Chapter 15: Hayley's Pregnancy Discovered
The world tilted sideways.
I was in the warehouse basement, practicing blood manipulation—getting the blade to hold form for ten minutes instead of five—when the shockwave hit. Not physical. Deeper. Like someone had reached through the bloodline connection and yanked on every nerve ending at once.
I dropped to one knee. The blood blade dissolved, splashing across concrete.
What the hell?
The disturbance pulsed through me again. Massive. Impossible. Wrong in a way that made my hybrid instincts scream. Something was bending the laws of nature, and I could feel it happening through the connection to every vampire in existence.
Footsteps on the stairs. Davina's voice, sharp with concern: "Roy? What's happening?"
"Don't know." My hands were shaking. I pressed them flat against the floor, trying to ground myself. "Something big. Magical. Coming from—" I focused, following the disturbance like a thread. "The compound. It's coming from Klaus."
"Klaus is doing magic?"
"No. Not him. Around him. Near him." The pulse settled into a steady rhythm. Heartbeat. Two heartbeats overlapping, one impossibly layered with vampire and wolf and witch. "Oh my God."
"What?"
I looked up at her. "There's going to be a tribrid. A natural-born tribrid."
Davina's eyes went wide. "That's not possible. Vampires can't have kids."
"Hybrids can. Apparently." I pushed myself upright, still shaky. "Klaus got someone pregnant. And that baby..." I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling the bloodline connection humming. "When she's born, it'll trigger my transformation. Complete it. I'll become a full tribrid."
"She?"
"Yeah. I can feel it. Female. And powerful beyond anything that should exist."
Davina sat on the stairs, processing. "So you're going to protect her."
"How did you—"
"Because that's what you do. You protect people who can't protect themselves." She smiled slightly. "Even when those people are unborn miracle babies who'll make you more powerful."
Smart girl.
"Yeah," I admitted. "I'm going to protect her. But not just for the power. That baby didn't ask to be born into this nightmare. Every faction in the city is going to want her dead or controlled. She deserves better than that."
"You're a good person, Roy. Despite everything you've been through."
"Or I'm just tired of watching innocents get sacrificed for other people's agendas." I grabbed a clean shirt from the pile. "Either way, that baby's survival just became my top priority."
Elijah showed up an hour later.
I was on the roof, watching the compound from a distance, when I felt him approaching. He climbed up through the window, suit perfect despite the climb, and stood beside me.
"You felt it," he said. Not a question.
"Hard to miss. That was Sophie revealing the pregnancy?"
"Yes. Hayley Marshall. Werewolf. Klaus's... dalliance resulted in conception." Elijah's voice was carefully neutral. "Every witch coven within a hundred miles wants the child destroyed. They consider it an abomination against nature."
"They would."
"I'm asking for your help." He turned to face me. "Formally. To protect my brother's child. She'll be hunted from the moment we announce the pregnancy publicly. Klaus and I can defend against most threats, but we can't be everywhere at once."
"You want me to be her shadow."
"Precisely. Unknown protector eliminating threats before they reach her. In exchange, I'll ensure Klaus doesn't interfere with your recovery or your plans for our parents."
I didn't need to think about it. "I'll do it. Not for Klaus—I'm still deciding how I feel about him. But that baby's innocent. And honestly?" I gestured at the compound. "I have personal interest in her survival. Her birth will complete my tribrid transformation."
"I suspected as much." Elijah's expression softened. "Thank you. Sincerely. Family means everything to us, and Niklaus... he's not prepared for fatherhood. He'll need all the help he can get."
"He's terrified."
"He's terrified," Elijah agreed. "Of being like Mikael. Of failing her. Of her being used as a weapon against him. All valid fears, given our history."
We stood in silence, watching the compound. Somewhere inside, Klaus was probably destroying furniture and ranting about witch conspiracies. Hayley was probably scared out of her mind. And a tiny cluster of cells that would become the most powerful being on earth was just... existing.
"What's the mother like?" I asked.
"Strong. Defiant. Searching for her family's history." Elijah smiled slightly. "She reminds me of Rebekah in temperament. Klaus is both attracted and terrified by that."
"He would be."
"I should return. Klaus is having a... moment."
"Understatement of the century?"
"Quite." Elijah headed for the window, paused. "Roy. When the child is born, when your transformation completes—will you be safe? The process nearly killed you when Klaus's curse broke."
"Honestly? No idea. Could be smooth. Could be three days of agony." I shrugged. "But I'll deal with it. Always do."
"If you need assistance—"
"I'll ask. Promise."
He left. I stayed on the roof, planning.
Shadow protection meant staying invisible. Couldn't let Klaus know I was following Hayley—his paranoia would interpret it as a threat. Couldn't let the witches know I was eliminating their people—they'd band together, become more dangerous.
Had to be ghost. Silent. Efficient.
I could do that.
The first attempt came two days later.
Three witches, mid-twenties, walking with purpose toward the compound at 2 AM. I felt them through the bloodline connection—they'd used vampire blood in a locator spell, tied themselves to the supernatural community.
Mistake.
I dropped from the rooftop ahead of them, blocking the alley.
They stopped. One raised her hands, magic crackling. "Move or—"
I met her eyes. Compulsion rolled out. "Forget about Hayley Marshall. Forget about the pregnancy. Go home and never return to this area."
All three repeated the command in monotone. Turned around. Walked away.
Simple. Clean. They'd wake up tomorrow with a gap in their memory and no idea why.
The second attempt was messier.
Werewolf pack, angry about hybrid-werewolf politics I didn't fully understand. They wanted Hayley dead to prevent Klaus from creating an army of hybrids through his child.
I found them planning in the bayou. Fed them false information about Hayley's location—sent them three hundred miles north on a wild goose chase. By the time they realized the mistake, Hayley would have better protection.
The third attempt never happened because I killed the witch before she could organize it.
Agnes. Elder who'd tried to murder Davina during the Harvest. She was gathering power, preparing a spell that would cause miscarriage from a distance.
I found her in her house at midnight. Alone. Surrounded by ingredients and chanting under her breath.
"Hi," I said from her doorway.
She spun, eyes wide. "How did you—"
"Get in? You forgot to revoke my invitation." I hadn't been invited, but she didn't know that. "Planning something for Hayley Marshall?"
"That abomination cannot be allowed to—"
I was across the room before she finished the sentence. Hand around her throat. Lifting her off the ground.
"Here's what's going to happen," I said quietly. "You're going to stop plotting against an innocent baby. You're going to tell your witch friends that Hayley's pregnancy is off-limits. And if you don't, I'll show you exactly what a Proto-Original can do with blood magic."
Agnes clawed at my hand. Tried to cast. I squeezed, cutting off her air and focus.
"Nod if you understand."
She nodded frantically.
I dropped her. She collapsed, gasping, terror written across her face.
"Good talk."
I left through the window. Didn't compel her to forget—wanted her to spread the word. That Hayley Marshall had a very dangerous protector. That anyone who targeted her would answer to something worse than Klaus.
Let them be afraid. Fear kept people smart.
Davina found me cleaning blood off my hands in the warehouse that night.
"Agnes," she said. Not a question.
"How did you—"
"Witch network. Everyone's talking about how someone terrified her into calling off the anti-Hayley alliance." She leaned against the wall. "Was that you?"
"Maybe."
"Roy. You can't just go around threatening elders. They'll retaliate."
"Let them try."
She sighed. Walked over, grabbed a towel, helped me clean. "Why do you care so much about this baby? And don't say it's just about your tribrid transformation. That's part of it, but there's more."
I was quiet for a moment. "When I was imprisoned, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I'd do if I got free. Revenge, obviously. But also... I wanted to make sure what happened to me didn't happen to anyone else. That baby? Everyone wants to use her. Kill her. Turn her into a weapon. She's not even born yet and she's already a target."
"Like you were."
"Like I was. Like you were during the Harvest." I met her eyes. "I'm not letting that happen. Not if I can stop it."
Davina smiled. Small, genuine. "You're a big softie under all the scary vampire stuff."
"Tell anyone and I'll deny it."
"Your secret's safe with me."
She left after making me promise to be more careful. I stayed in the basement, staring at my hands—now clean, but still feeling the ghost of Agnes's throat.
I'd threatened a witch elder. Possibly made an enemy of the entire coven. All to protect a baby who wasn't even mine.
Worth it.
Absolutely worth it.
Because Hope Mikaelson—that's what they'd name her, I remembered from the show—deserved to live. Deserved a chance. And I'd burn down the entire city before letting anyone take that from her.
The bond was forming already. Through the bloodline connection, I could feel her presence. Faint, growing stronger each day. Another tribrid. The only other being like me in the entire world.
I'll keep you safe, kid. Whatever it takes.
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