Caroline made her way home smiling; she couldn't think of any time that she had been happier. - thinking about it she guessed she should have been a bit freaked out, after all she did just get attacked by a werewolf. However, she knew that he would never purposefully hurt her.

She had text Elena and arranged to do some pre-party shopping with her and Bonnie; after all she decided it was about time she spent some time with her friends considering she hadn't seen them in quite a while seeing as she had been in the woods often and spending time with Klaus. The thought of going to a party in the woods also thrilled her, breaking town law was one thing; but breaking it with a whole load of school friends late at night was way better. Also knowing that Klaus would only be a short walk away from her totally helped too, she felt the smile form on her lips once again just thinking about him. She couldn't help but think what her mother would say if she knew; she'd only just met this man and she knew practically nothing about him, but yet she'd fallen for him in a matter of days, if you add the danger and supernatural element on top of that then in her mother's eyes he would definitely be a no go zone. She also knew that her friends wouldn't approve either, she knew that she would have to keep it a secret from them too – but this was a secret Caroline didn't mind keeping, because it was more than worth it…

Caroline pulled her compact mirror out from her bag and assessed the cut on her cheek, it was red and had just began to scab over; it looked hideous and she couldn't help but feel sad about what it would look like. Having a scar down one side of her face would definitely not help her appearance, but once it had healed she could start covering it with foundation, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. For now however, it was; she did her best to try and think up a convincing lie to tell people how it happened. She slipped? She tripped? Ran into a wall? No, none of them were quite convincing enough as it definitely had the distinct shape of a claw mark; hmmm… she decided to tell them she tripped with a metal pointed nail file in her hand, because those things are sharp and lethal; it was just the right piece of equipment that could leave a long cut like that along her face.

"Ohmygod! Care, what happened to your face!?" Elena exclaimed the moment she set eyes on Caroline's face. She then had to tell the lie to Elena and Bonnie as convincingly as possible, they looked suspicious but went along with it anyway; thank god for that.

"So, we've got at least two hours of shopping time so we can leave ourselves enough time to get ready!" Elena exclaimed, and Caroline was thankful for the distraction.

Meanwhile, Klaus was clearing up the remainder of his mess from the night before. However, all he could think about was the fact that he'd hurt Caroline; he'd left that ragged red scar down the side of her cheek and she was bound to have it for a long, long time. He liked to think that it had been a onetime occurrence and that he wouldn't lose control if he and Caroline got intimate again; but it wasn't something that he could guarantee. Throughout his life there were many things that Klaus had learnt, he'd learnt to be the alpha, he learnt to keep his anger and temper in check to prevent transforming; but the one thing he'd never had practice with was how his desire would cause him to shift. Never before had he met a woman like Caroline; he thought back to the first day that he'd seen her in the woods – he'd been drawn to her immediately, her beauty and her light. How she stood out as she paced through the woods in her shocking red coat with a basket of supplies in hand. Klaus couldn't help but think how different things would have been if he had chosen to set up refuge somewhere else – he never would have met Caroline or got the opportunity to get to know her; his father had always drilled into him that love and desire would be his downfall, and he'd began to believe that too. Until he met Caroline.

Klaus thought back to all the many romantic films he'd had the horror to sit through with his sister; how the two main characters fell for one another in a ridiculously short amount of time when they knew barely nothing about each other. He didn't believe love like that was real or even existed; but he hadn't known Caroline for long, but what he felt for her was definitely stronger than friendship…

He was snapped rapidly from his thoughts as he heard a loud and earsplitting scream; he stood up straight and ran out of his door – he held his nose to the air and breathed deeply; he could smell them.

Wolves.

His skin began to twitch all over and he knew what would happen next, he crouched down on the floor trying to speed up the reaction as his bones began to crack and re-shape. He panted heavily and sweat decorated his brow as the pain set in; no one could really understand having every single bone in your body broken until they really experienced it – they could sympathize yes, but they could never understand…

Once the transformation had finished he began to run rapidly through the forest, following his nose in an attempt to track the wolves; wolves in Mystic Falls meant bad news, it meant the possibility of him being found.

Klaus reached a clearing where the smell of wolf was over powering, as he paced forward slightly more a growl escaped his throat as he saw two bodies lying on the ground before him; their clothes were ripped to shreds and the ground surrounding them was drenched in blood. He inched forward and saw the red and ragged bite marks that littered the bodies of the two girls.

No wonder the scent of wolf had been so strong; this is where they had found their last meal.

He was sympathetic and angry for the loss of life; but he couldn't help but feel furious for selfish reasons, someone was going to find these bodies which would mean people coming hunting in the woods again – if he was discovered in wolf form he could be killed or recognized and would never be able to come back. Even worse, if his home deep in the woods was discovered by town members or the police there would be questions; questions that he would probably find difficult to answer.

Looking down at the bodies of the women again he saw they both had the same traits; they were blonde, skinny and in their early twenties – I shiver of worry travelled through him as he imagined Caroline in this position; she wasn't safe here and he knew he had to do something about it.

Conveniently, he knew just the right thing to do.

Caroline hadn't been quite convinced about the party; she'd have much rather spent some time with Klaus getting to know him some more, or maybe completing the piles of work she had at home. However, now just as it was beginning to get dark and she was strolling towards the entrance to the woods with Bonnie and Elena, and the rest of their classmates either ahead of them or not too far behind. The atmosphere was sparking, and everyone surrounding them was buzzing with excitement; it was a big thing, they were all breaking curfew and going into the woods, after-all they were only the senior class once.

Caroline looked up and saw Stefan not too far behind with the jocks, rolling the thousands of kegs to keep the night going. She couldn't help but crack a smile; she was excited, it had been a while since she'd gone to a party and tonight she was just going to enjoy herself, no worries about anything other than having fun.

Jealousy rippled through Klaus as he heard the pump of the music through the forest; it was two in the morning and he knew that was where Caroline was. He understood that Caroline had other friends, but he thought she would have at least visited him by now.

He decided there was no use moping around because, he, Klaus Mikaelson, did not mope.

Caroline by now, had way too much to drink; to be quite honest she was pretty sure that she had drank the majority of a keg herself, it was a miracle she was still standing; she swayed side to side in time with the music she wasn't sure if it was on purpose or if it was the alcohol doing the dancing. She laughed as she stared over at Bonnie and Elena who seemed pretty much to be in the same position as her, well, through her blurred vision anyway.

"Hey Care, come talk to me- I haven't seen you in so long!" Tyler exclaimed from across the field, he rapidly came jogging towards her, sadly not in a straight line due to the late stage of the night.

"I know Tyler!" Caroline replied enthusiastically, before throwing her arms around him. Sadly, in her intoxicated state she didn't realize how she'd vowed she'd never speak to Tyler again after their breakup, how she wouldn't even go near him.

Klaus set to work on a painting, he hadn't painted in a long time; not since he'd left his family home – he'd just never had the inspiration, however since the move to Mystic Falls he'd suddenly found himself a new muse. And he may want to deny it but she did just so happen to have blonde hair and blue eyes.

Caroline couldn't quite make sense of what was going on around her, she had blurred vision and it was dark all around. She could hear the pumping of the music and voices in the distance, but she was quite a way from the other party people now. She'd chosen a poor choice of outfit, it was cold and she was numb all over. However, the one thing she could feel was the hand that was drifting slowly up her leg and the lips pressed to her neck. She wasn't quite sure whose they were? – Tyler's?

She couldn't remember.

All she knew was she wanted it to stop.

"Get off." Caroline managed to mumble out, jerking her neck away from the owner of the lips.

"Care, babe – Don't be a tease, why wear a pretty dress just to reject me?" Tyler's voice said harshly. Pushing her back against a tree, his hands beginning to push her jacket from her shoulders.

"Tyler, no! Get off!" Caroline exclaimed, louder this time, it still seemed to have no effect; the music was too loud.

Klaus put down his paint brush and walked through to the kitchen, he'd been painting longer than he realized and needed a coffee break. He pulled a mug from the cupboard and started up the coffee machine, he stared aimlessly at the ceiling.

"NO. TYLER NO!" Klaus sat up straight in horror and was out of his door before he even realized. He would recognize that voice anywhere:

It was Caroline and she sounded distressed.

He ran through the forest, following both the sound of her voice and her scent; he didn't shift into his wolf form, his muscles tightened and his bones tensed but he resisted the feeling – He couldn't risk being seen by any of the school students. The fact that he was constricted to his human abilities annoyed him but spurred him on.

Her voice became louder and he saw Caroline pushed against a tree with a muscular boy restraining her.

"What do you think you're doing mate?" Klaus's shouted his voice cold and dangerous. Tyler turned his head to see Klaus, but never released his grip on Caroline. An evil smile formed on Tyler's drunken features, only infuriating Klaus further.

"Don't stare dick; can't you see we're trying to have a good time?" Tyler replied in an equally as cold tone, attempting to stare down Klaus in the darkness.

"I think you'll find that you're trying to have a good time, and Caroline here is trying to say no." Klaus continued, pacing towards Tyler slowly, watching as Caroline struggled under his grip.

"You think you know something? Well, you don't know shit – I know Caroline Forbes dick, and let me tell you this is exactly how she likes it." Tyler spat out with a disgusting smile; the innuendo in his voice pushed Klaus over the edge. He finally realized who this guy was; Caroline's ex-boyfriend, and somehow that just made him madder. He rushed at Tyler and punched him square around the face. Tyler's face snapped to the side and he released his grip on Caroline who crumpled to the ground, her whimpers becoming louder.

Klaus began to make his way towards her, but Tyler got back up and blocked his path.

"See, right up until a few moments ago; I had no problem with you – but now, well now you made me angry." Tyler said viciously, before kicking Klaus hard in the stomach causing him to double over.

"Tyler no!" Caroline spluttered out, as she watched him kicking Klaus who was writhing in agony on the floor.

"Shut up ." Tyler replied, and continued his assault on Klaus.

"Klaus, fight back!" Caroline begged at his apparently defeated form. Yet she saw no evidence of him getting away.

A cocky smirk found its way onto Tyler's features as he knew he had won; he turned away and began to walk back towards Caroline.

"Well, where were we?" He asked cruelly as he bent down towards her, his face looming closer; however he then collapsed on her completely.

"Ohmygod?!" Caroline exclaimed, as she pushed Tyler's unconscious form from her body and saw Klaus looming above him, still holding the rock he'd used to knock Tyler out.

"But you were hurt, unconscious?!" Caroline spluttered in shock.

"Haven't you heard of the boy who cried wolf sweetheart?" Klaus said teasingly.

"You alright love?" He said holding one hand out towards her.

"Yes, ye-" She began to say, but then suddenly the composure she had tried so hard to create broke.

"Sweetheart, sweetheart…" Klaus muttered under his breath as he knelt down beside her and gathered her shivering form into his arms, one arm securely behind her back and the other behind her knees. He then slowly began to make the walk back to his house.

"I'm sorry Klaus, I'm sorry; I'm drunk… I don't know what happened, and know you're here saving me again, Ohmygod I'm sorry…" Caroline began to babble uncontrollably, tears beginning to break and run down her cheeks as the night began to overwhelm her.

"Shhh….love, nothing is your fault, nothing that has happened tonight is your fault. Everyone gets drunk once in a while; it's part of life. I'm not going to hold any of that against you; and as for me saving you, well love; if it were a full time job I'd be the first applicant…" Klaus said quietly into her ear, a cheeky tone in his voice.

"Thanks." She said simply, before promptly passing out on his shoulder.

Hi!
Sorry that it's taken me so long to update, I've had major writers block and school and work are quite literally taking over my life! – Thank you for all the reviews on the previous chapters, I always love to hear what you think.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please continue to read, review and follow.