I've been told a few times that Damon is a bit out of character, that he's not like he's supposed to be and stuff. You have to remember that right now, Damon is on cloud 9 with Rayna, despite the trouble they're having with Katherine. It's not gonig to last for long though. A storm is coming, and it's going to hit on our beloved town hard.

As for the fact that I'm taking this too slow, I really want my readers to see how the addition of my OCs are affecting the course of the events, as well as to highlight certain characters that the original writers decided to forget.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs.

March 4th

Rayna POV

I woke up alone in my bed, the sheets next to me cold and empty. Instead of Damon, I found a note on the fluffy pillow, written in the familiar elegant script of my boyfriend.

"I'm so sorry I had to leave early today,

but I had to get things ready for Jenna's barbecue.

I'll see you there.

I love you,

Damon."

I smiled as I read the note, but the smile faded as I thought about the latest plan Damon and Alaric had come up with to figure out if Mason was indeed a werewolf. Alaric had asked Jenna to throw a barbecue, invite Mason since he was a friend of hers since high school and test him in many ways, see how he reacted. I was not exactly on board with this plan, but I knew we had no other choice. Even my father had agreed to help with this, fearing for my safety and the safety of Pearl, Anna and every other vampire that was our ally.

After a quick shower, I got dressed in a pair of light beige pants, a pink top and a white shirt on top of it, tied the ends to a knot and fixed my hair in a French braid. I slipped my feet in a pair of white sandals and made my way downstairs, hoping to locate the rest of my family. Anna and Pearl were in the kitchen, getting the things we had made for the barbecue ready.

"I do hope this pie will be to your liking," Pearl said as she covered the meat pie she had made with in foil.

"It will be magnificent, I am sure of it," I assured her. "Do you think three tubs of our ice cream will be enough?" Anna asked me as she took the three tubs of caramel chocolate chip ice cream we had made yesterday from the freezer.

"Jeremy is known to love ice cream, but as long as we keep it out of his sight until dessert, we should be fine," I chuckled, and Anna rolled her eyes at me.

"Are my girls ready?" dad asked from the doorway, smiling at us.

"As ready as we could ever be," Pearl sighed.

"Pearl, I promised you that we will not do anything that will bring you or Anna to any kind of danger," my dad soothed her, hugging her waist. "Mason is my friend, I could never even think of hurting him, but it seems that he has been keeping secrets, even from me, his longtime friend. We need to be sure, otherwise our lives are in danger. Stefan was lucky enough not to be bitten on the night of the full moon. If we don't identify who the werewolf is, you will be in danger every full moon." Pearl stared at him for a few moments before she nodded.

"Alright then, let's go. It's rude to let our hosts do all the work, Jenna will need some help," Pearl said as we all grabbed something and carried it to the car.

Jenna was already hard at work to prepare the things we would entice ourselves today with. My dad and Jeremy were supposed to get the fire going for the steaks and the burgers, while us girls had to make the salads and prepare everything else.

"This meat pie smells delicious," Jenna complimented Pearl as she took a whiff of Pearl's cookery.

"Thank you, it's an old family recipe," Pearl replied politely as Anna and I hid the ice cream as deep in the freezer as we could.

"Make sure neither Jeremy nor Mason see those. Jeremy is known for his love of ice cream, and if my memory serves, Mason is quite fond of it too," Jenna informed us, and I tensed.

"Yeah, he could eat a whole tub by himself within minutes," my dad nodded, though I could see he was tense as well.

"Who else are we expecting?" Anna asked, trying to turn the conversation elsewhere.

"Well, I sent Mason to find some shot glasses I had somewhere in the dining room, Alaric should be arriving soon, Elena invited Caroline, and I think Stefan and Damon should be coming too, right?" Jenna turned to look at me.

"Yeah, I think that's about it," I nodded at her, hoping I looked calmer than I felt. My dad went outside to see if Jeremy had done anything with the fire, while Pearl and Anna went to set the tables outside.

"You know, I did notice some sort of resentment when you mentioned Damon, why is that?" I asked Jenna.

"Look Rayna, I'm happy that you found someone to be happy with, it's just that your choice seems a bit, unusual. I thought someone like Ethan would be more your type."

"So did I, until he started acting like a jealous husband, reaching the point of manhandling me. I don't know about you Jen, but I cannot accept a man treating me like that," I retorted.

"Of course not, and you did the right thing when you left him, but Damon is not that different than Ethan. I do remember that when he first arrived in town, he was with Caroline, and he seemed to treat her really bad."

"That part of Damon does not exist now, I can assure you. He has changed since he came to Mystic Falls, and I am glad to say I had a large part in that."

"Well, even I have to admit that he does seem happier around you, though still jealous, much like Ethan. Mason told me that he looked really disturbed when he saw you and Mason talking at the Mayor's funeral."

"Well, he can get a bit jealous sometimes, but he's not that bad. Besides, sometime have a jealous boyfriend boosts a girl's ego, don't you think?" I winked at her, and she chuckled.

"Well, I suppose you are right. Seriously though Rayna. I cannot say that you are like a daughter to me, but you are one of Elena's best friends, and I see you as a younger sister. I care for you, and I don't want you to be hurt."

"Trust me Jenna, Damon would rather die than hurt me, I know that well," I assured her, just as Mason came in the kitchen, holding some shot glasses.

"Good news! I found the shot glasses!" he said proudly, holding them up for us to see.

"That would be my cue to leave. I'll go see if Anna and Pearl need any help, let me know if you need help, okay?"

"Sure," Jenna nodded.

I was so worried all of a sudden. Mason seemed to be really at ease with everyone, as if he had nothing to hide, but I felt like he was still hiding something from us. I saw Damon's car parking outside the house and felt even worse, since now the man I cared for most in this world was in the same place as a potential werewolf. I liked Mason, he had been one of my father's best friends ever since I could remember, so it would hurt me and my father to hurt him, but I would, if that meant I would save Mason. I helped with the table as fast as I could before I made my way inside again. Alaric and Jenna were just coming out, which meant that Mason and Damon were alone in the house. That could not be good, so I hurried to make sure everything was alright. I caught the end of their conversation as I rounded the corner.

"I know, I have heard great things about you," Mason said to Damon.

"That's weird, 'cause I'm a dick," Damon replied easily.

"That is not true and we both know it," I retorted, drawing their attention. Mason seemed to tense slightly, while Damon relaxed a bit.

"Well, I'm a dick to everyone but you," he smirked as I hugged him, giving him a kiss on his cheek."

"True, but you are improving," I nodded, making him chuckle.

"So, you two are together?" Mason asked, trying to remain pleasant, but I could tell he was trying not to frown.

"Yeah, she finally succumbed to my swagger," Damon replied smugly, and I elbowed him rather hard.

"That is also not true and you know it. It's rather hard to explain," I turned to Mason, "but a lot of situations brought us together, both for good and bad, until we just gave in to each other I guess. I can tell you though, when I first met him, I thought he was a royal class jerk. He has managed to suppress that part of him though."

"And you definitely deserve it," Damon whispered, kissing my neck.

"Hey, food is ready, come and get it, before the others devour it," Jenna said from the door.

"Come on, before Jeremy and dad eat everything," I pulled Damon outside, with Mason following close behind us. I could tell he was really upset with the way Damon and I held each other. I decided not to care much about it.

A few hours later, after we had managed to eat every steak and burger my dad and Jeremy had cooked, Damon had the fun idea to play Pictionary. I had no idea why he almost insisted on this one, but I could tell it was part of his tests for Mason.

Mason proved to be a pro for Pictionary, while the rest of us were not that good. As Damon's turn came, he drew what appeared to be a dog with a…skirt? "Dress, ballerina," Jenna tried to guess, excited from all the shots she had done.

"Puppy, puppy with a tutu?" Caroline tried, but she also failed to answer correctly.

"No," Damon shook his head, motioning the picture again, doing a weird movement of some kind.

"Hound, dog, nothing but a hound dog," I guessed but Damon again shook his head.

"Dances with wolves," Mason said, and we all froze and turned to look at him.

"Mason wins again," Damon declared and I groaned, collapsing on my seat next to Jeremy.

"How can you do that, guess every single one of them?" I protested, pretending to be pissed off about it.

"And how is that a wolf?" Jenna added.

"Doesn't matter, Mason still won. Your turn professor," Damon smirked as I got up to go help Elena with the ice cream and the pie.

"Need help El?" I asked my friend who was taking out the pie from its container.

"Who brought this, Caroline?" I asked her as I took out the plates.

"Actually, it was me," Damon purred, coming up behind me.

"Damon, behave," I whispered when I felt his hands circling my waist.

"Why? Jenna's getting tipsy, it's about we take this party to the next level."

"And that level is what exactly?" Elena asked as she took the plates from me. "Will you stop plying her with alcohol? She is far enough as it is."

"I want her to like me, both her and Mason," Damon smirked at her.

"Yeah, good luck with that. How are things with Mason by the way?" I turned the conversation to what interested us more.

"He's my new BFF," Damon replied casually. Jenna decided to abandon the Pictionary tournament and come help us with the dessert.

"Hey, isn't this fun?" she smiled, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Yes, thank you so much for inviting me," Damon replied politely.

"Did I have a choice?" Jenna retorted.

"Jenna, remember our little conversation earlier today?" I warned her, and she raised her hands in surrender.

"What did you two talk about?" Damon looked from her to me and back again.

"Girl stuff," I winked at him, just as Elena gave Jenna same of the dessert knives from a beautiful wooden box.

"These are fancy," Damon commented.

"Thanks, my mother's silver set," Jenna replied, and I saw a glint in Damon's eyes as he picked one of the bigger knives. He smiled and winked at me, and I saw Elena was getting worried.

"Let's get this to the table before everyone starts complaining okay? I think Jeremy will freak out when he sees the ice cream," I said, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"Ice cream?" Jeremy poked his head from the living room. "There's ice cream? Where?"

"Yes actually, but you'll only get some if you behave," I simply replied, and he looked even more excited.

"Okay everybody, time for dessert," Jenna called out as she carried the tray with the plates and the utensils.

"Okay," Damon declared as he took the pie to the table. "Mason, why don't you start us off?" he smiled to him, and carefully observed Mason, watching his every move. He didn't seem to be unsettled by the silver knife, however he grabbed the piece with his bare hand and put it on his plate. I could see Alaric was watching him intently, and Mason just returned the look, showing not even a trace of uneasiness.

"Oh, sorry, I'm an animal," he said, chuckling, and I joined in to cover the boys' staring.

"Uh, men and their Neanderthal genes. You should see when my dad eats popcorn, total massacre," I snorted.

"Hey, that is not true!" my dad cut in, sounding offended.

"Tell that to the popcorn you ate last weekend when we were watching the movie," I retorted, and my dad attacked me, tickling me to submission.

"Okay, okay, I take it back," I said breathlessly, finally giving up.

"So Mason, you and Jenna never dated?" Alaric asked our Lockwood guest, taking the conversation elsewhere.

"No, she was always lost in Logan Fell land," Mason chuckled, and Jenna sighed.

"Ah, my first mistake. Mason was a catch, he had girls lining up for him," she informed us as she placed the plates on the table.

"Really?" Damon piped in. "I would have pegged you for a lone wolf," he added, and I wanted to kick him under the table. This was not subtle, not at all.

"Oh, I'm sure I was not half the lady killer you were," Mason replied easily, taking a sip from his beer. If he was indeed a wolf, he was playing this really well. "How about a toast?" he raised his bottle. "To new friends."

"Cheers to that," my dad agreed, clinking his bottle along with the others. Damon and Mason continued to stare at each other. This was not going to end well, I just knew it.

Elena got a bit worried about Stefan, so she and Caroline left to go see if he was at the Boarding House. Caroline seemed really reluctant to drive her there, but in the end she agreed. She had been behaving weirdly all day long, but it was understandable, given her current situation and the fact that she had to break up with Matt, to keep him from becoming her next meal.

Jenna, getting ever tipsier from the alcohol, decided to start a "Guitar Hero" tournament, and asked my help to set up the equipment. Jeremy and I were the first two contestants, and he really kicked my ass within the first seconds of the song. Jenna and Mason were next, and Mason proved a pro in Guitar Hero as well.

"Is there anything you are not good at?" I groaned as he beat me as well.

"A few things," he smirked at me, and I noticed Damon glaring at Mason's back. Jenna and I went to finish the last of the dishes, and as I went to close the box of the silverware, I noticed that one of the bigger knives was missing.

"Ah, I'm so glad we finally got all the dishes done. Thank you so much Rayna, I wouldn't have do it without you," Jenna sighed, wiping her hands. She wasn't holding the last knife however, and that got me really worried.

"Hey, any other takers for drinks at the Grill?" Mason poked his head from the living room.

"I'll pass," Jenna shook her head. "Wow, it's like I'm with a bunch of adults around here," Mason sighed dramatically, and I snorted.

"I prefer the term 'role-model'," Jenna corrected him.

"Well, thank you for having me over. I really had a great time."

"Thank you for lighting up some of Jenna's most hidden past activities," Alaric winked at him, and Jenna looked surprised to say the least.

"You two are worse than children," she huffed, tossing the dishcloth at Mason, but he grabbed it with a really graceful move.

"Don't worry, it's nothing too revealing. Anyway, I think I'll take off. Alaric, Albert, catch that game next week?" he turned to my dad.

"Yeah, I look forward to it," Alaric nodded.

"Indeed, some time away from everything, just the guys, just like old times," my dad sighed, and Jenna rolled her eyes.

"You'd think we were tormenting you all day instead of feeding you."

"Forget it Jenna, boys are always boys, no matter how much they grow up," Pearl said as she put on her coat.

"There is no greater truth," I agreed, and the boys all rolled their eyes. Not two minutes after Mason left, Damon came up, putting his coat on.

"You know, I think I'll take off as well. Alaric, let's not catch that game next week."

"Fine by me," Alaric shrugged.

"You are a very gracious hostess Jenna," Damon kissed her hand, behaving like the proper gentleman.

"And you are a terrible artist," she replied, but she still smiled.

"Is that the only thing that makes me terrible?" Damon replied with a smirk.

"I'm thinking about it, but maybe you are not as bad as I thought you were," she replied, casting a glance at me.

"That's good enough for me. I'll see you everyone later," he winked at me, and I barely caught the glint of the silver knife under his leather jacket. He was going after Mason. Before I could get out and stop him, he was already gone. Damn it Damon, why do you have to push your luck so much?

After my dad went home with Anna and Pearl, I decided to call Damon, see if I could get a hold of him. He answered after the third ring.

'Hello, Damon Salvatore here.'

"What the hell did you do? I do hope Mason is still alive."

'He is, sadly. Silver didn't even hurt him, so the silver myth is just that, a myth.'

"Where are you? We definitely need to talk about your impulses," I growled, feeling so angry at him right now.

'I'll come by your place once I'm done here. I promise, no deaths.'

"We have a few things to talk about Damon, you'd better hurry up," I hung up on him, already marching out of the house, barely remembering to grab my coat on the way out.

Damon POV

As soon as I hung up my phone, I knew I was in deep trouble. Rayna sounded really angry, but I needed to know. Mason Lockwood was a werewolf, he had attacked my brother, and even though he said he had no control over it, he was still a problem. I had to do something about him, and quick, before the next full moon. God, I needed a drink. Mystic Grill was almost full with people, but Mason was nowhere to be seen. I sat at the bar and ordered a bourbon. It had been a while since I came here to get a drink, but with the fight that was lined up ahead of me, I would definitely need to keep calm. With my vampiric nature, it was normal for me to kill anyone who even posed a threat, but lately, I haven't been doing that much killing. All of that because of Rayna.

Somehow, when I was around her, I forgot about my nature, about how I am a soulless creature that feeds on human blood to survive. I knew I didn't deserve her, but somehow she had chosen me. A heavenly creature like her had chosen a monster like me, when she could have had somebody better, somebody who wouldn't condemn her to a dangerous life like I had. If I was a decent man, I would have stayed away from her, but I couldn't. I was like a moth to her flame, and I was selfish enough to keep her to myself. I knew how cruel men could be with girls like Rayna. Her light would draw the worst kinds of bastards to her, men who would devour her like demons, corrupt her in ways that would turn her bright light into absolute darkness. For that and many reasons, I would stay right beside her, protecting her, loving her, until she asked me to go. Then, I would leave her alone, even if it killed me to do so.

It was about ten minutes after I got in the lovely Grill that my brother and Elena walked in. They walked up to where Caroline was sitting, all by herself. Stefan left his girlfriend with the blond newborn and went to sit at another table by himself. Something was going on here, something didn't look right. Elena and Caroline talked for a while. It seems that Caroline had tried to get Elena to get away from Stefan, but she failed. Caroline seems a bit concerned when Elena leaves her to go to Stefan's table. She watches them from afar, and nobody but someone like me notices that.

As soon as Elena sits with Stefan, hell breaks loose. It seems Stefan spent the day with Katherine, hence his absence from the barbecue. Not only that, Elena saw her in person, and Katherine warned her to stay away from Stefan, or there'd be hell to pay. Before I could realize what is going on, Elena got up and left, looking rather angry. Something was going on, something I couldn't actually put my finger on. Stefan left a few minutes later, looking really sad, and Caroline almost right after him, looking like she was in one hell of a hurry. I finished my last drink and walked out of the bar, trying to figure out a way to explain to my lovely girlfriend why I did what I did. It didn't look like I was going to get out of this one with just a warning.

Halfway to the car, I realized that my wretched creator was leaning against my car, smirking like she always did when she was pleased about herself.

"Bad day?" she asked huskily, her dark eyes glinting with joy.

"Bad century, but with a few happy moments to balance the situation. I heard you were on the loose."

"Oh, what's them matter? Jealous I spent the day with Stefan? I have to admit, he has developed himself ever since I last met him," Katherine smirked, trying to get to me. She didn't.

"I don't do jealous Katherine. Not with you, not anymore," I shook my head.

"Then why are you so pouty?"

"I tried to kill a werewolf, I failed, and now my girlfriend is a bit mad about it."

"Maybe she fancies the werewolf you tried to kill. After all, the Lockwoods were always beautiful men. Maybe she prefers the brutish wolf from the lithe vampire. But anyway, don't be so hard on yourself. Werewolves are not that easy to kill."

"How would you know? What do you know about werewolves?" I asked, curious as to how she could know about werewolves, and the fact that Mason Lockwood was one of them.

"Why don't you ask your brother?" Katherine taunted, solving one part of the riddle. So that was the reason Elena and Stefan had that fight tonight. Katherine wanted Stefan to herself, and it seemed she had achieved her goal. It mattered little to me though. "Ah Damon, have you really flushed me out of your system that easily, and all for that flimsy witch? What does she offer you? Her blood? Is it that tasty?"

"She offers me light, pure light and goodness, something you never gave me Katherine. Now move over, she's expecting me," I pushed her off of my car.

"Go ahead, your doll will be waiting for you. Just a piece of advice though. Don't try to be the hero Damon. You'll end up dead."

"Been there, done that," I retorted, getting in my Camaro. "But, unlike last time, the girl I'm doing this for is definitely worth it." I drove away, trying to understand what on earth was happening. I drove to my place first, hoping Stefan would be there, but the house was empty. I had no other choice but to go to Rayna, and I knew she was going to be mad, especially if she found out that I came across Katherine tonight. I hated keeping things from her, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Her windows were lit by the fire in her fireplace, and my goddess was lying on her bed, dressed in her usual sleeping attire from before we got together, a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, reading on her grimoire. I tapped on the glass and she raised her gaze to look at me. The calmness in her dark eyes was replaced with anger. She closed her grimoire, put it on the nightstand and came to open the balcony doors. She didn't say anything, just let me in, closing the doors softly.

"So, are you going to yell at me, or should I at least try to explain my actions before the yelling starts?" I asked her.

"I'm not going to yell Damon, but I do however expect an explanation for your actions. That was a really bad move today, a move that could have gotten you killed," Rayna said in a stern tone.

"I had to know Rayna, I had to be sure, and now we know that Mason is indeed a werewolf, and that silver can't do a damn thing to him."

"You stabbed him with the knife?" she gasped.

"Yes, and apart from a mere flesh wound that started healing slowly as soon as I pulled the knife out of him, nothing else happened. Silver didn't even have a reaction with him. He said that werewolves probably started the rumor about the silver, to make people think that they could hurt werewolves or root them out like that."

"Damon, you do realize he could have bitten you, right? A werewolf bite is lethal to vampires. What would you have done then?"

"It's okay Rayna, I'm all fine and dandy as you can see. Although, he did mention that he considers me an enemy right now."

"Gee, I wonder why," Rayna retorted, glaring at me. "Apart from all the macho contest, did you manage to get anything useful out of him, like why he is still here? From what my dad told me, Mason was never too fond of Mystic Falls, nor did he got along with his late brother."

"Well, he said that he is only here because of his brother's death, and he wants to support his nephew, that is all. Even though our kinds are in dispute, he doesn't want to start a quarrel with me or Stefan."

"But he attacked Stefan during the full moon," Rayna argued.

"He says that, during a full moon, he has no control over himself, he just reacted on instinct. Other than that, he wants nothing to do with us."

"Well, if that is the case, then I see no reason to start a war between werewolves and vampires, so it's better to just leave him alone. After all, it is his right to be here, it's his hometown. We just have to be careful during the full moons." She stopped pacing and stood in front of the fireplace, sighing. I walked up to her and hugged her waist, holding her close to me.

"I'm sorry if I got you worried," I whispered to her, and she leaned in to my touch. She turned around, her dark eyes now holding nothing but warmth.

"You almost gave me a heart attack today Damon. It's one thing to try and fish him for information, but attacking a fully-grown werewolf whose bite can kill you is a completely other thing. Putting your life in danger for no good reason is not a good thing Damon, please promise me you are not going to try anything like that again."

"I am just looking out for me and my own, including you, but I promise not to put you through something like that ever again. Now that the fog has cleared, I see no reason why I should go anywhere near him again. If he is here simply for his family, then let him be." Rayna sighed, hugging me.

"Thank you," she simply said, holding me close.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," I patted her hair, lifting her face to mine, planting a soft kiss on her full lips.

"Apology accepted," she smiled softly.

"We do however have another matter to look into," I added.

"Figures," she chuckled sadly. "What is it this time?"

"For reasons I have not yet discovered, Stefan and Elena had a very public break up in Mystic Grill tonight, and Caroline was watching them like a hawk all the time."

"A breakup? What for?"

"It seems the reason that kept Stefan away from the barbecue today was because he spent the day talking with Katherine. Apparently, that didn't sit well with Elena."

"Well, it's understandable, but I don't get it. I thought Stefan hated Katherine, why did he spend the day with her?"

"From what I figured out, she was visiting him, and he tried to get info out of her. Elena went to the Boarding House and even came face to face with her living copy."

"Good God," Rayna gasped.

"No worries, there wasn't a scratch on her. Something is fishy, I just can't put my finger on it yet. I think we'll have to do some digging on that front."

"Well, I can do some more digging tomorrow at the preparation for masquerade ball Carol Lockwood has come up with to honor her husband and Founder's day. I'm supposed to help her sort through a few old things of the founding families, so I might have a chance to talk to her or even Tyler, see what he knows about his uncle's big secret."

"Those are good news, but can you please be careful? With Katherine still out there, I'm not comfortable about leaving you alone for too long."

"I will be fine, you just watch out for the big bad vampire bitch. Bonnie has spent her free time practicing her powers, getting as much power as she can to face her. When we finally catch her, it's going to be a big show."

"Okay, and I would really like to see that, but can we stop with the Katherine related talk for tonight? I'm really tired of talking about her."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" my incredibly hot girlfriend asked with a sly smile.

"Oh, I can think of a few things," I smiled back as I leaned in to kiss her.

And that's another chapter. FYI, I'm not going to post next week, since I'm going on a little trip to recharge the old batteries, but I will return with more of our favorite show as soon as I return. Until then, review, send your love, your thoughts, anything you think I should hear.

XOXO