Time passed once again. Marcel kept scheming about controlling the city, but the fear he felt over the attacks from the brother he didn't even know existed kept him defensive.
The witches were different now. They no longer attacked carelessly, nor did they try to use third parties to strike at the Mikaelsons.
The scare Nik gave the ancestral spirits seemed to have had a very positive effect.
They still attacked, but they aimed at Klaus and the Originals.
They never truly targeted Hayley, and since they didn't have the power to fight three Originals at once, their attacks made little progress.
That was when KOL arrived in the city, and things became very lively.
Nik was lying in bed with Caroline and Amara between them.
All of them naked. Amara was pale and covered in bite marks all over her body, though the marks were slowly disappearing.
She seemed weak, her healing factor slowed, but the wounds still closed and there was no sign of mummification.
Then Nik and Caroline widened their eyes and sat up in shock.
Amara, too tired to do more, only opened her eyes. Breathing heavily, she spoke.
"Is that your uncle?" she asked weakly. "Was he always that powerful?"
"He was, but his magical power is far more refined now," Nik replied in surprise. Damn Kol, he really mastered vampiric magic in less than a year.
"That's not fair," Caroline grumbled irritably, waving her arms. "It took me a whole year and I still haven't mastered it. Tch."
She clicked her tongue, lowered her head to Amara's chest, let her fangs appear, bit her, and began drinking blood.
"Hey, using food to deal with your frustrations isn't healthy," Amara said with a faint tone of pain.
"But your blood is so good and so potent," Caroline said happily without removing her mouth, tearing flesh that regenerated in seconds.
"Don't talk while drinking my blood, idiot," Amara muttered irritably, feeling a little more pain.
"Sorry," Caroline said, then did the exact same thing again.
"Tch." Amara clicked her tongue and stroked Caroline's hair. "I'll only forgive you because it's you."
Then Nik bit Amara's other breast with much more force, tearing the flesh. He hadn't meant to.
But it happened because a new pair of fangs had appeared in his mouth.
"Damn it!" Amara nearly shouted in pain. "Since when do you have four fangs?"
She growled, hurt badly, tried to pull away, and ended up yanking his mouth with all her strength, tearing her entire breast open—only for it to regenerate in a second.
"What?" Nik said in shock, touching his mouth. There really were four fangs there. "Caroline, did this happen to you too?"
"Hm?" She lifted her head from Amara's chest, looked at Nik, then touched her own mouth. "Nope, normal."
"Let me see." She climbed over Amara, driving a knee into the poor woman's stomach and making her curl in pain.
Caroline shoved her hand into Nik's mouth and saw two fangs above and two below.
Both were larger and thicker than those of normal vampires.
"Well, what are the chances you inherited the wolf side from your father?" Caroline asked curiously, her hand still in Nik's mouth.
"None." Nik slapped her hand away. "I just cast an evaluation spell and found nothing different. There's no trace of a werewolf curse in me."
"Maybe you're only manifesting the physical traits," Amara said, trying to crawl out from under Caroline's knee. She managed it.
"Oww." Caroline fell to the floor as soon as Amara stood up.
"Could be," Nik said thoughtfully. "But why now?"
"I don't know. Maybe it was my blood," Amara answered. "My blood is immortal blood and very powerful. Maybe it awakened something inherent in you."
"But it didn't activate any curse," Nik replied thoughtfully.
"Yes, but the gene is still there. Your father isn't a witch, but you are," Caroline reminded him as she got up.
"But I inherited that from my mother," Nik said, then paused. "No… I'm Hanzen's firstborn."
"What does that mean?" Amara asked.
"That I really did inherit part of my magic from my father," Nik said with a sigh. "But that doesn't matter now. Get dressed. My idiot uncle has arrived, and I don't want him seeing my women naked."
"Yesss!" Amara shouted happily, color already returning to her skin.
---+++---
"Well, if it isn't my favorite nephew and his harem," KOL joked while sitting on the couch.
"We are not a harem," Caroline replied irritably. "I'm the wife and she's the mistress. Don't put us on the same level. No offense, dear."
Caroline turned to Amara apologetically.
"None taken," Amara replied.
"Fine, whatever," KOL said with a grin. "Elijah called me while I was dealing with my problems among the nobles in Romania. By the way, you're welcome for solving your little problem."
"So you found out." Nik moved into a defensive stance, and the two women did the same.
"That you used me to eliminate the nobles?" KOL laughed. "Of course. I realized pretty quickly."
"So…?" Nik asked.
"Pleasure, nephew. I am now KOL, Grand Duke of the Vampires." Kol bowed like a nobleman. "I joined them, and no, I'm not here for revenge."
"Then why are you here?" Nik asked seriously.
"Relax with the paranoia. You're just like your father." KOL pointed outside. "Obviously I'm here to protect my new niece who hasn't been born yet."
"Right… What's your plan?" Nik asked curiously.
"Torment Marcel and the witches, and expand the nobles beyond Romania," KOL said with hand gestures.
"KOL, you know that if you increase the number of awakened vampires, it'll cause another war with the werewolves," Nik warned him.
"Of course I know. But the walls are closing in, nephew," KOL said seriously—far too seriously for him. "The father Klaus claims to have killed is alive and warring against witches in southeastern Europe. Witches everywhere are whispering about a being who will bring change and destruction."
"Ha, they're talking about my unborn sister," Nik cut in immediately.
"How so, nephew?" KOL asked curiously.
"The child in Hayley's womb is the acceptance of vampires by nature itself—a vampire born naturally," Nik replied happily.
"But you are that," Caroline said.
"Yes, but I am my mother's son, and I wasn't born on Earth," Nik replied. "Even though I have that effect on the world, the child is the true one destined for it."
"What are you, an alien nephew? My brother slept with an alien?" KOL joked.
"No. My mother is Qetsiyah," he said seriously. Kol's eyes widened in shock and he even stepped back.
"Persephone," KOL whispered fearfully.
"You know her?" Nik asked in surprise, since the Originals were rather ignorant of how vast the world truly was.
"I heard the legends—just as legendary and terrifying as those of Silas." KOL sat on the couch in shock. "Some say she is a goddess. Others say she is an incredibly powerful witch. I never thought she was real."
"She is real, and she really is a kind of goddess," Amara growled irritably. "The most irritating kind of goddess."
"Hey, don't talk about my mother like that," Nik cut in. "I know you have grudges against her, but come on, she freed you."
"She gave me to you as a gift," Amara sighed. "Luckily you're a decent pervert and not cruel."
"Hey," Nik said irritably. "I'm not a pervert."
"Yes, you are," Caroline cut in.
"People, back to the subject," KOL said. "How is she a goddess? Gods don't exist."
"Actually, they do," Nik replied with a smile. "Just not the way humans believe."
"Don't start with this."
"There are three kinds of divine beings: spirit gods who gained absolute power through human belief. Divinities—mortals who broke the natural order, like returning from death. And third, mortals who reached such power or achieved such greatness that nature itself immortalized them as gods."
"And what do they all have in common?" Nik asked.
"They don't depend on faith," he answered himself. "They depend on nothing. In fact, every vampire created after my birth is categorized as a divinity."
"You're joking," KOL growled.
"I'm not. Being classified as a divinity is not the same as being classified as a god," Nik sighed. "Before my birth, all vampires were outside nature. Now that I was born, vampires created after me are once again being influenced by nature and properly limited by it."
"So your birth put us back under nature's power?" KOL asked, confused. "Is that good?"
"Yes, but it didn't put us back," Nik replied. "Only the vampires created after me. The one who will make all of them recognized will be my sister. So uncle, enjoy your next few years of freedom."
"What will change in our species?" KOL asked.
"Nothing important. Powers will remain the same, weaknesses too. Maybe it's better if you start using protection."
"Excuse me?" KOL asked in shock.
"Yes. When my sister becomes a vampire, all vampires will be accepted by nature. Rules will be imposed by nature, and since every vampire breaks the natural order when turned, you'll become a divinity and probably fertile."
"Damn it, now you're going to tell me demons exist too," KOL growled irritably.
"Well…" the three of them said at the same time.
"I do not want to hear it!" KOL shouted, vanishing in a blur.