The Wolf

by yokan87

When Caroline wakes up shackled, powerless and very far away from Mystic Falls, she knows she's in serious trouble. But when a woman named Sophie Deveraux reveals the reason why she's been kidnapped and taken to New Orleans, she realizes things are far worse than she could've ever imagined. [It's The Originals Season 1, but Caroline is a witch and she's pregnant with Klaus' child.]

7. S01E07: Bloodletting

This is by far the longest chapter so far. It's a little beast, and I'm sorry if that makes it hard to read. You'll realize why it had to be so long as you do.

If you've watched TO, you know what's about to happen, and I hope you enjoy the slight twist I have to the story! If you haven't, I hope you still enjoy it anyways. :) It's a major point in this first part of the story, kind of a first checkpoint I assigned myself to stop and realize if I'm doing any good with this rewriting. So I really, really hope you guys enjoy it. And, please, let me know your thoughts! If you think this has been worth your time so far and you still want to see where it'll go, drop me a note, send a message, whatever! :) I'm always super eager to know your thoughts! Your feedback is great encouragement!

As always, I ask you to please excuse my many mistakes. And a big shout-out to coveredinthecolors for her support, encouragement, for lending me her time to read this through and for listening to me babble about this goddamn story without complaints. ❤

Also, guys. I keep getting questions by people who comment as guests, and I would really love to answer them, but I'd have to do a giant A/N for that. So if you have questions you'd like me to answer, consider leaving me a comment on AO3 (yokan there) so I can answer you directly or sending me an ask (it can be anonymous if you prefer) on tumblr (galvanizedfriend). I'd be happy to answer all your doubts! Thanks for your comments, tho! I really appreciate them!

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For once in his life, Elijah doesn't feel at all like fighting Niklaus' unorthodox, impulsive ways of handling problems. On the contraire. He's quite pleased to join in.

They take a moment to consider the situation and possible repercussions as they feed. After the day they've had, and the night still ahead of them, it's important to replenish their strengths. Niklaus wanted to head straight to the French Quarter and leave a trail of fresh kills behind them to send a message, but, miraculously enough, Elijah managed to convince him otherwise. Anything that could be perceived as an affront at this point might be dangerous; Marcel, after all, still holds the upper hand.

If he denies them what they want, then, by all means. Bodies will pile up all around the Quarter, humans, witches and vampires alike.

Elijah is quite done with diplomacy.

Marcel has come into their home and taken Caroline from under their roofs. Killing a mob of insufferable tourists is not even remotely close to the brand of punishment he deserves.

But Marcellus is not the only one Elijah resents. It's safe to say he's even angrier with himself. How could they have been so careless? After everything they've already been through... Disaster keeps charging at them, relentlessly, and they keep opening themselves up for it.

There are plenty of lessons to be learned here. But Elijah will have to store them up for later analysis. Right now, they need to get Marcel to return what he took. And possibly prepare for a slaughter, in the off chance he'll be short-sighted enough to call the bluff on two irate Originals.

When they get to the compound, dawn is only a couple of hours away, so the place is crawling with nightwalkers enjoying the last of their freedom. They appear to be holding some kind of primitive fighting competition, while Marcel oversees everything from the second floor. A king watching over his subjects.

Elijah can suddenly see why Klaus is so disgusted by Marcel's new self-proclaimed status. It is outrageous, when he remembers that they were the ones to build not only the city, but the very place he now dares to call home. It's also rather laughable; they can take it all back in a second if they so desire. If Marcel has any sense in him, he'll consider himself lucky they have more important things to concern themselves with at the moment and behave. But his brother's influence over the younger man might've been greater than Elijah remembers; he seems to have inherited Niklaus' penchant for flirting with danger with reckless abandon.

As soon as one of the fights ends, while everyone cheers and howls in excitement and Marcel smiles down upon his minions, Niklaus decides they've waited long enough. He whooshes into the center circle and snaps the neck of the victorious vampire as though it were a twig.

Silence descends upon the compound like rain.

"Good evening," his brother says. "I'd like a word."

Niklaus can be... Quite dramatic. But Elijah can't really claim that his methods are ineffective. He knows how to captivate an audience.

"What are you doing?" Marcel asks, his easy smile morphing into a scowl.

"It appears," Elijah says, cutting through the crowd to join Klaus. "We're interrupting a collection of filthy amateurs. We're here for the girl. Give her to us and no one has to get hurt."

"Or we kill everyone here," Klaus adds with a grim smile. "Starting with you."

"You two got a lot of nerve, coming into my home and making demands."

"Your home, is it?" Niklaus quips.

"The girl, Marcel," Elijah repeats, emphatically. "You don't know the night we've had. Don't push us."

Marcel grins. "I assume you're talking about Caroline. Yay high, blonde hair. A bit of an attitude. I'm curious. Who is she, anyway?"

"She's an old friend. You know how sentimental I am about old friends," Klaus says, bleeding irony.

"Well, I ain't got her," Marcel says with a mindless shrug. "And before you start whining — I did pay her a little visit earlier tonight. I was feeling nostalgic, so I took a trip to the plantation where I used to be a slave. Imagine my surprise when I realized that the Original family had taken up residence. And not just that! A mysterious girl I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting yet answered the door. Just the strangest thing... I could sense werewolf stench all over her." He makes a face, bobbing his head towards Klaus. "I imagine that's you."

"Where is she?" Klaus hisses through gritted teeth, his eyes flashing yellow. Marcel won't last too long if he keeps challenging his brother like his. He does not seem to understand what being a hybrid actually means.

Right now, Elijah wouldn't be entirely opposed to a demonstration.

"My visit was brief and courteous. Just saying hi to the neighborhood. We exchanged hellos. That was it. I don't have her, and I have no idea where she is. Don't believe me, look around. Hell, I'll even help you find her. But the question I'd ask is..." He leans over the railing, a wolfish smile full of teeth curling up his lips. "If Caroline isn't here, then where is she?"

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As though for the millionth time in less than a week, Caroline wakes up very confused, a dull throb in her head, and no idea how she ended up in a... what is it this time? A car?

She stays very still, trying to gather her wits. It's definitely a car. A moving car. Her feet and hands are tied, which means definitely kidnapped.

Again.

Holy freaking shit.

This time she didn't even see what got her, didn't even have a chance to react. Marcel had just left, she was panicking out of her freaking mind and went to find her cell phone to call Klaus or Elijah or anyone. She searched the whole house and realized she must've had it with her when they took her to the pool and went outside to retrieve it, making sure to take a fire poker with her in case there were any vampires lurking.

With Marcel close, it didn't feel like a smart choice to use magic and give herself away. He had sensed the werewolf baby, she's certain of it, by the way he looked at her stomach with intrigue. But he had no way of knowing she is a witch, and, at least for the time being, she'd prefer to keep it like that. So baby-powered werewolf strength would have to do. But she didn't even see her attacker. All she knows is one second she was by the pool, then someone shoved a cloth on her face and now she's here.

Won't those fucking witches ever stop?

Caroline lifts her head, twisting her body to try and see anything. There's just one person in the car with her, who seems to be a man. It shouldn't be that difficult then… She has no idea where she is, though. It looks very dark outside and she can see a lot of trees, so they're not anywhere near the city. Possibly the Bayou. Great, she thinks, vaguely wondering whether the werewolves will be out there to give her a helping claw again in case it gets ugly.

She tries to twist out of her ropes, as quietly as possible, but the knots are very tight. Whoever took her knows their knots. Unlike the last time, when the witches tried to ambush her very clumsily, this time they came prepared.

Element of surprise, then. If she manages to break the back window, she can stun him with magic when he comes to investigate and get the fuck out of there.

That's a plan, then.

Taking a deep breath, Caroline starts kicking the window with all her might. The glass doesn't shatter, but it cracks easily. Just a couple more kicks and—

They come to an abrupt stop. The driver jumps out, moving around the car.

That's it, then. Show time.

When he finally pulls the trunk open, Caroline grinds her teeth and kicks at him with all her strength, preparing to charge with magic next, but the man holds her feet as though it was nothing. Like she doesn't have all this werewolf stamina coursing through her. Like he's—

"Seriously, Caroline?"

She freezes. Her heart skips a couple of beats when she finally sees his face, a violent shudder rushing through at the familiar voice.

She can't even say it's the last person she thought she would see because it didn't even cross her mind, not for one second, that it might be him. That she'd ever see him out here in the Bayou. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

Slack-jawed and wide-eyed, she half-sputters, half-breathes, "Tyler?"

"Don't try to fight me. You know you can't beat a hybrid."

He pulls her to him and, putting his hand under her body, throws her over his shoulder.

"Tyler!" she cries, still too stunned to properly react and not so sure anymore if she wants to hurt him. "What are you doing? Put me down!"

"Shut up."

He turns around and starts walking, carrying her deeper into the Bayou.

Just what the fucking hell is going on?

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"What is taking so long?" Klaus grumbles, pacing around the courtyard while they wait for Marcel to return.

His former protégé has promised to help them find Caroline, although he hasn't explained exactly how. As dawn approaches, the riffraff he calls friends have disbanded, scurrying back to the sewers where they'll hide until the next nightfall. Only a handful of his inner circle, the ones with daylight rings, are still loitering around — watching them, Klaus realizes.

Marcellus has a lot of nerve. Using the house that he built to serve as shelter for a bunch of lowlife street rats and then leaving them waiting with men keeping eyes on them like he and Elijah are beggars, trespassers at their own home.

He should know better than to annoy Klaus when he's in one of his moods. Marcel is lucky he hasn't murdered anyone yet. But that won't remain so for much longer if he doesn't—

A woman comes in through the front gate. No, not a woman. A witch. Without having to ask, he knows it's the infamous Sabine, who has been acting oh, so friendly towards Caroline. Klaus has every reason not to feel gracious about witches, especially the ones in Sophie Deveraux's coven, but this Sabine stands out, rubbing him all the wrong ways, and his millennium old sixth sense rarely ever fails him.

His hostility must register on his face, because as soon as she meets his eyes, she stops, lifting her hands in the air in a peaceful sign. "Marcel sent for me. He's magnanimously allowed me to use a locator spell to find Caroline. Apparently you two lost her? Again," she says, distaste turning down the corners of her lips.

Klaus' mouth thins so visibly that Elijah has to put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from assaulting the witch.

"Where is Marcellus?" he asks her.

Sabine shrugs. "Marcel doesn't exactly share his plans with the witches, you know. And anyway, I'm here to help."

"Then get to work, sweetheart," Klaus snarls.

"Niklaus," Elijah admonishes. "Can you find her?"

"I can try." She retrieves a map of New Orleans from inside her purse and opens it on a table, smoothing the edges down. "I need something of hers."

Klaus finds a bowl left forgotten around the courtyard and bites down on his own hand. It's not exactly something of Caroline's, but if she finds the baby, she'll find the mother. Sabine wrinkles up her nose, not trying to hide her disapproval.

"I was thinking more of something like a hairbrush or a necklace."

"I don't care what you were thinking. Now hurry up," Klaus says, giving her a hard look as he puts the bowl down on top of the map.

He'll give her half an hour to find Caroline. If she fails, he'll consider it justified to rip her heart out and put his unsettling feelings about her to rest.

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After a while, Caroline just stops fighting. It's useless. All Tyler does is tell her to shut up and tighten his grip on her legs.

She could, of course, hurt him. But it's Tyler, and even though his behavior is sending all sorts of alarm bells ringing, Caroline doesn't really want to attack him. Although it would be totally justified, considering he has her tied up and thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes for the past thirty minutes. It's an uncomfortable position, but she just takes a deep breath and tries not to squirm too much.

Wherever he's taking her, they can't be very far. They're almost at the river already. Unless he's planning to set sail down the Mississippi, in which case — well, she's gonna have to give him that splitting headache she's been holding back on.

Part of her is curious. Just what exactly is Tyler up to? Clearly he's pissed off, which tells her he must've found out about the baby. But how? No one in Mystic Falls knows and even in New Orleans there are very few people in on the loop. Unless...

It suddenly occurs to Caroline that he could've been the wolf who saved her from the mad witches the other day. It wasn't a full moon, so it must have been a wolf that can turn at will. And, as far as she knows, Tyler is one of the only two in the world who can do that.

But if he saved her life, then why is he suddenly so mad at her?

All these questions are one half of the reason why she hasn't struck back. The other half is guilt.

Caroline didn't play along with the lies they spread around Mystic Falls to justify her sudden disappearance just because she didn't want them to be put in danger. It was that, too, especially about her mother, who she knows would never let her pregnant daughter on her own in New Orleans if she could help. Liz would definitely have a target on her back. However... She'd be lying if she said the fact she has no idea where to even start explaining the situation to her friends didn't play a huge part in it, too.

Klaus did a lot of really crappy things he'll never be forgiven for back home. He killed people. Destroyed lives. Ruined relationship just for the kicks. They all have very strong personal reasons to detest Klaus and for wanting him dead. Hell, she has wanted him dead for the majority of the time they've known each other.

But at some point things changed, and Tyler left, and Caroline didn't hate Klaus as much as she should anymore, and she never meant to make light of everyone's feelings for Klaus, but that's probably what they would think if they knew she slept with him.

It's not easy explaining to your friends how you might have complicated feelings for the worst person in the world. And then on top of that, that you also, incidentally, happen to be pregnant with his miracle baby.

Well.

Caroline was too much of a mess for the first few weeks there to even consider telling anyone. And, despite having made considerable progress since, she doesn't think she has fully come to terms with it yet. Not in a way that allows her to voice the myriad of things in her head in a coherent form. This is no small deal. It's mind-blowing, life-changing. She's gonna need a minute.

To say she isn't ready to face anybody is an understatement. Tyler least of all.

He left her for Hayley and broke her heart, but he's also probably the person with the most reason to hate Klaus out of everyone in Mystic Falls, and that's saying something.

That the first person from back home that she'll have to face about this happens to be the ex-boyfriend whose life her baby daddy completely wrecked is giving her some anxiety spikes here.

When Tyler finally puts her down, dawn has already broken. He's taken her to what seems to be an old hunter's cabin by the river. Abandoned, by the looks of it. There's no one else around.

With relative gentleness, he sits her down on the cabin's entrance. Then he pulls a Swiss knife from his jacket.

"What are you gonna do with that?" Caroline asks, recoiling defensively, finally ready to snap his neck if it comes to it.

"Depends on you," he says, approaching her tentatively. When she convinces herself he's not threatening her — not with the knife, anyway — she allows him to come closer. Tyler crouches down in front of her and cuts the ties around her ankles.

"You attacked me," she says, not doing a good job at concealing the hurt. "You ambushed me in my own backyard."

"It's not your backyard. It's Klaus'." Tyler shoots her a dagger filled look. His voice was even, but Caroline felt all the sharp edges of his reproach. Of his revulsion. She makes a face, eyes wandering away from him. "Oh yeah. I know you've been shacked up in a mansion with that psycho for months. A long way from the girl I fell in love with in Mystic Falls."

His words send a pang shooting right through her, even though it probably shouldn't. "It's not what you think. A lot has happened since the last time I saw you."

"You mean like how you didn't even wait for me to get far before you slept with Klaus?"

Caroline's jaw sets. "That's not fair."

"Isn't it?" His gaze dips, fixing on her belly. Instinctively, she places her still tied hands on top of it. It makes a muscle twitch on Tyler's face. "And now you're carrying his miracle child." He spits it out like an accusation, words coated in venom.

"How did you -"

"I know all about your hybrid baby, Care. I can hear its heartbeats right now. It's a little werewolf, did you know that?"

"Tyler -"

"After I fled home," he continues, raising his tone to cut her off. "You know, running for my life after your baby daddy killed my mother and put a bounty on my head... I ended up tagging along with a pack from Tennessee that had just been to Louisiana. They had this amazing story. Apparently the werewolves around this area, the few ones still alive, were talking about a magical baby. They seem to believe it's some kind of royalty or whatever. Klaus' werewolf line goes far back, but it's tied to this place, somehow. This, right here, is everything that's left of them."

What everything? Caroline wants to ask. There's absolutely nothing there. But Tyler's story confirms something she suspected. Klaus and the werewolves in the Bayou are distantly related, which means they're her daughter's family too.

But what is this about royalty?

She hears the sound of branches snapping, and when she lifts her gaze, there's a woman. Young, blonde, spying from behind a tree. Caroline has no idea where she came from, but she must be one of the wolves.

"Hey!" Caroline calls, standing to her feet. The woman immediately dashes off, disappearing between the trees.

"They can't help you, Care. They're in the woods hiding because they've been persecuted for decades and decimated by vampires. Like the ones in your new family."

"That's not—"

The cabin door opens behind her, and Caroline snaps around like a thunder. It's a big guy, wearing worn jeans and a plaid shirt. He gives her a cursory once over, then nods towards Tyler.

"That her?"

"Yeah, Dwayne," Tyler says. "Get her inside."

Dwayne charges for her, and Caroline tries to get away, but Tyler holds her in place so the guy can grab her by her wrists and drag her towards the cabin.

"Tyler," she calls out, more than a little afraid now. "Tyler, what are you doing? Tyler!"

But he's not listening anymore, just turns on his heels and goes in the same direction the woman rushed off to, while Dwayne pushes her inside and shuts the door.

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Caroline's in the backcountry, way out past Houma, deep in the Bayou.

That's what Sabine said. Elijah wanted her to be more precise, but that's as precise as her magic would go. Not much for a start - there's miles and miles to cover deep in the Bayou - but it's something.

"There are stories of exiled werewolves. Encampments. If Caroline went out that far, chances are, she went to find them," Sabine said, offering some more insight. "It's not the witches this time," she added when Klaus eyed her with suspicion. "I haven't heard anything. If it is, they're working alone, not with the coven, so I doubt it. After what happened to Agnes, everyone's gone quiet." She looked at Elijah then, not trying to disguise the bitterness in her tone.

"Wonderful to know you lot have finally learned your lesson," Niklaus said. "But why would Caroline want to find werewolves?"

"She's been curious. A wolf saved her life from the witch death squad. She thinks a wolf was trying to protect the baby, that they might be connected. Through you," Elijah offered.

His brother's eyes sparkled with malice. "You and Caroline have been talking a lot, have you not? Did she confide her concerns over her child's heritage to you over a pillow talk, by any chance?"

That was the point where Elijah got up and went to get the car, not willing to waste any time entertaining Niklaus' jealous insinuations while there were clearly more important things to do. But Elijah can sense that was not the end of that discussion. All the way to the Bayou, his brother shot dagger-filled looks at him, the silence in the car razor-sharp as Klaus' thoughts practically screamed with the things he was not saying. Knowing Niklaus, it's only a matter of time before he starts spilling nonsense.

He's been like this since Elijah returned home. He talks of wanting to make amends, but then every time Elijah so much as looks at Caroline, he starts acting as though he'd gladly put him back in a box and drop him in the middle of the Atlantic. Pouting like a child, snapping at everyone. And the situation with the needle of sorrows and Caroline's subsequent disappearance has left him on edge.

Elijah can feel the storm brewing on the horizon. All he can do is hope that they find Caroline before Niklaus snaps. A missing pregnant girl and an unhinged brother are too much to deal with at once.

When they reach the area Sabine indicated, Elijah parks the car. They'll cover more ground on foot than trying to drive any further off the beaten path.

"We should head south towards the water. That's likely where the werewolves are."

"You're very determined," Klaus says, following him into the woods. "I should be the one to do this."

"If I'm moving too fast for you, Niklaus, you're welcome to wait in the car. Do be certain to leave the windows down."

"Ah, so I've touched a nerve. You've begun to admire her. Perhaps that's why you've been barking orders since your return, hoping to impress Caroline by assuming the role of family patriarch. The good brother, is it not?"

Elijah stops, whipping around to face Niklaus. He prides himself on being the most level-headed of the Mikaelsons, but trust his beloved brother to know exactly how to make him lose his temper. He can feel a vein popping on his forehead. "If Caroline has found it wise to deposit her faith in me, it's your own fault for treating her like a walking incubator."

A snarl crosses his brother's face, and he seems poised on barking out a response, but he goes suddenly still, facing away as though picking something in the wind.

"Have you found her scent?"

"No," he says, grinding his teeth. "But I've found someone else's."

Elijah follows him to an abandoned truck parked a distance away. It's not exactly hidden, more like someone just gave up on driving and decided to go on foot from there. There are signs of struggle, which makes Elijah concerned. As Niklaus starts rummaging through the things inside the car, Elijah can definitely catch the scent of werewolf all over the place, but nothing recognizable to him.

"This vehicle reeks of someone I thought I was rid of," Klaus grunts. "Tyler Lockwood." He spits out the name like it's a curse. Elijah remembers the boy vaguely from Mystic Falls. Klaus' first hybrid.

"Why would your little hybrid sidekick have any interest in Caroline?"

Klaus' nostrils flare, but he doesn't reply, just jumps into the back of the car and continues to search through what looks to be pure garbage. Empty food cartons, beer bottles, pieces of clothing. "She's been here."

"Niklaus," Elijah admonishes, sensing his brother's attempt to evade the question. "What does Tyler Lockwood want with Caroline? I thought Rebekah had compelled everyone in Mystic Falls to believe she'd gone to college in California."

"Tyler wasn't in Mystic Falls. I banned him from ever returning."

"What?"

Klaus sighs impatiently. "Tyler was loyal in the beginning, but he grew insubordinate. Met this werewolf girl called Hayley and together they turned all my other hybrids against me. So I was forced to retaliate by massacring the lot of them. Tyler ran like a coward before I could get to him. So instead... I paid a little visit to his mum." He smirks, actually proud of himself.

Elijah, on the other hand, is not impressed. "You killed his mother?"

"He deserved it," he says, shrugging. "I would've done nothing to her if he'd stayed to face the consequences of his own actions."

"That's wonderful, Niklaus. Marcel's vampires, the French Quarter witches and now your old friends, all going for the mother of your child."

Klaus purses his lips with distaste. "The thing with Tyler is... More personal."

"Of course it is, you murdered his family."

"Not because of that. I went after his girl."

"His girl?" Klaus gives him a pointed look. Elijah arches his eyebrows, eyes widening slightly as he takes in the expression on his brother's face. "Caroline? Caroline cheated on him with you?"

"She didn't cheat. I certainly tried, but Caroline was foolishly in love with her idiotic boyfriend. It was only after he left that she was finally willing to acknowledge our connection. I'm not entirely sure that makes much of a difference to him."

Elijah sighs, shaking his head. "Niklaus..."

"What? I never forced her. Caroline came to me out of her own free will."

"You knew there was a man out there — a hybrid — hell bent on seeking revenge on you, while his ex-girlfriend, whom you stole, carries your child and you didn't think it was important to mention it?"

"How was I to know he'd get word of it when no one in Mystic Falls knows? Moreover, Tyler's nothing. I can crush him with my thumb."

"What if he crushes Caroline first?"

Klaus fixes him with a cool glare. "You do care about her, don't you? Well, go on then, brother. Here's your chance. Save her. Maybe she'll be so grateful and charmed by her gallant prince she'll finally realize she's had her eyes set on the wrong Mikaelson all along. Isn't that what you want? She's going to make you break a sweat for it, Elijah, but let me tell you, she is worth it."

Elijah shuts his eyes against the venom in his brother's words. "Do you ever think before you speak?" Paranoia robs his brother of any shred of reason, to the point all he sees is red, possessed by an incoherent desire to lash out. If Caroline was to hear him talk like this, she'd never look him in the eye again. "Niklaus, so help me God -"

"Enough," he rages, pointing a finger to Elijah's face. "I'll kill Tyler Lockwood myself."

With that, Niklaus flashes away, disappearing from sight.

Not the wolves. Not the witches. A hybrid. And Caroline's ex-boyfriend.

This is going to be a lot trickier than Elijah thought.

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Caroline flexes her hands against the discomfort of the too tight grip around her wrists binding her to an old iron stove inside the cabin.

She's considering how fast Marcel would be able to find her if she were to use magic to set herself free. After he lost four of his werewolves on the attack at the French Quarter, she thinks he might be more careful. But being more careful for a vampire such as him might actually mean being more ruthless. He knows of her now, knows she's pregnant with a werewolf baby, but he's got no idea it's Klaus' and that she's a witch. Anything that escapes Marcel's knowledge is an advantage.

But she's getting really fed up with this situation.

Honestly, she doesn't want to hurt Tyler. Despite all the obvious lingering hard feelings, she was in love with him not that long ago. For the longest time, she was convinced he was her all and all, that they were destined to be together for the rest of her life.

Alas, it was not to be, and their lives have pulled them apart in unimaginable ways since then. Her time with Tyler feels like a lifetime ago. But she can understand his resentment, even if he's completely misguided in several of his assumptions and in thinking that she actually owes him anything after he dumped her for that backstabbing werewolf slut.

Klaus killed his mother, he's hurt. Caroline's not entirely without sympathy. But that does not give Tyler the right to kidnap her, tie her up and take her to the middle of the freaking bog against her will. And what the hell does he want, anyway? Is he trying to use her as a decoy to ambush Klaus? Because if that's the case, Tyler's going to end up dead. He's insane if he thinks he can take on Klaus, let alone on the entire Mikaelson family. Despite the incredibly abusive treatment Tyler is giving her, she really does not want him to die.

But keep her tied up her for another hour in extreme discomfort and she might have a change of heart.

People should really know better than to mess with a pregnant lady. Especially one who has been suffering homicidal attacks at least once a week. Caroline is so done with this shit.

The door of the cabin opens and it's Tyler again, no sign of Dwayne, who left after tying her up. He seems to register on her displeasure immediately, smiling to himself.

"Not exactly as cozy as that mansion Klaus put you in, huh?"

"Would you just stop? I didn't ask to be taken in by the Mikaelsons."

"You didn't exactly look like you were uncomfortable with it either when I found you."

"When you jumped me, you mean." Tyler shrugs. "How long have you been around?"

"Not long."

"I know it's very unlikely, given your obvious feelings about my pregnancy, but I have to ask. A wolf saved my life a few weeks ago. It protected me like I was a part of its pack. Or the baby, anyway. It wasn't a full moon, so I wonder... Was that you, by any chance?"

"No."

"Right. Of course not."

"Do you even know what happened to the wolves in this area?"

"Should I?"

"Well, if you're so curious about that wolf who saved your life... They were cursed, Caroline. By the witches, at Marcel Gerard's request. Many years ago, he killed most of the wolves in this area. And then later, when some descendants came to age, he got a witch to put a spell on them."

"What kind of spell?"

"One that swaps nature around, inside out. It made it so their natural state is wolf form. They only turn back human on the full moon."

"Why would a vampire want a bunch of werewolves to be stuck in the form they're most dangerous to vampires?"

"Because that keeps them out of the city, dehumanizes them. As wolves, they would never be allowed in the French Quarter. So they were forced to settle here, in the Bayou, like wild animals. Only a handful of them haven't been caught in the curse, mostly the ones who were too young back then or hadn't triggered their genes yet. Most of those left after a while, tired of the squalor they were forced to live in. So what's left of the once powerful packs of New Orleans are either stuck in wolf form, or too weakened to pose a real threat."

"Damn," Caroline murmurs sheepishly. She can't even begin to fathom what it must be like to be trapped in a wolf body for years. It's part of their nature, but it's so barbaric to dehumanize an entire people like this. Marcel really did pick up a lot from his time as an honorary Mikaelson. "I had no idea."

"Of course not. Why would you have any interest in what goes on beyond the glass walls of your palace?"

"That's not fair, Tyler."

"Know what is not fair? That baby you're carrying. Not fair, and not natural either."

Caroline's expression twists in annoyance, and she feels her blood begin to boil in her veins. The derision in Tyler's tone makes her overprotective instincts kick in again.

"The entire Original family has made a pact to keep the baby safe, Tyler," she warns him. "If they find out you brought me here—"

"Oh, yes. Your new boyfriend is a very territorial guy. He's not gonna be happy to hear you're spending time with an ex."

"He's not my boyfriend," she speaks slowly through gritted teeth.

"He's something much worse than that."

"Do you think I wanted this? That I chose to get pregnant with some impossible hybrid baby and begged to be brought into a war that has absolutely nothing to do with me?"

"Did Klaus rape you?"

Caroline stops, taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"Did he rape you? Because if that's not the case, and I don't think it is, otherwise you wouldn't be living with him, then you're just as much to blame as he is. You slept with him. Nobody made you. What do you think your mother would say if she knew she's going to be the grandma of Klaus Mikaelson's baby?"

Caroline looks away, because the thought makes her stomach tie up in knots. She tries not to think too much about her mother, otherwise she'll spend all her days consumed by guilt and being sorry for herself. They still talk on the phone every now and then, but Caroline always ends up feeling worse than before when she invariably has to make up a bunch of lies about a college life that doesn't exist when all she really wants is to confess.

There are so many things she wants to ask her mom, about being pregnant, about being a mother, about having children... The fear of being a disappointment always holds her back. Not only because she's lying and not in college like her mom always wanted her to be, but because she's carrying Klaus' baby. Liz managed to steer clear off the Mikaelson drama while the family was in Mystic Falls, which is a miracle, but she hates them just as much as the next person, especially after Carol. Just to imagine what her mother would think if she knew...

"I know you haven't told her," Tyler continues when she fails to offer a reply. "Matt called me when Klaus left and as soon as I heard, I went back. Everyone was saying you'd left for college on the other side of the country, but that wasn't like the Caroline I knew. All you babbled about since freshman year was how you were gonna go to Whitmore with Bonnie and Elena. So I knew there was something off there. And then I found out that you had mysteriously disappeared without even saying goodbye right about the same time Klaus did. With all the rumors of a magical baby I'd heard... It wasn't hard to put 2 and 2 together. You always did have a thing for him. You denied it, but... I could see it. It's pathetic, really, how easily you fell for his crap. The man who ruined my life. Who manipulated me to pull us apart. Who killed my mother and a dozen other people. And my own girlfriend couldn't wait to jump in bed with him. You're the biggest disappointment of my life, Caroline. I hope you know that."

Caroline blinks at him, momentarily taken aback by Tyler's story, wound like an accusation. But when the blow finally lands, it doesn't make her feel remorse or regret. It makes her furious.

"I'm a disappointment?" she starts, her voice escalating. "Remember when your werewolf friends almost killed me because I tried to free my friends — our friends — and you did nothing? Remember when I held your hand through your first full moon because you were scared and alone? How I put myself in danger just to be there for you, even though you were a jerk to me most of the time? Remember when you almost killed me by ripping my throat open with your shiny teeth?"

"Because Klaus told me to!" he protests.

"And you couldn't fight it! You could fight your compulsion for your werewolf friends, but not for me. Never for me. Stefan fought the compulsion for Elena, so don't give me that crap that it was impossible. You never cared enough, Tyler. You left me for months and I called you every single day, cried myself to sleep every night, but you never answered. And when you finally came back, it was with her."

"Because she's the one who helped me break the sire bond."

"And what the hell was I?! I was your friend when you needed one the most, Tyler. I fought for us every step of the way. And even after you came back, I still stood by you. I thought I was the one who'd done something wrong, that I had to win you back. And when I told you she was up to no good, you thought I was just being jealous. And then you put your hybrid friends to watch me like I was a traitor."

Tyler's eyes flash. "Because you were trying to save his life."

"I was trying to save everyone! Including you! And as it turned out, including them. If you'd listened to me, your hybrid friends would be unsired and probably still alive. Your girlfriend who you trusted so much, tricked you and then she saved Klaus' life. It was her freaking plan all along. And I'm the disappointment? I loved you. I loved you when you turned on me, when you left me, when you came back with someone else. I asked you to run away with me. Remember? But your stupid revenge plan against Klaus was more important. You never gave a shit about me. You were just comfortable having someone who was willing to sacrifice everything for you in a second. You never tried to understand me, never even bothered getting to know me. When I remember what our relationship was like, all I can think of is you having some major drama in your life while I had to swallow down my problems and my needs because you were always more important. My entire life has been about other people. Doing things for other people, being the person other people expect me to be. Do you know who saw me for who I am? Who took the time to actually understand me? Learn me? Klaus. He showed me kindness when I was in pain and alone and no one seemed to care. So yes, I slept with him. One time. And my life has been a royal mess ever since. But do you know what?" Caroline leans forward, words tumbling out of her mouth, catching fire as they go. "I regret nothing."

She's saying all that to get under his skin, obviously — and by the look on Tyler's face and the way his lips curl into a snarl, it works — but she surprises herself by realizing she means every word. Tyler broke her heart, repeatedly. She was so dumb in love with him that he didn't even have to try very hard to have her wrapped around his little finger. All he had to do was be a tiny bit better as a boyfriend and Caroline would've probably never slept with Klaus, never stopped pining after him, even after Hayley. It's ridiculous to think about it now, but she was always ready to forgive him. He just had to say the word.

Even with the pregnancy — which, she won't deny it, is a huge inconvenience, more so to herself than to anyone else — Caroline doesn't feel that sleeping with Klaus was a mistake. The consequences may have been less than favorable, but the time they spent together in itself didn't feel wrong. It made sense. He wanted it. She wanted it. It was great. The fact Klaus was mostly regarded as an evil villain capable of the most terrible acts suddenly didn't seem as important as the fact he made her feel good. Accepted. Wanted. And that she knew, deep in her heart, that whatever he felt for her, it was genuine. Even if it was fleeting, even if he got over her the next day; in that moment, it was true. And that's all that mattered.

Caroline refuses to be made to feel guilty for being attracted to him, like that's some grand betrayal on the entire city of Mystic Falls. Yes, Klaus is terrible. But so is Damon. So is Katherine. So is Rebekah. So is freaking Hayley. And no one seemed to have any quarrels about sleeping with them. Why is she the only one who's held to a certain standard when everyone else gets a pass?

Screw that. And screw Tyler, too.

Before they can continue their argument, however, Dwayne returns. Tyler eyes her angrily, his mouth pressed into a fine line. "Are you ready?" he asks Dwayne, who nods. "Then let's start."

He turns around, searching for something in a bag, retrieving syringe with a giant needle.

Caroline's entire body goes rigid. "What is that for, Tyler?"

"Relax. We'll just make a little test," he says, approaching her with tentative steps.

"Tyler," she warns. "Don't do this. You don't want to do this. Please."

He stops a few steps from her, a hard shield in his dark eyes. "Klaus destroyed everything good in my life. So I'm gonna take away the thing he wants most."

Using all his hybrid speed, he launches towards her, sticking the needle in her belly. Caroline screams, eyes wide in terror. She doesn't even think, just twists her wrists as much as she can, invoking her magic and sending him flying onto the opposite wall, the needle going with him.

She's panting in shock as Tyler groans, pulling himself up. "Damn it," he curses. "I forgot you could do that."

"What the hell did you do, Tyler?!"

He retrieves the syringe, looking at the little blood he managed to collect. "I think we have enough." In one swift movement, he turns to Dwayne and stabs him in the neck, injecting him with Caroline's blood, and then snapping the man's neck. He tumbles to the ground. Dead.

Caroline gasps, her mouth agape.

It's exactly what Klaus did to him right in front of her all those years ago.

"Don't get all judgy," Tyler says, picking up Dwayne and dragging him to the door. "Dwayne knew what he was getting into. He volunteered."

"To die?!"

"Dwayne here is a werewolf, and he died with your blood in his system. The same blood you share with you hybrid baby."

Caroline narrows her eyes in disbelief at him. "You're trying to turn him into a hybrid? Are you out of your mind? You need doppelganger blood for that."

"I met a witch a while back, when I was trying to piece together the mystery of your disappearance. She was tight with a wolf pack I knew. She had nightmare visions about your baby and how Klaus would use its blood to make a new army of hybrid slaves."

Caroline scoffs, all indignation. "I am sick of these witches and their premonitions about my baby. It's just a baby."

"Maybe. Maybe not. We'll know better when Dwayne here wakes up," he says, kicking Dwayne's boot. "Or if he doesn't. But he was happy to be the test case. If you haven't noticed, these people don't have much to live for. The problem is, all hybrids are sired to Klaus. They will follow his every move. There's no way I'll let that happen again."

"How can you be so sure Klaus knows what the baby's blood will do? He didn't even know he could get anybody pregnant."

Tyler lets out a sardonic laugh. "Seriously, Caroline? Are you so infatuated with him that you've become blind? Klaus Mikaelson, killer of men, women and puppies, all of a sudden wants to be a daddy? Or... He's got an ulterior motive. I know he's in a bit of a feud with Marcel Gerard. With his new hybrids, he could take over New Orleans in less than a day, and you know what's gonna stop him then? Nothing. I'm sorry to break it to you, Care, but it seems like Klaus is just using you same as he's used everyone else." He smiles an ugly smile then, self-satisfied and mean. Such a distance from the boy Caroline fell in love with. She wonders if Tyler was always like this, and she was too in love to notice, or if the hatred he harbors towards Klaus has consumed him so completely that it's turned him into this despicable little person. "You're not so special after all."

With a loud gasp, Dwayne rises from the dead, clawing at his throat. Caroline winces as cold spreads beneath her skin. She watches as the werewolf man scrambles to his feet, panting, as Tyler tries to hold him down. This shouldn't be possible. Her baby is not a vampire, her blood shouldn't be able to turn werewolves into hybrids. If that part of the process worked, then that means...

"Easy, Dwayne. Easy," Tyler says, a firm grip on the man's shoulders, forcing him to meet his eyes. "Welcome back."

He glances at Caroline, something dark and unreadable in his eyes, and for a moment she thinks she knows what he's going to do. The blood isn't enough to make hybrids. Back in Mystic Falls, they had to feed on Elena. And since they're clearly short on doppelgangers...

Caroline looks at him with a silent plea, and Tyler turns back to Dwayne. For just a second there, he looked almost remorseful, guilty. A shadow of the boy she used to love.

"There's blood left in the syringe," he says, removing the needle from the discarded syringe to feed Dwayne with the last of her blood. It's not much, but Caroline knows they don't need much to complete the transition.

Dwayne starts to scream, his whole body convulsing as though he were catching fire. He scrambles for the door and runs out of the cabin. Tyler looks back at her, arching his eyebrows as though saying See? I was right, before following the man outside.

Caroline is frozen for a second, trying to grasp her mind around what she just witnessed.

Her daughter's blood can sire new hybrids.

Isn't that everything Klaus always wanted? Isn't that the whole reason why he stayed in Mystic Falls for as long as he did, just so he could use Elena as a living blood bank?

Dark panic threatens to take over, but Caroline shakes it off and decides to focus on the problem at hand first. She'll deal with the consequences of this discovery later; now, she needs to get the hell out of here.

As the situation is not looking promising for her with Tyler, Caroline decides that it's worth taking the risk of having Marcel learning about the magic. If she's fast enough, she can be far away from here by the time his vampires show up. In a quick once over, she sees that Tyler left the knife he used to cut the ties around her ankles on the table, so she conjures a quick spell to bring the knife to her, using it to free herself. Before she can escape, however, Tyler comes back.

Caroline hides the knife behind her and keeps her hand close to the stove. Overpowering hybrids with magic is harder than the regular vampire. They're stronger, and their werewolf makes them more resistant to the strokes she can inflict. So the element of surprise is important. If Tyler realizes she's about to attack, he'll strike first, and hybrids are too fast even for a witch, especially in such close proximity.

The somber expression on his face as their eyes meet gives her pause.

"It worked, didn't it?" she asks. "He's a hybrid."

Tyler is quiet for a moment, pensive. "If Klaus gets a hold of you, if he gets that kid, he wins."

"It's my kid too, Tyler."

"Haven't you understood yet? He's never gonna let you keep the baby, Care. It's his last chance."

"Then help me run. Let me go and I'll disappear." She doesn't really mean that last part, although... Well, the revelation about the baby changes everything, doesn't it? Caroline is terrified, but she doesn't know what to think. Tyler doesn't have to know that, though. All he has to do is believe her.

But maybe that's asking too much. He never used to believe her back when they were still together. Why would he start doing it now that he thinks she's joined forces with his nemesis?

"Klaus will find you. He always does."

"Katherine evaded him for 500 years."

"You're not Katherine, Caroline. She's a cockroach, you're... Not. You're soft. You won't have the guts to do half the things Katherine did to survive. So Klaus will find you. This world is not big enough. He'll take your child away and he'll make more monster slaves who'll do anything he says."

Tyler takes a tentative step closer to her, clenching his hands into white-knuckled fists, a strange kind of reluctance in his eyes. He seems almost sad.

Caroline recoils, shaking her head in denial. "Tyler, whatever you're thinking, don't do it. Don't do something you're going to regret. You're not like this."

"You don't know what I'm like anymore. After everything I've been through? After what he put me through?"

There's a heart stopping pause. His eyes flash yellow, dangerous, ready for the kill, and Caroline knows this is it. She needs to do something now.

In one fluid movement, Caroline puts both her hands forward and uses all her might to inflict pain. Tyler drops to his knees, face buried in his hands as he grunts loudly in pain. "What the fuck?!" he grumbles through clenched teeth, straining to look up at her.

"I don't want to hurt you, Tyler!" she says, almost begging him to stop fighting. If he stops resisting, he'll pass out or she can snap his neck. It'll be quick and painless. But Tyler is stubborn, refuses to let her overpower him, tries to stand up even with what Caroline knows is an impossibly painful headache.

She taps deeper into her magic, and it roars through her skin, giving her a kind of strength she never felt before. It's like there's no limit to what she can do; suddenly, she feels unstoppable. She can kill Tyler without touching a finger on him. It's a foreign sensation, yet completely familiar. Her magic, but different. Greater. It must be the baby, she realizes. Just as it's making her faster and stronger like a werewolf, healing her like a vampire, it must also be making her more powerful.

Still, she holds back. Caroline doesn't want to kill Tyler. And she doesn't think he really wants to kill her either. He's just... Totally unhinged. Consumed by grief and anger. She's learned from Stefan that vampires will sometimes obsess about certain things, choosing to focus all their emotion into one single feeling as to not spiral out of control or turn off their humanity, and she thinks this might be what happened to Tyler. He's channeled everything into his hatred for Klaus, and it's destroying him.

Not that Caroline thinks it gives him any right to attack her and threaten her baby. But she refuses to accept that the guy who she once thought to be the love of her life is the same one who would now murder a pregnant woman and her unborn child. Tyler had many flaws, but he was never cruel.

Just as she's about to increase the pain just a little bit more, hoping that he'll finally pass out, Dwayne comes back, distracting her. Tyler doesn't even hesitate, taking the moment of respite to charge. And then something even more unbelievable than her baby's blood siring hybrids happens.

Dwayne stops him.

"Get away from her," he says, snarling at Tyler and pulling him back.

"What do you care?" Tyler barks, trying to set himself free.

"I said get away!" Dwayne puts both his hands on Tyler's chest and pushes him away with all the newly acquired might of a hybrid.

Tyler's eyes flash, his fangs showing. "You got what you wanted, now get lost and stay out of my business!"

"Dwayne, he's going to kill me," Caroline says, taking a chance. If she understands this correctly, Dwayne is... protecting her? It was the baby's blood that sired him. So maybe that means he doesn't answer to Klaus after all.

He answers to her.

Dwayne bares his fangs out, snarling at Tyler, and then the next thing Caroline knows, they're both rolling around on the floor, throwing punches and bites.

This is all very insane, but she doesn't really have the time to stick around to find out more about the new hybrid. While the two men fight each other, she runs, escaping into the woods as fast as she can.

Even with all the power boost, though, she knows she won't be able to outrun Tyler. If she continues to run, she'll only make it easier for him to track her down. So Caroline stops, grabs a piece of wood, breaking the tip to use as a makeshift stake, and hides behind the largest tree she can find.

After a moment, she hears the crackling sound of steps over old leaves and branches, so she stills, holding her panting breath. She shuts her eyes, feeling as magic pools inside of her, a buzzing sensation beneath her skin. And then she attacks.

The person was much closer than she expected, and when she tries to aim the stake at him, he grabs her wrist and holds her in place. But it's not Tyler.

It's Elijah.

"Forgive me," he says. "I was under the impression that you were in danger. It appears I was mistaken," he says, a tiny smile dancing on the corner of her lips.

Caroline feels her entire body disarming, as though she were a bomb ready to explode and someone cut the wires at the last minute. She lets go of a breath that was trapped deep inside of her lungs, shedding her anger and fear, and wrapping her arms around Elijah in a tight embrace. She's never been happier to see him before.

"You will not believe the day I'm having," she breathes out, pulling away.

"Are you hurt?" he asks, giving her a cursory once over.

Caroline shakes her head. "Not from lack of trying, though. Tyler -"

"I know. We found his truck parked a few miles away."

"We? Klaus is here too?"

"Yes. He's searching for the Lockwood boy."

Caroline curses under her breath. All her fight not to hurt Tyler will be useless when Klaus gets his hands on him. "He's going to kill Tyler."

"For once, I see no fault in my brother's logic."

Caroline pauses, biting on her lower lip, regarding Elijah. "There's something you need to know about the baby."

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"Come out, Care! You know you can't hide from me forever. Give up now and I promise I'll end it quick."

Klaus' eyes narrow to slits as he watches the boy he thought he'd never see again call out to Caroline in the woods. He knows she's not here, caught her scent not long ago going in the opposite direction — where, Klaus imagines, Elijah is. For now, he's not too bothered. He and Tyler Lockwood have some reckoning to do and he'd rather Caroline is not around to beg for his sodden life again.

Tyler will find he picked a very bad time to stop by for a visit. Klaus is not feeling very charitable at the moment.

It's sad, really. Tyler was his first. Klaus had big plans for him, was willing to groom Tyler into greatness. Make him an apprentice, teach him everything he knows. Klaus was even pleasantly surprised when he managed to break the sire bond. It was not ideal, but it showed great character, which was something he could appreciate, even if it turned out to be a terrible inconvenience. Alas, he was mistaken about Tyler's dispositions; he turned out to be no more than a petty child with no vision. Such a disappointment.

Klaus would let him live, if anything than for sentimental reasons. He has no way of siring new hybrids, so Tyler would remain the last living proof of what should've been the beginning of a dynasty. But the boy is too stupid to even appreciate how lucky he is. If he'd been as smart as Klaus once thought he was, he'd never cross his path again, would make sure to always run in the opposite direction. But revenge eats at him, poor lad.

Well, no matter. Klaus will grant him his death wish.

"Quite an offer," he finally says, revealing himself. "Though not one I'll be extending to you."

Tyler bristles, taking a few careful steps back like the coward that he is. Klaus can actually hear his heartbeat picking up.

"What's the matter, Tyler? You look scared. What happened to ending it quick? Do you only talk like that to women?" Klaus advances and Tyler immediately moves out of his way, his eyes never leaving Klaus. "Threatening a pregnant girl in order to exact revenge against me. I never expected you to sink so low."

"I used to hang out with you. I guess something must've rubbed off," Tyler snarls.

Klaus chuckles, shaking his head. "And I thought your love for Caroline was the one redeeming quality about you."

"My love for her died the second she betrayed me."

Klaus frowns. "Betrayed you? Just because she could finally see who was the best man among us? That seems rather unfair. You were long gone by the time we got together. And I have to tell you." Klaus offers him a Cheshire grin, pure malice. "It was worth every second of the long wait."

Tyler grinds his teeth, a muscle on his jaw twitching.

"You made me leave so you could have her. You did it on purpose and still she fell for your tricks."

"Quite the opposite, mate. I never wanted you to leave. What I wanted was to rip your heart out of your chest while you begged me for your life. But you were too much of a coward to face the consequences of your own actions. I could've gone after you, of course. Wouldn't have taken too long. The only reason I allowed you to live, even when you boldly returned to Mystic Falls for your prom night, was because of her. All the mercy I've granted your pathetic little life was on behalf of Caroline and this is how you repay her? I always knew she cared about you a lot more than you ever deserved."

"She's a backstabbing bitch and you two deserve each other."

Klaus laughs. He would gladly agree with the last part, even though he knows it's not true. He worked hard to win her affections, and he's been trying — and failing — to retain it ever since. But he does not deserve her. If anything, Klaus is afraid to ruin her. She's an all-around better person than he's ever been, or wants to be, truth be told. But the viciousness with which the ungrateful little wanker refers to her... It makes Klaus see red.

In a blink, he's on Tyler, his fist connecting straight with his jaw. Klaus hears a crack as the other man is sent flying in the air, hitting a tree and dropping to the ground like a dead weight.

"Come on, mate!" he presses. "Give it a bit more effort! I want to enjoy myself."

Before Klaus can charge a second time, Tyler scurries to his feet and, just as he's done every other time, he runs.

Good thing Klaus is in just the right mood for a hunt.

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"I don't believe this. I can't."

Elijah shakes his head vehemently. There has to be an explanation for the story Caroline has just shared with him.

"I don't want to believe it either," she says. "But you have to admit that it makes sense. We need to consider the possibility."

"He would've said something. I would've known."

"Come on, Elijah. He's not stupid." Caroline sounds exasperated. Elijah can see it in her eyes that she's on the verge of panic. Tyler Lockwood's discovery that her child's blood can be used to sire new hybrids has deeply unsettled her. If what Tyler claims is true — that Niklaus knows about it, that that is the reason why he's decided to stay in New Orleans, why he had such a sudden change of heart about keeping the baby — then it changes everything.

"He knew I'd run away the first chance I got if I knew about this," she continues, pacing as she lists the reasons why Tyler's claim should be taken seriously. "He knew you wouldn't approve of it, obviously. And the witches would've probably tried to kill me and the baby as soon as I got here. You weren't there to see what he was like after he broke his curse. Making more hybrids was his sole obsession. He made everyone's lives hell because of that. This is the second chance he never thought he'd get. That must be what the witches' premonitions have been about. Although..." she stops, eyes going distant for a second. "The way Dwayne was acting... It was more like he was sired to me. Or... to the baby. I don't think the hybrids would answer to Klaus."

Caroline is not wrong. It's too perfect a coincidence for them to dismiss it. But merely entertaining the idea makes him terribly uneasy. Elijah is not naive to think that Niklaus developed some deep sense of fatherhood and unconditional love for the child overnight. His brother's mind may be a mystery, but he knows Klaus well enough to understand this would be no simple process. They've all suffered at the hands of Mikael, but none more so than Niklaus. The scars from their childhood and human years are seared onto his soul. It would never be easy to make him warm up to the idea of having a family of his own, of believing that he could be a better father to his child than Mikael ever was to him. And the process started with Caroline, not with the baby. For all his faults and errors, Elijah sincerely believed Klaus was at least fond enough of the girl that he wouldn't want any harm to come her way.

Is it possible that he has misread the situation so drastically? Has his desperate quest for the salvation of his brother once again led him to underestimate the corruption in Niklaus' soul?

He realizes he's been quiet for too long, and Caroline is watching him expectantly. Elijah hesitates. He wishes he could offer her some kind of comfort, tell her that Tyler Lockwood is wrong, that Niklaus would never dare to hurt his own child, but... He's not certain of that himself, and it brings a sour taste to his mouth.

What he is certain of, however, is that his promise still stands.

"Regardless of my brother's intentions, mine remains the same," he says. "I said that I would protect you, even, if need be, from Niklaus himself."

Caroline huffs out, something about her stance changing. "I'm not talking about that, Elijah. I don't need you to protect me. Your family's protection is what has been putting me in danger all this time. What I need is for you to stop acting like I'm some poor girl who doesn't know any better and start listening. I'm telling you your brother may have known that his baby would give him the power to sire an entire new hybrid army. What I need is not protection. It's the truth."

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"Is this your idea of revenge, Tyler? A grueling game of hide-and-seek."

Tyler has been running from him for almost an hour now, avoiding confrontation like the plague. Like that will save him.

As much as Klaus enjoys the hunt, he's starting to get bored. Every time he comes close, Tyler dashes off in the opposite direction, hiding in the middle of what he assumes is the werewolf settlement Sabine mentioned.

"This is starting to get embarrassing, Tyler! How long are you planning on hiding like a scared puppy? I regret ever thinking you were worthy of being a superior creature. You are weak!"

There's a noise, and when Klaus turns, Tyler's already flying towards him, stake in hand. He's aiming for the heart, but Klaus manages to dodge just enough for him to miss, stabbing him in the stomach instead.

Klaus screams out in pain, but his moan turns into a manic laugh as he pulls the stake out. "Finally!" he snarls, gritting his teeth against the pain. "I thought you'd never show."

Tyler charges towards him again, golden eyes and fangs out as they are both sent to the ground, fighting. Tyler has grown stronger than he remembers, but he's still too slow. Klaus has no trouble deflecting his punches, trying to gain momentum to strike back.

He didn't see the second stake, though, until it was firmly driven into his side.

He growls, tasting his own blood in his mouth. "You've gone bloodthirsty," he spits out. "Perhaps it's best your mother didn't live to see you like this."

Something dark crosses Tyler's face, a brand new kind of rage rising inside of him as he starts throwing punches again. Klaus feels his nose shattering, grunting loudly in annoyance.

He's had enough of this kid's play.

He grabs hold of Tyler's arm and twists it, breaking his wrist and pushing him off. He then pulls the stake out of his side and drives it straight into the boy's chest.

Tyler gasps, a low whimper escaping his lips. Klaus stands to his feet and spits out blood as he watches the other man writhing on the ground. He just barely missed his heart.

"It's sad really," he says. "I thought I made you better. No wonder Caroline chose me."

Tyler scrunches his eyes shut and, with what appears to be a monumental effort, removes the stake from his chest. He's resilient at least, Klaus will give him that.

"I guess I'm just another one of your... failures," he pants as he pushes back up, nearly tumbling down again. "Like how you failed at making hybrids. How you failed your family. Now it looks like you're about to fail Caroline as well. And your own kid."

Klaus grabs him by the throat, smashing his skull against a tree and sticking his hand inside his chest, his fingers closing around Tyler's beating heart. The boy lets out a breathless groan, eyes wide in pain.

"And thus ends your tedious, little life."

"Do it," Tyler replies, looking him straight in the eye. Blood starts running down the side of his lips. "You're never gonna break me. The only thing you can do is kill me. So go on. Go on! Get it over with."

Klaus squints his eyes at him, their faces so close now he can sense Tyler's ragged breath on his own skin. He realizes now there's been something missing about him all this time. Something Klaus should be sensing right now, exhaling from every pore on Tyler's body.

The stench of fear.

"You want me to put you out of your miserable life, don't you? That's what you've been doing here all along. I did break you, Tyler. I took everything from you, and now you're begging me to sweep away the shards of your shattered life." His lips curl into a cruel smile. "Death offers more peace than you deserve for daring to threaten Caroline's life. It's better to let you live, and each morning you will wake knowing that your wretched existence continues only by my will." Klaus pulls his hand from his chest, grabbing Tyler's chin with his bloodied fingers and forcing him to look into his eyes. "Now go and live the rest of your days knowing you are nothing to me."

He leaves Tyler clutching the hole in his chest, breathing painfully hard while he waits for the wound to close, the effects of the compulsion slowly taking root. With any luck, this will be enough to keep him away from New Orleans and from Caroline forever. He deserves a fate much worse, but Klaus is in a hurry.

Now that the Tyler problem is done and dusted, it's time to find Caroline.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Elijah wants to go back to the car and get the hell out of there, but Caroline wants to find Dwayne. The idea of a hybrid sired to her baby out there doesn't sit well with her. It's precisely the kind of thing that might come back to bite her in the ass if she doesn't deal with it now. Besides, he kind of helped her escape, even if it wasn't entirely deliberate on his part.

When they finally make it back to the cabin, Klaus is already there.

And so is Dwayne. Dead.

"There you are!" Klaus greets them with mock enthusiasm. "I see you've rescued the princess after all."

"The princess rescued herself," Caroline bites, stepping forward. "What happened to Tyler?"

"Really now, love? After everything he's done to you, you're concerned for that tosser?" Klaus snorts derisively. "He's fine. Still in one piece and breathing, anyway. His ego might be a bit wounded, I'm afraid. Poor lad. I don't know if he'll ever recover." He smirks, visibly proud of himself. Caroline notices his clothes look dirty, a dark stain on his shirt and jacket. There was fighting. How Tyler managed to make out of that alive, she can't imagine. Klaus wouldn't let that happen — again — unless he could think of worse ways to punish him. Caroline is afraid to ask. "You have arrived in good time," he continues, kicking Dwayne's body from the porch.

Caroline sighs when she sees the hole in the man's chest. "Did you kill him?"

"Not at all, and I'm extremely confused about what happened. Perhaps you could shed some light on the situation. This would appear to be the body of a hybrid."

"His name was Dwayne."

"Whoever he was, I didn't sire him. Any idea how that's possible?"

Caroline feels a pulse of low, banked anger. "You're gonna tell me that you don't know?"

"Caroline," Elijah admonishes, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and stepping closer.

Something flashes hot through Klaus' eyes, and Caroline realizes there's something off about him. He's in a mood, obviously, but that was to be expected, considering Tyler's ill-timed visit. But that's not all. Something else is bothering him.

"Ah. Look at that," Klaus says. "Aren't you two fast friends? Go on, then. What horrible accusation will you levy against me now?"

"Tyler Lockwood brought Caroline here to test a theory," Elijah says. "That the blood of her child could be used to sire hybrids. And he claims you knew that. Furthermore, that you intended to use this knowledge to build an army."

Klaus' eyes widen in surprise, and Caroline's almost certain she sees a flicker of hurt when he fixes his gaze on her, but then something slides down and whatever she thought she saw is gone.

"And of course you assume it's true. I mean, why else would I show any interest in my own flesh and blood?"

"So you're saying you didn't know?" Caroline presses, part of her desperate to believe him without a shadow of a doubt. "You had absolutely no idea this kid could sire hybrids? Not even the slightest bit of suspicion?"

"A heartbroken little cry baby points his finger at me and you fall in line, eager to believe it. And my own brother," he turns to Elijah then. "How quickly you assume the worst. But I suppose it suits you, doesn't it?"

Caroline frowns, looking from Klaus to Elijah and back. Something happened between them.

"Oh, spare me your indignation, Niklaus. When have you ever demonstrated any kind of concern towards Caroline or her child beyond your own selfish pursuits? What was it that you once said to me? Every king needs an heir."

"What?" Caroline asks. Klaus' face twists in rage, but he avoids her gaze.

"My big brother," he says, the words coming out of his lips as though drenched in something vile. "Doubting my intentions. Well, I can't say I'm surprised. I've seen the way you two scurry around the house together, like you're joined at the hips. Caroline goes nowhere without your diligent eyes on her."

Caroline shakes her head, suddenly very confused about the real reason behind this argument. They're not talking about the hybrid or Tyler anymore, are they? "Klaus, what—"

"Standing beside the noble Elijah, how can I be anything but the lesser brother? A liar, a manipulator... A bastard. That's all I am to you, isn't it?" he asks Elijah. "And to Rebekah. And judging by the way Caroline hangs on your every word, it's clear she feels the same way. No doubt my child will as well."

"All right, stop right there," she says, stepping forward. "First of all, Caroline is standing right here, so if you have anything to say, you can talk directly to me. And second — what the hell are you on about?"

"Don't pretend that's not what you two want."

"Brother, if we have -"

"I've said all that needs to be said," he cuts Elijah off. "I've come to expect betrayal from absolutely everyone, but not from you, Elijah."

Klaus stops, staring his brother down. His gaze narrows then, a vein bulges against his throat, and Caroline realizes a second too late what he's about to do.

It's like watching an explosion in slow motion. Klaus' eyes turn golden as the darkest part of his anger breaks free. He charges at Elijah like a lightning bolt, sinking his teeth into his brother's neck.

Caroline's eyes bulge in horror, too shocked to even scream.

Klaus pushes Elijah to the ground, stepping away, his lips twisting up into an ugly smirk, his lips tinged with the deep red of Elijah's blood.

"Consider that bite my parting gift," he says. "Enjoy the hallucinations and dementia, Elijah."

Caroline merely watches as he walks by and disappears from sight, unable to offer any reactions. She looks back to Elijah, still kneeling down, a hand on his neck, where the punctures of Klaus' teeth aren't healing.

"Are you... Is his bite...?"

"I'll live," he says, an edge of deep disappointment in his voice.

What the hell just happened?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

His neck is burning.

It's like his skin is on fire. The place where Niklaus bit him throbs and itches and it makes Elijah want to claw his own flesh out. And he knows this is just the beginning. He's been bitten by werewolves before — it's unpleasant, but not deadly. This, however, is the first time he's been bitten by a hybrid. Something tells him Niklaus' venom is much more vicious than that of an ordinary wolf.

It's going to get much worse before it starts to get better. It'll probably take the better part of a day for the venom to run its course. And while that happens, he's a liability. Too dangerous to go back to the city or the house. It's best that he waits it out here in the Bayou, where damage control will be easier.

There's no sign of werewolves anywhere, but the encampment looks inhabited. Tents, small constructions, fires that seem to have been put out less than a day ago. Now where exactly have the wolves gone, he has no idea. As he makes way through camp, searching for clues, he often gets a feeling of being watched, but it's hard to tell if it's real or a figment of his poisoned imagination.

Caroline stayed back at the cabin, said she wanted to look through the place, see if she could find anything about the wolves that live there. Tyler said something about a curse Marcel placed upon the pack, dooming them to remain in wolf form and only return to their original human nature on the full moons, which explains the wolf that saved her from the witches.

Elijah knows she's had that on her mind since the occurrence; she's determined to find out who that wolf was. But it's not why she stayed. Caroline is using the opportunity to search through the encampment as an excuse not to go home, where she'll likely have to face Niklaus.

As appalled as he was by Klaus' attack, none were more unsettled than Caroline. She was horrified. Elijah had always wondered how long it would take until his brother turned on him or Rebekah with his poisonous teeth, so it wasn't entirely a surprise when jealousy tipped him off the edge at last. Caroline, on the other hand, did not see it coming at all. And it left her cold.

Elijah has... very conflicting feelings.

He is angry and disappointed at yet another thoughtless, violent reaction from his brother. A thousand years and Niklaus never seems to learn, always allowing his temper to get the best of him. They came to the Bayou to rescue the mother of his child and Caroline is now possibly more disgusted by him than she was by Tyler Lockwood.

On the other hand, however... Elijah can't help the awful twinge of guilt. Niklaus wasn't entirely wrong, even if his response was blown way out of proportion. They shouldn't have assumed Tyler was right just because it seemed plausible. Elijah now believes Niklaus had no idea that the baby's blood could be used to sire more hybrids. The shock that registered on his face was sincere. And the fact his own family chose to believe the worst about him has wounded him.

And then there's the matter of Caroline. Elijah could have denied so many things — that he finds Caroline's mind fascinating; that her smile lights up a flame deep in his chest; that he's never seen anything more beautiful than the way her hair catches the sun. All that he could've easily denied. And believed his denials too. But deep down he knows there's truth in Niklaus' accusations, however misguided they might be. Even though he longs to bask in the warmth of her light, even though he is obviously drawn to her, Elijah would never act upon his complicated feelings. He would never even try to understand it. But that matters little to Niklaus. That the feelings exist at all is enough to make him vexed.

On Elijah's part, what makes him feel guilty is not what could come to pass in the future, because he knows there is none. It's what happened in the past.

First, it was Tatia. Elijah never meant to fall in love with her, but it had been inevitable. He knew he was robbing his brother of his happiness when it turned out that Tatia reciprocated his feelings, and Elijah felt awful, but not so awful that he was willing to give up on her. She would've been the woman of his life, if their mother hadn't ended their dispute by murdering the girl.

The second time was the one that really crushed Niklaus' soul. Aurora. They were young vampires then, the first of their kind, still learning the full extent of their powers. It was by accident that Elijah compelled her to believe his brother was a hideous monster, unworthy of love. She repeated Elijah's exact words back to Niklaus, shattering his heart into a thousand pieces. Accidentally or not, Elijah had wanted her to leave them alone, and he never tried to undo his mistake, which is why he never told Niklaus the truth.

For the longest time, Elijah thought the part of Niklaus' heart that was capable of love had withered and died because of Aurora. Every year, his brother seemed to lose a little bit more of his soul. Every time he said Love makes us weak, Elijah felt a twinge in his heart, knowing he was the one who'd caused that disillusion. He didn't think his brother would ever care for another the way he'd cared for Aurora.

Until Caroline.

It's hard to draw comparisons because Niklaus is not the same person he was back when he met Aurora. Falling in love was never so impossible before. The person his brother is now — cold, detached, selfish, harsh, cruel — doesn't believe in love anymore. For centuries, all Elijah's heard from him on the matter is that he was disgusted by the idea of succumbing to another person, becoming attached to the point he would do anything, even against his own personal interests, just to see that person happy or safe; to Niklaus, love is no more than a character flaw. He spent so much of his life living up to Aurora's accusations, so firmly believing himself to be the unworthy monster she couldn't love, that it has left him crippled. But Caroline Forbes has somehow breached his walls. Elijah is certain he never meant to, but Klaus feels for her like he hasn't felt for anyone in centuries. And he simply doesn't know how to handle himself.

Now, loving Niklaus is not easy, as Elijah very well knows. He makes it an Olympics level challenge. It takes someone very brave to be willing to weather the stormy seas of Niklaus' affections. Caroline has that kind of rare courage. Elijah can see it in her eyes that she cares about him, and each time he lashes out as he's done today, it hurts her, deeply.

All Elijah's ever wanted was for Klaus to find happiness. Something that could bring some peace to his restless soul, soften the razor-sharp edges of his personality. Elijah believes that Caroline and the baby offer a new chance for him to rescue his little brother from the depths of despair where he's been buried for the past hundreds of years. Maybe the last chance.

Elijah's learned from his past mistakes and he will do anything in his power to make it right this time. He'll step back and go against his own self-interests, will curb his every instinct for Caroline, if that means Klaus will finally, finally, be happy again. But he will not, under any circumstances, allow his brother to hurt her. Not when her only crime was to have feelings for an idiot who can't tell right from wrong. His manic behavior only pushes her away, and if he keeps this up, she will leave them, taking her child far away from their family.

Elijah will fight for his brother's right to a shot at happiness, but he will also fight his brother if that means protecting Caroline. Klaus better make up his mind if he knows what's good for him.

When the throbbing pain in his neck becomes so intense that he cannot focus on anything anymore, Elijah returns to the cabin. He finds Caroline sitting by a desk, a book open in front of her. But her eyes are far away, lost in some distant thought.

"Found anything?" he asks, pulling her out of her reverie.

She blinks, looking down at the book as though she'd completely forgotten it was there. "No. Not really. Just a book with birth dates, I guess. But it only dates about a hundred years back. I don't know who any of these people are, so... Not very helpful. Most of the family names listed here are Labonair and Kenner. Does that mean anything you?"

"No. Sorry."

Caroline nods, closing the book. "Didn't think it would." She turns back to him, her eyes setting on the wound on his neck. By the way she scrunches up her nose in a grimace, he imagines it's looking bad. "How's that?"

"Like Niklaus himself, it's more a nuisance than anything else."

She sighs, shaking her head. "The things Klaus does sometimes... He makes it really hard to defend him."

"He's jealous."

Caroline snorts. "You don't say. He's not exactly subtle."

"Perhaps I was too quick to condemn him. In the 1000 years that we have been together, my brother has committed numerous unspeakable acts, but then again so has Rebekah. So have I. And I wouldn't doubt her the way I doubted him."

"We have all done bad things, Elijah. I'll die before my list gets embarrassing, but so have I. That's not the point. The problem is, he doesn't care. He doesn't listen. It's his way or the highway, always."

Elijah's gaze flickers away from her. He doesn't know how to explain the shame he feels.

Caroline stands up, stopping in front of him until it becomes impossible not to face her. "Are you serious? He bit you, Elijah, and you're still feeling guilty, making excuses for him?"

"It's not an excuse. I may not know what's on my brother's mind, but I know how it works. Niklaus acts like nothing ever gets to him, but that's not true. Whenever he feels cornered, unfairly judged or victimized, especially by someone he cares about... It hurts him. And like a wild beast, he's always most dangerous when he's hurt."

"So? That gives him the right to lash out the way he did? Attack you and accuse us of conspiring behind his back? Our suspicion was fair and honest. History speaks against him and if he wants to go all psychopath, endangering an entire city and killing dozens of people just because he wants to build himself an army of brainless minions, then he cannot complain when he gets judged by it in the future. If he felt wronged, he should've just said it's not true. Convinced us he had no idea. Not act like we are the bad guys with ulterior motives." Caroline stops herself as her voice was beginning to escalate. She's finally moved past the shock and is now just plain angry. "Have you considered that maybe the fact you're always willing to give him a pass and forgive his wrongdoings is exactly why he keeps doing the same thing over and over?" she asks, folding her arms in front of her chest. "He knows that no matter what he does, you'll always come around."

"You're right," he concedes. "I am perfectly aware that I am an enabler of my brother's bad behavior. But it's either that or losing him. If I'm with him, I at least have a chance of pulling him back every time he flirts with the abyss. Not that it always works; Niklaus' tendency towards self-destruction is... Uncanny. However... I don't think that is what this has been all about. For once, the point here is not me. It's you, Caroline."

She gapes. "Excuse me? You're saying it's my fault?"

"No. I'm saying — he's lashing out because he's afraid of losing you," he says, and then after a pause, he adds, "To me."

Caroline lets out a mirthless laugh, a stiffening across her face. "I'm pregnant. Hormonal. In a city I don't know, locked up in a mansion most of the time. I've been threatened, attacked and kidnapped, and I can barely use my powers to defend myself because that means putting yet another target on my back. I have a whole lot of problems of my own to deal with. I can't be responsible for Klaus' emotional meltdowns. He's not a child."

"You're right, of course. It's not your responsibility. All I'm saying is, if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say his recent hostility stems from the fact that he thought that by staying in New Orleans, with you and the child, he'd be starting a family of his own. And then when things proved harder... He did what he always does. Started searching for culprits."

"You know what?" Caroline says, the thrum of the beginnings of real heat on her voice now. "I've had it with that bullshit. All I've heard today was men blaming me for betraying their trust based on who they think I want to sleep with. Tyler blames me because he thinks I should've stayed loyal to him even after he left me for someone else. I'm a slut because I slept with his nemesis when, in fact, the truth is he had every chance in the world to leave Klaus behind, with me, but he chose to start a war he couldn't win and now somehow everything that's happened to him is my fault. Now Klaus blames me because he thinks I'm a slut who wants to sleep with his brother when all he does is act like a maniac and treat me like I'm a curveball that has thumped him on the head. And you — I don't even know what you think."

"Caroline —"

"No," she says, cutting him off by raising her palm in the air, anger flaring hot behind her blue eyes. "You say Klaus treats me like I'm a human incubator, but you do that, too, Elijah. All you two see me as is an ornamental thing for you to stare at and care for like I'm some freaking Virgin Mary, or a science project, not a person with feelings and needs and desires of my own. No one ever asks me what I want, what I think. Has your brother ever bothered talking to me about anything that isn't some half-assed apology for something stupid he's said or done? He was talking about me outside to you while I was standing right there and he wouldn't even look at me. I'm not a property for you to be fighting over like some war spoil. And I'm not just a mother either. I exist beyond what's inside my womb. So maybe next time you decide to have a quarrel, before you start barking at each other, just ask me what I freaking want!"

Several responses that don't feel remotely up to standard rise to Elijah's lips, only to fall right away. It's not every day Elijah Mikaelson finds himself speechless. He had no idea Caroline felt that way, and now that she's mentioned it, he can't imagine why it hadn't occurred to him. They've been suffocating her since day one. Niklaus may be the one with the difficult temper, but Elijah is just as guilty.

The truth is no ordinary situation for any of them. In a thousand years, nothing even close to this ever came to pass. Not even when Niklaus took Marcel under his wing. They grew close and the love Niklaus came to have for the boy was very true, but it was different. Caroline's child is... Miraculous. Divine provision, Elijah would say — if he believed in God, that is. None of them know how to navigate these unusual circumstances, and the fact that the whole city of New Orleans seems to be out to get Caroline doesn't help. In many ways, it's made him as paranoid as Niklaus. If he can't keep his mind sound enough to offer a balance to his brother's volatile behavior, then they are sure to have problems. And Caroline's the one suffering the consequences.

While they battle the vampires, the witches and Niklaus' former protégés, not to mention each other, Caroline is caught in the crossfire.

"Forgive me," Elijah says. "I suppose it's difficult for us to see things from your perspective. When you're as old as we are — it's hard to accept that we don't always know better. We just assume that we do. It's a habit, more than anything."

"It's condescending and arrogant, is what it is."

He nods once, a wan smile on his lips. "That too. I am sorry."

"Damn right you are."

"What do you want, Caroline?"

"What I want is for this day to be over. I want to sleep for an entire week without being dragged to the middle of freaking nowhere!"

As she starts to gesticulate, they're swept by a violent wind that sends doors and windows slamming open. For just a brief second Elijah thought he saw her eyes flashing yellow, like those of a werewolf. But then he blinked and it was gone. The magic, however, he's pretty sure came from her.

"Damn it," she mutters angrily. "Now I can't even control myself."

Caroline starts for the door, and Elijah makes to follow, but she stops, turns around and points a finger at him. "Do not follow me."

"Where are you going?"

"To get some air."

"But it's not safe. You just used magic, and Tyler Lockwood -"

"Is going to get his ass served to him for the second time today if he dares to come at me in the mood I'm in. I don't need your brother or you or anyone else to kick some goddamn hybrid ass and if Marcel sends his vampires after me, he'll be very sorry."

She slams the door behind her as she walks out.

Elijah is torn between being worried for her out there on her own and wanting to give her space. Telling her she can't take care of herself is the kind of condescending thing she just mentioned. Besides... The bite on his neck hurts like hell.

It may be better for her to stay away while he sweats out the fever. Soon enough he'll be hallucinating, and he's not entirely sure he wants Caroline to be around to witness that.

His night promises to be an excruciatingly long one.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Klaus' heart sinks a bit deeper when he hears the sound of heels clicking.

It's Rebekah.

When he heard the car parking outside, part of him hoped it would be Caroline. But she wouldn't return home so fast after what he did to Elijah. He saw the horror in her eyes when he sank his teeth into his brother's neck. He'll be lucky if she comes home at all.

It wasn't one of his proudest moments, he'll admit it. He snapped, allowed the rage to consume him, and his temper took over. But now, a few glasses of bourbon and some hours later, Klaus finds that he's not nearly as remorseful as he probably should be. If anything, he regrets having wanted his brother to come home. Their relationship has always been one of ups and downs. Elijah is too moral, too level-headed for Klaus' derangement. Even Rebekah is closer to him in temperament than Elijah.

They quarrel, they make up, they start over. That's how it's always been. Except this time is not like any other time before, is it? There's never been a child between them. And there hasn't been a woman since before they were turned, too long ago for it to even count. Klaus can't even remember what it felt like to be in love with Tatia. He knows he'd cared for her, that he'd wanted to marry her, that he'd been awfully disappointed when he found out she had her eyes set on a different Mikaelson, heartbroken when their mother murdered her. But it's all cold fact in his head, devoid of any warmth, any feeling. Such a distant memory that Katerina or Elena don't even provoke the slightest bit of reaction in him. It's just a familiar face that means little, like so many others. And so very different from Caroline.

Caroline... Klaus feels something hit his stomach like an anchor at the thought of her.

Elijah's betrayal hurt, but he could handle it. It's nothing new. It was Caroline what tipped him over the edge, what made all manner of awfulness come spilling out. The way she'd looked at him, her blue eyes ablaze with accusations and suspicion, so inclined to believe Tyler Lockwood's fallacy. Maybe already believing it in her heart. She didn't even give him a chance. That pathetic boyfriend of hers comes back from the hole he'd crawled into like the coward that he is and she listens to his revenge-ridden rubbish over the father of her child.

Have none of his efforts meant anything to her? Can't she realize that he's trying?

She never seems to grant Klaus the same leeway she offered Tyler time and time again. Even after he broke her heart and mated with that werewolf girl. Caroline was always willing to forgive him. He wonders what she would've done had Tyler showed up with nobler intentions this time. If he'd apologized and confessed his undying love. Would she have taken him back? Does she still have feelings for him? Klaus didn't think that was the case anymore. Not after the time they spent together. That hadn't felt like a rebound, as though she were only after some kind of comfort, lonely and abandoned after her boyfriend's departure. It felt like she was ready for him. Like she was finally ready to admit that she wanted him as much as he'd wanted her for eons. Nothing about that night had been about Tyler Lockwood, or anyone else for that matter. He wasn't naive enough to think she'd fallen in love with him, but... Perhaps, with a bit more time, she could.

Had he been mistaken then? He never pegged Caroline as a great actress. Her random bouts of congeniality never fooled him. He always knew exactly what she was up to, even when she pretended to be in a feud with Tyler and Hayley shortly after their return from the mountains, back when she still believed that there was nothing between the two of them. It made him all the more vexed that he knew Tyler was lying to her. He caught the two weasels in the act. And oh, how joyful he'd been. But it lasted for a moment before he realized how heartbroken Caroline would be. He hadn't vowed to keep his distance and allowed her freedom to be in a relationship with whomever she wanted to — even if it was with one of his hybrids — for her to be betrayed like that. She deserved more. Klaus wanted to tell her, to open her eyes, but he knew she wouldn't believe him. He did, after all, make no mystery of his personal investment in the downfall of her relationship.

So he made Tyler come clean. It was his condition to allow him to walk out of Mystic Falls with his head still attached to his body after he defied Klaus' ban and showed up for prom night. All dapper in his tuxedo, carrying a bouquet of flowers that didn't do justice to how exquisite Caroline looked on that evening — wearing the dress he gave her, nonetheless. He had to admit Tyler did pick up a few things from him, like how cynical he became. Klaus could even appreciate it, take pride in the fact he'd taught a small town nobody how to be a master manipulator like that. If only the one he'd been trying to manipulate wasn't Caroline.

Klaus wasn't going to let him weasel his way back to her oblivious heart so easily. After Hayley left him for dead, he suddenly wanted Caroline back - and to pin the blame for their failed romance on Klaus. Pitiful. If she were to forgive him, she would do it in light of the full story. He found her hours later, crying her eyes out with a bottle of tequila at the old Lockwood mausoleum. He almost regretted forcing Tyler's confession. He and Hayley were planning on leaving once they'd found a way to get rid of him. "But I was wrong, Caroline. She bewitched me with tales of being part of a pack and becoming an alpha. She made me feel like I was part of something, like I was important. But it was a mistake! I never should've listened to her. It was you I wanted to be with. I love you." Tyler didn't even blink as he uttered these words, Caroline said. Even Klaus would qualify that as cold.

"He said you were trying to break us apart, that you forced him to tell me the truth."

"Yes, I did."

"Why?"

"Because you deserve better than a lie."

It would've been so easy to take her right there... She was pliant, vulnerable, desperate for solace. If he'd kissed her, she wouldn't have stopped him. She might've even wanted him to. But Klaus didn't. That's not how he wanted to be with her. Drunk. Broken. Thinking of someone else.

He helped her get home, even unzipped the dress for her. But before she could step out of it and he could no longer moderate his behavior, he flashed away.

She sent him a text that said simply Thank you the morning after and avoided him for days. When she showed up again, it was with the excuse of returning a dress he'd made very clear was a gift. "You can't just give that to me, Klaus, it's probably worth a fortune." When has he ever cared about the financial value of anything? His most prized treasures are probably worth nothing to the common people. Money means nothing. But it would mean something if she'd kept the dress.

But she didn't want to, and he understood it was because of Tyler. He'd ruined what was supposed to be a perfect night. Klaus felt slightly guilty; he did, after all, play a part in that. But she didn't blame him, she said.

"You actually did something very nice. He should've been able to tell me the truth on his own, the fact it took you threatening it out of him says a lot. I can't believe I was that dumb. Every time I think about it... How could I not see it? It was so obvious they were together."

"You didn't see it because you didn't want to see it," he told her. "You knew, but your heart desired for something else, and so you held on to it."

"Yeah. Dumb, like I said."

"Not dumb, Caroline. Human. Faith is your kind's greatest weakness. You can never resist it."

She'd looked at him then in a way she never had before. As though seeing him for the first time. It was scorching, searching, almost freeing - for her, more than for him. And then she'd smiled. "You should buy me a drink one of these days."

He did. The very next day, in fact. The following morning, he woke up with her in his bed. It had felt like the beginning of something then.

Now he thinks it might've been the grand finale.

Klaus wonders what it would take for him to be worthy of the kind of trust Caroline bestowed upon Tyler. The kind of faith she seems to have in Elijah.

A tiny voice in the back of his head says that he should probably start by not exploding in rage out of jealousy and poisoning his own brother with werewolf venom right in front of her. But it's a tiny voice, and Klaus has never been known to be sensible.

The two of them together, side by side, demanding explanations about things he had no idea of. Klaus saw nothing but red in that moment.

He wanted to punish Caroline for not believing in him and he wanted to punish Elijah for taking advantage of that to gain her trust. So he did the only thing he could think of.

Elijah will be fine. He could use a few hours of pain and hallucinations to think of what he did. It'll teach him to never believe crybabies before his own brother. And it'll teach Caroline... To be afraid of him? Is that really what he wanted her to think? That he's deranged and dangerous and therefore she should always do as he says?

"I thought you were leaving us," he says when he senses Rebekah's presence behind him.

"We both know this family can barely function without me," his sister says. "Where are Elijah and Caroline?"

Klaus' jaw sets, he looks down at the glass of bourbon in his hands. "I left them in the Bayou."

"Why?"

"Elijah and I had a bit of a row."

"And Caroline?"

He shrugs, pursing his lips. "She's probably with him, I imagine. Holding his hand while he burns up in fever and dementia."

"What?"

Klaus chuckles. "You know our brother was never one to resist a pretty face. So one thing led to another and I bit him. Left them both stranded in the swamp."

Rebekah's face twists into a disgusted grimace. "Daggering. Biting. Deserting. Does your wickedness never end?"

"My wickedness is self-preservation," he counters, pointing a finger at her. "And I would never have to go to such lengths if I were not set on all sides by incompetence and treachery." He stops, sipping from his drink. "Now that Elijah has abandoned me, I'll be needing you for my plot against Marcel. Don't expect to be leaving town any time soon."

"Why should I help you after what you did to Elijah?"

"You're my family," he says, simply. Rebekah eyes him like he's completely insane. "Besides, who better to spy on Marcel than the girl he so clearly loves?" He takes a seat on the coffee table, staring right into his sister's cloudy eyes. Rebekah was never one to hide her feelings well, always wearing them on her sleeve. She's fuming. But she'll get over it. She has before. "You can tell me all his secrets. Like how did he find us here? Any ideas about that, little sister?"

"How should I know why Marcel does what he does?"

"You think I don't know about your engineered runnings all over the Quarter? I know, Rebekah, you've had private chats with him. So just tell me. What secrets has he confided to you?" He makes a pause, almost afraid of the answer he'll get. "Is he plotting against me?"

Rebekah regards him studiously before leaning forward, staring right into his eyes. "My poor brother. So paranoid. Marcel knows nothing. He's not plotting against you, he simply thinks you're in a quarrel and in need of making up."

"Perhaps we will," he says, a little relieved. "After all, you know I'm capable of forgiving those who disappoint me... As soon as they've seen the error of their ways. And suffered for them. You do well to remember that," he says, drinking the last of his bourbon. "I need a refill."

He leaves his sister to stew in her own thoughts.

Having one sibling against him is enough for today.

Now, he could use a fresh, breathing snack. Or ten.

TBC

---

A/N 1: I hate that thing with the needle so much, but the I needed to keep it for the sake of DRAMA and because the developments are kind of important. So if you think that's just stupid, don't blame me. It's 100% canon.

A/N 2: You may have noticed there are some minor timeline inconsistencies here if we compare to the show's actual timeline. Hayley sleeps with Klaus on TVD S04E16 and he leaves for New Orleans on E20, right after prom. So, technically, if I wanted to make this story 100% accurate, he should've already slept with Caroline by then. But for the sake of the story I wanted to tell concerning Klaus and Caroline, just ignore the whole E16 bullcrap (Klaus never sleeps with Hayley!) and consider the dates post-prom were all pushed forward. That's it.

So... thoughts?! :)