Before we get started, othtwtvd asked an excellent question I figured I'd answer here where I usually handle important story information: the mate bond affects Caroline, too, but not as strongly as Klaus. Caroline will only feel certain vampire-ish symptoms (including a few instincts the two species share) whereas Klaus is feeling everything (the werewolf part being the most intense, which is how he identified her immediately). I'll try and drop plenty of hints on what exactly that means for Caroline in future chapters.
Now, story time!
Rebekah ambushed Klaus the moment he hit the entry.
"What the bloody hell was that, Nik?" she hissed, right in his face, so worked up she even flashed her fangs. "I thought I made it perfectly clear Caroline was mine to torment, not yours! What part of that says 'yes, go ahead and pump her full of wolf venom without even bothering to inform anyone of the cure?' What if no one had thought to contact you? Do you have any idea how intolerable school would be if I were stuck interacting with normal cheerleaders all day? Some of them make Elena seem positively clever by comparison. Elena!"
… A cheerleader. Klaus' supposedly perfect match was a bloody high school cheerleader.
And their first contact was about him not giving her enough time to shag his first hybrid.
His first hybrid was shagging her. Regularly.
The revelation had nothing to do with Klaus' suddenly increased interest in committing random acts of violence. Surely, there was someone in the vicinity he had reason to tear limb from limb (other than those annoying children he needed alive for reasons he couldn't quite remember at the moment).
But no, that wasn't an option. For one thing, it would create more work for the sheriff, who was already rather upset with him. After all, Klaus had to play nice with the Council if he and his siblings planned to peacefully coexist, right?
That was all.
It had nothing to do with what happened in that room.
If he weren't so drained (in more than one way, now that he thought about it; Caroline was a greedy little thing- and he most certainly was not growing aroused again thinking about it), Klaus might have snarked back that Rebekah didn't seem to be doing much in the way of tormenting the other girl. Instead, with an exhausted "Not now, Bekah," he stepped around her.
Unfortunately, she grabbed his arm to prevent his escape. "I'm sorry, do you not like repercussions?"
"Not as a rule, no. Not unless they pertain to me in some way."
Perhaps a hunt as a wolf might ease some of his restlessness. But would I go back to her?
Klaus' control over his other form was somewhat shaky, though apparently notably above average for such a new wolf.
No, that seemed to be out of the question as well.
"Yes I've noticed! Because believe it or not, dear brother, your actions affect other people!"
"... And what actions in particular are you thinking of?" Somehow, Klaus doubted this was just about the girl.
"In the last collective year I've been awake, I have asked you to respect my decision on exactly two things, and you've ignored both of them! 'I want to be with Stefan, Nik.' And then I wake decades later only to find you've erased his memories, leaving him wide open to the supposed charms of the dopplebitch I'm not even allowed to kill."
"You're still on about that?" Even before a thunderous expression crossed his sister's face and she leaned in dangerously, Klaus knew he'd made a mistake.
"Yes, I bloody well am still on about that! Just because you haven't heard about it recently doesn't mean I've suddenly moved on!"
Well, it wouldn't be the first time you replaced one "great love" with another. But Klaus kept the thought wisely to himself. "Right," he said instead.
Rebekah's eyes flashed dangerously. It might be in Klaus' best interests to play along.
"... And the second decision had to do with Caroline?"
"It did. I picked out one person in this entire town for you to leave to me. And I'm assuming you didn't even have the decency to bite her yourself! Don't tell me you made Tyler do it after everything else you've put the two of them through!"
The rawness of that exact realization from earlier had apparently eroded enough of Klaus' defenses that Klaus was unable to styme his wince. As quickly as he'd wiped the expression from his face, Rebekah still caught it.
She scoffed. "Now you're suddenly guilty? Was my request not good enough for you? Did seeing the face of the girl you've been toying with so callously actually-" Rebekah's eyes flew wide, then narrowed. "Oh no. No, this is not going to be another one of your little ego-stroking conquests. You've been enough of a homewrecker as it is! I swear to Thor, Nik, if you don't keep it in your pants this time, I will personally take it away from you."
The barking laugh that escaped Klaus only made Rebekah angrier, which didn't help him contain himself. It was a vicious cycle of amplified amusement and rage. "How do you intend to do that?" he finally managed.
"You of all people should know the benefits of creativity and a strong will."
Klaus' body shook. His lips had pulled into such a tight close-lipped smile it hurt.
"Aguh! Why do I even bother!" Throwing up her hands in the air, Rebekah began to stomp away in some sort of childish tantrum, but then stopped suddenly. "By the way, we have a visitor who will be needing one of the guest rooms. You go deal with him. Nicely, Nik. I'm serious."
Fantastic. The entire night was shaping up to be one big headache.
Klaus found Tyler waiting for him in his living room. It seemed he'd helped himself to the scotch, but Klaus decided to let it slide just this once, especially since it seemed like he'd gone for the least expensive brand. The way Tyler's posture drooped and his glassy eyes stayed fixed unseeingly on the floor mirrored a bit of what Klaus felt himself.
One thing was for sure; whatever happened between himself and his hybrid, it would never involve Caroline again. Klaus would find some other leverage, or he would stop playing favorites and simply take the boy's head.
"Well," the boy slurred a little, "I get it. I'm your little bitch. You win."
Klaus said nothing. At least something had gone according to plan.
"Is she going to be okay?"
"Yes." Although she came very, very close to dying at my hand… Even in his thoughts, Klaus lied to himself. In truth, the girl had been in no danger from the moment they locked eyes. "She's completely healed and surrounded by loved ones." Very protective loved ones.
Part of Klaus was still amused at the memory of their threats, and another part still wondered how in the world a one-year-old vampire managed to inspire such loyalty. She was not powerful. She was not intimidating in the slightest (other than to him, but only because of extenuating circumstances).
Why? Klaus must have asked himself that question over a dozen times now. What does she offer that draws others so fiercely to her side?
"Good. That's good." Tyler filled the silence by taking another undignified swallow he clearly didn't need. "I just… wanted to be there for her, you know? I don't want to leave her alone, but I can't keep getting her involved. She doesn't deserve this. Even breaking up with her didn't... What exactly am I supposed to do here? She almost died tonight!"
Klaus watched his hybrid curiously, knowing better than to think this breakup was enough to break her hold over him if the reason behind it was her safety. Even now, fully aware of his magically-enforced life debt, Tyler still prioritized the wellbeing of his (ex?) girlfriend just as high as that of his sire and alpha. They were not mates. Tyler should be loyal only to Klaus, and yet, here they were.
When Klaus sat beside him, the fool made the mistake of making eye contact. "Stay perfectly still," he compelled.
Tyler went rigid. Klaus plucked the glass from his hand and placed it on the coffee table. Then he touched the hybrid's bare shoulder and closed his eyes.
Klaus would learn what could compete against the sire bond. Both to combat it, and to use the same tactics in his fight against the mate bond.
"Tell me about your pretty little girlfriend."
Suddenly, they were in a gloomy cell, with Tyler chained to the floor and Caroline watching nervously a few feet away. A full moon shone overhead.
… Oh.
Whatever Klaus had been expecting, it certainly wasn't this.
He paced the room, coming to a stop over an open journal.
September 16th
I chose the garage. I could deadbolt the door. It was far from the street, so no one could hear.
I bolted some hooks to the floor…
A journal from another wolf, then. Perhaps someone in the family.
Klaus skimmed further.
I diluted wolfsbane with water to weaken myself, but I could barely get it down without puking.
An empty water bottle with traces of wolfsbane sat on its side nearby.
This must be his first time. He's using a diary as an instruction manual.
And Caroline… Klaus crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. I knew she was unconcerned with herself, but to think she was actually foolish enough to involve herself in a werewolf's first transformation. Did her life honestly mean that little to her? How was he supposed to protect someone like that?
Every muscle tensed.
He was thinking of it as though he cared. As though protecting her would be in his best interests. As though it wouldn't be easiest to simply cut all ties now, rather than allowing his attachment to grow and losing her tragically decades or centuries from now.
To an Original, humans and werewolves were seconds, witches who chose to extend their lives were minutes, and vampires (the ones with decent survival instincts, that is) were hours. All were fleeting. All passed sooner or later. Originals, on the other hand, were the roman numerals etched to the face of the clock. Only they remained constant.
And Klaus knew what happened to wolves who lost their mates. He had done his research.
No, better to never acknowledge the bond than to consummate and then lose it.
The poor pup looked like a dog on a leash, especially the way he panted and grasped at the bindings around his throat.
This is not how a wolf is meant to turn. The freedom of experiencing the wild as a beast rather than an observer and the camaraderie of turning with other wolves were the most important parts of the experience. Not that Klaus had gotten to experience the latter until recently.
"Hey." Caroline crouched as close to Tyler as she dared. Klaus couldn't smell her fear, since the memory was limited by Tyler's human senses, but a thousand years of being a predator made him adept enough at sensing it. She knows about the bite. Then what on Earth was she doing here? "Tyler? Tyler!"
Like the rest of the situation, the cries that ripped from Tyler's chest could hardly be called dignified. "I'm burning up! It hurts!"
To parade one's moment of weakness with so little humility… It was unthinkable. What was the current saying…? Man up? A bit crude perhaps, but the sentiments were ones Klaus had been raised with, and had only come to believe in even more over his long life as countless enemies watched him for any cracks in his armor. Any opportunity to strike.
Rather than shrinking away in disgust as Klaus expected, Caroline actually leaned closer. Her hands hovered, as though she wanted to touch the weakling. "Okay. Okay. I know. You've just gotta breathe through this, okay?"
"I'll try." Despite his obvious effort, Tyler's breathing was still more like that of an overheating hound than a human. "You should go."
The little vampire shook her head. "Mm-mm."
"You should leave."
"Not yet!"
Caroline was flirting with danger. It made Klaus want to talk some sense into her. He might even have volunteered his services if it would make her leave, whether he particularly cared about the situation or not.
But at least this explained Tyler's relationship with her. His loyalty was split because Caroline had unknowingly adopted the role typically reserved for pack alphas during a new werewolf's first turn. Reassuring him, keeping him company, doing what she could to remind him that he wasn't alone… The only difference was that her usefulness expired once the change truly took hold, as she couldn't turn herself. Is it even possible for a wolf to identify someone who's not a wolf as their alpha?
As Tyler struggled through his pain and a panicked Caroline called his name over and over again, Klaus considered what he knew of lone wolves. It wasn't impossible for them to adopt a kind of surrogate alpha, but Tyler was an alpha himself. The fact that he could be so unruly even under Klaus' leadership suggested he wouldn't naturally bend to another he could easily best. And a vampire could be bested in a single bite.
Unsurprisingly, Caroline threw herself to the far reaches of the room as evidence of Tyler's shift began to grow.
No. Not an alpha role.
Perhaps it was the fact that she was the closest thing Tyler had to a supernatural mentor. He was grateful to Klaus for releasing him from his need to turn, but that didn't erase the fact that he was grateful to Caroline for not letting him face this alone. Devotion willingly given... It was the sire bond versus the more traditional mentor relationship between responsible sires and their sirelings. Despite Klaus' own efforts, the roles had been split between two different individuals. I'm not sure how to combat this.
That realization alone made him jealous. Of who, he couldn't be sure.
With a series of cracks and yowls that even made Klaus wince sympathetically (remembering even to this day his own first turn), Tyler's arm contorted behind his head at an impossible angle. Honestly, it was no wonder lycanthropy was called a curse, despite all evidence declaring that a fallacy.
From in front of the stairs, Caroline screamed through her hands, sapphire eyes brimming with tears Klaus somehow found even more beautiful than her fire. Whether he made the conscious decision or not, he was sure this would end up on canvas at some point. The moment this baby vampire so surprisingly full of sunlight truly began to grasp the magnitude of the werewolves' plight and felt it to her core.
Still, she didn't leave.
How might she have responded to-
A pointless thought.
It seemed some time had passed, based on the position of the moon. Tyler lay face-first on the ground in the same uncaring position as some of Klaus' prisoners after being thoroughly tortured and then released from their bindings.
Caroline sat on her knees beside him. "I want to help but I don't know what to do."
Tyler gasped for enough air to respond. "There's nothing you can do." As if to prove his point, his spine began to visibly writhe beneath his skin. To Klaus, it was fascinating. To Caroline, he imagined it looked like something straight out of a horror movie.
She flung herself back toward her escape route and watched, tears freely flowing. "Ohmygodohmygod."
"Get out!" the almost-wolf managed through gritted teeth that didn't look entirely human, but then blunted once again.
"No."
"Get out! I don't want to hurt you."
"No!"
It was like something snapped inside her as Klaus watched. He had seen the same change in a few field medics in World War II when they just… turned it off. Not their emotions, no, but their fear. When faced with impossible odds and hellish conditions, some of them simply accepted that, in all likelihood, they would die so that others may live, or at least pass in more comfort. Klaus had even saved who he could amongst them (he was, after all, from a time that valued that kind of valor). For years, he found himself sketching the ones who died, such was the impression they'd left on him.
That was exactly what Klaus saw as Caroline rushed forward and pulled Tyler's shifting body into her arms.
"No!" This foolish, brave little vampire pressed herself flush against the werewolf's back.
It seemed time marched on. Klaus glanced again at the moon. Nearly at its apex.
A reprieve. The eye of the hurricane, so to speak. Tyler's head was on Caroline's lap, her own resting against his shoulder in what nearly looked like a lover's embrace. She held his hand as he panted through the aftershocks of his pain.
A fresh wave crashed over him, prompting a visceral scream.
Caroline gripped his shoulder tightly.
Klaus' entire world stopped the moment she leaned to Tyler's ear. "It's okay," she whispered, stroking his hair. "You'll fight through it, okay?"
Klaus' breath caught in his throat. This is…
This was what he imagined as he turned. It was what got him through his shift.
But the reality was so much more than he could have dreamed. She was a shining beacon of light and warmth in a void of darkness and blood. Otherworldly. Stunning.
Klaus had never been so captivated in his entire life.
But at the same time, his wolf clawed at his skin to tear his first hybrid from her hands and rip the head off of his body. That's my place. My woman. My mate.
In that moment, Klaus realized there would be no walking away from this. He was thoroughly lost.
Tyler kept begging her to leave. She refused in all her headstrong, infuriating glory.
Klaus' jealousy was a ferocious thing, made only worse by the fact that there was nothing he could do about it. The damage was already done. Enough of this. "You said she's been through a lot. Show me." And Klaus despaired to realize it was no longer a curiosity to assess the split loyalty of his hybrid that fueled his line of questioning. No, it was a burning need to know more about Caroline, his breathtaking little mate.
Klaus stood behind Tyler at the entrance of a worn down RV. The kind he'd seen some of the less civilized wolf packs call their home in the modern age.
A myriad of realizations assaulted him all at once. The tell-tale sounds of some sort of battle raged outside, but Klaus couldn't see it because Tyler did not. Based on what he could hear, it was many against… two, maybe three.
The bitter stench of vervain assaulted Klaus' nostrils, not strong enough to burn, but certainly enough to make him wrinkle his nose. It seemed to originate from the tousled blonde straining her arm through the cage. Caroline. Klaus' stomach lurched unpleasantly at the state she was in. She was practically covered in blood Klaus knew for certain was entirely her own from the nectar-like sweetness that beckoned his vampire. Klaus hadn't even realized his fangs had dropped until he frowned a bit too deeply, piercing his own lip.
Even contorted like she was, he could see the bullet-shaped holes in her shirt. Casings littered the floor directly in front of him, the bullets themselves (wooden) haphazardly strewn about her cage. A few fingers on her reaching hand were bloody. Evidently, she'd pulled them out herself.
Tyler pressed forward and she gasped. The moment her head snapped up, Klaus's wolf came rumbling to the surface.
She'd been shot in the head!
Fractured splinters were still lodged in her neck, re-opening the wounds to bleed freely whenever she moved.
"Tyler! There's a latch, there's a latch on the door and I can't get to it!"
Unthinking, Klaus reached for the latch, only to pass right through it. He'd never felt so helpless. Not even as a boy kneeling with his back to Mikael, waiting for the lash. All he could do was wait for Tyler to do what he could not.
Tyler stood motionless.
Thinking it over.
Weighing his options.
Considering a betrayal the likes of which even Klaus would never have imagined.
He tried to rip Tyler's intestines out. It didn't work. That didn't stop Klaus from trying a few more times for some kind of muted catharsis.
"Tyler?"
As though breaking from a trance, Tyler shook his head and rushed forward, searching for the latch she'd indicated.
The little bastard didn't even have the courtesy to help her to her feet. He simply stepped aside and let her exit. What could possibly have happened between his first transformation and now to evoke this kind of change in their relationship?
The obvious pain on Caroline's face practically commanded Klaus to follow, but he couldn't. He just stood there glaring at Tyler, contemplating whether he should let him live out the night once this little experience was over.
There was a thud against the near wall and the RV rocked. Finally, Tyler went outside and Klaus was able to follow him.
Damon was pinned to the ground by an unfamiliar wolf about to go for the kill with an almost comically thick stake. Stefan looked to be unconscious, but Klaus could still hear the tell-tale slow heartbeat of a vampire, indicating that he was just playing dead (hopefully in an attempt to take the wolves surrounding him by surprise).
Right beside himself and Tyler, a familiar female werewolf had Caroline pinned face-first against the camper with a gun to the back of her head.
Jules. Klaus thought after taking a moment to reassure himself that everyone in this little incident apparently survived. The werewolf I sacrificed to remove my curse.
Well, that was one thing he apparently did right.
As opposed to allowing this mutt of his to continue to draw breath. Klaus watched Caroline look into Tyler's eyes and silently plead for help. The accusation and sadness that swelled behind her eyes might have prompted Klaus to rip his own heart out and throw it at her feet had it been directed at him.
But Tyler simply stood there as a passive observer.
Klaus knew a thing or two about torture and betrayal. But who would have thought this baby vampire did, too? And to still be capable of feeling compassion toward not only the wolves, who were her natural enemy, but also the one wolf who'd betrayed her so thoroughly in her time of need…
How did that happen? And how the bloody hell did they survive? Just as Klaus was in the middle of wracking his brain and coming up blank, every wolf in the vicinity clutched their heads in a far-too-familiar gesture. Unlike vampires, werewolves couldn't survive such an onslaught for long, which is likely why it stopped the moment the entire pack lost consciousness.
It was going to take a while for them to recover.
Good, Klaus thought, and attempted to none-too-lightly kick Jules (instead, he settled for walking through her image) as he made his way to Caroline's side to check on her. The poor thing was a mess, but she didn't seem scared anymore. Klaus started to reach for her to pull her to his side, only to remember he couldn't with a light growl.
She was looking at something. Klaus followed her gaze.
A familiar male witch had entered the scene. Though Klaus couldn't be bothered to remember his name, he knew this was Greta's father, who had plotted against him before perishing at the hands of the Mystic Falls group. He looked far less inept now than his end suggested.
"Elijah made a promise to Elena," the semi-incompetent witch announced in a grandiose voice that must have come off like the voice of God himself given his deus ex machina appearance. "I'm here to see it's upheld. You need to go."
Klaus was caught between rolling his eyes and feeling strangely grateful.
If it weren't for Elijah, Caroline would have died before Klaus even came to Mystic Falls. That alone might merit some mercy, despite the attempt on his life.
Klaus watched the others regain themselves. Even Damon seemed a little shocked by the state Caroline was in.
"Holy Hell, Blondie," he commented, picking one of the long splinters from her neck before she shoved him away with a hiss. "What kind of kinky-"
"Shut up, Damon." The last time Klaus heard Rebekah use that tone, she followed it up by daggering Kol and hiding him in the stables under a pile of hay. This went unnoticed until the poor horsemaster's apprentice stabbed the Originals' body with a pitchfork and had to be compelled out of a full-blown panic attack.
It seemed like there might be some bad blood there, beyond any situational irritation.
Klaus wanted to follow (every instinct was screaming at him to protect his mate in her weakened state), but he was stuck with Tyler. The best he could do was watch the three worse-for-the-wear vampires limp away, Caroline tucked under Stefan's arm.
It was infuriating.
Klaus crossed his (empty) arms and listened fitfully as the witch warned Tyler to leave town. After that, Tyler tended to the fallen wolves.
He should be watching over her. The more he saw, the less Klaus understood how Caroline could forgive his actions that night. If it were him, Klaus would have shown Tyler his own innards immediately after this level of betrayal. He still might.
But at least Klaus had unknowingly had a hand in Caroline's karmic revenge when he sacrificed the female wolf who orchestrated her capture to break his curse. He'd drawn out her last transformation, too (though, at the time, it was only for practical purposes. He even felt a little bad about it until now).
A vicious grin spread across his face at the thought of the confusion and the pain Caroline's torturer must have felt in her final hours. He could not have chosen a better werewolf sacrifice. Though, with this new knowledge, Klaus would have preferred passing the time between Jules' capture and the ritual with some actual, old-fashioned torture.
No, there was no sympathy to be found for these wolves. Klaus tired of watching them. "I can't imagine she responded well to your handling of the situation," he called out in an attempt to further this little vision along.
In an instant, Klaus stood beside Tyler outside a door he now recognized as Caroline's, watching the mutt work up the nerve to knock.
Based on Caroline's slightly less bloody appearance and a bit of still-damp skin when she answered, they'd caught her in the middle of cleaning herself up.
Did anyone clean her bite tonight? The thought came from nowhere.
Surely her mother, or Stefan, or Matt. It was unimportant. She wouldn't die from a little blood.
Absently, Klaus looked behind her. An empty house. Was she home alone often?
She opened the door and just waited. Those eyes… This might have been the look of reproach she would have shared with Klaus tonight had she not been so resigned to her fate. Though Klaus couldn't say he wasn't relieved to not be the subject of such ire, it was nice to see her in what felt more like her natural state; alive and vivid.
"Are you okay?" The low tone of Tyler's voice was almost enough to make Klaus believe he cared, if he hadn't seen the betrayal with his own eyes and then watched him choose the pack over her.
The rest of Caroline's face hardened, but her eyes… They stayed adorably expressive, and among those emotions they betrayed was an unmistakable vulnerability. "I'm fine." It sounded like she'd been crying. Klaus waited for Tyler to call out the lie, but he didn't.
"I had no idea they would come for you."
"Do you know what they did to me?" The way her voice broke, Klaus knew it was her first round of torture. It would hardly be her last. Vampires had a habit of attracting such treatment.
Even so, the thought bothered him. His wolf (and possibly what remained of Klaus the human) revolted against the idea of her coming to further harm. (How was he supposed to sever ties knowing what he did now? What if someone else came for her?)
"I'm sorry. But, it's crazy now. I don't know who to trust. You lied to me."
"I lied to protect my friends. I lied to protect you. Don't you get that?!"
"Caroline."
"You just stood there! When they were going to kill us?! You just stood there! You didn't do anything!"
"I didn't know what to do!"
"You help your friend! That's what you do!"
"... I'm sorry."
Worthless platitudes were a misstep and Klaus knew as much even before the fire he'd seen traces of in Caroline's gaze consumed her in a righteous blaze. "No, it's too late! Because we're not friends anymore! And what happened to me tonight? That will never happen again, so you take that back to your little werewolf pack, and you get the hell out of my house!"
She slammed the door in Tyler's face so hard it was a wonder it stayed on its hinges.
There it was. That fury Klaus had been dying to see. She was a force of nature. A goddess.
Beautiful.
"Alright, mate, I'll confess, I find myself a bit… confused," Klaus said to his guide. "That seemed quite final. How did you get her to speak to you again?"
And, just like that, Klaus stood between a later version of the pair of them in… the Lockwood cellar? They were both chained to the wall.
Well, that's one way to force a conversation upon an unwilling participant, I suppose.
"So you think that's why they grabbed us?" Tyler asked an astoundingly calm Caroline. "For the sacrifice?"
"Yes," Caroline said simply.
Klaus bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. "Imbeciles. I told them to find a random vampire, or some worthless human." I never meant for it to be her. "Tyler was unavoidable, but Caroline was easily replaceable. She was meant to be under my protection. If I had known..."
But this was still nothing more than Tyler's memory. Klaus' statements had no effect on the events unfolding before him.
"He's going to kill us?" Tyler sounded mildly panicked.
Still, Caroline didn't so much as flinch. If anything, she just seemed… put out. "I think so. Yes."
"No," Klaus told her automatically. "I wouldn't."
The moment his agents brought him the vampire from the list (one who certainly would have caught his attention even without the bond), they would have found themselves in that circle of fire before they'd so much as realized their mistake.
Then again... Would he have recognized her as his mate, even with his wolf sealed? If he did, even Klaus couldn't be sure how he would have responded in that moment.
The clinking of chains drew Klaus' attention back to Tyler. Tyler leaned his head back against the wall, seemingly pensive. "This whole time I've been gone, Jules has been helping me come to terms with what I am. How to deal with it. I guess none of it matters anymore."
Klaus waited for Caroline to refute it. To tell the despairing wolf a beautiful lie.
Instead, she blurted, "Why didn't you say goodbye?"
Why do you care? Klaus could certainly find no compelling reason in these memories.
It seemed Tyler couldn't meet her eyes.
"You just left."
"You wanna talk about this now?"
"Well, if we're going to die, I'd might as well know the truth."
Tyler just shook his head in disbelief. A weakling to the end, it seemed.
"Why did you leave me?"
And just like that, the last vestiges of Klaus' emotional defenses shattered around him. She sounded so abandoned. A sentiment he hated that he understood entirely. He tried to brush her hair out of her eyes, but of course he couldn't.
"I knew you hated me. I thought you deserved better than having someone like me in your life."
She does. She deserves the best. Everything.
"I was hurt. You know, you turned your back on me when I needed you. But I could never hate you, Tyler."
And there it was. Klaus was overruled.
Suddenly, three people burst into the dungeon. Alaric, Matt (apparently he was important enough to remember), and… what was her name? The guardian. The one he'd been accused of killing the night of the ritual.
Mistake number one, Klaus thought calmly. I had my sacrifices. Caroline and Tyler were to be released the next day. They'd have been safe if everyone left well enough alone.
"No!" Caroline broke away from Matt's grip. "I'm not leaving without Tyler!"
Klaus watched as Tyler's rescuers unchained him. Mistake number two. They should have let him ride out his change there. Tyler knew better. Even as inexperienced as he was, he could feel the moon approaching. He should have insisted.
Tyler collapsed to the forest floor, as Klaus knew he would. Fighting the change with little success, he screamed for everyone to run. Matt, Caroline, and the guardian (Jenna, Klaus remembered passingly from Damon's ranting) did.
Alaric stayed behind as a deterrent, armed with wooden bullets.
Mistake number three. In the presence of a half-changed werewolf, if you can't kill it instantly, the best plan is to run and hope it catches the scent of some other prey. Particularly if there are vampires about.
Tyler almost certainly would have gone after Caroline from the beginning. She had the best chance of outrunning him. On the other hand, just the thought set Klaus on edge as though he were contemplating one of his siblings facing down Mikael.
In the distance, Jenna stopped, urging the others on. Klaus heard her shout something about needing to help Alaric.
The final mistake, I would guess.
And he was right. Predictably, Alaric stood no chance against a fully changed werewolf. Tyler charged him so quickly his only shot missed, and then he was on the human, knocking his crossbow from his hands. Alaric managed to use the momentum from Tyler's pounce to flip him away….
Straight toward Jenna. She did well, for a human who'd only just learned about the supernatural. Stood her ground and landed as many shots with her weak little gun as she could.
It was a warrior's death. Bloody and brave, but utterly pointless. Tyler followed a scent Klaus could only assume was Caroline's. Jenna died in Alaric's arms, gurgling desperately for air with a gaping hole in her throat.
No, this was not a faultless death, and it definitely began with Klaus' useless vampire help (who he was currently seriously considering punishing later), but he was sure now he was simply being used to assuage the guilt of those truly to blame. An easy scapegoat.
The world came back into focus. A howl echoed in the distance. His howl, Klaus realized. He wasn't sure how he recognized it, but he did, and the joy of it lifted his spirits a little.
Tyler lay on the Lockwood manor doorstep, completely naked and riddled with bullets.
Caroline's voice, weak from exertion and fear, came through the door. "Tyler?"
Tyler weakly struggled to lift his head. "Caroline?"
Despite Matt's protests, Caroline opened the door, shoving down the gun he pointed at Tyler and rushing to throw a jacket over the delicate bits. "Matt, help me get him inside."
"But-"
"Help me!"
And so, he did.
Once the bullets were extracted by Caroline (it seemed like Matt didn't have the stomach to stick around for that part), she helped Tyler onto a couch. Sufficiently wrapped in a blanket that didn't look nearly soft enough for such a rich household, Tyler grabbed her wrist as she tried to leave. Klaus had the sudden urge to rip his arm off.
"Are you…?"
She smiled weakly. "I'm fine. No bites."
"Good. I feel like… I think I caught something."
More like someone, mate.
"Maybe an animal distracted you?"
"... … … Yeah. That has to be it."
"I'll be right back, okay? I need to go talk to Matt. This is a lot for him."
"You mean you haven't told him yet? I thought that was why he was here."
"... I did… but… he begged me to make him forget."
Tyler's eyebrows shot up. "Oh."
Oh. Klaus uncrossed his arms in mild shock. Caroline and the quarterback? That was even more unthinkable than the treasonous werewolf. It must have been some leftover relationship from her human life. The fact that she even had the strength to continue it without draining him dry was astounding. And the fact that he had still been around tonight, not only unafraid of her, but protective, even moreso.
Even Klaus and his siblings had been unable to exert that amount of control over their thirst for a century, more or less, depending on which Original you focused on. She's the best vampire I've ever met, Stefan had said the night Tyler transitioned. She won't let you turn into a monster.
She plastered on a brilliant smile Klaus immediately knew was fake. "Hey, we just survived the Big Bad Wolf and a spontaneous second werewolf attack. What's a little relationship talk compared to that?"
Tyler smiled a little. "True. And it's Matt. It'll be fine."
But it wasn't fine.
It seemed Matt broke up with her and she came crying to Tyler for support.
As they shared the blanket, Tyler obviously naked beneath it, something feral rose from within Klaus. His wolf was demanding to challenge this other male until he lay bloody and broken at his feet. Mine.
He shook his head. These events are already written. This was a vision from a time when he hardly knew Caroline existed. She was a name on a list, and she'd just lost one of the links to her humanity. In that moment, she needed someone, and Klaus realized (with no small degree of alarm) that he would rather someone undeserving comfort her than no one at all. What is this woman doing to me?
It could feasibly have been Klaus instead. He could have been there, if he weren't so preoccupied running through the forest after rabbits and hikers like a child in an amusement park. First the necklace, now this. He never imagined he would regret the two days he spent celebrating the end of his curse by hunting as a wolf, but as he watched another fill his place so thoroughly (and rather poorly), he found that he did.
The scene changed.
Klaus and Tyler stood outside the closed door of some kind of cellar, Tyler shifting anxiously, hands balling in and out of fists and low growls occasionally escaping him, but on high alert for… something. Voices passed the door.
Klaus listened harder, as Tyler must have to be able to recall them.
"That's our daughter in there." A mature female. She sounded vaguely familiar. "She looks up to you. She loves you."
"Then she'll trust me to do the right thing." Male. Roughly the same age. "Let me do this, Liz."
Liz… Liz… Klaus turned over names of insignificant town members in his mind. A face came to mind. Brave, threatening him with wooden bullets. The sheriff. Caroline's mother. Well, he already knew whose side he was on in whatever argument was happening.
"Not because she's a monster, but because we love her," the male continued. Caroline's father, from the sound of the conversation. But what's Tyler doing here looking ready to tear someone's throat out?
A very short pause, and then Liz's authoritative voice. "Tyler."
It seems I'm about to find out. Klaus followed Tyler through the door and down the set of stairs.
They were in some kind of dungeon, almost reminiscent of one of Klaus' old castles, only fallen into disrepair. Liz stood at the top of the staircase with a gun pointed at the father's head. And that short glare Tyler shot him as he leaned over the railing… Klaus imagined he himself had given that look many times before suffocating someone with their own innards. What the bloody hell is happening here?
Curious and somehow heavy at the same time, Klaus shadowed Tyler step after step toward the lower level.
The father rushed forward to block them. "You're not going in there."
The gun went off. Tyler and the father jumped. It had missed the father's head by inches.
"Go ahead," Liz commanded, and Tyler obeyed. The father remained in place, staring at Liz in shock.
Klaus couldn't remember the last time he met a human he honestly respected, but it seemed he had now.
All other thoughts left Klaus' head the moment Tyler opened the door and he could see inside. There she was in the center of a decrepit dungeon cell chained to an iron chair. Sweaty, hair greasy, barely-healed burns covering every visible bit of skin but her face, which was strained, covered in tears and sweat, and second-hand charred. Still perilously beautiful. Klaus knew torture. He made it somewhat of a hobby over the centuries. This was objectively good work, assuming the goal was to keep the subject in one piece and mostly sane.
A vent and a spicy scent. Vervain gas? No daylight ring. Klaus took stock of the room in vampire-time.There, on the floor. Removed, then. A window with a string-controlled shutter. Total blackout. He looked back at Caroline. Those burns… The smell. Her own father was exposing her to sunlight! Gassing her! Starving her! For days, from the look of it.
With an inhuman snarl, Klaus' fangs dropped and he flashed back to the father, shoving his hand through a chest that did not exist.
"Tyler?" Caroline's weak voice pulled Klaus back from what was likely quite far over the line of insanity. Her vocal chords hadn't healed from all the screaming. Had this man who was supposedly her father given her a single drop of blood in the time he held her here?
This time, there was no hesitation. Tyler was already at her feet, tearing her restraints off with shaking hands, practically pleading his reassurances.
Tortured at the hands of their so-called father. Another terrible thing they had in common. Yet, somehow, Klaus became a monster, and she didn't.
No wonder she didn't see the point in her existence. All it's ever caused her is… this.
Klaus hadn't forgotten the way she seemed to accept her own demise, just like that witch with the monstrosity of a shirt. He would never forgive the circumstances that led to this incredible new vampire needing someone, himself of all people, to give her hope. To make her believe there was a life to be had outside this miserable little town and its petty drama.
"Enough." Klaus cut the connection. "I've seen enough."
The Original hybrid stood in his own living room in absolute silence. He realized he was shaking. Whether from fear, or guilt, or rage, or envy, he couldn't say. But one agreement had been reached between every part of his being; werewolf, vampire, and the remaining shreds of his humanity.
No one would ever harm her again. Not in any way. Caroline Forbes was now under his personal protection.
After draining Tyler's glass himself and recomposing himself, Klaus uncompelled him.
"What the hell?!" Tyler shot to his feet, but swayed dangerously. He'd apparently made the mistake of treating Klaus' liquor like regular liquor. "What was that?!"
"Sit." Klaus shoved him back into his seat none too gently. Tyler's landing actually propelled the couch backward a few feet. "All vampires can enter dreams. Sometimes sires can enter memories, if the bond is strong enough."
"And you just- How could you- This isn't okay!"
"Relax. Your mind has made a stronger case than your inadequate pleas ever could."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means… I agree with you about Caroline. Consider your moral dilemma over." Klaus poured his hybrid another drink to replace the one he'd stolen and handed it to him. "In fact, I have a new assignment for you, mate. One I think you'll enjoy."
Hours after dragging a drunken Tyler up to the couch in his own personal studio, seeing as the guest rooms all lacked beds (despite the fact that the mutt hardly deserved such a courtesy), Klaus couldn't sleep. Even though he found it completely ridiculous, he ended up crossing the entirety of Mystic Falls to check on Caroline again.
Yes, she was fine. Sleeping soundly, seemingly without a care in the world.
Her skin was completely unmarred, but still covered in blood.
Imbeciles.
Klaus cleaned her up the best he could without alerting others of his presence.
Near-absent mindedly, his hands traced lines from her jaw down the length of her neck, brushing moonkissed locks away just for a better view. She was a vision, and it took a lifetime of restraint not to take advantage of her defenselessness, whether for a kiss or a taste, he couldn't say.
Instead, he made sure she was comfortable. Tucked her back in. Lingered once again at her side.
Klaus could hear the others conversing in the living room, apparently too alarmed from her near death and miraculous recovery to sleep. She may not be cared for properly, but she would be safe here. Much safer than if he stole her away as he had more than half a mind to do.
From what he'd just witnessed, keeping her safe and happy was going to be much more complicated than that.
So confession time: I'm not opting for single word titles because I like them; it's actually because I'm literally the worst at naming anything.
Examples?
- When I was 8, I wanted to name a cat Sweet Angel Baby Kitty Face. That was vetoed.
- At some point in mid-late elementary school, I wanted my soccer team to be the Sky-Blue Poison Arrow Dart Frogs of Peru (we were not from Peru).
- I accidentally turned in a college paper named I'll Come Up With A Title After I Finish This Fucker At The Last Second Like I Always Do Because I Guess I Just Hate Myself. The same professor later made fun of me for turning in another with the much more reasonable (bland) name Insert Title.
- My plant's name is LaFern, and it's little offspring is LaFernAgain.
- D&D characters I've created include a tiefling named Tifa and an orc named Borc.
- Don't even get me started on my present-day Pokemon names.
All in all, I just… shouldn't be trusted with naming things. Ever. So, to compensate, I usually pick a word or short phrase I don't think will embarrass me too much, slap it up there, and wash my hands of the task forever.
Is it the most effective tactic? Probably not. For example, I'm sure the name Endgame isn't drawing a whole lot of attention on the front page. But it's a hell of a lot better than Let's All Have a Good Laugh Watching the Two Most Stubborn Idiots in the Fandom Try Not to Fall for Each Other and Fail Spectacularly.
So yeah. Single word titles. Unless anyone has a better suggestion (which I would totally be okay with).
Jennifer: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'm doing my best to get the updates out quickly, but I may end up slowing down a bit or punching out shorter chapters as things break from canon more. We'll have to see.