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The bigger the storm, the greater the reward.
Risk and reward are always proportional.
Hawk had two paths in front of him.
The first: Track down the Heaven Dimension, accept their claim that it was all a misunderstanding, let it go, and sit on the sidelines.
But that obviously wasn't going to happen.
Like he'd said before, He'd never been a good guy. And he refused to let anyone test him, claim it was a misunderstanding, shake hands, and part as friends like nothing happened.
That would never fly.
It was the same principle as with HYDRA before.
Testing him? Try me once, you lose the hand that did the testing.
Today you test me, tomorrow you get cocky, the day after that you're walking all over me.
Whether Heaven's approach was a genuine mistake or a deliberate probe didn't matter. They'd started this war. Which meant he got to decide how it ended.
So, Hawk was leaning toward cooperating with Mephisto.
Even though Mephisto's credibility was in the gutter—already on Hawk's Hall of liars—he still preferred teaming up with Mephisto to deal with Heaven.
The reason was simple.
He didn't know Heaven. But he knew Mephisto inside and out.
If you're forming an alliance, you partner with someone you understand completely. Even if that partner is a lying demon, it's still better than allying with a complete stranger who might smile to your face and stab you in the back when you're not looking.
Speaking of understanding.
Hawk remembered what Mephisto had said back at the Hell tavern. When Hawk had asked how a dimensional space could support the manifestation of his universe, Mephisto had worn that mysterious expression and said something cryptic.
'The deepest part of their souls will have the answer I'm looking for?'
What answer?
Hawk lay in bed, his left arm serving as Gwen's pillow, replaying Mephisto's confident expression as he'd left—convinced that once Hawk saw the answer, he'd choose to ally with him.
Just then.
Hawk refocused. He looked down as Gwen's eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes. He smiled faintly.
"Awake?"
"Mm."
A gentle smile spread across Gwen's face. Her voice was soft.
"How long was I out?"
"Three hours. Want to sleep a bit more? We've already missed breakfast anyway."
"No, I'm good."
Gwen shook her head. As she sat up, she grabbed a towel from the bedside, wrapped it around herself, and headed toward the bathroom. "If I sleep more now, I'll be up all night."
Hawk shrugged. "No problem. Tonight, we'll just go a few more rounds. You'll be tired enough to sleep."
Gwen heard that and turned around, giving Hawk a look that was equal parts exasperation and amusement. Then, without another word, she walked into the bathroom.
The next second, Hawk got up and followed her in.
Gwen blinked in surprise.
"What are you doing in here?"
"Showering with you."
"I—mmph!"
...
An hour later.
Gwen emerged from the room, freshly showered and dressed, looking radiant. She opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
"I'm heading downstairs. Come down once you're dressed."
"Got it."
Hawk, currently in another brief refractory period, just wanted some peace and quiet. His voice drifted out from the room, sounding appropriately subdued.
Gwen closed the door behind her and headed toward the stairs.
When she reached the first floor, though, she didn't see her grandfather William in the living room.
But the living room wasn't empty. Her cousin was there. Along with two other people.
Gwen looked at Caroline, who was sitting on the couch and hadn't gone home—apparently having waited here for her the entire time. "Don't you need to go home and get some sleep?"
Caroline smiled. "Gwen, I'm a vampire. Vampires don't need sleep."
Gwen then looked at Elena and Bonnie, who had also stood up after Caroline. Both of them looked visibly exhausted.
"Are they vampires too?"
"No. Bonnie's a witch. Elena's..."
"A witch??"
Hearing this, Gwen sat down on the couch and took a closer look at Bonnie.
She didn't react negatively to Bonnie's skin color.
After all, she was the most non-discriminatory person in the entire family—whether you counted the Foxes, the Stacys, or even the Phoenixes.
At least on the surface.
Good grief.
'I'm single-handedly carrying the progressive reputation of three families.'
Gwen's thoughts raced for a moment before she smiled at Bonnie. "I know a witch too. She's from Salem. Are you from Salem as well?"
Bonnie blinked in surprise.
"No, I'm not."
"Alright."
Gwen smiled again, then looked at Caroline. "Where's Grandpa?"
Caroline answered, "Mom came by to take him to town for a haircut."
'So they're here to talk business...'
Gwen understood immediately. She looked at Caroline.
"What's up?"
"It's about that Klaus guy."
Caroline took Elena's hand and launched into a detailed explanation of Elena's situation. She described everything—how they'd made a deal with the Original Elijah. If they could find the moonstone, Klaus would spare them.
Gwen listened carefully, occasionally glancing at Elena. Once Caroline finished, she asked curiously, "What about that vampire?"
Caroline blinked in confusion.
Elena spoke up. "Stefan was worried about upsetting you, so he didn't come with us."
Gwen smiled and shook her head, then turned to Caroline. "Alright. I'll talk to Hawk about it."
Just then.
Hawk's voice came from behind her. "Talk to me about what?"
Gwen turned to see Hawk, now dressed in a white T-shirt and black pants that made him look even more solid and imposing. She smiled. "About that Original Klaus. Caroline says if they can get the moonstone to him, Klaus will pardon them."
Hawk leaned down and kissed Gwen, who was still seated on the couch. Then he chuckled and looked at Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie.
"Who told you Klaus needs the moonstone to break his werewolf curse?"
"Elijah."
"Klaus's brother."
"He said if we could find the moonstone, he'd ask Klaus to forgive us."
"Oh, Elijah said that."
Hawk's expression became one of sudden understanding. Then he laughed.
"He and Klaus were playing you."
"What?"
"Playing us?"
"What the f—"
"Hey! Language!"
Gwen shot Caroline a warning look. "I've accepted that you're a vampire, but that doesn't change the fact that you won't turn eighteen until after Christmas. So watch your mouth, young lady."
Caroline opened her mouth, looked at Gwen's stern expression, and gave an awkward smile before changing the subject. "Hawk, what do you mean they were playing us?"
Elena and Bonnie also stared at Hawk with wide eyes.
"Exactly what I said."
"Klaus doesn't need the moonstone to break his curse."
"The moonstone isn't for breaking the curse. It's for imprisoning Klaus."
Hawk sat down next to Gwen and looked at the three girls with a smile. "The moonstone would only torture Klaus. Make him feel the sealed werewolf blood inside him, remind him constantly of what he's missing, and drive him insane with the pain of it. The moonstone isn't the cure."
Bonnie looked shocked.
Caroline was dumbfounded.
Elena said in disbelief, "But Elijah told us—"
Hawk cut her off with a smile. "Again, he was lying. To be more precise, the entire Mikaelson family used the moonstone to deceive everyone."
Elena's mouth opened.
"Why?"
"Obviously to keep people from learning what the real cure is."
The one who answered wasn't Hawk. It was Gwen.
Gwen responded to Elena's question, then looked at Hawk. "The moonstone is just a smokescreen the Mikaelsons threw out to hide the real solution, isn't it?"
Hawk looked at his fiancée with an approving smile.
"I love it when you're this sharp."
"I know."
Gwen's smile was radiant.
Caroline, sensing the lovey-dovey atmosphere starting to build, quickly interrupted. "Hawk, if the moonstone isn't the key to breaking Klaus's curse, then what is?"
Hawk's gaze shifted to Caroline. "Doppelgänger blood, werewolf blood, and a witch's help during a full moon. That's all it takes."
Yes.
Breaking the curse on Klaus's werewolf blood wasn't complicated at all. Doppelgänger blood, werewolf blood, a full moon, and a witch's assistance—that was all it took to undo the seal his mother had placed on him.
As for why everyone thought it was the moonstone?
Misdirection.
Klaus was an Original vampire.
He might not have many friends, but he had plenty of enemies. And those enemies wouldn't just sit back and let him succeed.
So he threw out a decoy—the moonstone—and let all those potential enemies fight over a useless rock while the real components of the ritual remained safe.
And secondly—
It was fun.
Watching a bunch of people fight tooth and nail over a worthless stone, even beating each other's brains out over it? That was entertainment.
Setting up elaborate schemes from behind the scenes was a classic villain move.
Unfortunately—
Klaus was exactly that kind of villain. Though he was the charming, charismatic kind. After all, Klaus had single-handedly transformed himself from a villain into the protagonist of The Originals.
The three girls were stunned by Hawk's explanation of what Klaus actually needed.
Especially Elena.
"So when Elijah told us to find the moonstone, he was really just stalling us?"
"Yep."
"Holy—"
Elena reflexively gasped, and her grip on Bonnie's hand tightened involuntarily.
Bonnie winced and let out a small yelp of pain.
Elena snapped back to awareness and quickly let go.
"Sorry."
"It's okay."
Bonnie shook her head, then looked at Elena with the seriousness of someone making a vow. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Elena's expression filled with gratitude.
"Hawk!"
Caroline quickly turned to Hawk. "This is way worse than Klaus wanting the moonstone. Hawk, you have to help us."
Hawk raised an eyebrow. "Did I miss something? Klaus needs her blood and werewolf blood. I never said he needed their lives."
Caroline looked exasperated. "If he needs Elena's blood, doesn't that mean he needs her life?"
Hawk sighed. "You bleed every month... Haven't seen you drop dead yet—"
Gwen smacked Hawk's arm.
"Hawk."
Caroline caught on. "You mean it's just blood? That's all?"
Elena and Bonnie both stared at Hawk.
Hawk let out a dry laugh.
"I've been saying 'blood' this whole time. I didn't even say 'fresh blood.'"
"I misunderstood."
Caroline quickly tried to explain.
Hawk chuckled and glanced at Gwen. "And she calls herself a vampire. Probably has the worst hearing of any vampire ever."
Gwen looked at Caroline, whose face had gone slightly red with embarrassment, and shook her head. She turned to Hawk. "Being scared is normal. We're talking about an Original vampire here. If you weren't by my side, I'd be terrified too. So as long as Elena gives Klaus her blood, he won't target her anymore. But how much blood does he need?"
Hawk glanced at Elena, who was listening intently.
"All of it."
"What?"
Caroline's eyes went wide again. "But then that still means—"
Gwen looked at Caroline with exasperation. "Can't you just have your friend donate blood over several months? Hawk just said all he needs is blood. It doesn't even have to be fresh."
Caroline's expression cleared. She looked at Elena.
Elena, hearing Gwen's explanation, also looked relieved.
Draining someone's entire blood volume at once? That would definitely kill them.
But spreading it out over time?
Still—
Gwen frowned slightly and looked at Hawk. "Will Klaus agree to that?"
Hawk looked at Gwen with a faint smile, saying nothing.
Gwen blinked.
The next second, She understood what his smile meant.
Gwen pressed her lips together.
"Sorry."
"If you want, I can kill Klaus for you."
Hawk smiled. "You know me. If you say the word, I'll do it. But if I kill Klaus, your cousin with the terrible hearing is probably going to die too."
Caroline's eyes went wide. She stared at Hawk. "Hawk, what does killing Klaus have to do with me?"
Gwen also frowned. "Why would Caroline die if Klaus dies?"
Hawk shrugged.
"That's how the Mikaelson sire lines work. When an Original vampire dies, every vampire in their bloodline dies with them."
"But I was turned by Stefan's blood..."
Caroline looked at Hawk reflexively. "What does that have to do with Klaus?"
Hawk was about to answer, but then he sensed a presence that had just arrived at the manor's front gate. He stood up from the couch and looked at Caroline, whose face was filled with shock.
"Who turned Stefan?"
"Katherine?"
"Who turned Katherine Pierce?"
"I don't know."
"Katherine Pierce was turned by a vampire named Rose. Care to guess who turned Rose?"
"...Klaus?"
"So who's at the top of your vampire family tree?"
"Klaus??"
Caroline answered reflexively, her eyes going wide.
Hawk smiled faintly and looked at Gwen. "Your cousin's not completely hopeless."
Gwen looked at the smile on Hawk's face and shook her head helplessly. Then she noticed he seemed to be leaving. "Where are you going?"
"Someone's at the gate."
Hawk didn't look back as he headed toward the manor's entrance.
Caroline, having just had her vampire lineage explained to her by Hawk, looked at Gwen with disbelief. "Gwen, he's not serious, is he?"
Gwen looked at the three pairs of eyes staring at her and shook her head. "Hawk doesn't bother lying. He doesn't need to."
The three girls simultaneously drew in sharp breaths.
Gwen immediately felt the room get a few degrees warmer.
The three girls looked at each other.
Caroline said thoughtfully, "So if Klaus dies, I die too?"
Elena's expression was equally lost. "Stefan was also turned by Katherine. So if Klaus dies, Stefan dies too?"
Bonnie looked confused. "Klaus's mother must have been an incredibly powerful witch."
Hawk didn't give the three girls' conversation another thought.
Just like when Gwen had asked him earlier if he could convince Klaus, he'd simply looked at her without saying a word.
With his current level of strength, his reputation alone carried weight.
Unless someone was a complete idiot, when he made a request, they'd agree just to save face.
Not to mention he wasn't even trying to stop Klaus from breaking his curse.
Klaus had waited centuries. What was another year or two? He could collect Elena's blood on a regular schedule.
As for the werewolf part—that wasn't Hawk's problem.
So, Klaus was just a minor subplot.
Hawk had his own concerns to focus on.
...
The next second, After leaving the manor, Hawk took a single step and found himself at the front gate. He looked at the figure standing just outside. "Good morning, Ms. Pierce."
Katherine Pierce, standing outside the gate, turned around and smiled at Hawk.
"You sent me a message."
"I did. Please, come in."
Hawk extended the invitation.
Only then did Katherine step forward, crossing the threshold into the manor's grounds.
The Mikaelson line of vampires followed the old rule: they couldn't enter a residence without an invitation from the homeowner.
Hawk wasn't technically the owner of the Fox manor. But Gwen was part of the Fox family, and he was Gwen's fiancé. So his invitation counted.
If his invitation hadn't worked—
Katherine would already be writhing in agony by now.
...
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