Shoving the cabinet out of the way and practically ripping the lock off the door, Elena Gilbert slowly exited the safe confines of her temporary bedroom at the Salvatore Mansion. The house was quiet, something she hadn't expected after just hearing a gunshot echo through its halls. As quickly as she could, she moved down the hall and towards the front door.
"Well, you're not welcome here, you know that" She heard Damon's voice as she peered around a wall to see the front door. She had to hold in a gasp when she saw the picture she was faced with and everything made sense. Damon was standing just in front of the grand staircase, his men surrounding him but his opponent also had men, ready to kill. His opponent was also Klaus Mikaelson. Sure, she had heard of him. The Mikaelson's were the other large scale family gang in the NYC, but they fell short in comparison to the Salvatore's. Their family gang had run for much less generations than the Salvatore's and they didn't have quite as many members as the Salvatore gang, even with there being five Mikaelson siblings. Klaus was the leader, although he wasn't the oldest, he just had the most drive and passion for the job, much like Damon.
"I just thought we'd come pop in and say hello" Klaus sarcastically remarked as Elena continued to watch the scene in front of her
"Yeah, well, saying hello doesn't require you shooting up my home" Damon responded, taking a few menacing steps towards the other gang leader
"That was me announcing my presence"
"Most people use the doorbell" This battle of wits was becoming too much for her, she needed to know why they were here.
"I guess I have to work on my manners" `Klaus mused as he took the chance to scan the room. She made sure to quickly duck behind the wall, out of sight, before Klaus' eyes met hers.
"Anyway, I just came for a friendly chat, mate" She heard Klaus inform
"Chats over" Damon voice was hostile, protective. She heard movement from downstairs, indicating the inevitable exit of Klaus and his gang so she took that chance to poke her head back out. She watched as Klaus made his way to the door but she held her breath as he turned back around to face Damon
"I like your new toy" And then Klaus' eyes met hers directly. He had seen her. She froze in place, unable to move under his harsh gaze. He smirked at her slightly which just made her feel nauseous. Damon's head whipped around to hers and her eyes met his for a brief moment. She wasn't sure what she read in his eyes. Disappointment? Anger? Whatever it was, he did not look impressed. Finally, she felt her body work again and she ran. She ran back into her room, slamming the door shut. Her breathing was hard and fast as he leaned against the door for support. She felt sick to her stomach. She wasn't one for being scared but she knew what Klaus did to UC cops when he smelt them out and she knew if he did his research, she was dead. A loud bang on the other side of the door startled her thoughts and she jumped in place. Placing a hand over her racing heart, she slowly opened the door, peeking her head out and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Stefan standing there. She never thought she would feel relieved to see a member of the Salvatore family.
"My brother wants to see you" And just like that, she no longer felt safe in the protection of the Salvatore clan. She debated slamming the door in his face, anything to get out of this predictably horrible meeting. She went over every possible scenario to get out of this situation in her head, but drew a blank.
"It wasn't a request" Stefan sharply told her after she had obviously taken too long to answer. He turned his back, walking back down the hall and she knew she had no choice. She mustered all her strength and followed him out the door. They walked past the expensive art again and big fancy chandelier that graced the ceiling above them but she wasn't in awe this time, too afraid to be in awe she supposed. She slowed her movements slowly when they past the dining room, never entering it. Where was he taking her? She didn't have to wait too long to find out as Stefan stopped in front of grand door, but this one was less fancy than all the others. This one was wooden and brown but still magnificent in size and detail. She stood in front of the door, her mind and body refusing to allow her to enter
"He hasn't got all day" Stefan's snappy tone reminded her of where she was. She had to go in. Taking a silent, slow breath, she pushed to door open, walking inside slowly. The scene in front of her was nothing like she expected. She was in a library but not just any old library. Books covered every wall in the room and she felt her mouth fall at the collection, he must have every book ever made to fill a room as large as this. As her eyes happily scanned the room, they stopped dead when she saw a magnificent fireplace burning but that wasn't why she her smile had turned, it was the man seated in front of it drinking a glass of bourbon.
"You know, what you did tonight was incredibly stupid" She heard his emotionless voice speak, his body never turning to face hers.
"Yeah, well, maybe I am incredibly stupid" She lamely retorted. He didn't know her, she could easily pretend to be daft and still get all the information she needed. Her eyebrows furrowed as she heard him let out a scoff.
"No. You're not. You're incredibly bright which is why I can't wrap my head around why would you directly disobey me."
"Disobey you?! I'm not a dog Damon" Now she was pissed, this man was not her master, she didn't have to listen to him. She controlled her own life.
"I know that."
"Then why are you treating me like one? If you brought me here just to be your pet then- "
"Do you know why I brought you here?" His voice cut her off and she watched as he placed his glass down on the end table nearby.
"Because you enjoy to kidnapping helpless women to make them your slaves?" She sarcastically guessed. He stood from his chair, walking towards her slowly. Usually, she would be terrified with his slow movements towards her, like an animal stalking its prey, but for some reason, he didn't look menacing, she wasn't afraid, she was standing her ground.
"No. It's because you remind me of someone I once knew. She was feisty just like you but she didn't have your wit"
"So, I remind you of another one of your toys? That's why you brought me against my will?"
"I brought you here because I couldn't help her. She destroyed herself and I won't let that happen to you
"What makes you think I'm destructive?" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She had her life together, if anyone in this room is destructive, its him.
"I met you while you were working in a strip club, your apartment is a piece of shit and you are just one step away from walking the streets and selling that tight body to the highest bidder"
"Excuse me?!" Her anger was at that point again, she was so close to just unleashing all her attack training on this asshole
"You know it's true." He shrugged nonchalantly and she took a moment to think. She was playing a character and from her experience in the police force, she knew that that was how most girls ended up so she couldn't really dispute it. Remaining quiet, she placed her arms over her chest defiantly and diverted her eyes from his. As soon as she had though, he placed his hands gently underneath her chin, giving it a soft push to the left, making her eyes reconnect with his. She stared into his ice blue eyes, which sent a chill done her spine and made her body tingle.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I will protect you" His voice sounded determined and she couldn't help but let herself believe him for just a moment. But that moment didn't last and she was sent crashing back down to reality. She remembered who she really was. She was Elena Gilbert, and she had a job to do. She pushed his hand away from her chin and broke their strong eye contact, taking a step back in the process
"Who says I need your protection? I could just as easily protect myself from my own apartment" She answered as he scoffed again in response
"Klaus will have you dead before you even reach your apartment. No, you're staying here under my watchful eye, you are not to leave my sight" This time it was her turn to scoff, and she added an eye roll in there
"Whatever" She sighed
"You're giving in? Just like that? What happened to feisty Kat?" He looked shocked with one eyebrow raised and his voice confused
"She's tired" Elena bluntly replied, ignoring his new nickname for her alter ego, before turning around and opening the door, ready to head back to her room
"Where are you going?" He asked and she sighed once more before turning back to him
"To my room"
"I don't think so. You'll be staying in my room until Klaus is no longer a threat" What?!
"No. That is extremely unnecessary"
"Big words for someone so stupid" He retorted with a smirk but it dropped when he saw her stony, unamused face.
"Look, Klaus could strike at any moment and I know the guy, he likes to work at night so all it would take is for you to be asleep, unguarded in your room for you to be dead. I'm trying to protect you, whether you like it or not" She knew he had a point. Like most gangs, Klaus operated at night, all his victims slaughtered in the dead of night.
"You know what, fine, which room?" She asked, her voice defeated. She was too tired to fight at this point; this day had been one of the longest days in her life and she just wanted to sleep it off.
"Follow me, my lady" He walked past her rolling eyes and out the door. She trailed behind as he lead her down the hallway, in the opposite direction of her room. After walking the halls for a few moments, Damon stopped and pushed open a set of doors, revealing his room. She tried not to be taken aback, like every other time she found a new room, but it was hard not to. The first thing to catch her attention was the huge king size, four poster bed standing tall in the middle of the room. It was definitely the biggest bed she had ever seen and she could only think of how comfortable it was with its Egyptian cotton sheets.
"You wanna test it out?" His voice broke her stare and she looked to him
"Really?" She tried not to sound too excited about the prospect but she was sure she had failed. He nodded his head in approval and her face lit up into a smile. Taking a running start, she happily bounced on the bed, immediately sinking into the most comfortable thing she had ever been on.
"This is amazing" She giggled happily, sitting up to look at a smiling Damon.
"Glad you like it" She scanned the room and was a bit surprised by it. The room was quaint. A desk here, a few books there. It was just like every other bedroom but probably about 10 times bigger.
"Not what you were expecting?" He asked as he stood by one of his drawers
"Not really. I think I was expecting a room made of gold" He laughed in response as he turned around to look at her, clutching something in his hand.
"Yeah, it's a bit excessive, but my mother liked gold" She noticed his face turn for a moment when he said 'mother' and she knew it meant something, something he clearly didn't want to talk about.
"Here" He sent the item in his hand into the air, tossing it on the bed. She picked it up and saw it was one of his shirts, presumably for her to sleep in. She looked to the right and saw the bathroom, hurrying to reach it to change. As she stepped foot into the bathroom, she again, had to hold back her amazement but damn, that bathtub looked heavenly. Looking into the mirror, staring back at her own reflection, she tried to compose herself. Everything that had happened was slowly setting in and she was feeling uneasy. None of this had gone to the plan they had discussed. She was meant to stay at the apartment they had given her and get intel from afar and now she was in the exact opposite situation and she wasn't sure how to handle it. She knew she would get a lot of information from being so close to the target but Elena really didn't know if she had it in her to stay here, with this man who she knew was a monster and continue to do her job. She couldn't exactly ask for a replacement now and her whole career was riding on this. Pushing her fear aside was the only thing that was going to help her. She was Elena Gilbert, or rather Katerina Petrova. She could do this. Releasing one final, relaxing breath, a now composed Elena began to undress before replacing her discarded clothing with Damon's shirt. As she put it over her hand, she inhaled his scent. She couldn't quite place what it was. She supposed he had that strong scent that all males seemed to have but there was something else in there, something so intoxicating she couldn't help taking in a deep breath every time just so she could smell it again.
"You can have the bed, I'll take the floor" Damon told her as she stepped out of the bathroom into the now dark room, ready for bed.
"Are you sure? I mean, it's your bed"
"What kind of gentleman would I be if I let a beautiful woman sleep on the floor?" She had to prevent herself from scoffing at the word 'gentleman'. In her opinion, gentleman didn't kill dozens of people every day. Hoping into the bed, she let herself finally relax.
"Goodnight Kat" Those words were the last of the day before she fell into a slumber.
A/N: I'm backkkk just like I promised. Thank you all so much for the reviews, I love you all, and I have listened. I made this chapter about 1000 words longer than my past few so I hope this keeps you all satisfied until next week. Also, please go check out my other story 'Two is Better Than One', it needs a little love right now. Review, review, review :)
