I know it's been forever and I suck at updating... But this chapter is longer than the others , so hopefully you won't hate me too much.

Thank you, Angie (thetourguidebarbie/Angelikah), for beta work and for helping me figure some things out!

WARNING: This chapter is very much focused on Caroline dealing with what Damon did to her. No explicit flashbacks or descriptions.


Sleep, Caroline, and do not have any dreams tonight.

His command had echoed deep inside her; his voice had made her bones tremble. Every cell in her body began to want to respond to him… So that was what she did.

Caroline fell asleep almost immediately and no nightmares woke her in the middle of the night, like they had since she had been turned. There had been no screaming, no wicked laughter, no fear.

She woke up only when sunlight made its way into the room through the cheap blinds that did very little to shield her from it.

And as she sat up in bed, she could only think about how it made no sense that she had slept through the night, that she had woken up more well-rested than she had in months.

How could it be that she had peacefully slept when Klaus Mikaelson had been only a few meters away from her?

And how could it be that the monster that plagued her dreams wouldn't show up when she had just found out who he was?

Her hands clung to the sheets as she thought about him, her breathing becoming heavier and her stomach tossing and turning, making her feel sick. She closed her eyes, doing everything she could to control her reaction, but it only made her mind flood with the memories she had gained yesterday.

Stand still, Caroline.

Don't yell. Don't run. Don't–

No.

She was free. Damon Salvatore would never be able to hurt her ever again.

Her eyes scanned the room, trying to prepare herself for Klaus's comment and inquires about what was happening to her, but the bed besides her was empty and the door that led to the bathroom was open. He was nowhere to be found.

Caroline frowned. It wasn't like him to leave her alone and unsupervised.

She got up, ignoring her trembling hands as she reached for the door handle. It wouldn't open. She tried to force it, using all of her newfound strength as a hybrid, but it still didn't work. Throwing herself against the door had also turned out to be useless.

Rubbing her shoulder to sooth the slight pain, she checked the room for anything that could be helpful, but her attention was grabbed by the pile of new, clean clothes on the edge of Klaus's bed.

There was a note on top of them.

"Good morning, Caroline.

If you are reading this, then I am still out running some errands, but I will be back soon. There is no point in trying to escape, as I had the room spelled, so you'd make a better use of your time by getting ready for us to leave. There are hygiene supplies in the bathroom and the clothes, obviously, are for you. I hope you have slept well.

Klaus"

Caroline would've scoffed and crumbled the note in her hands… But the last sentence was stuck in her mind.

I hope you have slept well.

It brought her thoughts back to where they had been this morning — it made absolutely no sense that she had slept well.

So what Klaus had done to her? Because if she didn't know any better, she would say that he had compelled her, and just the thought of it made her blood turn cold inside her veins and her heart begin to race in panic.

She forced herself to breathe and think rationally about it. Last night hadn't been anything like compulsion. Hell, she'd had her eyes closed as he gave his command… This was something else entirely.

It had felt different. She hadn't felt trapped inside her own mind, watching like bystander as her body responded to someone else's orders. It was as if she had begun to crave what Klaus had instructed her to do, to crave it so much that her body and mind complied and let her rest.

And, well, she had been desperate to sleep and to escape her new reality for just a few hours. Perhaps she was predisposed to want these things and her subconscious had trusted him when he had said he could do something about it, so her mind had made her body follow his order.

Like a hypochondriac that was given a placebo.

Caroline sighed, knowing that she wouldn't be able to know what had truly happened until Klaus was back from wherever he had gone.

She debated her options. She didn't want to do as he said, but she felt like she needed a shower and she definitely wanted to be dressed in something that wasn't sweatpants and an old T-shirt, if only so that she could feel a little more like herself.

Cursing under her breath, she headed to the bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind her in case Klaus returned before she was finished. She dropped the clothes on the bathroom countertop and checked the products he had bought, all of them unnecessarily expensive, which made her roll her eyes.

She reached out to grab the shampoo bottle when she caught her eyes in the mirror.

Caroline looked at herself. Her hair was a wild mess around her head, but other than that, she looked well put-together. There were no dark rings under her eyes, her face wasn't swollen from crying... Anyone who looked at her wouldn't say she was broken.

But she was.

She wanted to be strong, but she felt like she was failing at that. She had spent the last few days struggling to adjust to her new form, having to cope with the fact that she had been murdered and turned into something she was taught to hate ever since she was born, and even worse than that, having to live with the fact that she didn't hate being a hybrid. That she knew she could grow to love it.

Then Klaus had kidnapped her and brought her along on his trip to kill other wolves and turn them into monsters like them… And having him so close to her all the time would drive her insane, she knew it would. His mood swings and the fact that she seemingly couldn't despise him as much as she should were confusing to say the least.

And yesterday…

Caroline felt bile rise to her throat every time she thought about what she had remembered yesterday.

Everything had come to her at once. Every time he had touched her and her body couldn't fight him, every time his fangs had pierced her skin and she couldn't scream, every time he called her useless and she believed him.

She held her hair up as she leaned closer to the mirror, trying to carefully examine the skin of her neck, but there were no scars there. No trace of what he had done to her… Like it had never happened.

Which was what all her friends had pretended to be the case.

Caroline felt sick as she thought about all the times they could've stopped it, how they only did it when it became convenient for them — and still used her to do it.

And then they had made her spend time with him and let her be in his presence as if nothing had happened. They had let Damon joke about their "relationship", had left her alone with him countless times… Hell, Elena wouldn't shut up about her conflicted feelings about him.

Caroline didn't try to stop the tears as they came this time. She didn't know if they came from anger or sadness or despair, but she knew she was done. Done with Mystic Falls. Done with being treated like she didn't matter. Done with being collateral damage.

She took off her clothes and headed into the shower, doing her best to let the hot water soothe her muscles and failing miserably.

Her skin was prickling with awareness, remembering every place he had touched her and every cell in her body seemed to burn in repulse. She reached for the body scrubber, rubbing it against her skin until it was red as she tried to wash him off of her.

She knew she had taken many showers since the last time he had touched her, but this was the first one she took while still feeling the things he had done to her, while still remembering every detail.

Caroline couldn't help the stop the sobs as she continued to scrub her body, barely noticing the pain as the water hit the cuts and scratches she was leaving behind.

It was only when she watched through the tears the white floor tiles turning pink as they were covered by blood-tainted water that her trembling hands let go of the sponge and she braced herself against the cold wall.

She heard the door of the room being opened and footsteps she knew belonged to Klaus.

She closed her eyes. The last thing she needed was for him to see her like this. No matter how weak she felt, she couldn't have him thinking that's what she was.

Caroline muffled her sobbing against her arm as she forced herself to take deep breaths and prayed he wouldn't hear her. She gave herself a few moments to calm down before she began to wash her hair, trying to use that as a distraction.

She had stopped crying by the time she washed off the conditioner.

She quickly dried herself, hissing at the burning of her skin as the towel brushed against the scratches. Klaus was right, she was taking way too long to heal and she would have to do something about it. She waited for a few minutes until all wounds had disappeared from her body before she got dressed.

He had gotten her simple clothes, which she was thankful for. Just a pair of jeans and a grey T-shirt. There was a pack of cotton panties and a plain black bra. She was glad she wouldn't have to deal with anything lacy and uncomfortable.

Everything fit her perfectly, and she couldn't say she was surprised by it.

Caroline took a moment to comb her hair, deciding that the hairdryer the hotel offered would take her forever to dry her hair and that Klaus wasn't likely to give her that time — even if she was extremely tempted to stay in the bathroom a little longer.

She could hear him in the next room, pacing. She wondered if he knew that she was stalling and was losing his patience with her.

She caught her eyes in the mirror again.

You can do this, she thought, not daring to actually speak the words in case he would listen in. You're free. You can do this.

Taking one last deep breath, Caroline unlocked the door.


If I sleep, I'll have nightmares

Her words wouldn't leave his mind, both haunting him and justifying his actions.

Klaus hadn't slept. He had stayed up all night making sure that she slept and rested, telling himself that he was doing it only to make sure that the sire bond actually worked, but he knew that was a lie. He did it because he was worried about her.

What nightmares was his hybrid having? Was it his face that frightened her at night, his voice that kept her awake?

Normally, the idea that he could cause such fear would have amused him, but it didn't sit well with him that she would be this scared of him.

And if it wasn't of him she was afraid… He would hunt down anyone who dared terrorize her.

Because something or someone was haunting her, and not only her dreams. He had seen it in her eyes at the restaurant yesterday, had heard it in how her voice was shaking when he spoke to her at night.

He had been around long enough to know when someone had been hurt, and she had been. It was clear to him from how she flinched when he got too close, how her heart began to race when he moved suddenly.

And the strangest part was that, somehow, he had the feeling that it had nothing to do with what he had done to her.

He vowed to find out the truth when she was awake. For now, he would let her rest… They would have a busy day tomorrow.

Klaus got his phone, texting some people to make sure everything he needed would be ready. He ordered a loyal witch to get Caroline some clothes and to be there at sunrise. He needed to leave the hotel and she would have to spell the room so that his hybrid wouldn't escape.

It crossed his mind for just a second that he didn't need a witch… That he could just tell her to stay there and she would.

The idea left a bitter taste on his mouth. Klaus knew he couldn't do it… It was so pathetic of him, but taking away her agency like that was something he would not be able to do. He enjoyed her fight and fire too much. It would feel wrong to keep her around like an obedient pet.

He wanted her. And he was selfish enough to want her to choose him of her own free will.

Besides, he was never one to back down from a challenge, and he knew that getting his Caroline to give herself to him would most definitely be one.

Klaus got up when the sun was about to rise, writing her a note as he waited for the witch to get there. Once she did, he left the clothes on his bed and carefully inspected her work as she casted the spell, before they both left. Caroline didn't so much as moved in her sleep.

His first stop was to get clean clothes for himself, as well as getting more of them for him and for Caroline, so they would have what to change into in the next few days.

Then he went to a hospital.

After her reaction to feeding from the vein yesterday, he knew she would not be amenable to trying anytime soon, but he couldn't have her feeding on animal blood. It was making her weak, and he couldn't have that.

So he stole a few blood bags, determined to get her to feed once he got back to the hotel.

When he walked in, he could hear that she was still in the shower, so he stored the blood in the mini fridge, feeling pleased that she had followed his advice and started to get ready for their day — even if he highly suspected that it had more to do with her desire to be dressed in clean clothes than anything else.

Klaus sat on his bed, trying to be patient and give her some time. If she was afraid of him, then he would have to be more careful in the way he treated her, he would have to try a little harder.

He could never become anything that even resembled a good guy, but showing that he had no intention to hurt her was something that he was willing to do.

It took a few more minutes before he heard the shower being turned off and he was surprised by the faint smell of blood that came from the bathroom. Was she hurt? How could she be hurt?

Klaus stood up, walking towards the door, but suddenly stopping as he thought about it. There clearly wasn't a huge amount of blood, so she had probably made a small cut or something of the sort.

There was no sound that indicated anything was wrong. He could hear that she was getting dressed, so he decided to wait, though he grew more and more restless the longer she took.

He knew very well that she was taking longer than necessary… He wished he could know if she was doing it to spite him or because she was indeed scared to face him.

His head snapped to the door as he heard it unlocking and then hesitatingly opening.

Klaus immediately scanned her body, searching for any possible wounds, but didn't find anything amiss besides her wary eyes.

It marveled him how stunning she could look in such simple clothes, her hair still wet from the shower.

She shifted her weight on her feet, crossing her arms in front of her body as if trying to shield herself from something, looking a little uncomfortable under his gaze. The uneasiness in her eyes was preoccupying.

"Hi," Caroline said a bit shyly.

"Hello, love," he greeted easily as she entered the room, walking past him to reach for the sneakers and socks that were on the floor by his bed. His eyes didn't leave her, analyzing her every movement. He made sure that his voice showed none of his apprehensions, "I take it you've slept well."

"I did," she agreed, but bit her lower lip, clearly worried.

He couldn't help but smile at her. "Is there something wrong, Caroline?"

"I just don't understand how… I mean, what did you do to me?"

His eyes lit up with amusement. "I did nothing to you. You simply obeyed your alpha's command… And finally accepted your place in my pack."

Caroline had a faint blush to her cheeks as she snorted. He knew she would believe his lie, knew that she must had heard the tales of how far werewolves would go to obey their alphas if they were truly loyal to them. She probably would chalk it up to her being desperate and her wolf accepting his command out of necessity, but she would believe it. He could see it in her eyes already.

"You're not my anything and we are not a pack."

Klaus smirked. "Of course, sweetheart."

She rolled her eyes as she finished to tie her shoes. "Whatever… What are we doing today, anyway? You said we were leaving. Are you going to start murdering wolves?"

"Not today, I'm afraid. After what I learned yesterday about how you have been failing to use your new abilities, I've decided that we should take today to help you master them. That is, of course, after you've fed properly."

Caroline immediately stood up, shaking her head. "I am not hurting anyone."

"I know," he said as he turned his back to her to walk towards the mini fridge, taking two blood bags from within it. "Which is why I have acquired these."

Klaus observed her reaction carefully. He saw the hunger in her eyes, could see that her monster was just under the surface, begging her to come out, but she contained it. Her control was unparalleled.

"I shouldn't drink human blood," she said, her voice obviously pained.

"Well, thankfully, I do not give a damn about what you — or rather, your friends — think you should or should not do. While you are with me, you will not feed from animals. You know you need this, Caroline. You know you are not healing properly or being able to reach your full potential because you keep limiting yourself. I will not have that."

Her indecision was clear in her face, but only for a moment. Then she nodded and took a few steps towards him to grab one of the blood bags… He could see her hands shaking as she reached for it.

Klaus watched with a darkened gaze as she allowed her beast to show. She was quick to sink her fangs into the blood bag, letting out a sound that would plague his dreams as the blood hit her tongue.

His Caroline looked so lovely like this. Such a beautiful monster.

When she was done, she dropped the empty bag on the floor; her vampire features still out as she eyed hungrily the one he still held.

He took a step towards her, invading her personal space. He reached out to cup her cheek, revelling on how she immediately leaned into his touch, and swiping his thumb across her chin to catch a drop of blood, that he promptly brought to his mouth to taste. Her eyes were fixated on his lips.

Not scared of me, then, he thought.

"You can have this one on the way. If we don't leave now, we'll waste too much time, so let's go, shall we?"

She blinked a few times as she tried to make her features become human once again before she nodded, looking confused as she followed him out the door.


Caroline quietly sipped from the blood bag, sitting on the front seat of Klaus's car.

She couldn't understand why she had denied herself this for so long… Animal blood could not compare to how satisfying human blood was.

She wondered if she should've put up more of a fight, if she should have tried to stay to her vegetarian diet, as she liked to think of it… But Klaus was right. She wasn't healing and she wasn't reaching her full potential, and the idea of being weak right now made her feel sick.

All she wanted was to feel like she could defend herself, to feel like she could fight back, and he seemed like he was willing to teach her that. And who could be a better teacher than a thousand years old psychopath?

Klaus remained looking at the road for the whole drive. He hadn't bothered to tell her where they were going and if he noticed her frowning as he stopped by the edge of the road, he didn't comment.

"Come on, sweetheart," he said as he left the car.

Caroline was too curious not to follow him, and they ventured into the woods. She tried not to stare too much at his figure as he walked in front of her, but she failed.

As awful as it was to admit to herself that she was attracted to the man who had murdered her, it was still better than thinking about the memories she wished she didn't have. And after the way he had touched her in the hotel room… It was easy to be distracted, easy to keep wondering why and how he could have such an effect on her.

Just a brush of his thumb across her skin had left it burning.

"What are we doing here?" she asked suddenly, shaking her head to dismiss those thoughts.

Klaus didn't stop moving as he replied, "I told you. I'm going to help you master your vampire abilities and no one will bother us here."

She nodded even though he couldn't see him and they continued to walk in silence until they reached a clearing. He turned to look at her.

"So, what are we going to do first?"

He raised his brows at her, a smile on his face. "Someone is eager to learn. I have to say, sweetheart, I was expecting you to fight me on this."

She scoffed at how he dared look disappointed at the fact that she hadn't.

"Well, if I am going to be dragged across the country by a murderous creep, then I figure I can at least learn how to fight."

"I am glad you've decided to be reasonable," he said cheekily, looking over his shoulder to offer her a wicked grin.

Caroline rolled her eyes, but found herself smiling as well. She didn't understand how he could make her feel like this. Lighter, freer… Happier, even. He shouldn't be able to do it, but she would take this small gift today without overthinking it too much.

Klaus was violent and evil and she should not feel safe in his company, but she couldn't help it. And right now she didn't want to.

They stopped when they reached a clearing, and he finally turned to look at her. She could tell that he was feeling way too pleased with himself and she fought down the urge to roll her eyes once more. Her annoyance would probably make him look even smugger, somehow.

"So, what are we doing first?" she repeated her question, looking at him expectantly.

"You had me worried yesterday with how you are still unable to run properly, so we will work on that first." Klaus had barely finished his sentence before he was suddenly standing next to her… She did roll his eyes at his demonstration this time. "Close your eyes," he instructed, "can you feel all this energy that is running through your veins? I need you to focus on it."

Caroline wanted to argue that it was hard to focus on anything when he was standing so close to her, his lips nearly brushing against her ear as he whispered in it, but she wisely kept her mouth shut and simply nodded to acknowledge him.

She tried to draw him out and think about the strength she could feel electrifying every part of her body. She felt like she could do anything.

"Open your eyes," he said, and she did so. "Can you see that tree?" She nodded. "I want you to run until there. Do you think you can do it?"

Caroline didn't reply. Instead, she focused on the muscles of her legs, focusing on the strength she had there. Then she took an impulse and ran.

She was by the tree he had pointed in less than a second and she felt like she hadn't done anything… It had almost been like the Earth had accelerated beneath her feet, leading her to where she had wanted to be.

Her surrounding had become a blur, but she had somehow remained aware of everything.

Slowly, a huge smile spread across her face as she turned to look at Klaus, who was grinning back at her.

"I did it!" Caroline said excitedly, and he ran to join her.

"Very good, sweetheart."

She didn't know why his praise made her feel so warm, why the pride in his eyes made her feel so happy… But it was nice being looked at as something other than expendable, as someone with potential.

It felt good to be seen.

Klaus spent the next hour teaching her how to make better use of this new ability she had conquered. How she could use the impulse to jump higher and reach the top of the trees, how to keep focused on her path and be able not to hit anything no matter how fast she was going… She hadn't expected this to feel so liberating, but she had fallen in love with the thrill and the power and the way the wind caressed her hair.

She hadn't expected to somewhat enjoy Klaus, either. He could be fun and charming and nice when he wasn't busy murdering her or kidnapping her. He could make her laugh and she was surprised by how good of a teacher he was, how patient and supportive he was and how rewarding his smiles and praise could be.

Everything felt perfect. She was perfectly distracted and could even say she was happy… Until he decided to begin to teach her how to fight.

Perfectionism and anxiety didn't go well together, and Caroline grew more and more frustrated the longer it took for her to achieve anything.

They had been going at it for what it felt like hours, and she hadn't even managed to hit him once. So far, all she had done was dislocate her shoulder four times and dirty her new clothes with mud.

She hadn't realized how pathetic she would be at this, how ridiculously weak she still was even with her new hybrid strength.

It unnerved her to know that… She felt like she could never be safe, no matter how hard she tried. There would always be someone stronger than her that could harm her.

"Feet wider apart," Klaus instructed for the billionth time. His patience, unlike hers, hadn't wavered despite her obvious failure at this. "It will help you keep your balance."

Caroline did as he instructed, but it had done nothing to keep her on her feet when he launched for her. She still ended up falling on her back, her head harshly hitting the ground and making her groan.

He offered her his hand to help her get up, but she ignored it.

"What did I do wrong this time?" she asked, not bothering to hide the annoyance in her voice.

Klaus chuckled, "You do realize that I am older, therefore stronger than you, and that I've been doing this for over a thousand years, don't you? Certainly you didn't think this would be easy."

"I had hoped I would be able to punch you in the face," she mumbled under her breath, making him smile even more.

"I resent that."

Caroline crossed her arms in front of her body. She knew he had been joking like they had been all day long. Rationally, she knew that. But she was angry and sore and frustrated, so she started yelling at him. "Seriously?! You- You've been terrorizing my friends ever since you came into to town. You killed Elena's aunt. You tried to kill Elena… You murdered me. Then you kidnapped me! You do not get to resent anything."

He seemed a little confused by her outburst — and she couldn't really blame him considering they had been talking normally to each other all along — but she didn't care.

She hadn't realized she had been feeling so angry.

Ever since everything came back to her yesterday, she had felt scared and weak and alone… But not angry. Not until now, when all she could see was red and her monster was threatening to come out.

Caroline attacked him.

She wished she could say that it had been calculated, that she had seen his confusion and decided to use it against him, but there had been nothing rational about it. She had just wanted to hit something and he had been standing right in front of him.

Distracted, Klaus hadn't defended himself when she threw a punch at him and she managed to hit his jaw.

It had felt glorious… It would feel even better when she could hit the person she actually wanted to hurt… But it was short lived. The moment she tried to throw another punch, he had caught her wrists and swiftly twisted her arms behind her back.

"Sloppy," he whispered against her ear, the heat of his body pressing against her back. "But better."

Caroline hissed, fighting uselessly against his hold. She tried to hook her feet around his ankle to make him lose his balance, but he simply used his knee to harshly push behind hers, and she fell to the ground, groaning in pain as her arms were put into an even more uncomfortable position. If he twisted them a little more, she was sure they would break.

But he let go of her.

She felt tears beginning to form behind her eyes as her anger started to leave her, being replaced by a soul crushing sadness.

Klaus sank to his knees beside her, and the worried look on his face was worse than falling on her arse repeatedly for the whole afternoon.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, seeming so genuinely concerned that she would have laughed if she weren't busy trying to contain her sobs.

Caroline didn't reply to him, instead, she just closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She couldn't keep doing this, couldn't keep being assaulted by these memories, haunted by them every second of every day.

She jumped back when she felt his hand cup her cheek, the sudden contact making her heart race. And it was so ridiculous, because they had been touching all day, but this was what scared her.

The softness, the intimacy and the suddenness made her scramble away from him, limbs outstretched as she pushed his arm away from her and she yelled, "Don't touch me!"

Her eyes widened as she realized how she had reacted and looked into his.

She saw the moment he understood — understood why she had been acting so weird since the restaurant, why she hadn't been able to sleep at night… Why she had yelled at him and attacked him.

And had she stayed another moment, she would've seen as rage clouded his face and his eyes shone yellow.

But she just ran. As fast as she could.

Caroline knew that it wouldn't be enough, that Klaus would be able to catch her in a second if he so wished, but he let her go.

She didn't let the tears come. She was done with crying. Done with feeling sorry for herself. She wanted to fight back, to scream at the world that she wasn't girly little Caroline anymore.

If she weren't strong enough to defend herself, then she would become so. She would train and she would learn and she would survive this.

It was those thoughts that made her stop running.

Because what good would it bring her? If she didn't face Klaus now, she would have to face him later.

She stopped by as she reached a river. If she wasn't so shaken up, she might even admire how the pretty view it made, but she simply sat on a large rock to wait for him. She knew he would come.

He appeared just a few moments later, and she watched carefully as he silently walked to sit beside her. She almost smiled at how he made sure to keep some distance between them.

"I'm sorry," Caroline said, finding his eyes.

Klaus frowned. "What on Earth are you apologizing for?"

She didn't reply, because she honestly didn't know… She simply hated awkward silences and she had needed something to say. Maybe she was apologizing for yelling at him or attacking him, but those weren't exactly undeserved. He had done terrible things to her.

"For running so far. Now we have to go all the way back to the car," she attempted to joke and he laughed, probably for her sake.

They sat there in silence for a few more moments. Caroline didn't dare break this one, because she knew what would happen the moment anyone said anything… He would ask her to tell him everything.

And she would, because she felt like she needed to tell someone. Perhaps it would be easier to leave with what happened if everything wasn't kept inside her, if she could let go of some of the burden by making it leave with her words.

… And because she felt weirdly comfortable with him. She shouldn't trust him, but she did.

"What happened, Caroline?" he asked softly, confirming her suspicious.

She brought her legs up and close to her chest, closing her arms around them as she hugged herself.

"I was human… I mean, mostly human, since, you know, werewolf. But I think he didn't know that, or he wouldn't have come anywhere near me… God, I wish he had come near me during the full moon. I would have–" she stopped mid-sentence, giving him an apologetic look. "I'm rambling, sorry."

He shook his head. "Stop apologizing. Now, how about you tell me who he is and what he did to you?"

Caroline took a deep breath. She had a feeling he had understood enough from her reactions in the past days to at least have a good idea of what had happened, but he wanted to hear it from her.

"I was so stupid," she said, her voice cracking. "My parents have taught me since I was a child how to spot a fucking vampire… But I was drunk and I was feeling so alone and he had paid attention to me. I think I ignored the signs because I wanted someone to want me. And then I took him home. I invited him in… And when we went to bed, he showed me who he truly was. He compelled me to–"

She paused. His eyes were on her, she could feel them, but she just kept on staring at the river.

Don't cry. No more tears, remember?

"For weeks," Caroline continued. "It lasted for weeks. And Elena and Stefan… They knew and did nothing until it fitted their plans and their wishes. And now they pretend like nothing even happened! They never even told me… He–" she breathed, preparing herself to say what she hadn't allowed herself to even think. "He raped me. He fed from me, hurt me. Terrorized me. He compelled me to think of myself as useless, compelled me to do his dirty work. And then they made me spend time with him, team up with him, accept his fucking presence in my life when they knew!"

Klaus was shaking with the anger he couldn't contain, gritting his teeth as his eyes became golden and the veins beneath them began to show. "Who?" he asked, his voice still surprisingly calm.

"Damon," she said, disgust threatening to make bile rise up her throat as she uttered his name.

A dark smile spread across his lips.

"Ah, the eldest Salvatore… His days were always numbered, but he seems to have secured himself a few more decades on Earth. A quick death won't do anymore… We will drag this out for a very long time."

Caroline couldn't help but smile, too.

The look on his face said that he absolutely meant it, that he would torture Damon for years so that he would pay. A part of her wished she could say that the thought troubled her, but it only made her feel good to know that there was someone willing to go through such lengths for her.

She would never get justice for what had been done to her, so revenge would have to do.

"I promise you," Klaus continued, "that once all this is over… Once he has paid… I will give you his head."

She nodded, not knowing what to say. Were you supposed to thank people who promised to torture and kill someone for you? She wasn't aware of the protocol, but she was still grateful.

She had been right. It had felt good to share this with someone. Even if it was with Klaus. It made her feel a bit lighter, a bit less troubled by the images that were burned in her brain.

Caroline cleared her throat. "So, should we get going? We have to go all the way back… And I think I need a blood bag… And I know there are some in the cooler in the car."

He chuckled, but stood up and offered her his hand. She took it.

She was ready to let go and begin to run towards where she thought the car was, but he kept his hold on her, making her turn to look at him. She was surprised by the look on his face.

He looked serious and there was something in his eyes that she couldn't quite read.

"No one will ever hurt you again. I won't let them," he vowed.

Caroline felt her heart skip a beat at his promise.

She believed him.


Let me know what you think! This chapter was a bit hard for me to write, since there was a lot going on for Caroline emotionally, so I really want to hear your thoughts on how I handled that. Also, what did you think about the Klaroline dynamic? Let me know!

You can find me on tumblr as itsnotacrimetoloveyou.