Mason found himself crashing down onto the ground, blacking out for a few seconds and then feeling himself slowly come back round from his eventful shift that night. Everything around him felt tense, including the muscles and bones within his body that had broken over and over again that night.
Dirt from the forest floor below, covered his body and his face, the only thing that was not covering his body was the shorts he hadn't been able to take off yet, when he had been trying to control his shift in his car earlier that night.
Unfortunately, the truck wasn't strong enough to hold the wolf inside of him and he had ended up smashing through the back wind screen, the glass now splattered all over the dirt around him.
Carefully pulling his aching body up from the ground, his eyes rolled over to the person's shoes that were now edging towards him and he felt his chest tighten when he glanced up at the person now coming over to see him.
Mason was angry at himself for not only wolfing out so bad that night that he nearly bit another vampire and had Payton witness his true form, but he had also exposed his secret to Tyler, the one person he didn't want to find out about this.
But he was also the person who had stopped him from making a kill that night.
Now he was going to have to face his nephew. He couldn't hide or lie this time. This was the moment Tyler was going to find out the truth behind his Uncle, behind the Lockwood's and what could happen to Tyler if he wasn't careful.
He owed Tyler the truth.
The two relatives eyes met briefly, as they stood just a few yards from one another, the tension thick and uncomfortable. Mason wanted nothing more than for Tyler to just forget the whole thing. But that was the easy way out. He had to face up to his problems.
Tyler's gaze went back on Mason, after he had checked out the damage that had been done to the car and then duffel bag laying on the ground beside a tree stump.
"You going to pass me those?" Mason asked, breaking the awkward silence and wanting to get this over with as smoothly as he could.
His nephew kept quiet, as he wondered over to retrieve the bag and chucked the object towards him, so Mason could change back into his usual attire and wipe himself down after the night he had experienced.
He was thankfully his transformation was only short. He would have hated it to have gone on any longer after what had happened.
Mason caught the bag, before he laid it below his feet and pulled his t-shirt back on, keeping his gaze on Tyler and trying to keep things calm.
But Tyler had other ideas.
"It was you."
After pulling the clothing over his head, Mason stared back at Tyler unsure, before he slowly nodded his head and Tyler scoffed in frustration that his Uncle would keep something like this from him, especially after he asked him yesterday so many times what happened to him.
Tyler wanted nothing more to lash out at his Uncle, to demand a proper explanation to everything he saw happen and to ask him why he lied to him about this. But in all honesty, he was kind of worried what his Uncle might do to him if he got on the wrong side of him.
Shaking his head in disappointment, Tyler turned on his feet and headed back in the direction of the Lockwood mansion where Tyler lived and Mason was currently staying at with his relatives.
"Tyler." Mason called out, trying to get the younger to stop and just hear him out.
"No, man. I can't stand here and listen to more of your lies." Tyler grunted, before he headed off and Mason found himself staying behind.
He wanted to let Tyler let off some steam before they really talked it over about what happened. But also it meant he could come up with a reasonable explanation as to what really went down here tonight.
It wasn't the easiest thing to inform people about. It was really hard. There were so much confusion and horror involved. Some took it relatively ok. Whilst others freaked out. He hated having to tell his friends, they were spooked for months until Mason found some wolfs to roam with on his full moon nights, who managed to persuade his other friends that they were safe.
Then there was telling Payton when they started to hit things off. He knew she had to know. There was no doubt in him that telling her was a risk. He knew there wouldn't be. She wasn't the type of girl he was going to let go of any time soon. It was real from the word go. The first day they caught eyes in the bar.
He was glad when she took it surprisingly ok. She had been confused and worried at first. But somehow, she saw past the supernatural side of things and was able to see Mason for the guy she first met back home.
But telling her she was a vampire was ten times harder. So much harder and so much more emotional. It was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. It felt like it was worse than shifting for him, because he had to break the news to her, that also broke her into a thousand pieces.
Just like she had been crossing his mind, so had her footsteps towards the path that lead to where his truck and he was stood, shoving on his sweater and going over to put his duffel back in the smashed up trunk of his truck.
Feeling her presence and smelling her scent, Mason spun round to face her and saw the pity fall on his girlfriend's face. Gradually she came over to him, but once she had reached him, she threw her arms around his neck and held onto him tightly.
Wrapping his arms around her lower back, Mason pulled her closer to him and he inhaled her scent, whilst listening to the beating of her heart through her clothing. He felt himself exhale loudly, somewhat in frustration for what he had done to her tonight, but also because he was so relieved to finally have her here with him.
He needed her so badly.
Slowly pulling away from him, she lifted her hand up to his face and she laid her fingers on his cheek, rubbing her thumb over the stubble along his skin "Hey. How're you feeling?" She asked worriedly.
"I'm ok," he nodded, shooting her a small painful smile, which she instantly knew was far from the truth, "better than I thought I would feel."
"There's a worse than that?" Payton asked surprised.
Mason shot her a look, not in the mood for her to crack some joke or tease him, "Don't start, Payton."
"What?" She responded confused, pulling her hand away, "I haven't even done anything, Mason."
"I know. But I can't be dealing with your remarks tonight." He walked away from her, going over to his truck and expecting the damage inside of it.
"I wasn't even going to say anything," Payton snapped back at him, not liking this mood he was giving off, she thought he would be happy now he was with her, "I thought after what I witnessed tonight, you would be a little less grouchy towards me."
She followed him over to the truck, where he was now stood inside the back seats slightly, looking over the scratch marks on the leather seats and the few dents on the side of the interior.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He grumbled, not bothering to turn around to her, now she was stood behind him, arms crossed angrily.
"I don't know, Mason," Payton sighed, running her hand over her face in distress, hating how this was affecting their relationship, they hardly ever argued, but here they were out in the open going at it, "maybe you scared me a little..."
Hearing her words, he felt his stomach clench and he jumped back down off the truck, turning round to face her with a guilty expression on his face.
He never wanted to do that. He hated himself so badly for the pain he had caused on her.
Payton stared back at him, trying to search his face for an answer, but all she could feel was fear about how they were even going to manage their relationship together, when they were constantly at so much danger with each other and the people around them.
"I'd never seen you like that before. It scared me, Mason. I hate to break it to you. But it did." Payton admitted to him.
Mason slammed the door of the car shut, turning to look away from her frustratedly, before his eyes were back on her again, his voice low and thick "That's why I didn't want you around me, Payton. I hate that I scared you tonight. I am so sorry for that."
"I know you are," She sighed, she felt guilty for everything he had to go through every month and how she was hurting him by admitting the truth as to how she felt about seeing him like that, but she couldn't hide her feelings from him, "I know."
It wasn't only the guilt that was rocking her brain that night. It was the possibility of her doing good for him and changing their plans. She hated seeing him the way he was and she didn't like it not one bit.
Payton couldn't stand to have to see Mason go through that again, it had gone on too long under her nose. Now she knew what it was really like, she had to do something about it and change his life for the better.
Stepping closer to him, she took hold of his hand's and gave them a light squeeze, trying to reassure him that she was there for him, "Maybe, just maybe, instead of looking for this moon stone to remove my vampirism, we should be looking for it for you, so you don't have to go through this every month."
Mason glanced down at her in disbelief, like she was crazy or stupid for thinking of such an idea, "Wait?" he scoffed, shaking his head and pulling his hands away from her, "What?"
"C'mon! It's not that bad of an idea. You need this cure, this freedom, this chance of a life away from all of this so much more than me. You lose control. You can't stop yourself, Mason. You go through hell and back. It's really not worth it. You have the chance here to put a stop to that and I'm not going to be the reason you don't." Payton tried to persuade him that this was the right thing to do.
But Mason wasn't having none of it. He didn't want the moonstone for himself. Sure a life without having to transform every month under a full moon would be one he could only ever dream about. But he could cope with it. He had already. Payton was the one who needed it more than him.
"No. No way," Mason shook his head, slightly irritated, "We're getting this stone for you, Payton. Not me. I can cope just fine with this. I don't need to cure myself."
"Really?" Payton crossed her arms and a frown formed in the middle of her forehead, annoyed too by the way he was behaving, "I beg to differ, Mason. I saw you tonight, for the first time in over a year. You call that coping? You wolfed out under no control and nearly killed Caroline."
"Don't you think I already know that, Payton?" Mason spat back at her, "I know I could have. But I didn't. I'm fine. Everyone's fine," he sighed, running his hands over his face in distress,
He had so much to worry and sort out. Arguing with Payton wasn't something either of them needed after what had gone on tonight. It was stupid.
"Listen. It's only because of Tyler. If he hadn't of been in the cellar, I would have had somewhere to go and stay through the transformation. Just like back home, I always have somewhere to go and I'm fine."
Payton rubbed her lips together, lowering her head to the ground slightly, unsure of how to respond to that. She couldn't keep going on, because she knew Mason would just get annoyed at her and wouldn't let her try persuade him otherwise. But Payton really wanted him to reconsider the reason they were getting the stone.
In theory, he needed it so much more than she did. She could manage. She could control the thirst and the cravings. It was something she could work at and become good at managing.
But Mason was never going to be able to manage his own monster inside of him. It just wasn't obtainable in Payton's eyes, just as much as she wanted to believe in him, that he would really be ok. She just couldn't after what she saw tonight.
Seeing her expression, Mason stepped forward and cupped her face in his hands, "We're both going to be fine. We'll get you the moonstone, Payton. Forget about me. You're the one who need's saving and your humanity back. Please don't argue with me on this. It's done. We already made the plan."
Looking at him, she couldn't help but feel defeated by this, it was a sensitive topic for both of them to talk about, the monsters that had consumed them, whether it was genetically or transmitted, it wasn't something either of them had much choice over.
But right now, instead of arguing and changing their plan, they needed to focus on the task at hand and keep together. They still had to find the stone and get out of there, away from Katherine and Isobel, to go and find the freedom for Payton that Mason truly believed she deserved.
"I know. You're right." She muttered back to him, sending a small smile his way, that he instantly returned.
"Aren't I always?" He said confidently, causing Payton to shove him away from her playfully, before Mason pulled her back into him and kissed the top of her forehead, both of them trying to hold off from laughing.
Looking up at him, with her arms around his neck and their bodies close together, Payton asked "Are you sure you're going to be ok?"
"I'll be fine, Payton. It's over with now. I just have to deal with Tyler and get that stone. Then we'll be out of here." He answered her.
"Ok," She nodded agreeing with him, "But what about Stefan?"
"What about him?"
"Well, there's still that threat there. Plus I think he realised too that the wolf was you tonight." Payton told him.
Mason sighed, running his arms up her back softly, "I know. But we'll deal with it. Just relax, baby."
Smiling up at him lightly, she decided to step away from that subject and think of the best thing she could that would make her feel good "So what about that night together then?"
Mason looked back at her, unsure of how to break it to her that he wasn't going to be able to spend the rest of the night with her, "I can't, Payton. I'm sorry. I have to go deal with Tyler. I can't leave him in the lurch any more. He deserves to know the full story."
Nodding understandingly, Payton pulled away from him and got her phone out of her pocket, checking over the time and wondering whether her Dad would be back yet, "I should probably get going then. Hopefully my Dad will be home."
"Oh yeah, do you want me to drop you off on the way?" Mason asked, feeling bad for letting her down and the least he could do was offer to spend a little more time with each other.
"I think I'll walk. Clear my head." She answered simply.
Mason looked back at her unsure, but nodded anyway and went over to the truck to get inside. Payton watched him as he did, wanting nothing more to go with him and be with him for the rest of her night.
But she had to be with her Dad. Mason had to be with Tyler.
He hated having to look back at her and drive away. But if she wasn't reaching out to him and wanted to be alone, then he would let her be, he knew there was no pushing her. She was far too stubborn for that.
"I'll call you, yeah?" Mason suggested, turning to look over his shoulder at Payton, stood on the side of the car, ready to hop inside.
But he couldn't help but turn back, one last time for a glance at his girlfriend.
"Yeah," Payton mustered up a smile for Mason's sake, "You better."
Returning the gesture, Mason jumped into the truck and got into the drivers seat, more at ease about driving off without her. Payton continued to watch him, not wanting him to go, but knowing it was for the best for both of them and the plan.
They had to go be with their family.
Before Mason had the chance to slam the door shut, Payton stepped forward quickly, calling his name, like it was the last chance she'd get "Mason!"
Looking back out at her stood there, he searched her for confirmation to what she was going to say, although he knew full well what she was going to say next, "Be careful?" She blinked back in surprise, a light smile forming on her face, just like Mason's was as his girlfriend nodded back at him, "I know."
Beaming back at each other one last time, Mason closed the door of his truck up and started up the engine, whilst Payton began her walk back to her Dad's apartment. She hoped that the walk would do her good, help clear her head and get over what happened tonight.
But she knew she needed something a lot stronger than just the fresh air. It wasn't enough for her. Not any more it wasn't. Vampire Payton craved more than just a breeze in the air to help soothe her anxiety. She needed to cure the thirst that was slowly consuming her body since her stress levels had risen.
Now it was Payton's turn for the monster inside of her to push out.
Pulling the key that she had got from under the plant pot earlier that day, she got it out of her jacket pocket and placed it in the lock, before she turned it and wondered inside to a quiet apartment.
Just like when Payton had returned that morning, Alaric was nowhere to be in sight again and the instant worry crept back on her, her first thought being that something had happened to him at Duke and he wasn't going to be coming back.
She knew she couldn't think like that. Payton hated how anxious she had been ever since she had turned. She had never been a worrier before all of this, but it was all she ever did now and she hated it. It was like her mind wouldn't shut up about all the terrible and awful things that could happen to her and the people she loved.
Deep down, she knew and hoped her Dad would be alright. He seemed pretty tough and if he was a hunter, then he surely must have some skill to be able to slay the species. Just because he wasn't home now, didn't mean he wouldn't ever return, he could still be on the road or grabbing them a surprise take out.
Shrugging off her jacket, she tossed it over to the couch, before Payton wondered over to her bag to retrieve the one object she had been craving ever since the walk over here.
Since her Dad wasn't back yet and it seemed unlucky he would be any time soon, she felt like now was the perfect time to have her proper first drink of the day. The animal blood earlier had only been a minor subside of the real drink she was craving, it gave her a buzz, made her feel stronger and confident.
Without it, she felt like a crumbling mess, but it was the whole reason she craved more and more of it. She knew with every intake of it, the cravings would get worse and so would her lack of control.
Ripping open the bag, she brought the plastic up to her lips and began to squeeze out the contents into her mouth. It was warm due to not having been stored properly and it meant that the taste was slightly off, but it still felt just as good as it usually did.
She hated how good it tasted. She hated how good it made her feel during and afterwards. She hated how with every drop that entered her body, the more she wanted to drink human blood. She hated how much she enjoyed it.
And she especially hated how with the more stressed she got, the more she reached out for it and how taking it to heal herself quicker, meant that she was now becoming obsessed with at least having one bag a day.
Before coming to the Falls, she wouldn't even dear to drink a blood bag that had come from a human vein. She'd feel disgusted at herself for what she was doing, even if she hadn't harmed anyone in the processes. Instead she had gone for animal blood, which was a hard job to find in Florida, but she managed to get by.
Until they came here. Until they came to Mystic Falls. Until Payton forced herself to drink from blood bags to heal her wound, to make her stronger and to prepare herself for any danger. Now the thing healing her, was also the thing that was causing these horrific cravings.
But this bag was the last of it. The last of her supply. She could put a stop to her awful actions after tonight's consumption. Payton would go back to hunting in the woods for the rest of her time here and by the time she got back to Florida, she hoped her life would be free of this horrible curse.
Finishing off the bag, she stuffed it back inside her duffel and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, before going over to the sink in the kitchen to rinse away the blood.
The excitement and thrill she was feeling from fulfilling her thirst was still very much present in her body. Her eyes had slowly started to return back to normal and the rush to her head was also easing off, just like her breathing, that was slowing down and going back to a normal pace.
Just as she had turned off the tap and grabbed a towel to dry her hands, there was a loud knock at the door. Payton's forehead frowned slightly in curiosity at whom it could have been.
Her first theory was her Dad. The knock was loud, which stereotypically guy's had a loud hard knock, so the description matched her Dad well. Also he lived here too, so she presumed he might have forgot his key and now because she had took the spare one, he had locked himself, with no way of getting in now.
If he had locked himself out, it would have been a very amusing situation for Payton to have to deal with.
Laying the towel back down after drying her hands, she wondered over to the door and pulled it open, her eyes widening slightly when she saw who it was behind it and she could feel herself going to shove the door back closed.
Before Payton got the chance to do just that, the person stepped forward slightly and leant their hand against the side of the door frame, motioning for Payton not to close the door just yet, because if she did Payton knew what the consequence would be.
The young brunette woman, with dark eyes and olive skin stared back at her, the mischievous smirk that Payton had grown to dislike present on her face, her usual attire of black skinny jeans, a tight fitted tank top and a black jacket skimmed her body, whilst her dark curly hair hung low down her front.
How wrong could she have been about her theory? How stupid of her to just presume when everything that was going on, was still very much happening and she was acting so naive about it all.
"Katherine." Payton muttered under her breathe, but it was loud enough for the other vampire to hear her clearly.
Payton hadn't seen the woman since last week, since the accident, where Payton had nearly passed out from the blood lost due to her weak body from the animal drinking, the whole reason Payton had took days to heal and her body had been so exhausted, until she had started drinking proper human blood again and her cravings had kicked in.
She should have been scared of Katherine. But for some reason tonight, she just didn't feel that way about her any more. The fear was gone. Instead it was replaced with this rage. A rage that would so get in her trouble.
"Hey sweetie," The woman chimed back ever so sweetly, "Long time no see. It's good to see that you're settling in well in the Falls," Katherine's eyes rolled over to the living space behind Payton's back, causing Payton's hand to clench tighter on the door, "what a lovely little space this is. May I come in?"
Payton found herself smirking slightly, finally realising that she had one over Katherine this time, she could try take lead and not be a lap dog, "I hate to break it to you, Katherine, but I don't own this place. So I'm sorry, but I can't invite you in."
"Oh that is a shame," Katherine sulked jokingly, "I guess you'll have to talk to me out here then."
Grabbing hold of the door from Payton's grip, Katherine yanked the door toward's her and as doing so pulled Payton along with it, causing the younger vampire to fall forward and out the door into Katherine's spot outside the door, the strength of the older vampire winning over the newbie.
Payton steady herself up right on the ground after being dragged out of her Dad's apartment, a frustrated expression formed on her face and she could feel her body flood with adrenaline, the last time she had been around Katherine, Payton had really lost it with her and she was beginning to think that was going to happen again.
But this time she had her strength on her side. All the human blood she had been consuming over the past week would surely give her more of a chance than last time. But who was she kidding, Katherine had just pulled her out of her Dad's apartment with such ease.
Payton was hopeless.
"What are you doing here, Katherine?" Payton demanded some answers as to why she had turned up on her Dad's door step, when he could return any time soon and wonder what the hell was going on, "We haven't found the stone yet, so I have no idea why you're here."
"Just dropping in for an update," Katherine smirked back, leaning her body up against the wall behind her and folding her arms across her chest, "not to worry though, Mason will find it soon and when he does, everything will fall into place."
"Great," Payton flashed her a fake smile, stepping backwards and heading towards the inside of the apartment, "Now you know, you can leave."
"Not so fast," Katherine stopped Payton in her tracks, "I need one thing from you."
Payton felt herself sighing loudly, copying Katherine's body language and folding her own arms crossly, "Haven't you took away enough already? What else could you possible need?"
"Oh c'mon sweetie," Katherine replied playfully, "I gave you and Mason the chance to be together forever, isn't that a great thing?"
"Not when we have to put ourselves through crap everyday," Payton shot back sharply, "including putting up with you," Katherine' smirk grew bigger, loving how she was inflicting so much anger on Payton, she loved a good cat fight and she had been wanting to take on the girl ever since the last, "This isn't part of the deal, Katherine. I'm not doing anything else for you."
Payton went to turn around to walk away and head back inside, but Katherine grabbed hold of her wrist and spun her back towards her, "Please, just one more thing, until you find the moonstone, then you never have to see me again."
Katherine stared hard into's Payton's eyes, just like the younger girl did back to her. Both of them not wanting to break the contact in case the other tried to attack. Katherine hoping Payton would follow through with her plan. Whilst Payton was trying so hard to think of a way out of this.
But if Katherine was keeping her word and it meant if she didn't have to see her ever again, then Payton would follow through with it for her's and Mason's sake. Who know's what Katherine would do to Payton if she refused to go through with Katherine's plan's. Plus she needed Katherine to go before her Dad got back and this seemed like the only way.
"Fine," Payton sighed, getting Katherine to release her hand off her, "What is it?"
Author note: Part 10 already! Crazy or what?
I hope you guys enjoyed reading this part. It was a little shorter than the others, but so much drama is planned, so I hope the future chapters will keep you on your toes. I really am enjoying writing this. It's so much fun.
Special thank you to WickedlyMinx, Nirvana and the guest for reviewing the last part. I love seeing your reviews and it makes me happy to know you're enjoying it. I am working on the formatting guest. I am so so so sorry for your difficulties :(
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this part and any theories/ideas you might have.
Many thanks,
guiltypleasurexo