A/N: You are all still amazing! Enjoy!
Summary: AU. Elena starts working for the Council after her parent's brutal murder and gets sent to investigate some suspicious "animal" attacks. Her quiet fact finding mission quickly spirals out of her control into something much more dangerous when she unsuspectingly runs into one Damon Salvatore. And is the Council being completely honest with her? She's beginning to think not.
It took Elena a lot longer to get back to town than the drive to the bar had been. She hadn't been paying too much attention to where they were going during the trip and had hardly any idea of where she was. The truck didn't have any kind of GPS and she was eventually forced to stop at a gas station and ask directions, the entire time waiting for Damon to jump out and take her all over again.
By the time she arrived back in town, she was freezing from the broken window and utterly exhausted. She parked the truck on a side street and glanced down at the greasy piece of paper that the gas attendant had scribbled Marion Bradley's address on.
She pulled her jacket closer around her and knocked on the front door, glancing around nervously. She was about to knock again when the porch light came on and the door swung open slightly, revealing the sleepy looking woman Elena had met a mere day before.
"Miss Gilbert?" she asked, groggily.
"Can I come it?" Elena asked anxiously.
"What are you doing here?" Marion asked, ignoring her request. "Are you alright?"
"I—" She started to say there was a vampire after her but her throat tightened up and she couldn't. "I just—" It happened again and she made a small frustrated sound earning her an odd look. "I'm just really cold," she finished lamely.
Marion looked her over and frowned again but stepped back and let the door open a little wider. "Well, come in." Elena sighed and quickly entered the warm house, rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm up quicker. "So what brings you here in the middle of the night? I thought we had a meeting tomorrow."
"I never got to read that letter," she said grimly. "Some—things happened. I—I was in a wreck yesterday."
"Oh, are you all right? Why didn't you call?"
"I couldn't." She tried to continue and when she couldn't she ran a hand through her hair angrily. "This is so frustrating!"
Marion's eyes narrowed slightly. "Did something else happen?"
Elena opened her mouth to respond then shut it, just looking at Marion with eyes pleading with her to understand.
"Oh my God," Marion said, her eyes going wide. "You can't tell me. You've been compelled, haven't you?"
Elena just shrugged, once again unable to respond.
Marion's gaze grew distant. "So it did work…"
"What worked?" Elena asked.
"Oh…you poor thing, are you hungry? Thirsty? What do you need?"
Elena brushed off her growing suspicion. "I'm just exhausted. Sleep would be nice, with lots of blankets."
"No problem. And don't you worry about being safe. It won't be able to get in the house."
Marion set her up in a guest bedroom and excused herself, saying she needed to take care of a few things. Elena thanked her and changed into the pajamas she had been left then slipped out, looking for the bathroom. She heard Marion's voice drifting down the hallway, her own name catching her attention. She started to walk that way then stopped abruptly as she actually picked up the conversation.
"You're plan worked perfectly, Carol." Pause. "Yes, he must have found her last night. I don't know if he did or not but we should find out soon." Another pause. "Well, no… I don't… Are you sure you're willing to go that far? Okay. I'll make sure she doesn't leave. All right. Thanks, Carol."
Elena leaned against the wall, shocked. This had been some kind of sick twisted plan of the Mayor's? What had they meant to happen? She heard the phone click off and she immediately ran back to the bedroom, desperate to get out of the house. She shut the door as quietly as she could and then turned, running smack into a cold, hard body. She looked up and gasped, but a hand clamped over her mouth, pushing her back into the door.
"Shh shh," Damon breathed against her, his head cocked as if listening to something. A frown flitted across his face and he looked down at her, slowly removing his hand, warning in his eyes as a knock sounded on the door.
"Elena?" Marion's voice called.
Elena closed her eyes and forced a calming breath. "Yes?"
"I just wanted to make sure you didn't need anything else?"
She opened her eyes and met the icy blue one's before her. "I'm fine, thanks. Just trying to fall asleep."
"Good night then. I'll see you in the morning." They both heard the key slipping into the door and the lock slamming home followed by Marion's hushed footsteps fading away.
"Did you really think you'd get away from me, Elena?" he asked quietly, leaning in, his lips ghosting over the skin of her neck.
"Just—do what you're going to do. I can't stand this anymore," she breathed.
She felt him smile against her and then pull back, meeting her dark eyes. "What is it exactly that you want me to do? I'd be happy to oblige."
She flushed crimson as several unwanted thoughts ran through her head. "How did you even get in here?" she hissed.
Damon stepped back and glanced around the dark room with a small sigh. "More to the point, how are we getting out?"
"Why would I want to go anywhere? Especially with you?"
"Because you just found out you've been betrayed by the people you thought you could trust the most. And you have some sort of spell on you. One that affects both of us."
Elena stepped away from the door, inching farther from him. "I think I'll take my chances with the Council. Better than with a psychotic murderer."
He rolled his eyes. "Don't be so naïve, Elena. The Council kills, same as me. Besides, I didn't even kill Trucker Boy. "
She glared. "I saw you. And the Council kills vampires, not people."
"If memory serves, I believe you were too busy trying to save your own fine ass to see what happened to your gallant white knight."
She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"And really? Just vampires?" he asked, stalking closer. "You going to sing the same tune when they sacrifice you to their cause?"
She froze. "What are you talking about?"
Damon smiled coldly, stopping so close to her she could feel the heat from his body. "You didn't hear the other side of the conversation."
"What did they say?" she asked breathlessly.
His hand came up, trailing a finger down the bare skin of her arm. "You're the bait. And we all know what happens to the bait."
Elena shuddered and pulled back. "I think that depends on how the wolf is feeling." She stumbled over and sat down on the bed, staring blankly in front of her. "I'm taking my chances with the Council."
He slammed into her before she could draw another breath, pressing her back onto the bed. She saw the veins around his eyes appear for a brief moment before he got control of himself again. "What part of this conversation gave you the impression you had a choice in the matter?" he growled.
"If I scream—"
"Because bringing other people into your problems has worked oh so well." His gaze drifted over her. "You're lucky I don't go pay dear Marion a visit just to prove a point."
"But you're trying to keep a low profile. Otherwise, why make all the other attacks look like an animal did it. Are you really willing to go after a prominent member of this town's Council?"
He let out a quiet, surprised laugh. "Are you really trying to call my bluff?"
Elena swallowed, her mouth dry. The expression on his face made him look so innocent, and she had to admit to herself though she desperately didn't want to, sexy. "I am."
His eyes darkened and his lids dropped slightly. "Dangerous game you're playing." His head dipped lower and she caught her breath, acutely away of every inch of her body that was pressed against him. She kept repeating, "This is wrong," over and over in her mind like a litany, but the voice was growing quieter and quieter the closer he got. When he finally closed that last significant distance and brushed his lips across hers she was too far gone to do anything but respond.
It was night and day from when he compelled her. She was hesitant, her lips moving slowly against his, and he let her take her time. His hand caressed up her side, the other tangling in her hair. Her hands snaked under his jacket and raked up his back, enjoying the play of hard muscles under his soft shirt. She groaned as he pressed her harder into the bed, deepening the kiss, his tongue flicking over hers.
She broke off, gasping for air and he pulled up, meeting her gaze with a huge grin. She saw his pupils contract and her euphoria instantly disappeared. "Now, you're going to go to the kitchen, grab a knife, and let Ms. Bradley know exactly how disappointed you are in her."
She blinked and an instant latter the room resounded with a loud crack as she smacked him across the face, pushing him off her in the process as she stood up. "You son of a bitch!"
He lay there a moment, rubbing his cheek before he lithely stood, instantly in her face. "That is really starting to piss me off," he hissed, grabbing her arm painfully.
"If you weren't such an ass, it wouldn't be an issue," Elena snapped back, fighting to break free of his hold.
He grabbed her other fist as it came up to pummel his chest, and wretched it out to the side, causing them to bump together. He let out a frustrated breath as she continued to struggle wildly against him and she saw the veins start to crawl under his eyes, as his head dipped down, pressing into her hair.
"You're driving me insane, you know that?" he growled against her.
At that moment they heard the key rattling in the lock and hushed voices, causing them to freeze as the door swung swiftly open. Marion appeared, whispering to a tall, shadowed man following behind her. She looked up as she came around the door and froze as well, her mouth open in shock at the sight of the two of them, twisted around each other in the middle of the room.
"I knew it!" she gasped at the same time the man behind her brought his hands up, pointing something that Elena strongly suspected was a gun in their direction.
Damon was already moving, pulling her along with him. She was being tugged about so fast she almost didn't register the deafening bang or the searing pain that blossomed up her arm a millisecond later. For a long moment, all she could hear was the ringing in her ears; even her own cry of agony sounding as if it were coming through cotton.
She found herself abruptly on the floor, a heavy weight on top of her, trapping her injured arm underneath her and she screamed, unable to contain it. Frantic shouts sounded around her and then she was moving again.
The cold air hit her like a blow and she gasped as it seemed to suck the air out of her. Her arm was throbbing so badly that her vision was blacking out, though she was still very much conscious. Right when she realized she was being carried she was set down, her back against something hard and cold.
"Elena?" Damon's voice called, raw with something she couldn't place. "Come on, focus." She blinked a few times and eventually she could make out his blood smeared face. "You're shot," he said grimly.
"Captain Obvious," she muttered, her head lolling. Damon snorted and she cried out in pain as he shifted her until her back was pressed to his chest. His bloodied wrist appeared in front of her and he pushed it against her mouth. She hesitated only for a moment before latching on. Pleasant heat rushed through her, mixing with the quickly diminishing agony, and she felt the almost painful tingling in her arm as her wound knit itself back together. He pulled away a few moments later before things got any more interesting and she let out a little sigh, resisting the urge to lick her lips. Instead she reached up with her now good arm to do it and froze, staring at the completely blood stained thing before her.
She scooted away from the vampire and his arm fell away, letting her stand. "Thank you," she said, turning to look at him as he continued to sit against the tree. "Even though all of this is your fault."
"I'm pretty sure this has been a combined effort," he said dryly. He started to stand and then fell back with a groan, a hand on his chest.
"Don't tell me," she deadpanned. "You were shot too, and now you want blood." She paused. "Aren't you healing?"
"Wooden bullets, nasty little things. That one that hit your arm went through me first, sweetie." He managed to get to his feet, leaning back on the tree. He gingerly shrugged off his jacket, running a hand over the multiple holes in the leather before tossing it angrily to the side. "You know they're getting closer while you stand there gawking," he snapped. "Get over here," he said, his gaze turning intense.
Elena rolled her eyes and turned away, fully intending to storm off while offering up a silent thank you to whatever was allowing her to buck his compulsion. A split second later his bloody chest filled her vision and she stumbled back. He took a menacing step towards her and all the fear she had felt for him from the encounter in the house to the bar parking lot came rushing back to her.
She staggered away, nearly falling on the ice covered branches under her feet before he had her, his arms locked around her. When he started to lean in, she couldn't suppress the small whimper that escaped her as she closed her eyes. She felt him tense and her eyes flew open when he pulled away, one hand remaining on her newly healed but still bloody arm.
"Maybe not such a good idea," he muttered. "Not yet anyway."
"What—" she started to ask and was interrupted by him pulling her after him as he set off through the trees. "Where are we going?"
He shot her a smirk over his shoulder. "To see a witch."
So, this Chapter gave me some trouble, but here it is. Let me know what you think. And once again, thanks to all that reviewed!