against her chest. "Hell, I'm still trying to understand it all."

My hand clenches into a fist, as I try not to comment. If I do, I know that the conversation will end badly. Sensing the tension, Astrid steps forward. 

"Kol...please just talk to me..." she trails off, reaching out to touch my shoulder. Before she can, I jerk away and try to recollect myself. Walking out onto the balcony, I stare out into the night sky, wanting this night to be over. 

"You want me to talk?" I question sarcastically, turning to face my wife. "Losing you broke me. I've been parading around Los Angeles for months, in an attempt to kill the pain. And now that you're back, I don't know what to do. I can't sit back and watch you die again. I...I just can't."

Astrid dips her head down slightly, before letting out a heavy sigh. She slowly inches closer to me, reaching her hand out to touch mine.

"I know. And if there was anyway I could go back and change it, I would. But I can't. I really wish I could, but I can't." my wife mutters, rubbing her thumb against the back of my right hand.

I remain silent, as tears fill my eyes. Seeing this, she pulls me into a tight hug, wrapping her arms around me. I let the tears fall, clutching onto Astrid for dear life. She's finally back. And this time, I will die before letting anything happen to her.