Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.
Warning: This is intended for a mature and broad-minded audience due to my writing style, which tends to have a dark undertone.
A/N: I'm sorry for the delay! My laptop is broken, so I've had difficulty typing this chapter.
Chapter Twelve
"Come on, Nik, I was only to having a bit of fun," complained Kol, annoyed by the fact that his teasing had been cut short.
"What does Rebekah want?" quickly demanded Klaus, ignoring his complaint.
"I'm assuming to speak to her victim here about ditching her," replied Kol, his eyes gleaming mischievously.
Stefan let out a strangled expletive, causing both Originals to stare in his direction, suddenly recalling how he was supposed to have had a farewell dinner with Rebekah before she went back home, but due to Tyler's absence he hadn't been able to take his usual, extended break.
He had been so preoccupied by Caroline's weird behavior that he neglected to call her to cancel their plans for the evening.
He was about to ask for further details concerning Rebekah, but the atmosphere in the room changed.
Kol's jolliness faded and an evil, calculative glint settled in his eyes.
"She just wants to speak to Stefan for leaving her hanging at dinner," he restated in a distant tone, no longer paying attention to the enforcers, his concentration fully on Caroline.
Slowly he moved forward, approaching the form dangling on his brother's arm.
Klaus tried to shift his body to hide her, but Kol was not deterred.
His brother's reluctance to share the identity of the human only further piqued his interest.
He had taken a mere three steps in Klaus' direction, but was stopped by Stefan's hand grabbing the back of his shirt.
"Keep Rebekah company for a moment longer," suggested Klaus, still trying to dissuade him to no avail.
"Caroline," breathed Kol, with a fanged, twisted smile tugging his lips.
Stefan's body imperceptibly stilled, not liking the way Kol's demeanor changed. Tension and a frisson of alarm gripped his body when he realized Caroline was now the target of his concentration.
Both Kol and Klaus were sadistic, but Kol lacked the twisted code of honor that Klaus adhered to.
He idly wondered how Caroline managed to cross paths with not one, but two dangerous, ancient predators.
Out of all the Mikaelson siblings she could have caught the eye of, she unluckily managed to catch the eye of the two most unpredictable, violent ones.
As the reality of the situation sank in, Stefan found himself uneasily conscious of how much danger Caroline was in.
If Kol was determined, he could kill her. No one would truly be able to oppose him, including himself, the only one capable of stopping him would be Klaus, but he wasn't sure if Klaus was willing to trouble himself with playing the savior role for a human, much less a pet, regardless of how loosely applicable that term was to Caroline.
It was one thing for Klaus to tolerate his connection to Caroline, but it was another thing for him to actually defend or encourage that bond.
He had vowed not to kill her, but he had said nothing about discouraging others to finish the deed he was now unable to complete.
In fact, if he was honest with himself, Stefan had to admit that his own strength and age would ultimately be inconsequential if Klaus decided to break his promise, but he had never known Klaus to go back on his word.
At least if Kol decided to attack Caroline, he might get the chance to get in enough hits to discourage him, but it was unlikely, unless luck was on his side.
If tonight's events were anything to go by, luck was certainly not on his side.
The more he considered that, the more apprehensive he grew.
"She's a pet," he warned, growing tired of Kol's blatant staring. He was looking at Caroline as if she were a slab of meat.
"Is she?" Kol challenged, looking her body over for any type of jewelry or tattoos indicating as such.
There was nothing visible to indicate she was claimed.
Stefan was about to point to her wrist, when he noticed that she wasn't wearing the bracelet he had gifted her.
He made a quick, inconspicuous search on the floor.
It was nowhere in sight.
He looked up to find Klaus staring intently at her small wrists.
"Now, who would leave a pet unmarked?" continued Kol, oblivious of the tension he was producing in the room.
"Unless she had a tattoo where the sun doesn't-"
A frustrated snarl escaped Stefan, effectively ending Kol's lewd comments.
He didn't have the time nor had energy to deal with him, knowing full well Kol already convinced himself that Caroline was not a pet, and was therefore considered fair game.
"She's mine," he finally admitted on a resigned, weary breath.
As soon as the words lift his lips, he could feel the metaphorical sand-filled hour glass pouring, every second shortening the window of time he had to tell Rebekah the truth.
Kol and Rebekah were close, much closer than Klaus and Rebekah were.
There was no reason why Kol would refrain from telling Rebekah about his little secret.
The only reason he withheld from alerting Rebekah of Caroline was because he didn't trust Rebekah not to fly into a jealous, violent rage.
Not that he could blame her, if the roles were reversed he highly doubted he wouldn't do the same. That's why he was slowly trying to ease Rebekah into it, making sure his friendship with Caroline wouldn't be misconstrued as something else.
. . .
As Stefan's declaration sank in, Kol's fangs receded, and once comprehension struck his shocked gaze alternated between the two enforcers, seeking clarification.
"What?" he finally asked.
"It's complicated," answered Stefan.
"She doesn't know," added Klaus.
"Hold on," answered a perplexed Kol, holding up a hand and locking eyes with Stefan, "You have a pet?"
Stefan had barely finished nodding in confirmation when Kol unexpectedly threw his head back and laughed.
Klaus' jaw hardened, his eyes narrowing at Kol slapping his knee and roaring with laughter.
His laughter grew louder and louder until Stefan roughly grabbed his throat, and leant forward within inches of his amused face, scowling darkly.
"What's so funny?" he demanded, tightening his fingers in additional, silent warning.
Still chuckling even with Stefan's hand digging into his unprotected throat, Kol unflinchingly met his eyes, and hoarsely mimicked, "'I'll never understand the allure of owning a human. It's unethical, and degrading.'"
The reminder, especially in jest, of his stance on human pets darkened Stefan's mood even further. He was already aware of the hypocrisy of his action, he didn't need Kol throwing his own words in his face to remind him of that.
Kol's lips twitched as he tried and failed at suppressing an amused grin.
Stefan issued a soft, threatening growl in response, abruptly releasing him, putting distance between them to try to temper his own rising agitation.
Where had his voice of reason gone? Kol was openly baiting him and he was falling for it.
"Oh, come on, it's funny," insisted a coughing Kol, not bothered in the least by the anger and frustration radiating off of the green-eyed enforcer.
He then shifted his attention to Klaus.
"What doesn't she know?" he asked, suddenly remembering his brother's earlier vague words, his hungry eyes briefly focusing on Caroline before settling on his Klaus' annoyed face.
"Not her. Rebekah. Rebekah doesn't know about Caroline," grimly answered Stefan, running a tired hand over his face.
Rebekah was most likely waiting for him in his office. He knew she hated waiting, and lately they'd been arguing a lot. Leaving her hanging at the restaurant without even so much as an explanatory call was not going to inspire patience and understanding on her part.
He knew he was running out of time, every second he spent here attempting to explain the complicated situation to Kol increased the probability of Rebekah seeking him out on her own and making a scene.
Right now, that was the last thing he needed. His top priority was to get Caroline as far away as he could from the Mikaelson siblings, especially from Kol.
Her safety was paramount.
Although he had always trusted Klaus, Kol was too unrestrained and wild for him to trust.
Ironically, he was going to have to leave Caroline with both of the Originals in order to deal with Rebekah.
He was sure that the more he kept Rebekah waiting, the less receptive she would be to his apology.
Ideally, he would have liked for Kol to leave, but he knew him well enough to know he wouldn't leave, especially with the amount of interest he had shown in Caroline.
He was suddenly grateful for Klaus' presence, if it weren't for him he suspected Caroline would had already been added to Kol's long list of victims.
There was nothing he would have been able to do about it, either, not without having to earnestly fight Kol.
"Rebekah doesn't know?" Kol repeated to Klaus, a menace in his tone, and in his dark expression.
Kol's jovial mood suddenly vanished.
His sister was jealous and possessive, there was no way she would tolerate Stefan having a pet. Earlier he had been too amused to notice how this 'pet' implicated Stefan. Anger bubbled in his chest. He had gotten too carried away in his own merriment, ignoring the reality of the situation.
"No, and it's not what you think," answered Klaus, already predicting what Kol was thinking regarding Stefan's fidelity toward their sister, practically seeing the gears turning over in his head.
After all, he had assumed the same.
"I'll go see to Rebekah. Explain the situation to him, and keep her safe," announced Stefan, making his way to the door after Klaus nodded in confirmation, only to be blocked by Kol's angry body.
"Not so fast," spat Kol, his eyes clashing with Stefan's green ones defiantly.
"Move, or I'll move you myself," warned Stefan, his stance as equally as challenging as Kol's, but his eyes held a deadly glint that Kol's eyes were missing.
Kol merely raised an eyebrow at his murderously angry face, making a sound that suspiciously sounded like a snort.
Stefan flashed his fangs, expelling a breath of air in a slow, venomous hiss.
It was a fierce warning that would have intimidated the strongest and bravest of vampires, even if they were unaware of his infamous ripper reputation, but it had the opposite effect on Kol.
Stefan realized his mistake the instant he saw Kol's eyes brighten with excitement.
He wanted to fight.
Klaus resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his brother. Kol never backed down from a fight, despite the odds against him. The only reason he was fearless against any opponent was because he was an Original, and his power always gave him the upper-hand in any fight, thus resulting in his undefeated status. However, Stefan wasn't a pathetic human or a lesser vampire, he was an enforcer, one who had proven himself in battle many times over.
Whenever he fought Kol, he was always able to outpace and overwhelm him, and Stefan's fighting style was similar to his own.
He, too, relied more on stealth, and skill, while Kol's fighting style was less refined and frenzied.
Kol had power, and Stefan had experience.
While Kol's sheer power may give him an edge over Stefan, there was no doubt in Klaus' mind that Kol would not walk away unscathed like he was used to doing in other fights
In fact, the more he thought about, the more his own curiosity grew.
Who would win?
He was tempted to let them have at it just to satisfy his morbid curiosity, but he realized that the longer it took for Stefan to deal with Rebekah, the longer he'd be forced to play babysitter to the unconscious human.
Readjusting the girl's body on his arm, he made up his mind.
"Let him go," he firmly ordered, his tone leaving no room for discussion or argument.
Kol begrudgingly stepped aside, allowing Stefan to exit.
"Keep her safe, Klaus," reiterated Stefan throwing an ominous look at Kol before he closed and locked the door behind him.
. . .
"You knew about this?" questioned Kol, turning his anger on him.
"I didn't, not until tonight," he replied, unperturbed.
"I'll kill him," vowed Kol, beginning to pace.
"You won't," he answered
"I will," retaliated Kol.
A moment of silence passed, only Kol's heavy, agitated steps filling the room.
"Do you remember the Monterey Massacre?" he asked.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Kol bit out impatiently, confused by the abrupt question.
Klaus didn't bother answering him, merely remaining silent, waiting for a reply.
"I remember," admitted his agitated brother.
"There was a survivor. A boy," he explained, gauging Kol's reaction to see if he did truly remember.
"Yes, yes," impatiently agreed Kol.
"She's his descendant" he revealed, enjoying how his brother's steps abruptly paused.
"Why turn his descendant into a pet?" questioned Kol, not understanding why the girl's ancestry was of any relevant importance.
"He's only keeping her as a pet for protection, to keep her safe," he rebutted.
"Safe?" echoed Kol.
"That's what I said," he affirmed, slightly irritated by Kol's habitual practice of echoing his words.
"He isn't feeding off of her or fucking her, then?" wondered Kol, a perplexed look on his face.
"No," Klaus responded.
Kol would have asked if he truly believed that, but his lycanthropic ability to detect lies rendered that question useless. In addition to that, he erroneously believed his brother wasn't above compelling Stefan to get what he wanted.
"So, she's important to him," he concluded, taking determined steps toward Caroline, his incisors already drawn, prominent veins darkening underneath his hungry eyes that were swirling with red.
A thunderous roar protesting his movements tore from Klaus' throat, his own fangs exploding from his gums, lengthening dangerously along with his claws, before he even realized what he was doing.
He felt the beast inside of him rising, fast and aggressive, at the thought of his brother killing the mortal, especially after he had bothered to explain her presence. Kol was now aware of how much she mattered to Stefan, yet still was persistent in seeking her death, even going as far as making an attempt on her life while she was unconscious only to gratify a petty revenge against Stefan.
Humans were lowly creatures, Klaus would never argue against that, but killing a sentient creature while it was defenseless was beneath him, and the fact that it seemingly wasn't beneath his brother angered him.
Kol's inability to understand what it was that prompted Stefan to ensure the human girl's safety only served to further aggravate him.
It shouldn't have bothered him, given how his own code of honor was hardly intact after long centuries of spilling blood and earning his feared, dark reputation, but it did.
With tremendous willpower he willed his body to calm down, trying get his mind out of the 'kill and destroy' mode it seemed to be stuck on.
Taking a calming breath, he felt his fangs and talons recede, leaving blunt, deceptively 'human' teeth and nails in their place.
If Kol couldn't comprehend the gravity of the situation, then he would have to make him understand using any means that suited him.
"If you touch her or prattle about her to our dear sister, I might be inclined to give your little witch friend a visit," he taunted, a smile in his voice, thankful for his brother's weakness for a particular witch.
She was the perfect leverage he needed.
Despite his smile, it was a warning and Kol recognized it as such.
"Come to think of it, it's been a while since I last saw her-"
"No need for threats, brother," interrupted Kol.
Klaus smiled, knowing that threats were an absolute necessity when dealing with Kol.
. . .
Stefan had barely finished kissing Rebekah goodbye when she suddenly waved behind him.
He turned to see Kol approaching them.
He mentally braced himself for what Kol was about to say, but to his complete surprise, Kol merely greeted Rebekah and informed her he was leaving with her.
As the duo began walking away, Kol turned with a smirk on his face, and said, "By the way, mate, my brother left a few minutes ago."
Stefan didn't understand the underlying taunt in Kol's sardonic voice, but once he made his way back to the 'employee only' restroom he understood perfectly.
Klaus was, in fact, gone, and so was Caroline.
A/N: I hope you liked it! Review! Also, I'm sorry for the delay. My laptop is broken, and it's difficult for me to write in public places. Thank so much for the support. You're all so lovely.
