𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐘𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃

𝐞𝐩 𝟎𝟐

SMOKY MOUNTAINS, TENNESSEE

            𝐴𝐷𝐸𝐿𝐴𝐼𝐷𝐸 walked behind Klaus and Stefan as they hiked the smoky mountains in Tennessee. It was the mountain where Ray's pack would be and so Klaus had made them begin the trek very early that morning.

"You okay? Is Ray getting heavy?" Klaus taunted Stefan.

"I'm fine." Stefan had Ray's body slung over his back.

"You sure about that?" Adelaide teased, her voice more playful than Klaus's had been, his was more rubbing it in his face.

"You know, we've been walking for quite some time now."

"Yeah, and I'm starving." Adelaide muttered under her breath, knowing they could both hear her anyway.

"If you need some water or a little sit-down..." Klaus wasn't being serious. He didn't want to stop he was just annoying Stefan.

"You know, I get that we're uh... we're stuck together, but if we could maybe just skip the chitchat, it'd be great." Stefan turned to look at Adelaide, erecting the last part to her as well as she had been talking the majority of the walk.

"Don't make me pissed off with you Stefan," she growled at him. Over the summer she had become a lot more confident, more than she used to be. She was always the rebellious child out of her and Elena, which was why everyone preferred Elena, but after spending so much time with Klaus, who treated her better than her own parent did, she had taken on the skill of extreme sarcasm and snarky remarks.

"So much brooding," Klaus chuckled at Adelaide's comment as he spoke to Stefan. "Your self-loathing is suffocating you, my friend."

"I never thought I would say this in a million years, but I agree with Nik." Adelaide even surprised herself when the word 'Nik' slipped from her mouth, she covered it up though. "I mean, as hungry as I am this place is gorgeous. Enjoy it." She told Stefan walking ahead of the two of them.

"Maybe it's 'cause I'm a little tired of hurting werewolves." Adelaide actually quite enjoyed the journey, the parts where she got to see new places anyway. Klaus had taken her more places in a few months than she had been in her whole lifetime. "We've been at it all summer."

"Thanks to our pal Ray, we found ourselves a pack." Klaus realised as he stood behind Adelaide, who had stopped. She felt his breath on her neck and breathed in deeply, trying to steady her breathing. Klaus smirked, before brushing past her as they saw the werewolves in a forest clearing. They walked forward, gaining the werewolves attention as they all turned to look at the three people they had never seen before, taking noticed of Stefan carrying a body. Stefan dumped the body on the ground, not being careful with it.

"Ray! Oh, my god." A woman rushed forward to check on her fellow pack mate. "What's going on?"

"Who are you?" She asked Stefan.

"The important question is who am I. Please forgive the intrusion." Adelaide rolled her eyes as Klaus's dramatic introduction. He was way too arrogant for his own good. "My name is Klaus." The werewolves seemed to go even more tense, if that was possible. They knew who he was.

"You're the hybrid."
He sent her an evil grin, smirking. "You've heard of me. Fantastic."

· • ☽ • ·

"It's fascinating, actually..." Klaus began as he sat down on a large flat boulder. "A werewolf who isn't beholden to the moon, a vampire who doesn't burn in the sun." Adelaide listen as she stood behind the stone seat, behind Klaus and Stefan. "A true hybrid." Adelaide stared at the pack around her, some giving her curious glances - knowing she wasn't a werewolf but she had a heart beat.

"Excellent timing, Ray." Klaus cheered as Ray suddenly shot up, breathing heavily as he tried to take more oxygen into his lungs, even though being a vampire meant he didn't need it.

"Very dramatic." Adelaide laughed a little at Klaus's comment, not helping herself.

"What's happening to me?" Ray gasped as Stefan looked at Klaus, waiting to be called on.

"Stefan."

"Are any of you human?" Stefan stood up, addressing the crowd of werewolves. "Your friend here needs human blood to complete his transition to vampire. If he doesn't get it, he will die." The werewolves stood shaking in fear.

"Doesn't take much, just a sample." Klaus goaded. "Anyone? A boyfriend, a girlfriend, along for the ride?" Klaus stood up. Adelaide noticed a few of the wolves looking towards her.

"Isn't your pet a human?" The same woman who had first noticed Ray, gestured her head in Adelaide's direction. Klaus chuckled, turning to face Adelaide.

"Not quite." He went and snapped the girl's neck, without feeing her his blood. "What's one hybrid less." He dropped her body to the ground before turning to the others, "and she isn't a pet." He growled. "So," he clapped, "anymore in favour of saving poor Ray's life?" Klaus then noticed that a few of the wolves kept trying to take subtle looks towards the same person, trying to not get caught doing so, but failing. Klaus smirked, turning towards the man. "You." Klaus was quick to speed towards the human, biting his wrist before Stefan grabbed him as Klaus stopped a female werewolf from stopping them as she screamed.

"If you don't drink it, Ray, I will. Problem is I don't know how to stop." Stefan breathed heavily, as he controlled his blood thirst. He held the human's arm flat against the ground in front of Ray, tempting him with the blood pooling out from the wound Klaus made.

Klaus told the woman. "It's the new order, sweetheart. You join us, or you die."

"I'd rather die than be a vampire." She snarled.

Veins appeared under Klaus eyes as they shone a bright yellow, "Wrong choice." He told her before sinking his teeth into his wrist and then feeding her his blood. "She'll thank me for that later." Klaus chuckled hearing Adelaide mumbled under her breath as she watched him stroke the woman's hair as she fell limp before he snapped her neck and dropped her to the ground carelessly, blood coating his hand and mouth.
"Okay, who's next?"

· • ☽ • ·

Klaus had gone round all the wolves, feeding them his blood before snapping their necks, littering them over the clearing.

"There." He sighed as he fed his blood to the human, heeling him, ready for when the wolves all woke up in transition. "Good as new. Now you relax, okay, mate?" Klaus compelled him. "We're gonna need you when the rest of them wake up." Klaus got up and made his way over to Adelaide and Stefan. Stefan was leaning against one of the trees while Ray sat on the large stone, perfect for sitting on. Adelaide was stood next to Klaus.

"They're dead. They're all dead." Ray sobbed, choking on blood.

"Ah, he's through his transition. He should be feeling better soon." Klaus scowled slightly, which wasn't a new look on him, as he stared at the soon to be hybrid.

"So is this your master plan?" Stefan took Klaus's attention. "Build an army of hybrid slaves?"
"No, no slaves." Klaus disagreed, not liking the use of the word 'slaves'. "Soldiers, comrades." He corrected him.

"For what war, might I ask?"

"You don't create an army after war has been declared, Stef." Adelaide joked, rolling her eyes playfully.

"Couldn't have put it better myself." Klaus smiled at the girl, "You build your army so big that no one ever dares pick the fight." He finished off, looking towards Stefan.

"What makes you so sure that they'll be loyal?"
"Well, it's not difficult to be loyal when you're on the winning team." He had a point. "That's something you'll earn once you shake that horribly depressive chip off your shoulder." Adelaide laughed as Klaus dragged out the 'horribly' part. Stefan faked a laugh, smiling.

"That's why you're, uh... you're keeping me around? To witness my attitude adjustment?" Stefan raised an eyebrow sarcastically.
"Klaus-" Adelaide got the hybrid's attention, looking at Ray, which caused Klaus to look at her before noticing her intense stare on Ray. Klaus sat beside Ray grabbing his face as he looked at the blood falling from his eyes. From the worried look on his face, Adelaide assumed this was not supposed to happen.

"You'll know why I'm keeping you around when I've decided that I want you to know." He told Stefan, inspecting Ray's eyes.

"Does that go the same for me?" Adelaide asked, also curious as to why Klaus kept her around and why she had a connection with him. While Klaus had been biting into his wrist to feed all the wolves his blood, the sound wound had appeared on Adelaide, hence why her arm was covered in dry blood. The wounds had heeled within seconds but she had nothing to wipe the blood away with, other than her clothes but she didn't fancy ruining them any time soon. Klaus didn't answer Adelaide's question but she knew he had heard her. She rolled her eyes slightly.
"Something's wrong." Stefan bent down to also inspect Ray's bleeding eyes.

"Huh. That shouldn't be happening, should it?"

"Well, obviously." Klaus sassed, sarcasm lacing his voice making Adelaide bite her lip to hide her smirk as she looked towards Stefan through the corner of her eyes. She moved so she could sit on the ground near where Stefan was standing, waiting impatiently for the time they could go back down the mountain to arrive.

· • ☽ • ·

⧫ 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝟐𝟑 // 𝟎𝟓 // 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 ⧫