Hopelessly Devoted | Hale- TO/TW [6]

51 | The Puzzle

Lucien's apartment is a mess, Mikaelsons everywhere. Hayley is in the bedroom with Freya. The hybrid tosses over the clean bed while Freya rummages through the walk-in closet. Cora is in the main room, searching through the boxes. Derek is in the back, tearing apart every box he comes across.

"It's not here!" Freya exclaims. Her skin is deathly pale, her neck still bleeding from when a now-dead vampire poisoned her. "I can't find it."

"Calm down," Hayley says, laying a hand on the witch's shoulder. "Freya, think. When you were poisoned before, Klaus stole an antidote from Lucien. It has to be here."

"There's no other place to look," Freya groans, her body weak. Her eyes are blood-shot and sweat beads her forehead. "If I can't find the cure, I will die."

"Rebekah!" Everyones' heads snap up when they hear the shouting. "Rebekah!!"

Derek rushes into the main room with Cora, both exchanging a look. They know that scream.

Hayley and Freya join them as the rest of the Mikaelsons barge into the apartment. Elijah carries a very injured Kol as Klaus drags Lexi in. The blonde wolf fights with every piece of strength she has. "Freya!" Klaus yells, struggling to hold Lexi down.

The eldest Mikaelson instantly helps Elijah get Kol to the couch. Hayley runs up to Elijah, her eyes on the bite mark marring his arm. "Elijah—"

"Don't," he cuts Hayley off. "We deal with it later."

"Let me go!" Lexi screams, her claws tearing into Klaus' chest.

"Derek, a little help!" Klaus groans, his voice filled with pain.

Derek just stares at Lexi. Her blonde hair is messy and tangled. Her own bite mark gleams in the light. The skin on her shoulder is red and throbbing, fresh blood pouring out of it with every movement.

He snaps out of his trance when Cora is the one to grab Lexi, slapping her across the face.

Lexi's screams stop as she turns back to Cora. The young wolf just says, "Stop screaming. What happened?"

Lexi hesitates before her expression grows angry. "Niklaus left Rebekah to bloody Marcel!" She tries to run forward, pushing Cora out of the way. However, Elijah is right there to catch her.

Derek runs up to the noble Original, taking Lexi out of his hands. She stops squirming, but tears begin to roll down her face. "Let me go," she orders.

"No," Derek replies, bringing her further into the apartment. "Not until we deal with your brothers."

That's when Lexi's eyes land on Kol, specifically the bite mark on his neck. She goes utterly silent.

"I am going to die," Kol grunts in pain.

Hope begins to cry in her crib.

"You're not going to die," Klaus assures Kol, watching over Freya's shoulder as she inspects the hurt Original.

"Now that sounds familiar," Kol lets out a strained laugh. "Isn't that what you said to Finn and Cami?"

Lexi tenses in Derek's grasp. Klaus lets out a long sigh, "Look, Lucien engineered his venom from the seven werewolf packs, so maybe, that's the key to a cure."

"Oh great," Freya mutters under her breath. "That's the first piece in a puzzle none of us will be alive to solve."

Lexi speaks up, her voice small and defeated. "Freya's poisoned, Rebekah is hexed, our brothers are bitten, and we do not know how I will react to Marcel's venom. We need three different cures to three different ailments, each could take years to find, and none of us will make it through the day."

"You know," Kol's voice comes out strained as he grips Freya's forearm. "Maybe it's fair that you and I pay for what was done to Davina."

Elijah looks down, stumbling into another room. Klaus watches, his eyes filled with sorrow. Hayley knows this conversation is too personal, so she moves towards her crying daughter. Derek wants to move Lexi away, but she will not move.

Cora takes a step forward, kneeling next to Kol's head. "No, Davina didn't want revenge," she says.

Kol's brown eyes find the wolf's. Then he groans, pain erupting from the bite. "Just put me out of my misery! At least put me to bloody sleep!"

Cora stands from her spot, shaking her head before she walks right up to Lexi and Derek. "You wanna explain what happened?" She asks, her voice soft.

Lexi looks deep into Cora's brown eyes. "Are you still mad at me?" Her voice breaks mid-question.

"I don't think I'll ever stop."

Lexi's eyes lower to the ground. "Marcel took the serum. His death activated it. Nothing can kill him now."

Cora looks up at Derek. Both Hales are conflicted. What are they going to do with the Mikaelsons? Most of them are dying, and Lexi has all but given up hope.

"Let's get your wound cleaned, ok?" Cora gently moves Lexi out of Derek's grip, nodding at her brother, before disappearing into the bathroom with the blonde.

Derek sighs, watching them go. The bite mark on Lexi's shoulder worries him. It should have healed by now.

Then, his eyes latch onto a certain pained Original. Derek walks towards Elijah but stops a healthy distance away, not wanting to disrupt him.

"Derek, I'm not dead yet," Elijah says, turning to him with a pained smile. "No need to be careful."

Derek chuckles bitterly, "How's the bite?"

Derek moves next to Elijah, his eyes on the nasty mark. Elijah inhales sharply, shaking his head. "Well, it doesn't feel good."

He sinks into a chair, motioning for Derek to sit as well. Elijah watches as Derek slowly settles on the coffee table. The Original narrows his eyes at the wolf. "What do you plan to do?"

"About?" Derek questions.

Elijah's smile becomes brighter. "About the ring in your pocket."

Derek stares at Elijah before scoffing, "Of course you know."

"Rebekah and I had a running bet," Elijah tells him, relaxing in the chair. "She thought the next time she saw Alexis, she would see a ring. I guess she owes me a few dollars."

Derek's eyes move from Elijah to the door. He can see Cora and Lexi in the other room. Lexi is seated as Cora attends to the blonde's wound. Nothing seems to be helping. "I don't think she's ready for that yet," Derek sighs.

"You really are stupid," Elijah chuckles, shaking his head.

Derek growls.

"Alexis has been ready the second you got together," Elijah says. "She may not accept it, but she has always been ready."

"Yeah, but too many things have happened. First Tristan, then the fox issue. Now Lucien and Marcel..." Derek trails off.

"Derek, listen to me." The desperate tone in Elijah's voice makes Derek straighten up. "Whatever happens tonight, I need you to promise me something. Niklaus has promised to look after Rebekah and Hayley and Hope. I need you to look after Alexis." Elijah turns his head to look at his sister. Lexi has not moved.

"Of course I will," Derek says. "I'll always look after her."

"She will be broken when we die. Help her and do not let her fall into that pit of darkness again," Elijah orders, a tear threatening to escape his eyes. "I fear she might never climb out."

Merry Christmas! Only two more chapters left in this book! I hope you all enjoy!