Didn't get this up as soon as I wanted to, but here it is now :)
Hope ya'll like it!
Damon's POV
It had to be going on midnight by the time Elena and I followed Alaric out of the basement, and into the study, where a large group of the wolves were already gathered, and I was feeling it.
My body protested the lack of energy, but Alaric seemed to be sure that this needed to be done now, and not in the morning, despite the protest I'd made after catching Elena yawning.
I wanted to hurry and get this over with.
There seemed to be an odd tension in the air, though the feeling may have been of my own making.
The Alpha turned to George, who was sitting across the room in one of the chairs that had been moved to cover a larger hole my foot had left in the wall a few days ago.
When all this was over, I really owed Alaric some plaster work.
"Could you round everyone up? Bring them here. There's something we need to discuss," Alaric said, and George nodded, though his expression was one of confusion.
I looked over at Mason, who was standing with the witch by the fireplace, the light flickering an orange glow around their bodies.
"You already know what's up," I told him, "So take Tyler and Luka to watch the property. Fill them in on your way."
Mason glanced briefly to Elena, "You okay with this, baby girl?"
I turned to watch her reaction.
She shrugged, seeming uneasy, but convinced, "It's the smart thing to do."
He nodded, gave a parting glance to Bonnie, and moved to do what I'd asked.
The witch's eyes stayed on him as he made his exit.
"Howl when the party's over," he said, clapping my shoulder as he passed.
"Yeah, I'll get right on it," I shot, but otherwise let him go in peace.
Richard, who was also in the room, frowned at my exchange with his nephew, "Something happen?"
"Not with Giuseppe," I told him, "Not yet. But there's something that Ric thinks you should all hear."
He gave me an understanding nod, as Alaric motioned for the wolves that had just walked in to file over so the others would have space to fill out.
Bonnie edged her way over to stand by Elena, leaning close enough to whisper something to her.
I strained my ears, planning to catch whatever it was.
"Is it going to be safe to tell everyone?" the witch asked in a rough breath, "I've seen the way instinct drives your species…"
"It'll be fine," Elena answered back, "No one here want to hurt me. And even if they did, they wouldn't be stupid enough to try it."
The sound of the others entering the room drowned out their conversation from prying ears, but I kept my focus, not wanting to miss whatever Bonnie's response was.
"Well, I'm here. Just in case things go south. My power's strong, and I can make sure you stay safe."
Elena smiled gratefully at her; she believed the witch, and reached out to squeeze the girl's arm, "Thank you."
I had to admit that I did like the idea of Elena being protected by a magical force, as well as the Pack.
Not that she needed protection from the Pack...but the others would be more questionable.
I hardened my gaze as I looked around the room at them.
It was hard to tell who to trust, and who to be caution of.
Remember who your friends are, Ric had told me.
Yeah, well, I don't really have friends.
I have my mate, my Alpha, my brothers, and my enemies.
That was all I'd needed until now.
But somehow, I knew this child would change things, lift the stakes high enough that trusting these allies of ours was a necessary risk to take to destroy the more prominent threat.
After all, the devil you know…
With a swift movement, I pushed myself to Elena's side, where she still had a hand on the witch.
"You'll help us?" I asked, narrowing my gaze on the dark skinned female.
Bonnie's eyes lifted to mine, a little surprised; a little annoyed.
"Yes, I heard what you said," I admitted shamelessly, "And it was a rather gracious offer...what's in it for you? Surely your debt to Elijah doesn't run deep enough to risk your own life."
"This is about more than my debt," the girl told me, narrowing her eyes, "And why does it matter to you why I want to help?"
"Because if I'm going to trust you to keep my family safe," I advanced, "I need a damn good reason."
"Damon," Elena touched my shoulder, silently reminding me to keep my temper in check.
But I wasn't planning on losing control right now.
I just needed affirmation.
"As your Alpha pointed out, my species is at risk here, too," Bonnie reminded me, "We can't afford for you wolves to fail against one of your own. Nor would I risk someone slipping up and telling a man so keen on experiments that female witches might be able to survive the Change."
"Which explains why you'll help us with Giuseppe," I pointed out, "Not why you're willing to protect Elena against anything else."
Bonnie stared at me as though it were obvious, "She may have been turned, but she's still a witch. She's of my blood as much as she is of yours and-," she glanced around before lowering her voice low enough to be sure only Elena and I could hear her, "And her child might be as well. We protect our own."
I actually had to smile a little at the ferocity in which she declared this.
"Glad we're on the same page…but just so you know, if your intentions are anything but pure-"
"I'm puppy chow," she rolled her eyes, "Got it."
Alaric's voice rang out before we could discuss anything further, as he called everyone's attention to the front of the room.
"That's everybody," he stated, eyes swarming the place.
I did a quick glance myself.
Only Mason and the few on patrol were missing.
"What's this about, Alaric?" Jonas asked, leaning against the wall to Ric's left, "I thought we had settled on a plan."
"Or does this have more to do with the witch business?" Wes asked, throwing a glance at Elena.
I stepped in his line of sight, crossing my arms.
"This is about something else," Alaric assured them, "Though it is related...we're going to be changing a few things."
"More changes?" Stefan's low whisper addressed me, from where he'd moved to stand at my side,"What's he doing?"
"It's not about Ric," I promised, as Alaric continued, "We are going to be increasing the security soon, installing cameras outside, around the house. No one is to Change in front of them...go to the treeline for that. Patrols will continue, increasing in intervals. No one will get onto this property without us knowing about it...and I also want to send out a group in the evenings to run the town. Stay hidden so the humans don't see you, but check for any unfamiliar wolf scents. If anyone's caught trespassing, you bring them to me."
"What's going on, Ric?" George asked, his brows creasing a little.
Alaric looked over at me, his eyes full of question, and I knew this was his lead in.
"You all know what Giuseppe wants," I stated, and all eyes turned to me, "What he wants from the Pack, but most specifically, my mate."
"Her offspring," Wes nodded, "Give credit where it's due, the man has vision. As a female wolf, there's no telling what her child could be capable of."
I fought the urge to bare my teeth at him, as Elena spoke up, "Well no one will have to guess much longer...I'm pregnant."
Expressions of shock and confusion spread around the room like a fire, and Elena moved forward, taking my hand, as eyes shifted to her.
She didn't flinch away from their stares, but I still wanted to shield her from them.
There was a moment of silence, as the news was processed, then a low mutter of "Fuck" sounded through the room, and it broke.
Suddenly there were a lot of questions and opinions flying out from all directions.
"What happens when Giuseppe finds out?"
"Should the female stay here if he's going to come looking for her-"
"It might be safer to extend the perimeter a few miles past the town's border. Just in case Giuseppe has scouts out at the-"
"Elena's pregnant?! What's this going to mean for the-"
"I guess there's no need to ask who the father is-"
"We should take the fight to Giuseppe, before he comes looking for the girl. It'll be safer to-"
Alaric raised a hand to silence the inquiries, and waited for the room to fall silent before speaking, "Nothing has changed in the aspect of our plans. Everyone will be safe, as long as we keep the security tight, and we'll know if anyone passes into town if we stick to the perimeter."
A few of the guys nodded, but Richard spoke up, "Would it not be better to hunt Giuseppe down? End this before it can go any further?"
I smirked a little, reminded why I liked the eldest Lockwood.
"I would agree completely under normal circumstances," I told him, "But we can't afford to go in blind. Not anymore. Alaric's right, and we should stick to the plan."
My eyes fell to Elena, and there were no further arguments.
Half an hour later, the shock of the announcement had worn off some, and the air had shifted into a kinetic energy of anticipation that flooded every room of the Manor.
Alaric had made it clear that he understood that this pregnancy upped the risks each of us would face, as it was the one thing Giuseppe wanted, and that any pack was free to leave with no hard feelings.
But he'd been right before about them.
Knowing Elena was with child had only motivated the majority of the males to want to fight harder, their instincts to protect flaring.
No one left.
Not even the Mutts, though Elijah and Klaus hadn't made a comment on the news, at least, not where I could hear it.
I had resolved to keep tabs on them, just in case, and made sure that they were in my line of vision, even now, as I stood in the foyer, the other half of my concentration on my mate.
She was with the witch again, and I had a feeling that an odd friendship was sparking between them.
I wasn't sure how to feel about that, or the entire magic concept, for that matter.
If having witch blood had helped save Elena's life after I'd bitten her, I was grateful for it, and it was impressive to see her fling Klaus across the room as though he weighed nothing.
If these powers allowed her to protect herself, they were a good thing, and of course, she should learn how to use them, to control them…
But the other half of my brain was terrified of what might happen if she did.
I wanted to shield her from the danger of it, the unknown side effects.
And it's not as if the stress was good for her, or our baby.
Our baby…
With that thought, my mind refocused.
Elena knowing magic could help protect our child.
Elena being friends with a witch who might be able to help us find an explanation to this pregnancy was beneficial.
Personal thoughts and fears aside, this was the truth that mattered.
Giuseppe had witches on his side.
Our child would be safer if the Pack did as well.
I moved across the foyer to my mate, and wrapped an arm around her waist.
Elena leaned back into my body without even bothering to turn around to see who had taken hold of her, not that she needed to, and continued to listen to the witch's words.
"-and it might help explain why the fetus already has a heartbeat."
Elena shook her head as my brows pulled together in confusion, "What did I miss?"
Mason, who was sitting near the girls on one of the stairs, spoke up, "Bonnie has a theory, as to why the pregnancy seems to be moving faster than normal."
"And why's that?" I asked, turning my attention to the witch.
Her eyes shot to mine, "I'm convinced she conceived after her escape, because let's face it, if she were pregnant while Giuseppe had her, he never would have let her go. But considering that she only escaped a few days ago, there's no way the baby's heart should be beating. In regular humans, that doesn't happen until after the first month. But with your child being more wolf than not-"
"She thinks I'll have a wolf's gestation period," Elena finished, "She thinks I'll deliver in under three months."
I blinked at that, "Is that possible?"
"Of course not," Elena answered before Bonnie could, "Because that would mean that the baby is aging three times the speed of a human baby. The wolf gene slows aging, it doesn't speed it up."
"But it's not the child we have to consider," Bonnie insisted, "It's you. Your wolf side allows you to run at superhuman speed, and heal almost instantaneously. It's not too much of a stretch to think that your body would be able to create a child at an increased rate too. Not if it you take your wolf into account."
"My body is human," Elena protested, "I wouldn't be able to keep up with a pregnancy at that speed, even with wolf perks."
"What other explanation is there, then?" Bonnie asked her, and Elena opened her mouth, as if she wanted to answer, but nothing came out.
Her brows creased and her jaw tensed as she pressed her lips together.
"Exactly," the witch sighed, "It makes the most sense...it would be an easy issue to clear up if you could have an ultrasound done to-"
"No," I interrupted her, "No doctors. The last thing we need are more humans breathing down our necks while we're trying to avoid a war."
"Then just get the machine," Mason suggested, "Alaric has medical knowledge. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out. And hell, the internet will tell us how big the baby should be at a week old."
"A week old fetus shouldn't have a heartbeat," Elena sighed, her body weighing heavier against my chest.
I frowned as I looked down at her, to see the waves of worry passing over her expression, mixing with exhaustion.
She didn't need this now.
"We can discuss this later," I decided, pinning Bonnie with a stare, "We'll go over your theory with Alaric and keep Elena monitored. But for now, she needs to rest."
"Damon, I'm fi-" my mate tried to protest, but I was already turning her towards the stairs, "It's not going to hurt you to get some sleep. It's been a long day."
She gave up, and let me lead her away from the others without much more fuss, though I could tell that she would probably want to revisit the conversation later.
Upstairs, I nudged her into our room, and shut the door behind us, and in a moment of rarity, I felt regret that I'd snapped the lock on it some years back.
It would be nice to at least have an illusion of privacy for a moment.
It wasn't something that I often felt the need for, but I know Elena prefered it, and with the house being as full as it would be tonight, I would feel better with it.
Not that a lock would stop a wolf from entering if they really wanted to.
Not that a wolf would enter my room unannounced if they valued their life.
Elena's hand on my face pulled me from the fantasy of having an actual reason to decapitate Klaus.
"You okay?" She asked, in that steady calm voice she usually held when it was just the two of us.
I nodded shortly, reaching up to take her hands into my own, "I'm the one who should be asking that."
She smiled a little, "I'm not the one with that look on my face."
"What look?" I demanded, with a rise of my brow.
"The one that says you're planning your next torture session," she said, dropping her hands from mine to move to the bed.
I watched as she shrugged out of her pants, before pulling back the top sheet on the mattress.
"Not torture, per say," I reasoned, "But I can't deny that the other being here is making me uneasy."
She nodded, "Alaric thinks it's your wolf's response to the baby. That it's heightening your instincts."
"It's heightening my desire to murder any male that looks at you," I corrected, before moving to climb into bed with her, shucking my own clothes in the process.
She turned off the single lamp that rested on the nightstand, as I adjusted my pillow to settle in, and the room plunged into blackness.
I blinked a few times, and my eyes adjusted; wolf vision really was beneficial sometimes.
Elena curled into me by habit, rested her head on my arm as hers slid around my waist.
The light fabric of her T-shirt brushed against my chest.
I had the urge to tease her about wearing the damn thing, as she usually just went nude when we slept together, which was practically every night since the Mutt Uprising.
But I remembered the fact that there was a house full of males below us, and that I was capable of skinning them alive, if they happened upon our room in the morning and saw her naked body.
Mine.
A growl shook through my chest without my consent, and Elena's head tilted up so that she could look at me.
"You're not okay," she accused.
I tightened my hold on her, and met her gaze.
"Alaric might have been right about the instincts," I admitted, "But I'll be fine."
Expressions fell from her face, and I knew she didn't believe me.
I leaned down and kissed her mouth, hoping to reassure her that I wasn't planning on acting abrash.
And I really wasn't, so long as everyone behaved themselves.
But if they didn't...well, I couldn't really be held responsible for my actions in that case.
There were few things on earth more dangerous than a mated wolf with a pregnant female, and those bastards were known as natural disasters.
And even then it was debatable.
I smirked a little as I imagined the headline this mind fuck could present: Which kills more? A mated male or a hurricane? Tune in to find out!
Then on a more serious note, I imagined the aftereffects of anyone trying to touch my mate.
All that came to mind was blood.
"I'm losing you again," Elena accused, and I realized she'd pulled away from our kiss.
I smiled guiltily, "Sorry, kitten…"
She shook her head, "Don't be, it's been a crazy few days."
Crazy was one word for it.
"We'll work it out. You're safe for now, though. That's what matters."
Her lips pressed against my shoulder, "I'm always safe with you, which is a little ironic, if I think about it."
"Because I bit you," I murmured.
She shook her head, "No, because I used to think that we were toxic together. That we were grenades and it was only a matter of time before one of us exploded and obliterated the other. But now...instead of our love destroying everything, it created something."
Her voice sounded awed, and her head dropped.
I felt her body shift as her hand moved to her stomach.
"And it terrifies me," she admitted, "And it excites me, and it makes me feel things I wasn't even aware I was able to feel."
"I understand that part," I said, my tone dropping to match hers, "This is more than I could have dreamed."
Enough was going on downstairs and around the hall that no one would be able to overhear our conversation.
"But I also know that this wasn't what you wanted...the baby…"
Elena's head was shaking fiercely, before I could finish my thought.
"I want it," she said firmly, "I knew that from the minute I heard the heartbeat, and I don't ever want you to doubt that."
"But you said that-"
"I know," she assured me, "And I still stand by what I said...that I didn't want to be pregnant. Not now, and not like this, with Giuseppe waiting for it."
She sighed deeply, "And there were so many things to consider, even if Giuseppe wasn't an issue. Like if it was fair to push this curse onto a child, and how it would affect them…if forcing them into this life of secrets and lies was worth it."
"It would be different for them," I told her, "Born wolves have it easier than bitten ones. And with the baby having the gene from both sides…"
"Not to mention the witch blood," she added, "But that's just more to worry about, Damon. Whatever this child is going to be...Giuseppe won't be the only one that wants it. How is it supposed to be happy if it has to spend it's entire life watching it's back?"
I moved a hand to stroke her hair, "You speak as though they'll be alone...as though they won't have the entire Pack between them and any enemy. We'll keep them safe, kitten."
She pondered this, "And if we can't? What if something happens...what if we aren't enough? It doesn't feel real yet, Damon, but I know that when it hits me, I'm going to love this baby, so much, and if anything were to happen to it-"
"It won't," I promised her, "We won't let it. The Pack won't. Hell, even if I have to turn the entire town to build an army between us and any threat, this child will be safe."
"Then you'd be exiled again," she reminded me, halfheartedly.
"Whatever it takes to keep the child safe. To keep you both safe."
She moved back into my body, seeming more relaxed now, at least, and I continued to run my fingers through her hair.
"I know," she whispered against me, "I trust you."
Her voice was drowsy, and I chuckled lowly, "Alright now, baby, you need to sleep."
She nodded gently, her eyes closing.
A few seconds later, her breathing mellowed out, and I kissed her forehead, before settling deeper into the mattress.
I kept my eyes on my mate until they became too heavy to hold open.
Eventually, my exhaustion won, and I faded from conciousness, the steady thrumming of my child's heart a lullaby for my own.
So a little fluff there :)
Let me know whatcha thought!