Chapter Fourteen
Damon woke up to someone's very skillful mouth kissing down his chest and he grinned. Rebecca really was quite good at this. His blood was already flowing south.
He gently grabbed her hair to pull her head back up his body. Not that he wanted her to stop, he just wanted a kiss first.
"Mm . . . good morning," she said, smiling.
"Apparently." Damon grazed his teeth over her bottom lip and bit hard enough to draw a little blood. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
Rebecca's grin faltered. Uh-oh.
"Um . . . I'm decorating at the Lockwood charity thing. I knew you wouldn't like it, so I figured I'd make it up to you beforehand."
The Lockwood charity thing was actually the town coming together to organize an annual masquerade party. Speaking of . . . Rebecca needed to shop for that if she was planning on going.
"Stefan and I are going to be there, too."
"Well, you can't go. Mason tried to kill you, on purpose."
"I know," Damon said, his eyes flashing electric blue. "Which is why I'm going to their house today. I'm gonna keep an eye on him."
"And on me?" she asked coyly, again making a trip down his chest.
"Definitely," Damon answered, closing his eyes and focusing on the attention she was giving him.
When Damon and Rebecca were done pleasuring each other, Rebecca took a shower and then Damon took one. They wouldn't have gotten clean if they had taken one together. Rebecca made it downstairs before Damon and found Caroline in the kitchen. She had ear buds in and was moving around the kitchen dancing and cooking – well, trying to cook. She seemed distracted.
"Care," Rebecca said loud enough to be heard over the music.
The blond looked up and smiled sheepishly. "Hey. Sorry, I was trying to drown things out."
When Caroline gave her a pointed look, Rebecca blushed. Caroline had been able to hear what she and Damon had been doing. That was embarrassing.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were still here."
"I'm . . . I'm going to ask if I can stay here. At least until my mom gets over the vervain and Damon can compel her."
"Of course you can stay," Rebecca said. "I mean, it's not like the house isn't big enough."
Caroline smiled. "Good. That way I don't have to deal with Katherine, either."
"Oh. Well, do you mind watching Chelsea today? I don't want to take her with us to the mansion because Mason is going to be there."
"Sure. I love Chelsea."
"Well, good. Just be careful, because we think something's going on with Chelsea. Something supernatural. I'm gonna ask Bonnie to see if she'll check it out. For Chelsea's benefit."
There was a knock at the door, and if the heartbeat was anything to go by, it was Jeremy. When Rebecca reached the front door, Damon was already there opening it.
It was Jeremy; Rebecca's vampire senses were getting better.
"I need to talk to you."
"And when I need to talk to you . . ." Damon began, and tried to shut the door.
"Damon . . ." Rebecca said. "Let him in."
"Tyler Lockwood has to kill someone to activate his werewolf curse. He's not a werewolf yet."
"Wow. Fascinating," Damon said. "Not enough."
"Damon!" Rebecca said again, frustrated. "Let him in!"
"But Mason Lockwood is, and he's looking for a moonstone. That's a special rock connected to the werewolf legend. That's why he's here!"
Why would a werewolf want a rock; what did it have do with anything?
"A moonstone?" Damon asked, finally letting Jeremy in. Rebecca glared at him for a second because her friends shouldn't need a reason to come in the house.
"And I know where it is," Jeremy said.
"And you're bringing me this, why?"
"Do I need a reason? Look, I just wanna help, okay?"
"What'd your sister say about this little discovery?" Damon wondered out loud, and when Jeremy didn't answer Damon continued, "Oh, you haven't told her, have you?"
"Elena doesn't want me getting involved in all this."
"And you're a Gilbert; you just can't help yourself."
Rebecca looked at Jeremy and then at Damon. "I guess we're not going to the Lockwood mansion?"
Damon smirked. "Of course we are; we're just going to be fashionably late."
Stefan had gone to the Lockwood mansion to help decorate for the charity ball. He was helping to clear out the room the dance would be held in when Jenna, Elena's aunt walked up to him.
"Stefan, hey."
"Hey."
"I'm cookin' dinner tonight. Ric'll be there. You should come."
"Oh, um . . . You know, Elena and I, we're, um . . . kind of takin' a break."
"Really? 'Cause that's not what it sounded like this morning. I'm a light sleeper."
Stefan's eyebrows shot up. He had gone to Elena's the night before because she had let him drink from her. If he was going to learn to control his lust for human blood, Elena had wanted him to learn by drinking from her.
Jenna smiled. "You know what? I heard nothing."
Stefan relaxed when she walked away.
Outside, Elena was helping set up decorations with Bonnie. The brunette was surprised Bonnie had even shown up. Though the witch looked nervous.
"Caroline's not coming. I told you."
"Just making sure." Bonnie sighed. "What about Rebecca and Damon?"
"They should've been here by now," Elena said. "You know, eventually you're gonna have to talk to them. Rebecca and Caroline."
"Could you make it a little less obvious you're on their side?"
"There are no sides, Bonnie."
"Come on. Since Caroline became a vampire, we barely see each other. Losing Caroline was bad enough. I didn't think I'd lose you, too."
Elena put down the candles she was supposed to be decorating the lawn with and asked Bonnie to come with her.
"Where?"
"Not here. Some place quiet. We have to talk."
She offered the witch her hand and Bonnie took it. Elena began explaining everything that had happened since Caroline had become a vampire. Bonnie hadn't made herself present since the carnival, so she didn't know anything about anything. The trip to Duke, she'd known about, but not the results, not about the sun and the moon curse. And she didn't know about Elena and Stefan pretending to fight. She didn't know about Liz being locked up.
"I can't believe this."
"It's a lot, I know," Elena said. "Katherine's been doing everything that she can to drive me and Stefan apart, and Caroline just got trapped in the middle."
The two came to a white bench and sat down before Bonnie spoke. "It's not that you and Stefan are pretending to fight. It's that I didn't even know that you guys were fighting at all."
"I'm sorry. I don't wanna keep things from you, but you've made it pretty clear where you stand with the whole vampire thing."
"So that makes me the odd man out?"
"No. No, Bonnie, of course not."
Bonnie nodded. "I know where I stand, Elena, and . . . I know where you stand. But where do we stand?"
"You're my best friend, Bonnie," Elena said, knowing it to be true. "I didn't mean to let this craziness with Caroline get in the way of that. But she needs you too."
"Not yet. I just . . . she's a vampire. I can't."
"Why not?" Elena pushed.
"Because she killed someone! And . . . last time I let a vampire in, I was attacked."
"Rebecca," Elena said. "She . . . didn't mean to scare you. She's just . . . she's very protective of Damon."
"Are you defending her?" Bonnie exclaimed.
"No, Bonnie. I just . . . She and Damon share a . . . Well, you know. You felt how they feel. Just imagine how you would feel if someone was threatening to take that from you."
Bonnie looked guiltily over her shoulder and then said, "We should head back."
Back at the boardinghouse, Ric had just arrived with a box of information about werewolves. He stepped in the entrance of the parlor when he saw Jeremy.
"What're you doin' here?"
"Helping Damon. I'm the one who found out about the moonstone."
Ric looked at Damon, who shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Does Elena know he's here?"
Damon shook his head, while Jeremy answered, "Not exactly."
"Whatcha got?" Damon asked, gesturing to the box.
"This is Isobel's research from Duke. Her assistant sent it to me."
"Mm, Vanessa, the hottie."
"Hey!" Rebecca said. "Right here."
Damon grinned and Ric sighed. "Yeah, Vanessa. Yes." He looked at Rebecca. "If it makes you feel any better, she shot him with a crossbow."
"Yeah, but she was aiming for Elena," Damon said. "Thought she was Katherine."
"Now, do you remember the old Aztec Curse she told us about?"
"Sun and the moon, blah, blah, blah?"
"What curse?" Rebecca asked. "Why didn't I know about this?"
"I came home, you were hurt, and it didn't seem important." Damon looked at Ric. "You're the teacher, Ric. So teach."
"Supposedly, vampires and werewolves used to roam freely until a Shaman put a curse on them to limit their power. Since then werewolves can only turn on a full moon and vampires are weakened by the sun."
Damon wiggled his fingers to show off his day ring. "Most of them, anyway."
"According to the legend, the werewolf part of the curse is sealed with a moonstone."
"What do you mean, sealed?" Jeremy asked.
"It's a witch thing," Damon said. "Whatever seals the curse is usually the key to unsealing the curse."
"Maybe Mason Lockwood believes he can use the moonstone to break the curse," Ric said.
"If we start believing in some supernatural witchy-woo legend from a picture book, we're idiots," Damon said.
"Where do you think our legend comes from?" Rebecca asked. "We'd be stupid to ignore it."
"Who has the stone now?" Damon asked Jeremy.
"Tyler."
"Can you get it?"
"Yeah."
"Now your life has purpose."
"So you do believe it?" Jeremy asked Rebecca.
"I was almost bitten by Mason. Just being scratched by him took forever to heal. So, yes. This is the same story that says a bite from a werewolf can kill a vampire. It would be stupid not to check it out."
Damon took a swig of his bourbon before saying, "Let's go."
At the Lockwood mansion Stefan was putting glasses in order for the outside bar the party called for. Mason walked by and Stefan grinned at him.
"Hey, Stefan."
"Hey, Mason."
"Wasn't expecting you here," the wolf-in-man-form said. "Or anywhere."
Stefan could tell Mason was nervous. "Yeah, I had this little accident. But, uh, I'm fine now."
Mason stepped closer. "What'd you do to Sheriff Forbes?"
"Oh, she's fine too," Stefan assured him. "But from now on, you'll have to do your own dirty work."
"Not a problem."
As Mason walked away, he ran into Bonnie. She was startled and he apologized. Stefan watched as Bonnie stared off into space in the direction Mason was going.
"What's the matter?" Stefan asked. "You okay?"
"When I touched him, I saw something."
"What d'you mean? Like a vision?"
"I saw Elena."
"You saw Elena?"
Was Mason after Elena? Was he here to hurt her?
"He was kissing her," Bonnie said.
"No, Bonnie, Elena wouldn't kiss . . . You didn't see Elena. You saw Katherine."
Elena was across the way, watching Bonnie and Stefan talk; something had happened, she could feel it.
She heard something shift beside her and when she looked she saw Damon.
"Damon, what are you doing here?"
"Looking for my baby bro. Speaking of, could you tell yours to stop following me around?"
"What's going on?"
"Ask eager beaver." Damon grimaced. "Rebecca doesn't mind his company, but he's going to end up in the way."
When Rebecca and Jeremy appeared, Damon walked away. Elena was surprised when Rebecca stayed with Jeremy instead of following Damon.
"Jeremy, what is he making you do?"
"He's not makin' me do anything. Damon and I –"
"Uh, no. No way. No, no, no. There's no Damon and you. There's Damon and whoever Damon's using. And those people? They end up dead. Whatever's going on . . . Jeremy, I want you to stay out of it."
"Well, I don't really care what you want, Elena. It's because of you that I'm in this mess in the first place, so, I'm sorry, but you don't really get to tell me what I'm gonna do."
Jeremy began walking away and Elena scoffed. Rebecca was trying to hide a grin. That irritated Elena for some reason. Didn't Rebecca know that Jeremy was going to get hurt? Damon didn't care about Jeremy; he wouldn't intervene if something threatened him.
"Jeremy's gonna be fine," Rebecca said. "I'll watch out for him."
Once Rebecca had assured Elena of Jeremy's safety, she went to find Damon; Jeremy couldn't get in but so much trouble with everyone around.
The first thing she heard when she found Damon was, "Katherine's with Mason Lockwood?"
"We missed it. He got into town right after she did. It makes perfect sense," that was Stefan.
"I know, but Mason Lockwood?" Damon seemed insulted. "Werewolf thing aside, the guy's a surfer. She's gotta be using him. She has to be."
"Using him for what?" Stefan asked.
"Um . . . what'd I miss?" Rebecca asked.
"Bonnie had a vision," Stefan explained.
"Hm . . . well, Mason's looking for a moonstone . . . that allegedly can break the full-moon werewolf curse."
"Maybe Katherine wants it as well," Damon said.
"Why?"
"Well . . ." Damon looked like he had the answer but then said, "No idea. That's the beauty of Katherine. She's always up to something."
"So how're we gonna find this moonstone?" Stefan asked.
"Jeremy's getting it from Tyler," Rebecca said casually.
"Why would you involve Jeremy?"
"He's playing Indiana Jones, he involved himself."
Stefan rolled his eyes and walked away from them. Apparently he didn't agree with Jeremy coming along for the ride.
"Okay . . . I'm gonna buy him some Midol," Rebecca said. "Or at least some pep-me-up pills." Then she looked at Damon. "Come on. Jer's with Tyler right now."
When Rebecca and Damon got to the tent that was going to be used as the entrance to the masquerade ball, they saw Stefan already there, listening in to Jeremy's and Tyler's conversation.
"Hey, uh . . . I did a little research on that stone you showed me."
"What? Why?" Tyler asked.
"I dunno. Curiosity. Uh, boredom."
"What'd it say?"
"Well, it turns out that it's part of this Aztec legend, but I wanna make sure it's the same kind of stone. You think I could, uh, check it out again?"
"Nope. Gave it to my uncle."
"Why'd you do that?"
"Because I'm done with legends and curses. I don't want anything to do with it, okay?"
"Yeah. Sure. It's probably just stupid folklore anyways. Forget it."
"What now?" Rebecca asked.
"Text Bonnie," Damon said. "Tell her to meet us out front."
"What do you want?" Bonnie asked as she arrived at the front of the Lockwood mansion. Stefan, Damon, and Rebecca were there.
"A favor," Damon said.
"Like that's gonna happen."
"So predictable. That's why I brought him," Damon said, looking at Stefan.
"I know how you feel about helping us out, but since you're the one that linked Mason with Katherine we finally have an opportunity to get the upper hand on both of them. So just hear us out."
"Pretty please," Damon added.
"I'm listening," Bonnie said. If there was any way to get rid of Katherine, Bonnie was all for it.
Stefan's phone rang and he took it out of his pocket. "I have to fill Elena in on what's goin' on." Then to Damon, "Can you play nice, please?"
"Yes," Damon said, looking at Bonnie. "All you have to do is touch Mason Lockwood again, see if he gave Katherine the moonstone."
Stefan walked away as Bonnie answered, "My visions don't work like that. I don't get to ask questions."
"How inconvenient. Although, let's talk about that witchy little juju thing you do with me. You know, the fun one where my brain bursts into flames. What is that?"
"That's me giving you an aneurism," Bonnie said. "Your blood vessels go pop, but you heal quickly, so I do it over and over again."
"Is it vampire-specific?"
"It'd work on anyone with a supernatural healing ability."
"Good. Good, good."
"Damon, I'm not gonna help you hurt him," Bonnie said quickly.
"Mason Lockwood is a werewolf. Katherine's evil. They're the bad guys. Really? You're gonna play morality police with me right now?" Damon sighed. "Let me put it to you another way. They're a threat to Elena. So, you, witch, are gonna get over yourself and help us."
"Yeah, he meant that as a question with a please on the end," Stefan said, coming back.
"Absolutely," Damon agreed.
Bonnie eventually said yes and they came up with a way to get Mason on his own.
There was truck that was being used for moving furniture. Bonnie, being human, was physically weaker than any of the vampires or werewolves. Mason was the type who would help a girl who needed it, so the next time Mason passed by Bonnie pretended to be having trouble lifting a table out of the moving truck
"Hey, how'd you get stuck doin; that by yourself?"
"All the guys bailed. Something about draft picks? I don't know. I don't speak that language."
"Well, here, let me give you a hand."
Bonnie let him grab the table before she started the spell. Mason groaned and grabbed his head. When he finally went down to his knees, Damon stepped up and kneed him in the face, knocking Mason unconscious.
Damon went to Mason's Bronco and then opened the door for Bonnie and Rebecca.
Bonnie did not want to ride in the car with two vampires and a werewolf, but she didn't have a choice. Damon ended up in the driver's seat and then Bonnie let Rebecca get in first. Bonnie sat in the backseat.
The ride from the Lockwood's to the boardinghouse was tense. Rebecca understood Bonnie's hesitation. Rebecca had attacked Bonnie- with good reason, Rebecca thought – and Bonnie couldn't forgive her yet. Rebecca didn't need Bonnie's forgiveness. The way Bonnie was acting lately, Rebecca would probably attack her again.
Rebecca almost jumped when she felt Damon touch her leg. She hadn't been paying attention. She grabbed his hand and looked his way. His eyes showed concerned. He wouldn't voice his concern with other people in the car, but she knew he was concerned nonetheless.
"I'm okay," she whispered low enough for only Damon to hear.
What had Rebecca so upset was that she had to ask a favor of Bonnie even after Rebecca had attacked her. Rebecca had never liked asking people for help, anyway, but especially not someone she had wronged.
"Hey, Bonnie?" Rebecca said hesitantly. "Can I ask you for another favor?"
"Depends on what the favor is," the witch said.
"Will you check Chelsea out? I think something is . . . different about her. I think . . . she can sense things that she shouldn't be able to. She's perceptive for a fourteen month old."
Bonnie didn't say anything about Rebecca's request, but Rebecca knew Bonnie loved Chelsea. If there was any way possible to help Chelsea out then Bonnie would do it.
At the boardinghouse, Damon asked for someone to grab Mason's bag from the back of the car. Rebecca was going to grab it, but Bonnie reached for it instead.
Damon grabbed Mason and flung him over his shoulder so he could take him in the house. Damon set Mason up in the living room in front of the fireplace, then went about putting a tarp around the chair.
"Here's his bag, as requested," Bonnie said, placing the bag on the floor by the bookcase.
Rebecca helped Damon place the tarp around all corners of the chair.
"W – why are you doing that?" Bonnie asked curiously.
"Because I don't wanna stain the carpet," Damon said honestly.
"I knew you were gonna say something like that."
"You're judging again," Damon said. "And are you goin' to help with Chelsea or not?"
"Of course I'm going to help her," Bonnie snapped. "She's only a baby and nothing is her fault if she is different." Bonnie looked at Mason. "He's not gonna be out much longer."
Damon began going through the bag Bonnie had brought in and found thick links of chain. "Whoa, looks like this guy is used to being tied up."
"He tied himself up on full moons so he wouldn't hurt anybody," Rebecca said softly. "He only attacked me by accident."
Damon looked at her and Rebecca could tell he was wondering is he was going to have a problem with what was about to happen.
"I'm on your side, Damon," she reassured him. "He tried to get you killed; do what you have to do."
Bonnie stood in front of Mason Lockwood now and placed her hands on his head.
"What're you doing?" Damon asked curiously.
"You're looking for a moonstone. I'm trying to help you find it," Bonnie said.
"Oh, good, yeah. Find out if he gave it to Katherine and find out where she is, and find out what they're gonna do with it once they get it.
"It's somewhere small," Bonnie said. "Dark. There's water."
"Like a sewer?" Damon asked.
"No. Like a . . . well?" Bonnie didn't sound sure. "That can't be right. Yeah, it's a well."
"Why would it be in a well?"
Rebecca didn't know the answer to that herself, but she was glad Katherine didn't have it.
"I told you, I only get what I get," Bonnie said.
Suddenly Mason grabbed Bonnie's hands and both Damon and Rebecca had to pry his fingers off of her.
"That's it! That's all I got!" Bonnie said, panicked. She moved away from Mason and toward the door.
"Hey, Judge-y," Damon called and she turned back around. "Thank you."
Bonnie nodded once and left the room.
Rebecca looked at Damon and said, "I'll be right back," before following Bonnie.
Bonnie had made it to the door – the front door – before Rebecca had caught up with her. Out of respect for Bonnie's humanity, Rebecca hadn't used vampire speed.
"Bonnie, wait," Rebecca said, and was surprised when Caroline appeared, too. Caroline was holding Chelsea and the young girl smiled when she saw Rebecca.
"Hi," Bonnie told Caroline. "How's your mom? Elena filled me in on everything."
"Um . . . I'm waiting for the vervain to pass out of her system and then I'll take her home."
Bonnie seemed to be trying, at least.
"Caroline . . ." the witch said hesitantly. "Never mind. I gotta go."
"Did you, uh, find the moonstone thing?" Caroline asked, desperately wanting Bonnie to open up to her.
"Not yet, but do you remember that old well where we used to play when we were kids? It's in the woods. Do you remember where?"
"On the edge of the old Lockwood property," Caroline answered. "Why?"
"I think that's where Mason is keeping the moonstone. I gotta go. I'll call and tell Stefan so he can meet us there."
"Well, I can come with you," Caroline offered.
"No, it's okay," Bonnie said. "You're on Chelsea duty."
"I'm here now," Rebecca said. "I've got her."
Bonnie looked at Rebecca and bit her lip. "Fine." Then to Caroline. "Sure."
Caroline smiled before handing Chelsea to Rebecca. "Thanks."
"No problem, Care."
Damon was still in the living room, only now he was heating up a fire poker. It was brutal, but he needed to know Mason's pain tolerance level.
Mason had been chained to the chair Damon had placed him on and was now trying to get out of his bonds. He had even made himself fall backwards.
Damon stabbed Mason in the shoulder with the poker and left it in there for about ten seconds. Mason screamed until Damon pulled the fire poker out. As Mason had yelled, Damon heard Chelsea begin to cry. He assumed she'd heard Mason and it had frightened her.
"Becca, you got her?" Damon asked, knowing Rebecca could hear him.
"Yup. Got her."
"Good." To Mason, Damon said, "You can feel pain. Good to know. I was afraid you were gonna be some beast master with no affinity for pain."
Damon moved Mason's shirt so he could see the wound he'd left behind. The stab wound had already scabbed over.
"But you heal quickly. Not good. Guess I'll just have to keep applying pain."
Damon lifted Mason and the chair so Mason would be upright again, then went back to the fireplace so he could get the poker nice and hot again.
"So . . . Katherine . . . How do you know her? What's she up to?"
Mason didn't answer, so Damon shook his head.
"I have all day," he said before calmly sliding the poker into Mason's side.
This time Mason didn't scream. He grit his teeth together and groaned; Chelsea still started crying. Maybe Chelsea was just having a bad day.
Stefan had arrived at the well Bonnie had told him about, and Elena had shown up just after.
"You shouldn't be here," he told her gently.
"I know, but I am. What's going on?"
"Bonnie thinks the moonstone is down here."
Stefan tore the cover off the well and climbed over the side. He looked at Elena, briefly, and gave her a quick, reassuring smile.
"I'll only be down there for a minute"
"Okay."
Stefan jumped and landed with ease even though he'd fallen about thirty feet. The problems didn't start until he hit the water; there was vervain in this well.
"Elena!" he shouted as he began to feel the burn. It felt like he was covered in acid and it was eating away at his skin. "Elena!"
"Stefan, what's happening?"
He began clawing at the walls of the well, trying to get a food-hold so he could get himself out, but he couldn't find anything.
"Vervain," he muttered, hoping Elena would hear him. If she didn't, he would be stuck down there to waste away.
"Stefan!"
Elena didn't know what to do. Yes, there was a chain so she could lower herself down, but she would have no way of getting herself back up.
"Elena!" That was not Stefan's voice; it was Caroline's.
"Stefan's down there and the chain is here, but I –"
Caroline began to climb over the side of the well, but Elena grabbed her arm. "No, you can't. It's filled with vervain."
Caroline looked down into the well. She knew how painful vervain was. "Oh, no!"
"Caroline, we have to get him out. Now!"
Caroline helped Elena make a harness out of the chain that was with the well. Bonnie showed up a few seconds later wondering why Caroline had taken off.
"I heard Elena screaming," Caroline explained. "You ready?"
"Yeah," Elena said.
The way down was mostly smooth sailings except for one incident when the chain slipped. When Elena hit the water, she found an unconscious Stefan floating there. His skin had bubbled from the vervain and she knew he needed to get out of the water now.
Elena unwrapped the harness from herself and made one for Stefan.
"Pull him up!" she exclaimed and watched as he began to ascend. Caroline's strength was coming in handy.
While Stefan was being pulled up Elena began searching for the stone. She found a wooden box that she hoped had the stone in it.
"I got something! Bring me up!"
When Elena got to the top, she realized Stefan was still unconscious. He would need blood to heal; she would allow him to use hers.
"When did you two meet?" Damon asked Mason. He was referring to Katherine, of course. "She seduce you and tell you she loved you? You're supernatural, so she can't compel you. I'm sure she used her other charms."
"Meaning she acted like a slut," Rebecca said, coming into the room with Chelsea in her arms. Rebecca had her hand over Chelsea's eyes. Jeremy Gilbert was behind her, carrying a box of Ric's stuff.
"I thought you were at the Lockwoods," Damon said.
"I was. I came back," Jeremy said. "I found something in Ric's box of stuff."
"Ooh. What is it?"
"Um . . . I did a search on my phone. It grows in the mountainous areas of the northern hemisphere. Commonly known as aconite, blue rocket, and wolfsbane."
"What else did you read?"
Jeremy handed Damon a leather pouch that, when Damon opened it, had yellow-brown plants in it.
"Well, every source says something different. One source says it causes lycanthropy, which sounds bogus. Another one says it protects people, and another says it toxic."
Mason groaned, sounding defeated.
"I'm guessing toxic."
Damon took a sprout and went toward Mason. "What's Katherine doing in Mystic Falls?"
When Mason didn't answer, Damon looked at Rebecca and gestured for her to take Chelsea back out. The baby didn't need to hear or see this and Damon didn't want her to. Once the two were out of the room, Damon touched Mason with the plant and watched as it burned Mason's skin.
"Why's she here?"
In the middle of Damon's question, he heard Chelsea cry again. Why was she crying? Again?
"She's here with me," Mason said, so Damon took the plant away from wolf-boy's skin. It healed slowly. Hm. Wolfsbane affected werewolves the way vervain affected vampires.
"How rude of me," Damon said. "You know, I just realized I didn't offer you anything to eat."
Damon shoved the sprout he was holding against Mason's mouth and made sure it actually made it into the man's mouth.
Over the moans of pain that Mason was producing, he heard another sound, a retching sound. It was weak and infantile.
Chelsea was getting sick.
Rebecca had been listening to everything Damon had been doing. She didn't like it, but she understood it. Damon needed to know his enemies – their enemies – weaknesses. Damon had a family to protect, and that was what he was doing. But something was wrong.
"What d'you want with the moonstone?" Damon asked.
"Screw you!"
"Wrong answer!"
"If he was gonna say anything, he would've already!" That was Jeremy.
"Look, I know where it is. I wanna know what it does and why you want it."
"I'm getting it for Katherine."
"Why?"
Rebecca didn't care why; she had just figured something out. She rushed back into the room, Chelsea still in her arms.
"Damon! Stop. Whatever you're doing to him, she's feeling it!"
Damon looked from Mason to Chelsea. It seemed to click for him too. Whenever Mason had been hurt, Chelsea had cried. When Mason had choked on the wolfsbane, Chelsea had gotten sick.
Damon cursed internally. Well, he couldn't do anything to Mason now. He wouldn't hurt Chelsea like that, not now that he knew what was going on.
"Katherine's gonna use the moonstone to lift the curse," Mason said, looking at Rebecca.
"Of the moon?" Damon asked incredulously. "Now why would a vampire help a werewolf break a curse that keeps them from turning whenever they want?"
"So I wouldn't have to turn anymore."
"Why?"
"Because she loves me," Mason said.
Rebecca scoffed. "Oh, boy."
Damon laughed. "N – now I get it. You're just stupid. Katherine doesn't love you; she's using you, you moron!"
"I'm done talking," Mason said.
"Yes, you are." Damon looked at Jeremy. "It's time to take a walk, Jeremy."
"I'm staying."
"No, you're not," Rebecca said. "You're going, and you're taking Chelsea with you."
Rebecca knew Mason needed to be dealt with, but she wasn't going to let Chelsea be here when it happened. Who knew what would happen to Chelsea?
Once Jeremy left with Chelsea – as in left the house – Damon looked at Rebecca, giving her a chance to leave too, but she shook her head.
"You want me to kill you, Mason. It really is a curse, isn't it?"
The whole horrible day ended with Damon ripping Mason's heart out of his chest. He wondered what Katherine was going to do now without her pet wolf.
"Damon?" Rebecca said softly. "What're we gonna do about Chelsea? If she feels everything that happens around her . . . she's going to have a miserable life. She felt the pain Mason felt. And –"
"I know," Damon interrupted. "I didn't know or I wouldn't have done it with her so close."
"So . . . what happens now? For her? With her?"
Damon didn't know the answer to that because he didn't really know what Chelsea was.
"I don't know, Rebecca, but we'll get through this like we have everything else."