Caroline's POV

I could feel the pounding of my head before I could even open my eyes to the dull light shining into my bedroom. I blindly reached for my phone on the nightstand.

The shattering of glass caused my eyes to pop open widely. I took in the view of a now broken lamp on a dark, hardwood floor. Where was I?

I hugged the duvet closer to my body as I looked around the room. A slight chill was in the air, and I couldn't help the light shiver that went through my body.

"Hello, love. Glad to see you're up. Don't worry. I'll have Thomas clean that up."

I quickly looked up at the man entering the room. Although his hair was shoulder length, and his clothes looked like he had stepped out of a play that followed the story of the Bubonic Plague and he was the King, the man standing in the doorway was none other than Niklaus Mikaelson.

"I—Where am I?"

I watched as Klaus used vampire speed to appear at my bedside and kneel beside of me. I tried to control the surprise in my face as he lovingly took one of my hands in between both of his, lightly kissed the back of it, then let our hands rest together on top of the duvet.

"You must still be experiencing that sick spell from last night. How are you this morning, my love? You feel much warmer."

"Sick spell? I guess I'm feeling okay?" I tried to sound confident, but only questions seemed to be forming from my mouth. What was going on right now?

"Yes, sweetheart. You had another bout of dizziness last night after the jousting tournament we attended. You were confused for a few hours but started talking normally just before we fell asleep."

"You mean before I fell asleep here? In this bed? With you?"

Klaus laughed, and for some reason, I felt a warmth in the pit of my stomach. I had never heard him really laugh before. "That's normally how our sleeping arrangement goes, yes. Sometimes I may even hold you to keep you warm, or if I just want to feel you in my arms." I could tell he was teasing me now; even if he was telling the truth.

"Oh." My response fell flat as I focused on how good it felt to have someone massage my hand; which Klaus was doing at the moment.

A sharp intake of breath cut through the silent room, and it was a second before I realized it was my own. My head felt like someone had took an axe and carved into it right down the middle. My breathing became erratic as it felt like someone was now twisting the axe. Similar to that night that Stefan had found me in the forest, I couldn't find my voice to even utter the start of a scream. I could only tightly squeeze my eyes shut and hope that whatever was happening to me right now was going to kill me quickly.

"Caroline?" The sound of someone calling my name started to fade out. "Caroline!"

I gasped as I quickly sat up on one of the Salvatores' boarding room beds. This room was fortunately a familiar one for me to wake up in as I had spent a lot of time in it during a much simpler time of young, wild summer nights, and impromptu sleepovers.

"Caroline? Are you okay? Can I come in?" Stefan's calm, but slightly panicked voice, made me feel a bit closer to reality.

I quickly checked to see what I was wearing. I had on a t-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms that were Elena's spare sets that she always left over here. "Uh, yeah, Stefan! Come in."

Stefan slowly opened the door and peered in hesitantly. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then they went back to normal size.

"You're okay." He walked closer to me but kept his distance. "Everyone checked on you this morning before they left, but it's almost like it never happened. That's incredible. Do you remember what happened last night?"

Tyler's sharp teeth breaking into my flesh flashed through my mind.

"Yes. Well, bits and pieces. I think I started to lose consciousness."

"That makes sense. When he found you, he said you were drifting in and out of consciousness."

"He?"

"Klaus Mikaelson. He found you in the woods not far from here. Said he smelled the blood. His hybrid senses are sharper than ours. He carried you all the way back here, then somehow healed you."

"Healed me?"

"Caroline, you don't remember? Werewolf bites are a death sentence for vampires. Nothing in this world can cure them. Well, except Klaus Mikaelson apparently."

I felt my throat tighten with unshed tears.

"I remember." My voice cracked just as Stefan excused himself to go meet Elena at the track for a jog they had previously planned.

"If you need me, call me. You can stay here as long as you want. You may be healed from the outside, but the inside is obviously another story. We're all here for you, Care. I'll see you later." Stefan used his vampire speed to leave the room and close the door behind him.

I sighed as I leaned back in bed. Something sharp poked me in my left side.

I reached for the offending item, and realized it was a simple piece of folded paper stock that had given me a papercut. With my luck, I couldn't even be upset over it. I watched the cut disappear like it had never happened in the first place, then turned my attention back to the note.

If you're feeling up to it, please come see me later. –Klaus

I stared at the elegant script written on the neatly folded piece of stock. It was like my mind couldn't make sense of the words.

This man had somehow brought me back from the edge of death as if nothing had happened, and instead of wondering how, I had to wonder why. Why had he made it his mission to save my life? He doesn't even know me. He could've ignored the smell coming from the woods last night and went on about his business. Why, instead of returning home to his cozy mansion like his sister had done, had he decided to race into the forest to save me? I wanted to know.

I needed to know.

..

I let out a calming breath as I waited for someone to answer the door. I wanted to ring the door bell again. I couldn't remember if it had made any sound or not, and if I'm being honest, I was starting to feel like I was losing my mind. The dream I had last night felt far too real, and all this morning, I was having small flashes in my mind. It was like my mind was comparing things to how they were now, versus how they were in another time.

On the drive over, I started to have a flashback of a midnight colored horse. I was on the back of it while it ran through a familiar forest too quickly than it should have been going, but I felt confident and secure. It was like I knew what I was doing. I felt a deep love with that horse, and I could tell he respected me.

He?

Now I suddenly knew the mysterious horse was a male? What the hell was going on with me?

At that moment, the door quickly whipped open. "Caroline! How are you?"

Before I could answer, I was trapped in Rebekah's arms as she rubbed my back.

"Nik told me what happened, and I couldn't believe it. What on Earth got into Tyler last night? It isn't even a full moon yet!" I absent mindedly followed Rebekah into the house as a memory from last night hit me again.

Sharp teeth tore at my throat, and I couldn't swallow any longer. As if I were living in a repeating story, just like last time I felt my airway get blocked with blood. So much blood that I could make no sound as I tried to scream as loud as I could.

"Yeah. I'm not sure how any of what happened last night was even possible." I awkwardly let out a nervous laugh.

"Anything's possible with magic, Caroline; no matter how impossible we think it is."

I looked toward the doorway to the kitchen, and oddly, my heart skipped a beat as my eyes took in Nik; leaning against the edge of the wall like it was built just for him to do so.

Klaus. His name was Klaus.

I focused my attention back on him again as he spoke with a clipped, murderous tone.

"Just ask your witch friend Bonnie."