No, I'm not dead (though with my friends, that's kind of surprising lol)! Me and Kitsune are just really busy right now considering me and her are both in the drama department in our school and...she has the lead in the musical!

Oh and if you have any complaints or anything, send hate mail to Kitsune! She's actually encouraging it lol, prolly cuz we're both looking forward to what you guys say hehe. More information on that at the end of the chapter.

Thanks to all who reviewed, favorited, alerted, etc. You guys are the reason why we update this story instead of just continuing to write the story but refuse to put it on here (which I personally wonder how you all would react to that if I did do something like that b/c we dont get reviews or something, but I kinda think Kitsune would murder me if I did and I'm sorry, but i dont like being murderd . It's not fun!)

InnocentKitsune444: Ignore Dragon, she's had way too much caffeine today.
Dragonrain618: Nuh-uh! ~crosses her arms, candy falls out of her pockets~
InnocentKitsune444:...
Dragonrain618: You didnt see anything.
InnocentKitsune444:...Is that from my candy stash?
Dragonrain618: Pff, no... ~runs away~
InnocentKitsune444: Enjoy the chapter ~sighs~ Looks like I have to find Dragon...again.

Chapter Twenty Four

Kill Like This by Adam Ezra Group

And I saw game on
Taste my kiss
Lights go up and we kill like this
Pack up, turn around, to kill another day
Cause the game is on,
And we came to play

Tyler stared at Kiara's cart in awe. "I don't think you really need that much duct tape."

"It's a really big hole." Kiara replied as if that explained it all. "I actually think I didn't grab enough."

"Not enough? It looks like you grabbed the entire stock!" Tyler exclaimed, staring at the overflowing cart. He had a feeling that he was going to be the one who ended up paying for it all.

Kiara nodded sagely. "I did. Everything they had on the shelf and in their warehouse."

Tyler shook his head in disbelief before sighing, "Go ahead and check out."

Kiara obligingly got in line and waited patiently. Tyler would have joined her but his phone went off. Unknown Caller, it read. "Hello?"

"I'm coming to Mystic Falls." Jules's voice was on the other line.

"What? No!"

Kiara began piling the duct tape on the belt. In a calmer voice, Tyler repeated, "No."

"I thought you didn't care if I came." Jules said, a hint of a mocking tone to her voice.

"Things change." Tyler said. More duct tape. The cashier gave Kiara a dirty look. "You know that better than anyone else."

"It's only been a few weeks." Jules replied annoyed. "How much could've really changed?"

More duct tape. More dirty looks. Kiara remained oblivious to it all.

"You'd be amazed how much has changed. You're not welcome here, Jules."

"Not welcome, huh? You sound awfully protective. What's in Mystic Falls that you need to protect?" She questioned.

Tyler cut his eyes to Kiara who was now in a heated argument with the cashier over something. "There's nothing here I want to protect, Jules. I just want you to stay away."

"Tyler, I-"

Tyler interrupted her. "Good bye Jules." He hung up.

A second later he heard, "What do you mean I have to pay for all of this?" Tyler glanced at Kiara who was staring at the cashier in shock. He couldn't hear the cashier's response but suddenly Kiara turned to him and said, "Hey Tyler! Do you have five dollars…and a hundred dollars…and sixty-two cents?"

Tyler let out a groan.

"Aiden's dead." Jaden stated.

Masashi looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Aiden as in the Original?"

"Yes Aiden the Original! What other Aiden do you know?" Jaden snapped, earning him a dark look from Masashi. "Do you think Kiara killed him?"

Masashi snorted. "Kiara would have trouble harming a fly, so I sincerely doubt she attacked a vampire as powerful as Aiden."

Jaden nodded at the logic. "On another subject, I have heard word that you visited Kiara's mother."

Masashi instantly tensed and he eyed Jaden distrustfully. "So?"

"Did you learn anything?" He inquired.

Masashi growled. "That I was out of my mind when I bought Gwen, out of my mind when I started a relationship with her, and out of my mind when I kept Kiara instead of giving her away with the other slaves' children."

Jaden laughed, more than a hint of mocking in his tone. "Sounds like you had a very different conversation with Gwendolyn than I did." Masashi just glared at him. Jaden continued, "Did you learn anything remotely helpful?"

Masashi sighed and said begrudgingly, "No."

Elijah knealt beside his youngest brother's body. His eyes examined the grey face, taking in the blood that seemed to have been splattered against it.

With a look of indifference, the Original stood up. He knew who had done this.

Varian.

Anger flittered across his face as his eyes rested on the gaping hole in Aiden's chest where his heart was supposed to be. Varian had clearly left Aiden's body out in the open as a threat of what was to come, directing it towards Cassie.

However, Varian would not lay a single hand on Cassandra. Elijah would make sure of it.

He wasn't weak like Aiden. Elijah was stronger than the twin sons of Malykarian. The only other two capable of destroying them would be Klaus…and Cassandra. But Cassie would never do that, would never agree to that.

Sighing, Elijah stared at Aiden. Frowning, he leaned forward and pushed open Aiden's jacket. A miniature portrait fell out. Picking it up, his dark eyes widened when he realized what it was. He looked down at Aiden, regret replacing the disbelief.

This explained everything about why Aiden would choose now to go against Klaus, why Aiden hadn't put his own safety above that of hers.

Aiden wasn't like Klaus in the least. He had cared, loved, Cassie…and when Klaus had decided that Cassandra had "betrayed" them, Aiden had been torn. He had been angry, vengeful, believing every word that had come out of Klaus's deceitful mouth.

The portrait was dropped from Elijah's hand on to Aiden.

"Rest in peace, little brother." Elijah whispered quietly, pain in his eyes. "I swear to you that I will not let Klaus cause our sister any more pain than she's already been through."

"Finally." Jordyn remarked as she drove past the 'Welcome to Mystic Falls' sign, glad to finally be back in Mystic Falls. She was annoyed that her trio had been pointless. She still had no way to protect Kiara and it pissed her off.

"We just had to come back." Damon complained.

"Yeah, too bad for Stefan. Now he's back on babysitting duty." She smirked at Damon. She stopped the Mercedes right in front of the boarding house. Jordyn turned in her seat to face Damon, "Remember, don't tell anyone why we went to Boston."

Up an eyebrow went. "What do you want me to say then?"

"Make something up! Just don't tell then about…the problem I'm having with my magic, okay?" Jordyn ordered.

"Alright…but I have one question." Damon's eyes stared at her seriously. "When this Jaden guy comes, what are you planning on doing?"

Jordyn frowned in confusion. She had thought the answer to that question would have been obvious. "Fight, obviously."

"Without magic?" He raised an eyebrow at her in a challenging manner.

"If I have to, yes." Jordyn replied slowly, her eyes looking up at Damon. "And don't even try to stop me if it comes to that."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Damon smirked, hiding the fact that on the inside he was in deep thought. His blue eyes were examining the girl's face.

Jordyn didn't really believe him but nodded anyway. "Okay. Guess I'll see you later this week or something."

"Nuh-uh." Damon shook his head. "I will see you tomorrow."

Jordyn eyed him warily. "Why?"

"So I can have you all to myself, all day." He smirked.

Jordyn stared at him with a raised eyebrow, an irritated but slightly amused look on her face. "Mmhm."

Damon leaned across the seat to pull Jordyn into a kiss. She relaxed into it and kissed back for only a split second before a grinning Damon pulled back. "Bye, non-girlfriend." He was out of the car and inside his house in a flash. Jordyn couldn't help but let a small smile cross her face.

A smile that turned to horror as she stopped the car in front of her and Kiara's house.

She gaped at the big, bulldozer sized hole that was mere inches from the door. As if that wasn't bad enough, layers of duct tape were taped to it as if in an attempt to conceal it.

"Jordyn!" Kiara said as she jumped and turned around, dropping the roll of duct tape in her hand. Panic crossed the kitsune's face. "I thought you were going to be gone a week."

"Four days was more than enough." Jordyn stated, a smile on her face that was contradicted by dangerous narrowed eyes as she continued, "Would you please enlighten me on why there's a huge ass hole in the side of the house?"

Kiara couldn't suppress a slight shudder as she faced Jordyn. The witch looked scary…and pissed. "Tyler was teaching me to drive and I accidentally drove through the garage door." Kiara lied.

"Kiara, we don't have a garage door." Jordyn remarked through gritted teeth.

Kiara laughed nervously. "I guess that explains why it didn't open. You should really tell me these things Jordyn."

Jordyn stared at her in disbelief at Kiara's attempt to make it almost sound as if it had been her fault instead of the half-demon's. She took a deep breath. "Why is there duct tape over it?"

"Duct tape fixes everything." Kiara said so seriously and genuinely that Jordyn was actually struck speechless.

She opened and closed her mouth like a fish before just shaking her head and walking into the house without another word.

The following morning, Jordyn and Kiara found themselves in the office with a properly sympathetic Martha. "Oh Jordyn. How's Roza?"

Jordyn frowned, genuinely confused. "Roza who?"

Martha frowned as well. "You're grandmother."

Grandmother? Jordyn blinked, sending Kiara a quick look before turning back to Martha, a lie already on the tip of her tongue. "Oh yes. Of course. She died. Cancer is am awful disease."

"Cancer?" Martha looked confused. "I thought it was a shark attack…"

Jordyn shot a glare at Kiara, who was looking away innocently while whistling softly. "It was a shark attack but she's been battling against cancer for years. There was an infection as a result of the attack and her body couldn't fight against it." Kiara was lucky Jordyn had a lot of experience with lying, otherwise they would have been in serious trouble.

"That's just awful!" Martha exclaimed, tears in her eyes. "Where are you sending the body?"

Jordyn looked at Kiara, who seemed to be mouthing the word 'Ohio'. "Ohio." Jordyn replied solemnly.

Kiara smacked her forehead and groaned as Martha said, "Why would you send her body to Ohio. She's already there."

Jordyn took a deep, calming breath before replying, "She was in Columbus. We're having the body moved to upper Ohio, in the Sandusky area where our uncle lives."

"Oh." Martha said, her eyes narrowed slightly as if she didn't quite believe Jordyn's lies. "Well then, you both better be off to class."

The two quickly exited the office as quickly as possible. In the hallway, Jordyn crossed her arms and looked at her friend. "Why did you mouth Ohio?"

"I didn't! I mouthed anywhere but Ohio." The Japanese looking girl replied.

Jordyn rolled her eyes. Thinking back on the conversation, Jordyn laughed, shaking her head at the strangeness of it. "Shark attack? Really?"

Kiara looked embarrassed. "I had to come up with something on short notice, okay?"

Jordyn grinned at her friend. "Do you even know where Ohio is?"

A pause, then, "No."

Tyler had just gotten out of his car when his phone went off. "Hello?"

"I don't appreciate being hung up on, Tyler." Jules.

"I don't care what you appreciate." Tyler snapped annoyed as he entered the school.

"That's not a very nice way to speak to a fellow werewolf." Jules stated. Tyler could tell from her tone that she was probably smirking.

He let out an annoyed sigh. "What do you want Jules?"

"I called to give you a choice." Jules stated. "Between me or the pack."

A frown crossed Tyler's face. "What are you talking about?"

"Either I come to Mystic Falls or the whole pack does."

"Why can't you guys just leave me alone!" Tyler exclaimed annoyed. He hated the way Jules's pack ran things, the stuff that they did. That was why he had decided to stay in Mystic Falls.

"There's talk, Tyler. Talk of a druid in Mystic Falls." Jules stated.

Tyler's eyes immediately when to Kiara, who was coming out of the office with Jordyn. The two were laughing about something. "So?"

"Druids have the ability to control animals and that includes werewolves. The Pack wants to find them and use them."

Tyler's mind immediately went to the full moon that had occurred right after he had met Kiara and the way she had managed to keep him from hurting her with a single word. He gritted his teeth as he imagined what the other werewolves might do to her if they found her. "Well, you're mistaken because there isn't one here."

"Even so, should I come? Or should the pack take up a permanent residence within Mystic Falls?"

Tyler sighed seeing no other choice. "You can come, Jules."

"Essay?" Jordyn looked confused as she stared at the history teacher.

Alaric sighed. "The one I told you about on your first day."

Jordyn tilted her head, thinking back to a month before. So much had gone on in so little time that she had actually forgotten, which when you consider how short of an attention span she had, it wasn't that difficult to believe. "Oh." She remembered. "That one."

"By that then, I'm guessing you're not done with it."

"Yeah, sorry. I've been a little…busy." Jordyn said apologetically. Normally she wouldn't apologize to a teacher, but Alaric was different from the others. He was fun…and he wasn't an arrogant, uptight know-it-all like some of the teachers at the school were.

Alaric frowned. "Jordyn, when I give a deadline for something to be turned in, I expect it to be turned in."

Jordyn gritted her teeth. "I know. I'm sorry. I've been really busy and it's not like I'm Supergirl or something." She left quickly, feeling her eyes beginning to change. Seriously? They have to do this now?

Alaric blinked, his frown growing. Right before she had left…it had looked like her eyes were completely silver.

"You really know how to make a woman feel all warm and fuzzy inside." A voice joked from behind him. He turned in annoyance, seeing Damon sitting on the edge of his desk.

"How did you get in here?" Alaric asked annoyed.

"The window. You should really learn to close them Ric. Not exactly smart." Damon smirked as he stood up. He raised an eyebrow at his friend. "What did you do to piss off my hot witch?"

"Your hot witch? Does she know tha-Wait, Jordyn's a witch?" Alaric looked surprised.

Damon smirked. "Yeah. Old news. Why do you think she's absent all the time? You really need to be more observant."

Alaric rolled his eyes. "Why am I the last to find out these things?"

Damon shrugged. "Because you're not important. Duh."

The teacher sent him a look. "Thanks." He said dryly before looking at Damon inquisitively. "Her eyes…"

"Were silver? Yeah. They do that sometimes." He shrugged it off as if this information was completely unimportant. He glanced at the teacher and was silent for a moment before rolling his eyes and saying seriously, "Give her an extension on the stupid paper."

"Why? I gave her a few weeks to do it and she didn't."

"Ric, she never had the time to work on it. Not with Klaus being a dick and trying to get her. So give her an extension." The vampire ordered.

"Why would Klaus want her?"

"Hell if I know." Damon responded, walking towards the door. "I don't think anyone but Elijah knows the answer to that."

"What made you change your mind?" Jordyn asked her teacher surprised.

"I just thought about it and…you're a good student Jordyn. Surprisingly bright for someone your age so…you get two more weeks, but that's it." Alaric answered, knowing that Damon probably didn't want her to know it was because of him. Alaric was still surprised that Damon even requested, or more like ordered, him to do it.

And then there was the issue of Damon calling Jordyn his.

Silently, Alaric wondered if Jordyn was just a toy to pass the time with or if Damon Salvatore had actually begun to care about someone else.

"Why are we out here on the canoe?" Kiara questioned her boyfriend confused.

"How much do you know about werewolves?" Tyler inquired with a sigh.

"Only what I know about you." Kiara replied, a teasing grin on her face. "Like how cute you are when you're all fluffy."

Tyler made a disgruntled noise. "I am not fluffy!" He took a deep breath before saying, "You know how wolves run in packs?"

"Yes." Kiara replied slowly, wondering where this conversation was going. "Do werewolves do that too?"

"Most do. I don't."

Kiara paused. "Why?"

"Because the pack and I see things differently." Tyler answered, not bothering to go into specifics.

Way to be vague, Kiara thought. Out loud, she said, "What kinds of things?"

Tyler sighed. "Almost everything. Mainly the extent we should go for the quote unquote 'good' of the pack."

Kiara frowned, she had a bad feeling about what Tyler was leading up to. "You think they go too far?"

"No, I know they go to far." The werewolf replied uneasily, running his fingers through his black hair.

Kiara knew that this conversation was uncomfortable for Tyler and yet he'd been the one to bring it up…which furthered her suspicion even more that something bad was about to happen. "Something has happened, no?"

Tyler looked away. "I recently got a call from one of the pack members."

Just as she had expected. Something big was about to go on, and at the worst time possible too. "And…?"

"And they've heard rumors about a druid living here." Tyler said, clenching his hand angrily. "Jules wants to come look."

"Me?" She asked.

Tyler shrugged. "You're the only druid I know of." Anger could be heard in his tone. It was obvious that he was not happy about Jules coming to Mystic Falls.

"What do they want with me?" Kiara whispered, a frown growing on her face. Wasn't it enough that she had Jaden after her? She really did not need another person trying to take her against her will. She was getting sick and tired of this. Fast.

Tyler's words came out in a growl. "They want to use you for your powers."

Seeing Kiara pale, he laid a hand on her knee. His eyes bore into hers. "Hey, don't worry. I wont let them lay a single finger on you, okay?" He told her reassuringly.

Kiara placed her hand over Tyler's as she thought. "So the whole pack is coming?"

"No…at least, not yet…Just Jules is coming…but if they find you-" He stopped and gritted his teeth.

Kiara's hands balled up into fists as much as out of anger as well as fear. Now was definitely not the time for this kind of stuff. "I'll talk to Jordyn about a spell to hide my power."

Tyler nodded. "Good."

"I'm not talking to you." Jordyn stated irritated, glaring at the person who was leaning lazily against her car.

"Why not?" The man complained childishly as he moved off of the car.

That only managed to annoy Jordyn even more, especially after having found out what he had said. "Why did you tell Stefan that we eloped to New Orleans because I'm, quote, madly in love with you?" She questioned annoyed, looking at the vampire with her arms crossed as she waited for his answer.

Damon arched an eyebrow. "Now that is entirely your fault, my witchy little non-girlfriend."

Jordyn let out a tired, annoyed sigh. "How is it my fault exactly?"

"Well, you did tell me to make something up. Besides," He smirked. "You are madly in love with me."

"No, I'm not." Jordyn retorted.

"Oh really?" Damon's smirk grew as he leaned down, bringing his face close to hers. "And why do I not believe that?"

Jordyn rolled her eyes, her annoyance slowly disappearing. "Whatever. See you later." She moved to go around him so she could reach her car door, but he stopped her. A scowl appeared on her face. "What?" She questioned.

"Where's Foxy at?" Damon inquired, only now noticing that Kiara wasn't around.

Jordyn shrugged. "Tyler said something about a canoe. I honestly don't know. I tend to tune him out whenever he starts to talk."

"It's mid November." Damon stated with an amused expression.

"I know." Amusement shone on Jordyn's face.

"He's probably trying to find some place where he can dump her dead body." The vampire remarked casually as he got into Jordyn's car.

Jordyn got in as well and gave Damon a wry look. "You are so not right in the head. Why are you in my car?"

Damon grinned at her. "I thought we could have some fun."

The witch looked at him suspiciously as she asked, "What kind of fun?"

"The fun kind." He replied, a smirk replacing his grin as he looked over at her.

Jordyn stared at him with a calm face. "Either tell me now or get kicked out of my car."

"One, it's Elijah's. And two, you have no magic so why should I be afraid of you?" Damon remarked with an eyebrow, amusement clear in his pale sapphire blue eyes.

Jordyn looked at him calmly, but her amusement towards him was evident. "If you seriously think I was feared just because of my magic, you're dead wrong." Klaus had made sure of that. For some reason, he had been adamant about her being able to protect herself no matter what. As a result, he had taught her how to fight using a sword.

There were moments when she missed the friendship she had once had with the hybrid but her days of caring about him were long gone.

There was no way she could ever forgive him for the part he played in Lucas's death.

Damon looked curious but instead of asking about what else she can do, he said honestly, "I just thought we could, maybe, hang out?"

Jordyn looked at him for a moment before sighing and rolling her eyes. "Fine."

As Kiara walked into the house, she instantly heard a man's laughter and someone shouting. Confusion on her face, she recognized Jordyn's voice as the one who was shouting quite…graphic insults.

Curious, she poked her head around the wall and blinked at the sight of an angry, flour covered Jordyn shouting at Damon while pointing her finger at him angrily.

Damon looked like he was going to die laughing.

Jordyn scowled. "If you didn't like my cooking, all you had to do was say so! You didn't have to dump the entire container of FLOURon me!"

Kiara blinked again, wondering why anyone wouldn't like Jordyn's cooking. Food was food after all.

"It was more fun this way." Damon responded, grinning despite the fact that his non-girlfriend looked as if she wanted to throttle him. "I seriously think, though, that your cooking would be the perfect weapon against Jaden."

Kiara's eyes widened. Jordyn had told Damon about Jaden? Why?

"Stop insulting my cooking!"

"If it wasn't so bad, I wouldn't have to." Damon retorted. Jordyn's eyebrow twitched. What was with all of the guys she knew insulting her cooking? First it was Klaus, which he had no room to talk considering he was the one who had taught her how to so really if it was so bad then it was his fault, and then Lucas had insulted it as well. He had tried one bite of her gumbo before pulling out his cell phone saying that he had to warn the FDA.

Seriously! What the hell was with all of them? Her cooking wasn't that bad! "Kiara seems to like it!" Jordyn argued.

The vampire raised an eyebrow. "Kiara would eat anything if she was hungry enough." He snorted.

"Get out of my house." Jordyn told him through gritted teeth.

"Make me." He responded, a teasing grin on his face.

"I said ge-"

Kiara's mouth fell open as she saw from her hiding spot Damon silence Jordyn by pulling her into a kiss. A kiss which Jordyn returned for a split second before pulling back.

"I'm still mad at you." Jordyn mumbled, looking away with cheeks that were slightly pink.

"If you say so." Damon responded with a smirk.

"Don't make me set you on fire." She threatened, though she obviously didn't mean it.

"How? No magic, remember?" Damon teased, to which Jordyn smirked.

"Who said I needed-"

"You lost your magic!"

Jordyn jumped before staring at the no longer hidden half demon. Kiara was staring at Jordyn horrified, her eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open.

"How long have you been standing there?" Jordyn asked suspiciously.

"Jordyn, what did Damon mean when he said that you have no magic?"

Jordyn exchanged a look with Damon before looking back at her friend and saying, "Exactly what it sounds like. I have no magic."

A/N: Am I the only one who loves how Jordyn's just like "oh yes. She died." bluntly without any emotion in her tone at all? Lol, oh! And if anyone is mad about late updates, blame Kitsune! She said to email her your hate mail and stuff lol...now all i have to do is find the piece of paper that she wrote her email address on lol . Yeah, I'm definitely not the most organized of people. You'd think I'd have her email memorized or something considering she's one of my best friends but...yeah lol. Until then, PM her and everything :D (silently hoping she won't kill me for losing her email address...again XD) Well, if you dont hear from me anytime soon then yeah, she murdered me hehe!

Review!...oh yeah, and I just now realized how really long this chapter is lol!

BTW, I recommend looking up the song at the beginning of the chapter! It's one of my favorites at the moment and it's also on Sherrilyn Kenyon's list of songs she thinks fit the Chronicles of Nick series (any book by Sherrilyn Kenyon is pure gold, just sayin')

InnocentKitsune444: There you are Dragon ~evil look~
Dragonrain618: RUNNNNNN! SAVE ME!