the air in the abattoir is thick with the scent of old paint and dried blood, a metallic tang that claws at the back of your throat. you stand by the arched window, your heart hammering against your ribs like a trapped bird. he is behind you. you don’t need to turn around to feel the weight of his gaze, a heavy, suffocating pressure that makes the hair on your arms stand up.

"you went to him," klaus says, his voice a low, dangerous velvet that vibrates through the floorboards. "after everything i have given you. after the protection i afforded your pack, you take your grievances to marcel?"

you turn then, your breath hitching. he looks every bit the noble predator, his dark blond curls damp from the new orleans humidity and his blue-green eyes burning with a frantic, wounded light. he is older, his presence commanding enough to shrink the room, yet there is a jagged crack in his composure that only you seem to see.

"you hurt hayley," you whisper, your voice trembling but firm. "you used her, klaus. you treated my sister like a pawn in one of your sick little games. what did you expect? that i’d just curl up in your bed and forget who i am?"

klaus flinches as if you’d struck him, his jaw tightening. he steps into your personal space, the scent of bourbon and expensive cedarwood wrapping around you. he is tall, his muscular frame looming over you, yet he doesn't pull away from your curves; he leans into them, a silent, desperate acknowledgement of the tether between you.

"i gave you my trust," he murmurs, his face inches from yours. "a rare currency, as you well know. and you take it to a pretender? a boy who plays at being king in a city i built?"

"marcel sees me," you snap, pushing against his chest. "you just see a way to keep hayley in line. you see a labonair you can cage."

klaus catches your wrist, his grip firm but careful, as if he’s afraid you’ll shatter. his voice drops to a jagged ghost of a sound. "you know that’s a lie. you’re the only thing in this godforsaken town that makes me feel like more than a ghost."