This was supposed to be a quick little 'what if' thing since I finished my exchange fic. It did not stay little. Thanks willowaus for listening to me complain.

No smut here, but its longer and has a bit of violence. Thanks!

It was his smile that dug into her bones.

Fighting against his sister's hold, Caroline went still at the curve of Klaus Mikaelson's lips. He watched Tyler die, eyes intent and glittering, but it was his smile that told the monster under her skin this monster was dangerous. Those dimples, that delight as he pulled the marionette strings, it was an expression that had seen more than she could imagine.

And as Tyler gasped awake, a new creature, that smile widened and she shook, just a little.

"You can't beat us," Rebekah told her, nails biting into her arms. "None of you can."

In that moment, Caroline believed her.

Caroline told Elena to make a deal.

Brown eyes wide, she'd looked stunned before she'd shook her head. "I'm not helping him. I can't believe you'd suggest I should. He's a monster, Caroline."

Him, being Klaus.

Licking chapped lips, Caroline fisted her hands. The inside of her bedroom should've felt safe, instead it was a false barrier. Klaus could parade in and out of her room as he choose - evidence, a spectacular diamond bracelet that terrified her every time she saw it.

It was such a beautiful threat, after all.

"What happens if you don't help him, Elena?"

Elena shrugged and played with the ends of her hair. "Damon has a plan."

Caroline closed her mouth, glanced away from her friend. Damon had a plan. She let Elena change the subject, let her shift the conversation to sillier, less serious topics. All the while, her insides knotted.

Damon was going to get them all killed.

A hundred years plus a few decades, give or take, up against a millennium of experience. An un-killable monster. One who offered the world as if it was a mere plaything - who toyed with people as if they were his own personal marionettes?

Elena would rather trust Caroline's rapist, than bargain with her blood; Caroline knew bargaining with the devil was dangerous. But Klaus would get his doppelgänger made army, regardless of the cost. Caroline didn't understand why he'd chosen to toy with them, but she'd no doubt he'd carve his price from all of them soon enough.

Her hands shook as she locked the door when she was alone.

So what was she going to do?

Caroline jabbed at the ice cubes in her glass, brows bunched together. The grill was quiet tonight. It was a bit of a relief, after the last few days.

Tyler had broken up with her.

"I can't drag you into this."

Caroline blinked at him, as he paced through her living room, hands taking through his hair until it stood in spikes. "Can't drag me into what?"

Tyler spun, eyes wild. "I'm sire bound to him, Caroline. I can't escape him. He's in my head, he's in me veins and I can't…"

"Do you think I don't know that?" Caroline snapped, pushing to her feet. "I was there."

She still woke up in cold sweats, remembering. That smile that said he'd gotten what he wanted and he'd continue on, devouring the world in bits and pieces, never satisfied. Klaus wasn't Damon, to need compulsion and threats to terrify, when his methods were far more malicious.

"Why didn't you tell me about the bracelet?"

She shuddered, at the memory of Klaus's hands on her while they danced. The fascination, as he watched her at the ball; when he showed her his paintings. How Klaus had offered her dreams, as if they were so easily given. As if he'd grant them, should she just ask.

How her monster had crawled through her veins, curious about this nightmare who smiled with perfect teeth and tempting dimples. Blood didn't scare what was beneath her skin. What lived in her chest welcomed death, smiled at the violence and iron that watched her from behind Klaus Mikaelson's eyes.

"I'd no intention of keeping it."

Something wild crawled Tyler's eyes. "What does he intend to keep of you?"

Caroline shivered, arms wrapping around herself. "Tyler…"

They stared at each other.

"You'll do whatever it takes to survive."

She looked away, eyes burning. "Don't ask that of me."

"I'm running, because if I don't I may one day find myself going for your throat. And I can't do that." Tyler whispered.

They both knew she couldn't run with him. Whatever Klaus thought of her, Tyler might have a chance, if she stayed. Tyler was worth that risk. She'd buy him the time she could.

"Promise me you won't come back." Tyler opened his mouth and shut it as her tears spilled over. "Promise me Tyler. We both know he'll use both of us as weapons against each other, and we both know what survival means."

He kissed her, and Caroline sank into this one last feel of him. She let him wipe her face and swallowed hard. Memorized the lines of his face.

"Run."

Two days later, she was sitting in the grill, letting the jagged thing in her chest bleed. Matt replaced her drink wordlessly, and she knew when Klaus arrived. It was a spark of electricity down her spine, the way the muscles in her neck tightened.

"I'll find him."

Caroline took a sip of her drink, as Klaus settled next to her. Bracing herself, she twisted her head to meet that hostility head on. "I won't help you."

His lips curved, a delighted little grin that worried her. "Ah, love, I don't require your help for hunting. In a thousand years, did either of you think this is the first time something of mine has tried to run? Have you spoken to Katerina lately?"

She shrugged. "I didn't ask for the particulars, and Katherine and I aren't really on speaking terms."

"Tell me, Caroline, what do you expect to happen?" Klaus asked lowly, fingers catching her wrist as she shifted to move away. His touch was light, encircling her bones with such ease. She shivered, at the sight of his skin against hers, the implied threat that had her monster crawling into awareness.

"About what?"

The faintest curve of dimples, as his lashes hooded his gaze. "Come now love, don't play dumb. I've heard the most interesting rumor. That you tried to convince the doppelgänger to make a deal. I'm curious as to why?"

She tugged at his hold then. His fingers tightened, still not painful but a definite warning. Fine. He wanted her opinion?

"I think you're having fun, playing your little games." Caroline told him flatly. "It amuses you, to watch everyone struggle around you, while you bide your time. When you're ready for Elena's blood, you'll take it. And yeah, your probably pissed about Tyler, but only because he's bought himself time, since he was just experimental fodder anyway. So yeah, I told Elena to bargain. If you're going to kill all of us regardless, why give you a reason to make it linger?"

Eyes holding hers, he brought her palm to his mouth and brushed a featherlight kiss across skin she hadn't known was sensitive. Her fingers flexed, and his smile pressed against her palm. His gaze was scorching, as he released his hold.

"Yet, you offer me no bargain." Klaus tilted his head, eyes calculating. "In fact, the only person to take me up on any of my generous offers has been your mother."

Caroline forced herself to stand, to sling her purse over her shoulder and lift her chin. There had been no threat in his tone when he spoke of Liz. "And what do you think I should bargain?"

She didn't waver, as he stared at her. Curiosity drove her, as she held her ground. What did a old world monster want from a baby vampire? She'd already tried to get Elena to give him what he wanted, she'd refused to help him in regards to Tyler. What could he possibly want from her?

His gaze narrowed, something old and dark twisting behind his eyes. "Your loyalty."

She snorted. "Loyalty is earned. And I find it hard to believe you want that from someone who has no intrinsic value in any of your games."

"It's a dangerous game, sweetheart, telling me what to value."

She tossed enough to cover her bill into the counter for Matt and left. She felt his eyes as the door closed behind her, and she swallowed hard. There wasn't anything about him that wasn't dangerous.

If only she could figure out why that drew parts of her as strongly as it repelled her.

"You seem rather lonely, for a distraction."

Caroline looked up, and scowled at Klaus. He was standing in the doorway, watching her with an expression that left her monster itching under her skin. The open possessiveness, it was something she wished he'd stop. It wasn't as if she looked particularly impressive; cheer t-shirt, sweat pants and her face scrubbed clean, and Klaus still managed to give the impression of want.

Thank God she was wearing a bra.

"Do you talk to forest animals now? That's a bit Disney Princess of you."

He stepped into the living room, shutting the front door behind him. He didn't flip the lock, but the danger was there regardless. She was aware he wasn't leaving unless he chose to, and the casual way he sat across from her left her teeth clenching.

"Hardly, but Damon isn't nearly as clever as he believes."

Caroline could find no fault in his logic. "That's not news. Why are you here? As you can see, I'm busy."

"Do you enjoy baiting me, Caroline?" Klaus questioned even as his posture relaxed, body taking over the love seat. "Pushing, to see how far it'll take me to snap?"

"Hardly," she dismissed, lowering her gaze back to the laptop she was working at. "But I decided if you're going to kill me anyway, might as well be for something I said instead of someone else's idiocy."

"Interesting, that you imagine that my choice of consequences would be death." Her gaze shot back to his, and he smiled slowly, the predator bright in his gaze. "As for why I'm here, Damon seemed insistent that I be distracted tonight. When you failed to show, I thought I'd oblige him and investigate how my favorite baby vampire was fairing."

Stubbornly, she ignored the heat his words caused. Jackass. She just knew he was doing it on purpose, testing her reactions to him. Smile tight, she shrugged.

"As you can see, I picked a fun filled evening of U.S. History instead of being hybrid bait. Education supposedly being the basis for all those important life goals, like supporting yourself."

This smile looked genuine and that shook her. Delight and amusement mingled, to take the edge off of his ever apparent threat. "What are your plans for the future, Caroline?"

"Living."

"Ah," Klaus drawled, tossing one booted ankle over the other. Caroline wondered how he managed to be so deadly and appear so alarming attractive and comfortable all at the same time? Was this something you could practice? How exactly did you let your eyes threaten while the rest of you invited?

"There is a difference, sweetheart, between living and surviving. I certainly cannot fault the effort you've put into the latter, but I'd hardly call this the former."

"Let me guess," Caroline replied, scorn dropping from her tone. "You can show me how?"

His eyes heated, until the edges of his irises turned yellow. Her breath caught in her throat, as he deliberately dragged his gaze along her body. When he returned to her eyes, her hand clenched tightly around her pen as hybrid gold called sharply at her own monster.

"I'd be delighted."

"No thank you."

His gaze was knowing and she narrowed her eyes. Before she could find a way to retort, Klaus tensed, veins crawling into his eyes. She froze, as he growled and lunged to his feet. A moment later, she was alone, feeling as if the wind had been knocked out if her.

What had that been about?

Caroline made it home because she was stubborn. The world had gone to hell, these last few weeks. Klaus had finally made Hybrids, Elena was a vampire, and a few new werewolves has trickled into town.

Klaus had been in a dangerous mood, since Elena had died. She'd avoided him, the blade of his smile, and stuck closer to home as the weight of his displeasure changed the atmosphere of town. Even her mom had commented, that people had been on edge.

The tension had finally snapped and Caroline was dying. Her hip was burning, a familiar poisonous throb. She was so thirsty, her monster turned her world dangerous. Staggering through her front door, she stared at the body she'd known would be there. Broken, with blood pooled near her head, Caroline silently sank next to her mom.

Hayley had gotten away.

Shaking hands reached for the softness of her mom's hair, and she stroked it so carefully. The sound of the door opening had her head turning, and she wondered if this was a hallucination. But Damon's eyes were only for her mom.

"I told her to leave."

Caroline bared her monster's teeth. "I hope he keeps you alive for years."

Damon laughed at her, blue eyes glittering. "You shouldn't have fought back. If you'd just been good little bait, all of this could have been avoided. But you just had to be a little idiot and now Liz is dead."

"You set us both up to die, don't you blame this on me." Caroline said, hands pressing into the floor as the room started to spin. "Did you think my mother would've forgiven you?"

Damon shrugged and stood. "A pity you're so useless. If you'd actually spread your legs, Klaus might have actually cared enough to save you."

"Have fun, running from Klaus," Caroline whispered as she laid on the floor. "Be sure you ask Katherine how much fun it is."

The hallucinations sounded like her mom. Caroline kept her eyes closed, as the coldness of the floor seeped into the agony of her bones. She tried to block out the whispers, the endless recriminations and pleas to live, until she thought she'd gone mad, when she felt the softest of touches against her cheek.

The scent of fresh blood spurred her monster and her lashes parted just as something wet touched her lips. It was instinctive to dig her fangs into the bleeding wound, to latch on tightly with her shaking hands. It was the most delicious hallucination she'd ever had, and she gripped the wrist harder when it tried to pull away.

"Shhh, sweetheart. I know you're hungry and I promise, you'll get more soon."

Caroline didn't clearly remember what happened after that, the vague recollection of Klaus carrying her mingling with the hot taste of blood. She woke to the memory of Damon screaming and lifted her fingers to her lips. They came back clean, but she could taste those screams, felt his cries in the marrow of her bones.

Her mom was gone.

Catching her lip between her teeth, she blinked past the sudden film of her eyes. Pausing, surprise clogging the tears in throat, she stared at the room with its delicate wrought iron windows and gorgeous decorations.

"What…"

"The house won't be ready for more days."

Twisting, she found Klaus watching her from a doorway. She just looked at him, for several long moments and he seemed to not mind, returning her perusal. Licking dry lips, she finally broke the silence.

"Where are we?"

"New Orleans," Klaus said easily as he walked into the room, moving towards a window to throw open the drapes. "You slept through the rather short plane ride."

"New…" She hardly hesitated to join him at the window, uncaring that she was dressed only a shirt that hit mid thigh. She stared out the window with wide eyes, fingertips lightly touching the iron on the windows. Her eyes went back to his face, and she froze at the way he was watching her. The pit behind his eyes devouring.

"Why didn't you let me die?"

He arched a brow. "Here I thought you wanted to live?"

"That's not quite the same thing as giving me blood, and bringing me here." She countered, swallowing harshly when his hand cupped her jaw, thumb brushing across her lips.

"I considered it. Finding you streaked with the blood of my hybrids, the corpse of your mother next to you." He leaned close, until their noses nearly touched. "But I'm not done with you, Caroline Forbes, and I don't believe you're finished with me."

She struggled to pull in her next breath. "Did I hallucinate Damon?"

His smile nearly brushed against her skin, and a shudder rolled down her spine. It was his marionette smile, the hunting blade that promised endless horrors. The smile he'd given Tyler, when he's created a hybrid in his image.

"Damon is a guest; how did his screams taste on your tongue? You're monster seemed to enjoy them, from the way you tore open his throat and drank deep." Another slow brush of his thumb, and arousal sang through her veins. "If you can't recall the exact flavor, sweetheart, I'd be delighted to let you have another taste."

She felt her eyes darken, veins crawling as her monster stirred. His gaze drank in vampire face, lust turning his eyes potent. The scent of his arousal was heady.

"Why New Orleans?" Her whisper was throatier than she'd intended, and his fingers stroked along her throat.

"It appears that a certain wolf ran here, hoping to find refuge," Klaus said lowly, tracing her collarbones. "I've a few old friends, who seem to have a bit of a witch problem on their hands. I'm curious, to see how they are related. I thought you'd like to join me, on this particular hunt."

Hayley. The truth of her death was in the yellow flecks of Klaus' eyes. He wasn't offering her bargain, but an opportunity. Lips just curving at the edges, she leaned slightly into his caress.

"Yes."

"Excellent," he murmured, gaze refocusing on her lips. "The things I'll show you, love."

She believed him.

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