The Case of the Wayward Wolf

Chapter 1

Trees swayed dangerously to and fro, groaning ominously. Colored leaves flew across the ground in sheets, covering the grass. Flowers were beheaded violently. The lawn was already littered with refuse and it was only just beginning. Rain pelted the windows, sometimes viciously, drowning out conversation as it battered the windows.

What once had been perfectly manicured had been ravaged by Mother Nature. Anything not tied down was at her mercy. The wrought iron patio furniture had been taken for a ride. Chairs slid along the red bricks with hair raising screeches. The umbrella, turned into a projectile by a particularly nasty gust, got caught in the woods behind the house.

The sun had set well over an hour ago, but even before then the skies had been black and foreboding. The clouds were low, churning across the sky. The storm felt alive, energy coursing through its veins.

Gusts of wind had been clocked at over 80 miles per hour and Mystic Falls, Virginia would be experiencing the worst of it.

Hurricane Claudette was making her presence known.

"Bonnie," Caroline Forbes said in a fierce whisper, "you said you'd be here by now."

"I know, Care. I'm trying," she replied, eyes on the slick road in front of her.

Caroline sat down in a delicate pale gray armchair with a sigh. The formal living room was beautiful, but it hadn't seemed like anyone had been in it for months. The air was stale, but it offered privacy.

They'd been on the phone for twenty minutes already and Bonnie reminded her a number of times that she was trying to get there.

Caroline Forbes was in Mystic Falls for her friend Bonnie Bennett. It was Thanksgiving weekend and they were supposed to spend it together. Friends since Vanderbilt, the women didn't get to see each other often enough since graduation. The holiday weekend was supposed to remedy that.

It wasn't just being assigned as roommates their freshman year that brought the women together.

It was the supernatural.

Spring break sophomore year, Caroline, Bonnie, and two of their friends went to New Orleans for Spring Break. It should have been fun, sun, guys, and French Quarter excess.

What followed was Caroline Forbes being turned into the undead. She had become a vampire, the result of a series of misfortunate events. Afraid of being near her friends or telling her family, Caroline withdrew into herself. Recognizing the signs she'd learned from her Grams as a child, Bonnie confided that she was a witch and knew what Caroline was. The tears shed were cathartic.

And while vampires and witches were naturally antagonistic, their friendship was made stronger because there were no secrets between them. Bonnie told Caroline everything she knew about vampires to help her, even providing a daylight ring. It was a difficult time, but Caroline came out stronger for it and the traumatic experience brought Bonnie back to the magic she'd been neglecting.

Bonnie Bennett was a native of Mystic Falls and invited Caroline to spend Thanksgiving with her and her father. Since her own father had passed and her mom had to work and also since Thanksgiving was a time for family and Bonnie was nothing if not family, Caroline had accepted the invitation.

The drive from Atlanta wasn't too bad, but there were a lot of cars on the road. Most were headed away from where the storm was expected to hit though. She left with plenty of time and rather than going to the Bennett house, Bonnie told her to meet elsewhere.

It was Bonnie who had a harder time. Her flight from Chicago had been delayed due to the storm. She was driving to the Lockwood mansion where she would meet Caroline, trying to outrace the wind. Fortunately, the evacuation routes all led west, which was the direction she was going so the roads hadn't been closed.

Tyler Lockwood hosted a party the night before Thanksgiving every year. Since his own parents had died, leaving him very wealthy, the parties had gotten bigger and better. A hundred guests would usually gather and the hurricane wasn't keeping Tyler down. Anyone who made it to the house was welcome to wait out the storm he had tweeted out. Multiple kegs had been delivered and the freezer was full of frozen pizza. Unfortunately, only a few people made it through so far.

"Tell me again who's there and I'll tell you embarrassing stories about them from high school," Bonnie teased, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

Caroline smirked and kept her voice low. "Tyler invited me in with his shirt off and what was probably his seventh beer in his hand. He's good looking, but he knows it and is kind of a creep."

"In high school he wore a do-rag," Bonnie told her, which made her laugh, able to picture it perfectly.

"He called me babe and told me I could use his shower and since he believed in water conservation, we should shower together," she said with a roll of her eyes. It had taken everything to not tell him off, but she was being gracious if it killed her. Maybe she should just kill him and call it a day. He was Bonnie's friend though and she was waiting for Bonnie.

"Ugh," Bonnie groaned.

Caroline's peripheral vision caught on a pair of guests as they walked past the living room. She'd met them briefly earlier. "Matt and Nicky." He seemed sweet, but she shot daggers at Caroline.

"Vicky," Bonnie corrected. "Matt's a great guy. They're brother and sister. I haven't seen her in years, but if she hasn't changed either, watch your back."

The big house felt too empty. The walls creaked and groaned with the wind. Branches brushed against windows, startling Caroline.

A new deluge came through, making it difficult to hear Bonnie. Water pelted the glass panes, creating a cacophony with the other noises.

In dark jeans and a bright blue peplum top, Caroline was ready for the party…that no one had been able to get to except for a drunk lech, a sketchy woman, and a few others.

In her ear, Caroline heard a loud snapping sound and then a devastating crash.

"Bonnie!?" she leaned forward, willing her friend to be ok.

"Oh my God," Bonnie said, shaken up as came to a stop. "A tree…"

"Are you ok?"

"I think so," she said, in shock. Her car hadn't been hit, but a tree fell, partially coming into the road. It also pulled down wires and caused sparks. The headlights picked up the terrifying scene as her windshield wipers put up a valiant fight, but they were losing.

"Can you make it home?" Caroline was desperate to see her friend, but her friend's safety was so much more important. There was no question Bonnie had to find a safe place to ride out the hurricane.

Bonnie's breath shuddered as she looked around. "Yeah." A car had been on the road ahead of her, a beacon that she wasn't the only crazy one, but it had made it through before the tree fell. Now she was alone and her dad's house was only 2 miles away.

"Bonnie Bennett, get yourself home and then call me right away. When this is over you owe me an extra large banana split…or a bottle of red wine…or both."

Putting her car in reverse, Bonnie drove through the widening puddles, trying not to hydroplane, or panic. "I'll call you. Bye."

With a worried glance and starting to gnaw her plush lower lip, Caroline clicked off her phone. It looked like she was stranded for the night with strangers in the middle of a hurricane.

Guessing she'd have to ingratiate herself to the others, Caroline stood and walked towards the kitchen, heels clicking against the hardwood floors. Preheating the oven for pizza might go over well.

Before she could make it there, the doorbell rang. The chimes echoed through the foyer. It was another example of the formal nature of the large mansion that didn't fit the adult frat boy resident.

Looking around, no one else was near, so she opened the door. The wind took hold of the wood, stealing it from her grasp, striking the doorstop with a loud bang.

At the same moment, the lights went out. Quickly Caroline saw the outline of a man before everything went black. His features were hidden, but her heart stopped. Rain and wind poured inside, practically blinding her. Everything was being whipped by the wind behind him, yet he was unmoving.

When the lights flicked back on, she saw his face.