Author's note: Sorry for the slight delay; I was writing new content for Klaroline Fall Bingo (you can find my work in my series A Beautiful Symmetry.) Also, the KC Awards are happening soon, and I hope you'll consider nominating my work!

Warning: Again with the angst. Also violence. Caroline is fresh out of fucks at this point.

This was created for the Klaroline Fall Bingo Event.

Prompt: Bonfire

Wolves didn't care for petty human ideals. Gender held no sway in pack law. Power was power. But that didn't mean Caroline would turn a blind eye to what was happening along the iron gates of the Mikaelsons' estate. Klaus stood before a crowd of his hybrids, discussing strategy. The bastard had formed a war council with his men. Without her.

With an approving eye, she saw wolf-bright eyes among her pack as they lined the cobblestone path. Lips pulled back from fangs, their low snarls revealed their disdain for Klaus' clumsy attempt at taking command. Her wolves watched. And waited. She could feel their tightly coiled fury, ready to attack at her command.

Klaus' witches had built a bonfire inside crudely drawn runes. A morning bonfire. Only the most useless of witches wasted their time with daylight bonfire magic like this. Caroline sniffed the air, already feeling the magic's cracks. "My pack's protection spells are no longer enough? Now you're adding inferior magic?"

"The perimeter has been breached by my enemies on multiple occasions. Perhaps it's your magic that's inferior." His biting tone drew jeers and mocking laughter from the gathered hybrids.

Her wolf lunged against her skin, the sting of her mate's words wounding her more than she cared to admit. However, before she could demonstrate her displeasure, movement at the edge of the fire caught her attention. Genevieve seemed to be attempting a blessing ritual with a bundle of sage leaves, but they wouldn't stay lit. Snorting, Caroline said, "You have to use dried herb bundles for proper smoke rings." Turning to Klaus, she rolled her eyes, admonishing him with, "Seriously?! You think this ginger twit has power? That she can do anything other than feed your ego?" She hated doing this in front of others — airing private business felt vulgar. Weak. But the will of her pack was all around her, and she drew from their strength. Regardless of what happened, her family was with her.

Klaus nodded approvingly at Genevieve, barely sparing Caroline a glance as he said, "Your jealousy is unbecoming. Genevieve is an ally and should be treated as such."

It wasn't Klaus' words that broker her. It was the ginger twit's shy smile and fluttering lashes. At Klaus. They were supposed to be partners. Her chosen would learn his place. Unleashing her wolf, Caroline latched onto his neck, enjoying the way he stilled at the light press of her fangs. She tasted, but didn't break his flesh. Yet. Hybrid gold burned bright in his gaze, almost as fiery as her wolf-silver. Her warning delivered, she transformed back, pressing her weight to his. It was foolish. Desperate. But her wolf yearned for her chosen's touch and wouldn't be denied.

Suddenly, he hissed, holding his forearm away from her as though burned.

Caroline narrowed her eyes at Klaus. His flesh had healed from Genevieve's scratch, but she knew the ways of his body, and his blood...chafed under his skin. His wolf shrank from her touch. She'd known something was wrong with him; her wolf had whined and snarled within her even as her heart continued to ache. Whatever had been done to him, she would handle. And then handle the person responsible.

Time stood still between them, a raging beast that howled its sorrow, and she sensed it before Klaus growled the command. "Take them."

Her mate used his sire bond to control his hybrids, ordering them to attack her and her pack. Her wolves lunged in a flash of fangs and fur, blood staining the ground. Klaus' witches wisely stayed out of the way, Genevieve looking torn between fascination and fear. Caroline intended to fix that.

She watched Tyler and Bonnie toss four hybrids against the main gate, a wicked smile crawling across her face as she heard the metal clang. Their bodies broke far too easily. Klaus had no instincts when it came to building an army. But their enemies were closing in and they couldn't lose soldiers over their pettiness. This ends now.

Two hybrids foolishly came for her, and she swiped at their bellies. Their skin split under her claws as they howled in pain. They would heal. Probably. However, Bonnie tried to take on three by herself, and a stray claw caught her along one cheek, spraying her blood as Tyler and Genevieve raced to her aid. The red-haired witch staunched the blood with her sleeve, murmuring a hollow apology that had Hayley snarling. One word from her alpha and Hayley would eat her. Pity it wasn't time.

"Enough!" Caroline's shout seemed to bring the battle to an uneasy pause; her wolves respectfully stood at attention as they waited her command.

Klaus' arrogance was his undoing. That cocky smirk said he thought she wouldn't attack him again. Beautiful idiot. The spell she tossed his way kept him rooted to the ground, and his witches once again seemed torn between helping him and choosing self-preservation as they ultimately kept their distance. This time, she sank her teeth in his throat. Her mate's blood on her tongue was ash. Klaus didn't taste like hers. He raised his cold eyes to her stoic gaze as she stepped away, but his wordless surrender saved him further humiliation. For now.

Was it human nature to treat death as a tourist destination? Caroline rolled her eyes as she watched the last of the slack-jawed tourists finish taking photos of the centuries-old crypts and shuffle toward the exit gate of St. Louis No. 1. Once the cemetery was empty, she crept from the shadows of the wall vaults, joined by Bonnie and Tyler. She could feel their annoyance — they didn't agree with her methods. Better to kill an enemy swiftly. But Caroline wanted answers first.

"It means a lot that you've given me your trust," Genevieve hesitantly said, walking beside her as they paused at a tomb topped with a crumbling angel. "I agree our side needs all the help we can get, and summoning the ancestors for guidance is a great idea."

"Yes. Our side." Caroline nodded at her pack's healer and beta, silently instructing them to begin the ritual. "I value the loyalty of my people, but it often makes me blind to their faults. For example, Tyler is a suspicious bastard who instantly assumes the worst in people and actively looks for ways to prove they're trying to screw over our pack. And Bonnie's eye for detail and photographic memory makes her the absolute worst person to play poker against, but also the best at figuring out someone's real motives."

Genevieve's hand trembled as she tried to light the candle with her magic. It smoked and sputtered before Caroline gave it a little nudge with her own power. The flame suddenly seared the night air, the tainted smell of burnt hair filling the alpha with a petty satisfaction as she realized part of the ginger witch's eyebrow had been burnt off. With a startled gasp, Genevieve pushed with her magic, trying to bind Caroline.

With an angry bellow, Tyler quickly tossed in the bergamot leaves and cloves into the clay vessel, which completed the circle and tossed Genevieve against the cracked marble. She raised her head defiantly, her voice a harsh whisper as she taunted, "You know nothing."

"We know there's missing children posters throughout New Orleans and have been for years. No bodies have been found. While there's an appalling number of dark rituals that require children, there's very few in which the spells would consume the entire body. Once Bonnie traced nearly all of the dates back to a few days before a new moon — perfect for regeneration and renewal spells — we suspected your involvement."

Bonnie clenched her fist, causing Genevieve's nose to bleed as she acidly told her, "You're at least a century old; the magic you practice starts to wear down a frail body — the coven you pretended to swear allegiance to would never abide by this violation of the natural order — but the covens who have bound themselves to Katherine's cause would celebrate such darkness."

"What sealed your fate is when you cursed Klaus. Your spell stank of desperation — what caused you to speed up the timetable? My pack and I planned to feed you false information for a while longer. Instead, you tipped your hand — why?"

"Klaus was supposed to be mine! When this all started, Katherine promised he'd be mine but she didn't keep her promise," Genevieve spat, sending Caroline a look of pure loathing as she revealed, "She said she'd driven a wedge between you, but instead you followed him to New Orleans and fought beside him!"

Caroline scoffed, "Of course Katherine lied! She saw a nitwit playing way above her paygrade and took advantage."

Tyler muttered, "Klaus was the reward for your loyalty? I think I'd demand a refund." Bonnie vigorously nodded in agreement, not the least bit intimidated by her alpha's irritated glare.

Ignoring her friends, Caroline commanded Genevieve, "Tell me how to break his curse."

"No. As his disdain for you grows, his heart will turn to mine."

Caroline's wolf raged at the insolent witch, demanding her blood. Retribution. She snapped her wrist, her power reaching out through the barrier to rip away a long red curl from Genevieve's head. "Either you'll tell me, or your body will. I don't need you alive to learn your secrets."

Genevieve eyed Caroline fearfully, but she stubbornly swore, "You won't win. It doesn't matter that Klaus will never be yours again — Katherine will win this war because you and your wolf pack of Oklahoma trash are too stupid to see what's in front of you."

It only took a moment for Caroline's wolf to cross the barrier, digging her fangs deeply into Genevieve's pale neck and ripping it out. She took her time coming back to herself, wolf and woman both savoring the acrid blood of her enemy.

As she straightened from her crouch, wiping off Genevieve's blood with the back of her hand, she saw Bonnie and Tyler looking at her reproachfully. "What? I warned her that first day if she insulted my pack again, I'd go for her throat. I'm a wolf of my word."