Guitar riffs and a gritty voice sung about carnage. The anarchic sound fueled his concentration as he studied the polished pool balls dispersed in various directions across the top of his Brunswick table.
He lined up his pool stick with the shot he intended to make. Placing the stick loosely between his thumb and index finger, he worked it back and forth before connecting. The sound of the stick striking the ball was like a mini thunderclap. Straightening his stance, he grinned as the striped green ball flew into the pocket he wanted. This game would be far more entertaining if he were playing an opponent for money. But alas, he only had his own company to well, keep him company. He paused and corrected himself. He wasn't in his home completely alone. Someone else was here with him but that person was more servant than friend.
Melted ice cubes clinked along the glass when he picked up his tumbler of scotch and took a sip. His ears twitched at the sound of the bell trilling. He paused and wondered who it was that darkened his doorstep because he certainly hadn't sent out any invitations for guests.
.
.
The vivacity of the green leaves, the sunlight fighting to shine through them to warm the ground, she absorbed it all. Bonnie closed her eyes and listened. There was plenty she could manipulate here. So much she could expand and grow or mutate, but perverting nature to suit her needs wasn't why she was here.
This was business.
If life was broken down into quarters, or maybe not life but seasons or episodes a person went through, Bonnie supposed she was in the third quarter of this particular season and it was coming to a close. She had entered the world with barely a squeak, and at the time of her first death had left without so much as a scream. Her blood had been spilt. Her essence cracked open like an egg and the substance within torn out for the consumption of others.
Bonnie was so much more than that now. She was on the cusp of something she hadn't been sure how to express to Dahlia while they stood overlooking the Susquehanna Lake. Her mouth might have said she wished to start a coven using the most talented among Lily's family, but thinking on it, Bonnie realized that hadn't been what she meant at all. She wanted what a coven represented, the idea of it. She had no desire to be the head or regent thereby dedicating the rest of her life to settling squabbles and extinguishing wars. That wasn't living to her.
Bonnie wanted solid support. Hence why she had given certain people particular tasks to accomplish today, herself included.
Her forefinger pressed the doorbell.
A man opened the door.
Bonnie had anticipated he'd be alone. She was glad that he wasn't. The vampire in front of her was clean-shaven, baby faced, and olive complexioned with brownish undertones. His 6'1" frame filled out his long sleeved charcoal gray jumper and dark denim jeans nicely. Eyes the color of whiskey, he smiled at her in a lazy way, a charming way that months ago would have made her feel shy and inexperienced with the opposite sex.
He leaned a brawny shoulder into the doorjamb. "Can I help you, beautiful?"
"Is Klaus home?"
He visibly pouted, pink bottom lip creasing in the middle. "And here I was hoping you'd come to see me."
Right when she was about to reply, Klaus appeared. "Thank you, Renaud, I have it from here."
Renaud trotted away with a disappointed shake to his head.
"Miss Bennett, to what do I owe this pleasure?"
"May I come in?"
"Are you alone?"
"I'm sure you can hear if I am or not."
Klaus grinned, dimples popping. He moved aside permitting the young witch into his home. She kept a large berth between them as Bonnie entered the grand foyer.
"We can take this somewhere more…"
"No," Bonnie interrupted. "This is fine. I need something else from you."
Klaus automatically chuckled. "More favors? What are you expecting me to provide you with this time?"
Bonnie sauntered toward him. She stopped short a foot or so. His aunt's lessons definitely agreed with her, he had to say because he couldn't remember a time Bonnie looked as ravishing as she did now. He found himself inexplicably tumbling into her burning orange-gold spheres. Suddenly Klaus was thirsty and, unashamedly his cock swelled.
"Vampires. I need to know," Bonnie began, "what my blood can do to vampires."
He had no reason to stay. The open road before him was an endless invitation to say to hell with everything in his rear view mirror. Mystic Falls was boring. The people in it weren't worth being food let alone trifling with because they never questioned all the unexplained shit that turned the town up on its axis year after year. Vampires weren't real to them, and those who knew of their existence were all dead. Werewolves stayed clear of this place thanks to the Originals. Naturally that's what he said to himself because he refused to deal with the truth. The truth that there were forces bigger and stronger than him that could make him a slave, force his humanity back on with the snap of the fingers. Witches. So, yes, it was best to leave now while the getting was good.
So why wouldn't his foot press on the gas? Why couldn't he put the car into drive?
Stefan Salvatore ground his molars together and laughed wryly. His father had instructed that in order to make it in life it wasn't so much as doing what you were good at, or what you loved, but learning as much as you could to make yourself indispensable. He was good at lots of things that usually erred on the side of chaos and destruction, but even after a while being good at that got old.
What now? Stefan swore under his breath. The next breath he took rushed out of him as his door was flung open and he was yanked from his car. Shoulder connecting with asphalt, Stefan bared his teeth, and rolled to his back.
Damon hovered above him. "Where do you think you're going, slick?"
"Great," Stefan muttered dryly. "Here to get back at me for throwing you down a well?"
"No and that was a lame attempt at best."
"Which I would have gotten away with if it hadn't been for that meddling witch."
"Nice one with the Scooby-Doo reference but I'm here about serious shit."
"Oh, resuming your bit as the concerned older brother we both know you've never been? Is Elena watching? Oh, excuse me. Forgot. You squealed another girl's name while she was giving you head," and with that Stefan bounced to his feet. "How does Bonnie feel about getting her bestie's sloppy seconds?"
It was muscle memory to trade insults with Stefan until things turned violent, or it began with violence, and at some point they remembered to use their words. Damon needed no spoilers to the fact Stefan wanted him to react.
"Let's jump to the end of this pointless pissing contest and I tell you what you're going to help me with. Ready? You're going to help me save the baby you put up for adoption after I maliciously killed her mother. Between the two of us you've always been the better negotiator."
Stefan placed his hands on his hips waiting for the punchline. None came. He chuckled darkly. "Why should I care about any of this, Damon? For what?! What's the endgame? I get my humanity back and I'm overwhelmed with guilt, and I'm right back to thinking it's my job to martyr myself because of a fucking decision I made in 1864. No thanks."
Damon gripped Stefan by the arm the second his little brother turned his back to head to his car. "I don't care about what happened in the past, Stefan," he practically hissed. "I've forgiven you for that. I could have walked away and died like I had planned. You might have brought the woman to me, but I decided to drink her blood. Ultimately it was me, Stefan, me. You've been carrying that shit around for years. Let it go."
Stefan snatched his arm away. "You think it's that easy? You say you forgive me. I don't give a shit about your forgiveness, Damon. Find someone else to be your punk ass sidekick. I'm done."
Figuring now was the time to bring out the big guns. Damon reached inside his pocket and removed a small flask. He slowly twisted off the cap and waved the silver flask around stirring up the thick liquid inside. Its aromatic smell wafted into the air. Stefan's mouth shamelessly gushed with saliva. His gums tingled and he licked the seam of his lips. He was already pulling on his leash, trying to compose himself and not fly across the short distance that kept him from the substance he loved more than fucking. Yet despite his churning hunger, the knowledge he was being manipulated made Stefan's hand curl into a fist.
"You help me and you get this. And before you scoff you should know this isn't regular Jenny from the block's blood," Damon goaded. "I'm not the only one with a dark past with pregnant women. I know the blood you revere above all. The secret you've kept hidden all these years…Jo was nice enough to give a donation," the dark-haired vampire held the flask higher, shook it a little. "Plasma infused with pregnancy hormones and magic…this shit's better than pure cocaine. And yes I know about the nose candy you were fond of in the eighties. Help me and it's yours."
Stefan's nostrils flared as his reddening eyes volleyed between his brother and the flask. His fangs lengthened, and his face began to transform but he refused to give in so easily. He was many things, cheap on occasion, but there was a drop of pride left in him.
"I could just go to the source and drain her," Stefan yawned.
"You could but she pumped herself full of vervain afterward." Damon's smile widened when he heard Stefan whisper a curse. "You help me get Sarah away from our mother, this blood is yours and I leave you alone. For good. No more attempts to turn you back into Edgar Allen Poe."
A speeding truck going south on the lonely stretch of highway they stood on blew its horn, and by the time it passed, Damon had folded his lean body into the passenger seat of his little brother's vintage ride. May rescuing my niece go as smoothly, Damon mused yet had a peculiar feeling it wouldn't. Not by a long shot.
Caroline found herself scaling the exterior of the Salvatore boardinghouse while replaying what she had been doing an hour and a half ago.
Chips were demolished between sharp, enameled teeth. The crunch, crunch, crunch sound was quickly shadowed by a generous gulp of her twenty ounce soda. She read over the line of text she just wrote, read it again, read it three more times before blowing out a frustrated breath and repeatedly hitting the backspace key until everything she had typed was erased.
Dumping her face in her hands, Caroline Forbes questioned not for the first time just what in hell was she doing. Luckily her phone ringed giving her a chance to deflect answering that question. Seeing the name flash across her screen, she let the phone ring a few more times unsure if answering would be wise or stupid.
She answered and remembered to smile so that it would reflect in her voice. "Bonnie, hey how are you?"
"Hey, are you busy?"
Caroline slapped her MacBook closed. "I'm not doing anything besides trying to put my life back together. I've spent the morning apologizing to a few of my professors for…inappropriate comments I made. Honestly questioning if I should leave now and start fresh in the fall. But you didn't call to listen to me mope. What's up?"
"I do need a favor. But first, I'm really glad that you're you again."
Caroline sighed. Becoming her wasn't exactly a choice, but grudgingly she could agree. "Yeah, well," she didn't finish her thought. "What's the favor?"
"Lily kidnapped Sarah and had the deed to the house put in her name. Damon is working on getting her out, but we know he's liable to make things worse. So I have something I need to get to Sarah and I'm hoping you can deliver it to her. Without being seen or heard."
Caroline's stomach rolled as she remembered the scheme she set up that nearly cost Sarah her life. Having Liam operate on her. She used to lecture every single vampire she came across for acting like vampires, denouncing them for taking pleasure in drinking blood straight from the tap, or toying with people's lives. Deep down though, she had enjoyed it. Controlling Liam to hurt Sarah to control Stefan. Caroline shuddered again. She would make this right. She'd make it up to Sarah even if she had no clue Caroline had anything to atone for.
"Okay. Yeah, sure. I can totally do that. What do you need me to take to her?"
Caroline grumbled about ruining her manicure as she dug her nails into the bricks for a better grip. She heard a very familiar engine and car tires roll up. Damon was here. Good, he could distract his mother leaving her free to do what she was sent here to do.
Finally reaching Stefan's window, Caroline didn't knock on it until she heard the bell tolling. She knocked briskly and urgently in time with the bell and waited impatiently for Sarah to waltz on over. Caroline caught movement and eventually a beautiful but haggard looking young woman with long tangled locks approached cautiously.
Honey brown eyes expanded in disbelief and Sarah's mouth opened and closed as she struggled to make sense of what she was seeing. Caroline pantomimed for her to open the window, which Sarah did constantly checking over her shoulder fearing they were going to get caught.
The weird shit she had seen, heard, and endured Sarah wouldn't question too deeply how there was a chick hanging outside of the window when there was no balcony for her to perch on. Someone else was here who could help her even if she had been forbidden from asking for help and prevented from helping herself. Mentally she looked for a work around to articulate that she wanted to get the hell out of this place and go home.
"Please…I can't…"
"I know," Caroline reassured her. "Me and some others are working to get you out, but I need you to inject yourself with this," she brandished a hypodermic needle.
Sarah jerked back a little, "What is that?"
"It's called vervain. Usually you'd drink it, but since we don't want its lingering scent on your breath to tip anyone off, it's best to inject it straight into your bloodstream. It'll protect you from compulsion."
"Compul—"
"When the old bitch looks you dead in the eye and her pupils get all big and she tells you to do something and you do it? Yeah, that's compulsion. Making you do something against your will. Unfortunately, even after you inject yourself with this you're still going to have to pretend to do everything she says until we can…Klaus," Caroline broke off in a gasp. Her look of alarm matched Sarah's.
"What? Who's Klaus?" Sarah asked just a little too loudly.
Caroline held up a finger to her thin lips. "Hang on. I'm going to be right back. Okay?"
Sarah was even more confused than before. "Wait!" she whisper-yelled when she saw Caroline was about to fall to the ground. "There's another girl here."
The blonde crinkled her nose, "Another girl? Is she being held against her will, too?"
"She came here last night. I heard a commotion, arguing, screaming. I think—no, I know Lily did something to her."
Caroline gnawed the inside of her cheek. Great, another glitch in the system. "Do you know where the girl might be now?"
Frantically, Sarah shook her head looking all types of bewildered, "Maybe on another floor, I don't know. I heard crying last night, and she kept saying the name Damon over and over again before things went quiet again."
"Shit," Caroline squeaked. What was supposed to be a simple operation that would hopefully lead to an extraction had become the usual clusterfuck. "Okay, okay. Everything's fine. Inject that," she tossed the needle to Sarah who fumbled to catch it. "I'll be right back."
Downstairs, Lily Salvatore eyed her older and youngest sons before folding her hands. "So you finally decided to respond to my summons."
It had been on the tip of Damon's tongue to ask "what summons?" Lily continued before he could.
"I understand why Damon's here, but why are you?" she looked at Stefan. "From the looks of things…you're still without your humanity. Ah, must be something in it for you," she sniffed the air a few times, felt her taste buds jolt at a peculiar, mouth-watering aroma. The pieces fell into alignment. "I can't blame you for not resisting the offer, son. But there's nothing else we need to discuss. Things have changed."
"Mother," Damon began formally, "when people irritate me I don't hesitate to act. I've killed my nephew, Stefan's best friend on his birthday, repeatedly snapped the neck of my best friend, fed the first woman I loved to a vampire in the first step in a long process to bring back the witch you think you're entitled to coerce to do your bidding, and a million other atrocities you would probably believe being what you are. If you think I won't hurt you because you are my mother, guess again."
"You're more like your father than you think, Damon. He was famous for his threats. Sometimes he lived up to him. Sometimes he failed to make a lasting impression. I'll spare you details, because in the end we know exactly how everything will come to pass. I've had a lengthy talk with Elena."
"Elena?"
"Yes. From what she readily shared with me…after I compelled her, of course—"
"Wait."
"—it seems I may not even need Bonnie to do the spell to free my family. In fact, all I may have to do is wait."
"Hold the fuck up! What do you mean you compelled Elena? You can't compel another vampire. You're not an Original."
Lily cracked a smirk that was a twin of his own. "Right, you see that is why Elena has fervently been trying to reach you. To share the news, though by her simpering reaction is not as welcomed as it may have been some months or maybe even days ago. You were going to surprise her, were you not, Damon? Propose the two of you can have your fairytale ending…becoming mortal once more?"
Realization dawned over what his mother had done. Damon's jaw loosened, his brows took a hike to his hairline, and he lost sensation below his knees. "No," the word was hollow as it left his mouth.
Mirth and pleasure danced in Lily's cold blue eyes. "My temper has been quelled for the time being. I have no more use for you, Bonnie, Elena, or even Sarah at this point. I want no more quarrel with you, son. Everything I want will be delivered to me and no one had to die for it to happen. However, it is rather unfortunate how hard you've worked to make sure certain events didn't unfold just for things to come crashing down regardless." Lily moved to close to the door which spurred Damon into action.
"If you don't need Sarah and Elena anymore then let them go."
Lily tapped her fingers along the door, considering. "I think I'll keep them here. My family will need a meal to welcome them into the modern world."
With that she slammed the door in her sons' faces.
"Well that went swimmingly. So where's my payment?" Stefan snapped his fingers.
"You literally stood there and didn't say shit." Damon stomped his way to his car with Stefan fast on his heels.
"I couldn't get a word in edgewise anyways since you, Mr. Motormouth of the South, did what you do best. Did you honestly predict any other outcome than the one we got, Damon? If you did you are as dumb and empty-headed as you look."
He had accomplished keeping his anger in check earlier, but the tethers was loosening and Damon knew he was just one more insult away from turning his little brother's guts into pulp. He got behind the wheel, fired up the engine. Stefan rode shotgun.
They drove in silence for a quarter of a mile before Damon slammed on the brakes because Caroline was standing in the middle of the road. He honked which did nothing. She didn't budge but merely cocked out a hip and dropped her hand on it. She briefly glanced at Stefan before motioning for the two to step out of the car.
"We don't have time for this. What?" Damon barked.
"I was at the boardinghouse just now doing a favor for Bonnie. I was delivering vervain to your niece when a thought occurred to me. But before I get to that, guess you know what happened to Elena."
"Yeah…" Damon's grip on his door tightened, warping the metal. He compartmentalized his thoughts and feelings about what his mother did to his ex, and concentrated on the present. "What was the idea you had?"
"Klaus. Maybe I can convince him to compel Lily to let Elena and Sarah go."
The brothers looked at one another wondering how it went over their heads that they had access to someone who could compel other vampires.
"Good idea," Stefan offered, "but he's not going to do you a favor. He's already hit and quit that."
Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'm sure I can tap into whatever mushy feelings he used to have for me, and promise him another date. Whatever. I'm headed there now."
"Get in," Damon motioned to his car with his head. "We might as well make this a team effort."
Caroline slid into the backseat, nibbled on her finger. The icy silence between the brothers was nothing new, but she was unnerved because this was her first time being close to Stefan now that she was 'her normal' again. Memories of what they had done flooded and she tried to tramp them down, lock them away. Part of her resented the fact his switch was still off and she was left to deal with the aftermath of their infamy alone. But if you had been strong enough to deal with your grief alone, neither one of you would be here, her conscience chastened.
"Elena as a human again," she tossed out to distract herself. "It's weird right? I know we spent so much time, exhausted so many hours trying to keep her alive, keep her from becoming a vampire. But danger never left her did it? Now she's human and if anything does happen to her this time around, giving her vampire blood isn't an option. She's worse off now in a sense."
"Well I would say you have your work cut out for you, brother," Stefan tittered, "but I suppose not. Elena is no longer your responsibility now that you and the witch are a thing."
"Wait, so you and Bonnie are a couple? A genuine couple?" Caroline sought out clarification. She knew what she saw between them at the masquerade ball, and even yesterday when she caught them having lunch.
"Look, I'm not in the mood to discuss my private life. Kai could come back any day now, and he won't be coming alone. For all we know he could already be here. My mom has the niece I thought I killed trapped along with Elena who is human, if we're to believe Lily, which I do. So let's try to focus on our immediate issues, please. Convincing Klaus to help us," Damon ended on a growl.
"Say that again."
"You heard me, Klaus. I was just with Dahlia when the idea came to me."
"And now you've come to me with your idea. I'm touched," he said facetiously.
Bonnie switched her weight on her feet, "You're the only one I know who can afford to spare a vampire or two."
"Hmm, what exactly are you expecting to happen to a vampire upon consuming your blood?"
"I don't know, Klaus that's why I need to find out."
Bonnie's proposal reverberated through his ears. The outcomes, the possibilities piqued his interest, yet he had to fight against his usual default which was to make someone beg for his assistance.
Klaus studied Bonnie for a moment, shredding layers, or perhaps those layers were long gone. She was far from transparent. Reading her used to be a fairly simple practice as she hardly put in the effort to disguise where she stood on matters and her opinions about them. The Bonnie he was now bearing witness to, the Bonnie being molded and equipped by his frightening aunt he couldn't gage, and that bothered him.
He circled the witch. Bonnie speculated if that was something he inherited from Dahlia because she was fond of doing the same.
"Well?" her patience was thinning.
Klaus sidled behind Bonnie, his lips hovering too close to her ear for comfort. "Be lucky I'm curious to see how this experiment may proliferate otherwise…"
"Are you enjoying pretending that you weren't bored out of your mind until I arrived? Things here have been quiet for the most part, and you've been behaving yourself. I have wondered why you haven't gone back to New Orleans. Don't you miss your daughter?"
At the mention of Hope, Klaus' spine went straight. She was being looked after for a number of reasons. He cracked his knuckles as his tongue itched for a drink. Yet he remained tight-lipped leaving Bonnie to draw whatever conclusions to fit her narrative.
"Whatever your reasons are for staying here are your reasons," she maintained. "In the meantime, you can at least contribute something."
"I already have."
"You can contribute more." There was finality in those words that seemed to stab beyond the foundation of the estate and plunge straight into the earth.
Klaus read between those lines, cautious yet intrigued. The next time Bonnie blinked he was on the move down a corridor to her left. He paused mid-step and waited for her to catch up. She did. They stopped just outside of the main sitting room.
"Try not to make too much of a mess," he advised before taking a step back.
Releasing a sigh, Bonnie waited for her normal hesitation, that brief stretch of time where she second-guessed her decision. When it didn't come she pushed aside the sliding doors that had been left partially opened. Placing one tentative foot inside before the other, Bonnie closed the doors behind her.
She was nervous and excited but it was hard to tell from her expression which was neutral.
The vampire she encountered when she arrived was seated on the couch, feet up on the table, earbuds in, thumbing through his phone. His head whipped toward her and he bolted to his feet, yanking out his earbuds while pocketing his Samsung.
"Yes?" he asked.
Bonnie didn't say anything right away. She let her gaze flit around the opulently decorated room. It occurred to her this was the same room she had been dumped in when Klaus had her kidnapped and she met Dahlia for the first time. It seemed fitting in a way that she would put to use what she learned in the same space where she made the conscious decision to end her reign of being the witch that always lost.
"Your name's Renaud, right?" He nodded. "Where are you from?"
"West Carroll Parish, Louisiana, ma'am."
His manners coaxed a smile out of Bonnie. He really was sweet and good-looking. If she weren't in love with Damon… "What were you listening to?"
"Immigrant Song, the original version by Led Zeppelin."
"Nice. Nothing beats the original but I also like the Karen O/Trent Reznor version."
Renaud nodded in approval. "That version's sweet too. You like rock?"
"Oh, I love it. I'm pretty obsessed with Phenomenon by the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs."
"I'll have to download that…so was there something you needed help with? I reckon you didn't come to talk music."
"You're right, I didn't," Bonnie got down to business, seeing he was warmed up. "When were you turned?"
He gave her a stunned look, "You know what I am?"
"Of course I do." Bonnie moved closer, absently trailing her finger across the edge of the couch Renaud stood on the opposite side of.
"You're not scared," he remarked.
"Why should I be? Are you dangerous?" she demurred, putting the right amount of flirty carelessness in her tone.
"I eat people. I think that makes me pretty damn dangerous."
"What if I told you that I'm probably a bit more dangerous than you are, than a whole legion of vampires put together?"
Renaud gave her a bold perusal, combing those whiskey irises up and down her body. Absolutely gorgeous she was, he doubted she could lift a fifty pound weight. However, knowing what he knew about the true world, big things indeed came in small packages. Still, the little lady in front of him didn't come off as a threat, her unusual eye color notwithstanding. Nah, she looked like she'd fit perfectly under his arm and just under him, period. The only true danger she posed was blinding him because she was glowing something fierce. But he could take the pain.
Feeling his appreciative gaze made Bonnie very aware of her body. It wasn't strange or alarming. If anything it was ammunition.
"There're a lot of scary things where I'm from, ma'am. You don't exactly inspire fear. You'll forgive me for being skeptical."
"Some of the most innocent looking plants, flowers, and carnivores are deadly. Your kind was made attractive to lure in victims. Why I would be any different?"
Klaus looked through the crack in the door like a voyeur. Bonnie was cognizant of him watching. Listening. That emboldened her even more because she was positive that despite her boost in confidence, he still saw her as the naïve teenager who thought her righteousness could fix everyone's problems.
The lights dimmed creating a quixotic ambiance. Klaus saw the exact moment Renaud thought he was about to get lucky. Stupid fool. His grin became crooked, eyes half-lidded, he looked drugged.
Absently Renaud pulled at the collar of his shirt. The room was becoming a sauna.
Bonnie stood in front of him. Her head tilted at a beguiling angle, exposing her neck. At the unspoken invitation, Renaud brushed her hair off her shoulder and traced the line of her throat with the back of his knuckle.
"How," his voice became a graveled purr, "how can someone who smells like peaches and sunlight be more dangerous than a legion of vampires? It doesn't matter. I'll tell you what I'm scared of…are you Klaus'?"
"No," Bonnie retorted brusquely.
"Then he won't mind if I find out what those pretty little lips of yours taste like."
He swooped down but Bonnie held him off, stopping him with a hand planted firmly on his chest. She didn't say drink my blood, but the coy turn of her head, the quick glance she tossed at him said what her mouth could not. Renaud chuckled lowly and, with the slowness of a sloth so he wouldn't scare her off, he wrapped one arm around Bonnie's waist and drew her flushed against him.
She gasped a little, playing her role masterfully.
Renaud was smitten and repeatedly ordered himself to go slow. He wanted to enjoy this. Klaus had restricted where he could hunt, and he absolutely detested drinking from blood bags. Getting the chance to indulge straight from the source, his heart was in his throat.
"So beautiful," he murmured. Burying his other hand in her hair, Renaud angled her neck the way he wanted it, the way it would guarantee her blood would flow like a waterfall. "So beautiful."
Bonnie could feel his jaw widening, the moisture of his mouth as it drew closer, and then teeth scraping lightly across her skin.
Klaus' chest expanded at the first whiff of her blood hitting the air.
What happened next would stick with him for the rest of his life.
"What the hell is Bonnie doing here?" Damon glared at her Prius as he threw his car into park and vaulted out of it. She hadn't said anything to him about going to Klaus after her session with Dahlia.
Stefan added his colorful commentary, "She looking to trade up already? Tough break, big brother."
Caroline was already knocking on the front door and when no one answered she welcomed herself inside. The trio of vampires stiffened at the scent that wafted from within. Sulfur, alkaline, and some other metals permeated the air like a hydrogen cloud. But just beneath that was the scent of O negative blood.
Damon flew in, bumping Stefan and Caroline out of the way. "BONNIE!"
He raced through the house finding nothing and no one on the bottom level apart from that atrocious smell, which he knew that smell. It was most concentrated in one of the sitting rooms though nothing seemed out of place, yet Damon couldn't help but sense something shady had gone down.
He reversed and rounded a corner that emptied to the backyard and found her.
Déjà vu smacked Damon across the cheek.
He wasn't at Klaus' but a small balcony on the third floor of a frat house teeming with drunken young adults. And there Bonnie had stood with her back to him, laughing, talking in hushed tones with some coed. That night she had donned the shortest dress he had ever seen her wear; skintight with fuchsia fishnet stockings, it had short circuited the wires in his head.
Today, unfortunately, wasn't a dress; just jeans tight enough to trick him into thinking she wore nothing but that cascade of wavy hair and a smile, and a lacy shirt with a scooped back.
Damon studied her and could have sworn it was either the play of the fading sunlight, or incoming fog, but it seemed delicate tendrils of smoke curled around Bonnie, concentrated the most around her feet. Or maybe it wasn't smoke at all but ripples of energy…like she was siphoning it…from the ground. He blinked and they were gone making him doubt they had been there at all. He felt her heat calling to him, luring him closer. Instinctively he fought it as any snared thing would, but he shook the feeling off. This was Bonnie. She wouldn't hurt him.
Hopefully.
She looked at him over her shoulder and he half expected her to say in a singsong falsetto like the little girl from Poltergeist "They're hereeee." Thankfully Bonnie didn't which would have honestly creeped Damon out, loathed to admit it. She was calm, maybe even too calm, and not at all surprised to see him.
"Are you okay?"
"Mm-hmm," was her reply.
Klaus materialized or perhaps Damon just became aware of the fact he had been standing not that far away from Bonnie the whole time. Seeing the two of them together, Bonnie's eyes glowing orange-gold and Klaus' tawny, they inspired a large measure of caution. Tonight was a full moon and the hybrid was clearly feeling the effects of it. Tread lightly.
"What are you doing here?" Klaus glowered.
Caroline and Stefan joined the party, standing behind Damon.
"Why does it smell like someone's been boiled alive?" Damon trumped his question with one of his own. His inquiry went ignored.
"What do you want?" the Original reiterated, the tawny hue of his irises fading to their natural aquamarine.
In as few words as possible Caroline explained the situation. "If you do us this favor, compel their mom to let their niece and Elena go…I'll do anything you want. Within reason," she tacked on knowing they were dealing with a man who thought in loopholes.
Klaus licked his teeth. "I do love it when those who've conspired and plotted against me come crawling for my help. You are excluded from that, Bonnie."
"Lucky me," she murmured, and the two of them shared a small secret smile that caused Damon's nostrils to flare.
"And though I do admire your spirit, Caroline its bittersweet you are yourself again. However, these days I've found my standard of taste has changed. Sorry. That offer simply isn't good enough."
"Then what do you want?" Stefan said.
"A kiss—"
"But you just said…"
"—from Bonnie."
"Fuck no," Damon seethed, his eyes almost fading to black. "No, she's not kissing you. Think of something else."
"There's nothing else that would be as sweet. If she doesn't then I'm afraid we have no deal."
"Don't be a manipulative prick," cried Caroline. "For once help because you were asked nicely."
"I have done something because I was asked. The nicely part boils down to perspective. Just ask Bonnie. And since she is the one I'm asking something of, oh what do you know, it'll be up to her. What is a simple snog between allies?" he angled himself toward her, "What do you say, sweetheart?"
Bonnie fell under the heavy scrutiny of four pairs of eyes but there was only one pair that mattered and those she avoided. "You did help me today."
Klaus smirked. "I did."
"Bonnie…" Damon growled and took a threatening step forward.
"You don't have to do this. We'll find another way," Caroline rallied.
"It's…fine. On the scale of things I've been asked to do to save someone, this is the least life-threatening."
"Is it?" Damon's tone went dark.
Bonnie spared him an apologetic glance before narrowing her gaze on Klaus. With the imperceptible nod of her head she gave her permission. He didn't even try to hide his giddiness.
"If you lay a hand on her…"
"What are you so worried about, Salvatore?" the hybrid inched closer to Bonnie whom he hadn't stopped staring at. "Even I can see the glow of love pouring out of her. I can offer Bonnie many things, but I think everyone present knows that the only person she wants is you. Do I question the intelligence of her choice, I do. I might share a kiss with her, but you…you'll get to share a life…if you don't fuck it up."
Damon's fists curled and uncurled. The veins protruding from the backs of his hands throbbed fiercely.
"Maybe you should escort your brother elsewhere, Stefan," the Original suggested.
"No, I'm staying right here."
Klaus shrugged. To Bonnie he whispered, "I want you to kiss me like I'm him."
Her mouth opened to squeak out a protest but the arch of his brow silently reminding her what was at stake, killed her protestations. Bonnie's jaw set and her nostrils flared, but again she nodded, minutely.
"Ready?" he cupped Bonnie's warm cheeks.
I can't watch this shit, Damon fumed but he refused to move or blink. A noise bubbled up and erupted from his chest, a percussion of sound that was outraged and tortured the second ruby red lips slanted over Bonnie's. A manacle clamped on his arm detaining him. Damon was unsure who was holding him back, Vampire Barbie or his brother.
Bonnie imagined kissing Klaus would be like kissing the barrel of a loaded gun, or having your soul sucked out through one's mouth, or sliding down a vortex of darkness. It was nothing of the sort. His lips were like pillows, soft and seductive enticing you to stay in bed just for five more minutes.
She is sweet was the recurring theme in Klaus' consciousness. He moved his hands, thumbs brushing the lobes of her ears while he drew her bottom lip deeper into his mouth. When their lips lightly parted Klaus wholeheartedly anticipated hearing the hiss of steam when it's released from a valve. Things were turning hot but he refused to stop kissing Bonnie. He wouldn't until he left an indelible impression. He wouldn't until he'd guarantee it'd take a month or more for her to not taste him whenever she licked her lips.
Klaus slipped his tongue in her mouth.
Damon's chest was heaving rapidly, up and down. He had dug his feet into the ground so hard he cracked a few bricks. Caroline gaped whereas Stefan muttered to himself he had gotten the raw end of a deal.
Klaus moaned a little and deepened the kiss even more that was beginning to singe.
Badly.
Really…
Really badly!
Klaus pushed her away with a yelp, their mouths disconnecting with an audible smack. His lips were burning—no they had been burned. They were slightly swollen, blistered, and bleeding. "What the…what the hell did you do to me?"
"What I do to Damon but he's built up an immunity," Bonnie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "I've honored my end of the bargain now honor yours," she folded her arms with a pointed look.
Cricking his neck, he withheld his response until his lips had recovered. When they did, everyone was poised waiting for the retaliation. Everyone apart from Bonnie. Klaus traced the rim of his bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. His eyes became heavy-lidded as his muscles rolled beneath his shirt, testing the durability of the fibers. He huffed.
"Come before I change my mind," he bumped Damon's shoulder when he passed him.
If it wasn't for Bonnie weaving her fingers through his Damon was positive he would have slugged Klaus in the jaw. He stared at their joined hands, listened to the faint sounds of his brother and Caroline getting into Klaus' Navigator and it peeling out of the driveway.
They were alone and wrapped their arms around one another, hugging each other close.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Bonnie buried her face in his chest.
Damon couldn't remember the last time he felt that fiercely jealous. Even when Elena was with Stefan and he'd see them kissing, it didn't faze him. In fact he had found it funny knowing or at least hoping things with them wouldn't last, that it'd only be a matter of time. But the only times Damon found himself feeling his insides riot they involved Bonnie. What was it about seeing another guy touch her that made him so angry? He hadn't had the answer then but he certainly had it now.
The weather had changed. The once warm air became cool and damp. It would rain in a matter of minutes, no later than half an hour, Damon could tell. Instead of advising they leave and seek shelter, Damon rushed them into the neighboring woods and pinned Bonnie up against a tree. Her shocked gasp turned into a moan. His lips were on her neck. He felt her flinch a little but she melted not too long after. His hands roamed, squeezed her breasts. She was so warm he could barely stand it.
Werewolves might have been their enemies, but vampires shared the same possessive and territorial alpha traits as them.
"Damon…"
Hearing Bonnie say his name like that was almost his undoing. She was responsive, writhing and undulating against him, hungry to get closer, open to whatever.
Their mouths connected. Damon prided himself on being a good kisser but the one Bonnie was laying on him threatened to fry his brain. She tasted like sin and earth, love and faith, and the perfect complement to the dirty parts of himself he had put on a leash the last few weeks. Hungrily their mouths moved nipping, sucking, smacking loud enough to be heard. She didn't share this unhinged part of herself with Klaus. No. Damon knew this side of her would always belong to him.
But he broke off the kiss to calm the frenzy.
"Are you okay…after what you saw?" Bonnie stared up at him through thick lashes.
"I'm trying to forget what I saw. Don't ask me to relive it but I do want to know something. Why did I smell your blood? Why did you flinch when I kissed your neck? What happened, Bon?"
Bonnie hitched her leg up to his waist. Damon gave her what she was secretly asking for, reached right under the cusp of her ass and lifted Bonnie off her feet, her legs automatically locking around him. His jacket came off. Bonnie worked her hands into his briefs and squeezed his ass.
"I discovered I have a new secret weapon."
"What?"
Bonnie whispered it into his ear. Damon listened attentively and as he did so he had this thought: that makes two.
They kissed again but he wasn't as into it as before. His thoughts were going a hundred miles an hour.
"Stop," Bonnie called for a timeout because she sensed he was no longer in the moment with her.
Gently Damon placed Bonnie back on her feet. They righted their clothes and returned to their cars in awkward silence. She could tell he was bothered by what she revealed. As much as she'd love to get into it, dissect it and vomit out the usual platitudes that she was not being warped in any form or fashion, there simply wasn't time.
"I need to go to Alaric's. You should head to the boardinghouse," she said.
"They can handle it. I'm coming with you."
"I think you need to go and face Sarah. You have to confront that skeleton. You can't change what you've done but you can make sure she's okay."
A telltale muscle ticked in Damon's jaw. "You're right, but I feel you need me more."
"Of course I need you, but in this instance its best you go and deal with your mother and niece."
"And Elena? You want me to deal with her too?" he retorted curtly.
Bonnie's molars cinched. She unlocked her Prius. "When it comes to her you know how to handle that."
"Right, because I apparently don't know how to handle anything else."
"What?"
Damon's notorious crazy eyes popped out. "You could have come to me with what you did tonight, Bonnie. You didn't have to go to him! Dahlia might be helping you get stronger, but don't let her start isolating you from the ones you know you can trust. Because if that happens we're gonna have a problem."
"Then I guess we're going to have a problem because I don't have to tell you everything I'm doing."
They glared at one another. Bonnie understood where Damon's renewed anger was coming from, it didn't make it any easier to swallow.
"You never cared about the details in the past so long as you got the results you wanted," she argued.
"Well this isn't the past! You've gone to Klaus for everything. He hooked you up with grimoires, a mentor, and a guinea pig. We might love each other and share a bed now, but the magic part of you, you won't let me into that."
"What are you saying, Damon? You are a part of my magic. So what's really the issue here? You can go to Klaus for something but I can't? So much can go wrong and we need all the help we can get. I'm not saying I don't think you can help me, but your hands are just as tied as mine."
He sighed and his shoulders slumped. "I…you're right. I guess I'm just questioning what the fuck do I bring to the table. I'm sorry I yelled at you."
Before Bonnie could say anything else, Damon hopped behind the wheel and headed west.
Bonnie, a full two minutes later got into her car going east.
Light drops of rain splattered the windshield. Bonnie hit the wipers, fiddled with the radio until she found a station that played something other than Top 40 hits. She turned up the volume which muffled the sound of the growling engine of a Bugatti motorcycle that started following her two miles after leaving Klaus'.
A/N: I fought with this chapter something fierce, I hope it reads well. Thank you, guys for your continued patience and for the reviews. And shameless plug time, tomorrow is my birthday 4/25. *milly rocks* Know what would make an awesome gift for this exhausted writer? You guessed it. Reviews! Thanks again for reading. Love you and I mean it!