Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for all your wonderful support!
The Balance of Things
Part Eight
They leave as soon as the sun starts to descend.
Somehow, Bonnie has managed a few hours of sleep. Somehow, she has managed to eat something (although it really had no taste). Somehow, she has managed to not to scream, to protest, to do something drastic that she will later regret.
However, she has not managed to hide her fear.
Not from him.
She knows he can hear her heartbeat erratically as they ascend a worn mountain path. She catches him glancing at her every now and then. Almost concerned. Almost. She knows when it boils down to it - this, her fear, her inability to do anything about it, is amusing to him.
By the time they reach a clearing, she estimates they have walked for over an hour (making a run to the relative safety of the house pretty much out of the question). The full moon is just barely visible through the trees - it has not yet taken its place of prominence in the sky.
Klaus signals their stop by sitting down on a fallen log. She walks a few more steps, stops when she hears him clear his throat, narrows her eyes and then sinks down onto a rock. She waits a moment, letting her senses acclimatize to her surroundings before she turns around and faces him. He isn't looking at her any longer, instead he is staring.
At the moon.
It takes a moment for her to clue in.
"You still feel the pull don't you?" She asks, her voice breaking the silence that has settled over the area. "The need to shift - even though you don't actually have to."
Klaus's head slowly turns toward her and there's a slight movement that she takes as a nod. "It calls to the animal in me. But it is not nearly as seductive as it is to those who cannot ignore it."
Those who they are here to seek out, Bonnie thinks.
It takes a moment to realize that the silence has become unnatural. There should be small animals, insects, a goddamn breeze in the trees - but there is nothing. She is on high alert but even then, she misses their entrance. It is only when Klaus stands that she realizes they are no longer alone.
Her eyes fall on four men, four very large men who like Klaus are reacting to the moon above. Only theirs is more pronounced, they twitch almost, as if they are ready to rip out of their skin (actually, that's not far off).
She rises slowly as they step into the clearing. Thankfully, their eyes are on pinned on Klaus and his on them. She can feel the tension, the need for posturing coming off all of them.
They all want to be the alpha - and there can only be one.
Her feeling of dread intensifies.
"Hello boys," Klaus drawls, and he sounds congenial enough. Charming. She sees right through him of course.
And so do they. The one closest to her tilts his head to the side, an almost canine movement despite his human form and laughs. "We wondered when you'd come," he says, his voice sounding rough as if it is barely in use. "Took you long enough."
"I've been…detained." And with that, Klaus glances at Bonnie, which causes the others to as well. Five sets of eyes on her, and the friendliest of all belong to her captor. She wonders if the wolves can smell her magic.
Unconsciously she inches closer to Klaus.
"We're not interested in your offer, Klaus." Another spoke, exhibiting less control than the first. She knows that the moon is pulling out the wolf in each of them, that is just pacing beneath the surface.
Her heart is racing so fast that Klaus reaches out now, his hand closing around her wrist, his thumb pressing against her pulse point. Perhaps he is trying to give her some sort of warning to control herself. She is not sure (and she is not able, it's her body's automatic response to what is going on).
"So you've heard of me and my offer," Klaus says, giving Bonnie's arm a jerk so she stands beside him. "Wonderful. It saves me the sales pitch. Come now, lads, I know as well as you that you are just minutes away from every bone in your body breaking, your flesh tearing - all involuntary. It doesn't have to be that way. I can set you free of that."
"Your freedom…" One begins, his eyes hardening. Bonnie can see the flesh of his arm ripple and wonder if this is the beginning of the transformation. "…comes at a price."
"Not all that terrible considering that you're a slave to the moon," Klaus contends.
"Better than a slave to you." And Bonnie wants to smile, laugh, because they understand how he works. Even before he opened his mouth they have gotten his number. No amount of charm is going to persuade them. Her lips may quirk a little but she can't go no further.
Because now what - now that this trip has proven to be fruitless what is the plan?
Before she can think it through, one of the wolves goes down, his body doubling over and cry of pain wrenching from his lips. She flinches automatically, tearing her arm from Klaus's grip. He doesn't pay her any mind, instead watching the men intently. "Last chance boys."
The one already on the ground lifts his head, his eyes a piercing yellow. "Go to hell." The words are low in this throat, almost a growl.
The others fall now, no longer able to hold off the moon.
Bonnie knows she has to get out of there.
Klaus must too, for her turns to her, holds her gaze as he inclines his head a little.
"Run."
And without question, she obeys.
