Ayla walked down the stairs to see Jules standing in the foyer talking with her brother. She tried to listen to what they were saying, but she couldn't make out the muffled words. So she made her way down the stairs, watching them as they both quieted down at the sight of her.

"What's going on?"

"I was just telling Tyler how I want you both to understand that a vampire will never be your friend." She spoke with conviction. "It's our nature to be enemies."

"And I was just telling her how stupid that sounds." Tyler shook his head at her.

"You both need to leave here. It's not safe. For either of you."

"We can't just run away with you." Ayla spoke up. "Tyler's friends are here. His family."

"And we barely even know you. My mom would freak. My life is here."

"Your old life." Jules tried to convince him. "Your new life is just beginning. You both have so much to learn."

"Like what?" Tyler asked, genuinely intrigued.

"How to survive." She said. "You've triggered the curse. It's important you learn what it means to be a lycanthrope. We live by a code of loyalty. We take care of each other. Why do you think I came here when Ayla came asking for help? Because we're family. It's my duty and honor to help the both of you."

Jules sounded truthful, but Ayla didn't know what to believe anymore. So as the older werewolf walked out the door, the siblings stood side by side, both with worried and confused looks on their faces.

"Do you trust her?" Tyler asked his little sister.

"I don't trust anyone anymore."

"You can trust me, Ayla."

"You're the only one." She said softly, walking up the stairs towards her bedroom. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw Stefan standing in her father's office. She immediately tensed up, using her magic to cause him to hold onto his head as his brain felt like it was being crushed over and over again.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She spat at him, releasing the clench of her fist. He fell to the ground as he breathed out in relief.

"Ayla?!" Tyler yelled out, running up the stairs and over to her.

"I just want to talk." Stefan groaned. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Then why did you break in?" Tyler asked with a clenched jaw.

"Would you have let me in otherwise?" Stefan stood up. "Maybe we're getting off on the wrong foot here."

"What happened to Mason?" Tyler asked.

"There's a lot for us to talk about."

"Damon killed him." She spat out. "Damon tortured him and killed him. Dumped his body somewhere." Tyler lunged at Stefan but the vampire immediately stopped him.

"I wouldn't do that. Without a full moon, you're no match for me." Stefan spoke again before falling to his knees, screaming out in pain.

"But I am." She heard Stefan's bones crunching. "Did you know I can crush every bone in your body by just thinking about it? We have to deal with that pain every full moon. Maybe you should be forced to experience it too." Tyler looked to her with a furrowed brow, she released her hold on the vampire as her nose started to bleed.

"W-what are you doing?" Tyler asked his sister when Stefan got up off the ground again.

"Your sister is a witch." Stefan tried to calm down. "A witch and a werewolf."

"What?" Tyler looked at her confused. "Am-am I?"

"No, Tyler." Stefan spoke up. "My guess is your dad carried the werewolf gene, her mom carried the witch gene. I don't know how, but when she triggered the curse, she must have become both. That sound right, Ayla?" She looked at him angrily, but refused to answer. "Can we just- sit and talk this out? No magic?"

"Fine." She sat down in the corner of the room while Stefan and Tyler sat across from each other.

"Look... about Caroline, no matter what her flaws are, when push comes to shove you're gonna want that girl on your side. She's your friend. Stop being a dick to her."

"I thought vampires hated werewolves." Tyler spoke up.

"That's some sort of leftover idea from another time."

"Not according to your brother." Ayla told Stefan. "He would kill all of us if he could."

"It doesn't have to be that way anymore. Tyler...We go to the same school. We have the same friends. We keep the same secrets. This can work. I mean, it's both of your home. It's my home, too."

"This isn't my home." Ayla said with a sadness in her voice. "My home was in Florida with my uncle who helped me figure out how to survive with this curse and your brother killed him. Now, I don't have a home."

"I am sorry about your Uncle. I never wanted that to happen. Damon..."

"He's an asshole and a loose canon who we will have to watch our backs around constantly."

"Ayla, I want this to work. I want to make this work." He didn't get a chance to finish when Tyler's cell phone started going off and he immediately began calling for 'help' as he answered it. Stefan took the phone from his hand and threw it on the desk. "Who's number was that? Hmm?"

"Back off him, Stefan." The vampire turned to see the fire burning at the finger tips of Ayla.

"Damn it. I'm trying to save both of your lives. Can't you see that?"

"You want to be friends, great. We're friends. Will you go now?" Tyler said sarcastically.

"I don't know what else to say to you. I came back to this town because I wanted a life. I wanted to exist where I could have friends and where I could build a family. I have that here. We all can have that."

"You're forgetting the part where the only family, other than Tyler, that I had left was murdered by your brother."

"What do you want, Ayla?"

"I want my uncles body. I want to put him to rest. I want to know the truth. Why your brother really killed him." Stefan's phone began buzzing.

"Hi. Everything okay?" He answered, seeing it was Caroline calling.

"That depends." Ayla heard Jules' voice. "How badly do you want to keep her alive?"

"Who is this?"

"It's Jules." She whispered to Stefan.

"Jules... Where's Caroline? Where is she?" Ayla heard the gunshot and then screaming through the speaker. Ayla stood up and walked closer to Stefan, not wanting her friend to get hurt. "Hurt her again, and you're dead." Stefan hung up the phone and looked to them. "We need to get to Wickery Falls before the werewolf kills Caroline."

The trio got to Wickery Falls quickly and tried to stay quiet as they hid in the woods, trying to scope out the surroundings so they can get Caroline back safely.

"I know you're out there." Jules called out. All three of them, knowing their cover was blown, decided to walk from out of the tree line and closer to the RV where Jules was standing.

"Where's Caroline?" Stefan asked.

"Locked up tight."

"Jules, Caroline is good. She's our friend." Ayla tried to convince the older wolf.

"I told you, Ayla. There are no good vampires."

"Let her go. I'll release Tyler and Ayla to you." Stefan held a grip on both of them. "It doesn't have to get any messier than it already has. I'm not your enemy, Jules."

"It's a little late to be waving a white flag, don't you think?"

"You need to leave town." Stefan demanded. "No one else has to get hurt."

"I'm not leaving without Tyler and Ayla."

"They're both free to make their own decisions." Stefan said. "As soon as you release Caroline."

"My brother the peacemaker." Ayla turned her head to see the worst vampire she has ever met. Damon Salvatore. "Since Stefan got here before me, I'm gonna let him try it his way before I resort to my way, which is a little bloodier. So, give us Caroline."

"Let go of them." Jules demanded.

"Give us Caroline. Without a full moon, it's not an even fight and you know it." Damon smirked. "We'll take you."

"I'm not so sure about that, tough guy." Jules whistled and almost immediately, Ayla could see at least six other werewolves come out of the dark. "Let's try this again. Give us Tyler and Ayla."

"You heard her. Go. Get over there." Damon nodded to Jules. Ayla stared at him, wondering what he was playing at. Tyler walked over first. As Ayla began walking, Damon grabbed her by the neck, holding her in place.

"What are you doing?" Ayla tried to elbow him to get away from him. She could feel everything he felt and it overpowered her. The anger, the disgust of being surrounded by so many wolves. But no fear. She couldn't focus as she heard Mason's screams and cries of pain in her ears. She looked around in a panic as if she was searching for her uncle. "Now, give us Caroline. We gave you one dog. You want the second, you give us our little blondie."

"I'm guessing you're the one that killed Mason." The man Ayla recognized as Brady spoke up.

"Uh, yeah... that'd be me." She could hear Damon's smirk.

"Boys, let's make sure that one suffers." Brady said, inching closer to them.

"Wait- Wait!" Tyler screamed. "You'll hurt Ayla!"

"We can take them." Damon's grip loosened on Ayla's neck as she sensed his doubt.

"Let me go, Damon." She whispered to him. "And I'll make sure they don't kill you."

"I highly doubt that, shorty." Damon whispered back, but pushed her away, knowing that he would have to fight anyway.

She fell to the ground and choked out a breath before getting up and moving closer to Tyler. Tyler looked her over making sure she was okay. When the wolves started pouncing near the vampires, and lighting the blow torch towards Stefan, Ayla focused all of her power. All of her anger. Her fear. Her heartbreak. Her sadness. Her loneliness. She felt the power surging through her body.

All she could think about was protecting one of her own. Caroline. Her only real friend left in Mystic Falls. She wouldn't let Caroline get hurt because of the trouble she had accidentally brought back to this town.

Damon ripped out the heart of one wolf as she heard Stefan scream out in pain. She heard the fighting going on and as she finally felt like she had enough power, she clenched her fists and let out a scream of pain. She had never felt the pain that went with this power before and it nearly broke her concentration. All of the wolves went down onto their knees, clutching their heads in pain as she tried to keep her focus. She could hear them screaming in agony and fear, but their fear only fueled her more.

"Tyler! Get Caroline!" Ayla screamed as her nose began gushing blood. She knew that she was hurting herself. It was taking too much energy out of her and she had to stop soon. She figured that they knew what she was now. That they would kill her the second she went down. She didn't realize that she was on the ground now, staring at the black night sky. She couldn't stand anymore. She cried out in pain as she tried to keep her powers surging but they wouldn't. She heard the rest of the wolves that were still alive get up and the fighting continue. She gasped for air, for strength. She heard a gunshot before she felt power even stronger than her own.

The wolves began screaming again, falling to the ground in even more pain than before. She realized that they had all passed out from the torture as they all grew quiet. She moved to her knees, trying to see what was going on. She looked to see a man with his hands in the air and another one in a suit, looking very out of place.

"I made a promise to Elena. I'm here to see it's upheld. You all need to go." The man spoke and Ayla was drawn to his voice, like she knew it, somehow.

"Get out of here. Now." Another man spoke, the one who was radiating power. Stefan ran over to Ayla who could barely move. He picked her up and began walking with her. But the man in the suit sped over to them. He looked down at her in Stefan's arms and held her chin in his hand gently. She couldn't feel anything from him, her powers not even close to being restored after the amount of energy she just expelled.

"Elijah." Stefan pulled Ayla away from the man, unsure of what he was going to do.

"You." Elijah spoke, his eyes wide, like he was familiarizing himself with her. Ayla barely had a chance to even look at the man before he vamp-sped away from them.

"Tyler." She called out, looking for her brother as Stefan continued carrying her away from the RV.

"No. Keep going." The warlock said before speaking to her brother. "When your friends awaken, give them a message. They need to get the hell out of this town."

"She can stay with me tonight." Caroline whispered, Stefan nodded carrying the witch-wolf into the house. He laid her on Caroline's bed and stood there just looking at her. "She saved all of our lives tonight. Her uncle was killed and she still saved our lives. Almost killed herself in the process."

"I know." Stefan said, moving away from them. "And how are you?"

"I'm fine, Stefan." Caroline whispered.

"You don't have to pretend with me. Anybody would be upset after what you went through tonight."

"I'm okay. I'm not girlie little Caroline anymore. I can handle myself." Caroline shrugged. Ayla sat up on the bed and gasped for air. They both looked at her worried. "Ayla... are you okay?"

Ayla just nodded, rubbing the dried blood away from her nose. She looked back at them with wide and scared eyes. "Where's Tyler?"

"He had to give that pack a message, but he called said he was okay." Stefan told her. "I'm gonna-"

"Yeah." Caroline nodded, going to sit next to Ayla on the bed. She rubbed a hand on Ayla's arm. Ayla felt Caroline's fear from the trauma of being tortured, her exhaustion. It was a very similar feeling to what she was going through at the moment. Ayla wanted to comfort her friend, so when she put her hand on Caroline's hand, she pushed any ounce of calmness she had into her. Caroline just looked at her with a confused expression, but it worked. Some of Caroline's worry was gone. But Ayla trembled with it now.

"Stefan." Ayla spoke up through her now overwhelming feelings of exhaustion and fear before the vampire could leave. "I kept my word to you that I would get you out of there alive. Now please, tell me where I can find my uncle's body."

"I buried him next to the old oak tree near the old Lockwood cellar. The one that had his initials marked in it years ago."

"Thank you." She spoke through her tears and clenched teeth. She stood up from the bed, feeling slightly less weak now. "I'm uh- I'm gonna go home."

"Do you want a ride home?" Caroline asked calmly.

"No. I'll see you around." She started walking away. "Caroline, it's my fault that they were here. And I'm sorry that they hurt you."

Ayla didn't make it back to the mansion that night, instead she chose to go back out towards the cellars. She found the tree with ease and let her finger trail against the initials that he probably carved into the tree when he was a teenager. Her heart broke knowing that she would never see her uncle again.

She spent the entire night underneath the tree and all she could think about was the word that the man in the suit said to her and the way his eyes filled with emotion when he saw her.

"You."

She woke up with a startle as the cold morning breeze shook her to her core. She didn't realize that she had fallen asleep outside and in the middle of the woods at that. She realized how much of a mistake that could have been, especially considering she was not safe in this town. So she stood up and stretched out her body before walking back to the mansion, rolling her eyes at the sight of yet another gathering in her home. All she wanted to do was get away from this whole uppity bullshit.

"What are you doing?" Carol asked her quietly, pulling her away from the crowd the second the young girl stepped into the home. "You can't be here wearing... that." Ayla looked down, noticing all of the dirt on her jeans and her shirt.

"I'm so sorry, Carol. I am so unbelievably sorry that I would cause such a scandal at your party. Your terrible step-daughter walking into your swanky party with dirty clothes. Oh, I am so fucking sorry that we all can't be as neat and perfect as Mrs. Carol Lockwood."

"Ayla!" Carol whisper-yelled.

"What?" Ayla yelled back, knowing that she was causing a scene but not caring at all. She was hurt and sad. She was tired of feeling like she wasn't good enough for her step mother. Like she wasn't good enough for anyone. She missed her mom. She missed living somewhere that actually made her feel welcome. She missed having a home.

Ayla rolled her eyes at her step-mother and ran up the stairs to her bedroom. She was about to close the door when a familiar face stopped her. He stood at the door in her bedroom, staring at her.

"Who are you?" Ayla looked at him, he was just staring at her with narrowed eyes. "What do you want?"

"You're Ayla." The man said to her, inching closer. "And you're a werewolf-witch hybrid, which is a rarity." Ayla just backed away from him, moving closer to her bed. "You're scared."

"You're a vampire?"

"My name is Elijah."

"Why are you here?"

"I had to see if it was really you."

"Really me?" She shook her head. "What are you talking about? I don't know you."

"No, you don't." He spoke with confidence. "But I'm here to help keep you safe."

"Safe from what? From your other vampires? From Damon?"

"Damon Salvatore?"

"He killed my uncle. He wants all werewolves dead. Pretty sure that includes me."

"Well, I will not let that happen." He turned around. "We shall be seeing more of each other."

Ayla didn't get a chance to respond, she merely looked back to where he was standing and he was gone. She gasped for a breath and turned to her bed, seeing the note that was left there for her. She instantly recognized Tyler's sloppy handwriting.

Ayla,

I'm sorry I had to tell you like this. But I'm leaving Mystic Falls for a while. I need to figure out how to survive with this curse. I need to figure out everything. Like you did when you left. I didn't want to leave, but I had to. I'm going with Jules. I can't tell you where. She won't even tell me. But I trust her. She wants to help and I need her help.

I can't stay here. Not like this. I'm sure that you understand. Thank you for helping me through my first transition. I hope when I get back, I'll have answers for you too. That I can help you. I love you, little sister. I'll see you soon. Stay safe and watch your back.

Tyler

As she finished the letter, she realized that now she was completely and utterly alone.