Eternal || Elijah Mikaelson

CXX - Mr. Castle

My bby Lucien is here

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Chapter One Hundred & Twenty

We decided that it wasn't fair to keep Freya from her fun all night, and went back for Hope. I told Freya that we would keep looking for a little while longer, then go back to the compound and see if I could start up a tracking spell. If Hayley was alive, then I would be able to find her, and if not, then she simply wouldn't show up. At least then, we would know if she was alright.

"Hayley!" Elijah called out as we continued to walk, and he held Hope slightly closer as we moved into a part of the forest was much less lit by the moonlight.

We came up to yet another trap, and I bit my lip a little. It was soaked in blood, which appeared to be fresh. I didn't recognize the scent, though.

I took a breath, and that was when I smelled blood that I recognized. "Elijah, I think it's-"

"Where is she?" the familiar person asked from behind us.

We both turned to see Jackson leaning against a tree, clinging to it in order to stand. He was naked, and both dried and fresh blood coated his skin, especially around his leg. I couldn't tell what it was in the darkness. It was either a gunshot wound or he had gotten caught in one of the traps. All I knew was that it was bleeding. A lot.

"Where the hell is Hayley?" he asked.

We all went back to the house on the water. I used my speed to pretty well carry Jackson there, lifting him up off his feet by putting my arm around his waist and running. Elijah took Hope, and we were both in front of the building in no time. I gave Jackson some pants that we had stored in the house, and then tended to his wounds. It turned out that he had more than a few gunshot wounds. There was one in his arm, one in the spot I had seen on his leg, one in his right shoulder, and another one put fairly deep into the right side of his chest. Elijah and I removed each of them with tweezers, and I was thankful that he was able to heal fairly quickly. The skin closed almost as soon as we removed the bullets, but that didn't mean he was fully healed. He would still be in a lot pain for a while.

"Thanks," he muttered, panting in relief, but I could tell that it still stung greatly.

"Take my blood," I told him, pulling up one of my sleeves.

"I'm good, thanks," he said. "I'll be fine."

He stayed quiet for a minute, then spoke again.

"We need to find Hayley."

"There's still no sign of her. We've seen the bodies," Elijah said solemnly.

"Hunters set up traps all over the bayou and mowed us all down with gunfire... Any wolf that wasn't taken out scattered," Jackson explained, then swallowed and asked what I had been hoping he wouldn't. "How many bodies?"

Neither of us answered. In all honesty, we had seen more than we could keep track of.

"A trap wouldn't hold Hayley after she turned back," he said, then looked to Hope. "Nothing would stop her from seeing that little girl. Something's wrong."

Elijah glanced at me, then grabbed his suit jacket and went over to Hope.

"Where are you going?" Jackson asked.

"I'm taking my niece home, then I'll continue the search. You stay here, you tend to your dead," Elijah ordered, but Jackson was never good at following other people's orders.