Hopelessly Devoted | Hale- TO/TW [6]

21 | A Fox

The Hales were angry. Not the kind of anger that goes away. Not the kind of anger that you hold onto for the rest of your life. But angry.

They had been left out of literally everything. When Cami had stolen the last of the white oak, they didn't find out until Klaus had called Cami within earshot. They had absolutely no idea where everyone went. They had stayed in the apartment. Doing nothing.

Lexi hadn't come home the night before, leaving a short voicemail about business to take care of.

"Sorry, guys. Something came up. I can't get home tonight. No, I'm not going to tell you what happened, you'll find out soon enough, I guess. Just stay where you are so I know you're safe. Love you."

They had no idea what kind of 'something' until a knock sounds at the large door.

Derek narrows his eyes suspiciously as Cora tentatively answers the door. A brunette pushes past the wolf, her eyes looking around the apartment.

"Davina?" Derek asks, getting up from the couch. He walks up to her, but she seems to freaked out to notice. "Davina." He growls, stopping her frantic movements.

"Where's Lexi?" She demands, her eyes determined.

"She's out," Cora answers. "Who are you?"

"Please tell me you know where she is." Davina searches Derek's confused eyes. "Please."

"What's going on?" He asks, his hands grabbing Davina's shoulders.

"Ariane. She's dead." Davina gulps. "A-And when I consecrated her body, I saw everything. And now, the witches of the Strix coven are going after the white oak. If Madison gets to Cami first, she won't give the white oak to Aya—"

"Kid, you're not making sense." Cora settles beside her brother, arms crossed.

"The main problem now is getting the white oak before Madison—"

"Who will she give it to?" Derek demands.

Davina swallows the lump in her throat, digging out her phone. She calls Cami, making both siblings groan in annoyance. "Who, Davina?" Derek asks again.

"What?" Cami snaps on the line.

"Cami, you have to listen to me." Davina's voice sounds frail as she begins to shake. "One of the Strix witches knows where you are and she knows that you have the white oak."

"You're a little late, kiddo. She already took it, which means... I guess the Strix have it now."

"No, you don't understand. None of you do. When she got inside my head, I got inside of hers. She's not working for the Strix. She's working for Aurora an—" Davina cuts herself off, tears building up in her eyes.

The line disconnects as Davina looks back at the Hales. "You need to talk to the Mikaelsons, without Lexi. Now."

"Davina, for the love of all that is holy in this cruel world, what are you talking about?" Cora yells, her eyes flickering yellow.

Davina glances down as she whispers, "Lexi's working with Aurora."

—|—|—|—

Elijah, Freya, Klaus, and Hayley all stand around the dining room table. So much has happened since they put away the tyrant that was Tristan de Martel. No one had spoken to the Hales in days, as per the request of Lexi. She didn't want them involved.

When the last of the white oak was stolen from Cami, she had let slip an important piece of information about their dear sister— she had helped in the theft of the weapon that could destroy them all.

Of course, Klaus had instantly grown furious. When he shares this piece of information, Elijah goes completely white. Freya, on the other hand, just sighs.

"She knows pain better than any one of us," she reasons. "Maybe she wanted us to have an alternative?"

"I don't think so," Elijah whispers, pouring himself a drink.

"What do you mean?" Hayley asks.

An angry growl erupts from behind Freya. The witch only rolls her eyes. "Someone wanna explain to me what's going on with my aunt?" Cora demands, Derek nowhere in sight. "And, feel free to tell me everything. I locked Derek in a closet."

"A closet?" Hayley raises her eyebrows.

"Fight me, Marshall." Cora spits. "What's wrong with Lexi?"

The others turn back to Elijah, who pulls out a notebook. He hesitates, lying it on the table with a pained sigh. "I'm not sure, Cora." He looks up, shaking his head. "But we need to figure it out before it gets out of hand."

"What's this?" Klaus demands, snatching the book.

"Everything that Alexis has done that is out of character." Elijah sits down, taking a sip of his drink. "I first realized something was wrong when she was able to stop Shen Min with only her strength. No werewolf can stop an eight hundred-year-old vampire. Not even Alexis." He motions to the book, "So I began to document unusual occurrences. Like, how she finds pain to be more amusing than sick. How her eyes seem to hold an unknown level of chaos. How Aya was scared of her." He pauses, looking at Klaus. "How she called the stars boring."

Klaus' eyes widen as he begins to piece together the puzzle. "Well, you can add working with Aurora to that list," Cora says. Everyone turns to her in shock. "Davina came barging in, shaking. She said that when she was recruited to the Strix, she was given a spell. She had to make sure it was legit, so she went to another witch, who told her it was Lexi's style." Cora pauses, looking each and every one in the eye. "Then she saw where that other witch's loyalty was— with Lexi and Aurora."

Cora scoffs, shaking her head. "Also, you're describing vampire Lexi. The one you taught to live. Have you ever thought that maybe it's you?"

Freya glares at her. Klaus only shrugs, "It would be a possibility," He stares into her brown eyes so she can see his concern. "If she hadn't called the stars boring."

"Even in the short time I've known her,' Freya begins, shaking her head. "She escaped to the roof to watch the stars. Why would she say that?"

"What about what Tristan said before you locked him up?" Hayley asks. Elijah glances her way before the wheels in his head start to turn. He stands to meet her gaze. "He said she wasn't herself, right?" Hayley looks around.

Cora's expression turns deadly, but before she can speak, a voice demands from the entrance to the room, "What did Tristan say?" Derek's voice barely stays controlled. His hands have healing wounds, and he glares at the Mikaelsons. "His exact words."

Lexi had been in danger, and none of them had thought to tell him. Tristan had warned them, and they did nothing. And now, if he was right, Lexi was trapped inside her own head because no one had the goddamn decency to tell him she was in trouble.

"He said he was our only chance," Klaus says, eyes narrowing. "That she wasn't a wolf."

"What were his words, Klaus?!" Derek exclaims, his eyes burning blue.

Klaus raises his eyebrows in surprise. However, he doesn't answer. Elijah does.

"He said she was a fox."

AHHHH! Thoughts? Hope you enjoyed!