QUICK NOTE: No, I haven't read the Vampire Diaries but I've been hooked on the TV show. This story was just for fun; I haven't done much research on shape-shifters or anything so if you're going to nit-pick on the little things, don't because I already know. So enjoy the story :)

PS. I'm baaaack ;)

Prologue

A sharp pang rang through my chest and I awoke with a start, hand gripping my left breast. I was suddenly alert through her sleepy state and I looked around her room, wondering what the fuck was that? Mind racing, I scrambled out of bed and into the study to go through records of the Bennett and Monroe family.

This panging had been going on for the past two weeks and, having found that nothing physically was wrong with her, I brought herself to believe this was witchcraft. The pain went on throughout the night as I searched and flipped through book after book until I found what I was looking for.

Miss Emily had told me to stay behind at the estate, far away from her and Katherine. Katherine. Chills run through me when I utter that name, let alone write it on paper. I stayed at the estate because I had no other choice - it was a simple order, no loopholes. I knew that Miss Emily was in danger of using too much witchcraft because of these pains, the draining of energy. Miss Emily needed my help and I could not be there to deliver it.

I looked up from my father's notes and my light hazel eyes focused through the dim light of the study room. I contemplated, wondering where this new Bennett witch was that needed my help. Looking outside my window, I saw the snow falling in the town of Salem, Massachusetts - the last place anyone would ever look for me - and I made up my mind. I packed up my bags and got down on all fours, bag tied securely around my chest and waist and felt my nose and mouth pulling out into a snout. My ribs cracked and my arms and legs broke off into different directions. I had an odd feeling that this Bennett wouldn't be as hard to track as one would have thought, and I headed in the direction of the town that was my home back in 1849 - Mystic Falls.

Mystic Falls, 1849

I ran out of the Salvatore Estate alongside Damon and I laughed as we made our way down the hill and to the river, holding onto my hat to make sure it didn't fly away. Damon was laughing and holding onto his own hat and we fell down simultaneously, rolling down the rest of the way as was our custom. Damon rolled onto his back and I laid down with my head on his stomach, looking up at the clouds in the sunny sky.

"You're ten years old today, Damon," I said, a small smile on my face and Damon nodded his head, his soft blue eyes fixated on a particular cloud shaped like a dog.

"You're ten years old today, Summer," he said with a grin and he sat up to look down at me. I grinned back up at him and sat up as well. Damon leaned in and pressed a light kiss to my cheek, a blush rising in both of our cheeks. "Happy birthday." I couldn't help the smile and returned the kiss to his cheek.

"Happy birthday." I stood up and helped Damon to his feet before we trudged all the way up the hill and back to the estate. When I got there, my father, Martin, took me by the hand and told me that we needed to leave.

"Leave where?" I asked, confused, and when I received no response, I, too, fell silent. I was brought back to my house and sat in front of a woman of dark skin.

"Your name is Summer?" the woman asked and I could only nod her head. The woman uttered some words and I could feel this warm glow expanding inside of me, from my head to my feet and I gasped softly, standing up and backing away from her.

"What did you do?" Martin demanded and the dark skinned woman stood up.

"Summer, my name is Emily Bennett and I am a witch. The Monroe family has forever been in the Bennett family's debt and so, you have been chosen as the family protector."

"You fool, I haven't -" Martin started but was silenced with a stony stare from Emily.

"You, Summer, are a shape-shifter. You just have to find your heart-animal in order to be able to transform and you may shift freely." Emily knelt down in front of I to force the girl to look at her and said, "I, I had to curse you," she said softly. "You are going to live an extremely long life, but this is necessary. You are necessary. You are going to be 10 years old for the next 10 years, and 11 for the next 11 and so on and so forth. You are going to remember the Bennett family and your family is indebted to promise that whenever we need help, you will come running. When your father dies, you will take his place as the family protector. With your prolonged age, you are going to have to move out of Mystic Falls and live as a nomad, never belonging in one place for too long."

I didn't understand, but the witch was gone before I could even ask any questions.

I never got to say goodbye to Damon.

The tawny bobcat took off into the night, hugging the forest edge to not seem out of place. I lifted my nose up into the air and looked around, finding my bearings, and I dashed through the trees, knowing that I had a long night ahead of me.

Damon had a drinking issue. Not a problem, it was just... a little issue, no big deal or anything. Whenever Damon drank huge loads of alcohol, it was just common knowledge to know that he was thinking one of three things: Katherine, Elena or Summer.

Ah, Summer. That little girl with eyes like the sun and a laugh that could elicit a smile from even the stoniest of men. Damon scoffed and he downed another bit of bourbon before pouring himself another glass on the rocks. Stefan walked into the house, looking more broody than ever and Damon threw his arms up in the air.

"Brother! Drink with me!" he exclaimed, an arm ending up around Stefan's shoulder.

I whisked by the old Salvatore Estate in hopes I could find shelter there, or a place to rest. When I found nothing but ruins, I continued on, searching through the forest for other known properties. I came across the Lockwood Estate and felt bile rising through her bobcat throat. The Lockwood family. I had learned that the Lockwoods were jealous of the Monroes and their ability to turn willingly. The death of a Monroe - my great-grand father - had sparked a blood feud that still ran through my veins to this day. If there were any Lockwoods around Mystic Falls, well. They certainly wouldn't be around for much longer if I got carried away with my animal. Bobcats weren't known to stalk large prey, but I wasn't just a normal bobcat.

I knew that the Lockwoods had the underground chamber that they changed in - something I had read in my father's journals - so I decided that, bad blood aside, I would be safe in there.

Once in the stony solitude, I changed back into my normal self and took off the bag I had wrapped around my waist, changing into warm clothes. I curled up on the stone floor and drifted off to sleep.

You would too, if you had been running for a day straight.

Tyler wrenched the door open and he took a step back when he saw a girl curled up on the floor in the fetal position, snoring away and he looked around, alarmed. He looked up at the sky and saw the full moon starting to show. His adrenaline started pumping and he ran over to the girl, shaking her and hoping that his presence would scare her.

"Hey. Hey, lady, you gotta wake up," he said, giving her a shake and Summer woke up, jumping to her feet. When they made eye contact, something triggered inside the both of them and their eyes changed colors to a yellowy-brown. She pushed Tyler roughly against the wall with a force that should have crushed a normal person. Tyler retaliated and Summer leapt back, jumping off of the wall and she tackled him.

"Who are you?" she demanded, one hand around his neck, the other holding his arms down. She looked up when a blonde girl walked in through the door and she jumped off of Tyler, grabbed her things and bolted.

Tyler sat up, his eyes returned to their normal state and he looked at Caroline, completely bewildered.

"What the fuck just happened?"

I ran and my heart began hammering against my chest again, the pain getting so strong that it brought me to my knees and I groaned, grabbing a handful of dirt, hoping it would subside soon. It was difficult to breathe and I furrowed her eyebrows, thinking about anything to keep my mind off of the searing pain. That boy must have been a Lockwood. I shook my head. If he was in the chamber, then he had already changed and I had no chance against a Lycan. Not with my animal form being a bobcat, anyway.

I felt a presence above me and I looked up with a gasp, falling onto my butt with a quiet 'ow'.

"Hey, are you okay?" the man asked as he crouched down next to me, a kind smile on his face and I backed away from him suspiciously.

"I - yeah. I was just, I'm new here," I said, settling on that, "and I got lost. I'm trying to find someone with the last name Bennett?" The man's lip twitched like he had a tic and he appeared to be thinking about it.

"Bennett, huh? I'm not fully acquainted with her," he said, "but I'm a teacher at the high school. Maybe if you come by tomorrow...?"

"Summer," I interjected. "Summer Monroe." The man smiled and held his hand out for me to take.

"Alaric Saltzman. You can find me in the history department." He lifted me up to my feet and he looked around the forest. "You might wanna head home. It's getting dark and you never know what's lurking around in the forest at night," he said, raising an eyebrow and I nodded my head.

"Sure. See ya, Mr. Saltzman," I said and took off in a light run. I decided that I would portray a student, despite the fact that I was about 170 years old and looked to be around 20. It would probably be the best way to get to the Bennett witch.

Sometimes it wasn't even fair for me to be a shape-shifter. I mean, not only did I get these awesome animalistic powers, but I was able to run really fast. Maybe not as fast as a vampire and I could be seen with the human eye, but I was definitely faster than your average person. I had the power to manipulate, much like a vampire, not to mention that I did have witch blood running through my family. My powers were limited, though - I could never really count as a real witch. It took almost a century for me to figure out that I had the power to control the element of fire.

I ended up manipulating the principal. Yeah, it was a cheap shot but I had no records of schooling - everything said that I had already graduated or was attending university. I quickly picked up my schedule with a bright smile and left, pushing my light brown hair away from my face. Ah, high school. I really didn't miss it at-fucking-all.

I stepped into my first class, history with that Alaric dude, and gave him a small smile when I walked in through the door, a little late.

"Oh - class, this is Summer... Monroe, was it? And she'll be joining us for the remainder of the year," he said, nodding to me, and I lifted a hand up to give a bit of a wave. Out of the corner of my eye, a boy sat up straighter and was looking at me and I glanced back at him, raising an eyebrow before sitting down behind him. His gaze followed me until I was behind him and I sat down, clearing my throat. The girl beside him looked at me, then back at him and took out her phone. Yeah. High school.

History was always so boring because, well. I lived through it all, didn't I? It was hard to come across a subject that I didn't know at least half about because I had been around for 170 years. Pretty sure I fell asleep, actually. The guy in front of me tapped me on the shoulder as class was dismissed and I woke with a start, jumping back slightly, startling him and he jumped back.

"Oh - sorry. Summer, right?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and I nodded my head, rubbing my back which hit the back of the chair strangely.

"Yeah, I'm Summer. Who are you?" I asked curiously, thinking he looked vaguely familiar, but maybe I had seen him walking around the town the previous night. He straightened up and he gave me this smile like he knew something I didn't.

"I'm Stefan," he said, reaching over to take my hand and I quickly shook it, looking at the girl that was clearly his girlfriend. I did a double take when I saw her and my mind shot back to those pictures my dad had left behind for me. Katarina Petrova, Katherine Pierce. I stared at her, eyebrows furrowed and Stefan looked up at Saltzman, who locked the door and I quickly let go of Stefan's hand and backed up into the corner of the room.

"What is this?" I demanded, expecting a million vampires to appear in the room and Stefan only shook his head, walking towards me.

"Summer," he said sharply, reaching out and I grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back and shoving him into the wall.

"Who are you?" I added pressure onto his arm, hearing it start to crack and Stefan gasped, face pressed against the wall.

"I'm Stefan Salvatore!" he exclaimed, bringing himself to push me roughly, toppling over several desks. I got up to my feet, staring at him. No fucking way.

"How - what?" I asked, not sure that I had heard right and I took a step closer to him cautiously, searching his face. "You're - what?"

"Stefan Salvatore," he repeated, rolling his arm to get the kinks out. "You grew up with my brother, Summer. Damon?" His name caught me off-guard and my features softened for a few seconds up until I began to question how he was still alive.

"What are you?" I asked slowly, looking at him carefully as I maneuvered my way around the room and Alaric reached under his desk. Stefan looked back at me.

"What are you?" he replied and I tilted my head to the side, raising an eyebrow.

"Pretty sure I asked first."

"Pretty sure that's a childish rule. Answer me before Rick over there puts a stake through your heart, vampire or not." I looked at Alaric and then I looked to the girl in the room.

"Clearly she's the bad vamp in the room, why not stake her?" I asked, which apparently caught everyone off-guard and Stefan looked back to Rick, who was looking at the chick and I threw my hands up in the air. "Way too much staring, not enough talking. God, it's like I'm stuck in a fucking Twilight movie."