A/N: I apologize for not updating last week or over the weekend. My computer's giving me trouble, and it was very hard to edit. But I'm at work right now (shhh), so I did it without a hitch.

Enjoy!

Part 13: The Alpha

Bonnie stayed in his embrace until she got her mind back to the place where none of it mattered. She squashed down her disappointment because it wasn't going to get her anywhere.

"You need to go," she said quietly. She lifted herself off his chest. "You have a big day tomorrow."

Tyler rubbed her back as she straightened. He took her hand, and she brought herself closer and wrapped her other hand around his bicep, and she walked him to his car. When they got around to the driver's side, Tyler pulled her into a hug.

Bonnie smiled and closed her eyes. When he ended the hug, she slid her arms around his torso and laid her head on his chest. She wanted him to stay. She wanted to walk in the house with him, take him to her bedroom, and fall asleep as the little spoon to his big spoon.

And that's when she remembered that he was going to do that with Caroline tonight. Caroline was going to be his little spoon.

She opened her eyes and ended the hug.

"There's something you should know about April," he began. "When you're getting the information out of her tomorrow, maybe you can ask her something about Silas, too. I was listening in the gym earlier when you were talking to her. She got nervous when you asked her if she really believed Silas could bring her dad back. I think she might be having regular contact with this Guy."

"He used her father; maybe He's trying to use her, too," she reasoned.

"You think He's gonna kill her?"

"I don't know. But I think April might be part of whatever He started with her father. I think He was in contact with pastor Young, too. Maybe He promised April he'd bring him back to life because that's the same thing He promised pastor Young. The question is: what is April supposed to do for Him in return?"

"Kill twelve people?" Tyler guessed.

Bonnie gave him a look. It was hard to imagine April being charismatic enough to gather twelve people for a slaughter.

"I'll ask when she's under tomorrow," she said.

Tyler nodded. "There's something else." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. He wished he didn't have to ask this now. "I know we've got this Klaus thing in the bag. But I need to prepare for any push back, especially with Rebekah waking up on Monday and his brother Elijah. I need to protect my mom. I was wondering if you could do for her what your family's done for your dad, or maybe hide her in your house or something."

"Hide her until we kill Elijah?" she asked, amused. "I think a protection spell would be best."

"You have a lot more to do, and you just got your powers back."

"I can ask Lucy to help me," she said with a small smile.

He nodded.

"I'll be fine. It'll all be fine."

Tyler sighed and pulled her close again. Bonnie couldn't help closing her eyes.

"Good night," he bid.

"Good night."

He opened the car door and got in.

"Oh, you're forgetting your jacket," she said, and she started to take it off.

"Keep it. I want you to keep it."

She smiled and pulled it closed in front of her.

He turned on the car and told her to go inside. Bonnie walked to the door and looked back. She smiled and then turned around and entered the house. When she heard him drive away, she leaned against the door and sighed in contentment.

Tyler knew something was wrong as soon as he pulled up in front of his house. There was an extra car and closer inspection had him running to the front door.

He jammed his key in, but it was already unlocked.

"Klaus!" he yelled as he walked inside. "Klaus!"

"We're in here, Tyler," Klaus called out.

Tyler cautioned himself not to rush, not to run. Klaus could be here for any number of reasons.

The thought died a swift death when he walked into the sitting room and saw his mother and Caroline sitting in two separate straight-backed chairs from the dinning room, with Klaus standing behind them.

"Your mother and I were debating whether or not I should call you," he said conversationally.

"You need to leave now, Tyler; he has a sword," Carol said.

"Oh, don't worry. I planned to show him," Klaus said as he lifted the Hunter's sword.

Tyler's palms prickled with nervous energy. "What is this about, Klaus?"

"Where were you on the day Bonnie stole this sword from my unit?"

"Nowhere near it."

"That's funny. I went to it today a little after Bonnie left my house, and I racked my brain. I then remembered that you are the only person in the group who knows of its existence. Stefan doesn't even know. And Bonnie didn't say anything about the trap I set in there. Do you care to comment?"

"I wasn't there, Klaus. I didn't know your sword was missing. In case you haven't been paying attention, I don't talk to that group. Outside of Caroline."

"Perfect. That's a perfect word choice: group. That's the main reason I'm here. Because you have been speaking to a group, haven't you?"

"Get to it, Klaus."

"I received a very interesting phone call from our dearly departed Hayley's contact."

That was all he said before he forced the sword through the back of the chair and through Carol's spinal column.

"No!" Tyler rushed him amid Caroline's exclamation.

Klaus left the sword in Carol and grabbed Tyler by the throat and threw him on the ground. "Please tell me more about the insurrection you've been planning against me," he hissed.

Tyler shifted, and Klaus' face went blank when the younger Hybrid's neck expanded under his palm. Tyler's growl sounded different in the Original's ears yet familiar at the same time. He then saw the detail in Tyler's eyes.

"You're an Alpha," he murmured. "How?!"

Tyler ripped Klaus' wrist off of his neck and grabbed his throat. He propelled himself off the floor and flipped Klaus onto his back, and he proceeded to pummel him into unconsciousness, his furious blows smashing through bones.

Caroline frantically pulled the sword out of Carol and bit her wrist. "Drink! Drink it, drink it!"

Klaus unsheathed his claws and ripped his way down Tyler's upper arms and threw him off. He shed his coat and let Tyler take a good look at his eyes.

Tyler was staring at another Alpha.

"I'm going to slaughter everyone you've ever met," Klaus promised. "Starting with the one who made you."

He sped over and shoved Caroline out of the way, but he was flung into the adjoining living room before he could do anything to Carol.

"Caroline, come on!" Bonnie urged.

"I can't! She's not healed yet!" Caroline bit her wrist again and fed Carol.

Lucy rushed to Carol's side, and Bonnie said, "We need to seal him in!" She turned around and ran out of the room.

Tyler suffered under Klaus' fury. Klaus was going to beat him to death. He was Klaus' first, his success, the symbol that he was going to build something bigger and better than his father could've ever imagined. Tyler had been his first second-in-command, before he'd broken his bond. He'd been his second chance at carving out the family that he wanted, the family who would always be there for him and put him first. And now this same family was trying to wipe him off the earth. He was going to make sure that no one remembered Tyler Lockwood.

"I should've killed you the moment you broke your bond!" he screamed.

"Fuck you." Tyler spat blood on his face and then streaked it with his claws. When Klaus slapped his hand away, Tyler lifted up and bit his neck, forced his canines and fangs closed over the skin and attempted to rip it off.

Klaus' growl was so loud that the two Hybrids who remained sired to him were alerted.

Tyler flipped their position and let go. Klaus was more than human. Ripping his skin out wasn't going to be easy. He stood and smashed his foot down on his face.

"Tyler, the knife!" Bonnie yelled as she stopped in the entrance of the room from the sitting room.

Tyler sped over, grabbed it from her hand, sped back, and jammed the knife in Klaus' stomach, right above his belly button. Klaus screamed and grabbed Tyler's wrist. Tyler twisted the knife for good measure. He pulled it out and jammed in again.

Lucy ran up next to Bonnie. "Are we ready?"

"We need to seal him in here," Bonnie repeated.

"I know," Lucy said,

Klaus knocked the knife out of Tyler's hand and regained the upper hand.

"We need an element," Bonnie said hurriedly. She made for the kitchen, but Lucy grabbed her.

"We have it. Plasma, the fifth element." She held up the knife that she'd grabbed from the kitchen and cut the fleshy part of her palm. She smeared it on the door frame next to her.

"I've never done it like this," Bonnie said as her body grew hot with dread over what Klaus was doing to Tyler. Klaus threw him over one of the couches, and he smashed into one of the family's sculptures.

"Mention the blood," Lucy said. "It's just like any other element. I call on Bennett blood or by the power of this blood-"

Bonnie didn't need to hear anything more. Her synapses fired off, and she chanted. "Ego vero in potentia ad signa sanguine Bennett Klaus Mikaelson in quattuor angulis cella, suus 'a nunc usque modo! Phasmatos salvis! Tyler, get out!"

Tyler pushed Klaus off of him and dove for the knife. He threw himself out of the room and into the foyer and fell on the floor. Klaus ran for him and smacked into the barrier, his face still as bloody as Tyler's arms.

Bonnie and Lucy ran around to the foyer and Bonnie dropped to her knees. She lifted Tyler's head onto her thighs. "It's okay. You're safe now."

"My mom," he said deliriously, his eyes swollen half shut. "Where is she?"

"She's healing slowly," Lucy responded, and she ran back to the sitting room.

"You're going to heal," Bonnie said, her arms shaking. "You're going to be fine. She's going to be fine. Everything's gonna be fine. You're gonna be okay."

She spoke over the threats that Klaus was screaming at Tyler as he tried to smash his way out of the sitting room's two exits.

Tyler turned and buried his swollen face into Bonnie's crotch and grabbed at her back. Bonnie lifted his head to her chest and held him close.

"It's okay," she soothed, wanting to calm herself down as much as she wanted to reassure him. "It's okay. It's over. We got it. I'm sorry," she apologized, warm tears swelling in her eyes. "I tried to get here as soon as I could. I'm sorry."

"You're here," Tyler mumbled.

She moved his head back so that she could look at his face. "You're not healing. Why aren't you healing?"

"It's," Tyler tried.

"Klaus is half werewolf," Lucy said as she walked back to the foyer. "As much aggression, anger, and violence as I see here, he might be an Alpha. If he is, anywhere he scratched him will take a while to heal."

"Tyler's an Alpha, too," Bonnie informed her.

"Then let's hope he got Klaus, too. From the look of his face, I think he did," she said as she looked at Klaus. "Being an Alpha doesn't speed up the healing process when it's another Alpha hurting you, unfortunately."

Bonnie touched her forehead to Tyler's and shook.

Lucy went back to the sitting room to supervise Carol's healing. When Carol was strong enough to stand, Lucy grabbed the sword and followed behind her and Caroline to join Bonnie and Tyler in the foyer.

"Tyler!" Carol called out when she saw him lying on Bonnie. She stumbled to him and fell to the floor.

"Be careful," Caroline cautioned. Klaus had pierced a vital part of her body.

"Tyler," she cried.

"Mom."

Carol gently took his head from Bonnie and held him.

"It's okay. I'll be okay," he mumbled.

"I'm gonna make a care package or something," Caroline said, desperately needing to move around. "They're not gonna sleep here, right?"

"No way," Carol answered.

"I'll pack some clothes," she said. She left them and avoided looking at Klaus on her way to the stairs.

"I'll help," Bonnie said as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

Tyler's car had a bigger back seat, so Caroline and Lucy took it so that Carol could lie on her side. Bonnie and Tyler got in Carol's Mercedes, with Bonnie at the wheel.

The Lockwoods were going to stay in Caroline's house. Tyler had mumbled that Klaus has an invitation there. Caroline had double checked with Bonnie that the seal would hold, and the matter had been settled.

Bonnie wanted them in her house, but it was already filled to capacity with Lucy and Abby, so she let it go.

"I really wish you were coming with me," she said as she followed behind Caroline with both hands on the wheel.

"I still can, but...I don't wanna leave my mom alone. She'd never sleep. I can be there tomorrow." It was a little easier for him to speak now.

"The seal is only up until this time tomorrow night, so you should be able to sleep in your own bed soon."

She looked over at his arms. It was dark inside of the car, but she knew that they were still messed up. His face was getting better. She had dabbed some of the blood off with the hem of her pajama top.

"You should drink from me," she said. "Speed up the healing process."

"I can't do that."

"You need to be at full capacity to face him tomorrow."

"I'll have my pack, and I'll transition completely. This isn't what I want us to be."

"You healed me earlier-"

"You need your strength for tomorrow, too, remember? I don't wanna risk feeding you my blood right now, not after Klaus' claws got into my body. Besides, it might not work. She said nothing could heal a wound caused by an Alpha."

Frustrated, Bonnie remained quiet.

"I know you wanna help-"

"Help? I promised you that I would protect you, your pack, and that included your mom, too."

Tyler tried to lift his hand to touch her and grunted in pain.

"Stop," she said.

"How did you know to come?" he panted.

"I felt it. I was trying to sleep, and I suddenly had this….sense that something was wrong. It was like a psychic hit, but...less internal. It was a pull, and I knew that something was wrong with you. I ran out of bed and grabbed my keys. My mom stopped me, and I was about to all-out panic, because I didn't know what was waiting for me. Lucy said she had a faster way than driving."

She was wearing his jacket over her sleepwear, because she'd planned to sleep in it.

"The pull was me. You felt me," he said, tearing up because she'd received his need for her the same way he had received hers for him earlier at the school. Except he hadn't said her name, hadn't even thought her name. He'd called for her with emotion instead of words, and he hadn't realized he'd done it until she'd shown up.

The relief in his voice made Bonnie reach for his hand.

Caroline called her mother on the way, so Liz was waiting for them when they arrived. Caroline told her about the bags in the cars, so Liz took the car keys from the girls and went to retrieve them.

Caroline and Lucy helped Carol inside while Bonnie walked beside Tyler, one hand on his stomach, the other wrapped around his waist. Caroline and Lucy took Carol directly to Liz's bed while Bonnie veered off to Caroline's bedroom.

"Bring me the two phones," Tyler said after he sat down. He'd directed Bonnie to call for Klaus' phone. He'd forgotten to take Hayley's phone after he'd killed her. He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. He'd also asked her to call for Hayley's phone, believing it to be in Klaus' pocket.

"Okay, but let's get you comfortable first. You need a shower, and you're probably going to need help. Uh." How was she going to take his shirt off without lifting his arms? If only she had the strength to tear it. But there would be another problem with getting his shirt on.

Caroline walked into the room with the two bags she'd packed for Tyler. She'd overpacked, but packing had helped her focus. Bonnie had packed one bag for Carol.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"I need to get his shirt off," Bonnie said.

Caroline noticed now that Bonnie was wearing the jacket that Tyler had left with earlier. She walked up to Tyler and said apologetically, "I kind of have to rip it."

Tyler slumped. This was one of his more expensive shirts. "How about we just wash my face for now?"

Caroline rolled her eyes and smiled. She put her hand on his right shoulder and said, "Come on."

"I've got it," Bonnie declared succinctly as she put her hand behind Tyler's neck. She had all but lost her mind when she'd seen him trying to hold his own against Klaus' murderous rage. She wasn't going to forget about his mashed face until it completely healed. He'd stumbled out of that room completely weak and grasping onto her. She was not going to step aside and wait while Caroline took care of him.

Caroline raised her brows at Bonnie's challenge. Bonnie raised hers right back.

Tyler felt his powers undulate, and his eyes shifted, a response to Bonnie's declaration. He blinked, but his eyes didn't turn back. With her words and the possessive grip that she had on his neck, Bonnie had spoken directly to the half of his dual nature that wanted to make her his.

Keeping his head down, he wrapped an arm around her waist and heaved himself to his feet, effectively blocking the girls from being able to see each other. "Let's go," he said to Bonnie.

Bonnie stood him at the sink and used Caroline's face wash to gently clean him up. He hissed, but he survived.

"I could do a better job, but-"

"It hurts," he confirmed.

She helped him sit on the toilet. "What's with your eyes, and why are you grinning?"

"Nothing. Just…what you said in there." He knew Caroline had left the room, but he didn't know whether or not she was eavesdropping.

"What? You liked that?"

"I kind of did," he shared. He tightened his lips so that he wouldn't grin so wide. His face hurt enough. He was thrilled that she had, in effect, laid claim to him. "It was very...territorial."

Bonnie's heart dipped unexpectedly. "You wanna be my territory, Tyler?"

"I do."

They tried to wrap their minds around the implication of his admission, and then they shifted with sudden shyness.

Lowering his voice, Tyler said, "We broke up, you know."

Bonnie was truly surprised. She matched the volume of her voice to his and asked, "When?"

"After you left earlier. It was this big thing. She knows about us. She knows we've been together. And I mean together. She asked me what took me so long to come back to the gym."

"We shouldn't have taken that extra time," Bonnie said.

"I got carried away."

She smiled. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

She found that hard to believe.

"I'm not in love with her anymore, Bonnie. We've run our course."

Bonnie chose not to pursue the matter.

She walked him back to the bedroom and went outside to get the phones.

"Any idea how this happened?" she asked after she handed them to him.

"He said he got a phone call from Hayley's friend. He told him what I was planning."

It was at that moment that Bonnie had an epiphany. "Silas."

"What?"

"In the bathroom earlier. You said you were responsible for twelve lives, and I know you were talking about me, but your pack plus you makes twelve. Twelve."

"What about twelve?" Lucy asked as she walked into the room.

"I think someone tried to get Tyler and his pack to be the third duodecad."

"Klaus said he was going to slaughter everyone I've ever met. Holy shit." He pulled out his phone and called Kim.

She answered after a couple of rings. She was whispering. "Hey."

"Hey, are you guys okay?"

"We're fine, but I can't talk right now. Dai and Lily are going crazy because they think something's wrong with Klaus. They're trying to call him, but they can't reach him."

Just then, Klaus' phone vibrated on the bed.

"Klaus is stuck in my house. He attacked me."

"Oh my God, are you okay?"

"Barely. It's a long story, but I have what I need for Bonnie to make him vulnerable enough for us to kill. We have to meet tomorrow."

"Okay. What are we gonna do about Dai and Lily?"

"I'm coming over early tomorrow morning, and we'll take care of them. For now, let them worry. Klaus won't be coming home tonight."

Relief washed over Kim. "Good. Okay. We'll see you then."

"You think Silas called Klaus?" Lucy asked after Tyler hung up.

"You think Hayley was working with Silas?" Tyler said a little skeptically.

"Or a Silas worshiper," Bonnie answered. "The same worshiper who gave me the spirit incense, which is the only thing I've been doing differently before Silas channeled me."

"Shane," Tyler breathed.

"I'm going to kill him," Bonnie swore.

"Who's Shane?" Lucy asked.

"Remember the occult professor I told you about, the one who helped Jeremy control his Hunter urges?"

Bonnie was looking at Lucy, but something in her eyes made Tyler say, "Nothing's gonna get done tonight. Do you hear me?" He shook the hem of the jacket to get her attention. "Nothing's getting done tonight. You're going home, and you're going to sleep."

"Remember when I said I told him about Hayley and was waiting for him to do something? He's a Silas fanatic." She walked out of the room.

Tyler did his best to hurry off the bed and followed.

"I'm going to kill him," Bonnie repeated as scenarios detailing how she was going to do it played in her mind.

"Can you please make sure she doesn't go anywhere tonight?" he asked Lucy.

"He used me! He-" She hadn't let Shane help her, despite the many times he'd offered, but he'd still found a way to get to her. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him!"

"We need to think about this calmly," Lucy said.

"I'm killing him as soon as Klaus closes his eyes tomorrow." She pressed her hands against her face. Tyler could've died tonight because of Shane. She was going to hurt him, and then she was going to kill him.

She mentally checked out for the rest of the time spent at the Forbes house. She didn't look at Tyler, didn't speak to Tyler, didn't speak to anyone. When Lucy was ready to go, she went outside to get the knife from Carol's car. She said goodbye to no one. Tyler said he would talk to her tomorrow. She didn't respond. She was ready to kill.

Lucy teleported them back to the house, and Bonnie closed her eyes and stood still until the contents of her stomach settled from the rush.

Lucy said something about figuring it out and focusing on Klaus, but it was like Bonnie had water in her ears. Her mind was chasing thoughts, and all of them were running toward Shane. And when she headed to her room and tried to slow her thoughts down, (because how could he really do something like this?), Tyler's swollen face barged its way to the front of her mind.

Shane had a secret room; Shane wanted to help her; Shane's apartment smelled so strongly of herbs; Shane gave her that incense; Shane had no questions about Hayley's death; Tyler saw Shane and Hayley speaking together; Shane supported Silas unquestioningly and had no words for Qetsiyah; Shane wanted to help her.

All of that made him guilty. But most of all….Shane was the one who'd established contact with her. He'd found her on Twitter and offered to give her the few of her grandmother's belongings that were still at Whitmore. Their meeting wasn't a coincidence. He had sought her out.

And she wanted to stop thinking now; she wanted her thoughts to slow down. The day was so long; was it midnight yet? Was the decade dance really happening right now, people dancing without a care in the world? How was she going to sleep? How was she going to kill Shane? How was she going to have the mental energy?

After her mother was killed, she'd had this recurring nightmare for a week straight where she would use her powers in the middle of a threatening situation, only for it to give out on her in the middle of the fight. She imagined things playing out that way with Shane, now.

There was so much in her head, so much in her heart, and she wanted them out, either through her powers or through tears, something. She couldn't sleep like this; she couldn't make it through the night like this; she couldn't kill Klaus like this.

She balled her hands on her knees and yelled, not at the top of her lungs, but she yelled. She needed to let it out. She needed her brain to slow down. So she yelled, and she yelled, and her stomach contracted with it, her back arched with it, and she yelled until it became a break that her body was taking from crying. The door flew open, and she was jostled as Rudy took her in his arms. She didn't stop yelling, didn't stop crying. She couldn't hear Abby calling her name, couldn't feel Lucy's hands on hers.

How was it so easy for people to do this? What about her inspired so many people to shut off their conscious and exploit her? From Jonas to Luka to Shane, it didn't matter if she welcomed them or kept them at arms length. There was something about her. It didn't matter if she called them friend or ally. There was something about her, something that told these people that it was okay to use her, something that kept them from being able to feel bad about it. There was something.

She yelled for not being able to kill Shane on this very night, and she cried.