Lorelei's POV:

I sit at the bar and listen to the musician play the piano. I watch as his fingers dance along the keyboard as I take a sip from my glass.

I've only been going out at night when there aren't as many humans around. The night air is cool and music plays from nearly every building and street in the city.

That's how it is every night.

I haven't left New Orleans in months since our vacation.

I want to go back to Georgia but it doesn't feel the same ever since Emma and my friends were killed.

I sigh.

Rebekah's POV:

I step into the bar.

Lorelei sits at the bar and there's a man on the floor, motionless.

Piano music fills the air and I can tell why she chose this as a safe haven.

It's peaceful.

"Hello darling." I say

She turns around in the seat.

"Hey Becks." She says with a smile

Then she looks down at the unmoving body on the floor.

"He's still alive. I think." She says nudging his hand then she stands up

She gives him some of her blood and focuses, watching to make sure he heals. He does and she compells him to sleep then sits back down.

"Figured I'd find you here." I say

"And here I am. What's up?"

She takes a shot.

The bartender hands her another and sets one on the bar next to her for me.

I sit down next to her and think about the first time I found her in this bar.

Flashback:

I roll my eyes as I end the call.

Nik won't get anywhere finding her if he flips out. Lorelei took off last night to fight the old wolf Alpha and has been gone ever since.

Zero communication.

My first thought was to have Freya track her but Lorelei had someone cloak her.

So now we get to find her the old fashion way.

I've checked the streets, alleys, cafes as well as Rousseau's.

Nothing.

I walk through crowds of people and knickknack tables. I spot a woman who looks at me then averts her eyes and turns and slips between a group of tourists and dashes away.

Bingo.

I speed over through the alley to the left and cut her off at the end of the street.

I can see the panic in her eyes and something else catches my eye.

I grab her by the arm and force her eyes to meet mine.

"Who were you with?" I ask

She gives me a perfect description of Lorelei.

Lorelei didn't compel her, I realize.

I get the name of the bar and speed off.

Five minutes later I'm standing in an empty bar. Lorelei looks devestated and she launches a glass into the wall, shattering it into fragments that fly through the air.

"What do you want?" She asks when she notices me

"I've been trying to find you. Nik sent me." I say softly

"How long?" She asks

"What?"

"How long have you been following me?"

"Foley Alabama." I say

She puts her face in her hands.

"You saw what I did?" She says quietly

"Yes."

I'd walked into a diner and everyone had been killed and drained of blood.

"It's going to be-"

"Don't you DARE say 'it's going to be okay'! I just killed seventeen innocent people!"

"Lorelei I've been alive for centuries. I do understand what it's like to be forced to take innocent lives, driven by hunger. We never asked to be vampires. It was the cards we were delt." I say

I place my hand on hers and she crumbles, sobbing and shaking.

Lorelei's POV:

I guide the man to the ground where he stays. I might've gone a little overboard feeding off of him.

I had compelled the bartender awhile back to serve me when I arrive and forget me as soon as I'm gone.

It's served me well. I can feed and drink in peace without anyone supernatural or human to bother me.

I'd first started coming here after I transitioned into a hybrid.

I never told anyone about it. Not even Nik.

Rebekah had tracked me down after I'd arrived in New Orleans following my transition.

She helped make the transition easier and along with her brother, showed me the beauty and the darkness that comes with being a supernatural being.

" Hayley went out to the bayou to try and see if you were there. Clearly you weren't so I came here. It's been years and this place hasn't changed one bit." She says

"I've been here throughout the years whenever I need to get away. Heading out to the bayou used to help until everything happened." I say quietly

" maybe you should go back to Georgia." Rebekah says after a long moment of silence

I look over at her, stunned for a moment then I shake my head.

" I don't belong there."

"They are your family too love, and they need you."

We sit in silence for awhile then without anything left to say, we head home.

Everyone is gathered in the foyer when we arrive and walk through the gate.

Nik walks up to me and gives me a long hug. Then we head into the bedroom without a word to anyone.

I expect him to say something or be angry that I disappeared but he doesn't. He lies down on the bed and I join him. We lie under the covers and I start to cry softly.

He strokes my hair and eventually once I've run out of tears, I slip into darkness.