Hello Lovelies! As you can see, I have a new little story here. If you follow me on tumblr, this is not the one I have been talking about in the past. This one came about after I did the Klaroline Secret Santa and felt I needed to add more to it afterwards. Thanks to Klarolineepiclove, jomofamilyjewels (Gorgeous cover!), and klovec for their help with this.

Part One

"Caroline."

Caroline froze halfway across her lawn at the sound of her name. Not only because someone had called out to her, but because of whom the voice belong to, a voice she hadn't heard in almost a year and a half. Five hundred and seven days to be exact if you were keeping track, not that she was. Okay, maybe she was. Why wouldn't she? After all it was how long it had been since Caroline had packed up her car and headed off to college, leaving behind everything she had ever known. The town she'd grown up in, her friends, her pack, her parents, and...him. Had her father not told her in no uncertain terms that her chair at the table would not be empty again this Christmas, she would not have returned now with her tail between her legs. She had had no choice; her father's word was law, pack law.

Caroline had hoped to avoid seeing him for as long as possible, which of course meant that she would run into him within hours of her arriving back in town. Cursing her luck, Caroline turned around, a small forced smile on her face. "Klaus, hi."

"Hello love." Klaus replied, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Um, how are you? You look good," she commented, cringing as she did. Had she really just said that? More often than not, Caroline said the first thing on her mind before she could stop herself. Bonnie had said she lacked a filter and this was definitely one of those circumstances where she wished she had had one. Not that her statement wasn't true, Klaus did look good though, actually good was an understatement. She wasn't sure how it was possible but his shoulders that were currently covered under a dark blue Henley seemed wider, his eyes bluer, his curls a bit longer and he seemed to have gotten more handsome since she'd been gone.

All of which she wanted to use as an excuse for the sudden heat Caroline felt throughout her body but she knew she'd be lying to herself. Simply being near him again was the cause of that, her wolf lunging to the surface and wanting to roll around in it, recognizing him instantly despite being apart for so long. She could feel the wolf trying to push Caroline to get closer, preferably to touch but she fought against it.

She watched as one of Klaus' eyebrows arched in disbelief at her question. "'You left without a goodbye, have refused to talk to me for over a year and that's the first thing you say?"

"I was trying to be polite," Caroline replied, laughing nervously. "I see that you're still as blunt as always."

"When have either one of us ever not been?" Klaus retorted.

"With the way Daddy has been talking you up, I thought you might have picked up a few bits of tact under his tutelage." She declared. While she hadn't spoken to Klaus since she left, he had been the subject of many conversations between herself and her father, mostly with him singing Klaus' praises.

"Well Bill might be a good Alpha, but he isn't a miracle worker."

Caroline couldn't help but let out an unladylike snort at the truth behind his statement. Even someone like her father would be unable to change Klaus if Klaus didn't want to be changed. Though if he was going to take over as Alpha for her father some day, like as was planned, he would need some diplomacy. Of course, by thinking of Klaus learning from her father reminded Caroline exactly why he was in that position (Well without having physically challenged her father to the death) and suddenly she became tense again.

"Though he did manage to finally get you to return home so perhaps I am underestimating him."

She heard Klaus add a smirk on his face and his voice teasing with a hint of spite mixed in, causing her nervousness to be replaced by irritation. However before she could give any kind of comeback, they were interrupted when a car stopped at the end of the drive, the driver being one of the last people Caroline wanted to see.

"Everyone said you were back in town, but to be honest, I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes." Greta stated as she got out of the car and made her way towards the two of them. "The prodigal princess returns."

"Only for a visit." Caroline grumbled. She hated when people called her that, and Greta knew it. She was the one who had started it after all when they were in grade school. For some reason Greta had never liked her, and made it known. Of course she couldn't pick on the daughter of the Alpha after all but she could still torment her in some way.

"I know your parents missed you and some of the rest of the pack too. Though I don't know about everyone." Greta commented, a sly smile appearing on her face as she brought her hand up to grasp Klaus' arm as an indicator of just who she meant.

At the sight of the other she-wolf touching Klaus in such a familiar way, Caroline's wolf bristled and she felt her claws itching to break through. The blonde had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from growling in challenge. 'Mine,' The wolf thought before she shoved the thought away and regained control. But not before Greta noticed her reaction, her smile expanding to a full fledge grin.

"We should be going, only a few hours before nightfall and much to do," Klaus said suddenly, breaking up the face-off between the women, his own wolf most likely sensing the tension in the air.

"Right, we wouldn't want to be late for tonight's hunt. What with it being a welcome home for Caroline and all." Greta stated as she let Klaus lead her back to her car, opening the driver door for her to slide in before making his way back to the passenger side, glancing at Caroline as he did.

"Until tonight sweetheart."

/

Almost Three Years Ago

Caroline had just reached the top of the winding staircase when her ears picked up the distinctive rumbling of a motorcycle coming up the drive. The sound was not foreign to Caroline; her cousin Stefan had one but the engine noise sounded different which meant it was not him coming to visit so it must be someone for her parents, probably her father to be specific. Caroline was still thinking over who in town it could be, when the front door bell rang. Not seeing anyone waiting around the foyer or rushing out from other rooms, she took it upon herself to open the door.

The person on the other side of the door was not a local, human or wolf, that she knew for a fact. She definitely would have noticed him if he had been, just as any other woman in town would have. If the tall sinewy built body wrapped in the black leather jacket, blue eyes or ruby red lips didn't make him memorable, the dimples that came out when those lips curved into a smirk certainly would. A small gust hit just then, ruffling his dark blonde curls and giving Caroline a whiff of his scent, definitely a wolf. A very strong dominant one at that, causing her own wolf within to pop her head up in interest.

Realizing she was staring, she cleared her throat before asking, "Can I help you?"

"I hope so love," The unfamiliar wolf replied, his accent surprising but definitely not unwelcome. "I was told that I could find William Forbes at this address."

"You must be Klaus." Caroline heard her father say as he came up behind her. "Alaric said you should be arriving sometime today."

"That would make you William Forbes?" 'Klaus' asked.

"It would. Bill actually." Bill acknowledged as he looked the younger male up and down, obviously determining if he was a threat. Something he saw told him he wasn't and instead smiled welcomingly. "Won't you come in? Sweetheart, don't be rude. Step aside and give our guest some room."

Caroline did as she was told, stepping out of the way and opening the door wider so to allow Klaus to enter. Everything made sense now as to why a strange wolf would suddenly show up on their doorstep; Alaric Saltzman from the pack south of them had sent him. He was a history professor at Duke with his wife but had also possessed the largest record of the various packs and histories in the States. So naturally Caroline was curious as to why he had sent Klaus to her father.

Once everyone was inside and the door was shut, Bill continued with the introductions. "Klaus, this is my daughter, Caroline. Caroline, this is Klaus Mikaelson."

"A pleasure to meet you, Caroline." Klaus said, his eyes locked on hers as he reached out to shake her hand.

Remember her manners this time; Caroline smiled cordially as she took his hand. However the moment her fingers touched his calloused ones, she felt as if she had been shocked. Not shocked as if she had just taken clothes from the dryer, this was more how she would imagine touching a live power line or even being struck by lightning. And she could see by Klaus' face that he had felt it too. His eyes darted to meet hers, and when she saw the glow from the wolf within, Caroline felt something else happen. It was as if her senses came alive all at once, as if she had come out of a fog. Just like she had always been told it would feel yet she had never believed. Something that made her wolf come alive and close to her skin.

Caroline snatched her hand back immediately, breaking the skin to skin contact something her wolf did not like. By the frown on her father's face, he was not happy either, but she didn't care. "Um, it's nice to meet you too."

"Klaus here has been searching for information regarding his father, and according to Alaric, it appears that father could be Ansel Varg." Bill informed her. Caroline recognized the name, he was a former member of the pack but had died years ago. However before her father could say more, the loud shrill of his phone erupted from his pocket. After checking the caller ID, he looked back to the two. "Excuse me, I have to take this."

As her father walked out of the room to take his call, Caroline stood uncomfortably in her spot but didn't meet the other wolf's eyes. Unable to stand the awkward silence, she asked. "So how long do you plan to be in Mystic Falls?"

"I do not know, it depends on what information there is for me. A few days perhaps." Klaus answered, his eyes locked on her face, as if he was drinking her in. "Perhaps…longer."

Ignoring what he was insinuating, that he might hang around town due to her, Caroline simply carried on her line of conversation. "Well there isn't much in the ways of hotels, just the big one off the interstate. Mostly just bed and breakfasts, some ran by wolves, some by humans. You'd probably be more comfortable at my cousins' boarding house, it's not far from here, you might have passed it on your drive."

"I do not recall seeing a boarding house on my way in. Perhaps after I meet with your father, you could show it to me? And maybe the rest of the town?" Klaus asked, his eyebrow raised in question, the smirk back in place. "Of course, I would want to repay the kindness. Possibly with dinner?"

Caroline's eyes widened comically in surprised at the invitation. For a moment, she just stared at him and when she did, she noticed how the cockiness that oozed off of him. Was she really surprised? Strong male wolves were always quite arrogant. "Wow, please tell me that line doesn't work on all the other girls?"

"Other girls?"

"Yeah, all the human girls and she-wolves that you said that line to whenever you roll into a new town?" Caroline explained, getting a bit of enjoyment out of seeing through him even though she also felt a bit of something else at the thought that she was right. Her wolf snarled at the thought of other females touching him. "Please, don't try to act like I'm something special here. I've had enough experience with lone wolves who have come through town to recognize the tactic. A handsome face, a little charm and I bet they were quick to make a stranger feel welcome."

Klaus' eyes darkened in anger at her speech before he seemed to regain control again, and those red lips lifted in a smile as he moved closer to her, invading her personal space. As he did, warmth flooded her body and she knew that it wasn't solely because of the heat coming off of him. At the same time, his scent that had been teasing her senses, enveloped her and she couldn't help but find the combination of motor oil, woodsy wolf musk and something else, intoxicating. His voice was the only thing that pulled her from the trance her senses were creating.

"Now Caroline, we both know just how special you are." His voice just above a whisper, his finger curling under her chin to pull her gaze up to meet his. "You cannot ignore what happened moments ago, nor what is happening right now. You know what it means."

"I know what it is supposed to mean. But just because fate has dictated that we are mates, doesn't mean that I'm going to simply drop my panties for you here and now and allow myself to be claimed." Caroline rebutted as she took a step back and away from the daze he had put her in. "If someone wants to be with me, they have to earn it."

Spinning on her heel, Caroline walked as calmly as she could towards the back of the house, trying not to put some distance between herself and Klaus. However it seemed that she would not get the last word as she heard Klaus call.

"I'll take that as a challenge."

Love it? Hate it? In case anyone is confused, Caroline is the only heir of her father's pack, which is based in Mystic Falls but em compasses all of Virginia. Since she is female, she cannot become alpha, but her husband can (Yes, it's sexist) through succession. Yes, it can be done the old fashion way by force and would be if Caroline's mate was too submissive or another wolf not in her family wanted to be alpha but it is an attempt for them to be move civilized. Mystic Falls itself is somewhat a safe haven for their pack, many of the humans that live there know about the wolves, but live in peace with them. Bill has wolves scattered all over his territory, not just in MF, however to ensure the continued strength of the pack, the young wolves are not allowed to leave the territory.