Half Moon

The spell forces him to spend three days as a wolf. A great loping beast haunting Mystic Falls. Bonnie had meant to keep in this form as long as she needed to protect Elena but if they'd expected him to take it calmly, they were wrong. True animal attacks spiked and they weren't just a cover story anymore. The residents of Mystic Falls feared going out at night after a slew of savaged bodies surfaced in town. Matt was exasperated and knew he was being kept out of something by his former classmates, but no matter how hard he tried they insisted on ignorance.

Klaus circled the boarding house hoping to catch a Salvatore outside long enough to bite. Just one quick nip was all he needed for a painful ending. He didn't even care at this point if it was Stefan or the annoying one. Old friendships, even those forgotten, no longer mattered to him.

On the fourth morning, he woke up in the woods. Naked and covered in blood, his brother standing over him with clothes. The sun feels good on his human skin. It means he can finally get to some answers and hopefully to her. Each time he tried to shift back, it was like trying to open a sealed door. He could feel it giving but only just barely. The idea that he may never become a man again had occurred to him. A terrible curse to spend an eternity as a wolf.

"You've been like this for three days." Elijah throws him his pants first. "It was becoming tiresome waiting for you to come back."

"I remember. All of it."

"You've been busy, Niklaus." Then, a shirt.

"I had no other way to express my immense displeasure."

"It's not that different from how you express it as a man." Finally, his brother holds on a black coat for him, letting him slide his arms through it.

"Have you seen her? Is she still hidden away with the Salvatore brothers?"

"No, she's gone."

"Gone? What did they do?"

"Apparently nothing. She was angry, obviously, and left. Her friends don't know where she went just that she left in the middle of the night."

"My girl," Klaus grinned, proudly.

"Yes, indeed. Look Niklaus. I feel the need to apologize."

"For what?"

"I've had a few days to contemplate this and I thought before in Venice that you were corrupting Elena. I didn't see the depths of her feelings for you. That she would leave her friends and family, well it means something. I didn't want to see how she felt, selfishly."

"She's not as innocent as you'd like to pretend. I can't corrupt her any more than she already is."

"I'm not sure I can completely agree with that point."

"She's a complex woman, Elijah. She's not a young girl looking for a savior. She isn't Tatia."

"I can see that she isn't her."

"I love her as you loved them. No one believes me. Sometimes, not even her."

"Be patient with her, Niklaus. She hasn't loved anyone new in such a long time. She might need some practice. And you, well..."

"Did you give her the same advice about me?"

"No, she's sure about her feelings for you. She'll never admit it, but I'm sure there is a small part of her that wonders why you chose her."

"I've done nothing but show her my devotion including and up until the other night."

"I know. It doesn't make much sense does it? Insecurity, such a human feeling. How could you possibly relate?"

"Are you attempting a point, Elijah?"

"Are you resonating with something I said?"

"Is this how you felt about Tatia? Katerina?"

"Yes and no. Katerina was an attempt to feel what I felt with Tatia. She was treacherous though where Tatia was painfully earnest. A lesson I've learned and am repenting for."

"What do you make of Elena?"

"Oh, she is treacherous too. In her own ways. Though her reasons are as honest and hopeful as anything Tatia ever did. She is unique. They all are and also terribly similar."

"Elena is the best of them."

"In your eyes, perhaps."

They sat together, quietly. Each brother contemplating the woman they loved, both bearing the same face but worlds apart. Finally, Elijah broke the silence.

"I would apologize for Katerina, but seeing how different you've become with Elena I'm inclined to ask for a thank you."

"Excuse me? You cannot possibly be serious."

"If she hadn't escaped, you wouldn't have spent the last five hundred years seeking her out. Who's to say that if you had seen Elena, you would have even spoken to her?"

"I would have!"

"Doubtful you would have even looked twice at her. Really, if you think on it, I played matchmaker in a way." There was a flash of laughter in Elijah's eyes and Klaus's mouth broke into a grin.

"I will find her again, Elijah."

"We will," he corrected.

"Actually, I might be able to help with that," a soft voice said, emerging from the trees. The two men stood up and something about the way they held their shoulders make her scream out. "Wait! I'm on your side. Well, I'm on Elena's side and you happen to be there too. So yay! Team Elena."

"Speak then," said Elijah, getting straight to the point.

"She left the next night after the sacrifice. She texted me to come pick her up and told me everything. I'm so sorry," she explained, emphasizing the apology. "I know Bonnie meant well, but things just got out of control. You have to understand that."

"Tell me where she is then." urged Klaus.

"Well, the thing is that I can't tell you."

"Why is that?"

"She couldn't tell me. She tried! But she just couldn't."

"What happened, Caroline?" Klaus demanded.

Two Days Earlier

Elena woke up and immediately recognized Stefan's bed, his room, his collections. Thankfully, no Stefan. She wondered if he was still hiding at Caroline's and why she'd been left in his room of all places. She pulled on a robe and walked downstairs, a strange pit in her stomach that reminded her of all those months ago. The first night she ever slept, just slept, with Klaus. And then woke up to find him gone.

Why hadn't he stayed with her? Surely, he would have wanted to be there when she woke up?

When she walked into the dining room, she saw the four of them whispering in a tight circle. Stefan, Bonnie, Damon and Jeremy huddled together and broke apart when she cleared her throat.

"Hey, um, where is Klaus? He said he'd be with me when I came back."

"He's not here." Damon was the first to break off from the circle to walk towards her.

"That's not really an answer, Damon. Obviously he isn't here. So, where is he?" A smile flitted across her face, as if being pleasant could conjure up Klaus.

"Elena, we wanted to get you away from him. Just for a bit." Bonnie looked nervous.

"What? Why? Did he change last night?" Jeremy wouldn't even look her in the eye. "What happened?"

"We just wanted to make sure he wasn't compelling you. We were just trying to keep you safe," Stefan seemed more confident in himself than her brother. His words came out more steady than even Bonnie's had.

"I told you the other night that I was on vervain. Or you could have tasted my blood for that if you didn't believe me. What did you do?" Her voice was hitching higher in her throat.

"Oh come on! Elena! He is an Original. We had to get you away from him. The guy is bad news and you haven't been making the best decisions lately," Damon scoffed. That the Salvatores were the only ones who didn't reek of guilt spoke volumes to her. Growing up hadn't made them look at her like any more of a woman. They'd always treat her with porcelain control.

"No, you didn't Damon because I didn't ask to be taken away from him. In fact, I asked to stay with him. Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on?"

"Look, just answer a few of our questions and then we will go find him okay?" Stefan, always the reasonable sounding one.

"No! I don't need to answer your questions. Not when this feels like you kidnapped me." Her voice rose a few octaves as she backed away from them.

"Elena, we just wanted some time alone with you. He's like your double. Always there. No one could get any time alone with you." Bonnie sounded so gentle, but this was a rage that Elena couldn't come down from no matter how her friend pleaded.

"Stefan managed it. You know, most people just ask when they want something instead of plotting and scheming. Jeremy, are you seriously siding with them?"

"I'm not siding with anyone. Bonnie gave me a decent argument and I just wanted to find out for myself. It just seems so weird that you are in love with him after only a month. We only wanted what was best for you."

It was that last phrase that reverberated in her head. She didn't know that coming home would mean that everyone would treat her like they knew what was better for her than she did. She eyed Jeremy in his coat, the one he wore when he hunted. She reached for a half empty bottle of whisky from the counter and smashed it on the ground.

"Hey! Crazy pants, what the hell?"

She ignored Damon and stormed toward Bonnie, hoping Jeremy would stop her. When he moved in front of her she took a long step forward, her foot pining his to the floor, and pushed into him with the sharp edge of her elbow. They went tumbling to the ground, her robe flying open, and she had just enough time to search a pocket.

Stefan was next to her in a flash, helping her up and she clutched the sides of her robe together, feigning mortification at her exposure.

"Elena, just calm down. We can talk this out."

"We did, Stefan. When you interrupted family dinner. Was that not enough?"

"Elena, maybe you could just explain to us what is going on with you two?" Jeremy grunted as he propped himself up.

"I met him at the end of May last year," she admitted, "And it took less than a month for me to stop trying to find a way to leave him. I do love him, Jer. He isn't compelling me. I know it doesn't make sense from the outside and I'm sorry that it makes you so uncomfortable, but that doesn't give you the right to make decisions for me."

"See, Elena that might have changed my mind."

"Would it have, Jer? You could have had this conversation with me at any point. You were just so ready to think the worst of him. You hate them. You told me yourself. It's not like I can just casually bring him up in conversation."

"You could have tried." He sounded just like he did when he was a teenager.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I could have talked to you about this more, but you are so wrong for this. This feels terrible. Bonnie, did you plan this from the start when you suggested doing this with John? At what point did you decide you knew what was better for me?"

"Come on, Elena. That's pretty low." Damon moved to stand in front of Bonnie, who held herself tight.

"You're one to judge about what is low and what isn't."

"Elena, I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure we could trust him." Bonnie was close to tears now.

"Look, I don't want to waste any more of my time talking about this. I have to go find him. He's going to be worried and I'd rather explain this to him than leave him out there. He's likely trying to kill one of you as we speak."

Before she could even grab her coat, Damon was in front of her, holding her roughly by her free arm. "No! You're not going anywhere. Not after we made such a huge effort to rescue you last night."

"God, Damon. Do you hear yourself? Have you been listening to me at all? Let me go!"

He refused and she tried again. "Damon, let me go or else."

"Or else what?" He scoffed with all the hubris of the powerful and immortal.

Elena palmed at one of Ric's newer crafts, a jelly-like orb filled with concentrated vervain. She unclasped her robe, exposing her chest to everyone. Damon was sufficiently distracted from noticing her arm swinging wide. Her hand connected to the side of his temple, the jelly membrane bursting open and the vervain covering the side of his face.

She stood over him, listening to the sounds of sizzling skin and his screams with a triumphant satisfaction. She hears Bonnie crying out and Stefan moving somewhere behind her, but her eyes are locked on Damon. "Or else I'll make you let me go," she whispers, knowing he can hear her.

Stefan grabs her arms and pins her to his chest, her robe shifting open even further makes her feel more exposed now that it isn't her choice. She struggles, but knows he's got too good of a hold on her.

Damon staggers up, his skin an angry red despite his wounds already beginning to heal. He rushes to meet her, face to face. His hands clamped down on her cheeks and his pupils grow capturing her gaze.

"You will not go find him. You will not seek him out. You will not tell him where you are. You will not have anyone tell him where you are. You won't-"

Before he could finish whatever else he wanted to compel her to do or not to, Jeremy was at his throat, dragging him away from her and breaking their eye contact.

"Hey! Don't fucking compel my sister, dick!"

Elena stumbled back into Stefan, tears in her eyes and a cry hitched in her throat. She regrets trusting them enough to not wear vervain after her blood had been drained last night. "You asshole." Her lip is still trembling. When Stefan lets her go, she runs upstairs.

"Elena!" Bonnie called after her and then quickly turned on her boyfriend. "That wasn't the plan, Damon! We were just supposed to make sure he wasn't taking advantage of her."

Damon shrugged watching Jeremy and Stefan leave. "Did you even see what she did to me?"

"She gave you a fair warning. Maybe you should have listened," Jeremy says, standing at the doorway.

"Someone around here has to be willing to be the bad guy from time to time," Damon complains.

Stefan looked back, "No one needed that from you, Damon. She's never going to stay now."

Present Day

"I would like very much to murder that man." Klaus cracked his knuckles.

"Get in line. I'm sure Elena is at the head of it." Caroline got on with Damon for Stefan's sake, but only tolerated him at best.

"So, what happened then?"

"Stefan came home and told me what had happened. Then Elena texted me asking to meet up. She had her bags packed and wanted a ride to the airport."

"Did she tell you where she was going?"

"No, I think she tried but it wouldn't come out. She just said she's going somewhere she knew you'd find her. Somewhere you'd like."

"Do you know where that is, Niklaus?" Elijah finally interjected.

"It could be so many places." He sighed, resigned to follow after wherever she may lead.

A/N: After some of the reviews from the last chapter wanting to know how Elena would react to everything, I decided to have her wake up and choose violence. I had a lot of fun adding those elements in so I hope you enjoy them. Where you do you think she went?

Formatting has been weird for me the last chapter and this one. I can't seem to double space so I apologize if this is visually hard to read and if anyone has tips, let me know.