Ok, so I have been on a bit of a klaroline roll lately and I decided to continue this trend ;) This is just a short little one-shot that popped into my head and wouldn't go away until I wrote it! Fair warning, it's a dark one.

Disclaimer: I do not own TVD.

The Animal Inside

She struggled against him as he forced his blood into her mouth, holding her tightly so she no chance of escape. Caroline panicked; she had Klaus' blood in her now, the hybrid's blood. That could only mean one thing.

No, no, please no…

"I need you to find a way to save my hybrids, Bonnie…" Klaus finally pulled his arm away from her mouth, only to put his hand on the side of her face, grabbing her chin roughly. She tried to shake him off, knowing what was to come for her. No… no… "…And, for Caroline's sake, you'd better hurry."

Impossible strength went through his arm and he turned her head to the side in one, harsh move.

Snap!

When she awoke, Caroline was hazy… in pain. Her body was aching and she was so thirsty; she was turning. She was turning into the thing she her kind hated most; Caroline had already betrayed her pack by befriending vampires but becoming one? Even a hybrid?

She could think of nothing worse.

She was barely holding on by a thread, watched by the blonde girl, Rebekah, her mind supplied. And Tyler, poor Tyler who wanted to be more than friends but who she could never really love.

She kept her eyes on her friend so intently that she didn't notice his arrival until he was right in front of her.

"Elena's blood." Klaus held out the small vial to her, filled with the tantalizing red substance. Caroline was not known for weakness, however, not anymore. She was stubborn even as the pain of the slowly failing transformation wracked through her bones.

I won't give into him.

"No, no, I don't want it." She gasped, shaking her head erratically.

"If you don't feed, love, you'll die." He told her with a small smirk, still holding out the vial. Caroline found the strength to look him in the eye. Could she do it? Give into this monster? As a werewolf, she knew the price of magic, the price of being bound to a bloodline.

If she did this, she would be bound to him... Forever.

But...

"This is your only chance of survival, Caroline." And he was right, damn him he was right. Klaus knew the exact words to say to her to get her to give into him.

There was nothing more that Caroline wanted than life, even if Klaus ended up owning her in order for her to have it.

She reached out and took the vial from his hand, gulping it down in one go.

And immediately the world around her exploded in pain. She screamed, falling backwards and writhing on the floor. It was like her insides were trying to rip themselves apart, clawing their way out. The pain was a thousand times worse then than when her bones broke and she turned into a wolf.

But then, just as suddenly as it came, the pain disappeared.

And the world around her was entirely new. She growled once, scrambling on all fours, her eyes gold and her new fangs extended. When Caroline realized she wasn't in any danger, she found herself standings up slowly, her eyes taking everything in with wonder. Everything was so clear now.

"Now that's a good sign." That voice, what was that voice? She felt so drawn to it...

She turned her head to look Klaus and, despite all of the anger and hatred boiling deep inside of her, Caroline felt the odd need to please him, only him.

In that moment she was filled with cold realization.

He really did own her now. She was his.

Klaus.

Caroline followed her sire outside of the school, just as he bid her to do. Klaus led her forward with a hand at the small of her back, almost like he was marking her as his territory.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked through clenched teeth, wishing that she could just rip him off her, but being physically unable to. She lived to serve him now, keep him safe, even if it meant giving her own life.

"Everywhere, love." Klaus chuckled, his eyes sparkling with absolute triumph. He stopped suddenly, turning so he was facing her, his large hands coming up to cup her face between them. He looked down at her as if she were some sort of precious thing. "You've no idea how long I have waited for this moment, Caroline, for you. You are my first, sweetheart, the first of my hybrids, mine." He smirked darkly, his thumb stroking her cheek, almost like a mockery of a lover's touch. "We are only two, but don't worry, there will be more of us." He spoke lowly, his voice full of power. "First, however, I will teach you how to use this gift I have given you."

Klaus stepped back from her, only to hold out his hand in offering. And, Caroline, who wanted only to refuse, reached forward and took it.

Her eyes were yellow, her fangs long and pointed, ready for her attack. Klaus stood close behind her, his hands on her shoulders possessively, guiding her. Caroline could feel his heat all along her backside, branding into her.

As promised, he was teaching her. Teaching her how to be the predator, how to capture her prey. And, like everything she did, she listened only to please him, whilst her heart boiled in loathing.

And so she found herself leaning forward and biting deep into the creamy throat of the girl he had brought her.

Inside her head, she echoed the girl's agonized screams.

Afterwards, when she was done, and the girl's body fell limp and cold to the floor, Klaus turned her around in his arms. He lifted his hand to the corner of her mouth and wiping away a stray drop of blood before bringing his thumb up to his own lips and licking it away, his eyes tinged with the slightest bit of gold.

"Well done, love."

Caroline's insides continued screaming.

From then on, Caroline was Klaus' right hand as they travelled across America, turning werewolf packs as they went. Though he had many hybrids now, Caroline was the only one he kept at his side permanently. She was his first, after all, his.

She was the one who gained the pack leader's trust before leading Klaus to them. She was the one who kept the weres from running off as he turned them, one by one. She was the one who kept the hybrids in line, reminding them of their purpose, of their duty to Klaus.

It was why she lived.

In return, Klaus valued her above them all, kept her only for himself. He allowed none to touch her.

Only once was this rule broken, when a male hybrid had tried to make her his; Klaus had ripped out his heart in an instant of terrifying power.

He'd bitten into her for the first time that night, taking her blood, punishing her for allowing the other hybrid near her in the first place. By the time he had finished feeding from her, Caroline had been weak with blood loss.

But he took no notice of that as he slammed her into a wall, his eyes good and menacing, fangs dripping with her blood.

"Mine." He'd growled in her ear, yanking her head back by her hair so that she was forced to look up at him.

The word she next spoke was pulled forcibly from her lips, her need to please him overpowering her claim to free will.

"Yours."

Caroline found the key to her freedom when they returned to Mystic Falls. She now knew that to break her bond to Klaus, she had to break every bone in her body a hundred times over.

She did it in secret as often as she could, but it came more and more difficult as Klaus grew more and more possessive of her.

Ever since the incident with the other hybrids, he rarely allowed her to leave his side. Where he went, she went. And the more she followed him, the more Caroline began loosing herself. There were days where she could not remember why she wanted to be free of Klaus.

She was powerful now, important.

It was she who he turned to when he felt the need for a companion when he ran as a wolf. It was she who he trusted. It was Caroline who Klaus fed on when he lusted after something other than human blood.

But then, she would get flickers of reminders, little memories of what real freedom used to taste like. So, she continued trying to rid herself of the bond in secret.

She wouldn't stop trying until, at last, she was free.

Only when she finally realized she had regained what was lost to her, she realized it was far too late for her.

Because it was Caroline who pushed Klaus out of the way of Mikael's stake. It was Caroline who ruined the hidden plans she had made with her friends to rid the world of Klaus, once and for all. It was Caroline who broke her bond to Klaus, but ended up serving him anyway because she was his and he was hers.

And it was Caroline who pushed Klaus into a wall, jumping on him and wrapping her legs around his waist, her golden eyes shining with something dark and her fangs glinting sharply.

"Mine." She hissed, her fingers threaded through his hair.

Klaus lifted hand and cupped her cheek, running his thumb over one of her fangs fondly. His eyes held a mixture of pride and something much darker, possessive.

"Yours."

She kissed him then.

Willingly.

That night the howling of two wolves could be heard and the world rained in blood.

I wasn't really sure about that last line, but I decided to add it in anyways, I hope didn't ruin anything. Anyways, that was really fun to write – dark klaroline is great to experiment around with; hope you all liked it! This one was kind of similar to a previous shot I wrote called The Devil Inside (hence the title of this one), in that they were both theories of what Caroline would be like if she were something other than she is in the show (i.e. emotions off, hybrid…) I may make another one like this where she is witch, I don't know, we shall see!

Anyways, thanks for reading and let me know what you think ;)

RW