The Hybrid Twin | Paul Lahote ✓

chapter sixteen ➸ secret weapon

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"MOTHER, FATHER?" Ingrid asks, her eyes wide in confusion. "How are you here? You both are supposed to be dead." Her voice barely above a whisper.

"We are just as surprised..." Esther answers and Mikael nods his head in agreement.

Ingrid clears her throat, not knowing what to say to the woman who has tried to kill her and her siblings for the past few years and the man who hunted them for most of their immortal life.

A small part of her was glad that they were alive, unlike the rest of her siblings she did not despise them.

She still thought of them as her parents even if Mikael was not her father biologically. Yes, he had abused her and Niklaus when they were humans but she always remembered the man that was kind to her when she was just a toddler, not the Viking facade he always set free.

"Do you have any clue as to where we are?" Esther shrugs as a response as Mikael is still staring at the girl he once thought was his daughter. 'Something is different about her... but what is it?' He narrows his eyes when they land on her stomach, seeing her hand stroking it delicately, and returns them to her face as she gazes at her mother. He's about to speak when their attention is then drawn to the sound of a door opening.

Ingrid's eyes widen a fraction and she snarls, blue orbs turn golden. "Aro."

The Cold One gives her a sickly sweet smile, "Hello my dear Ingrid..."

"I should have known this had something to do with you. You've always been a bit paranoid that my siblings and I would dethrone you seeing as we are the true royals among the vampire hierarchy." Aro's grin bends into a frown. "You haven't changed, well except for your pregnancy." His eyes dart downward and Ingrid places her arms around herself protectively.

Esther and Mikael look at the blonde hybrid, completely flabbergasted by the news.

"If you even think of trying to take my children from me, you are sorely mistaken. Nik is probably already aware of my disappearance." She states, not letting her guard down for even a moment. She's conscious of the fact that Aro can be sneaky and cunning though nothing could compare to Klaus' diabolical ways. "You are declaring war."

He grants her a mock gasp of fear then guffaws manically. "Are you trying to scare me? Hm?" Aro walks towards the cell that holds the three Mikaelsons. "I have nothing to be frightened of." He cocks his head to the side as if scolding a toddler, "It is you who shall cower before me, after all..." Aro's mouth curves into a twisted grin as he says the two words that could end all of the Mikaelsons.

Mikael breathes in sharply while both Esther and Ingrid gulp in horror.

"How else could I have resurrected your parents?" Aro lets one last creepy smile then stalks out of the dungeon-like room, he has a hand on the door but looks back at the three and throws them a key to unlock their chains before walking out and leaving them to their thoughts.

"They won't do anything! Not without them getting something in return!"

Aro pauses but doesn't turn back.

↬

"Where is my sister?!"

Bella struggles to breathe with Klaus's grip on her neck.

Freya flicks her wrist and Klaus is suddenly pulled away from Bella. "We won't be able to get Ingrid back if you kill our only chance at finding her." Klaus grunts at her in response then goes to stand next to Paul.

Bella glances at the vampires, shifter, and witch before her. "What's going on?" She asks, a hand massaging the growing bruise that formed thanks to the enraged hybrid.

Paul glares at her and slightly trembles, trying to contain his temper, "Where's Ingrid?" Bella opens her mouth ready to lie but is interrupted, "And don't even try the oblivious act. We smelt your scent all over the bedroom."

Her ignorant exterior is obliterated in a millisecond and she smirks. "I guess my work was rather sloppy, I didn't even bother to cover my tracks."

"I will ask one more time before I separate your head from your body, I quite like the color of blood. It just pops on the canvas." Klaus states matter-of-factly with a devilish yet cheerful smile on his lips. Bella shudders with her brows raised and pulled together from his eerie and jubilant tone.

"Aro. She's with Aro." She swallows, afraid for her life. Aro had told her tales of the Originals and she was instructed to always be vigilant of the hybrid twins because although each sibling was dangerous, the twins were the most daunting. "Bella, why would you do this?" Alice pleads as she makes her way over to the human. "Did you lie about everything?" If she could cry, Alice would be sobbing right about now.

"Not in the beginning," Bella says with indifference, "I really did think I loved Edward but when we went to Italy to save him, I met Caius. I'm his mate, not Edward's." The Cullens all murmur in bewilderment. "Aro used that to his advantage. He threatened to kill me but he knew that Caius would cause an uproar so he said he wouldn't allow me to be turned if I didn't do his bidding."

Klaus chuckles humorlessly then clicks his tongue. "I should have killed Aro when I had the chance."

"Klaus, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault." Freya assures him.

"It doesn't matter whether or not it's my fault, there's nothing we can do about it now. Aro has Ingrid and we have to plan carefully if we want to get her back in one piece."

Carlisle steps away from Esme and stands a few feet away from Bella. "What I don't understand is how did you do it. How did you have Edward under your control?" Bella's gaze meets Carlisle's, "Aro said he had someone powerful helping him, he called them the ancestors. I'm not sure."

Freya's head snaps in her direction, "Are you sure he said the ancestors?" Once Bella nods, the color is drained from the three siblings' faces.

Paul looks at the three of them, "Who are they?"

Klaus humorlessly chuckles, "Young, old, dead, or alive, witches are a pain in the ass." Kol digs through his jacket pocket, searching for his cell phone. "I'll phone Davina, she loves Ingrid. And he could use all the help we can get."

Freya nods. "I'll try calling Vincent and text Keelin that I'll be away longer than expected."

"Well, as long as we're all contacting someone who hates the ancestors just as we do, I'll ring Bonnie Bennett."

The Mikaelsons all shared a glance. They would get their sister back. No matter what it takes.