My twin brother still wouldn't let up his distant attitude, while Ansel and I made light conversation. It wasn't about anything spectacular, but these moments is something that I'd treasure forever. I meant what I told Nik. If it turns out that our father is lying to us, I will kill him myself. If not, then this would be one of the best things to ever happen in my whole life. Meeting Davina would always be the greatest thing to ever happen to me, but this comes as a very close second.

It was not long after when we come upon a large tree, where the merlock orchids are growing upon the branches. Surrounding the tree are dozens and dozens of purple-flowered herbs. I let out a growl of frustration and annoyance that sent the birds in the trees fleeing as it resounds through the forest.

Nik was clearly as frustrated as I am, "Vervain. It's everywhere. My relentless mother has set a trap."

"I'd like to take one of these branches and shove it in her throat." I snarled with a dark frown, glaring at the rest. My father gave me a wide-eyed look of shock. Something uneasy welled up in my chest from the look on his face, but I pushed it down. I have never hidden who I am and I wasn't about to start now. "If you really watched over Nik and I our whole lives, then you should know that doing that to Esther would be one of my more graceful offenses."

"Yes, I am aware of what you are capable of, Aleksios. However, it is quite a different thing to witness in person." He explained to me and I nodded. The uneasy feeling in my chest disappearing. Ansel looks at the tree and then back and forth at me and Nik before smiling pleasantly. "I'll retrieve the merlock for you."

Nik regarded him suspiciously and I suppressed a sigh. "At what cost?"

"Oh, Chirst, Nik! Could you just give it a rest already?" I asked him, more than a little annoyed with his behaviour.

I was taken my surprise when Ansel angrily throws his knife into the ground and approaches my twin. "Why don't you use your vampire abilities to end your doubts? Search my mind. You'll see I'm not aligned with your mother."

"I have absolutely no interest in the inner-workings of your brain." Nik denied his offer and I regarded him.

"I'm surprised at your cowardice." Ansel noted and my eyes widened in shock. So, along with our stubbornness and know-it-all attitudes, we also got our smart mouths from him.

"Oh?" Nik questioned, hiding the hurt that he was feeling from the insult.

"While you stand here in fear of me, your brother suffers further." Our father said and Nik is clearly hurt by these words, and after a moment, he reconsiders Ansel's offer.

"Gather the orchids." Nik orders and we stand in an awkward silence for a long while as my brother and father stared each other down.

"Right, so, we are defenitely your children." I commented, giving my father and my brother a slightly optimistic smile. This was going about as well as expected. Somedays, like today, I miss the days when I could just sleep around without a care in the world and my biggest problem was waking up in time to have lunch with Nik.

Later on, Nik, Ansel and I are sitting across from each other as a campfire burns between us. Ansel is using his long knife to cut the merlock orchids. I watched, facinated by the simple action. And apparently, I wasn't the only one. If the well hidden look of awe on Nik's face was anything to go by.

I was, however, surprised when he broke the silence. "I've always seen a blade to have a very different use."

"Mikael taught you to kill, Klaus, but, you were both born to create. Power lies in embracing your true nature." My father explained to us.

"You think we should accept our mother's offer? Sacrifice our vampirism? And then what? Lexie and I open a flower shop?" My twin asked him expectantly.

Ansel smiled gently at us, "You wouldn't be sacrificing anything. As a wolf, you'll be king to an entire species." Nik seems tempted, despite his best efforts. When my twin looked at me, I knew that even if he wanted to take Esther's offer, he wouldn't do it if I didn't. We have been side-by-side for so long that we wouldn't know how to survive without each other.

"Yes, but you see, despite being at war for so long with the world, we like the idea of living forever." I told him honestly, hating the flash of disappointment that passed through his eyes.

"You would feel at true peace." Ansel said. "And you'll be a better father." He added and Nik's face goes from tempted to angry in only a second. Panic flared through me for a long second before I pushed it down. There was no way he could know.

"I am no longer a father." Nik responded distantly and I winced as a wave of pain seared through our bond and into my heart. My twin stands and walks away from the campfire. Immediately I rose to follow him.

"Maybe it is time for us to leave. It was great seeing you again." I gave Ansel a weak smile before following after my twin.

"In our animal form, we feel everything more acutely." My father continues from behind us. Both Nik and I stop, and althought we don't face him, we exchange slightly panicked glances. "When you were a boy, after each full moon, I would wake closer to your village, having been drawn to you in the night. Since I've been back, each month when I turn, I wake further from New Orleans. I know the call of my own blood, Klaus." My stomach drops out from me as I process his words, fear coursing through my both. Slowly and in unison, Nik and I turn to our father, dreading his words as much as we needed to hear them.

Oh .

He does know.

"I know your child is still alive." Ansel confirmed what I realised. Shock radiates off my twin in waves as I stood frozen, stricken as well.

He didn't talk again, but Nik and I walked back to the campfire. Neither of us knew what to say, both of us still to shocked. We never knew that a wolf's blood calls to their family. A thousand years alive and I can still learn something new. Ansel has just finished preparing the merlock orchid roots for Elijah as I eyed him suspiciously.

He seems sincere, but looks can be decieving. But when he puts the poultice in a handkerchief and gives it to me with a soft look in his eyes, something inside of me just knew that he wasn't a threat to Hope. "This will help Elijah."

"Thank you." I gave him a warm smile. Now I just had to convince Nik of the same.

Ansel turns away, but my twin calls out to him, and he turns back with interest. I turned to Nik with narrowed eyes. What the hell was he up to? Not a few hours ago, he wanted out of our father's company and now he's calling him back? Nik was defenitely up to something.

"Ansel. I'd be lying if I said your offer wasn't appealing. I've never known a parent to be a benevolent force. I think I would have liked to have been your son. But, a different path was chosen for me, and I have, for the past one thousand years, been son of Mikael. Paranoid. Vengeful. And, powerful enough to protect my daughter." Nik tells him and Ansel clasps the back of Klaus' head affectionately and stares him in the eyes.

"I want to help you defend her." Ansel told him, words laced with so much sincerity that it made my eyes blur.

Nik looks near-tears as well. "I believe you. But, love is what Esther twists. She will take the best of your intentions, and she will use them to get to my little girl." He takes Ansel's hand in his own and clasps it tightly and for the second time in one day, my stomach drops. Nik wouldn't. Would he? When he spoke again, his voice sad, my suspicions was confirmed. "You waited too long before you came to rescue me." He brushes past Ansel and stops. "I won't make the same mistake with Hope." Nik picks up Ansel's blade and suddenly it felt like someone had a hand wrapped around my heart and was squeezing it. Ansel turns toward him, confused and hurt.

"No." My voice was cold and firm. I sped in between them, protectively standing infront of our father. "I can't let you do this, Nik."

"Lexie, get out of my way." My twin growled at me.

"No." My eyes blurred with tears. When they fell down my cheeks and my vision cleared somewhat, I saw that Nik had tears in his eyes as well. "If you kill him, you might as well pack my bags."

"You'd forgive me eventually." Nik said, voice certain and firm. He walks closer to us, the blade in his hand.

I sped him against a tree, my forearm at his throat. "I won't. Killing Mikael and Esther is one thing, but killing him is another story entirely. They both treated us horribly and deserved nothing less than death. But he is trying to help us and if you kill him you'll be no better than either of them."

"I will not put my daughter's life at risk!" He shouted, shoving me off him. Nik sped to our father and Ansel just stood there as my twin came for him. I sped infront of Ansel and the knife Nik wanted to push in our father's chest hit my chest instead.

Nik's eyes widened and he quickly pulled the knife out of my chest, hands gripping my upper arms as he eyes scanned me worriedly. The wound barely hurt. "Lexie, I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

"I barely felt it." I waved him of. "I will, however, be hurt much worse if you kill our father." It felt so strange and forgein to say it, yet it also felt perfectly right to call Ansel that. I took a step closer to my twin, placing my hands on his shoulder, looking into his eyes so that I know he is listening to my words and hearing them. "He has known about Hope for months. Don't you think that if he was on Esther's side that he would have told her ages ago?"

Nik's eyes widened. And I immediately knew that the thought never even crossed his mind. He looked at our father behind me. "Would you stand with us against Esther?"

"Yes." Ansel answered without hesitation.

I let of Nik's shoulders, turning to face my father as well. "I thought that you loved her." I wasn't trying to be rude or attack him, I merely wanted to see his reaction.

"Part of me will always love her." Ansel admitted. I was stunned by his honesty. Behind me, I felt my twin tense. "She gave me my greastest achivements in the world." He smiled at us. "My two beautiful children. And while I will always carry some love for her, I love you more and would not hesitate to end her life if need be."

Satisfied with my answer, I turned to my twin with a hopeful look. "So, what do you say we give this a chance?"

Nik was quiet for a long time, just looking at Ansel with unreadable eyes. Even to me. Then he sighed. "Fine, he lives." I let out a squeal of happiness and threw myself at him to hug him tightly. "But, we will need to fake his death as well."

"Why?" I pulled away from him, dread tugging at my stomach.

"If he is going to leave and protect her, then no one can know that he is alive. Especially not Jackson - he would go looking for him." Nik explained and I snorted at the jealousy in his tone. Oh man, he was so in love with Hayley.

"Jackson is a good man. He would not say anything." Ansel defended and I barely surpressed a laugh at the look on my twin's face.

Nik gave our father a heated glare, "My terms are none negotionable."

"Ignore him." I told Ansel, walking over to him. "You see, Nik is a bit sour because he is in love with Hayley, the mother of his child, her name is Hope, by the way, and Jackson is Hayley's bethroted." I heard Nik let out and indignant scoff behind our backs and I smirked slightly.

"I am not sour in the least bit." Nik protested but I just ignored him.

"Are they wedded?" My father asked me, brows furrowed as he ignored Nik along with me.

"Nope." I popped the 'p' and shook my head. "And I happen to know that Hayley is in love with Nik."

Ansel turned to look at my twin. "What is stopping you from behind together then?"

"Yeah, Nik, what is stopping you from confessing to Hayley?" I asked, my tone playful but my question was loaded.

"While you two gossip like two high school girls, I will go and find a stand in corpse." Nik huffed before walking away. I chuckled, watching his retreating form.

"What do you need a corpse for?" My father asked in confusion and I turned my head to him.

"Well, if we are going to fake your death, we will need a body to convince them."

"You sound like you are speaking from experience."

"I am." I gave him a sad smile. "Mother gave the order to have Nik's baby killed, even when she was dead and the witches almost killed her. So, Nik and Hayley decided to send her away until it was safe for her to return."

Ansel was quiet and looked penasive. "I understand now why he was so hesitant to take my help."

"Yeah," I bit down on my bottom lip. "It is hard for him to trust anyone when it comes to his baby girl. He loves her more than anything in this world."

"I think he loves you as much."

"I know," I nodded. "You know, he doesn't like Davina one bit, might even hate her, I'm not sure. But because he loves me, he was willing to put all of that aside and trust in her love for me just so that I wouldn't have to lie and keep a secret to her and he gave me permission to tell her about Hope." I scoffed to myself. "Then she went and kept a secret from me."

"Davina was your lover, yes?"

"Yeah." I nodded, not being able to stop the smile that spread on my lips at the mention of the brunette beauty.

"What secret?" He asked, frowning at me.

I sighed, the smile disappearing. "That Mikael is alive."

"How did she know?"

"The ancsestors used her to bring him back and she lied to me about it for half a year. That's why we aren't together anymore. I trusted her with my family's biggest secret and weakness, but she couldn't be bothered to tell me that one of my worst enemy's are alive." I punched a nearby tree in frustration, letting out a loud and angry growl.

I kept my back turned to Ansel as my Hybrid eyes came to the surface. I was startled when a comforting hand was placed on my shoulder, which moved to rub up and down my back soothingly.

"Deep breaths, Lexie, deep breaths." He voice was a low murmur and I instinctively did what he said. With every breath of air, the anger faded from my system. After a while, I turned to look at him with a smile. "Better?" Ansel asked.

"Thanks." I nodded.

"It is the least I can do." The look on his face was one of sorrow. "I am so sorry I wasn't there for you or your brother. If I was, you would not still be struggling with your anger."

"Well, unlike Nik, I am a believer of the saying 'better late than never' and I am really glad that you are here now." I said honestly. "You know, Lexie is something only Nik is allowed to call me."

"My apologies." Ansel said sheepishly, taking a step back and clasping his hands behind his back.

"No, it's okay." I assured him. "But, uh, my family calls me Aleksios." I gave him a shy smile and he gave me a wide grin in return.

As we wait for Nik to return, talking about this and that, I started to believe that maybe everything would be okay in the end of it all.

***