A/N Thank you for reviewing. Please keep them coming if you would like to read more. Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes.

Chapter Four—Following The Trail

Midnight—Salvatore Boarding House

About damn time.

Amelia smiled to herself, staying silent until she heard the sound of Enzo and Elena' cars drive out of the exit. She had stayed in her temporary bedroom until she had heard Elena and Enzo leave around half an hour after she had retired. Enzo must have left his car there earlier when he had saved Amelia from her awkward talk with Elena. It was clear that Damon and Elena hadn't gotten back together because the doppelgänger had left without a word to her sire. Amelia assumed that it was because of Elena's recent memory wipe but also because Damon hadn't really backed her up during their heated debate. Because of that, Amelia had been waiting for them all to leave so that she could sneak out for a feeding. She was irritated because of the entire situation but also because she hadn't fed since she had came to Mystic Falls and that had been almost forty eight hours before. Amelia enjoyed feeding. She didn't just feed because she needed blood to survive, she drowned in it.

She loved nothing more than hunting her prey, hearing their heat thumping against their ribcage as they tried to settle their fear.

It was intoxicating.

Amelia leaned back against window frame, looking out of the glass as she waited for Damon to drop off. Years of sharing hotels and living with her sire had come into good use when she wanted to know when he was in a deep sleep. Damon was always alert but the days stress and the dozen shots he had downed would be taking it's toll. As she waited, the redhead shrugged on her leather jacket after she slipped back on her boots. Her ears perked up when she head Damon's bed springs creak as he turned around in bed.

That was the first sign.

...5

4...

...3

2...a-n-d...1

At the sound of the Salvatore's snoring, the redhead grinned and making sure that she had her car keys and her mobile just in case Damon found out she had left, Amelia carefully opened her bedroom window.

"Not risking it by going past his bedroom." She mumbled to herself.

Though she would have liked for Damon to join her, especially the 'old Damon', Amelia knew that he was far too busy wanting to be in Elena's good graces.

So it looked like she was going rogue for now.

It sucked because Amelia knew that the Damon she was seeing now wasn't the real one. But there would be time to fix that.

Amelia climbed out of the large window, pulling it back down but stopped just an inch from it closing so that she could open it later. She them walked across the roof, judging her landing she as stopped at the edge. Then with an easy smile and mostly to show off, Amelia jumped off the edge, doing a front flip before she landed on her feet with grace, just in front of her beloved Camaro.

She straightened, listening out for any out of place movement in Damon's bedroom before she took out her keys and got into her car. Amelia started it up and quickly backed up before turning out of the entrance of the Salvatore boarding house. As she got far enough from the Salvatore home, Amelia leaned forward and flicked on the radio.

'...and i've made up my mind, i ain't wasting no more time, but here I go again...'

With a smile on her face as she hummed along to the song coming from the radio, Amelia sped towards Mystic Falls.

Half An Hour Earlier—Mystic Motel

"Come on...come on."

Kai closed his eyes, letting out a long, stressed breath as he hovered over a map. Around the table were several candles, along with some sand to help with the spell and finally, a bracelet. It was coated in blood, and snapped in half due to the force he had used when he had torn it off of the wrist of the owner. Kai breathed in and out slowly to calm himself and, hovering his hands over the map, he began to whisper, eyes still shut. Nothing happened. Kai snarled in anger. He looked down, eyes narrowing, and with a quick thought, he picked up the bracelet, assuming that the spell would be more successful, an after a few beats he began to chant again. He had been spending more then twenty minutes on the damn spell and so far he was coming up with nothing. It was his self control. He had been trying to tame himself so that he could act quicker if attacked or during his own attacks. He had been doing well, but there was some kinks he had to work out.

"Phasmatos tribum, nox es veras, sequitas sanguinum. Phasmatos tribum, nox es veras, sequitas sanguinum."

But like before, nothing happened. "Damn it!"

He kicked over the chair he had been sitting on, running a frustrated hand through his hair, pacing before he returned to the table.

"Come on. She has to be somewhere. I'm not going back to that damn boarding house again, not without knowing if she's actually there."

Eyes shut, Kai focused before he chanted once more, louder than before. He suddenly let out a loud gasp, his head snapping back as laughter filled his head, the same laughter he had heard earlier on. He breathed in sharply, eyes rolling to the back of his head as flashes began to appear in his head. He slumped forward, a ghost smirk appearing on his face as he clutched the bracelet tighter in his grasp.

"Eeny, meeny, miny...moe!"

Painted red lips broke out in a smile, laughter falling from them."Uh-oh! Come, come, Dave...you're turn."

Male laughter followed, but it sounded in monotone."Of course."

Light hazel eyes turned red. Fangs extracted and they sunk into pale flesh.

"Phasmatos tribum, nox es veras, sequitas sanguinum!" Kai chanted once more, wanting to know exactly where she was.

A black Camaro. Her black Camaro.

Teenagers laughing.

A house party.

Kai's brown eyes snapped open when the flashes stopped. A slow grin played on his lips as he looked up from the lap, laughter coming from him when he realized that he had succeeded in his task. He opened his palm and glanced down at the bracelet which was now fully repaired, the blood gone, showing his result in taming his magic. His self control was getting better. Kai bit his lip as he stared at the bracelet before he pocketed it. He turned around from the table, dark gaze landing on the young women tied to the chair across the room, hands bound behind her back. Kai sauntered up to her, kneeling before her before he tore off the duck tape from her mouth.

"Hi." He smiled widely.

"If you scream,"Kai started, glancing at her badge attached to her housekeeping uniform."Mo-ll-y. I will cut out your tongue and post it to your parents as a Christmas present. Got it?"

When she nodded shakily, he smiled."Good. Now, come on, let's get to your car. I need a driver and we're going to pick up a friend of mine. If you behave, i'll let you go...possibly."

He chuckled loudly, as if he had made the funniest joke he'd ever heard. Molly shook fearfully as Kai grabbed his knife from the bedside table and walked around her. She felt his hand grabbed her bound ones and flinched when she felt the cold metal of the blade run along her bruised wrists. She shut her eyes, biting her lip to stop her sobs as he hesitated, as if contemplating something.

"Shhh, shhh. You're shaking and I don't want to cut off your fingers, do I?"

Kai smiled to himself as Molly slumped forward, shaking her head in answer to his question. He quickly cut through the ropes he had used to tie her up, not bothering to help her up when she fell to the floor, body asleep since she had been tied to the chair for a few hours. Kai grabbed his jacket off of the bed and shrugged it on, clapping his hands together to get Molly's attention.

"C'mon. Time to go. Get up!"

She scrambled to her feet, wiping her tears away, not fighting when Kai grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the door, telling her to lead them to her car.

He had a date with a vampire.

Present

"I love high school parties. They're all dumb, desperate and...delicious."

Dave, the young teen she had been feeding from smiled goofily at her."How do I taste? Better than Lee?"

"Uh-huh. But shhh, don't tell him. He might get jealous." She smiled, pressing a finger over her red lips.

"Do I get another go?"

Nodding, Amelia's long fingers trailed up the bare skin of Dave's left wrist, his other was covered in bites that she had compelled him to cover up until they healed. His friend, Lee, was passed out on the couch next to them. He was also covered in bites and had passed out after Amelia had taken a little too much. But she had saved him with a small amount of her blood. She had brought them to one of the spare rooms in the party house. Amelia had been dragged to the party by some high school kids she had passed on the street coming out of the Grill. Since she looked like a teenager, it made it easier to blend in. She had driven there after gaining a flyer from one of them. The loud, pounding music echoed in her ears, along with the screaming of the drunken teenagers below them.

"Neck or wrist? The neck is more risky…." Amelia hummed to herself as she straddled the jock below her.

"...risky is more fun."

Dave's eyes widened again when Amelia's fangs extracted and her eyes turned blood red. She ran her tongue along her fangs, offering him a wild smile and when she ordered it, he tilted his head. Amelia's face disappeared and a second later she sank her fangs into him. The music covered the painful hiss Dave released before they turned into pleasurable moans. Amelia's eyes shut contently as the warm blood passed her lips and she leaned closer into Dave, who was toying with her red hair, his own eyes shut.

"Ow...that's a bit too rough...oh!" Dave cried out painfully.

This would have been much more fun if a certain blue eyed Salvatore was here. Amelia thought to herself as she let her victim go.

Her smile fell when Dave looked her again, a small smile on his face.

"Want to get out of here? My parents are gone."

This is where Damon would get all big brother-like before making a joke. One that I would hit him for.

Amelia's eyes darkened before they returned to their light hazel color. She grasped Dave's chin, forcing him to look at her."Forget this. Go home and on Monday make sure to cover your bites. All of them. GO!"

Amelia got off of the jock and he quickly followed her orders, smiling at the new presence in the room he passed as he made his way out of the bedroom. She stood up, grabbing her leather jacket off of the chair next to her, shrugging it on. She didn't pay any attention to the figure walking up behind her until she felt them behind didn't react, she just rolled her eyes, smoothing out her shirt as she turned around. She pulled her hair to one side as she fixed her jacket, making sure to double check on the boy passed out on the couch just in case he stopped breathing.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Amelia smiled at the doppleganger in front of her, tilting her head."Hello to you too, Elena. I thought that you were heading straight home?"

"I was until I saw your car parked outside."Elena responded, crossing her arms over her chest, glancing warily at the blood stains on Amelia's white top."You're not being very discreet, are you?"

Amelia rolled her eyes, laughing before shaking her head."I haven't fed in almost three days, Elena, I got a little risky. I'm nearly two hundred years old, I know more about being a vampire than you do, all right? I was taught by the best. No one died, so just back off. I'll see you in the morning when you come barging in without knocking again, all right?"

She winked at Elena, grinning at the shocked look on the brunette's face before she looked around the younger vampire toward the door. But before she reached it, Elena grabbed her hand, tugging her back. Amelia released an amused gasp, her eyes widening as they looked down at Elena's long fingers locked around her wrist. She knew that Damon, despite his feelings for Elena, would have pulled the doppleganger away from the redhead. Amelia's temper was legendary. Even Damon knew when not to cross her, similar to how he reacted when she first came to Mystic Falls.

"You shouldn't be doing this, it's not right."

"Damon said nothing about me playing with my food. He told me to have fun when I first got here, I am. Look, you may have messed up Damon's head with your rubbish, but not mine. So let go, Elena before I become less nice." Amelia warned, but Elena showed no sign of obeying her.

"You cannot do this, Mia."Elena repeated with a nasty tone, straightening."I won't let you."

Amelia chuckled again and a second later she wrenched her arm from Elena's grasp. Her eyes turned blood read and she released an angry hiss left her when she grabbed Elena harshly and pushed the brunette against the wall next to the door. Amelia never liked being told what to do, especially from someone she hardly knew. If Damon had told her not to feed on random people, to go out of Mystic Falls for her feeds when she first arrived, she would have. But, he hadn't. Instead, he had told her to at least not kill those she fed on, so she was. Amelia respected Damon and she knew how he liked to keep track of the vampires in Mystic Falls and how he didn't want anyone to know about vampires that shouldn't know, especially because of recent events.

Amelia certainly didn't like taking orders from a vampire a hundred years younger than her. Amelia was a vampire who didn't care for humans and she liked being that way. She made no attachments and saw them as nothing less than food and entertainment. She had great self control and was not ashamed of who she was, something she had learned from Damon, who had changed since she had last saw him.

The Damon she knew now was not the real Damon Salvatore.

"Right, I am going to say this one more time. Only Damon calls be Mia, not you. You do not have that privilege."Amelia growled, her fingers pressing tightly around Elena's windpipe as she pinned her against the wall.

"Secondly, I am older than you, Elena and that means stronger, too. Just because Damon has a thing for you does not mean that you can control me, too. All right?"

Elena's eyes watered at the pressure Amelia was putting on her windpipe and her feet kicked in the air helplessly."The only reason I am not going to kill you is because of that. Because Damon, for some stupid reason, thinks that you're good for him, which you're not. He's too good for you. But if you ever question me again, i'll be punishing someone close to home."

Amelia let Elena down before she shoved the younger vampire to the side, causing her to fall to the ground. Elena let out a sigh, rubbing her red marked neck as she looked up at Amelia in shock. Damon had told her not to get on the wrong side of the redhead, but Elena hadn't expected this. She had followed Amelia after seeing her car drive down the street that Elena had been walking on to meet Caroline. She wanted to see what the redhead was up to, she didn't know anyone on this side of Mystic Falls. Amelia let her human face come forward, and she straightened out her shirt. She turned the door handle and opened the door, which caused the somewhat silent room to fill with dance music from downstairs.

Amelia smiled at Elena unkindly and went to leave, but before she did, she stepped in once again, poking her head inside.

"Oh, and don't follow me again, Elena. It's creepy."

Amelia shut the bedroom door behind her, pushing her way through the crowded hallways filled with drunk and dancing teenagers. She rolled her eyes when a few young guys winked at her, waving her over to join them dancing as she shoved way through the mass of grinding bodies. She was now in an irritated mood, something she rarely got after feeding. Elena had gotten underneath her skin and Amelia decided to return to the Grill before the boarding house. But just before she could reach the door, a young guy jumped in front of her, holding two red cups filled with cheap booze, no count.

"You look upset. Wanna drink your problems away?"

He took a step toward her, making her take two back."No, thanks. Now move."

He tilted his head, not noticing the warning look in her eyes. Instead, he held out one of his hands holding one of the red cups.

"C'mon, relax. Drink and dance, it'll cheek you up."

"I said no. Now, if you don't mind-"

"Just one-hey. What the hell is wrong with you?!" He cried out painfully as she caught his arm that was touching her hip.

"A lot of things. But look at me,"Amelia gestured to herself, smiling sweetly before pointing at him with a bored look."...and look at you. Even if I was out of this world drunk, i'd never allow those meaty hands to touch me. No means no."

Amelia grabbed his hand that had been stretched out across her shoulders, and with a quick move, she snapped his wrist, sending him to his knees. Amelia smiled as his shouts of pain hit his ears, making her forget about Elena for a moment. She then twisted his arm, hearing a satisfying snap a moment later. She ignored the looks she received as she tossed him away, stepping over him towards the door.

"Bitch!"

She ignored him again, opening the door as she stepped outside, slamming it shut behind her. Amelia made her way down the trash littered path, kicking cups out of her way as she advanced upon the stairs that led her to the pavement. Her car was parked across the street, furtherest away from the ones belonging to the teenagers. She adored her car and knew that she'd probably cause hell if someone scratched it. The dance music began to become distant as she stepped down the stairs, and onto the pavement, the only sound hitting her ears was the wind hitting the trees in the night air. Amelia sauntered down the pavement, eyes set on her car that was a few meters away.

That was when it hit her.

Laughter. Familiar laughter.

"That was...badass. You're a fire cracker, aren't you, little red?"

Amelia stood in the middle of the road, her eyes looking around for the source of the voice. She bit her lip to keep her insult inside, remembering the pain the witch had caused her the last time she let her mouth control her situation. She moved in a small circle, growling when she laughter circled her as she turned around.

That's it. I officially hate witches.

"Why don't you come out and I can show you what i'm really capable of?"

Amelia felt a feather-like touch scrape across the small of her back and lips brush her ear."Will you keep your promise you made on biting me? I've been waiting for you to make good on that."

She spun around, but was met with air. She let out a frustrated growl, nails digging into the palms of her hands, creating deep cuts.

"Y'know, i'm really starting to hate that illusion thing. I'm having an off night. Either come out so that I can kick your ass or go and bother someone else. Why not Elena? I'll even pay you to harm her since I can't do it. Loyalty and all."

Amelia heard a whistle from behind her in response. She flashed around, her eyes meeting a pair of dark orbs. Kai stood a few meters from her, waving mockingly at her with a sadistic grin. Amelia returned it, teeth running along her lips as she remembered him throwing her across the bar with magic. She arched an eyebrow when he just stood still after her fangs bared at him.

"I'm gonna love this." She said to him, feet stepping in front of the other along the white track on the road."Forget their plans. You're mine."

"Come and get me, little red if you're sure that you can win. Your punishment is overdue."

Amelia allowed her vampire face to fully come forward, spider veins crawling underneath her eyes as her light hazel orbs turned blood red. She smiled at him, her fangs slashing her lower lip in the process. Kai's grin widened as her slow paced walk toward him ended and she used her vampire speed. He stepped closer, hand held out and when he chanted a few foreign words, Amelia suddenly stopped in her tracks. It was as if her feet were frozen to the ground. She frowned, eyes narrowed in confusion. He strolled up to her, eyes full of amusement as Amelia called him every curse name she could think of.

"What did you do to me?!"

Kai chuckled, stopping in front of the vampire, hovering over her.

"You didn't really think i'd fight fair, did you?" He mumbled, grasping her cheek in his hand, forcing her to look up at him.

"This is my game. Which means I make the rules."

Before Amelia could process his words, she found herself drowning in darkness.

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