Isabella POV

"Damon, I suggest you step back unless you want me to out your dirty little secret," I whispered into his ear, smirking at the look of surprise on his face. Stefan, like everyone else, had been watching our exchange carefully and heard every whispered word.

"You know?" he asked while Damon stood there, still partially shocked although a smirk was slowly growing across his face.

"Of course she knows! She's a Gilbert! It seems they all know about us and our dirty little secret," He leered back at me, winking as he finished his sentence. Elena and Jeremy stared at me blankly, silently questioning how long I'd known.

"I've known about vampires since we were all children," I said, watching the look of deciet pass over their faces. "We were always told stories about the time when vampires roamed Mystic Falls yet I wasn't told that the stories were true until I turned 7. I was the legacy of the Gilbert family, and by telling me we thought we had protect the two of you... It seems I failed."

I turned to look at the fire, watching silently in the mirror as Stefan closer towards Elena, taking her hands in his. Watching as Jeremy left the room and as Jenna took off after him. My one goal in life had been a failure. My departure had left my family at the mercy of these creatures, and to top it all off Elena had fallen for one of them. Damon caught my eye through the mirror, winking once more, causing me leave the room. His footsteps followed me, placing a hand on my shoulder as I made it into the kitchen.

"Isabella, you can't be sure you can trust us, and you can never rely on us to help protect you but we will never let anything happen to Elena. She means too much to us," he muttered sincerely.

"You mean she means too much to you!" I shouted back at him. "She chose him, Damon! That's your brother, who, like you, is a vampire! Neither of you should be playing with the minds and hearts of humans! You pride yourself in what you have become, feeling emotion and not killing, yet you're toying with her heart like Katherine toyed with yours!" As soon as the words came out of my mouth his eyes darkened and the veins surrounding them began to pulsate and switch colour.

"How do you know about Katherine?" He growled, throwing me across the room and into the table with a flick of the wrist, the noise alerting Stefan, Elena, Jenna and Jeremy of the interaction causing them to run in from the rooms they were currently occupying.

"She found me! She told me all about what she was and warned me about you two! I know everything and best of all, I know where she is," I sneered back, returning his glare. "And before you state the obvious, I know Elena is her doppelganger and that is why you both love her! She isn't Katherine, boys, and she never will be!"

Without a second of warning Damon ran across the room, grabbing me by the neck and lifting me off my feet against the wall, ignoring the cries of my family who stood mere feet away. "I should kill you," he growled once more and trying as hard as I could to reply without gasping I challenged him, "do it then, but remember if you do it, you'll never stand a chance with her."

Elena ran across the room, begging Damon to let go of me as breathing became harder and harder, before Stefan strolled across the room, ripping Damon's arm off me. "That's enough," He stated firmly. "Nothing good will come of you two fighting. The secret council arranged a meeting in twenty minutes and you're both expected to be there as a welcome to a living Isabella Gilbert." His logic made sense to both of us, yet neither could understand why it felt as though something was unfinished. The sensation was dangerous. I wanted to feel his hand tightening around me throat again. I wanted to feel his breath against my skin as he growled his angered words at me.

I just wanted him. The one man I couldn't trust and I wanted him.

Ok, so I'm writing this really late on, it's almost 1AM, but I should have another few chapters up soon though don't expect them to come too fast, I'm revising for my Mocks.

Anyway just remember: review, inbox, favourite- do whatever you want but it's your communication that will keep me writing. And don't forget to have a look at my other stories on fight-the-fire.