I.
U.S./Canadian border between Saskatchewan and North Dakota, 2097
The heat licked at Stefan's face like flames, and he narrowed his eyes as he gazed into the desert, the sun hurting his eyes despite the sunglasses. According to the last call from Caroline's cell, this was where she and Tyler had disappeared. The furthest point within range of the mobile towers at the edge of the inhabitable territory. After that, no man's land.
He searched the area thoroughly for any sign of the two, but any traces of their presence had long since been erased by the dust storm that had raged through a few days before. He had to assume they'd pushed on. Taking on last look around—at the abandoned subdivision in the distance, ravaged by heat and storms, the bone-white skeleton of some animal by the side of the road, maybe years, maybe just days old, it's flesh torn asunder by the dust. A rickety street sign bade him "Welcome to Portal," and he was struck by a distant memory of coming to the Dakotas once with Lexi after one of his ripper episodes, on the theory that less human prey would make the "detox" easier.
He checked the cooler in the trunk to make sure it was filled with enough blood preserves to last him a few days—who knew if he'd find anything (or anyone) to feed from in the desert—and then the solar cells before getting into the car. He only had a few days at most before the next storm according to the extended weather report he'd read in the last border town and then he'd have to turn back. The solar cells of his car worked great in the hot, bright sun, but the magnetized dust of a storm would render his electric car useless. If he couldn't find Tyler and Caroline before then... He pushed the thought out of his mind. He was going to find her. Both of them. He had to. That was all there was to it.
Sticking the key into the ignition, he started the car and took off down the road.
oOoOo
Two weeks earlier
"There you are."
Stefan looked up from the truck of supplies he was helping unload to see Caroline approaching and his heart leapt. Behind her, he could see Tyler, who was heaving their youngest child, Mason, into his arms. The men exchanged a nod and Stefan turned his attention back to Caroline.
"Hey, Care," he said. "How's it going?"
"Good," she said.
She gave him a hesitant smile and then put her hand onto his forearm. A thrill went through him, but he tamped it down. Caroline belonged to Tyler and Tyler was his friend. And after his recent breakup with Rebekah, he couldn't afford to lose any friends in the pack. Things were with Rebekah, but she was Klaus's sister, and he was unpredictable at the best of times. Stefan making an enemy out of Tyler might force Klaus to take sides, and Stefan had no doubt as to what his decision would be.
Caroline pulled him away from the other hybrids unloading the truck, giving them a wary glance. Even though they weren't hybrids like most of the others, he and Caroline enjoyed a certain modicum of respect and standing in Klaus's pack, she as the mate of the first hybrid, and he as Klaus's lieutenant, but even that could change with the slightest ill-chosen word or action.
"You heard?" she asked.
"Yeah, Klaus told me," Stefan said. "Tyler knows of werewolves who live south of here, on the other side of the border."
Caroline nodded.
"Tyler thinks it might be Jules's dad's pack. She said they were somewhere in the West. South Dakota, maybe Nebraska"
Stefan frowned. "That was almost a hundred years ago, Care," he said. "They probably moved on years ago. That part of the U.S. has been uninhabitable for decades."
Caroline shrugged. "Werewolves are territorial, you know that," she said. As she spoke, she glanced over at Tyler, who was watching them intently from the other side of the encampment. He held Stefan's gaze for a moment and then turned away as his daughter Libby approached. Stefan tamped down his annoyance as Caroline shifted a fraction of an inch away from him before continuing. "Tyler thinks it's possible they're still out there somewhere. They were tough. Nomadic bikers, apparently."
Without the blood of Elena, long dead, it was impossible to turn werewolves into hybrids, but hybrids and werewolves could still mate with each other, and the resulting offspring were usually hybrids themselves.
Stefan nodded. "When are you leaving?"
"Tonight."
Stefan's jaw tightened. "I'm coming with you. You have no idea what these guys are capable of."
"No," Caroline said firmly. "Tyler's a hybrid. They can't do anything to him. And I'm his mate. They won't dare do anything to me. But we can't guarantee that you'll be safe. Besides, Klaus needs you to organize the move up north."
"Fuck Klaus," Stefan growled. "Caroline..." He reached out and grabbed Caroline's arm, pulling her closer. She looked over at Tyler again, who was watching them with narrowed eyes, his body tense as if he were about to bound over to them.
"No, Stefan," Caroline hissed. "Don't. Not... now." She glared at him as she tried to pull away, and after a few seconds, he relented, releasing her.
"Sorry." Stefan took a step away from her and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I just..."
"I know," Caroline said quickly. "I know. Just... let it be, okay?"
Stefan nodded, his hands balling to fists in his pockets. He was aware of Tyler's eyes on him and he knew he couldn't risk a fight with the more powerful creature.
"Fine," he said listlessly. "What do you need?"
"Information," Caroline said. "Maps. Contacts. Et cetera."
"Et cetera coming up," Stefan said, forcing himself to smile. Caroline smiled widely then and she stood on tiptoes, pressing her lips to his cheek in a chaste kiss. He closed his eyes, breathing in her scent, imagining just for a moment that he possessed something that could never be his.
"Thanks," she whispered and then she was gone, reappearing at Tyler's side. Tyler nodded at Stefan and then followed his wife and their children to the main building.
oOoOo
"Stefan."
Stefan looked up from the maps he'd been putting together for their trip and smiled guardedly at Tyler.
"Hey, Tyler."
Tyler nodded and sat on the edge of the table, his leg swinging. Stefan gave him a once-over and then looked away, frowning slightly.
"I hear you wanna come with us."
Stefan shrugged. "I'd like to," he said, "but there's still a lot to plan for the move to Yukon. Klaus needs me now. Beside, Caroline made it quite clear that I'm not wa—needed."
"Uh, huh." Tyler got to his feet and started to move around the table. "You like Caroline, huh," he said. "A little more than like. A lot more."
Stefan stood as well.
"Tyler..." he said. "She's your mate. There's no way I'm going to get between you. Not even if I wanted to. You're her mate. She loves you."
Tyler shrugged.
"I just remember how you and Damon were with Elena," he said. "And I don't want history to repeat itself with us. Caroline isn't some prize."
Elena wasn't either, Stefan wanted to say, but the words froze on his lips. Thinking of Elena just reminded him of what had happened to Damon, and that just hurt and always would, no matter how much time passed.
"I care about Caroline, Tyler," he said. "I'd never hurt her. I just want her to be happy."
"And that's enough?" Tyler asked.
"Yeah," Stefan said. It has to be.
Tyler just nodded and then he grabbed Stefan's arms, he propelled Stefan against the wall and pressed Stefan against it with his body. Tyler's eyes glowed golden for a moment and then they fell closed as he dragged his nose up Stefan's throat, inhaling deeply, baring his teeth to expose elongate incisors when his face as even with Stefan's. Stefan's heart started to pound wildly as he tried to keep calm. He didn't want to have to ask Klaus to heal him, not so soon after his breakup with Rebekah; as amicable as it had been, it would still be humiliating and Klaus would enjoy it too much.
"Tyler," he said quietly. "Ty. Hey, man. You okay?"
Tyler let out an odd whine deep in his throat as he rubbed himself against Stefan's hip. Stefan went rigid as he felt Tyler's erection digging into his hipbone, and he held his breath, staring wide-eyed at Tyler. Just as he thought Tyler was going to attack—or even (and he couldn't believe this idea had popped into his head) kiss him—the eyes of the hybrid cleared and he stepped back, a sheepish look creeping over his face.
"Sorry, man," he said. "Don't know what got into me."
Stefan narrowed his eyes as he watched Tyler for a moment and then he nodded.
"Don't worry about it," he said.
Pushing away from Stefan, Tyler gave him a wan smile and then towards the door.
"Tyler, wait," Stefan said. Tyler turned a questioning look on him and Stefan moistened his lips. "You and me... we're... friends. I'm not going to risk that either. It's not like I have many people left."
"I know," Tyler said, and he left Stefan alone without another word.
II.
200 miles later and still no sign of Caroline and Tyler. Stefan kept to the planned route to the last known location of the pack of Jules's father, refusing to even consider that Tyler and Caroline might have gone off course. He'd hard seen any animals or people along the way, but he reckoned the blood in the cooler had to last him till he found his friends. And he was going to find them, even if he had to get out and push. Travel with the electric car seemed to take forever. The little car was efficient, but slow, and even with the speed pedal pressed to the limit, he wasn't going much above 40 mph.
Just outside of a town off the interstate, the engine sputtered briefly, and Stefan's stomach started to churn as he wondered if his luck had finally run out. The last thing he needed was for the car to die on him, not till he found the others. Peering through the windshield, he could see rooftops in the distance and he headed that way.
A few miles down the road, he pulled into a deserted-looking service station with a house close-by. Opening the car door, he got halfway out of the car and looked around.
"Hello?" he called.
When no answer came, he reached down to the steering column and popped the hood before sticking his head underneath. A feeling of helplessness came over him as he stared at the motor, cursing himself not for the first time that he never learned to fix cars. Finally, he figured the least he could do was clean the road dust off the engine and he headed over to the garage to see what kind of tools if any had been left behind. He snorted when he saw the padlock on the door, and just as he was about to break it open, he heard the click of a bullet sliding into the chamber of a shotgun. He froze.
"Stay right where you are." It was the voice of an old man, gravelly and worn. "Hands where I can see them."
Stefan raised his hands. "I'm sorry," he said. "My car is having trouble. I didn't know anyone was here."
The old man just grunted.
"Turn around where I can see ya," he said. Stefan complied, turning slowly so as not to startle the man, and then gave the man his most sincere smile.
"Look, I was just looking for a cloth or something," he said. "My engine's making weird sounds and it's covered in dust and sand."
The old man stared at him for a moment like he'd just seen a ghost and then he shook himself with a grumpy harrumph.
"Well, that won't do much," he said, lowering his gun. He gave Stefan a long, considering look and then nodded. "All right. I'll take a look at it. But don't get any funny ideas. I'm more of a bad ass than I look."
Stefan suppressed a smile as the old man hobbled off on his cane towards his car, his shotgun slung over his arm.
oOoOo
And hour and a half later, the car was repaired with some spare parts the old guy had in the garage, and they had retired to the porch for "refreshment," which turned out to be rather potent hooch. Stefan had offered the old man Canadian dollars for the work and the parts, but the old man refused, saying the only dollars he wanted to see were good old American ones. Stefan agreed politely, refraining from reminding the old man that the American dollar was practically worthless nowadays.
"I'm looking for some friends," Stefan said finally. "Have they been by here? A pretty blonde and a large dark-haired man?"
The old guy gave him another one of the odd looks he'd been darting Stefan all afternoon and nodded. "I remember them," he said. "Caroline, right? And Taylor?"
"Tyler," Stefan said, leaning forward in excitement. "When was this?"
The old man reached up and rubbed his chin. "Lemme see," he said. "Four, five days ago, maybe a week? Time goes by so fast nowadays, it's hard to say."
"Did they say where they were going?"
"Oh, yeah," the old man said. "They were askin' 'bout that old biker gang that used to live in these parts. I ain't seen 'em in awhile, but they used to live up in the hills back when I was a kid. A few years back, I heard they're in the Badlands now."
Stefan's shoulders sagged in relief. Caroline and Tyler had still been very much alive two weeks ago. There was still a chance he would find them.
"Thanks," he said.
"Don't mention it," the old man said with a shrug. He stared off into the yard and smile. "She was a pretty young thing. Reminded me of my Mary."
"Caroline?" Stefan asked. He smiled as well.
"Let me guess," the old man said. "You're more than a little sweet on her?"
"Yeah," Stefan said, turning his gaze to the barren fields. "I am."
"Her man probably don't like that one bit."
Stefan let out a bitter laugh. "No," he said. "He doesn't. But Tyler's my friend, too. I don't intend to go through that again."
"Again?" the old man asked.
"Yeah," Stefan said. "My, uh, brother and I unfortunately had the same taste in women."
The old man laughed. "Well, that musta been somethin'," he said. "Who won?"
"Neither of us," Stefan said, looking down as the familiar pain squeezed his chest, threatening to suffocate him. "She died. And so did he." He took a deep breath and turned back to the guy. "The other girl we fought over is still out there. Somewhere." He'd seen Katherine occasionally over the decades, obviously tracking him, though she'd made no move to approach him, presumably from fear of Klaus.
"I had a brother, too," the old guy said. "He passed on about 30 years ago. Looters came through town, and he died tryin' to protect his property. Some things you don't ever get over."
Stefan shook his head. "No," he said, "you don't."
The old man gripped the head of his walking stick and pushed himself to his feet, batting at Stefan's hands as he reached over to help.
"I'm gettin' dinner," he said. "You're welcome to stay. I still got some oatmeal left over from when one of my neighbors went north last fall."
Stefan felt a pang of unease. He'd literally be taking food out of the old man's mouth if he accepted his hospitality, food he didn't even need himself to live.
The old man gave him a discerning look.
"You're one o' them, too, aren't ya?" he said. "Like the other two." He started to laugh. "Oh, now, don't give me that look. I used to be a hunter back in the day." He gave Stefan a once-over. "You know, we always heard about daywalkers, but I never saw one before."
"There aren't many of us," Stefan said. The old man obviously didn't know that Tyler was something else entirely, and Stefan wasn't about to tell him.
The old man nodded. "Well, I'm glad I could meet one before I died," he said. "Bobby, my brother, he'dda been so jealous. 'Course, then he'dda tried to kill ya." He held up a hand. "Oh, don't worry. You seem like a nice enough feller. I'm too old for all the excitement. Then I'd have to bury you, and I don't think my heart can withstand all that unhealthy exercise."
Stefan laughed. "Well, I'm sure you would've given me a run for my money," he said. He sighed and looked down. "And maybe I would've let you win."
"Livin' forever that hard, huh?" the old guy asked. "I can imagine. Me and Mary had a good life, but I'm alone now, and I'm ready to go. I reckon hell can't be much hotter 'n this place."
Stefan grinned. "I reckon you're right about that," he said. He got to his feet as the old guy pushed himself up and headed over to the stove, leaning heavily on his walking stick.
"You need help?" Stefan asked. He followed the old man, leaning against the counter and watching him as he started to get the ingredients for oatmeal out of the cupboard.
The old man handed Stefan a tin cup.
"Could you get me some water from the well? Pump is just outside that door."
"Sure." Stefan went out through the back door to the yard. Placing the cup under the spigot, he started to move the pump handle. After few moments, the pump sputtered and some brackish water came out, not quite filling the tin cup. And then—nothing. Stefan pumped the handle a few more times, a feeling of dread filling him. Finally, he released the handle and headed back to the kitchen.
"Here," he said, putting the cup on the counter next to the stove. "This was all that came out."
The old man just stared at the cup, at the rest of his water, and then he snorted.
"That ole pump finally run dry, huh?" the old guy said. "Well, at least I got enough for the last bit of oatmeal. You sure you don't want some?"
"Positive," Stefan said.
He watched the old man pour the water through some cheesecloth into the pan and then poke the log in the stove. As they waited for the stove to heat up, Stefan set the table and sat down to wait for the old man to join him. The old man briefly bowed his head, his lips moving as he murmured a prayer, and Stefan stared down at the table, his shoulders slumped.
"As it happens, I ain't go much time left," the old guy said. "Diabeetus. I ran out of the last of my insulin a while back and it don't look like I'll be gettin' any more any time soon."
"Why don't you head north?" Stefan asked. "Society's still functioning there, for the most part. They have gene therapies for diabetes now. There's no need for you to suffer."
The old man rolled his eyes. "It's Canada, son," he said. "'Sides, this is home. That might not be a concept to a young'un like you."
Stefan snorted softly. "I'm older than I look. And I haven't had any place to call home for a long time."
The old man gave him a discerning look. "Not even these friends you lookin' for?"
Stefan stared at the man for a moment and then shrugged. "I dunno," he said finally. "I guess. I never really looked at it that way."
"Well, I want to be here when I go," the old man said. "Mary's buried out by the oak tree behind the barn and I reckon I'd like to join her."
Stefan felt a chill go through him.
"What are you saying?"
"You know what I'm sayin'," the old man said. "You seem like a decent feller, and you can give me what I want—peace and dignity in my own home."
"Look, old man." Stefan shook his head. "I just... I can't."
"You can, son. You know it's for the best. It's not like I gotta bunch of alien pods in my pool that are gonna keep me young, or somethin'." The old man took a deep breath. "That well's been tetchy for weeks now, and I reckon that was the rest of my water. And you—" The old man swallowed hard. "You can make it so it don't hurt, right?"
"Yeah," Stefan said with a nod. "Yeah, I can do that."
The old man nodded in satisfaction as he pushed his chair away from the table and picked up his bowl.
"Let's go sit on the porch," he said. "You go get the fine bourbon from the cellar and we can watch the sunset one last time before I go."
Stefan fetched the bottle as the old man put his kitchen to rights and then he joined the old man on his porch, setting on the porch swing as he slowly savored the whiskey in companionable silence while the old man looked out over his land, puffing on his pipe. As the sun was sinking below the horizon, the old man smiled and nodded at him and Stefan moved behind him. He placed his hands on the man's shoulders and leaned forward, sliding his fangs into the old man's jugular. The man went rigid, just for a second, and then he relaxed against Stefan as the peculiar sugary taste of his blood slid down Stefan's throat. The familiar rush of excitement and voracity filled him, and he fought the urge to rip and tear and make it hurt, to drive the old man from him in fear so that he could hunt and feed like an animal. Only the thought of Caroline kept him grounded, and soon the old man had gone limp in his arms.
Stefan held the old man for a long while, his eyes burning as he stared off into the fields. Finally, he buried him in the field behind the bar, deep enough that scavengers couldn't get to him, and continued on his way.
III.
Despite the empty roads, the heat was hard on the little solar car and it was slow going. As a result, Stefan didn't reach the edge of the Badlands till late afternoon the next day. He stopped at a vantage point on the side of the road and got a bag of blood out of the cooler, his first meal since he'd killed the old man the evening before. He didn't have much left, but he reckoned it would last him till he found Caroline and Tyler and they returned to civilization as long as they were careful.
He felt a pang of sadness as he looked out over the ruined countryside, the once rolling prairies now turned into desert, but he pushed it aside. It didn't do to think too much about anything anymore. He'd just drive himself nuts if he thought too much about the past, about Damon and everything that had happened, everyone who'd died. He had the pack now, even if he technically wasn't one of them; he had a place among them and was accepted, despite his breakup with Rebekah. Despite what had happened in the past, Klaus had proven himself to be Stefan's friend over and over. As for Caroline... he wasn't sure why he was so fixated on her anyway. She loved Tyler, she belonged to Tyler, and Stefan accepted that. But when he looked at her, he didn't quite want to give up on her, not just yet. As for Tyler… well, Stefan wasn't really sure what he felt for the other man.
The sound of a pebble falling disturbed his reverie and Stefan started. He looked around, overcome by the feeling he was being watched, but he could see neither person nor animal, and the air was still and silent. After standing still for few moments, a light breeze stirred the bare branches of the dead trees that lined the parking lot, and he relaxed. The haunted landscape was obviously playing tricks on his mind. Shaking off a feeling of foreboding, he headed back to the car and continued on his journey.
A few hours later, he pulled off onto a side road, traveling down it a few miles until he was sure he was free from any pursuers, real or imagined, and then he got out of the car to stretch his legs, gathering some old wood to make a fire, going through the motions like this was just any camping trip. He wondered what Caroline was doing now; were she and Tyler safe, enjoying the hospitality of Jules's father's pack? Or were they somewhere else out there, hurt and in need of his help or worse. He pushed his morbid thoughts out of his mind. Caroline and Tyler weren't dead. He couldn't explain how he knew that, but he just did. And he was going to find them.
He removed his cell phone from his pocket, intending to give Rebekah a call to see if they'd heard anything, but there was no signal out this far from civilization. Just heat and dust and nothingness. He sighed in frustration, looking out over the desert with a sigh as the sun dipped below the horizon. As darkness fell and the fire died, he retired to the back seat of the car and fell into a fitful sleep.
He's wandering through the desert, stumbling over his own feet in the heat, hunger gnawing at his gums, his teeth aching. He falls to his knees and can't get up; the weight of his failure to save them, Caroline, Tyler, Damon, Elena, all of them, holds him down, presses him onto the ground.
"Caroline," he says, a whimper. He can't move, he can only lie there, his limbs as heavy as his heart.
Just then a sweet breeze rushes by his face, brushing his arm.
"Stefan! Stefan! Can you hear me? Stefan!"
"Caroline?" Stefan raises his head, struggling against a force that seems to be holding him down. He sees Caroline standing just out of reach, a look of worry on her lovely face.
"Stefan, we're here! Don't give up!"
"Won't," Stefan murmurs. He holds out his hand to her, but it looks like it's as far away as she is. "Find you, Care. Both of you."
"Stefan, wake up! Wake up!"
He awoke with a start, adrenalin pumping through what was left of the blood running through his veins. He relaxed when he saw the roof of the car above him, the grey light of dawn filtering through the windows, and he lay still for a moment, breathing evenly as he started to grow calm again. The dream had been oddly vivid, as if Caroline had really been there with him, and he almost expected her to poke her head over the back seat and say 'Hi.'
Just then, a shadow passed by the window and he froze, his stomach tightening in fear. Reaching down, he grabbed the tire iron lying in the footwell and eased it up until he was holding it cradled against his chest. He counted to three and then burst out of the car, coming to a halt a few paces away from it. He stood still, listening intently, but nothing was stirring. He was alone. But then he smelled it. Blood.
He turned around slowly to face the car and froze. The tires were all slashed, and the trunk was propped open. Blood bags were lying on the ground around the car, ripped open and emptied onto the barren ground. He walked over to the car, looking it over with a sinking stomach. When he reached the trunk, he discovered it was as he'd feared: the cooler had been ripped from the car, every packet of blood destroyed, and he'd slept through all of it.
He sat down hard on a nearby rock and stared at the ground as fear coiled in his stomach. Who had done this, and without waking him even? He doubted somehow that it was humans. He forced himself to calm down for a moment, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply, taking in the surrounding scents. Of course. Werewolves. And why hadn't they killed him when they had the chance? Unless... they were planning to have their fun with him. That Stefan understood only too well.
Well, great. He had no more food, no idea where to find Caroline and Tyler, and a pack of werewolves after him. What was he going to do?
He allowed himself just a few minutes to wallow and then he forced himself to his feet. Using the tire iron, he pried the compass out of the dashboard and then packed his few remaining things. He paused for a moment as he looked out over the horizon. The sun had come up, but the sky had a strange yellowish cast. His stomach plummeted as he realized a dust storm was approaching. If he didn't find Caroline and Tyler soon, he'd be lost. Ignoring the hunger that was starting to burn in his gut, he trudged into the desert.
He was about an hour from the car when the storm struck. He put on the dust mask and goggles he'd brought with him for precisely the situation at hand and checked his compass, but it wasn't built for use outside in a dust storm, where the magnetized particles messed with the mechanism. Still, he continued on, driven in one direction by some instinct.
After wandering for what seemed like hours, but what was probably just a few minutes, he realized he wasn't alone. Figures were moving just outside of view, monstrous, inhuman creatures, surrounding him, closing in on him. Once or twice, he felt something touch him, but every time he turned to look, he was alone again, just in time to see one of the figures loping out of sight again.
"Hi!"
Stefan started and whirled around, his eyes widening in shock.
"Caroline!" Caroline was standing before him, all pink and blonde and perfect and he'd never seen anyone so beautiful in his life.
Caroline snorted. "Love the goggles, Stef. So hot."
"Ha, ha," Stefan said. "What are you doing here? Are you... are you dead?"
"What? No, silly." Caroline giggled. "I'm not actually here. I'm just in your mind."
"Oh," Stefan said, his heart sinking. "Well, you're a great hallucination. The best actually."
Caroline's face shone at the compliment. "Thanks," she said. "You're so close, Stefan, don't give up." Then her eyes widened. "Run, Stefan!" she cried, pointing ahead of them. "Run as fast as you can!"
He following the line of her finger and spied what seemed to be an outcropping of rocks in the distance. He turned back to her, but she was gone and he could just make out dark figures closing in on him through the whirling sand. He sprinted towards the rocks, breathing heavily into the mask. Through the dim orange light of the storm, he could see vague shapes keeping apace with him as he ran.
Just as he reached the rocks, they attacked, jumping him and forcing him to the ground. One of the creatures pinned him, opening its mouth to reveal sharp fangs, too sharp to be human, but not quite those of a were, and it poised as if to strike. Stefan sensed rather than saw another figure approaching, a dog—no, a wolf, and it knocked Stefan's attacker off him with a snarl before bounding off to rout the rest of the creatures.
Stefan groaned as he tried to rise, but he was unable to heal as quickly as he usually would from the lack of blood. He started to fall back again, but then someone was there, holding him as his hands slid over naked flesh.
"Hey, I've got you, Stef."
"Tyler?" Stefan asked, peering at the other man groggily as he lifted Stefan like he didn't weigh a thing. "Dude, you're naked."
Tyler laughed. "Yeah, I kinda noticed. C'mon, let me get you out of here before they come back with reinforcements."
Stefan's mouth suddenly didn't want to work anymore, so he just nodded and then slipped into unconsciousness.
IV.
Stefan woke up slowly, becoming aware of his surroundings bit by bit: soft padding beneath him, the whine of the wind distant now, no longer in his ears, in his skull. He opened his eyes, smiling when he found himself gazing into a familiar, yet worried face.
"Hey, Care," he said, his voice coming out as a croak.
Caroline's face cracked into a wide grin.
"I knew it would work," she said, bouncing on her toes.
Stefan stared at her, still not sure whether he was dreaming again. "You knew what would work?"
"We combined our vamp and hybrid powers to find you and bring you to us!" As Stefan was still processing her claim in stunned silence, she turned towards the door and called, "Tyler, he's awake!" Then she threw herself onto Stefan with a shriek, squeezing him tightly. "Oh, God, Stef, I'm so glad you're all right!"
Stefan raised his arms weakly to wrap them around her.
"I'm fine," he whispered. "Now, at least." He looked around at the sparse furnishings. "What is this place?"
Tyler appeared in the doorway, fully clothed this time, the relief evident on his face as he casually leaned against it.
"Old park ranger's cabin," he said. "How you feelin'?"
"Okay," Stefan said, holding Tyler's gaze. "Just a bit thirsty."
Tyler took a deep breath and then released it again.
"We don't have much left," he said. "Should last out the storm, but then we'll have to go hunting. You didn't have any with you?"
Stefan sighed as he pushed himself into a sitting position. Caroline rolled off his chest and then curled up against his side, just like she belonged there. Tyler gazed at them evenly for a moment and then moved to perch himself on the end of the bed, a move that was oddly dominant and yet open at the same time.
"I had enough," Stefan said, shaking his head. "Those... creatures or whatever they are broke into my car and destroyed my supply."
Tyler exchanged a glance with Caroline.
"Those 'creatures' are the weres we were looking for," he said. "They've gone feral. They're hardly human anymore. We can't take them to the pack back like this."
"It's more than just being feral," Caroline said, a note of bitterness creeping into her voice. "They're mutants."
"Caroline!"
Caroline rolled her eyes. "It's true," she said. She turned her head to look up at Stefan, her cheek resting on his shoulder. "We stopped to recharge the car on our way here, and the townsfolk told us they live in old Minuteman silos. It's cooler down there, and they apparently have some access to water—and radioactivity, too. The safety protocols are slowly failing and the werewolves used to kill anyone who bothered to come and check the radiation levels, and at some point they just stopped coming."
Stefan blinked at Caroline's jumbled words and then looked over at Tyler. "You still have your car?"
Tyler nodded. "We only have one carbazole cell left, though," he said. "It should be enough to get us out of here, but not all the way back to civilization, let alone the pack."
"We'll think about this later," Caroline said firmly. She reached down to grab one of Stefan's hands. "How's my baby? How's Mason?"
"He's fine," Stefan said, giving her a reassuring smile. "Libby's taking good care of him."
"I miss them," Caroline said, tears filling her eyes. "We shouldn't've come. It was just a waste of time. Sometimes I think we're the last pack in the whole world."
Stefan didn't point out that Caroline wasn't actually a werewolf or a hybrid, but he knew what she meant. He felt as much a part of the pack as she did now, despite having broken off his relationship with Rebekah.
"We'll find others," Tyler said quietly. "I'm sure of it. They can't all have died off or turned feral like this group."
"I hope you're right," Caroline said, her skepticism obvious in her voice. She let go of Stefan's hand and got to her feet. "Oh, man, I almost forgot, you're probably starving. Let me go get some blood."
"Let me help," Stefan said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing up.
"Whoa, Stefan, not so fast," Tyler said, reaching out to him, but it was too late. Everything started to swim and go black in front of his eyes, and he started to fall, only to be caught by a pair of strong arms.
Stefan clung to Tyler, leaning on the other man until the spinning sensation started to recede. Tyler smelled good, even better than hybrids usually smelled, and Stefan leaned in as if on instinct, his eyes falling closed as he inhaled the other man. Tyler went perfectly still, breathing shallowly as Stefan moved nearer, his whole body tensing. Just then, Tyler's grip on his arms tightened and Stefan's eyes flew open as the other man shoved him against the wall.
"Tyler! What the—"
Stefan gasped as he caught sight of Tyler's face. The eyes of the hybrid—and it was the hybrid looking at him, not his friend—were glowing with an amber light as he stared at Stefan with an almost curious look on his face. Tyler leaned forward and dragged his nose up the side of Stefan's throat, and then down again, stopping just above the pulse point with a soft growl.
"Be still, Stefan," Caroline said from the doorway. Her voice was calm, and it grounded Stefan, giving him an odd sense of security despite Tyler's frightening demeanor. "Tyler won't hurt you. He'd die if he hurt you."
Stefan closed his eyes and swallowed hard.
"Are you so sure about that?" he asked with a nervous laugh. "You'd think he'd be pleased to be rid of a potential rival."
Caroline was silent for a moment and then she smiled. "Oh, Stefan, that's not what's going on at all," she said, moistening her lips. "Can't you smell it, Stefan? Smell it."
Stefan stared at Caroline in shock. Her face had taken on a feral look that was similar to Tyler's, so much so that he couldn't suppress a shudder of fear. Then, remembering her exhortation, he closed his eyes and inhaled. He gasped as the scent of pheromones filled his senses and he hardened immediately. His eyes flew open and met the knowing smirk of the hybrid. Before he could react, Tyler grabbed him and whirled him around, pressing against Stefan's back. He rocked his hips, driving his hard cock against Stefan's ass.
"Caroline," Stefan managed to wrench out with a strangled moan. "What the fuck is going on?"
"It'll be okay, Stefan," Caroline said. Her voice was nearby. "He doesn't mean to hurt you, I promise."
"He's not," Stefan said. He turned in the direction of her voice, and was surprised to her face just inches from his. "But what—"
Before he could continue, her mouth was sealed across his, her hands on his belt as she kissed him deeply. Tyler was grinding against him with animalistic grunts, eliciting moans from deep in Stefan's throat. Caroline's deft fingers made short work of his fastenings and then she was shoving his jeans down over his hips. He heard Tyler spit into his hand, and a few seconds later, he was pushing his cock into Stefan's hole. Stefan moaned and then gasped as Caroline squeezed his erection and started to stroke.
"God," he breathed and he tugged her between him and the wall, lifting her and pulling her onto his cock. He cried out in surprise as Tyler let out a deep growl and shoved Stefan against the wall and into Caroline, who let out a sobbing moan and wrapped her legs around both of them. Stefan kissed her and then broke away, digging his teeth into her jugular, drinking deeply as Tyler kissed her, pinning them both against the wall with his powerful thrusts. Stefan dug his nails into Caroline's hips as she started to shudder around him, letting Tyler steer his thrusts. Suddenly, Tyler let out a strangled cry and then pushed Stefan into Caroline, filling Stefan with liquid heat. Stefan's orgasm was approaching, and just as he was about to tumble over the edge, Tyler sank his teeth into Stefan's shoulder, tearing into the skin and muscle down to the bone. Stefan felt a sharp pang of panic for just a moment, and then he was gone, crying out as he came, shooting what seemed like forever into Caroline's tight sheath.
Using her legs as leverage, Caroline lifted herself off Stefan's cock. She pressed her lips to his briefly and then exchanged a glance with Tyler.
"Here," Tyler said. Stefan heard the crunch of teeth slipping into skin and sinew and then a bloody wrist was presented to him. "Drink."
"That won't help," Stefan whispered, his stomach churning in dread as he stared at the blood. "You know only Klaus's blood can cure a bite." Tyler still held him cradled in his arms, his cock in Stefan's ass, giving him a false sense that everything was going to be all right. But they all knew that wasn't true. There was no way they could find their way back to the pack in time for Klaus to heal him.
"Just drink it," Caroline said, pressing Tyler's arm to Stefan's lips. "It can't hurt, right? Trust me, Stefan. Trust us."
Stefan hesitated and then he sank his teeth into Tyler's arm, moaning as the taste of his blood combined with Caroline's in his mouth. Tyler sighed as he wrapped his arm around Stefan's waist, holding onto him tightly. A feeling of warmth filled him and the wound in his shoulder started to tingle as an unfamiliar force flowed through him and seemed to envelop them all. Caroline sighed as if she felt it too and nestled against him. As the power receded, his vision started to darken and he slipped into unconsciousness.
oOoOo
Stefan awoke with a start. The wind and dust were whirring around outside the cabin, shaking the windows and scratching at the panes, and Caroline and Tyler were in the kitchen, talking quietly. He lay still for a moment, trying to order his thoughts as the impressions of a dream in which he'd been speaking with Damon slowly faded, and then he sat up as he suddenly remembered what had happened the night before. His hand flew to his shoulder and he inhaled sharply as a surge of pleasure went through him from the bite wound. At that moment, Caroline poked her head in the door.
"Good morning!" she said cheerfully. She held up a half glass of blood as she headed over to the bed. "We don't have much left, but it should be enough for another few days."
He took the glass and sipped it slowly, fighting the urge to gulp it down all at once. When he was done, he handed it back to Caroline, who reached out and stroked his hair.
"You okay?" she asked. "I know that was probably a bit weird last night. But Tyler and I... We've been talking about doing this for a long time."
Stefan raised a brow.
"Really?" he said. "I always thought he had a problem with my feelings for you."
Caroline shook her head. "That's not it," she said. "It's just... First you were with Rebekah, and now you're not, and we just had to get used to the idea that you were, well, available, you know?"
Stefan frowned. "Yeah, I guess," he said. "I loved Rebekah for a long time, but then it was easy to just ignore things, you know? It was comfortable and I didn't have to deal with my feelings for you."
Caroline bit into her lower lip. "What about your feelings for Tyler?" she asked. "Because we're a package deal."
Stefan felt his skin start to burn. "God, Care, I know that," he whispered. "And I..." He paused as he tried to order his thoughts. "I don't want to stop... this. I don't care what the rest of the pack thinks."
"That's good," Caroline said. "Because Libby figured it out, too, and you know how bad she is at keeping her mouth shut. She brought it up at dinner a few weeks ago and Tyler just about had a heart attack."
Stefan snickered. "Gee, I wonder who she got that from—Ow!" He rubbed his shoulder where Caroline had just punched him. He frowned and grimaced as he remembered the bite, and his stomach twisted in anxiety.
Caroline winced. "Sorry," she said as she leaned over to look at the wound. "How does it feel?"
"It... doesn't hurt that much," Stefan said. He frowned slightly. It had been more than 85 years since the last and only time he'd ever been infected by a hybrid's bite, but he was pretty sure he should be in more pain by now.
"Mmm hmm," Caroline said. "Can I see?" At his nod, she reached out to touch Stefan's shoulder gingerly. Stefan gasped as an indescribable feeling of ecstasy surged through him and he leaned towards Caroline, who jerked her fingers away. She glanced over her shoulder at Tyler, who had just entered the room.
"What?" Stefan rasped, still reeling from the pleasure coursing through his body. "What is it?"
Caroline turned back to him, running her tongue over her dry lips as she nodded at the wound.
"It's just what I thought," she said. "It's not infected."
"But that's impossible," Stefan said, reaching up to touch it. He grimaced as it tingled once more and he pushed himself to his feet, stumbling over to the dusty mirror hanging near the front door. He pulled down his shirt and examined the bite wound. Caroline was right. The skin was unhealed, but healthy, the black poison of a hybrid's bite nowhere to be seen.
"But... how?" he asked.
Caroline and Tyler exchanged another glance.
"This is going to sound really weird, Stefan," she said, "but hear me out." She took a deep breath. "You're his mate."
"You're our mate," Tyler said firmly, laying a hand on Caroline's shoulder.
Stefan just stared at them for a moment and then shook his head.
"You guys are crazy, okay?" he said. "How can I be your 'mate'? It's not like I can have offspring with either of you. And also, aren't you mated to each other? This doesn't make any sense."
"More sense than hybrids and vampires having babies?" Tyler said with a shrug. "I stopped questioning it years ago. When have our lives not been determined by weird supernatural shit?"
"I said you could trust us, right?" Caroline said. "Tyler bit you and it didn't get infected. So that means you're his—our—mate."
Stefan looked at the two of them in confusion. "What are you talking about, Care?" he said. "A werewolf's bite is fatal to vampires, you know that. And without Klaus here to feed me his blood..."
Caroline and Tyler exchanged a glance.
"Look, we're really sure about this, Stefan," Tyler said. "Caroline 's my mate."
"Yeah, I know," Stefan said. "But that's just a figure of speech."
Caroline looked at Tyler again and then turned back to Stefan.
"There's more," she said. "There's magic involved." She swallowed hard. "What we're about to tell you, you can't tell the others, okay? Not even Klaus."
Stefan looked from one to the other. He didn't even have to think it over, he realized. Despite his friendship with Klaus, he was certain where his loyalty lay.
"I promise," he said.
Tyler gazed at Stefan for a long moment and then he nodded.
"Show him."
Caroline undid the top few buttons of her blouse and pulled it off her shoulder. Stefan's eyes widened as he saw the scar of a bite mark on Caroline's shoulder, vivid pink against her creamy skin. He felt himself drawn to it, longed to touch it, to touch her, but he clenched his fist, forcing himself to remain where he was.
"But how?" he asked.
Caroline shrugged, lowering her eyes as she pulled her blouse back on. Stefan had a feeling he'd been too obvious in his interest and immediately felt embarrassed.
"I bit her," Tyler said. "During sex." He smirked at Caroline as she scowled fiercely at him. "I gave her my blood immediately since Klaus wasn't, uh, available, and just to see if it would work, and she never got sick, but the wound never healed completely either."
"Do you think it would work with any werewolf?"
Tyler shrugged. "I don't think so," he said. "I get the feeling it's just a part of the mating magic."
At that moment, a distant chorus of howls broke through a lull in the wind and Stefan shivered.
"Full moon," Tyler said, glancing towards the window. "I prepared for this, though, we should be fine."
"Don't look so worried, Stefan," Caroline said firmly, putting her hands on her hips. "We will get through this."
"What, me worry?" Stefan said with a wry grin. "We're stuck in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with no blood during a dust storm while surrounded by mutant zombie werewolves and I'm apparently mated to a hybrid and a vampire. Why should I worry?"
"Oh, my God," Caroline said, her eyes widening. "Stefan, you just made a joke."
Tyler looked from one to the other and then he snorted in mirth. After a beat, Stefan and Caroline joined him, laughing till it hurt, laughing like there was no tomorrow.