THE COVEN COMES BEFORE FAMILY. Those were the words her father had lived by all her life. It was one of the main reasons she ran from him, his stern teachings, and their coven. Dr. Josette Laughlin was the name she took for herself now. After surviving an attempt of murder by her own twin and helping her father by going behind said twins back and trapping him in an alternate plane of existence that supernaturally repeats, she left that life, her family, and her Parker name behind.
But that doesn't mean Jo could forget about it. Everyday she had to lie -about herself, about being Josette Parker, about being a witch who relinquished her family magic. The trauma never really left her, either. How could she, when she lived with the very thing that could destroy her life โthe ascendantโthe key to getting her twin, Kai out? She thought with her in control, she would be safe.
But now, it was gone, missing.
After a panic attack or two, she deemed she just misplaced it. Jo hoped that would be it, she did, and she tore her whole house apart, searching for the piece of metal. But she couldn't find it anywhere, nor can she file a police complaint. How can she, when just saying, The magical key to a parallel world that holds my twin a prisoner went missing from my home, please find it, sounded absolutely ridiculous?
And the worst part of all is, she didn't even know when it went missing.
As a twenty-two-year-old girl, Jo always used to keep the ascendant close to her. She would sleep with it, guarding it beneath her pillow. But as Jo grew older, with therapy, now at 38, Jo feared her twin, less. She started keeping it in her underwear drawer, checking it only occasionally, for some peace of mind when she wants some assurance after a nightmare. But apparently, it was a mistake. And now it's gone, and it was all her fault.it
After a few weeks, she decided she should inform someone about it. Her father โno matter how angry he might be for her carelessness, should know about it. He is the only one that could have a possible solution for this predicament. Joshua Parker might kill his own daughter to stop Kai from merging with her when her twin ever comes out of the prison world, or if he was already out. But without her own magic and a coven backing her, Josette would die either way if faced with Kai. So, she did what she thought was right.
And with that idea in mind, she picked up her phone and called her dad.
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She felt as if she was missing something important... It's probably her paranoia speaking. But if Katherine is confident about anything, it's that her instincts have never proved her wrong.
Katherine was sure she has everything prepared to get Kai out of the prison world. She's got the ascendant, the spell, Bennett's blood, and the witches to perform it. The plan was also fairly simple. Get to the prison world, get Kai, make a deal with the probably-potentially backstabbing sociopath, and get out with him.
"What's eating you, darling?" said Kol's voice beside her.
"Nothing," Katherine muttered, mildly annoyed with the Original next to her.
"Oh, come on," Kol vocalized, "you can't seriously be mad at me still."
"I can, and I am," said the brunette with conviction in her tone. "I told you this was personal. But you still came along."
"I was bored," Kol threw his hands in the air. "And you are the only one who does anything close to fun in that miserable town. So, of course, I joined you."
"Well, too bad. I don't trust you enough to let you in on my secrets," Katherine snapped. It infuriated her more when she didn't sense even an ounce of regret in his tone. "Oh, how I wish there was something like unbreakable vows in this universe."
"What's that?" Kol perked up when he heard the strange sentence.
"It's a Harry Potter thing," Greta answered from the seat behind Katherine.
"What's Harry Potter?"
"You didn't," Katherine said wide-eyed, scandalized. Maddox, however, lets out a groan in the backseat. He probably surmised what all he will be hearing for the next few hours. The warlock cursed himself for not getting his headphones on the trip.
The warlock had already heard the tale the one time Katherine had been held as Klaus's hostage and wanted to discuss the Hogwarts houses to pass the time, and he didn't know what the fuck they were and what they meant. And so he had doomed himself. He is not looking forward to hearing the children's book again after such a short time.
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"Is this it?" Kol questioned as he looked through the windshield when Katherine finally stopped the car in front of a large bungalow.
The said brunette grabbed his arm instead of answering him. "I want you to promise me that no matter what you see inside, you should never speak about it with anyone, not even your family."
"And what's to say I will stand on my word," asked Kol instead. "I am not 'Lijah, darling. Don't confuse me with my noble brother."
"Yes, I know that. But I am willing to put my trust in you more than I would with loophole-finding Noble Elijah," declared Katherine. "So, tell me. Am I right in taking you inside with me or not?"
Kol looked at her. Really looked at her. He held her gaze for a long moment, and once he seemed satisfied enough with something he found, he nodded sincerely.
"Good," Katherine whispered and let go of his hand. She grabbed her phone and texted for Hayley to come out and invite Kol inside.
Within a few minutes, the werewolf came out, opening the two heavy wrought-iron gates at the foot of what looked like a long drive. She grinned brightly at the sight of the familiar vampire.
"Man, I thought you were kidding when you said an original tagged alongside you," Hayley said, clicking her tongue, glancing at Kol once Katherine cranked down the window on her side.
"Unfortunately not," Katherine said with a sigh. "Hayley, this is Kol Mikaelson. Kol, this is Hayley Marshall Aka Andrea Labonair."
"Labonairs? Aren't they some kind of werewolf royalty?" He questioned.
"Not anymore. No," Hayley said, shaking her head. She looked back to Katherine with a question in her eyes."Are you sure about this?" They said. When Katherine nodded her head with a light shrug, Hayley looked back to the original in Henley t-shirt. "Kol Mikaelson, I cordially invite you into the Labonair sanctuary."
"Do I need to pinky swear to you too?" Kol asked, rolling his eyes.
"Damn well, you should," Hayley answered in a serious tone, but her lips twitched a little as she did.
"How do you know Klaus's witch and warlock won't say anything to their master?" Kol questioned instead, folding his hands to his chest, tilting his face to look at the two suspicious girls.
"They know what I will do if they were to do that. Their necks are easy to snap, and no other witch will be willing to help the outcasts who are in cahoots with vampires," the threat was clear, both in Katherine's tone and words as she looked back to look at the people in question.
Maddox and Greta seemed to believe her promise of death easily. Kol seemed to accept it as well as he outstretched his hand to the werewolf. And Katherine couldn't help but roll her yes as Hayley held out her little finger to the psychotic original and gripped his little finger tightly. Their Unbreakable vow.
Once everything's done and said, Katherine took them all inside, through the gates, and up the drive. But to be honest, Katherine could only hope Maddox and Greta won't say anything to Klaus about the secret werewolf packs she has been protecting. They haven't let her down until now, so maybe they won't do it now. The witches are the principal parts of her plan, and Maddox and Greta are the only ones she can trust to do this job right.
"Eve, Katherine's here," Hayley hollered to the only semi-human in the house.
"In a minute," Eve called back from inside.
"She is making your favorite," Hayley said, reaching out to hold Katherine's arm.
"Oh! Thank god. I missed her gumbo," Katherine grumbled, looking around the house. "Where are the others?"
"In the back," The werewolf began explaining, "I didn't know who exactly was joining you, and I wasn't sure if you were certain about this or if it was even safe."
"Oh, Katherine," Eve smiled as she entered the sitting room before Katherine could reassure Hayley. The blonde-haired woman came forward and took the vampire into her arms for a warm hug. "It's so good to see you again. We were getting quite bored here without you."
"I missed you too, Eve," Katherine said with a smile. "Mhmm, it smells good," she continued, taking a quick whiff of the food in the kitchen.
"It will taste even better," Eve commented lightly, with a smile.
"Oh, by the way," Katherine turned towards her guests, who were already looking back at the three with interest. "Eve, these are our guests. Maddox, the warlock. Greta, the witch. Kol, the original vampire," she then waved her hand at the untriggered werewolf, "And guys, this is Eve. She is basically the unofficial guardian of the pack."
"And where exactly is the pack?" Greta questioned, looking around, probably waiting for other humans to join them. Katherine grimaced, knowing she can't drag it anymore.
"Right, before that... Just promise you won't freak out, all right," Katherine said, motioning for them to follow her outside, where the wolves were prowling around in the backyard. "Guys, meet the pack," she said, sweeping her arm towards the wolves.
"Holy shit!" Greta and Maddox breathed out while Kol whistled in amusement. The wolves stiffened when they smelled a new vampire among them but relaxed once Katherine came forward to pet one of them and scratch behind their ears. "It's alright," the brunette reassured them, her gaze on Jackson's wolf form. "They are friends. Hopefully, if things go as planned, you will get to meet them in person in just a few days."
"No wonder you didn't believe my brothers with this secret," the original said. "Nik would have a field day if he knew."
"So, do you see now; why I didn't want you anywhere near them," Katherine muttered.
"Why are they like this? Is this why you asked for our help?" Greta rambled. "Because I don't really know how to reverse the curse...I mean, if it is a curse we are talking about..." she looked at the fellow magic-user. "Do you, Maddox? Have any idea on how to remedy this?"
"Calm down, Greta," Katherine rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I know you can't do it. But I believe a siphoner can. But unfortunately, that little psycho is stuck in a prison world, and you guys are gonna help me break him out from the godawful place. And in turn, he will help me by siphoning the pack's curse."
"I am sorry, what?" came a confused reply from the witch and warlock.
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It surprisingly took Katherine a lot of time to explain to them about her plan, which, they said, was mostly based on pure assumptions and luck; but, what do they know? She was the one who knows what the future has to offer. Also, if it wasn't for Katherine's intervention, they both would have been long dead. And just because they didn't know it; doesn't mean Katherine shouldn't hold it over their heads.
And by the time she convinced the witch and warlock to support her plan, appeased the wolves to accept the new guests in their territory, and catch up with Hayley and Eve, it turned dark outside.
"You have been awfully silent," Katherine couldn't help but comment when she took the seat before Kol Mikaelson. She set two glasses, a blood bag, and a scotch bottle in the middle, motioning for the original to help himself.
It was nearing three, and everyone's gone to bed, except for them. As a vampire, they both didn't need sleep. And Katherine couldn't sleep even if she tried that day. An awful lot was going inside her mind, and the feeling of foreboding hasn't left her yet.
"I was just thinking how a 500year old vampire got herself mixed with werewolves clan," Kol said, with a teasing tone to his words, "But then I realized, it's Katherine. The weirdest and possibly the most intriguing vampire in history from what I saw in the last few weeks; what did you expect?"
Katherine let out a soft chuckle at his words as she held a glass of scotch in her hand, craning and stretching her muscles as she made herself comfortable on the couch. "I am not weird. I am just...not a racist. That is all. And I have quite a large circle, which is quite normal after being on this planet for five hundred years."
Kol hummed, not quite believing her. "Whatever you say, darling." They both smiled at each other.
"So, we are going to a prison world tomorrow?" Kol began after a moment of silence. The original could always go out and get himself something fresh instead of the cold blood bag in his hand, but he didn't. He didn't know if it was because he was lazy or if he just liked the company. Friends โare not something Kol ever had. And so, Kol thought not to dwell on the answers.
"I am going to the prison world tomorrow," Katherine corrected him, emphasizing the I.
Kol let out a scoff, "You really think I am gonna stay with these mutts while you go and have all the fun in a parallel world build by the famous Gemini covenโ"
"It's not supposed to be a field trip. It more of business negotiation, really," Katherine interrupted, shaking her head, not convinced with his conclusion. "And there is no way I would want a bloodthirsty original and a potential-psychopathic siphoner in one room. That's like a perfect recipe of disaster."
"Or..." He dragged, "I am just the thing you need to make this meal delicious. He and I may have a lot in common. Mutual resentment for siblings, parents that despise us, lack of our own magic..." he made an expression that looked akin to recognition, "โSee, we would do well together."
Katherine didn't look impressed, causing the original to release a loaded sigh. He threw his hands up in the air, grumbling, "Fine. I would owe you one if you were to take me to this magical world."
The doppelgangers lips quirked into a victorious smile. "Okay." Kol's scowl deepened at it, which just made Katherine grin wider.
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So...Sorry for the delay. As you can assume from the update, I am not dead. For those who didn't know, I am stuck with my extended family who attacked my home for the holidays, and they still haven't left. There was also a destination wedding of one cousin. The whole trip had gone amazingly.
Anyway, it had been hard for me to take time and concentrate enough to write this.
Anyway, I am sorry to keep you waiting. And I am really glad to see all the comments that told me how much you missed reading my stories. I love you guys so much for being patient with me.
Thank you.
IamMHR.