Ace of Hearts

16

"Lee, are you sure you're ready for this?" Kol whispers in my ear as he holds me close to his chest. "If you want to, we can wait. It's your choice."

"No, I'm want to do this." I smile back at him and lean into the warmth of his chest. "I just wish it was under better circumstances."

"Are you sure about what you felt?"

"Absolutely." I bite my lip as I pull out of Kol's embrace to look him in the eye. All the while, I embrace the cold feeling against my skin. "I haven't been wrong yet, Kol, and this was the strongest one I've had yet."

"I believe you, darling. You know I do, but you have to keep in mind, my mother is a very powerful witch. If she's up to something, then we're all in trouble." A dark shadow passes over his expression, and he looks at me with all the worry I feel brewing in my chest. "For now though, we should just worry about one thing at a time. Like introducing my family to my beautiful girlfriend."

"Fine, but we still have to talk about what might be going on." I reply, and Kol simply nods before pressing a hasty kiss to my lips. "I'm ready when you are."

I wrap Kol's jacket around myself as we leave the comfort of the balcony. The rest of the family is gathered in the main room, each occupied in their own worlds. Elijah with his book, Rebekah flipping through a magazine, Klaus sipping his drink, while Finn and Esther speak quietly in the corner.

Klaus watches the pair of us with a smirk and raises his glass. "Good, you're all here." Kol starts as he takes my hand. "There's someone I would like to introduce to all of you."

"Well, to most of us. I've already met the darling Lee." Klaus presses a quick kiss to my cheek with a smile as he moves to fill his drink. I roll my eyes at the hybrid and return my attention to Kol.

"Anyway, I wanted the rest of you to meet Lee. Especially since she's my girlfriend." Kol's face lights up at the word, and I return the expression tenfold. The light feeling in my chest that I get around him seems stronger than ever.

I return my attention to the Originals with a wide smile. "It's nice to finally meet all of you. Officially this time." Elijah merely smiles at the comment as he rises from his seat, but the remainder of the family stays glued in place.

He's the first one to make a move. "It's a pleasure to meet the person who has caused such a change in my brother."

"I like to think that I didn't change him. All I did was bring the better parts of him out." I give Kol a little nudge at the comment. "People are hard to change, and they can only change for themselves. So, thank you, but it was all him."

"How very profound. Where did you pick this one from, Kol?" Rebekah makes her distaste for me clear in the way she glares at me. "Do you even know what we are? Or anything real about each other?"

"You mean, do I know that you're the original vampires and your mother is the one that made you that way? Yes, I knew that from pretty early on. To answer what I assume will be your next question, yes, I understand what that means and can happen, but I am perfectly capable of handling myself."

At my retort, Rebekah's harsh expression softens and a ghost of a smile replaces it. "You've got backbone. I can respect that." Then, she did something I never expected to happen. She pulls me into a hug. "I hope you stick around. It will be nice to have another girl around here. This house is always rolling around in men."

"Just like you, dear sister." Kol laughs, and I quickly jab him in the ribs with a glare.

Rebekah's laugh breaks the tension between everyone. "Oh, we are definitely going to get along perfectly, Lee."