A/N: Hey everyone! I know, my posting schedule has been super ridiculous. I want to mention something to y'all that is super important. I know the material in this story has been really dark and the darkest aspect has been the incredibly abusive relationship between Damon and Annie. I want to say, I am okay, I never have been, nor am I in an abusive relationship. When I started writing this story way back when, I was in a darker place in my life. I had just been diagnosed with anxiety and started my first year of university which was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Since then, I've grown a lot. I feel a lot better about myself and the world and what I can accomplish. I want to take this story in a sort of lighter direction. It will never be super fluffy or anything because TVD is pretty dark in itself, but I am trying to move away from that extremely negative relationship Damon and Annie had. The problem now lies with Annie forgiving Damon, which after everything he has put her through, in my mind is a no-no! So, please forgive the incredibly plot friendly forgiveness at the end of the chapter (SPOILER), but know that it is necessary to move the story forward. If you are in a place where you are scared, feel really dark in anyway, feel hurt by anyone, please talk to someone. You are never alone. Thank you for taking the time to read my story! I hope you stick with me! And now, back to Love Unforgiven.

….

My arms and feet were numb. My butt hurt from sitting on the wood floor. Isobel sat in a chair across from me, a glass of wine in one hand, her feet up on some boxes she had packed up. I glared at her. I felt dried blood on my forehead crack as my brows pulled together. There was a large gash just under my hairline from where Isobel thought it'd be fun to test my delayed healing ability. As we stared at each other, Isobel with a devilish smirk on her face, I heard the front door open. Isobel twisted a small blade between her fingers.

"I see you're packing. That's a good sign." John's voice rang through the empty room.

"It won't be long now," Isobel said, her eyes not leaving me. John came up to her then turned, following her gaze. He seemed shocked to see me. I cracked a small fake smile.

"Hey John, fancy seeing you here," I snapped. Isobel's hand moved with such speed that I didn't see the blade leave her hand but I felt it pierce into my shoulder. I let out a cry as the sharp pain spread through the joint.

"What the hell are you doing? Damon will kill you?" John said, coming over to me and pulling the knife out. A small scream left my lips before I groaned and glared at the man.

"I'm getting what I want," Isobel said, standing up and tearing the knife from John's grasp. My eyes followed the blade instantly as much as I could before Isobel started pacing behind me. My eyes moved back to John.

"Isobel I get she is a means to an end, but do you really need to keep hurting her?" John asked. My brows furrowed in confusion before I felt the blade go through my back and I screamed.

"No. Damon knows I have her. This is all for fun," she explained. I felt tears streak down my cheeks. I look back up at John and growled.

"Isobel, I know you've changed but the old you is in there somewhere isn't she? Keep her as a hostage but for God's sake, you don't need to keep hurting her," he said, kneeling in front of me.

"John, are you going soft? I thought you hated all vampires?" Isobel said yanking her knife back out.

"Stop!" I shouted. I heard her chuckle behind me and John closed his eyes.

"Isobel enough," he growled. I looked at him in surprise as more tears ran down my cheeks.

"Faites le souffrir," Isobel said simply. Frank and Cherie came up and beat John quickly, tossing him to the floor. Isobel grabbed his hand, pulling the ring from his finger. "You have gone soft. Let's see how you do without this." I saw John's unconscious body on the ground, bleeding. My gums began to ache at the smell of blood. My body ached. I tried to pull forward but my restraints wouldn't allow me too. I watched Isobel walk out of the room, her two minions following closely behind me. She met my eyes as she left the room and the last thing I saw of her was her running her tongue over the blade coated in my blood.

…

John came to not long after. I watched him groan, holding his head as he sat up.

"What is she doing John? What is the device?" I asked. He looked skeptically at me. "I know we are enemies but the enemies of my enemies are my friends right? And right now we would both love to drive a stake through Isobel. Help me out here," I whispered.

"You're a vampire," he replied. I snorted.

"Barely."

"I can't tell you." I met his eyes, shifting in my restraints.

"Are you going to kill them? Is that what the device is?" I asked. His lips pulled into a tight line. "I know you have no reason to believe me, but they aren't all bad." He didn't reply. "You know your little device won't kill me right? And if anything happens to my friends, I will be happy to pull your head from your shoulders." He stood, now towering over me. I didn't back away. I simply looked up at his looming figure.

"You aren't invincible," he growled. A small smirk crossed my lips.

"Try me."

…

It wasn't long after John stormed out of the room that Frank and Cherie were back pulling me along behind them. My body burned from the stab wounds and I struggled to keep on my feet but they continued to pull me along. I was shoved back into the car and we arrived back in Mystic Falls. Frank and Cherie continued to pull me along as Isobel stood in the town square across from Elena.

"Where is the device?" Isobel called. She held out a hand towards Elena and one finger up signaling Frank and Cherie to stop. We stopped just out of view.

"Where is Annie?" Elena asked in reply. I could see Isobel tense, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"We aren't negotiating Elena, where is the invention?" Isobel demanded.

"Don't give it to her!" I shouted as loudly as I could. A hand slapped over my mouth pulling my head back. I looked up at Frank, his dark dead eyes baring down into mine.

"Well I suppose the jig is up. I brought Annie along for insurance. Bring her out!" Isobel called. Her minions dragged me out and threw me at Isobel's feet before going to stand a few steps behind her. I groaned, unable to use my arms to push myself up.

"Oh my God," Elena whispered.

"Annie?" I heard Damon call from behind Elena. I watched as Damon and Stefan approached. I tried to meet his eyes but couldn't. Blood began to trickle down from the cut on my forehead again, blurring my vision.

"Hey guys," I groaned from my place on the ground. Isobel suddenly grabbed a handful of hair and pulled me up so I was standing next to her. I let out a cry at the sudden pain bursting in my scalp.

"I will stop hurting her if you give me the device," Isobel said. She nuzzled into my neck and bit down harshly. I let out another cry but tried to swallow most of the pain.

"Don't. Don't give it to her," I snarled from behind clenched teeth.

"Stop!" Elena called. Stefan and Damon both took steps forward. A murderous expression lingered on Damon's face while Stefan was shrouded with concern.

"Oh Annie, always so brave and selfless," Isobel said, my blood running from the corner of her mouth. She smiled and bit into my neck harder. I bit my tongue so hard it bled freely.

"Don't." I whispered one more time. My legs suddenly felt weak and my knees collapsed. I fell back at Isobel's feet. I watched her careful wipe blood off her lips with her thumb. Isobel's eyes shot over to Elena, Stefan, and Damon. They hadn't moved.

"Well?" she asked. Elena took a step forward.

"NO!" I cried. Isobel turned with vampire speed and kicked me harshly in the ribs, snapping a few of them.

"I will give it to you! Give us Annie first!" Elena shouted. I peered up at her and noticed tears on her cheeks. Damon was now at her side with Stefan holding him back.

"Give me the device first," Isobel demanded. Elena clenched her jaw but pulled the device from her bag and tossed it over to Isobel. She caught it swiftly and gave me another kick for good measure. I coughed, blood passing my lips onto the stone ground. Damon rushed up, picking me up gently. Isobel had already taken off with the device.

"Ow." I coughed again. Stefan came over, removing the ropes from around my wrists and ankles. "Thanks," I whispered.

"Are you going to be okay?" Damon asked. I rolled my eyes and curled into his chest as he carried me away. Elena and Stefan followed closely behind.

"Just take me home, I want a bed, a shower and a band aid," I sighed. Damon snorted and I looked up at him. He smiled at me.

"I'm glad you are okay," he said quietly.

"Thanks for giving her the device. But you have to know, it has the power to kill vampires. We have to get it back," I said, trying to sit up a bit in his arms. He sushed me.

"We know. Bonnie removed the spell. It doesn't work anymore," he whispered as quietly as possible to me. I looked at him in shock.

"Then why the hell did you wait so long to give it over!" I teased, smacking his chest.

"We didn't want to seem too eager," he replied.

"Yeah whatever, I'm just over here healing a punctured lung while you are trying to play hard to get with the killer vampress," I joked.

"I am really sorry Annie. If I hadn't have riled her up-" I stopped him by pressing a finger to his lips.

"She would have done the same thing anyway. She's a bitch. Now we go home, rest, and plan our next steps. Okay?" I looked up at him with wide questioning eyes, hoping for once he would take me seriously.

"Okay."

…

Elena took off home not long after we got to the boarding house. Damon placed me gently on the couch, passing me a glass of bourbon. Stefan joined us after Elena's departure. Damon brought a first aid kit into the room and pulled me half onto his lap while he dressed my wounds. We sat quietly, listening to the crackle of the fire.

"We won one," Stefan finally said. Both Damon and I looked over at him.

"We did," I agreed. Damon let out a humph.

"Maybe. Something just doesn't feel right about it. Especially with Annie looking like a victim of Freddy Krueger," he replied, "Take your shirt off." My eyes widened and I looked over at Stefan who also looked slightly shocked.

"Damon-"

"You said you stab wounds, we have to treat those too. Not to mention your ribs," he explained. Stefan cleared his throat.

"I'm just going to leave you to it. Hope you feel better Annie," he said placing his glass down on the table and leaving the room.

"Take it off or I will take it off for you," Damon said a moment after Stefan left the room. I slowly took my bloodied, torn shirt off and tossed it to the other side of the couch. Damon snorted, grabbed it, and tossed it into the fireplace.

"Damon!"

"That thing was beyond repair. I will buy you a new one," he said before focusing on the first stab wound in my shoulder. I crossed my free arm over my stomach.

"We need to talk Damon," I whispered after and a long pause. His hand stilled as he worked for only a moment before he continued cleaning the gash. "This isn't healthy, or normal. I shouldn't keep coming back to you. You've hurt me, a lot. You've hurt other people. You compelled Tyler. I killed a woman. We aren't good together Damon," I started, taking his silence as an opening. He still sat quietly. "And I know you care for Elena." He stopped moving entirely.

"What?" I tried to read his expression but I couldn't tell if he was angry that I brought it up or simply confused.

"Isobel told me," I tried to explain. He shook his head.

"Annie, I care about Elena's safety. She's my brother's girl."

"And she looks like the girl you've spent a hundred years in love with," I quickly added.

"Katherine means nothing to me. And I am not in love with Elena," he snapped shaking his head. He pushed me forward to reach the stab wound on my back but I pushed back and turned to face him.

"I never said you did." He wouldn't meet my eyes. "Damon, if Elena means something to you, anything to you, I understand. But she's with Stefan and-"

"I don't. There's nothing… Annie, the only one I care about is you," he said. My blood ran cold.

"No Damon. I can't." His expression didn't change. His eyes gentle. He reached up to take my face in his hands, like he had done earlier at Alaric's except this time was so much more different. My breath was coming out in small pants. He eyes met mine intently. I placed my hands over his.

"One more chance Annie. After today, I can't imagine hurting you like I had before. Every part of me wants to protect you. I am not the same man I was when I arrived in Mystic Falls, and you are a big part of that. Please give me one more chance," he begged. My eyes flicked down to his lips before returning to meet his.

"I shouldn't. Damon, after everything, it's wrong," I breathed back. He closed his eyes tightly. I felt pricking in my eyes and I surprised myself by crying at his pained expression. His eyes jerked open when one of my tears hit his thumb. He gently brushed the offenders away.

"I will spend every day making it up to you," he whispered. His words brought about another fresh rush of tears.

"Last time Damon. This is it," I said finally. My heart ached thinking about being apart from him. A small smile pulled the corners of his mouth up. He leaned in and pressed those smiling lips to mine and a warmth rushed through me.

"This last chance is all I will need. I promise," he said. I smiled and brought him closer.