Author's Note: Keep in mind, this is my original fanfic story. Some things will be changed, others will be the same. Hope everyone enjoys! When I wrote this story I originally pictured someone like Blake Lively as my main OC's looks, etc. So, she is my face claim for Athena. ^^


Chapter One: The Attack

"Surrender to nothing, or give up what I started.."

The blood that lingered upon the floorboard was the only thing Athena could stare at as Elijah placed a comforting hand upon her right shoulder. She had a large thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders, sheltering her naked body that trembled with fright and adrenaline from the fight that had just happened. Her head was damp as sweat littered her forehead from shifting.

If this had been different circumstances, she'd have found a way to crack a joke, snicker or say something inappropriate. But, this was not the time for her usual personality to shine.

The werewolves found me.

Klaus was angry at her and she cowered in her blanket while her body caught up from shifting back into a human again.

"Athena.." Elijah's voice was lithe like a caress and she looked up to the Original vampire with glassy eyes that spoke volumes without her even having to say anything. He squeezed her shoulder and she nodded at his comforting gesture. Her body was coming down from shifting and her breathing was beginning to come back down to a normal rate

Rebekah lingered in the doorway to the living room and Athena noticed her perfect face did not have a single drop of blood upon it. She watched as Rebekah lazily looked down at the dead bodies before them all. Four men were laying in different spots in the room, some with their throats ripped and their hearts torn from them and then there was the headless man that Athena had torn apart. Klaus Mikaelson paced like a caged animal in the room as the moon rose to its peak in the sky. It still perplexed her that being a hybrid made him exempt from the full moon.

"I thought I made myself perfectly clear when I told you to run." His voice was like razors to her eardrums as he spoke with an aggitated tone. Athena swallowed thickly, but didn't say much as if she were a child being chastised by a parent, "I just.." Athena attempted, but faltered quickly in her voice as Klaus glared daggers right into her soul.

Athena had been under the Mikaelsons protection in New Orleans for six months now. And for six months she had peace. Despite being watched like a hawk by the Original family, she wasn't running. This was the longest she had ever stayed in one spot. It was refreshing, until now.

Athena was a rare species, a Werecat. And Sampson, the Warlock who saved her in Florida, had brought her to the only family he could think that would protect her. Elijah owed a debt to Sampson and Klaus sprung on the idea to have an 'ace up his sleeve', as he called Athena.

From the beginning, Athena had been guarded and unsure. She didn't trust many people as she was always looking over her shoulder due to what she was. So, when she was whisked away to New Orleans and told the oldest vampire-werewolf hybrid and his family were to be her protection, well, she was super fearful.

However, Klaus and Elijah took it more with an open-mind than Sampson thought and they offered her asylum at their safe house. Klaus hadn't seen a Werecat in a century and the last time he did it was fleeting and he said he almost thought it was an illusion. Elijah and Rebekah had been dumbstruck when she shifted into her true form, but Klaus gleamed with a wicked smile as if he found something worth keeping.

She was a rare find and Athena knew Klaus had allowed her to stay mostly out the selfish part of his heart that saw something that could give him the upperhand if he needed it. She remembered briefly the heated exchange Elijah and Klaus had with Rebekah. She was against it at first, as it brought more danger to their family.

Over the span of a few weeks, she slowly learned to trust her surroundings and the people that offered her asylum. As the weeks turned to months, Athena, on some level, had a friendship with Klaus that sometimes seemed like more. However, Klaus and her just never went there. And she was too fearful of the future to even go there with anyone. Her life had been unpredictable and she barely stayed in one place for too long.

Elijah was more like the brother she never got to have. Rebekah..well that took some time. She didn't adjust well ar first, but upon hearing Athena's confession to having her parents slaughtered by wolves, Rebekah found some kind of common ground they shared as far as having major family tragedies. Athena saw the old wounds in Bekah's eyes that night and they sat around the fire talking until the wee hours of the morning.

But tonight, Klaus was angry and his rage bogged down his mind so that the more rational Klaus she had seen was not with them right now. Not like he was a nice guy in general, but he was a guarded man that hid his feelings behind the mask he wore. She learned that pretty quickly in her time staying here.

"Niklaus, you know as well as I do you cannot tame a wild woman." Rebekah chimed out, sticking up for Athena and putting emphasis on the name Niklaus. Athena smiled up at her, but Klaus merely grimaced at her words and stalked up to Athena.

"You'd do best to hold your tongue, dear sister. This fight is not yours." Klaus spoke without looking at Rebekah. She scoffed at his response, "I will not hold my tongue. This is our fight, Niklaus. Look around you!" She pointed for emphasis at the dead bodies that riddled their floor. Klaus finally relented to look at her, but he glared at her defiance before returning his attention back to Athena, "Have any words to say for yourself?"

Athena pulled the blanket closer to her toned body as Klaus grew closer. She'd only ever been naked once before him and Elijah and it was when she lost control on a night that she had night terrors. She'd turned uncontrollably and Klaus had to track her. He found her in the bayou, alone and passed out. Werecats didn't play by the rules of the full moon, they changed at will regardless what was cast up high in the sky. It was another edge her people had on the wolves, but now that she was one of the few Werecats left in existence it didn't matter what kind of edge she had.

"Niklaus.." Elijah's voice was no longer light. It was a firm warning while Klaus grew closer to Athena, now eye level with her on the floor as he crouched before her. "I won't run, Klaus. I am tired of running. You took me in when you didn't have to. I-I owe you all everything. I could not leave you here to fight alone." Athena's voice was firm and she saw Bekah smile proudly from the doorway, but frowned as Klaus spoke up.

"Great speech, love, but you're forgetting one thing. One rule that I told you about when you first came to my humble abode. What was it, dear?" Athena hated when he talked to her like this. "Do what you say." She said through gritted teeth. Every part of her was wanting to wring his neck right now. "That's right. And up until now you have been exceptionally obedient. And due to the nature of your predicament, I'd think it wise you continue to do so." Athena fumed from her spot on the floor.

After all that just happened and Klaus was mostly upset that she hadn't listened to him when he told her to run. Her body hummed with aggitation and she glared up at Klaus, "Cats aren't blindly loyal like mangy dogs." Klaus frowned at her choice of words before glaring right back at her with darkened eyes, "Precisely what got your lot into this mess in the first place, right?" There was a collective hush in the room as Klaus' words weighed down on her like cinder blocks. Her heart tugging for her people that perished over the centuries due to the wolves and vampires.

His words had been careless and completely out of line. Rebekah's mouth opened lightly in surprise at his crudeness. Elijah grimaced and looked away as if he hated to see Athena hurting, "You know, my mother always told me monsters only hid under the bed, but she was wrong. I guess some monsters are always in plain sight." Athena's harsh words were aimed at Klaus and she didn't wait a moment longer for his reaction. She got up from the floor, sheltering her body with the blanket and walked across the bloody floor towards her room upstairs.

Athena stepped in a puddle of fresh blood from the man she had decapitated, but continued despite the warmth pooling between her toes. Rebekah looked as if she wanted to say something, but Athena shook her head not wanting to talk to anyone right now. She looked back to the guys, her voice dead panned, "His head flew out the window. Might wanna find it soon before someone else does." She went on her way without another word.

As she entered her room and shut the door she immediately turned on the shower to full blast. The heat singed her skin and as she curled in a ball on the shower floor. Before closing her mind out to the world, she wondered briefly what exactly her purpose in life was...other than to continuously run from the evil that wanted to kill her.

It was hours before she heard anything from anyone and Athena was okay with that. She wanted to sleep for a little bit since shifting always wore her out. Even to this day it still wasn't anymore exhausting than it had been the first time around. The footsteps outside her door woke her up. Her yellow-green eyes flew open and she could smell the familiar scent of Klaus as a rapt knock sounded from the door, "Athena, may I come in?" His voice was muffled from the door. She sighed and turned over in bed, laying atop the covers in a pair of black skinny jeans, a long white shirt and her blonde hair still damp from her previous shower.

She walked to the door and cracked it open a bit, "You're going to end up coming in anyways.." She muttered half heartedly as she widened the door and Klaus walked in. His face was a mask and she couldn't tell what he wanted to say, but she could smell the regret rolling off of him in waves. He was wearing a simple dark grey v-neck shirt, his typical necklaces and the same shit-eating grin of someone trying to wave the white flag.

"You stink of regret and paint, which leads me to believe you've been painting while wallowing in regret." Athena said as she plopped onto the bed with a huff and stared at Klaus. "On the contrary, I don't wallow. I reflect." Athena rolled her eyes and crossed her arms like a child, "Well, how did your reflection period go?" He smiled brightly now and came to sit next to her. "That I was...hastey with my words."

Athena hummed lightly, nodding her head and accepting his apology since it was the best she would get out of him. He was silent, staring down at anything but her. Apologies were always so hard for him. But, when he did apologize he meant it.

"I just don't understand why you think I shouldn't fight? I have been here for six months and all of you have taken so good care of me. I have come to grow an appreciation for your family. Which is ludicrious because your kind have been after me for centuries. I learned to trust again, Klaus. I also learned that not all of you are...bad. I am in your debt. Which is why I didn't run."

Klaus was silent as she spoke and he shifted on the bed so he was facing her, "Love, I am only harsh because I want you safe. The werewolves are after more than just killing you." Athena furrowed her brows, "How do you know that?" Klaus stared daggers at her before smiling ruefully, "The man you decapitated had a clean shot to take you out, but he tried to restrain you. That is, until you had enough of his games and killed him." Athena thought back to the man she killed and realized he had been trying to subdue her, "What do they want with me?" She asked aloud, curious as to why they wanted her alive and not dead.

"That is precisely what I am trying to figure out. And you make it hard when you don't obey me." Klaus frowned on the last part and Athena couldn't help but frown with him, "I am not a project, Klaus. Sometimes I feel used. I appreciate the hospitality, but what do you get in return from this?"

"Let's just say I have a feeling those pesky wolves are up to something. The moment Sampson brought you to my home I had a hunch that this was much bigger than just killing you." Athena stared at Klaus, taking in his words, "You mean..something more sinister is at play here?" Klaus nodded, "Trust me, dear, I can smell an evil scheme a mile away." Athena looked shocked as she started to catch on to what he was saying, "Which is why it's imperative that you listen to me. You are near extinct, and I say that with the utmost urgency."

"I can't stay here anymore, can I?" Athena grumbled and Klaus could see her furrowed brows and resigned eyes. They were silent for a moment and Klaus got up from the bed. He strolled towards the door with his hands folded before him as if he were at church about to accept the offering of bread. "Pack your things, Athena. We are going for a drive." Athena perked up at this and for a moment she felt an alarm bell go off in her head, "Getting rid of me, Klaus?" She asked with a smirk on her face, but on the inside she was worried.

"No, love. I'm merely taking you to a safe place while Elijah and I do some digging. If the wolves are up to something, I will get to the bottom of it." Athena didn't think twice and the moment he walked out she flew off the bed and packed her things in two large duffel bags that Rebekah had brought upstairs.

When she walked downstairs, Klaus was smiling widely and Elijah looked solemn as Rebekah hugged Athena tightly, "I'll see you again. Behave out there." Athena furrowed her brows now at Bekah, "You're not coming with me?" Rebekah frowned, understanding that Athena would want one of them to come with her.

"I need to stay and make sure Marcel and the others don't make a mess while my brother is away." Rebekah smiled widely before Athena threw herself into Rebekah's petite form and she hugged Athena back tightly. Athena turned to Elijah and Klaus, hefting her duffels over to Elijah who took them from her like the gentleman he was, "Where are we headed?"

Klaus's smile broadened and Elijah smirked as Klaus responded, "Mystic Falls." Rebekah sighed heavily and shook her head, "Bloody hell, Niklaus! That town is treacherous." She turned to Athena and placed her hands on her shoulders, "Sweetheart, you'd be better off on the streets than that hellhole. If you need me, call. I'll come in a heartbeat."

Athena looked frightened at Rebekah's admission, "What is she talking about?" Klaus rolled his eyes, "Don't listen to her. She's got bad blood in that town. Come now, Athena..we musn't waste another minute." Rebekah scoffed, but placed a hand on her shoulder, "Just remember, call if you need anything." She hugged her one more time before turning towards Klaus and Elijah.

Athena crossed her arms and stared at Klaus and he sighed heavily, annoyed by her stalling for time, "Do you have bad blood in Mystic Falls?" Elijah snickered despite himself and Klaus grew a wicked grin before walking out the door, knowing they would follow, "Depends who you ask." Athena rolled her eyes and walked out with Elijah and he smiled fondly down at her while carrying her bags to the SUV, "He's made quite a name for himself there."

"Why am I not surprised, Elijah?" He smiled ruefully and Athena piled in the SUV. The irony was that she just told Klaus she wouldn't run anymore. But, here she was being whisked away to a new town. New faces. New people to try and trust. She was running away. Yet again.