Hey guys!

Okay, so this is obviously the prequel to A Hymn For the Broken, but it will also have scenes that take place after Lullaby For the Heart.

Those scenes will be Italicized, so I don't think it'll be confusing lol.

Also, if you have not ready either of the previously mentioned stories, you WILL NOT understand this one.

Well, parts of this one, anyway, so go read them first! lol

Other than that, the rest is self-explanatory, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own TVD or any other shows/books/ect. Just the story and my created characters.

Damon's POV

Present

It was late, by the time I got back to the Manor.

Late enough that Stefan was yawning and Klaus was getting annoyed.

Mason was the only one not complaining.

"That's the last run for the night," I told them, as we crossed the back yard, "We'll go out again tomorrow afternoon."

"Might want to make it tomorrow evening," Klaus drawled, "Caroline's hormones are everywhere, and she just might kill me if I miss any of Michael playing with his new toys."

I nodded, "Right. Elena will want me to be around for the twins as well. At least that's what she'll say, but I'm sure it's as much for her as it is them."

I smiled.

Christmas was still my mate's favorite holiday.

We heard giggling the second we opened the door of the Manor, and the sound was one I'd know anywhere.

I followed it into the living room, Klaus sticking close behind me, as Stefan and Mason opted for the stairs to head to bed.

It had been a long run, after all.

"Sounds like the young are still awake," Klaus noted, and he was right.

When we walked into the room, the first noticeable thing, besides the giant glowing Christmas tree, was our families, huddled together in front of the fireplace.

Caroline was reading The Night Before Christmas to the children, her swollen belly the perfect perch for the large book.

My twins sat in their mother's lap, completely engrossed in the story, while Michael leaned against Elena's side, looking at the tree.

I smiled at the sight, and paused in the doorway, motion for Klaus to do the same so we didn't interrupt.

Luckily, it was a short story.

"Again!" Skylar begged when Caroline closed the book.

"Not tonight," Elena brushed back her daughter's hair, "It's way past your bedtime."

"But we're not sleepy," Daniel insisted, with a yawn.

I stepped forward, "Santa won't show up if you aren't asleep."

Little heads whirled around, and Skylar was the first to climb to her feet, "Daddy!"

She crossed the room, jumping into my arms easily, and I hugged her to me, doing the same with Daniel when he ran over.

"We made cookies!" he told me proudly, "They're for Santa!"

I smiled, ruffling his hair, "That's great, bud. What kind are they?"

"Sugar cookies!" Skylar answered, "Mommy let us eat two of them!"

Elena walked over then, looking adorable in a onesie pajama set and a Santa hat on her head, "And she's regretting that decision right now."

I kissed Skylar's head before sitting her down to take my mate into my arms.

She wrapped her own around her neck, "You're late."

"I know," I sighed, pulling back to kiss her nose, "I'll make it up to you though. Why don't you set everything up down here, and I'll put the kids to bed."

She nodded, kissing me quickly, "Okay."

I released her so she could say goodnight to our young, giving them final hugs, kisses, and promises to see them in the morning to open presents.

"Alright guys," I tugged on one of Skylar's dark brown strands, "Time for bed."

If there was one thing I enjoyed about fatherhood, it was this.

Tucking my children into their beds, and sitting with them as they grew sleepy, their dual colored eyes fluttering closed as their breathing mellowed out.

However tonight their sugar high, mixed with their excitement for Christmas morning wasn't exactly the best recipe for sleep.

"Daddy, can we wait up for Santa?" Skylar inquired hopefully from her twin mattress.

I shook my head, "No, because Santa will only come if you're asleep."

"And he'll leave us presents?" Daniel asked from his own bed, a few feet from his sister's.

"Yep," I nodded, taking a seat on the edge of it, "But only if you've been good."

"I've been good," Daniel promised.

"Me too!" Skylar joined.

I smiled, "Yeah, I guess you've both been alright. Santa might have something for you and Michael."

"Michael says Santa won't come because all the wolves will eat his reindeer," Skylar said sadly, and I had to bite back a laugh.

"Well you can tell Michael that I will give a stern warning to anyone in the Pack who even looks at Santa's reindeer, okay?"

She smiled, "And they'll listen to you, 'cause you're Alpha!"

I nodded, "That's right. So don't you worry about anything. Santa will come whenever you're asleep and leave you lots of presents."

Daniel yawned again, "We can open them in the morning?"

"As soon as you wake up," I promised.

"Okay," Skylar sighed, sounding a little sleepy now.

I stood up to cross the room and turned on their night light, which also played soft lullaby tunes.

Then I walked back over and kissed them each on the forehead, telling them goodnight.

"Night Daddy," Daniel murmured, his eyes closing.

I rubbed his shoulder lightly, "Night, buddy."

"Love you," Skylar added, and I pulled her blanket up higher, "Love you, too. Both of you. Sleep tight."

I waited until they were at least close to being asleep before heading back down stairs.

Elena's scent told me that she'd moved from the living room to the study, and I followed it until I found her, sitting on the floor with the last of our children's presents that needed wrapping.

"They're out," I told her, and she looked up, smiling, "Good."

I enjoyed the view of her like this, sprawled out with wrapping paper and that cute little hat on her head.

And those PJ's were the icing on the cake, especially since they could be removed with a simple pull of a zipper in the front.

"You're beautiful," I told her.

Elena smirked, "You're just saying that because you missed the cookie baking."

"Sorry kitten," I said, "I really didn't think the run would take so long, but since we're going to be busy in the morning I thought it would be best to push out the perimeter while we could."

She nodded, reaching a hand up for mine, "I understand. We just missed you."

I leaned down and kissed her, "I missed you too. But I'm here now. What can I do?"

She pointed to the pile next to her, "These are all that's left to wrap. As soon as we finish we can put them under the tree, eat some cookies, then go to bed."

"Mhmm," I trailed my lips on the back of her neck, "Bed is good."

I could almost feel her eyes roll, "Presents first, babe."

I chuckled, but did as she asked, and sat beside her to help wrap the gifts for our children.

It was strange how this is what my life had become.

It's nothing I could have ever imagined for myself, but exactly what I would have wanted, if I'd known what to ask for.

My gaze wandered over to my mate.

She was really the reason I had the wonderful life I did now.

She'd given me more than she'd ever know, and had captivated me since the first night I'd laid eyes on her.

And now, as I watched her attempt to tie the perfect bow on one of the wrapped boxes, my mind traveled back to that night by the falls.

The night that had changed my life, before I'd even realized it.

Past

The moon was bright, where it hung low in the sky.

It made scoping out the scene at the bottom of the hill almost too easy, especially with my heightened sight accuracy.

Fucking college kids.

My gaze swept the party they were throwing with a narrowing suspicion.

Why they couldn't have these keg fests in their own town was beyond me, but something about Mystic Falls "falls" brought the wild wannabe-badasses out for a night of sweaty make out sessions, and guaranteed hangovers.

Which wouldn't be an issue, if the damn river didn't run through Pack property.

Humans passing over our border was a rare occurrence, thankfully, but the precautions we had to take were really damn annoying, having to watch ourselves in fear of being too revealing.

It was necessary though.

Humans wouldn't react too well to running into a live version of the big bad wolf.

Alaric had called the Pack in yesterday to discuss the situation, thanks to my saint brother giving him a heads up on the party.

God, I didn't want to be here.

But Ric had insisted that it would easier to keep an eye on things if we actually attended the festivities.

The others were cool with it.

Hell, they had been planning to come anyway.

The guys were all so eager to play human, that they were already down in the swarm, their bodies blending with the moving crowd.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

There were better ways to spend my night than trying to play nice around a group of people I couldn't stand.

But this was where my Alpha wanted me, so this is where I'd be.

Sighing deeply, I pushed myself away from the hood of my car, the perch on which I'd been leaning, and forced myself across the space that would bring me to the others.

I found Stefan's scent first.

His was always the easiest to pick out, because it was the most familiar to me.

I followed it until my eyes landed on its source.

Enzo and the Lockwood's were still with him at least, so maybe I wouldn't have to round them all up later to talk about perimeter shifts.

I stalked toward them, not caring who was in my way, knowing they would move.

That was the one thing I could say for the humans; their senses may be dull, but damn it if their instincts weren't on point, their bodies understanding a present danger, even if their conscious mind didn't.

But it wasn't like I was going out of my way to be a threat to them…at least, not tonight.

"He's coming now," I heard Stefan mutter, and I narrowed my eyes to see who he was announcing me to.

Ah.

That little blonde he'd befriended after starting classes at the U.

Lexi Branson.

Hot enough, sure, but of course my brother didn't care either way.

Just friends, was the motto he lived by with all females.

Poor bastard.

When I finally joined the group, Tyler stepped closer to Stefan so that I could take point.

Even when we weren't hunting, formation was on our minds.

"We had thought you ditched us, mate," Enzo greeted from the end of the line.

I turned to him, smirking at the implication.

If ditching were even a possibility, I wouldn't have come at all.

And the guy damn well knew it.

"I'm starting to think that I should have," I shot back, "But let's be honest. None of you could tell right from left without me, let alone manage to get back home. And I'm not that cruel."

The look he gave me contested the fact.

"Nice to see that you're still in a good mood," Stefan bitched, obviously recalling the argument I'd had earlier with our Alpha about attending this damn party in the first place.

I bit back a snarl, settling with, "Well brother, some of us have better things to do than come to heal every time a girl commands."

I looked at Lexi, raking my eyes over her curves as she rolled hers.

"It's nice to see you too, Damon."

Her tone implied that it wasn't, in fact, very nice at all, and my lips pulled in a hard smile.

Unpleasantries didn't bother me much.

I took a minimum amount of classes at Alaric's insistence, simply for the sake of keeping up appearances, because I'd gotten my degree a while back, and my social life extended to the Pack, and the few sorority girls I'd entertained myself with.

I had no need to be pleasing to anyone.

The dark scent of annoyance blasted from my brother, but I didn't care.

If his feeling got hurt because I was rude to his girlfriend, that was his problem not mine.

Besides, it's not like I'd done any long term damage.

The emotions rolling off the girl weren't suddenly full of cowering offense.

And her attention wasn't even on me anymore.

I followed her gaze until my blue eyes met brown ones.

Warm, chocolate brown pools of emotion that gave the the sensation of drowning as the light of the nearby fire danced in them.

I blinked, before assessing the body that the eyes belonged to.

It was a female, probably around Lexi's age, standing near the blonde, but with enough distance between them that I hadn't noticed her presence before.

I noticed her now.

"Who's this?"

Lexi answered, seeming a little surprised at the question, "Elena, my roommate."

Elena. Huh.

She was a pretty little thing, all legs, and curvy lips, with long dark hair that matched her eyes.

Tight little body, too, with clothes that did nothing to hide that fact.

I focused again on her face, then on her hair.

The light of the bonfire enhanced my already supernatural ability to see well in the dark, and I noticed that a strand of the brunette was in fact, red.

Crimson red.

"Elena," I tried, liking the roll of the "L" off my tongue.

She blushed slightly, and the color of her cheeks nearly matched the strand that was dancing in the firelight.

Before I could stop myself, I leaned forward and took the curl into my fingers.

It was soft against my skin, and in my mind, I imagined the stuff splayed out against one of my white pillows as I thrusted into that firm little-

I cut the fantasy off before the scent of my arousal could hit the others.

"Red, huh?" I asked her, focusing on the strand, "It looks good."

Her blush had diminished slightly, and those lovely lips opened to speak.

"Thanks," she told me, "I presume you're Damon?"

God, even her voice was doing it for me, so soft and feminine.

Fuck, it had been too long since my last release, and she was beautiful, and it wasn't like I was dead.

I imagined anything with a cock would jump at a chance to get between those slender thighs of hers.

"Usually," I stepped closer to her, "But say the word, and tonight, I'll be whoever you want me to be."

I expected another blush, had been half hoping for one, but that wasn't what came back at me.

"Whatever happened to being true to yourself?" Her tone was teasing.

I smirked at this newfound boldness, "Pretty little things like you."

Her mouth twitched, "Yes, because modern feminism ruined self-reflection."

The sarcasm had a delicious bite to it, and I couldn't help but chuckle, "You don't have to like it, Little Red, but it's true. Girls around here are as shallow as they are beautiful."

And I would know.

I'd been with my fair share of them.

Elena's eyebrow rose as I breathed in her scent.

Fuck, she smelled good. And a little annoyed.

"Well, I guess I'm lucky that I'm not from here," she snapped, "I'd hate to be considered shallow."

I found that I was enjoying her anger.

It wasn't too often that females took the tone with me.

"You transferred," I guessed, knowing that if she'd been on campus before, I would have already seen her face.

The U was pretty damn small.

"From Jenkins," she answered, "It's the community colle-"

"I know what Jenkins is," I assured her.

It wasn't too far from our current location.

So why had she transferred?

My curiosity peaked, and I wanted to know more about this human.

"Now, I'm wondering what brought you to Whitmore?"

The slight annoyance that had tainted her scent flared now, "Well that's funny, because I was wondering how that was any of your damn business."

I smiled at her.

A hot temper to match the red hair, and damn if it didn't suit her.

"General curiosity," I told her, holding her gaze in case she thought this anger would affect me in the slightest.

I'd faced beasts a hell of a lot scarier than her.

"And I have ways of finding out whatever it is that I want to know, Red," I added on, "So you might as well tell me."

Her head shook, as if in disbelief, and I waited for her response, praying it was a mean one.

I wanted that temper, that little crease in her eyebrow as her voice raised, that red hair flashing.

"Elena," was all she said.

Now my brow was the one creasing, "Sorry?"

She crossed her arms, annoyed, "My name. It's Elena, not Red."

Her chest heaved, and I moved closer to her body.

She was throwing off heat with each exhale, annoyance still running high in her blood.

"Your name may not be Red, Elena, but your little temper is, isn't it?"

Her eyes narrowed, "Sorry, it flares up in the company of psychopaths and arrogant bastards."

My brow lifted, "And which one am I?"

Chocolate eyes melted me, as I was reminded of how close we'd gotten, "Yet to be determined."

Her nippy comment went right to my cock, and the bastard jumped.

Fuck me, I wanted her.

If it wasn't a sure thing before, it was now.

I wanted this feisty little thing in bed with me, squirming, begging, submitting.

My wolf growled its agreement.

"Go out with me," I asked her.

Well, it felt like a question, but the words came out stiff with my desire, barely even an offer.

She laughed, taking a step back, "Okay Hotshot, neither one of us are drunk enough to make that happen."

Despite her words, I could feel the hinted desire she felt. Even if she didn't want to.

I smirked, "Would you like a drink, then?"

Mason's barky laughter floated through the air, and Elena's eyes left mine.

She blinked, glancing around, as if she'd completely forgotten that we were at a party, surrounded by a hundred other people.

Not that I could blame her.

Hell, even with all of my heightened senses, I'd been captivated by our little interaction.

But the moment was over, and she was withdrawing, a hand moving to clasp around Lexi's wrist.

"You know what? Drinks are a great idea, but we'll go get them."

Her tone made it perfectly clear that I was not invited to follow, and with a last pointed look, she took off, pulling the blonde with her.

I watched until she disappeared, a smile on my lips.

This hadn't been what I'd expected the night to hold, but I decided that it was a welcoming surprise.

I'd been around plenty of females, most only interested in the same thing I was after, and it worked for me.

But that little brunette was a firecracker, and it was refreshing to be challenged by the opposite sex for a change.

It would make it all the more satisfying when she actually did submit to me.

And the surety that she would eventually do so made me wonder why I'd dreaded coming to this party so much in the first place?

I looked back to the others.

Oh. Right.

The smile fell away, and I cleared my throat, because they were all just staring.

"Were you planning on lounging around all night, or are we actually going to scope the place?" I asked, brushing past them.

Stefan sighed, and they followed.

Well that's the first chapter!

Hope ya'll liked it! Can't wait to read your reviews!

Also, I'm working to get up the next chapter for WTFD, so that will probably happen before chapter two of this one.

See ya next time!