So, first I think I really need to apologize for how long it's been, but this has been a really busy year since I'm trying to get into medical school and I've just been studying like hell. I don't know when things will be different, so I won't promise to update more frequently for now, though I hope I'll be able to. This chapter is longer than the others ones, though. So hopefully that makes up for it a little bit.

And second: IT'S BEEN A FEW MONTHS ALREADY BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS STORY WIN 'MOST PROMISING NEW FICTION' IN THE KLAROLINE AWARDS! It was really sweet of you guys and I really appreciate it!

This chapter was beta'd by the amazing supremeuppityone.

WARNING: this chapter deals with Caroline's abuse in Damon's hands. There are not explicit flashbacks or descriptions, but what happened is mentioned quite a bit.


We are going to have so much fun.

His words wouldn't leave her mind as she tried to understand how exactly he thought that was even a possibility. His definition of fun was clearly very different from hers.

Caroline was still sulking in the backseat when Klaus parked the car in front of a bookshop in Richmond. She had refused to engage in any conversation with him during the entire trip there, but she knew that her curiosity would get the best of her in the end. She was dying to know more details about what he was going to do — then perhaps she could come up with a plan to get herself out of this situation.

She knew the chances were slim. She doubted Klaus would let her go so easily. She just wished she understood why he was so obsessed with keeping her close. He had gone to her house to tell her he was about to go on a trip to create more hybrids; surely he had no use for her?

But even if she didn't want to be stuck in a car with him for God knows how long, she wasn't sure she wanted to go back to Mystic Falls.

The things Klaus had said about her friends and about her future — about how they didn't care enough, about how a small town life would not be enough for her — had been meant to manipulate her to leave with him, she knew. But it didn't make them any less true. Her friends hadn't been all that interested in helping her, she would never be their first choice. And few months of high school really weren't all that important when she was now immortal.

Part of her did want to go back to school, wanted to organize prom the way she had always dreamed of, wanted some sense of normalcy. But the rest of her didn't think it was so important anymore. She doubted she would ever feel normal again.

Besides, going back home meant that she would eventually have to tell her mother. Caroline didn't know if she could ever do that. Even if their relationship was far from being close or affectionate, she couldn't bear the thought of ruining it. It hurt to think that just four words — "I am a vampire" — would most likely be enough to make her mother decide she no longer had a daughter.

Her parents had been brought together because of their hatred towards vampires. Liz thought them to be unnatural and evil, preying on the innocent, and Bill had been a Forbes. And the Forbes had always hated vampires, being both werewolves and members of the Council. Her father went as far as being a hunter.

She wasn't ready for them to look at her with hatred in their eyes, with venomous words about how their daughter had died. Not when she still felt very much alive.

She was pulled out from her thoughts when Klaus opened the car door for her, clearly expecting her to join him outside. She was seriously tempted to be difficult and stay inside. After all, she was wearing sweatpants. Hell, she wasn't ever wearing a bra and her hair was most likely a huge mess.

Plus, maybe if she annoyed him enough he would regret his decision of forcing her to join him in this road trip.

But he seemed to have anticipated her stubbornness, and simply grabbed her arm, forcing her to emerge from within the car. She glared at him for his caveman-like manners as she stumbled to get her balance, pulling her arm free from his grip once he loosened his hold on her. He was unfazed by her annoyance.

"Come, sweetheart. Gloria doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Caroline scoffed, but followed him inside of the bookshop regardless. Too curious to know who Gloria was and what they were doing in Richmond. As far as she knew, there were no packs in the area.

The bookstore was small and cramped with old-looking books. The dark hardwood flooring made their steps echo through the room. There were no windows, the shop badly lit and too warm, concentrating the strong smell of jasmine produced by the burning incenses that gave the place an ethereal atmosphere, though it irritated her nose.

A dark-skinned woman sat behind the counter, the white of her knuckles showing as she gripped the pen she was holding. She bared her teeth at them for a moment, despite them being the only ones in the shop. She nodded at Klaus and said curtly, "Come with me," quickly disappearing through a door that led to the back of the store.

Caroline looked at the hybrid, hoping for some explanation, but he simply shrugged, following the woman and gesturing for her to do the same.

The room was dark, lit only by candles and the air was hot, carrying a smell stronger and less pleasant than the one of the incenses, like there was a corpse in the room. The woman had her back turned to them, who stood by the threshold, as she stirred something inside a stone bowl.

Witch, Caroline realized, feeling alarmed.

Her heart began to race inside her chest as she wondered what plans Klaus had and what part she was to play in them. She was most definitely not in the mood to be sacrificed for some creepy ritual.

He seemed to notice her uneasiness; perhaps he heard her quickened breathing or saw the way her muscles tensed. "Don't worry, Caroline. Gloria is not going to hurt you."

His assurance surprisingly did calm her down, but only momentarily. The effect of his words were ruined when the witch turn to them with a knife on her hands and pointed at Caroline with her chin. "The girl first."

"What?" she choked.

Klaus sighed, "If I wanted you dead, I would've done so earlier, love. She needs your blood for a cloaking spell."

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him. "A cloaking spell?"

He smiled, "We wouldn't want anyone following us, would we? The spell will prevent us from being tracked. It should buy us some time."

She had so many questions. He couldn't possibly be afraid of her friends finding him. But who would be tracking them? Who was after him? She supposed that a great many deal of people wanted him dead, but she couldn't see why he would hide from any of them.

Gloria was looking at her impatiently, but Caroline shook her head.

"I'm not just giving a witch my blood because you want me to!"

Klaus looked at her, his irises flashing yellow for just a minute. "I would rather you do it willingly, but I have no qualms on getting a few drops of your blood by force if I have to."

Caroline hated this. She hated him. She hated being helpless.

She had no other choice but to walk to the witch and grab the knife from her. She gripped the blade tight and pulled the knife down, squeezing her hand to make the blood fall into the transparent liquid inside the bowl, watching as the scarlet drops began to give it colour.

Klaus was standing next to her in the next moment, taking the knife from her and repeating her movements. She hated that when she saw his blood, she wondered what it tasted like.

Gloria began to chant. The candle flames started to tremble, making more shadows appear all over the room.

The Original was staring at the witch, hanging onto her every word, probably making sure that she was doing the spell he wanted her to do. Caroline wished she could speak Latin in that moment, wished she could understand what the woman was saying.

She felt the urge to step closer to Klaus when the shadows crept closer to them, leaving the places where they should be to slide across the floor towards their feet. He seemed unbothered by it, so she just hoped it wouldn't harm her.

When it reached her, it began to make its way up her body, making her skin feel like it was slowly being covered in a thin layer of cold water. It made her shiver; the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. She looked down only to see her body enveloped in darkness. Klaus looked the same, giving her a small smile at how panicked she was. He was looking way too pleased by the whole thing, the bastard.

When Gloria's words came to a halt, the shadows seemed to merge with their skin, disappearing within them. The icy sensation continued to be all over her, though.

"It's done," the witch said.

Klaus nodded. "Thank you for your services, Gloria. You've been most helpful."

Caroline wouldn't have been able to see what happened if it weren't for her newly improved senses. One second, he was standing next to her; the other, he was behind the witch, with her heart on his hand.

Gloria's body fell to the ground with a thump. Caroline only barely contained a scream in her throat.

"Why did you do that? She did what you asked!"

Klaus looked at her. She ignored the sound that echoed through the room when the witch's heart hit the floor. "She hated what we are more than she hated vampires. It would've been easy for him to convince her to share the spell she put on us. I couldn't risk that."

What we are… She had never stopped to think about that — Klaus and her were the only hybrids in the world in that moment. He was the only one like her. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

She decided to focus on something else.

"Him?" Caroline asked. "Who would come after her?"

His face darkened. "You don't need to concern yourself with that. But you should be concerned with the fact that you're not healing properly," he said, gesturing to her hand.

The bleeding had stopped, but she could still clearly see where the cut had been made.

"Come on, we need to get out of here," Klaus mumbled, seeming irritated.

Caroline followed him hesitantly. She had always known he was a monster, but it'd been the first time she'd seen him kill someone. Well, someone who wasn't her. She wasn't exactly scared of him, knowing that, as he'd pointed out, he'd had many opportunities to kill her by now, which meant he probably wasn't going to do it. Not until she played her part in whatever scheme he was planning. Still, it was rather unnerving to be put in a close space with him so soon, to be forced to stay with such a dangerous man.

In hindsight, this definitely hadn't been her best idea, but she had been so fucking done with following his rules that she didn't care. He had killed her, turned her into something she hated, broken her neck, kidnapped her and then forced her to give her blood for a spell she knew very little about. She would not be his victim any longer.

She ran as soon as they stepped outside, hoping like hell that the adrenaline would make her able to use her vampire powers, though she hadn't even tried to before.

But before she could even focus on flashing away, she found herself with her back pressed against the wall of an alley, an angry hybrid glued to her front as he held her arms above her head.

"Did you really think this would work?" he asked, smiling cruelly. "Surely you knew that there was no way you could escape me."

She fought against his hold uselessly. He seemed to find that amusing, holding her wrists with only one hand as the other trail down her arms to reach her cheek. His eyes flicked to her lips.

It was a power display. He wanted her to know how easy it was for him to defeat her. He was stronger, faster, more powerful. She would have no chance of beating him.

Klaus cupped her face, his thumb caressing her cheek almost tenderly as he leaned in. Her heart skipped a beat.

Caroline's breath was stuck in her throat, a defence mechanism against his intoxicating scent. She swallowed in anticipation for what he would do next. Scared of what he would next, excited for it. She could feel his breath ghosting against her skin, if he leaned in an inch, their noses would brush. And if he leaned in another…

Instead, he asked, "Have you not been able to use your new abilities, yet?"

He seemed genuinely curious, not as if he was trying to mock her, but she still blushed when she shook her head, half-expecting him to call her useless or weak. But he didn't do that. Klaus just hummed in agreement, as if he'd been expecting that answer from her.

"We will have to fix that soon," he said idly, taking a step back and letting go of her wrist. His eyes kept her pinned to her place, though. "I suggest you don't try anything like this ever again. I might not be as forgiving."

She simply nodded, accompanying him to the car in silence. Not having another choice but to acknowledge her defeat.

She would not be able to beat him using only her abilities. He would always be able to win that way… She would have to find another option. She would have to outsmart him.

It was a good thing that she was fond of challenges.


"Why are we stopping?" Caroline asked, alarmed. Even though she wanted to get as much distance from him as possible — which she couldn't really do inside the car — she feared the motives why he was stopping on what seemed to be a restaurant on the side of the road.

He looked over at her, raising his brows. "I did promise I would get you a proper meal, didn't I?"

She froze, her hands ready to unbuckle her seatbelt felt on her lap. "No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm not feeding from humans."

Klaus ignored her, opening his door and using vampire speed to her side of the car and do the same for her. He offered her his hand. "Shall we, Caroline?"

Her voice was calm and he phrased it as a request, but she knew very well that it was an order and that he was getting impatient with how she constantly challenged his authority. He was an alpha, after all. Her wolf could tell. But if he wanted someone who did everything he said, then perhaps he shouldn't have forced her to come along with him. She had made it clear by now that she was not willing to just do everything her ordered. Not without putting up a fight.

"I mean it, Klaus. I'm not going to hurt anyone."

He grabbed her hand. She thought he was going to pull her out of the car again, but instead he just showed her palm to her, where there was still a scar. "This should've been healed in seconds, Caroline. You are a newly turned hybrid. Your body is consuming more energy than you are giving it, since you are only feeding from animals. Why do you think you couldn't even run from me today?"

"What does it matter to you? Let me be weak and vulnerable if I want to! You don't have to care."

He gritted his teeth. "I'm not bringing you with me for the amazing company, sweetheart. I need you to be able to defend yourself. You'll only be able to do that if you feed properly."

"What do you want from me?" Caroline yelled at him, feeling more frustrated than she'd ever been in her life. "I'm not going to be your perfect little hybrid and do your dirty work for you. I am not killing innocent people. I am not hurting innocent people."

Klaus's eyes turned gold for the second time in that day as she defied him once more. He wasn't used to letting people talk to him that way – even his siblings would've already had their necks broken if they dared challenge him that much. It was hard to keep his anger at bay.

"Perhaps I should remember you that you promised me your loyalty. That was your choice, Caroline."

She had to fight down the urge to punch him. Was it fair to say that it had been her choice when her only other option had been death? Probably not, but, of course, Klaus didn't play fair.

"Yes, I'll be loyal to you. I won't betray you or your family or plot to take you guys down. That does not mean that I will follow your every order and be a pawn in your game, Klaus. If you want someone who will do that, then find someone else because I am done."

Caroline watched him carefully, gauging his reaction. She was well aware he wasn't very pleased with her and she knew she was crossing too many lines, venturing into very dangerous territories. But she couldn't and wouldn't let him push her around and step all over her.

Ever since she had changed into a vampire, her emotions had been heightened to the point of overwhelming her. And what she felt the most was anger. Sure, she felt scared and hurt and lonely, but the fire that burned in her stomach was what fueled her.

She was angry at him for what he had done to her, for what he would do to her. She was angry at herself for saying yes to his proposition. She was angry at her friends for not caring enough, at her mother for never being there for her, at her father for abandoning her. She was angry that she didn't hate Klaus as much as she should, that his presence could still calm her down despite everything. She was angry at herself for enjoying her newfound strength so much, but hated even more how weak she felt when the nightmares came at night and haunted her during the day.

She was angry at how she was expected to be a pawn in a game she had never wanted to play, angry that all of the plans she'd ever made for her life were thrown out the window at the same time a million doors were opened for her.

She was furious and she would not back down. Not from him. Not about this.

So Caroline stared into his eyes much the way she did the first night they met, with the same determination and fire that had gotten her killed, but she didn't care. She needed him to know that she would not bend and that she had no plans of letting him break her.

Klaus leaned inside the car, his face just inches from hers, making her swallow as she tried to contain her nerves even as her heart began to beat faster and faster inside her chest. His eyes revealed nothing of his intentions and she just stood there, staring into them and hoping that he would not hurt her. She knew his patience wasn't infinite, but she was not scared enough of him to give in.

She was so busy preparing herself for an attack that the sound of her seat belt being unbuckled startled her.

"Fine," he snarled, pulling back. "Have it your way. Now, get out of the car, would you? Some of us are hungry and plan to do something about it."

Caroline debated telling him that she would stay in the car, but she knew he would refuse to leave her unsupervised when she'd literally just tried to escape. And she was well aware that she would have to pick her battles when it came to Klaus. This victory was what she could afford... for now.

The restaurant was nearly empty except for a few truck drivers who were discussing last night's game enthusiastically and paid them no mind. Klaus and her sat far from them, in the back.

She wondered if he would feed from them and wrinkled her nose. Hungry as she was, those men did not seem to be tasty.

But a young waitress suddenly made her way to their table and Caroline knew what would happen. Her blood turned to ice in her veins as she thought of the girl, not much older than herself, being treated as nothing more than food. She wanted to warn her, to tell her to run far away and never be involved with monsters.

Perhaps she would've done so, or would've at least begged Klaus not to hurt her… If only her body hadn't been paralyzed, her brain unable to control her muscles. Like in her nightmares.

She watched petrified as he smiled charmingly to the waitress, the way she swooned for his accents and dimples, the way she smiled back. The cruel laughter that haunted Caroline's mind chose that moment to make an entrance. Her hands began to tremble.

Klaus told the girl to sit by his side, quickly convincing her that no one would mind. She didn't protest. Caroline was reminded of the day Damon pretended to like her, how he had flirted with her and she had been so thrilled that someone seemed to want her, that she didn't see what was underneath.

The Original was staring at her when he leaned in to whisper something in the girl's ear, making her giggle before she glared at Caroline, as if offended the blonde was still there, but Klaus quickly got her attention back to him as he grabbed her chin to force her to look into his eyes.

"Don't scream and don't try to run," he compelled her and she dutifully repeated the orders.

Caroline felt sick. The man laughing inside her skull was driving her insane, what she knew was about to happen made her want to throw up.

But even so, the moment Klaus's fangs pierced the waitress's neck - just for that one moment when the smell of blood first filled the air and his lips were so tempting tinted red - she felt her new instincts coming to surface. For just a second she'd wanted to taste the girl's blood, too. She wanted to revel in the fact that she was a predator.

But then she saw those sunken, lifeless eyes. The way the girl stared at nothing and no one and just let him took whatever he wanted from her. No fight, no resistance. Completely stripped from her agency.

Caroline saw herself in those eyes; the memories she had been trying so hard to bury, suddenly flooding her mind.

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think.

All she could do was watch that girl being hurt and remember how it felt to be in her position, how scared she had been, how helpless and useless she had felt. She had never felt weaker than when Damon Salvatore compelled her to stand still and did whatever he wanted to her, used her in whatever way he saw fit.

Her body hadn't felt like her own, she had been trapped inside her own mind, forced to do his dirty work, to be his plaything, his living blood bag.

Caroline felt like she was going to explode. The knowledge of what had been done to her, seeing something similar happening to someone right in front of her… She wanted to throw up.

It took her a few moments to remind herself that she could move, that her body was no longer a hostage to anyone. So she did what she used to do when she woke up from her nightmares and took a deep breath.

She started wiggling her toes first, calming herself down at the knowledge that she could do this. That she was in control. Another deep breath. Her fingers moved consciously instead of just trembling. Breathe in. Breathe out. She closed her eyes, needing to stop looking at what was happening for just a second.

"Stop," she said, her voice weak, but she could speak. No one would just make her be quiet when they didn't want to hear her voice. "Just stop."

When Caroline opened her eyes, she was slightly surprised to see that Klaus had actually stopped and was looking at her curiously.

She didn't offer him any explanation, she didn't owe him that. She simply stood up, fighting the fact that her limbs felt heavier than they normally did. But it felt easier with every step she took, she felt more and more in control.

Even if she had to battle against the urge to vomit. Even if she had lost the war against the tears that were now clouding her vision.


Klaus was worried about her. He had been ever since he'd found her in her house, shards of glasses cutting her skin.

But then she had defied him over and over again, the way he knew he could expect from her. The way he enjoyed she did.

He had been concerned about how she couldn't seem to use her new abilities, but he had assumed it was probably only because she hadn't been feeding well enough, that he could change that with a nice meal and then perhaps giving her a taste of how freeing it was to be vampire. The speed, the strength, the heightened senses…

But after what happened at the restaurant he wasn't so sure it would be so simple.

Truth be told, he wasn't exactly sure what had happened at the restaurant.

He had wanted to tempt her, to make her want to feed from the vein… And for a moment there he had thought that it would work; he had seen how her hunger had been apparent in her eyes, how close her monster had come to showing up.

But then something had happened and she had frozen. She had looked terrified in a way she hadn't even when he had killed her.

Then she told him to stop. He would not normally take orders, but something about her broken voice had made him respond. She hadn't said anything before she'd left and he had found her with her arms wrapped around herself, leaning against his car with tearful eyes.

Caroline had refused to answer his questions and had entered the car without arguing or protesting. She hadn't even protested when they arrived at the hotel and he had requested a single room.

And now she wasn't sleeping.

He could hear her tossing and turning and struggling to find a position to stay in. It was past 2am when he finally decided that enough was enough.

Klaus turned on the lampshade, the low light barely enough to illuminate the room. The hotel wasn't quite what he was used to in terms of luxury; the bedroom was small and the smell of cleaning products was strong. The single beds were a far cry from the comfort of his king size one, but he supposed he had slept in worse conditions.

He got up, making her turn to look at him. She looked so small and frail lying in her bed, refusing to say anything. The only reaction he got from her was how he heard her heart begin to race when he sat by her.

"What is wrong?" he asked.

His mind had come up with a thousand scenarios. He knew that her family hated vampires and that hatred had most likely been passed down to her. She was probably having issues adjusting to her transition, but he could help her with that. He would make her thrive in her immortality like he knew she could.

His lovely hybrid was meant for so much more than that small town and its small people. He could make her see that. He would make her see it.

He had plans for her.

Caroline chose to stare at anything but him as she said, "Nothing's wrong."

The fact that she didn't end something like 'except for the fact that a lunatic murdered me and then kidnapped me, everything's perfect!' only made him more concerned for her.

"Really?" Klaus asked dryly. "So what is keeping you from sleeping?"

He decided not to ask about the state he had found her outside the restaurant, or how she had silently cried on their way to the hotel. He knew it would probably scare her and she wouldn't let him in, wouldn't let him help her. And he wanted so desperately to help her. It was almost pathetic.

She bit her lower lip, her hands playing with the sheets as she seemed to debate whether she should answer his questions. He knew that she probably hated how she felt like she could trust him, how hard she was probably fighting against telling him everything that was bothering her.

In the end, she confessed, "If I sleep, I'll have nightmares."

Caroline looked at him for the first time that night, seeming anxious. He wondered how she thought he would react to that, if she thought he would make fun of her or belittle her. He wouldn't. She didn't know that yet, but eventually she would understand that she could trust him. Even if he wasn't sure he would ever be able to trust her.

"I see," he said, an idea coming to his mind. "What if I could promise you that you would have no nightmares?"

She scoffed. Klaus almost smiled at that. "I am not letting you into my mind to control my dreams."

He shook his head, "I won't. Just close your eyes."

Caroline looked at him dubiously, but he just stared at her pointedly, beckoning her to at least try.

She did what he asked.

Klaus took a deep breath, wanting to stop his hybrid's pain, but not certain that this would be the best way to do it. It would be so easy, though… He could make her rest, could make her feel at peace for a few hours.

He wouldn't be doing it for a selfish cause, not entirely.

So he mustered every ounce of authoritativeness that he possessed and let it make its way past his lips along with his words: "Sleep, Caroline, and do not have any dreams tonight."

Klaus watched as her eyelids fluttered for a few moments as she fought to stay awake. But in the end, her body relaxed against the mattress and her breathing evened.

He returned to his bed, ignoring the bitter taste of guilt as it washed over him.


So the thing most of you have been fearing would happen just happened. Klaus used the sire bond. Do you agree with his motives? Or do you think he's being selfish and just doing the easiest thing? Also, let me know what you think about the chapter overall! Is there a favourite moment or line? How is their dynamic? Always keep in mind that reviews are what make writers motivated to continue the story :D

Also, here's a little spoiler about what will happen in the next chapter: we will see Klaus teaching Caroline how to fight.

As always, you can find me on tumblr on itsnotacrimetolove you.

PS: I suppose it's important to remind you guys that there will be no non-con in this story!