Chapter 8-Bloodstream

Wake up, look me in the eyes again.

I need to feel your hands upon my face.

Words can be like knives, they can cut you open.

And then the silence surrounds you, and haunts you.

I think I might have inhaled you. I can feel you behind me.

You've gotten into my bloodstream. I can feel you flowing in me.

(Stateless-Bloodstream)

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It had been nearly four hours. Four hours of silence in the house as everyone awaited the fate of the simple human lying on the oak table in the sitting room. Four hours since even one person had mentioned her name, fearing that it would somehow jinx her chances of survival. Four hours.

Klaus had laid his head down on the table by her thigh a little less then two hours ago when everyone left, sleep overcoming him. He hadn't intended to be the only one with her, though he did appreciate it. In fact, there was still a chair currently unoccupied beside him from where he had believed Elijah would be sitting, no doubt pestering him more about his 'feelings' that he seemed so adamant on finding.

His new found emotions that were beyond question there, but that he refused to acknowledge were beginning to get the best of him. Of course, the strange girl before him was the cause, but what would be the effect? Despite not wanting to appear weak, he also didn't want to feel weak. What if regardless of all of his efforts ifhe decided to act on said feelings, she wouldn't accept him? All of his effort gone to waste, but even more, all of his reasons for loving would be dissolute. What if, against all his wishes, she ended up with Elijah? Would he be able to contain himself from daggering his brother?

In the late twelfth century, Esther had removed the daggers from both Kol and Finn that he had meant to keep in. This came as quite the shock, considering Klaus had believed he had killed her after she and Mikael turned them into vampires. Not only had they turned them without any of their children's consent, but the two nearly beat him to death after he activated his werewolf gene, showing that Esther had been unfaithful twenty-three years prior. Her abuse and lack of restraining his father was striking him caused him to retaliate, but when he had meant to merely defend himself, his new found vampire senses caused some alarming traits. He ended up ripping her beating heart from her chest, but not before she had suppressed his werewolf gene.

When she returned from the dead, she spoke of happy families and forgiveness, though he knew it was all a lie. Both Esther and Mikael ruined him. They took him to the back of their kingdom, forcing him to kill dozens at a time in different ways, pumping him full of blood so that he'd be strong. So that he'd be thankful. They sent him out with the armies on the front lines, pushing him towards the enemies that have wooden spears, devising plans so that he'd have to have to go into villages and kill the innocents.

In 1257, Klaus had been out hunting down enemies that were supposed to have been living in an abandoned village across a little stream. One of Mikael's men had advised him to go forth and just destroy all of the town as to end the life of all the foeman. But, it wasn't until he was already covered in blood and coming out of his death-high in the homes of the people did he realize that not only were there no men in the village, but that there was a small orphanage that Mikael had told him to hit first.

"Please," the children would beg, but it was all moot. He was hungry, and he had been trained to kill first, think later. He had been trained for this. When he had shaken the trance, all that was left was grief. The guilt had consumed him so much that soon, he just turned it off. He allowed them to obliterate any form of humanity he had left, and now here he is. A heartless killer. He wasn't always this person. He wasn't always beyond redemption.

Awareness soon began to flood into Caroline's subconscious, drawing her from her nightmares of horses and vampires. She felt his presence when her eyes opened, a throbbing pain wracked her brain, eliminating reasonable thought. She winced rather loudly, causing Klaus's head to shoot up. He gave her a once over before smiling at her through his sleepy haze.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." He said. To his surprise, Caroline flung herself up quickly, getting off of the table and backing away from him. Before he had time to rejoice in her liveliness, she shrieked, making his dead heart spring into action. "Caroline, what's wrong?"

"Stay the hell away from me!" She yelled, backing up until she hit the wall. Her shoulder felt horrible, and when she looked down, she saw bite marks. Her dream came back to her...

Elijah practically threw himself down the stairs at the sound of her scream. On one hand, he was ecstatic she was alive and awake, but on the other, he feared the reason behind her deafening cry. He had left Niklaus in there, not wanting to wake him. He never dreamed that Klaus would be the only one in there when she awoke. If she awoke.

When he stumbled into the room, he saw Caroline backed into a corner, tears rolling down her cheeks as Klaus tried to sooth her from a distance. "Caroline, calm down. I won't hurt you."

"Don't you dare lie! You are the one who did this to me!" She screeched, her eyebrows furrowing at her grievous, but ferocious state. Her eyes looked like an ocean surrounded by fire. "I can't believe you..." Sobs wracked her body, and Elijah could tell it was hurting her. "I can't believe I trusted you." She whispered as the tears came hard, making her cringe against the wall to hide her eyes from him.

Klaus's face was contorted in pain from her words. "How could you think I did this to you?" His voice seemed strained, like he was fighting back the anger from her deadly accusations. "Caroline, listen to me."

Caroline shook her head, not wanting to believe what was so clearly presented to her. He had just killed people before she left, he was the only one who could have done it.

As if to make it worse, Elijah made his presence known by clearing his throat. Both people turned to him, one clearly more happy than the other about being interrupted. He walked over to her, and she didn't even so much as flinch at his presence, in fact, she seemed to welcome it. When Caroline lifted her puffy red cheek from the wall and watched him, he smiled sweetly at her, then bit his wrist.

"Caroline, I need you to drink this. It'll help you."

Caroline looked around, trying to figure out whether or not she should. Clearly, he was a vampire too, but he seemed genuine. Kind.

"I do not wish to become one of you." She whispered, taking both men by surprise.

Klaus took this into consideration. She did not want to be turned and be with either of them yet, but that did not mean it was out of the question. Either way, he would keep her safe as to honor her wishes.

"It will simply heal your wounds." He replied with concern, hoping she would allow him the award of saving her life. Caroline stared at him for a few moments, but ultimately, she took his hand graciously and sucked his carpus. Elijah tried to keep the pleasure of her mouth on his skin from effecting his facial expressions, but Klaus could see through the deception. When she stepped away, they all watched as her leftover wounds slowly began to heal, and her skin became more colorful. Vibrant.

"Caroline, listen to me." Klaus said, his voice softer than Elijah had ever heard it before. "I didn't hurt you." He took another step closer when she didn't grimace. "I would neverhurt you." Caroline seemed to consider this, and even relaxed a bit.

"Then, what happened? The last thing I remember is... Fighting with you." She told Klaus cryptically, not wanting to give away what he had been doing. What the hell was wrong with her? Of course she should tell Elijah. People were dead. "When you killed those people at the pub." She said, trying to not feel horrible for giving him away. "Can you blame me for thinking it was you?" She said with tear filled eyes, looking between either of them.

"You were attacked by wolves." Elijah replied.

"Wolves?" Caroline asked, astonished. "There are no wolves here."

Klaus became enraged as he recalled the wolves that had dared to harm her. "They're not normal wolves. They're loathsome werewolves, human beings that transform into wolves on full moons and hunt down anything with a heartbeat." Caroline looked at him, and began laughing hysterically.

"Werewolves? You honestly expect me to believe that there are people out there that can turn into wolves?" She brushed passed both men, vaguely noticing the blood on the table. Then, she thought of Henry. "How is Henry?" She asked, spinning herself around so that she could see Klaus again. "Is he alright?"

"I don't believe the wolves even followed him." He said, observing her. "I think they all sort of forgot he was even there, quite the peculiar event."

Memories began to flow evenly into Caroline's head. "No..." She closed her eyes, trying to get all of the memories in order. "I got them away from him, but not before..." Her breathing stopped. "He got bit." She opened her eyes, running out of the room without warning.

Klaus and Elijah shared a glance as they followed her wherever she was going, which turned out to be the stables. She propelled herself inside, and when they walked in, she was beside Henry who knelt on the ground with blood clotting the hair on his neck. Elijah stayed back as Klaus wearily walked up behind her. He watched as she pet his face and Henry's eyes fluttered shut while it happened. He saw the bond they had growing, filling the room with love.

His eyes lit up with adoration as her words from earlier came back to him. She had got the wolves away from Henry. She had saved him. She sacrificed herself for a horse. Hishorse.

Klaus sat beside her, looking at the wound on his horse's neck.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She croaked, and he turned to the side, realizing she was crying. Why was she crying?

"Caroline, why are you so upset?"

She shook her head, tears falling on Henry. The horse lifted his muzzle, rubbing his skin along Caroline's hands that covered her red face. "I am the reason he is hurt." She said, looking at Klaus. "I stole your horse, and I am the reason that he is now bleeding." She buried her face in Henry's long hair.

"Henry is fine, Caroline." He smiled at her compassion. He knew no one with such a large heart, and somewhere inside of him, he wondered if it was large enough for him. "He drinks vampire blood." Klaus said, earning a hilarious glare from Caroline.

"He what?" She asked in horror.

Klaus shrugged. "A horse has to be suited for his owner, therefor the best in my case." His smile in any other situation would have made her melt. "Did you not notice his speed?" Caroline had indeed noticed that small factor as she was trying to not die while riding him.

"Well, that explains how you always win our races." Elijah said from the door way. Caroline turned around, acknowledging him for the first time since they left the castle.

Klaus smiled. "No, I believe that is what you might call 'skill'."

"There is a fine line between 'skill' and 'cheating', brother." Elijah revealed, causing Caroline to let out a small chuckle. "How are you feeling?" He asked her.

"I feel fine. Good as new. And, thank you for what you did earlier." She hinted at how he gave her his blood, wiping the tears from under her eyes and breathing out a raspy laugh. "I'm sorry if I gave you all a fright. I suppose I was too tired to wake up." She joked, but none of the men laughed. In fact, they seemed to appear fidgety and unsure at her humorous mention of her death scare.

"Don't apologize for getting hurt." Elijah said sternly, walking into the stables as Caroline and Klaus both stood, dusting their clothes.

"Maybe for being foolish enough to get on a horse you have no idea how to manage, though." Klaus said, shrugging. Caroline rolled her eyes and lifted her hands, pushing him away, causing him to laugh at her lack of strength. His smile widened at the fact that she voluntarily touched him once again. She couldn't be that appalled by him.

"I wouldn't have had to if it wasn't for you being so dreadfully repulsive. I couldn't have handled being anywhere near you." She mentioned, walking back out into the night, which caused her to shiver a bit from the breeze. The night around them was lit up by the stars.

"Don't confuse lust with annoyance, sweetheart." Klaus said, picking up his pace to catch up. Those long legs of hers could move.

Elijah watched as the two wandered off, not a second glance in his direction. He now felt as Klaus had earlier that evening. Like he was a third wheel. Instead of observing the scene, he turned and left for the house from another direction. No need for the heart ache.

Caroline laughed, glancing at the man beside her. "You can wish all you'd like for that to be true, but inside," she stopped, putting her hands on his chest, once again making electric contact all by herself. "You know that it kills you that I do not come to you, begging for pleasure." She was sure to draw out the e in 'begging'.

"It is a bit disheartening, yes." He smiled, his dimples showing with ease, linking his arms with hers. He walked a bit more as she followed. "But, I'm not just trying to lay you down, Caroline." He wasn't sure if he wanted to say this, but she seemed to be willing to hear it, so why not?

"Why is that? What makes me any different from any other girl you've had relations with or drained and killed?" She tried to hide the fact that she didn't believe him because she didn't think anyone would ever choose her. Especially not someone who had so many other options.

"I fancy you." He said without reluctance. Caroline's attention was now caught by this beautiful man in front of her. When she did not appear to believe his words, he looked at her from the side. "Is that so hard to believe?"

Was it ever. There had to be something he wasn't saying. He had to be playing a trick, some hidden scheme lying in the mind of this beautiful creature. All her life, she's just been the young girl with calloused fingers and a poor background. "Yes."

"Why? You're beautiful."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "There are women who are much more beautiful than me."

"You're strong." He said, naming another reason he liked her. He could go on all night, honestly. It was something he had thought about often, all the things that drew him to her.

Caroline laughed, looking away. He was wearing her down, crumbling her walls like an invader. "My muscles beg to differ."

"You're full of light." His voice had become sickeningly sweet, even to his own ears.

She smiled devilishly up at him. "There's always the sun."

Klaus did not laugh. He just slowed down, looking deep into her eyes. "I enjoy you." He said. Caroline's heart skipped a beat. Or three. Why was he being like this? Where was the Klaus she loved to hate? Couldn't he make an appearance?

This conversation had taken a new turn, and she wasn't sure she could keep up. "Klaus, I don't think-"

He detached himself from her and strolled up to a stone bench by one of the larger trees in the yard. The bright moon was out, illuminating the left side of his face. "Take a chance, Caroline." He sat down on the cold rock, patting the space beside him. "Talk to me." She looked at him in disbelief of the situation. A man who could kill her in less than a second was asking for her to simply...Talk to him? "Come on, get to know me." The smile he was exhibiting was endearing and dare she think, innocent? He looked like a child who had received everything they could ever hope for on their birthday. But, he wasn't innocent. He was, in fact, far from it.

Her eyebrows lifted. "This is ridiculous." She said, shaking her head.

His smile lit up, sending a chill down her spine. "I dare you."

Nevertheless, Caroline sighed, sitting beside him. When the air became silent, she looked at him expectantly. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk about you." He said, causing her to laugh.

"What a boring subject you have chosen for us." Caroline retaliated with a small smile playing on her lips. Klaus shook his head.

"Oh, I'd have to respectfully disagree." He leaned forward, catching her gaze. "I want to talk about your hopes, your dreams. Everything you want in life." Why he wanted to talk about it, to hear about it, he had no idea. He honestly would be just fine with listening to anything she had to say, but if he could get some information out of her that could assist him in the future as well, he wouldn't say no.

She bit her lip, thinking of a possible answer. "I don't have very many choices." She responded. "I'm a servant. And, as you may know, we don't really have an option on what we do with our lives."

Klaus cursed himself for making her speak of sore subjects that he was the cause of. The truth was that he had sent for her, not knowing who she was, but he had simply asked for a young woman in the south of his kingdom. He gave small details such as 'pretty' and 'petite', but other than that, it was just fate that brought him the gorgeous girl that is with him now. It was destiny that supplied him with her before she was married to some man who didn't deserve her, like the Lockwood boy.

"If nothing was holding you back, what would you want to do with your life?" He asked.

"Save people." Was the answer she gave, which took him by surprise. He had been expecting something intellectual and rare, but was even more pleasantly flabbergasted by her determined nature. She gave no sense of hesitation. All Caroline wanted was to help people. "I would aspire to be at a position to help people in anyway possible. To save them when they are wounded." Caroline's lips were haunted by a small smile. "To save them from their enemies, and themselves."

"Their own demons." He confirmed. Caroline nodded, and Klaus took further interest in her. "Why do you want to save people? Why do you give so much attentiveness to them?"

Now it was her turn to be surprised. No one had ever asked her that before. She'd never been questioned on why she cared, it was always just there. She always had that feeling of remorse when something happened out of her control, even when it had nothing to do with her. "I think it's because..." She trailed off, wondering what the most honest answer would be. Caroline was always candid with him, even if he did not appreciate it. "I believe everyone to be capable of being saved, despite their flaws and sometimes bad natures."

Even though she was speaking in broad terms, Klaus couldn't help but believe she was aiming her words at him. "But, that's not why youwant to save them. I'm not asking you why they should be saved, I'm asking why you feel this urge to help them." His brilliant blue eyes lit up, nearly putting the stars to shame. "It's strange meeting a person with so much humanity that they can't even pinpoint where it comes from." Caroline laughed slightly, causing him to smile a bit more. "Is it self satisfaction? Pride? Recognition?"

"Empathy." Klaus watched her curiously. Empathy? Did that mean she had suffered something traumatic as well? "Being able to share the feeling of having something awful happen and neither knowing what to do, nor being capable of doing anything to stop it." Her voice had become small, even her shoulders had begun to slump in defeat of her own mind.

Klaus's breathing picked up a little, a violent warmth surging through his body. "Someone hurt you." He stated, not needing her to confirm his suspicions.

"Someone terrified me. And still does sometimes in my nightmares." Caroline replied. "The worst part is that I cannot fully recall what all happened. I just remembered the gut feeling of pure unadulterated fear that I got when he touched me. And how much blood I was cleaning from myself daily." She shook her head as tears came to her eyes. "So much blood..."

Then it all came together, finally forming what Klaus was so oblivious to before. Someone had compelled her, and not just once by what she was saying. Someone had literally formed a sort of parasitic relationship with her, in which they continued to bleed her and God knows what else, then compelled her to forget when they left.

The blood in his veins began to boil, and he felt his teeth protruding in his mouth. "Who did this to you, Caroline?"

She wanted to tell him. She wanted to divulge in subjects that her mind refused to allow her to speak to any other about in fear of judgment, but she couldn't. What made him different from Damon? He had just killeda dozen people. Killed. They were dead, and they always will be.

"Why did you kill them?" Caroline asked. Klaus swallowed, knowing this was going to uncharted territory, but she didn't appear upset yet, just curious and disapproving. His anger was ever present, but was now focused on other manners.

"Who?" He asked, feigning ignorance to what on earth she could possibly be talking about.

Caroline shifted, turning her body so that it was facing him. "Don't do that. Don't lie to me." She bore her eyes into his, hoping to get into the mind of the killer. "Why did you kill them? What did they do to you?"

Caroline seemed so fierce then. Her tone, her body language. All of it screamed strength. She was literally the epitome of what he would like to fall in love with. There he goes, thinking of subjects that are preposterous and never going to apply to him. Love... No, he would never love. He would never grow old with a woman, nor have a child with one, so why fall in love anyways? What good comes from it? All you receive is betrayal and heartbreak.

"Do you want the truth?" He asked, trying to respect her wishes as much as possible.

"Yes." No. Probably not.

"I did it because of you." Sadly, that answer was not what she had been expecting to hear, it turned out even worse. She was expecting some excuse of hunger or loss of control. Not a planned murder scheme with her as the reasoning.

Her breathing stopped. "What?"

Klaus looked away from her, hiding his expressions. "You're afraid of me, even though I have never made a decision to harm you." He searched his mind for the accurate way to word his thoughts, but nothing seemed correct. Not like it mattered, though. She hated him anyhow. There wasn't much he could say that would stop her from recollecting all of the people he's killed in front of her every time she looks at him. He had succeeded in his original purpose. "I desired to give you a real reason to be frightened."

She scoffed, scooting away from him. Making more distance between them. "So, you murdered people in cold blood to prove to me that you're the monster I already think you are? Seems illogical and repulsive." She stated bluntly. No need to sugar-coat it to a killer. Caroline no longer wanted to be near him, he was causing bile to rise in her throat just by his presence.

"No." Caroline lifted her head to look at him, seeing that his eyes were already on her. "I did it to establish to myself that I was the monster I know I am." Her eyes searched his questioningly, and Klaus knew there was no going back now. He was already revealing a part of him he'd otherwise never allow someone to know existed. "In the moments that I am with you..." He trailed off, and her eyebrows rose in a way of telling him to keep going, and he obliged. "I sometimes neglect that I am a vampire. I get this strange feeling in my stomach, and it makes me want to be better." His blue eyes were causing her body to turn into goo. He was insanely charming. "For you, Caroline."

His words brought hope to her yet, drawing her in for what she hoped would be a conclusion of repentance and turning a new leaf. Maybe he would even apologize for all of the wrong he did, and everything could work out. But, she knew it wasn't going to happen. She was a hopeless romantic, emphasis on the hopeless.

"But, I am a vampire. I kill." His eyes crawled along her face, engraving every crevice. This was likely the last time she would speak to him, or even acknowledge him. Maybe she would run away. Would he go after her? Possibly. He might even force her to come back for his own well-being. He was selfish, and he wanted her. Of course, it'd be too much to ask that she'd want him despite all of his imperfections. That's what makes her so different. She's strong in what she believes in. "I feel no regret after doing so. This is something that will never change, Caroline."

It hurt to know the truth. The truth that he did not like her enough to even consider changing his ways, but that was a narcissistic thought. She had known from the beginning that his affection for her only went so far. "Then I hope you know that I will never be able to reciprocate the way you have declared you feel about me."

Klaus smiled brilliantly back at her, despite the morbid conversation topic. "I plan on changing that." Her eyes widened at his new declaration. A mission to get her to fall for him? Surely, with the right words he could manage. She had to be strong. He's only doing this out of challenge. "No worries, love. Leave it all to me." He said, breaking her from her inner pep-talk.

"Just to be clear," Caroline began, catching his attention further. Not that she needed help. Her presence was all that he was aware of at the time. "I'm too smart to be seduced by you."

"Well, that's why I like you." The air seemed to be getting hotter as his eyes poured into hers. Her legs began to tremble as his smile grew, enclosing any and all other thoughts into just one. Him. He was enough to make her lose control, and she hated it. She hated it so much that she wanted to grab his face and kiss him like she's never kissed anyone before. Wait... What?

"How in the world can you feel that way?" She asked inquisitively. Couldn't she just take his word for it? Why must he explain himself when he says he is interested?

Dodging the question, he decided to prod her. "Well, why shouldn't I? Why do you not find yourself worthy of someone's interest?" Klaus asked.

"Because." She said simply, looking away from him. No, that was most definitely not a good enough answer. Not good enough at all.

"Because why?"

She tried to stand up, "It doesn't matter, Klaus." but he grabbed her arm, keeping her from making any more distance between them than there already was. Not just physically, but emotionally. He could tell that she was trying to keep him out. He definitely wasn't going to give up now. He just opened himself up for the first time, and she was trying to leave.

"Caroline..."

Caroline threw her hands up in failure. "Because I can't believe you actually care!" She looked at the ground, and he was almost offended until she spoke again. "I'm never the one. So, why now? Why with you? You have so many options, you have so much going on, and yet you choose me to be the object of your villainous affections?"

Klaus laid his hand on one of hers, his thumb rubbing along the top of it. If he wasn't some supernatural being, and she wasn't afraid that he might kill her, this would be an intimate moment. They might sit and watch the sun rise together, then leave and he may properly court her. "I can't tell you the exact reason I favor you, basically because I'm not sure my self." His eyes lit up as he watched her listen intently. "All I know is that I'm finding myself feeling for the first time in four hundred years, and I want to see where it leads me. Whether it be my my rise or my fall. Preferably the former." That was a half lie. One half of his body craved her, wanting to ravish her at any given point in time. But, the other half was terrified of having someone as his vulnerability. If anyone found out about Caroline, they could use her against him. He didn't want to be emotionally attached to her. "Besides, how can you not feel adoration towards a woman with enough snarky comments to take down an entire army?" She smiled now, taking her hand away from his as she rolled her eyes.

She was about to say a brilliant comment about being able to take down vampires, when her stomach interrupted her. Klaus laughed, standing up to take her hand. "Care to join me for a late dinner?"

She grasped his hand, sliding into a comfortable position beside him as she stood. "Wouldn't it be an early breakfast?" She asked, smiling at the stars.

"I could make you breakfast, if you'd like?" He asked, and Caroline all-but burst into a fit of laughter. "What?" He asked, amused by how relaxed she seemed to be with him when she was disgusted only a few moments ago. Not to mention that laugh...

"It's nothing." She said, trying to catch her breath.

"Sweetheart, I will get it out of you one way or another." And she knew he would.

"It's just... The first time I met you, you killed a girl in front of me. Just tonight, you slaughtered an entire pub of people. And now, you're offering to make me breakfast? Do you even know how to make breakfast? Or are you going to get one of us servants to do it for you?" It had begun as a playful sentence, but ended in a string of rather serious questions. She didn't like how privileged they appeared to be, even if they were royal.

Klaus seemed unaware of her change in mood, because he still had a confident smile on his lips. "I've lived for four centuries, sweetheart. I think I can manage a breakfast."

"Honestly, are you still pining over her?"

Tyler rolled his eyes, turning his head so that he could look at the brunette girl before him. She had her eyebrow raised and a hand on her hip. "I love her." He responded, scoffing when she let out a small laugh.

"If you loved her, whatever this" she gestured between them, "was, it never would have happened." Hayley walked to the sofa and flopped down.

The two stared at each other for a few moments, Tyler weighing his options on how to go about apologizing to Caroline, and Hayley weighing her options on how to get out of this house. She won't lie, what her and Tyler did was awful. They both knew what was happening, yet it still occurred. You could say that she even loved him for a time. But, that was until she realized what a coward he was. Here he is, sitting in his own little shame cloud when the woman he truly wants is out no doubt finding a better suitor. Hell, she should be doing the same thing.

"I should go." Hayley spoke.

The male werewolf glanced at her, "Yeah." He said. "That's probably for the best." He told her, and Hayley wanted to rip his throat out. No wonder he couldn't keep a woman.

She sat up quickly, exiting the home at a brisk pace. Once she hit the cool air, her body temperature seemed to calm down, but she was still so utterly pissed off. Why can't she ever find the good ones? Where are all of the gentlemen that mothers tell their daughters? Not that she'd really know anything about a mother. Her family left her when she was just a baby, and since she was just passed around in homes, each parent never fully deciding to keep her.

She had always had a thing for bad boys, probably because of her troubled past. It wasn't because she wanted to save them, or to be the only one to make them feel something, no. It was because she wanted someone she could relate to. Someone that felt like family.

Her feet pounded the ground unknowingly, so she couldn't hear the footsteps that were matching hers. "Wait, Hayley!" She spun around to see Tyler coming after her. "Wait!" She slowed down to let him catch up but soon regretted it. "I have an idea."

Tyler's ideas were about as good as stabbing yourself. Ergo, not good at all. "Tyler, I'm not really in the mood to get myself killed." She responded, turning to walk away once more, but he caught her arm. She glared at him, hoping it would get him to remove his hand, but to no avail.

"She's been taken to the palace, has she not?" When Hayley only looked at him in a clueless stare, he threw his hands up. "Caroline!" Oh, yeah. Her. "If she's at the palace, then she'll be at the annual ball. And if she's at the annual ball, I can see her." His eyes lit up with every word, only aggravating her further.

"Why are you telling me this?" She wondered, wanting him to just leave her out of it. He was becoming annoying and she didn't want to have to lose him as a friend too.

Tyler smiled. "I was hoping that you would accompany me to a certain ball."

If this was a month ago, she would have jumped for joy at his invitation, despite it's reason. But, this is now and all that she felt was sympathy for this pathetic man. His fiancee caught him in the act of adultery, there's no way the girl is taking him back. "Tyler, Caroline is a bitch." It wasn't a lie, and it made her feel good to say so. "But, she is not stupid."

"I have a plan." He said, confirming her fears. His plans were even worse than his ideas. But, he was her friend. What kind of friend would she be if she was not there during his inevitable time of need? A smart one...

But, a disloyal one. And if there's anything a wolf knows, it's how to be loyal. Well, most of the wolves. Excluding Tyler.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" She asked, and Tyler only responded with a sly smile that screamed impulsiveness.

(Review! I love it when you guys let me know how you feel about my writing. :P If you want more updates, which I will do soon, go to my tumblr! - 'sleepingawaytheday'