I'm so sorry for how long it's been! I've been a bit busy with real life, but I'll try to update more regularly. Anyway, thank you so much for everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited, I really appreciate it, guys!

Chapter title from Rabbit Heart by Florence + the Machine.

This was beta'd by the lovely Charlie.


"What is this?" Rebekah asked disinterestedly from the couch as she watched her brother drop an unconscious body on the floor, huffing when she recognized who it was. "Really, Nik? Why would you bring Salvatore garbage into our house?"

Klaus gave her a look to indicate he wasn't in the mood for jokes. His lips were pressed into a thin line and there were shadows in his eyes that she recognized all too well. She tensed, all humour gone from her face. "What's going on?"

He opened his mouth and closed it twice; his hands were curled into fists. He stared at anything that wasn't her and that was enough to tell her it was serious. She began scanning the room, searching for the best escape route. She would not be daggered again. "Tell me," she demanded to buy her some time, mentally planning what she would do after she jumped out of the window. He was faster than her now, so she would have to find a place to hide.

But Klaus only sighed, pointing with his chin to Damon, disgust clear on his face. "He says they know where Mikael is, says that they'll free him."

Rebekah suddenly forgot about her plan, shaking her head as she rose to her feet. "No," she said, horrified. They were free. For the first time in a millennium they were free; no more running, no more looking over their shoulder every second of every day. "Is this because of the doppelganger? How can they be so stupid? They don't know what they're dealing with!"

Her brother snorted, "Clearly, they don't. But if they already know where to find him…" he finally met her gaze, his eyes pleading, "We'll have to act quickly. I'm leaving town today. If he's back and he learns that I've broken the curse, his thirst for blood will become even greater."

"You are going to create more hybrids," she whispered and then frowned – had he said I'm leaving town?

Klaus nodded, "We'll need an army… He won't stand a chance to hurt us, Rebekah." He paused, as if unsure of what he was about to say and she stared at him, waiting impatiently for him to continue. "I will need you to stay here. Drain the vervain out of Damon's system, question him on what he truly knows… Watch everything they do, who they see and where they go and report back to me. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she said, her voice breaking on that single syllable, eyes suddenly filling with tears. She just wanted it all to be over. She wanted to stop fearing for her family's safety.

He stepped over Damon's body to stand closer to her, his hands resting on each side of her face as he looked deep inside her eyes. "Be safe, sister."

And after pressing his lips against her forehead, he was gone.


Caroline combed her hair as she stepped out of the bathroom and into her room, sighing as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Normal. She looked so normal in her sweatpants and old t-shirt, with damp hair and no make up.

But nothing about her was normal.

Because not only was she a werewolf, but also she was technically dead. Someone had murdered her two nights ago, turning her into a blood hungry beast, into something she'd been taught to loathe, something her parents hated perhaps more than they loved her.

She looked at the door, checking to see if it was truly closed before she stepped closer to the mirror until she could see deep within her own eyes. Then she allowed that newest part of her to show up - her eyes became dark and the veins underneath them became prominent, her fangs appeared through her gums.

It felt weird to see her face like that, but the power that ran through her veins felt right, electrifying every inch of her body… She felt strong. Invincible. Which was stupid, really, because there were creatures far deadlier than her. And she had made a deal with one of them, had promised her loyalty in return of an immortal life free of broken bones during every full moon.

Caroline was doing her best not to think about him, not to think about what she owed him. She had promised to be loyal to him and his family, but could she do it if it meant betraying her friends' trust or putting them in danger?

She shook her head, staring at her image in the mirror. She was hungry again. Stefan's bunny diet wasn't doing anything to feed her properly and she knew it. Her brain wouldn't let her forget what real blood – human blood – tasted like, how rich and satisfying it was. How it made her feel alive.

Her friends had told her not to drink human blood for a while, to stick with animals until she was less volatile. She was growing desperate, though. And Klaus had offered to help her find food and- No. She wasn't that desperate.

But was her pride more important than everyone else's safety? Because what if she suddenly snapped and ate the first person that crossed her path? What if that person was her own mother? How could she live if she had-

Caroline froze when she caught a glimpse of blue eyes that weren't her own starring at her through the mirror. They were gone when she tried to truly look at them. Her entire body trembled when a cruel, cold laughter suddenly filled her ears, her skull… She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move.

Desperation grew inside of her quickly, and she saw the eyes again, but every time she tried focusing on them, they disappeared. The laughter wouldn't cease. She couldn't think, her muscles were beginning to ache from being so tense and she was sure she was about to puke her guts out.

"Stop it!" she yelled, her fist connecting with the mirror in a desperate move and breaking it in a hundred thousand pieces.

The laughter stopped at once, but her body still shook as she fought to catch her breath. The sight of the blood running down her fingers, shards of glass stuck in her skin, was making her sick. She wanted to cry, not really understanding what was going on.

She'd had nightmares every time she'd tried to sleep after she'd been turned. Always the same vicious blue eyes and cruel laughter. She always woke up covered in sweat, half-convinced that she wouldn't be able to speak or move her limbs. It'd take her many minutes before she could feel like herself again, before the terror would fade enough so that she could try wriggling her fingers and then slowly regain control of her own body.

And sometimes the owner of the laughter would speak. He would talk about how she was useless and how nobody would ever care for her. How her parent never truly loved her, how her friends didn't need her. She was pathetic, a waste of time and space and she should be thankful that he was even paying any attention to her. She believed him.

It felt too much like a memory and there were times where she felt like she knew the person who was talking to her, but… She couldn't quite place it.

Or didn't want to. Caroline didn't like thinking about the dreams that haunted her even when she was wide-awake, didn't like imagining what they could mean.

"What has that mirror done to you?" an amused voice asked from somewhere behind her, interrupting her thoughts and she turned around to face him, her heart beating fast inside her chest.

She scoffed, "That's none of your business, actually."

Klaus had gotten an invitation to her house yesterday morning, making threats to her life to get Liz to let him in. She'd watched silently, afraid of what his intentions were, but not being brave enough to tell her mother that he wouldn't hurt her. She couldn't tell her what had happened, not yet.

"I disagree," he said easily, taking a few steps towards her and it took everything in her not to take a step back. "Everything that concerns you, concerns me as well. We have a deal."

"That wasn't the deal," she protested, trying to keep her injured hand away from him as he reached for it, but he quickly grabbed her wrist and tugged it closer to him, inspecting her wounds.

He gave her a wicked smile, his eyes staring into hers – and oh, she had assumed that the eyes on her dreams were his, but they weren't. The shades of blue didn't match and his eyes were cold and calculating while the ones she saw were vicious and reckless.

His voice caressed her ears and sent a shiver running down her spine as he replied, "Sweet Caroline… We're going to have so much fun."

Caroline swallowed, not knowing what to say or do as his fingers began to pick the shards of glass that were keeping her wounds open from her skin, throwing the blood-stained pieces to the ground where the rest of the shattered mirror already laid.

His touch was soft against her hand and she tried not to remember the kiss he had pressed against her knuckles two days ago, how it had made her blood burn inside her veins.

But he didn't seem keen on letting her forget as he took her hand and brought it close to his mouth, his breath teasing her mercilessly and making her knees buckle. His lips touched a cut from where her blood was still flowing, tainting themselves red and he kept on looking at her as he pulled back slightly to lick them.

Her breath was caught in her throat as she watched and her hand would be trembling if he weren't holding it. Klaus smirked at her, eyes dark and mischievous as he dipped his head again, his tongue darting out to clean her fingers from the blood that ran down them.

His tongue was hot against her skin, making it prickle. He wouldn't stop staring at her and she couldn't look away if she wanted to… But the sight of Klaus tasting her blood was making her insides burn so pleasantly that she didn't want to look away. Just like that he'd made her forget about her nightmares and the reason her hand was hurt in the first place.

She still forced herself to yank her hand back.

He had killed her. She shouldn't and wouldn't be letting herself have these reactions to his presence… Even though…. Even though being around him seemed to make her feel calmer. Like things weren't such a mess.

"Delicious," he praised, a feline smile on his lips.

"Why are you here?" Caroline asked, ignoring him and pretending that that – whatever that was – hadn't happened.

Klaus's smile faltered as he sighed, "I have to get out of town for a few weeks, maybe months. I need to find other werewolf packs and create more hybrids," he explained.

She crossed her arms in front of her body, "So you're here to say goodbye, how touching. Well, bye!"

He gave her an amused look, his lips twitching. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, sweetheart. I need your help. And clearly you are in need of mine."

Caroline shook her head, taking a step away from him "If you think I'm going with you, then you are certainly delusional. And what are you talking about? I don't need your help!"

Klaus chased her, grabbing her hand and showing it to her. "No? These were superficial wounds. They should've been all healed by now… You are not feeding properly. My first hybrid, surviving on animal blood… Now that just won't do. Come with me, love, and I will teach you to feed. To fight. Why would you want to stay in this city anyway? What good could it possibly bring you?"

"I have school! My friends are here, my mom! I can't just pack up and go because you decided that you want my company in your road trip to murder more werewolves!"

He swallowed, his eyes were hard as he looked at her and his voice came out cold and biting as he said, "Oh, yes, your friends… the Bennett witch, who wasn't all that interested in finding a way to save your life until I threatened the doppelganger, who wasn't exactly pleading for her to help you. Or perhaps you mean the Ripper, who wasn't willing to let go of a drop of his girlfriend's blood so that you wouldn't die. How long will you stay in your mother's good graces anyway? Until you can't keep your little secret, I suppose. How long does that buy you? How long until she realises that her daughter isn't aging? Or perhaps this is about the Lockwood boy…" his eyes flickered golden with anger at the mention of the young werewolf. "The two triggered werewolves in town. How romantic the story must be. Is that why you want to stay?" he pressed.

Caroline didn't know what to say. It hurt to have him tell her all of the things that she already knew were true. And Tyler… She had been helping him ever since he'd triggered his curse and it'd felt so good to have someone who understood, someone to share those painful nights with. But she was immortal now, and he wasn't. They hadn't been officially together before and she didn't know where that left them.

He took her silence as an invitation to continue speaking, "Why would you waste everything for a small town boy? For a small town life? What difference will a few months of high school make in a century? Tell me, Caroline… Haven't you understood what I've gifted you yet? You are free. You don't have to live your life like a human. School, college, work… You don't have to follow these rules."

"Stop it," she said, not wanting to hear it anymore. "I'm not going with you. Just stop it."

He stepped even closer to her, offering her a smile gentler than she'd thought him capable of, his eyes equally as soft. "As I said, love, I'm afraid it isn't so simple. I am very sorry about this, Caroline, but we can't waste any time."

She squeezed her eyes at him, trying to understand what the hell he was talking about… And realized a second too late what was going to happen as his hands reached for her.

Bastard, she thought before he broke her neck and her world went black.


Klaus looked at the backseat to check on her, finding her still unconscious. Her golden hair was mostly dry now, her curls messy and wild. She looked different in her simple clothes, without her carefully arranged hair and make up. He could almost mistake her for human and breakable, but he knew better than that… He had seen the fire in her eyes, the resistance of her raised chin.

She was exquisite.

Perhaps that was why he had snapped her neck instead of testing the option many witches had told him about over the centuries. And he'd almost done it, he was curious to know if it would even work...

But it'd felt wrong to do it to her. To force her to come with him without her even realising that he had forced her… It would save him from her ire, but he wasn't sure he could dare extinguish that fight in her. That stubbornness.

He didn't want a tamed pet.

Besides, he could use that silence to figure what to do first. There was a witch in Richmond that could cast a cloaking spell on them, in case her friends did anything stupid or… Or his father woke up seeking revenge.

They should probably also stop somewhere to get her to feed. Her body wasn't healing properly and he needed her at her full strength… Yes, he would get her to feed and then he would ask her about the mirror. About what had happened.

His lovely hybrid. Was she having trouble adjusting to newest parts of her monster? He could help her with that, could help her see how she would thrive in her immortality. She had been meant for it. He would show her and make sure she understood just what she'd been gifted. He would make her realise she was too good for that damned town and everyone who lived in it.

She would be his –

No. She was his. Perhaps she was still a bit reluctant to admit it, but she'd chosen to turn and become like him. And just now she had allowed him a taste of her blood after he had tended to her wounds; he had heard how quickened her breathing had become, had seen how her cheeks had flushed for him… She was already his. His first hybrid. His Caroline. His –

The movement on the backseat interrupted his thoughts and he glanced back to see her slowly regaining her senses, groaning a little as she sat up, her hand reaching for her neck, that was undoubtedly sore.

"I'm sorry about that," Klaus said with a smile, meeting her gaze through the rear-view mirror, watching as her eyes widened and she looked at her surroundings, gasping.

"You- You kidnapped me!" Caroline exclaimed, horrified. "I can't believe you just snapped my neck and put me in the damn car after I said I wouldn't be going with you! Take me back."

He shook his head, amused. "I'm afraid I can't do that, sweetheart. Are you hungry? We'll pick a meal for you soon enough. A real meal."

"No. I'm not hungry," she lied. "I will eat when I get home."

"Then you won't be feeding for quite a while. And we can't have that, can we?"

Caroline glared at him through the mirror, her hands curled in fists so tightly that the white of her knuckles showed. "Take me back. Now."

Klaus offered her a ferocious smile, his blue irises flashing gold. "I'm curious as to why you're assuming you can give me orders, sweetheart. Doesn't your wolf know who is the alpha male?"

"My wolf doesn't give a shit and neither do I. Take me back, Klaus."

She knew she shouldn't be pushing him, that she was very close to crossing a line and that he was dangerous. As much as he seemed to be interested in her, she was well aware that she wasn't irreplaceable. Not when he could make as many hybrids as he wanted.

But Klaus never seemed to do what was expected of him, so instead of hurting her, he simply laughed. Not even a maniac laughter, just one of sheer amusement. He was delighted by her reaction. And apparently, Original Hybrids who murdered her and then kidnapped her were allowed to have a really nice laughter.

"What?" she asked before she could stop herself, more than a little irritated by the fact that he was laughing at her.

"We are going to have so much fun," he repeated the words he had already told her earlier that day.

Klaus was infinitely amused by her. She could never do what everyone else would, she wouldn't cower in fear of him... And he didn't want her to. He wanted her like that – defiant, strong.

She was so utterly beautiful.

And she was completely his.


"Good. You are awake," Rebekah said, her voice cold and a vicious smile on her lips.

Damon was chained to the ceiling of the living room, the floor covered in plastic drop cloths so that it would be shielded from the blood spill that would soon happen.

The vampire fought against his restraints, groaning. "Your brother ordered you to do his dirty work, uh. And of course you are going to do what he says, because you have no opinion of your own."

Rebekah pretended to consider his words, playing with the knife on her hand. "Yes, you're right… Oh, wait, no. I'm pretty sure that you are thinking about the sweet, personality-less Elena. They don't make doppelgangers the way they used to," she mused, stepping closer. "But it doesn't seem to matter. There are always those falling head over heels for them and making the stupidest mistakes… Like crossing my family."

And before he had the chance to reply, Rebekah pressed the knife against his stomach, piercing it and slowly enlarging the cut until it was long and deep, grinning at his screams of pain and at the sight of the blood spilling from him.

"Do you think this will end well for you? Do you think that we will simply let you go after the threats you made?" she smirked, "Let me guess, you were hoping to plan the hero, to rescue Elena and make her see how she should be in love with you instead... I'm sorry to inform you that she will never get the chance. Don't worry, I'm sure she'll weep for a day or two when we tell her you've died most tragically."

"Shouldn't you be running away? After all, your daddy is going to be here soon."

Rebekah didn't answer, simply smiling and stabbing him through his ribs, piercing one of his lungs.

She would have some fun until the vervain was out of his system.


So, what are you thoughts on this one? Did you like how Caroline is dealing with her transition and her traumas? Are you enjoying the KC dynamics? Excited for their road trip and all that is to come with it? Let me know!

IMPORTANT: I'm looking for someone to beta this fic for me, so if you'd like to do it or know someone who could do it for me, I'd really appreciate it! Send me a message so that we can talk. Here or on tumblr (itsnotacrimetoloveyou). Thank you!