Chapter 33

Damon glanced worriedly down at his mobile's screen. It was almost noon and the infamous love birds had failed to return. He had watched them leave the club the night before and so had Katherine; who for unknown reasons made no comment on the pair leaving together, arms wrapped around each other. He knew that she knew about them but there was something in her brown eyes that screamed that she knew something and Damon felt like there was something she wasn't telling him.

"Elena is freaking out."

Speak of the devil, Katherine appeared by his side at the end of the driveway.

Damon glanced over his shoulder towards the cabin, if he focused in closely he could hear Elena's panic about where Stefan and Caroline was. Bonnie was reassuring her that they are okay and Jeremy was using the famous tea makes everything better tactic. If only they knew.

"You didn't seem too phased when they left together last night?" Damon instead asked as he glanced at Katherine.

Katherine stiffened before shrugging off his comment with an indifferentsmirk:

"They're free to do what they want. No rules."

Damon frowned. Katherine loved breaking the rules. Alarm bells then broke loose as Damon fitted the puzzle pieces together. Last night's mission had been a total waste they had learned nothing about how to defeat Klaus and Katherine hadn't seem surprised by the lack of intel. It all boiled down to the moonstone – a moonstone that Katherine had in her possession for many years. She had the moonstone the night he and Stefan were shot trying to help her escape from the tomb. What if it wasn't the Lockwood's who had messed with the moonstone? What if it was Katherine all along? It all made sense now! Why she was so eager to help and why the witches had punished her!

"It was you. You messed with the moonstone. You made a wish." Damon glared at her.

Katherine frowned.

"Stop being ridiculous Damon." Katherine scoffed.

"Don't try bullshit me, Katherine. That night we got shot you made a wish with the stone in your possession. That's why you were only too eager to give it to George Lockwood." Damon gripped her arm in his as Katherine tried to turn and walk away from him.

"Tell me the truth, Katherine. What did you do?" Damon snarled.

"I had planned to give it the Lockwood's all along. It was collateral damage so if another doppelganger appeared I would be able to get both the stone and a werewolf to deliver to Klaus. I didn't know that my wish had come true until eighteen years ago." Katherine answered.

She could no longer keep this secret. She had to get it off her chest it had been killing her.

"Eighteen years ago? What the hell happened eighteen years ago?" Damon asked confused as he looked at a now ashen faced Katherine.

"Caroline Forbes was born eighteen years ago." She whispered peaking up at Damon.

Damon felt his stomach drop.

"Caroline?" He asked confused.

"It was ironic really that she was born with the doppelganger. But I guess I wasn't very specific when I made that wish." Katherine laughed without humor as she glanced down the driveway again.

"What did you wish for? And why does it involve Caroline?" Damon could barely speak, his throat was closed up and sore as if speaking was suddenly painful.

Katherine ran a hand through her hair before falling down on to the floor, she crossed her legs and began to tell her story.

"That night when I saw Stefan lying there I realized I had fucked his life up completely. I knew he had my blood in his system and that he would turn. Unlike you I knew he didn't want this life. I had to compel him to be with me. You on the other hand, I didn't need to compel you were attracted to the dark side. "Katherine sighed looking up at Damon with a smirk.

Her words still stung of course but he waited for her to continue.

"I wanted to make amends to him – I knew being a vampire would turn him into something dark and hard. The only thing that combats darkness is love. So I decided to be unselfish for once and wished for him to have an everlasting love. Someone who would always bring back from the dark, she would be fierce and she would fall for him the minute she met him. He would be reluctant at first too see it , I had some foolish notion that he would still be hung up on me … that's when Elena entered so technically he still was." Katherine chuckled again as she looked into Damon's unflinching eyes.

Katherine continued:

"But overtime he would slowly see her. He would make a vow to protect her. She would make him laugh and drive him mad at the same time until one day it would have all clicked. They would have found each other and seen what was always there. I must confess for some time I was convinced it was Lexi but when I met her upfront once … I knew it wasn't her because of her eyes. I wished for Stefan's love to have grey eyes like the moon that night. Then last year when I smothered Caroline in the hospital with the pillow and turned her … I felt as if I had died a thousand deaths. It was the exact same feeling I had when I made the wish.

So I paid attention afterwards. Tried to force my hand and intervene with Stefan and Elena's relationship to see if anything would develop between Stefan and Caroline. Nothing happened of course, they just became friends but he and Elena stood untied still. But I couldn't rest so I went to the hospital and there it was on a piece of paper in black and white. Did you Know Liz Forbes was declared infertile when she was eighteen years old but wouldn't you know it … five years later she fell pregnant and it was considered a medical miracle. Five years after Caroline was born she tried for another child but received the same diagnosis she got when she was eighteen. She couldn't have any more children."

Damon felt like the floor had disappeared as he stared down at Katherine. He knew it was true but there was a part of him that was screaming, begging it not to be true.

"So Stefan and Caroline's love is not real?" Damon asked.

Katherine glanced up in surprise at Damon's question. She hadn't expected that to be the first thing to leave his mouth. She though he would want to know how to kill Klaus now that he knew the truth.

"Of course it's real. Don't you get it … she was born for him. They are made for each other." Katherine swallowed.

Damon sighed in relief. He wanted Stefan to be happy to have real love but at what cost? What did this mean for the whole Klaus situation and Elena?

"I'm guessing the witches told you how to kill Klaus." Damon eventually asked.

"Yes … they told me how to kill him." Katherine sighed before looking away.

And without her needing to say it, Damon knew.

Caroline would have to die.

An: *Hides* Hehehe who knows what's going to happen next? Thanks for all the amazing reviews – love it when I get them! Hope you all have a good weekend. Will see you next week again for another drama/suspenseful chapter.