Alright this is a steamy one so; warning warning warning!
Great, now that that's out of the way...

LAST CHAPTER BEFORE THE STRIX BALL.
I am taking a little extra time with Ch 27 because I want it to be perfect, so I'm hoping the quick updates these past few days will keep you sated until it's time. I'm really looking forward to hearing what you think of the story so far because the reviews are really the best cure to writer's block. Whenever I feel lack of motivation as well as inspiration, I spend time reading your kind words and start to feel better about writing again.
Just wanted to let you know how much it means to me to hear from you guys.

Enjoy, xx.


Chapter 26: Be prepared to pay in blood

Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana

"What music do you listen to?"

"Almost all kinds; jazz, classical rock... There is this great symphony orchestrated by Bach that was never actually recorded; Elijah does a wonderful rendition of it."

Caroline rolled her eyes as the hybrid's answers to her list of questions had all been along the exact same lines. "Come on, is there really nothing modern that you like? Or even from the 2000s or the 90s? No N'SYNC or Britney?"

"Well, I suppose it happens every so often that I actually find the current bands somewhat competent after all." he chuckled.

"Don't tell me that everything was just so much better centuries ago." she teased in disbelief.

"Of course, not." he interjected. "There are a lot of aspects to the modern day that are far better. Antibiotics and vaccines for example, cars instead of horse drawn carriages, air-conditioning and indoor plumbing are also much superior to their earlier alternatives. Cell phones, the internet, Uber Eats… all pleasant inventions as well."

"Okay, fine." she laughed, accepting her refilled glass as the waiters had been quick to top them off constantly. Never leaving them without a drink. "Let's move on. Favorite food?"

"Well… That depends." he said, sinking into thought for a moment. " Pasta is great, but I would prefer it cooked authentically. Seafood is wonderful, but especially so when seasoned just right. And there is nothing wrong with a fine steak, as long as it is medium-rare, of course."

"Ok, ok. But what about burgers or pizza? Stuff like that? Or do you only do fine gourmet dining?"

"I don't mind such food at all. However, I don't necessarily eat that often, and so when I do – I prefer something that has had a little more effort put into it."

"Fair enough. Favorite drink?"

He pouted as he thought it over, tilting his head before he spoke. "Buffalo Trace makes some of the best bourbon I've ever had. Of course, there are very delectable scotches from the Glenmorangie family as well." he mused. "For wine, it would probably be a Côte de Nuits by Domaine Leroy - of any year really. The Appleton Estate if I favor some rum, preferably those aged 20 years or older."

"Well, at least they're legal." Caroline scoffed, earning a smirk from him.

"And lastly, champagne should always be a Krug or an Armand de Brignac."

"Of course, what else?" she mocked, making him chuckle.

"What about you, love?" he grinned, urging her to share her view as well.

"My taste probably isn't quite as elevated as yours." she pointed out with a chuckle. "But I don't know… I guess I've always liked red wine over white, beer isn't really my first choice at a bar but there are some exceptions… One thing that has still remained the exactly same since turning, is that I still like tequila way more than whiskey." she squinted at him teasingly as she went on.

"I don't really get the rest of you and your obsession with bourbon or scotch…" she mocked with a shaking head. "Give me a shot with lime and salt and I'm happy as can be."

He beamed at her and nodded determinedly. "Then I shall find the finest tequila ever made, just for you." he announced, making her laugh in response.

"And what if it's terrible?" she pressed, earning a shrug from him.

"Then we'll drown our sorrows in some rye whiskey instead." he quipped. "Perhaps you would start to enjoy it far more in the end."

She chuckled at that. "Deal." she agreed with a nod.

His smirk threatened to blind her as she watched him across the table, he took a breath before pointing a look to her then. "Any other questions, sweetheart?" he asked.

"Mm, yes." she replied quickly as she swallowed a sip of her wine and put her glass away. "All-time favorite artist?"

"The classics; Da Vinci, Monet, Pollock, Vermeer…" he mused with a waving hand. "Then there are some rather talented painters who did not always get the recognition they may have deserved. Such as Artemisia Gentileschi, JMW Turner, Paul Cézanne..." he explained casually, nodding to her with a smile. "What about you?"

"Oh, I'm not going to try and upstage the all-knowing Klaus Mikaelson in his own area of expertise." she scoffed as she raised her hands in gesture. "No, I think I'll keep that to myself."

He chuckled shortly before turning a gorgeous and heart-melting glance over the table. "Come on, love. Humor me." he chimed, making her bite her lip shortly as she took a breath and mulled it over.

"Fine." she sighed out in retreat. "Well, the obvious classics are of course everyone's classics. Frida Kahlo is really impressive and all of Monet's landscapes are plucked out daydreams." she shrugged shortly before she thought of a more specific example then.

"Actually, a while back, there was an exhibition at the Institute, with this artist that I'd never heard of before, Georgia O'Keeffe." she noted, studying him as he leaned closer and listened intently to her in return. "Her style was to paint flowers in a way that made you see something else. And well, there was this one painting that immediately drew me in from the second I stepped into the exhibit."

She glanced down at her glass as she thought it over, remembering the painting so clearly in her mind. How it had surprised her, impressed her. "I loved it before I even knew what it was." she beamed as she explained further.

"The deep red framing a stretch of lighter pastel colors, looking like the sun shining through dark and heavy curtains." she relayed as she thought back to it. "The intricate lines of the petals that created such depth and this silk-like texture to it… It just kind of opened up and swallowed you whole. It was captivating and moving and just really something else."

"Red Canna." he murmured with a smirk, making her raise a brow as she looked over at him in question. "I believe that was the painting you just described." he concluded, causing her to blink in surprise.

"Actually, yeah. How did you know that?" she pressed incredulously.

He grinned over at her, his eyes flickering with something enticing as he spoke. "I recognized it." he replied with a secretive little smirk on his lips. "I was never really a fan of floral motifs, but I agree that there was something about the perspectives she used that managed to speak to the viewer." he mused with a slow nod. "There was a similar painting of hers that played on the opposites of that particular piece. It acted as somewhat of the contrast, or the negative, to the Red Canna... I believe it was named Flower Abstraction in the end, and despite the less than extraordinary name, it did manage to catch my eye."

She snickered as she shook her head in an amusement, causing him to eye her closely as she did. "What?" he pushed, earning another snicker in response.

"That was my second favorite." she explained. A wide smile framed his face and made her absolutely melt inside, bringing her to lose focus for a moment as she took him in.

"There was actually a time where exhibits hesitated or even refused to showcase O'Keeffe's art in certain states." he crooned as he kept her gaze locked on his. "The way they captured feminine sensuality was apparently far too suggestive to allow for the public eye. It is still debated whether she had intended to insert such progressive messages within her art or if it was merely something that came about when others shared in it."

He touched something inside of her with his animated words, looking so engrossed and passionate about it that she couldn't help but smile.

"It likely only made matters worse that the artist was in fact a woman." he added with an amused snicker. "Imagine the scandal, art by a female painter which depicted passion, lust and the female sex?" he shook his head in a scoff. "I suppose they found it too provocative, at times even too erotic, to de facto count as art."

Caroline realized she was holding her breath, gulping it down as it suddenly felt really hot. Maybe the gazillion candles were starting to get to her? she shook her head shortly and took another sip of her wine as she tried to make her skin stop burning. She knew he had an interest in painting and she assumed that he had a lot of knowledge on the subject… But she hadn't imagined him to be so seductive and captivating as he spoke about it.

"Well, I believe you managed to upstage me after all, sweetheart." the hybrid smirked, turning her to face him again. "I always knew you had a keen eye, but your answer was… impressive."

She felt her face heat up as she smiled timidly. "I don't know anything about art, Klaus. I just said what I liked about it." she chuckled with a shrug.

He pursed his lips shortly at that. "I beg to differ." he interjected with an enchanting little smile. "I believe being able to describe what you admire about a painting is all one truly needs to know about art."

A warmth spread within her chest as she studied him, making her sigh as she decided that she needed some air or something. She stood up and walked over to the grand windows, eyeing the dark waters and the starry sky. Her mind raced as she battled with herself, folding her arms over her chest and drumming her fingers against her skin.

She was starting to worry about that little warmth in her chest, the flutter and joy she felt… It had become stronger, and much harder to ignore. And tonight, this evening, spending time with the hybrid and getting to know him better. Learning about his interests and thoughts on things… Hearing about his favorite memories, learning the best periods of time in his opinion, finding out that they suddenly had a lot of things in common. Slowly realizing that there was so much about him that she really liked.

It was starting to get dangerous; the way his grip on her only tightened with no sign of slowing down.

The vampire didn't even dare to think about it. To think about actually falling for him, to be in love with him. And at the same time, those little whispers in her mind kept nudging her and tugging at her heart… Asking her a question she didn't have the answer to quite yet; Haven't you already?

She had quickly realized how painful it was to act like they were strangers, to keep away from each other, to pretend that she was with Marcel. A horrible punch of anxiety hit her gut at the mere thought of doing it again. Caroline wasn't sure when, or how, but she knew for sure that whatever attraction had existed between her and Marcel was over. She had known ever since waking up in that bedroom, lost and tired… When all she had wanted was Klaus.

A hand touched her shoulder then and made her look back at Klaus as he held out her glass. "You are lost in thought again." he noted with something analyzing in his eyes that made her wonder if he actually knew exactly what she was thinking about.

She accepted the wine and sipped it, hoping to buy herself some time to clear the jumbled mess in her mind. "I'm just trying to figure it out." she murmured in a sigh.

"What?" he asked, making her glance back at him shortly.

"Me. You." she admitted. "Us."

His eyes carried something deep and intense as he chimed in. "Would you mind sharing your theory, then?" he pressed cautiously, shooting something painful into her chest as she sensed some fear in his voice. And she hated it.

Swallowing the rest of her wine then, she put the glass down by some side table and faced him with a furrowed expression. "I think…" she began with a stammering voice as she chuckled nervously. "I care about you, Klaus. A lot. And I think maybe we…" she sighed as she struggled to find the right words. "Maybe we should give each other an out, right now." she told him firmly, not daring to meet his eyes. "Before things get way too complicated. Before someone gets hurt."

"Do you want an out?" he pushed, causing her to turn to him with a desperate sigh.

"Do you?" she countered.

He closed his eyes in a frown shortly, putting his glass away and turning to her again. "Caroline." he sighed out as he reached for her face and stroked her sides softly. "You can't seriously mean that, after all this time, you still do not know how I feel about you?"

She pressed her lips into a firm line as she studied him closely, her heart breaking slightly as she saw the hurt on his face. "Maybe I just don't understand why."

"Why?" he echoed in confusion.

"Why me?" she clarified. "Why do you feel this way about me? Why do you think I'm something more than I am? Why on earth do you, who could have anything or anyone, you who have met the history's most interesting people and witnessed the most fascinating things… Why do you want me? What could I possibly give you that you can't find somewhere else?"

He shook his head slightly as he drilled his eyes into her, his thumbs brushing over her cheeks and making her lean into the touch contentedly. "Why?" he repeated, earning a nod from her before he continued. "Caroline, I…" he sighed as he frowned slightly, seemingly in complete disbelief as he eyed her closely.

"I think you are this most incredible being I have ever met." he said then with a firm and steady tone as if trying to push it into her head. "I think you are breathtaking and absolutely magnificent in every way. I have yet to find anything about you that does not mesmerize me." he smiled softly as his eyes roamed over her features, leaning closer as he brushed her hair back and stroked her jaw.

"I have gotten glimpses at your heart and am taken aback by the strength and light within it. I see more and more of that beautiful soul of yours every day and am blown away by your kindness and compassion. I am constantly floored by your intelligence, your empathy, your humor and your utterly brilliant mind…" he mused softly, the affection in his voice and his eyes reaching in and gripping the blonde's heart.

"All of which work to solidify my belief; that there is no one like you, Caroline." he concluded, sighing deeply before continuing. "But as to why?" he breathed out, his gaze focusing on her unbelieving eyes. He leaned in closer and brushed his lips over hers in a tender kiss, moving delicately as she reciprocated with a soft sigh. Savoring the feeling that washed over her, the tremor in her heart and the delightful fervor that passed through her body.

"That is why." he whispered, bringing her to look up at his beautiful face with awe. Taking in the extraordinary man before her, this powerful being who had lived for centuries and experienced all that the world has to offer - he found her special. She had never known anyone to feel that way about her. She was the girl who never got to be someone's first choice. She was either not smart enough, or pretty enough, or good enough. And now, this man, he was trying to tell her the exact opposite? It didn't make any sense.

But when he watched her with such genuine eyes, the softest look on his face she'd seen before and as his hands cradled her head like she was a rare and invaluable artefact… She actually started to believe him; That maybe, this time, she was everything that someone wanted.

In that moment, she couldn't bear another second of not kissing him. She leaned in with everything she had, pushing him back and pinning him against the glass beside them. Her lips meeting his in a searing and marvelous kiss, trying to convey what his words meant to her. Her hands grabbed onto his neck and pulled at his hair, fighting to get close enough to him. To sate the need in her to make him understand how he made her feel.

He grabbed onto her thighs and hoisted her up, the window hitting her back suddenly as she wrapped her legs around him. She gasped softly as he thrust into her, running her hands over his neck and under his shirt in search for more skin. A grunt escaped him as she dragged her nails over his shoulders and back, trying to get him even closer.

The wind moved as he flashed them away, she didn't know where until she was suddenly thrown onto a mattress. He stood over her, panting heavily as his eyes roamed her body for a moment. She could barely breathe in response as his gaze felt like a heated caress across her skin. The bed dipped as he leaned down with his hands on either side of her face, moving towards her slowly before his lips connected with hers again. She pulled him closer by his collar, her fingers running through his hair as she smiled into the kiss in content.

Quickly, she spun them around and watched him with hooded eyes from where she straddled his waist. He gripped her hips as she slowly lifted the dress above her head and tossed it away. His hands followed the contours of her body, drawing a silent moan from her as she leaned back and reveled in his touch. He ran his fingers down her neck and brushed his way over her clavicle. Stroking her chest slowly, tracing the lace that covered her tenderly. Then he sat up and caught her mouth in a hard kiss, tugging at her hair as he spun them again and pinned her down with his weight.

She smiled blissfully as his lips took over the caresses, nibbling over her throat as his hands trailed over her bare legs from ankle to hip. He sat back slightly and studied her with fire in his eyes as his touch ventured over her abdomen. A hand brushing by the valley of her breasts as he gripped the bra then and ripped it straight off. The impressive move was quickly overshadowed by his hands as they resumed sparking fire over her chest. His nails scratched against her skin, earning a soft whimper in response as he brushed over her hard nipples. The calloused palms followed her body lower, reaching her underwear and pulling them off in a flash.

Returning to her body quickly, his lips traveled over her chest as one hand slowly moved to her wet core. His teeth nipped over her throat and towards her ear as a pair of fingers finally pressed against her slick folds. She inhaled a sharp breath in return, her body so sensitive and ready for him that she thought she would explode. His hand moved too slow for her liking, making her grind against him in search for added friction. A smirk was evident against her jaw as his lips moved over her, clearly pleased with her reaction.

He sped up his movements, swirling over her clit with his thumb as his mouth reached her chest in hard kisses before he ran his tongue against her stiff nipple. She arched her back into him as he teased her further, his free hand finding her other breast and circling her peak between his thumb and index-finger. A strangled sound escaped her in reaction to his movements, feeling like he was touching her everywhere at once as her body lit up with tingles of pleasure. Holding onto him for dear life, she dug her nails into his back and arched up against his chest. Feeling the turning in her lower gut as she neared her climax, her gasps becoming sharper as she rocked her hips against his hand.

Sensing her being close, he moved his thumb faster over her sensitive bead of nerves as he scratched his teeth over her breast and pinched her other nipple. She came right then, the explosion feeling like fireworks that spread through her muscles. His name on her lips as she gasped at her sweet release. She relished in the waves of pleasure as she convulsed underneath him, her entire body tensing and relaxing with each new pulse.

The high was prolonged as he eased his pressure against her core, drawing slower strokes with his fingers. He leaned back and took in her reaction, as she shuddered and twisted under his touch. She breathed heavily, a smile of awe on her lips as she started to come down from the climax. Meeting his observing eyes then, she inhaled sharply at the intense look in them before she grabbed him by the back of his head and pulled his lips to hers.

She panted into the heated kiss, suddenly dying to hold him close as her entire body seemed to need him. He pulled back with a soft peck against her jaw before he moved off her and began undressing. As her heartbeat returned to normal, she glanced up at the man with hooded eyes. Finding him so terribly and painstakingly beautiful as he gazed down at her with warm eyes. Hers took in his bare torso, the tattoo by his shoulder and the necklaces hanging against his chest. Wondering shortly if he was in fact an angel, and not some thousand-year-old Original hybrid with a death toll unimaginably high.

A smirk slowly formed on his perfect face as he met her heavy eyes, making her sit up on her knees and reaching for him then. "Drop the smugness or I'll wipe it off you." she challenged darkly as she ran her palms over his chest and down to unbuckle his belt.

"Yes, love." he chimed in amusement as she took off his pants with a sultry smile. Reaching up to his face, she leaned in and kissed him deeply before pulling him down with her. She quickly turned them over, straddling his waist and stopping for a moment as she took him in.

Her heart fluttered violently as she met his sparkling eyes, smirking widely as she ran her hands over him. "You're kind of incredible, you know that?" she chimed. A disbelieving and absolutely awestricken expression covered his face, making her bite her lip as she fought an incredulous laughter in return.

She bent down and pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss, pulling back just slightly as she wanted to glance at him one more time. Her chest swelled with warmth as they shared a smile before she leaned in again. The kiss turned heated, causing her to rock her hips over his and earning a groan in response from the hybrid.

A triumphant smirk formed her face as she repeated the motion, rubbing against his boxers teasingly. His hands grabbed onto her waist, digging his fingers into her flesh as she continued to test his patience. Leaning down to his jaw, she brought her lips to explore his neck. Nibbling at his skin and running her hands over his arms, moving to his chest and abdomen.

Reaching his groin, she lowered her head and placed bruising kisses along his sternum as her hands worked to undress him fully. Her palms brushed over his thighs as she slowly brought a hand to finally grab his shaft. He drew a long hiss through clenched teeth as she stroked him. Growing rock hard in her grip as she looked up and met his dark gaze. His face twisted lightly as he watched her, leaning back and groaning as she sped up her movement.

She swirled a finger over his sensitive tip, spreading the little white liquid before leaning down to replace her hand with her mouth. His eyes quickly focused on her again as she brought her lips to the tip of him. Her hand covered the rest of his length as she began to dip her head lower. Taking him into her mouth gradually and smiling to herself as she watched his heaving chest in response.

Bobbing and stroking his cock in deliberate and steady motions, she hit against the back of her throat when bending down and swirled her tongue over his tip as she came up again. Enjoying his dark features as he followed her movements with hazy eyes and parted lips. She began to take more of him, causing him to grit his teeth every time she advanced further down his length.

Just as she pulled away to kiss his sides, he had suddenly spun them around and pinned her beneath him again. Caging her hands above her head as he gazed down at her with sultry eyes. "You are dangerously good at that, love." he muttered with a smirk, kissing her lips gently as he continued. "And I have waited far too long for this to end so soon."

She grinned as he placed another tender kiss to her lips, the soft motion driving her insane as she wanted more. "So, what are you waiting for now?" she breathed out, glancing up at him with a pointed expression. "I am nowhere near done with you."

"You best not be, Caroline." he told her with a firm nod, bringing a hand to spread her legs as he settled between them. "Or I fear I would not have the strength to recover from it."

She had no time to ponder what he meant, as he guided his member against her opening and entered her slowly. Emptying her mind as she leaned back in an elated smile, taking a deep breath as she struggled against his hold on her wrists. "Klaus." she whispered as she pleaded with him to let her touch him.

He pulled out of her before thrusting right back in again, starting a painfully sweet rhythm as his eyes locked on her face. Rocking her hips in response as she tried to regain some of the control, wanting to make him as desperate as she felt then. A little smile covered his features as he seemed to read her mind then. "Reigns, Caroline." he murmured, repeating the request he'd made to her earlier that day.

"I need more." she sighed out in reply.

"I know." he whispered against her lips. "And you will have it." he promised as he started to push into her a little harder. "This once, however…" he continued with a dark smirk. "Let me make sure you never doubt my affections for you again."

A groan fell off her lips as the need for him grew, meeting his intense gaze with a smile. "This once." she agreed as she found herself not minding it after all. She enjoyed the thought of him taking over to bask in his effects on her. "You better make it count." she chimed with a grin as he smiled in return.

Something incredible flickered in his eyes at her words before he swiftly sat back with her in his lap, balancing against a hand behind him. Reaching deeper into her with every thrust as she hung onto his neck, following his pace as she bounced on top of him in return.

The possessive expression on his face made her moan silently as she felt like she was glimpsing at that alpha wolf in him. She tossed her head back slightly and reveled in how incredible he felt, his mouth left wet kisses over her throat and neck as he savored her pleasure. It was all she could do not to lose it right away, his length stretching her out and hitting her in all the right places. His hands gripping and stroking her everywhere. The soft grunts he let out against her skin.

Before she knew it, the pressure was building again within her. Her mouth hanging open lightly as she got lost in him and his body. The tempo accelerated and his angle tweaked lightly as she breathed out wanton sounds and incoherent words.

"Oh... Klaus, I... Ah..." she whimpered as she felt herself near the edge again. He sped up even more then, making her dig her nails into his shoulders as he murmured sweet words into her ear.

"Go on, love. Let me feel your exquisite walls clench around me." he whispered huskily as he urged her to reach her climax. "I crave it. I adore it."

Oh my god, she thought to herself. Possibly uttered it too. She didn't know. She was absolutely under his control then, his words sweeping over her in pleasurable waves while his body lightened the spark to her pending explosion.

His teeth nipped at her neck, his hot breath hitting her skin as he continued to rile her up. "Let me bask in you, Caroline." he murmured hoarsely. "Let me see your skin glow as you fall apart before my eyes."

Further curse words rolled out of her at their own will as she had never quite felt such a level of pressure before, nearly afraid for it to give as she thought she just might leave her body at the impact. The force threatened to tear her apart as she felt it nudging her then, begging to reach it as she didn't know how much more she could take.

"Now, Caroline." he bit out firmly, the determination behind the request sending a thrill through her. Enough to finally break the pressure inside of her as she let out clipped breaths and gasps. A long shudder coursing through her as she gritted her teeth and drowned in the release.

Her muscles vibrated with it as she lost all control of her body, not sure if it was even there anymore as she floated along the waves. Her heart beat violently against her ribs, allowing the sensation to flow through her quickly with each pulse. A shiver hitting her with each as he slowed down his movements, allowing her body to recover as she still felt the aftershocks making her want to writhe and twist in delight.

When her eyes met his again, he looked like he had seen something unbelievable. Awe and disbelief on his face, his hands holding her tightly while she rocked into the last few tremors. Sighing in content as they stretched out and calmed down, allowing her to breathe normally again. It hadn't been that powerful before, and she wasn't just what it was that had made for it this time. All she could do was stare at him in amazement for having caused it at all.

She pushed him back into the mattress then, deciding it was time for her to take the reigns again. Kissing him wildly as her hands roamed over him, his hard length pressed against her thigh as he hadn't finished yet himself. The feeling of it making her shiver as she already started to need him again. And again and again...

Gosh, how on earth had she gotten up off the wooden floor and left him behind all those years ago?

"It's gonna be pretty impossible to forget that anytime soon." she breathed out against his lips, earning a triumphant smile from him in response. Positioning herself on top of him, she sat down and felt him stretch her again, she gasped into the kiss as his lips separated in a moan.

He shivered shortly before thrusting into her hard, his hands gripping her hips firmly as he held her in place. "Bloody hell, Caroline. You'll be the death of me." he hissed sharply.

"I better." she teased against his ear, but her smile faltered as she moved over him in a delicious pace that brought them both to grunts and moans. He allowed her the control of their rhythm as he guided her hips in her movements.

Having suddenly found the perfect angle, he brought a hand to slap her ass in anguish and earned a gasp from her in response. "Exactly there, love... Mmh..." he whispered softly to her. The combination of his accent and the roughness in his tone made his words even more erotic. She stared down at him with hooded eyes, wanting to take in every expression on his face.

He must have had the same idea because their eyes met and in a fast reflex, they crashed into each other in another fiery kiss. The pace fastening then, both of them fighting for control and release as their hands explored the other. He sat up quickly and she held onto his shoulders as he guided him over her. She kissed him deeply before leaning back with a sigh as she reveled in him, his hands kneaded her thighs and breasts as he murmured sweet nothings into her throat and ear.

Then she was suddenly shattering again. In the haze, she leaned over and kissed his neck, squirming in delight as he kept thrusting into her deeper while he chased his own release. She wasn't sure when her fangs had appeared, but suddenly she was biting into his neck hard enough to pierce his skin and his intoxicating blood filled her mouth. The bite was enough to tip him over his cliff, he let out a guttural cry as he fell apart then. It made her whole body pulsate and shiver, a deep grunt escaping her as he bit into her shoulder in return.

If she hadn't already, she would have shattered into pieces right then. But all she could manage was a whimper of his name against his skin. The blood sharing was intense, she felt his pleasure and need as the slightest twinge of venom burned her skin. Her whole body echoed it, vibrating as if she was experiencing it all from both perspectives. There was no doubt in her mind that he in turn felt the aftereffects of her orgasms, waves of pleasure still flowing off of her as he sucked harder at her wound. Tiny little bonus shivers washed over her, setting her nerves off like sparks as she marveled in the high. The rush. The intimacy.

He let go first, licking her skin and kissing her neck while she pulled back from him as well. They spun then, lying down as she looked up at him with a blissful smile. His weight covering her as he gazed down at her in turn. Their lips met in a bloody kiss, tongues swirling and tormenting as he rubbed her legs while they were still circled around his waist. The kiss turned gentle and sweet, leaving a beaming smile on her face as he pecked softly at her lips before pulling away.

His arm wrapped around her torso as he settled on top of her, his face buried into her chest. She braided her fingers through his hair and held him close to her heart. Their panting breaths the only sounds for a long moment as they lied there and slowly returned to earth together. Her fingers trailed down his spine softly, she felt a smile press into her skin from him in response and grinned in return as she marveled in just having him there. In touching him, holding him, admiring him.

She brought her hand to her mouth and gasped as the reality suddenly hit her. "I probably shouldn't have done that." she whispered, somehow still unable to regret it while the sweet taste of his blood lingered on her tongue.

His head shot up as he looked at her with a furrowed face but smiled when he understood what she had referred to. "I certainly didn't mind..." he whispered, running his thumb over her bloodied lips softly. She caught it between her teeth and nibbled playfully, earning a lustful smirk from him then.

"Careful, sweetheart. It is not nice to tease." he said, making her giggle before he leaned forward and kissed her warmly.

He pulled back to lie beside her, bringing her with him as she remained in his arms. She let out a content sigh and leaned into his neck. His hands traced lazy patterns on her back, reminding her of the scars she had initially had there. But now they were healing and fading off her skin.

"That's going to generate some questions." she pointed out, feeling him nod beneath her.

"It was worth it, though." he murmured into her hair, laying a kiss on top of her head.

"Yeah." she said, a shy smirk creeping onto her face. "It kinda was, actually."

He chuckled then, his chest rumbling under her in response. "Only kind of? I must have gotten rusty, then."

She giggled and pulled back to study his lit-up face. "Not at all." she promised, meeting his lips in a soft kiss before leaning back against his shoulder again. Closing her eyes as she let out a content sigh and relaxed in his arms. "I hope this means you will actually sleep tonight." she chimed.

"We'll see." he murmured softly, making her roll her eyes.

"And here I was thinking that I had managed to tire you out, Nik." she teased, earning a warm laugh from him then.

"I must admit, I'll surely grow quite fond of you calling me that if you continue at this pace." he mused, making her fight a bright grin on her face.

"Well, that just ruins the whole point." she snickered in retort.

"And what point might that be, Caroline?" he said that self-assured smirk audible in his cheeky tone.

"To get on your nerves, of course."

"Ah, so that is a favorable past-time of yours then? Provoking me?"

"Favorite." she concluded gleefully before nestling closer into him, nuzzling her face in the crook of his neck.

"Does this mean you will now stop calling me that?" he crooned, making her giggle softly.

"We'll see." she said, turning him to chuckle at her mimicked reply.


A few days ago
New Orleans, Louisiana

The door closed with a bang as she rushed through the library, heading straight to the antique cabinet and reaching for the metal box on the highest shelf. Taking a seat by the desk overrun with stacks of books and journals, she took out the crystal and held it in her hands.

"Inlumno." she whispered, watching it as it lit up before her then. "You could have told me that others would come here looking for it." she muttered exasperatedly.

"I'm not clairvoyant, darling." the voice replied through the crystal. "I can only tell you what I know in the present."

"Well, that's great." she scoffed, leaning into her hands in a deep sigh. "What do I do now?"

"Perhaps you should tell her?" he replied. "I have met this Bonnie Bennett in the past, she is a gifted young witch with an abundance of potential… She doesn't deserve such a dark fate."

"You know where she is?" she drawled slowly, glaring at the stone then.

"No, I'm afraid not." he sighed out. "She passes through here every now and then, I have tried to reach her but there truly seems to be something shielding her from the rest of us."

"Well, as long as she's still alive, I don't see any point in telling them yet." she interjected firmly.

"Davina, she is here for far longer with each passing. She cannot have much time left."

"And I'm sorry about that, I really am!" the witch clamored desperately. "But we didn't come this far to give up now. Everything is set up. The Dawning is coming. We are going through with the plan."

"That's it then?" he countered, tugging at something within her chest. "You are going to turn your back on an innocent in pain because of his plan?"

"His plan brings you back." she hissed out. "I am not giving that up for some stranger."

"What if I told you that this is not Bonnie Bennett's first time in the veil?" he pressed, filling her stomach with knots of guilt. "What if I told you that she has sacrificed her life for the people she loves over and over again? Do not tell me that your soul has already darkened to the point where you cannot feel sympathy for a fellow witch!"

"Kol." she gritted out, shaking her head profusely. "I can't tell her."

"Why the bloody hell not!?"

"You know why!" she cried in response. "You were the one who told me about their history in the first place. I can't risk her telling him about the dagger. She will bring the whole plan down."

"I can speak with Nik, I can reason with him -" he began before she cut him off.

"He won't care about saving you! If Klaus finds out that there is something out there that can kill him, he will destroy it without a second thought. Everything and everyone else be damned."

"Which is why I didn't tell them what we know." the third voice made her freeze up as she turned to the source with a dark frown.

"You didn't?" she pressed incredulously.

"No, I only told them about the ball." the man confirmed with a set face. "But we need to work faster now, before they start catching on."

She nodded shortly, glancing at the crystal with a sigh. "What do we tell them?"

"The basics." the distant voice replied. "Confirm what they already have, perhaps throw them a bone too… nothing more. I was never a fan of the older Salvatore anyhow; I wouldn't mind him struggling for a little while longer."

"Then it's settled." she concluded, turning to the vampire beside her with a sad smile, it mirrored on his face in return. "We go through with the plan as discussed. After the Dawning, we can tell them the truth about the Candle."


Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana

Caroline took in the sun rising over the water with an amazed face, Klaus' arms around her as he held her against his chest. They stood by the large windows and took in the view in silence. And for a moment, everything was perfect.

He kissed her neck softly, the sheet around her body barely covering her bare skin. The vivid colors before them were entrancing, the deep red sky slowly brightening over the dark sea. Birds flying over them, leaving small shadows in the waters. There was barely any wind or waves, causing the surface to remain so still that Caroline could have sworn it was all just a picture or painting instead.

"It's breath-taking." she whispered, earning a nod from him against her cheek as his eyes studied her.

"I couldn't have said it better myself." he said, making her giggle coyly.

She turned in his arms, the sheet held up between their close bodies as she looked into his sparkling eyes. "I wish we could stay like this."

"What's stopping you?" he asked, smirking at her and nearly breaking her heart as the gorgeous colors splayed over his face and made him the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. His eyelashes drew tiny dark lines under those incredible eyes of his, the color in them shifting from blue to gray as they mixed in with the green. The sweet lips looked plush and inviting with a raspberry hue to them, his skin glowed and a slow grin spread over his face.

For one second, she thought she just might love this beautiful and extraordinary man in front of her.

"Reality." she sighed as she finally answered him then, still taking him in as more light began to fill the cabin. He leaned over to her forehead, pressing a kiss to her skin before wrapping his arms tighter around her covered body.

"Then, my love, let's make sure to enjoy it for as long as we can." he said softly, making her frown lightly in agreement. When they returned to land, they would have to go back to acting like strangers. To her constantly being by Marcel's side... To them tiptoeing around Lucien while issuing their plan...

His words rang slowly in her mind, spreading like an echo in her head as it repeated over and over again... My love, that was the second time now. It made her heart swell with affection, only to be followed by dread building deep in her stomach. She wasn't sure why, but she was suddenly scared.

"What are you thinking of, Caroline?" he whispered, nudging her softly so that he could study her face.

"How I don't want to go back to Marcel's." she admitted, it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the full truth either.

"This we both share then, I can't possibly say that I look forward to you taking up that rouse again." he stroked her arms softly, his hands making her exposed skin burn and tingle in response as he sighed. "I will miss you."

"What, tonight wasn't enough?" she teased, a smirk meeting her in response.

"Never." he said, bringing her face to his and kissing her lips. "I couldn't possibly get enough of you."

She kissed him softly, leaning back and biting her lip as she started to feel nervous again. He tilted her chin as he eyed her closely, a furrowed expression over his features as she sighed. "I'm worried." she admitted.

"About?" he pressed, making her frown as her mind raced in response.

Letting you in.

Losing you.

Loving you.

You leaving me.

The thoughts flew through her head, but she refused to utter any of it. "Just... Getting through all of this intact." she finally said.

"You're afraid of getting hurt." he guessed, making her nod in response.

"Yes." she admitted. Just not in the way you think.

"I will protect you." he promised with a serious look in his eye.

"I know you will." she sighed.

But who will protect you? The answer hit her as she suddenly realized it; her. She would protect him. She was in far too deep now, there was no way she'd let anything happen to him; she couldn't bear it. She was going to keep him safe, however she possibly could.

"Caroline, what is troubling you so?" he asked, his eyes searching her face closely.

Nothing. Everything. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just hungry, or tired." she said, sighing as the worry on his face refused to go away.

"Hmm..." he murmured shortly before kissing her as she stroked his cheek. "Let's find you some food then."

"Actually..." she chimed, looking up at him with a sultry smile. Backing away from his body then and letting the sheet fall off of her. "I had something else in mind."

The fire dancing in his eyes and the incredible smile on his face pulled her in forcefully then. She kissed him hard, pushing him to follow her towards the adjoining bathroom as her hands traveled over his arms and back.

He chuckled against her lips as he quickly caught on and let them indulge some more. Leading her towards a large double-shower and picking her up by her thighs. Pinning her to the tile work on the wall as her legs circled over his hips. The cold surface eliciting a gasp from her before he turned the faucet on, steaming water suddenly covering the two then.

Meeting his hungry eyes, she broke from the kiss and watched him intently. Parting her lips in a breathy moan as he directed his hard length against her folds and entered smoothly. She dragged her nails over the back of his head, down his neck and between his shoulder blades. Earning low groans from him as he shivered lightly in response.

She felt her face change and smiled as his did as well, mirroring her with his golden eyes and hybrid fangs. And in the moment, she had to fight that ridiculous thought from escaping her mouth, having abruptly begun to feel the crushing realization in her heart again. But she blamed the hormones, the lustful haze, his incredible lips or even the way he was looking at her - like she was the moon and the stars and the whole fucking universe.

Pushing that feeling far out of her mind, she instead nibbled on his lower lip. Sighing in delight as a little blood pierced through the sensitive skin and pulling him into a wild kiss then. One mixed with the delicious tastes of both him and his blood. His tongue demanding access to hers as his hips kept a sweet and slow tempo while thrusting into her. Causing her to feel every single inch of him as he stretched her wet and pulsating core, filling her deeply every time.

It was both agonizing and incredible, and she thought it framed the two of them perfectly as they got lost in each other again. Shutting everything else out and only focusing on their chests rubbing close together, their breaths turning into moans and grunts, their bodies fitting perfectly while enveloped by the pouring hot water.

Nothing else existed, and Caroline relished in it. Wanting to stretch it out, prolong it as long as possible. Etch it into every fiber of her being, tuck it away in her mind and save it somewhere deep in her soul. Trying to immortalize the feeling so that she could relive it forever.


One year ago
New Orleans, Louisiana

Her mind raced as she sat behind the wheel in silence, having arrived long ago but not quite ready to step out of the car yet. Because as soon as she did, she would have to lie to everyone around her. Go behind their backs. Scheme without their knowledge.

She had to, there was no other way for her to get everything she needed for the ritual. If Marcel found out what she was doing, he would tell Klaus and the hybrid would probably kill her. If Josh found out, he would tell Marcel. If Freya found out, she would tell Elijah who in turn would tell Klaus.

Everything, all of it, lead back to the Original hybrid. And she had no chance of succeeding in bringing Kol back if he knew what she needed to do. What she needed to get…

"Davina?" The witch flinched as she stared over at Josh's furrowed expression. "I didn't realize you were back already. Didn't you say you would be there the whole weekend?"

"No, I… I decided to come home earlier." she stammered with an anxious smile as she stepped out then, handing the keys to the vampire. "Thank you for the loan."

"Don't mention it." he smiled kindly, his eyes scanning her as she got her bag out of the backseat. "You okay?" he pressed, making her stiffen as she turned towards him again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged, raising a brow as she began walking with him through the garage. "I thought you looked upset, that's all."

"Nope, not upset. Just had a long drive." she chimed with a nonchalant sigh. "I'm kind of tired, I guess."

"You sure?" he drawled, tugging at her elbow as his eyes met hers in a pointed look.

"I'm fine, Josh." she smiled. "I promise."

Nodding slowly in response, he glanced back and smiled at her. "I would love to catch up, but I was heading out to run an errand for Marcel. He's coming back tonight."

"Right." she said with a thoughtful pout. "Why don't we have dinner together then? I'll cook."

He chuckled and shook his head at that. "I'll cook. You can bring dessert." he snickered.

"Alright, sounds great." she smirked. "Actually, you don't happen to still have that Strix registry at home, do you?"

"I think so." he drawled. "Feel free to check for it, let me know if it isn't there and I'll ask Marcel if he's seen it."

She nodded with a relieved smile at him. "Great, thanks. See you tonight."

"Later." he smiled, squeezing her shoulder attentively before turning away.

Gulping hard, she watched him pick up a phone as he disappeared through the garage then. She took a determined breath before heading to the elevator, riding it to their joint floor where the friends had recently become neighbors. Walking through the hallway and towards his door, taking out her spare key and entering Josh's apartment with a hesitant frown on her face.

Her eyes scanned the open space of the living room. Trying to figure out where the vampire might have kept the books he'd borrowed from Marcel as he went over some stuff about the Strix a while back. She moved towards the bookshelves by the far end, going through the different labels and backs of the contents. Her gaze caught on a framed photograph from a few years ago, her and Josh at the beach in Cannes as Marcel had finally invited them to go with him on his business trips for once.

They had lived in a studio apartment for a week while the older vampire ran around southern France in search for possible Strix recruits. But they hadn't really cared, because they had each other. They tried authentic escargots and practiced their New Orleans French with the locals, they spent their nights going out to bars on the Riviera and visiting museums during the day.

It was one of her favorite memories with her friend, the man who had turned into more of a brother than she'd ever expected. But now, when she looked at their salt-water hair and bright smiles as they sat drinking umbrella drinks in the sand… Now, it felt like a knife to her heart.

You don't have to do this, Davina… Kol's words echoed in her mind as she swallowed down her guilt and averted her eyes. We can find another way, he'd told her.

But they both knew it wasn't true. This was their only chance. She had to do it.

Noticing the old leather folder then, she reached for it and checked the inscription quickly to confirm her find. Nodding to herself, she took the registry with her and left for her apartment. Not feeling comfortable betraying her friends, the only family she had ever really had, in one of their own homes.


Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana

Leaving Klaus at the marina in the morning had nearly broken Caroline's heart. Her arms didn't want to listen as she tried to pull away from him. His hands spread warmth across her face, neck, back. Making it difficult to leave when all she wanted was to stay. Even getting dressed had been tough, as every time they tried to step out of their cabin, they would find yet another reason to forget about everything else and hide away. Ending up back in bed and working to prolong the morning further.

It seemed as something truly had changed between them now. It wasn't just some old connection between long-time acquaintances. It wasn't all mere remnants of past feelings. There wasn't simply an attraction drawing them to each other. No, there was more, and she wasn't sure whether that scared or delighted her.

The entire way back from the yacht had passed in some strange blur. Her body had ached for her to turn around as she'd forced herself to keep walking forward. She could barely understand how she'd reached her hotel, unsure how her legs had carried her there despite her heart constantly pulling at her to go back.

She took a quick rinse in the shower, changed her clothes and begun drying her hair when she noticed her phone ringing. A smile made its way to her lips before even checking it and grew wider as she saw several missed calls from her newest contact.

Quickly redialing, she put it on speaker as she returned to brush her hair. "Finally!" the voice came through as Klaus picked up, drawing a chuckle from her in response.

"What, did I leave you waiting for too long?" she chimed.

"Terribly so." he sighed out. "You cannot torture a man this way, Caroline, it is simply not proper."

"Oh, no." she sighed out dramatically as she retorted, mimicking his accent then. "I apologize deeply, lord Mikaelson. I did not realize how unladylike I have been acting, I promise I will adjust my behavior in the future." she mocked, earning a hoarse laughter from him then.

Switching off the theatrical voice as she continued in amusement. "You really do show hints of your real age every now and then, you know."

"And I'm sorry to say, your dialect needs some work." he countered cheekily,

"I'm sure it'll be indistinguishable to yours once I've spent a little more time with all you Mikaelson's."

"I suppose you'll need to stay close then." he crooned. "How else will you advance without first-hand access to authentic sources such as myself?"

She glanced over at the mirror before her and was shortly taken aback by the glowing look on her face. Shaking her head, she grabbed the phone and brought it out of the bathroom. "What are you doing?" she asked as she grabbed her make-up bag.

"What are you wearing?" his reply made her scoff out in surprise.

"Klaus!" she squealed in feigned outrage, a grin nearly splitting her face in two as she listened to him chuckle on the other line.

"What? Were you not requesting phone-sex?" he quipped.

She laughed at that, shaking her head as she bit her lip defiantly. "No, I wasn't."

"That's a shame." he teased the smirk clear through his voice.

"Is that all you think about? How to get me naked?"

"Oh, yes. Why waste time thinking of anything else?" he replied teasingly, making her bite back a laugh. "Especially after last night, and this morning..."

A giggle escaped her as she lied back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Wearing a grin on her face to match the butterflies in her stomach. She exhaled deeply, closing her eyes as she brought the phone to her ear and imagined his smirking face. "I miss you." she sighed out.

"Already? Well, this must be some type of record." he retorted, making her roll her eyes and snicker in response before he spoke again, his voice lower and softer then. "I should be given awards for my self-control, Caroline. If I had it my way, we'd still be out on the vast sea. And I would continue to claim each and every part of you as mine."

"You and all this 'mine' business." she scoffed playfully. "I never realized before how possessive you really are."

"Fortunately for me, you don't seem to mind." he countered, making her bite her lip to avoid a wide grin. "Tell me, love; How exactly am I supposed to go on with my day when I am still engrossed with these exquisite and decidedly tempting memories in my mind?"

"Hmm…" she hummed as she rolled to the side and held the phone closer. "Well, they're meant to keep you company when I can't." she chimed, sighing as she glimpsed the time on her screen then. "Especially today. There's so much to be done before tomorrow night."

"Are you meeting with Marcel soon?" he asked, not sounding too happy about the question.

"Yeah, he's supposed to pick me up for a coffee date." she sighed out, partly wishing she could skip it.

"How is 'drinking coffee' a date?" Klaus sneered softly; the hints of jealousy evident as she frowned in response.

"I don't know, it just is." she shrugged.

"I would have flown us off to Italy, it is dinner time there."

She sighed as she shook her head at that. "Well, we can't all be Klaus Mikaelson; the world-class romantic." she chimed, drawing a scoff from him in return.

"I can't say I've ever heard those words used in the same sentence before, sweetheart."

"Don't play oblivious." she teased. "Some would call you quite the charmer."

"You included?" he purred.

"How else did you win me over?"

"I guessed it was the healing capabilities of my blood. That or the hot vampire-hybrid-sex."

She snorted out a laugh at that. "Wow. You're quite full of yourself, aren't you?"

"Well, you're resounding compliments and sweet words sure do encourage a man's ego, my love."

There it was again... Three now.

"Hey, you never told me how you managed to arrange the whole yacht stay-over without Lucien finding out." she mused curiously.

"I had a friend pay him a visit." he replied, the nonchalance sounding a little strange to her.

"Really? Who?" she pressed, noticing a short silence pass that seemed like hesitation. Something that only confused her more.

"Camille O'Connell." he replied. "She used to be involved in the factions of the French Quarter some time ago. So, I asked if she would do me a favor and keep Lucien distracted for a while."

Camille, she echoed in her head. Why did that sound familiar?

A knock on her door drew her attention away from him, she frowned shortly as she realized she needed to hang up. "Time for coffee." she murmured, genuinely displeased with her own words as she did.

"I heard." he noted, sounding just as disappointed himself. "Now I really do wish we had stayed on the boat."

"Me too." she sighed as she got up and headed to the door. Opening it and revealing Marcel with a charming smile on his face.

"Morning, Care." he chimed sweetly, leaning in and pressing a peck to her cheek. Just as he did, a snicker came through the other end of the call.

"What did I tell you about keeping your distance?" he muttered, sure the other man would hear.

Marcel rolled his eyes as he stepped into the room. "Hello to you too, Klaus." he replied cheekily. "You look absolutely incredible, Caroline. But are you sure about going out to coffee naked?"

She stared at him as she could not only hear the hybrid clench his teeth but could also imagine the dangerous scowl on his face. "Very funny." she hissed at the vampire, punching at his shoulder as she turned away.

"Ignore him." she sighed out as she focused on Klaus again. "We'll probably be done with the last details of the planning later this afternoon, and I'll be back at the hotel right after. Make me company tonight?" she crooned.

"Can I join?" Marcel mocked then, bringing her to grab a vase from the dresser and lunge it towards his head. He ducked and gaped at the splinters of ceramic on the floor. "I was kidding!" he protested as she pointed a finger at him in warning.

"Do me a favor, love." Klaus muttered in response. "Rip out his tongue for me, will you?"

She frowned, sighing as she looked away again. "Counteroffer." she chimed. "Marcel gets to keep all his limbs intact, and in return…" she mused with pouted lips before an idea came to mind. "There is this little red silk piece in my suitcase that just barely counts as actual clothing. Highly unproper for sure... Would likely put the Red Canna to shame."

"I reckon I could agree to such terms." he quipped, making her smirk in reply. "Enjoy your coffee, Caroline."

A chuckle escaped her as she shook her head in entertainment. "See you tonight."

"I'll be awaiting the reward for my compliance." he purred, making her grin widely. "Preferably before my patience runs out or I may be forced to snatch you away from that newly-made friend you seem so keen on protecting."

"Don't make me revoke your award." she teased, earning a chuckle in response that warmed her heart.

"Goodbye, my love." he beamed, bringing another set of butterflies to her stomach then. Four now.

"Bye." she chimed before hanging up. Turning to the vampire across the room with narrowed eyes. "Not a word!" she bit out, earning an eye-roll in reply as she grabbed her purse and ushered him out to get on with the day. Because the sooner it ended, the better.


One year ago
New Orleans, Louisiana

The Strix registry had informed the young witch that the organization was once in possession of the Candle of Hades, leading her to the private library Marcel had opened up for the members a while back. But after hours of searching, of trying spells to make some kind of clue appear to her as well as going over practically every last book in the room; all Davina had achieved was a splitting headache.

She decided that she couldn't concentrate and took her research to her vault in the cemetery instead, lighting incense and hoping to receive some guidance from the ancestors. Or, preferably, Kol.

The young witch sat down on the stone floor with a deep breath, closing her eyes as she focused on opening her senses. Of tuning into the magic around her and search for a path to follow. However, the voices that reached her were anything but helpful.

"You do not know what you are getting yourself into, child."

"Stop this right now."

"This is too dangerous, for witches everywhere."

She gritted her teeth as she started to get frustrated with the resistance, pushing on harder as she tried to ignore the protests filling her head. "Come on." she whispered to herself. "Show me something."

Dark images began to cloud her thoughts, brought on by the shadows covering her power. The shadows of the Sisterhood's magic. Sharp whispers and pleas tugged at her soul as she dug deeper, went further, looked harder.

And then, everything cleared out. It was like breaking through the surface as she came up for air. She was sucked into a vision that enveloped her whole, drawing a sharp gasp out of her as she was suddenly standing in a foreign place. It didn't feel like the ancestral plane, it didn't look like the veil nor the Other Side.

Where am I? she thought as she examined her surroundings, only light and shadows playing around her.

"Who are you?" the strange voice brought a shiver through her body as she turned and met the narrowed gaze of a young woman. Staring at her with hazel eyes and dark olive skin, shaking her head as she seemed as surprised as Davina herself of being there. "How did I get here?" she pressed.

"Beats me. I was trying to find something, and ended up here." she replied cautiously, scanning the stranger from head to toe.

"I'm looking for something too." the woman responded with a sad frown.

Their eyes met and it seemed like the both of them understood the same thing immediately.

"The Candle."

"The Candle."

Their voices spoke in unison as they watched each other closely. The young witch shook her head as she wondered if perhaps this object didn't in fact exist after all.

"What do you need it for?" the unfamiliar woman asked, an interesting flicker of kindness and sympathy in her expression that surprised the witch.

"I need to bring someone back." Davina explained.

"Who?" she pressed, making the young girl raise an eyebrow skeptically at her counterpart. But there was something about her, something in her features and her eyes… She seemed genuine, friendly… Good.

"Someone I love." the witch responded then.

She was met with a slow nod as the woman studied her, a soft smile on her full lips. "I need it to find a man responsible for hurting the people I love." she shared in turn.

Davina pressed her lips into a firm line as she eyed the stranger closely. "Are you going to stand in my way?" she asked cautiously.

"Not if you don't stand in mine."

They shared a hard look as a silent agreement seemed to form between them then. "Good luck." the younger witch told her with a soft smile, earning a kind one from the woman in return.

"Good luck." she told her with a nod before she started to blur into light, disappearing in the wind and out of her sight.

"How noble of you." a new voice chimed in with a dark tone, one that the young witch was awfully familiar with already. She turned to glare at the source of it with cold eyes. "I suppose there is such a thing as a 'Girl Code' after all."

"Aya." she bit out.

The vampire grinned at her then. "In the flesh." she quipped, her smile falling as she continued. "We need to talk."

"Are you going to tell me where you are?" Davina pressed, earning a chuckle from the woman.

"So that you can send the Mikaelson's to kill me?" she teased cheekily. "No, I think I will pass."

"Then I have nothing to say to you."

"Oh, but I have so much to say to you, Davina." the vampire countered as she walked towards her with dangerous eyes. "I know why you're here. I know what you're looking for."

"I don't know what you're talking about." she shrugged with an amused snicker, but Aya didn't seem to buy it.

"Did it ever occur to you that I may still have a few friends within the Strix?"

The witch turned a dark glare towards her. "It did." she said. "Did it ever occur to you that I may already know who they are?"

"I happen to know that you don't." Aya crooned with a tilted head as she scanned her slowly. "Now, those friends of mine, they have been keeping tabs on you." she chimed. "But none of them had any idea what you were up to… It has been frustrating too, hearing them talk of your mysterious travels and secret searches. For years, we couldn't begin to piece it all together. Until you entered that library."

The young girl swallowed hard, gritting her teeth as she watched the vampire snicker in amusement. "You see, Davina…" she sighed out, circling her with slow steps as she continued. "Some of those books and journals that you so carelessly rushed through in desperation earlier today; they were spelled to alert my witches the moment they were unsealed or used by someone other than myself." she told her with a nonchalant shrug. "Your search appeared almost random at first, but the more you dug; the clearer it became to me."

The woman stopped then and eyed her intently. "I must thank you, Davina. I thought it had been lost for centuries." she beamed with a twisted glee. "But when I saw how hard you were working to find information on it, I knew it must still exist. And so, I had a few witches create this little… you could call it a trap; to catch you in the act."

"So, is this your way of disciplining me for the way I've been handling the Sisters in your absence?" the witch countered with a cocked brow as she narrowed her eyes and folded her arms defiantly.

"No, this was cast to reel in any witch seeking the different planes and realms of magic, looking for the Candle of Hades." Aya replied with a pleased sigh. "And I suppose I was hoping to prove something to you as well."

"Yeah, what's that?" she scoffed, freezing up as the vampire suddenly stood right before her face with a threatening scowl.

"That I am always going to be one step ahead of you, Davina Claire." she replied firmly, the witch's sight suddenly blurring then. The world seemingly spinning around her as she felt herself being rejected, thrown out of the mysterious plane and cast back to her own body.

She gasped sharply as she opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling of the mausoleum tomb as a ringing hurt her ears. "Ugh…" she grunted while sitting up, stroking her forehead as she tried to gather her thoughts.

But as she got up off the floor, Davina noticed the surroundings of her vault having changed. Something felt odd. She glanced around as she tried to put her finger on what it was. Nothing seemed to be out of place, but there was still something that just wasn't right

Then, she saw the doors to her armoire ajar and rushed to it with panic in her chest. She threw them open and stared at the empty shelves in dread. The bags and boxes that Cami had given her before she decided to leave New Orleans for good, the ones that had held the entire O'Connell collection of dark objects in them; they were all gone.


Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana

"Could they exchange the reception layout with high tables and stools? We want people on their feet or there won't be any dancing." Caroline mused as they went over the last details together.

"Yes, and they have noted your request for the stage to be set up by the dancefloor." Marcel replied with a warm smile. "The city view will act as a backdrop through the panorama windows, just like you requested."

"Good." she grinned and scribbled on. "Oh, did you get your tux yet?"

"Yes, silver and white."

"Perfect." she grinned and closed her note pad then. "I think that's it. Everything's set up for the ball."

"Excellent work, partner." he said, raising his espresso in the air.

"The same to you, partner." she smiled, mimicking him and clinking her latte against his cup.

"Actually, this won't do. Let's go to my apartment and share a bottle of something strong and bitter."

"Sounds great." she chuckled, packing up her notes and laptop as he got up and grinned at her.

"Shall we?" he asked as he held out his hand to her.

"Let's." she said as she accepted his offered hand and stood up from the table. She expected him to let go and was a little taken aback when he didn't, until she realized; Right. Cover. Couple in love.

His warm and steady hand led her down the street with an easy silence, but she felt a tugging in her heart. Secretly hoping no one would see them, or more specifically; a certain hybrid. Another part of her also longing for that hand to belong to someone else – again… that persistent man that refused to leave her mind.

Even as she was focusing on the color scheme for the centerpieces or while she set up a list of songs for the band to play; her mind trailed off to him. Imagining what he would be wearing and how he would look under the ballroom crystal chandeliers. Wondering if she would be able to dance with him without raising suspicion, and if they could sneak away a short moment to just breathe in peace without the constant threat of prying eyes.

She found that Klaus Mikaelson was like some drug which had taken over her nerves, lingering in her blood, ringing in her ears, showing up behind her eyelids... She could swear she saw him at the café, while they passed the busy shops and bustling square or even in the reflection of the windows beside her. She was sure she heard his voice in the distance, saw his dusty-blonde hair walking by, smelled his scent as others crossed their path. He was everywhere and nowhere at the same time, making her wonder how you could miss someone who wasn't even gone.

Really not good, Care. she thought to herself. What was it she had said about not falling for the Original hybrid?

Marcel was quick to pour them both some scotch as they entered the apartment, slowly pulling her out of her conflicted head. He handed her a glass as they headed to the couch, leaning back and sipping their drinks in a shared sighing.

"Barely twenty-four hours now." Marcel noted, making her nod slowly in response.

"Do you think this is gonna work?" she asked, glancing over at him as she genuinely started to worry about everything going wrong tomorrow night.

"I don't really know, to be honest." he said as he turned to her with a shrug. "It could. But there are always risks in this kind of situations."

She nodded at that, sipping her drink again as she decided to put the Strix ball out of her mind for now. "I heard Lucien had a friend visiting yesterday." she chimed absentmindedly.

"Yeah, Cami." he drawled. "How did you hear that?"

"Cami?" she echoed, realizing then why the name had been so familiar. This was the mysterious woman that apparently used to have some cursed objects and who apparently got along really well with both Klaus and Marcel...

"So, how does she know Lucien?" she pressed cautiously.

"Why don't you answer my question first and then I'll answer yours." he said with a shrug as he sipped his drink, the look in his eyes anything but relaxed.

"Klaus mentioned it." she replied, eyeing him closely as he nodded in response.

"Alright. Well, when Lucien first came into town, he took an interest in Cami."

"Oh? So, he had a thing for her or something?" she guessed as she sipped her drink again.

"No, Klaus did." the words made her nearly spit the scotch out as it suddenly caught in her throat and made her cough hard.

She looked over at him, noticing that he seemed to be studying her reaction in return. "I… I didn't know that." she muttered into her glass and finished the last of her drink immediately. Reaching for the bottle on the table before them and refilling her glass then. "And uhm… W-when was this?" she pressed anxiously as she nursed the whiskey closely.

"A few years back."

Years!? Not centuries or decades, but years? "How… few are 'a few' exactly?" she chuckled nervously, earning a furrowed expression from Marcel then.

"I'm sorry, I thought you knew since he told you she was back in town." he sighed, shaking his head as he continued. "I probably shouldn't have said anything."

"Well, now that you have. I would really appreciate an answer."

He frowned shortly, averting his eyes in a pout. "It must be… maybe six, seven years ago now."

Caroline quickly did the math in her head as she nodded to herself. When he first went to New Orleans, she concluded, wondering shortly when in time it could have taken place in relation to that day in the woods. "So, when you say 'a thing'…" she stammered. "You mean like, they slept together or went out on a few dates but nothing more? Or did they actually have a relationship?"

Hesitation made his face falter slightly as he seemed to notice the topic having turned upsetting. "I don't have really all the facts... But I know that he cared for her, a lot." he responded with a shrug.

What had she said about not falling for the Original hybrid out of fear from getting hurt?" You said she was 'back in town'." she repeated. "As in 'she's visiting' or 'she just came back home from a long vacation'…?"

"She's been living in Baton Rouge for the past three years."

Baton Rouge, she remembered Klaus mentioning visitors from there. Friends, he'd called them.

"Should we change the subject?" he asked carefully, kind eyes turned to her as he awaited her answer.

She wasn't sure what to say, morbid curiosity and anxious fears urged her to push on. To ask more. To find out just who this Cami was and how she could've been in a relationship with Klaus – without her ever hearing about it. "I'm just… confused." she chuckled shorty. "I didn't realize that one of the 'friends visiting from Baton Rouge' was his ex."

"Care, I really don't know the whole story. I don't even know if they actually were together or if she left before anything came of it."

"Left?" she mimicked, blinking as she watched him.

"Yeah, she's from New Orleans originally." he explained with a shrug. "She was actually studying psychology over at Tulane, used to work part-time as a bartender."

"That's how they met?" she pushed, gaining a confirming nod from Marcel then.

"It wasn't exactly some great romance story, you know. They met, Klaus hired her as his private therapist–"

"Wait…" she scoffed incredulously at that. "Klaus Mikaelson. Klaus, the Original hybrid. A million years old, Klaus… That Klaus went to therapy?"

He frowned shortly, looking away from her then as he seemed to regret having told her anything at all. "Maybe you should let him tell you the rest of the story."

"Right. Yeah, sure. I just…" she stuttered, gulping as she felt a headache coming on. "What I don't understand is; how did it take this long for me to find out?"

"He probably didn't think it was worth mentioning, it was a while back after all."

"Worth mentioning." she snickered bitterly. "You mean like how you didn't know that I had a past with him until way down the road?" she bit out, the anger poisoning her veins as she suddenly felt restless.

She got up and paced the room, trying to figure out what this meant. To her, to him… To them. "So, what you're saying is that everyone knew about this?"

"Well, yeah." he shrugged. "We were all close with Cami."

"What does that mean?" she stuttered. "Don't tell me you had a 'thing' for her too?" His flickering gaze made her face fall as she gaped at him in response.

"Wait, what exactly happened between the two of you?" she chuckled, suddenly sensing a bizarre moment of déjà vu. "Did she play your fake-girlfriend too? Or was she a real one?"

"We never really got that far." he sighed out in admission.

"Because of Klaus?" she pushed, another confirmation showing up on his face then. "Because she and Klaus had feelings for each other. That's why you two never got that far." she summed up with an incredulous scoff. "Is this just what you do to all the women in Klaus' life or are you trying to tell me that this is all just a weird coincidence?"

"Come on, Care." he snickered. "Klaus and I have run in the same circles for centuries, there's bound to be some overlap every few decades or so. Doesn't make it a pattern."

"Right." she muttered. "Next you're gonna tell me you slept with Freya too. Or Hayley or everyone else close to him as well..."

"Like I said…" he chimed. "Once every few decades."

She narrowed her eyes as she tried to see what that was supposed to be hinting at exactly. Why was the interval so important? What made it into a distinction? Until something occurred to her then. "No." she gasped in chock. "Please, tell me you did not sleep with Rebekah Mikaelson."

"Damn, you're quick…" he muttered under his breath, drawing out a disbelieving scoff from her then.

"You can't be serious, Marcel!" she exclaimed in another snicker. "You really have some deep-seated issues with Klaus, don't you?"

"Caroline–" he sighed out before she cut him off.

"I don't even know whether to laugh or throw up right now." she muttered to herself.

"Would you let it go, already?"

"What happened between you two?" she pressed incredulously.

"Me and Rebekah?" he stammered with a raised brow.

"Eww, no! For fuck's sake, I meant Klaus!"

He chuckled shortly. "Oh." he snickered, running a hand over his face in a pained smile. "That's somehow way more complicated, actually."

She threw him a pointed glance, folding her arms over her chest as she urged him on. "Start talking."

The vampire sighed, seeming really uncomfortable for a moment before he unwillingly began. "When I met the Mikaelson's I was very young. I'd grown up on the ranch where my parents worked, where I was expected to work as soon as I came of age. The owner wasn't necessarily cruel to us, but he treated us like any other owner did their slaves back then."

She flinched lightly as she realized just how much older he really was than her. It hadn't felt real until that very moment. Walking over then, she sat back down next to him and nodded to him with a kind smile, patiently waiting for him to continue.

"Klaus saw something in me. At least, that's what he said when he met me. He even gave me my name; Marcellus. He told me I was a survivor, and that survivors needed names." he explained with a reminiscent little smile on his face. "From then on, they took me in. I learned to fight from Klaus, Elijah tutored me in piano, Rebekah taught me how to read and write. They… They were my family."

Caroline looked at him with wide eyes as she listened, picturing the young boy being taken into this group of vampires. Completely unaware of what they were... Because they were his family, his comfort, his safety… His home. To Marcel, the Original vampires that were considered monsters and evil villains, were good. And a part of her could relate to that.

"When I became older, I asked Klaus to turn me." he continued, his voice sounding strained then. "I told him I wanted to be strong like them, immortal like them. Survivors, like them. But he refused. I asked him again and again... I lost count of the times. But it didn't happen until he found out about me and Rebekah."

"I'm guessing in typical Klaus-fashion that he took it exceptionally well." she snickered, earning a chuckle from the man in response.

"Something like that." he agreed. "Truth is, I thought of her as the love of my life. Still do at times... But when Klaus found out, he made me choose. Being with Rebekah or having what I'd wanted more than anything else ever since I'd met them..." He turned silent for a moment, a frown crossing his dark face as he seemed to relive some old pain when he spoke again. "And so, I chose to become one of them."

She blinked shortly, noticing the deep sorrow he seemed to still carry over the decision even two hundred years later. "Do you regret it?" she asked.

"Maybe, sometimes." he admitted with a sigh. "But being a vampire changes your perspective of things. I suddenly lived to see black men and women freed throughout the country. Even the deepest corners of the south finally let their slaves be people and not merely property." he told her, a little smile playing on his lips as he went on. "And I got to see the rise of technology, the internet... I've served in wars and contributed to society. I've helped build up communities, met incredible people and traveled the world. I've experienced things in this existence that I would never have dared to dream of as a human."

The blonde nodded at his words, thinking of what she would experience in her years as a vampire. Not having quite had that thought before, but rather having focused on the things she suddenly couldn't do anymore. Like grow old, start a family, live in the same place for too long...

"I guess I still would have made the same choice, even now." he admitted, drawing her attention back to him then.

"And what about Rebekah?" she pressed.

The sad look in his eyes then made her feel bad for him, and, shortly, even for the female Mikaelson. Her brother had stolen someone she loved from him, all for the promise of turning that man into a vampire. In a way, Caroline could almost share in that kind of rejection, she too had always been the second choice growing up. And being passed over for an eternal life? A life where Marcel would live without the woman he loved? All for the sake of immortality? That must have really stung.

And just like that, it began to make sense why Rebekah had been the attention-seeking, insecure drama queen of the century... How many times, during the years together with Klaus, had she lost someone she loved because of him?

"Well, at least that explains the Klaus issues." she chimed then, trying to lighten the mood. He turned a confused look at her in response that made her roll her eyes. "Come on, it doesn't take a mind-reader to see why you keep going after the women close to him. You're trying to heal the pain you felt, get revenge on Klaus when he took Rebekah away from you, by doing the same to him."

Marcel only stared at her for a moment, clear disbelief written over his face. "Maybe you should leave the psychology to the experts, Caroline."

"Why? You think they would see things differently?" she shrugged then. "Maybe I should have a little chat with this Camille and ask what she makes of it then?"

The man chuckled at her and shook his head. "Please don't. I'm fully content living in a blissful ignorance of my Freudian nightmare."

"Well, that's the whole point of blissful ignorance, isn't it?" she pressed. "You're not necessarily happy, you're just happy because you don't know any better."

"And it would instead be preferable to know all the reasons why you shouldn't be?" he scoffed.

"I mean, maybe." she said with a shrug. "At least then you can appreciate your happiness because you know not to take it for granted. Because you know what the alternative is."

He pouted slightly as he took her words in, filling his empty glass and leaning back in his seat. Looking so deeply lost in thought that she wondered if her friend had ever actually considered what happiness might mean to him. Because she knew from experience, that the answer could change many times over. And every now and then, as the years passed, you could wake up one day and realize that everything you want is the opposite to what you currently have.

It really did beg a difficult question; what does happiness look like when you could live hundreds of lifetimes over?


One thing alone went through Caroline's mind as she waited outside the room. One thought. The image of Klaus Mikaelson as he lay lifeless on the ground. Veins covering his face. His skin a sickly gray. It had haunted her ever since that vision of him nearly dying with the sole purpose of finding her. Of helping her.

I will protect you.

His words echoed softly as she considered their conversation on the yacht. Repeating the moment when she had decided that she, in turn, would do anything she could to protect him. Even as she felt a horrible pit in her stomach of the information Marcel had given her, information that the hybrid had kept from her, it didn't matter. There could be a hundred Cami's hiding somewhere, waiting to make her crazy with jealousy and heartbreak – she was still not letting anyone hurt him.

Not now, not ever, not as long as she had a say in it.

The door opened then as Enzo greeted her with a surprised smile and wide eyes. He quickly pulled her in a tight embrace and pecked her cheek tentatively. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you, gorgeous." he chuckled, relief framing his breathy voice. He pushed her back by her shoulders as his eyes scanned her face.

"You look good. Strong. Healthy." he mused with a shaking head of disbelief. "I have been worried I'd get a call from Freya saying that Lucien has found out the truth and killed you."

She scoffed amusedly at that, smiling at him reassuringly. "Nope, still alive. Cover's still intact too." she chimed. "So, are you planning on inviting me in any time soon or…?"

He chuckled at that and stepped aside to let her enter the hotel room, closing the door behind her as she glanced over his open suitcase on the bed. "Elijah has invited me to return to the abattoir." he explained as she looked over at him with a raised brow.

"Renovations are all done then?" she quipped.

"Not really." he shrugged as he gestured for her to take the armchair beside the bed then as he sat on the latter. "But I reckon they find me useful for the time being and are hoping to keep an eye on me."

"I guess you really made an impression on them." she mused as she studied him closely.

"I guess so." he chuckled. "Now, tell me about you. I only know the second and third-hand information that has been shared with me. How are you feeling? How have you been doing?"

She leaned back with a shrug as she kept following the changing memories across his features. "I'm good. The plan is working great so far. Lucien seems to like me hanging around and he is definitely convinced that Marcel and I are deeply in love."

"And how has that been working exactly?" he scoffed amusedly.

"Well, he and I know where we stand with each other." she replied with a sigh. "Even if it does get a little tense every now and then."

"And the Big Bad?"

The name hit something in her as she froze up and furrowed her face. "Big Bad?" she echoed, giving him the chance to explain before she started to jump at conclusions.

"Sorry, guess I've spent too much time listening to Damon and Ric gab on." he laughed, not at all the answer she had hoped for.

"Speaking of that. Where are they now? Were they planning to join us for the ball?"

"I'm not sure." he shrugged. "They are staying with some acquaintances in Dallas, apparently there are some witches there willing to help decipher the rest of the legend."

"The rest?" she mimicked, again making a mental note as she kept score in her mind.

"Yes!" he chimed excitedly, clapping his hands together as his animated eyes met hers. "I didn't tell you the best part about their research; they found more scripture that depicts the origin of the Candle. They are hoping to get a better understanding of the spell we need by getting a clearer view of its past."

"Right." she nodded slowly, noting strike three. "I was actually planning on calling them later tonight, I realize it's been a while since I checked in with Ric."

"Oh, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, darling." he snickered. "Damon has sworn to take good care of him. He has even filled him in on everything there is to know about the Candle and has been really useful in helping Damon and the witches."

That's what I'm worried about, she thought as she started to get anxious.

"I have aided Freya as best I can these past few days." he sighed out, a sadness washing over him as he spoke. "But she doesn't seem very optimistic about finding the Candle any time soon."

"Well, that's what the ball is for." she shrugged. "I assumed Damon would attend too, we could use all the extra people we could get once everything goes down."

"I believe he has opted to stay out of trouble until he is needed." he chimed with a wide grin, the eyes not at all matching it.

Strike four, five… ten. He's out.

"Enzo, I wanted to ask you about something." she mused slowly as she leaned closer with a serious look. "I've been having these dreams, and sometimes Bonnie is there."

"What?" he breathed out, his eyes flashing with so much emotion then that she felt the need to take away a few of the strikes in result. One thing was at least clear; he was doing this for Bonnie. Whatever Damon's motives were seemed to be a different story.

"Yeah, it's strange…" she sighed out, shaking her head as she continued. "She tried to warn me about something."

"Warn you?" he echoed with narrowed eyes.

"She told me that I wasn't supposed to come find her." she said then, deciding to keep some parts of the dream to herself for now.

"What does that mean?" he pressed, the nerves seeming genuine as he shook his head in disbelief. "Did she say anything else?"

Not to trust him, she snickered in her head. She just didn't know if he was the 'him' Bonnie had referred to. "I think she wants us to stop going after the Candle." she told him cautiously.

"Why would you think that, gorgeous?" he drawled slowly in disbelief.

"She kept telling me not to come find her. To stop. To stay back." she pushed on as she embellished the truth to try and goad a reaction from the vampire. "Do you think she said that because the Candle is too dangerous? Maybe we should be looking for other ways to find her instead?"

"If there was another way, then we would have already found it." he scoffed. "No, the Candle is the answer. I just don't understand why she would say that to you."

"Well, maybe she knows something that we don't." she quipped, eyeing him intently as a strange look covered his features in response.

"Like what, Caroline?" he asked, and in that moment, she could not tell whether he was keeping some secret master plan from her or not. And it scared her.

"Maybe this Candle isn't what we think it is." she mused. "Maybe that is what Bonnie was trying to say. Maybe she wanted us to stop before we got ourselves into something we won't be able to get out of alive."

His jaw set and his eyes cold, he stood up and turned away from her. Letting out a long sigh before he met her face again. "You know." he gritted out.

She moved in a flash, breaking off a wooden leg from the desk chair and lunging towards him quickly. Pressing the sharp wood into his stomach to keep him in place. "Hell yeah, I know!" she yelled out as she kept him pinned against the wall. "How could you keep this from me? How could you go behind my back like that?"

"That's not what I'm doing, love." he croaked out.

"You're lying!" she cried out incredulously, a cold chuckle escaping her as she shook her head. "You've been lying all along. Ever since you came to get us in Chicago. All you and Damon have done is lie."

"Caroline, listen!" he grunted as she pushed the stake deeper into his body, angling it towards his chest. "He told me we had to find out if we could trust you first."

"Damon found me untrustworthy?" she scoffed out. "Now, that's rich."

"He said you might take his side instead. And we need you on ours."

Her face fell as she glared at her friend then, shaking her head as she didn't know where to begin. "Since you are supposed to be on Team Rescue the Bennett Witch; I am assuming that you and I are on the same side, Enzo."

"Not if you stand in my way once it's time." he gritted.

"Time for what!?" she clamored, taking in his hard and sad eyes as they pleaded with her.

"We need him for the spell, Caroline." he told her.

"That's not happening." she replied firmly.

"We have a way to keep him safe, alright? Why else would Damon volunteer to risk his own life by accidentally killing Klaus?"

"You can't know that for sure!" she protested, pushing the stake deeper into his chest then, making him grunt as he began to spit up blood from his injuries. "The way I see it, either something goes wrong and Klaus dies. Which means the end of his bloodline, including me and Damon." she mused with a bitter laugh before she continued.

"Or something goes wrong, and Klaus is hurt, stuck in some coffin with a freaking dagger in his heart because you two decided to go after Julian at High Noon for some showdown." she bit back with a cold smile. "Either way, I am not letting you go through with it."

"What if it's the only way!?" he cried out in desperation then, his voice breaking and tugging at her heart. "What if Bonnie dies because we didn't try everything we possibly could?"

She pulled back then, taking the wooden stake with her as he slumped onto the floor in result. Sitting up on his knees, he brought a hand to his stomach and shook his head. "If you really thought that was true…" she drawled as he looked up to face her again. "Then why would you ignore her warning?"

He scoffed, spitting out some blood before he staggered to his feet. "She plans to sacrifice herself; she always does. That is the problem with you lot, you are all quick to jump in front of a gun but none of you are willing to point it in a different direction."

"I don't think that's the whole story, Enzo." she pleaded, studying him intently as she continued. "I think there's something else. Something we're missing. And I think Bonnie is trying to protect us from it."

"And who is going to protect her!?" he protested with watery eyes, causing her to feel his pain in her gut.

"Do you honestly think you're the only one who loves her?" she countered. "Do you think you're the only one that's fighting for her?"

"If it came down to a choice; him or her. Who would you choose, Caroline?" he pressed, bringing her to scowl as she glared at him for his audacity to even ask.

"I trust Bonnie." she concluded then. "I trust her when she tells me to be careful with the Candle. And I will trust her even if she tells me to dagger Klaus." she proclaimed with a hoarse voice as the horrible tugging of her heart reached her throat.

"But she hasn't, she won't. Which makes you and Damon the only ones trying to convince me otherwise." she pointed out. "And I no longer trust you."

"Caroline…" he sighed, but she cut him off as she raised her palms then.

"You can't stay here anymore." she muttered darkly. "You need to leave. Go join Damon and Ric in Dallas or whatever. Stay away and let me rescue my friend on my own."

"Now, wait a minute -" he began but she pushed on.

"I'll get Ric once we're done, he doesn't need to know about Damon's duplicity this time. All it would do is break him." she mused as she considered it shortly.

"You don't mean this…" he stuttered desperately as she spoke.

"I have Davina, Marcel, the Strix and the entire Mikaelson family behind me. I am more than capable of getting to her without your involvement." she interjected. "I am going to find Bonnie, I am going to save her. Hell, I might even decide to kill Julian while I'm at it too. But I am not going to do any of that as long as you are in this city, scheming behind my back."

"You cannot be serious, gorgeous."

"I am." she bit out firmly. "I need you gone. The only reason why I 'm not killing you right now is because Bonnie wouldn't want me to. And at least one of us should try to respect her wishes." She turned away from him then as she headed to the door, his voice stopping her before she reached it.

"Here I had the ridiculous notion that we were friends." he muttered, making her close her eyes and swallow a lump in her throat.

"We are." she agreed, glancing back at him with a pleading frown. "Which is why I am hoping, desperately, that you will listen to me."

He studied her with a scowl, his eyes filled with grief as he watched her. "You really want me to leave?" he asked.

She faced him fully then, nodding as she took a deep breath. "I've got this, Enzo." she sighed out. "I will save Bonnie; I swear I will." she stammered as her eyes burned. Shaking her head shortly before she spoke again. "So, please. Please… Stay away until I know that I can trust you again."

A disappointed frown formed his features as he pressed his lips into a firm line. "I'll be gone by tonight."

She let out a sigh in relief, smiling shortly as she watched him one last time. "Thank you." she murmured genuinely, turning to the door then as she left the male vampire behind.


Klaus was sitting by the foot of the bed, waiting. He had been doing so all day in fact: actively and consistently waiting. Ever since she'd left him that morning, all he could do was think of her. Whenever his mind didn't replay delectable memories again and again, it instead filled with all else Caroline Forbes. He wondered what she was doing, how she was feeling, where she was, what she was thinking about… Even his creativity had been entirely inspired by those marvelous hours on that yacht with the young woman. He had lost count of how many sketches and paintings he had finished and stored away in result.

How the vampire had managed to completely take over his senses, escaped him. He wasn't sure he had ever experienced anything similar before, of being constantly distracted as he tried to focus on anything else. Of seeing her face every time he closed his eyes. Of hearing her fluttery laugh in the wind around him…

The Strix ball was now only a day away, after which everything would change for the better. They would no longer need to pretend to be estranged. Marcel would no longer have a claim on her in public. Lucien would no longer pose any threat to him or his family. And the hybrid could not imagine a better time to present his proposal to her than the night when they could finally be rid of plans and schemes. When they would be free to be together.

Which was how he decided. Tomorrow night he would ask her to stay. In New Orleans. In the manor. With him. For good.

Finally, Caroline came out of the bathroom and stopped in her tracks as she met his eyes. He couldn't help but smile at the view; she had been fixing her hair, her hands frozen in the air as strands hung loose around her face. Wearing a long satin robe in a light blue color that perfectly highlighted her fair skin and gorgeous eyes. She really was the most marvelous being on earth.

"I wasn't expecting you until later." she chimed teasingly, her hands on her hips.

He stood up and headed to her then, unsure whether it was of his own will or if her voice had worked as a siren's call and compelled him. "I felt we'd been apart for long enough." he replied, taking her in as her eyes lit up in a beautiful smile.

"What was that about your self-control and patience, again?" she quipped with a cock of her head, causing said virtues to shatter in response.

"What was that about a promised reward?" he challenged as he closed the distance between them and leaned in to finally kiss her, feeling like it had been centuries since last. Reveling in her soft and warm lips as they met his.

He brushed his hands through her silky hair and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her close. She kissed him back with vigor, her arms coming around his neck as she pressed against him. Convincing him that they had been sculpted for each other, created to not belong to anyone else, as he never felt more whole than when he held her in his arms. Leaning back, he admired the joyous expression covering her features. Her eyelashes fluttering as she looked up to meet his gaze, tugging at something deep within his chest in result.

"I've been waiting all day to do that." she murmured softly, the words washing over him like the sweetest sound imaginable. As he had still not gotten used to her so openly enjoying his company, his proximity, him.

"I have waited years, Caroline." he pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah… It's not a competition, you know." she whined, making him chuckle as he pulled her in for an embrace. Resting his face against her shoulder and inhaling her ambrosial scent.

She circled his torso in return, her hands brushing past his open jacket and tugging at the fabric of his shirt. Another moment passed before he started to pull back slightly, suddenly dying to talk to her.

"How was your day?" he asked, his hand tracing her jawline slowly. Admiring the smooth skin as his eyes roamed over her face. Unsure which part of her to focus on; the enticing lips that pouted lightly in thought, or the ocean eyes that glittered as she looked up at him.

"Informative." she said, making him analyze her in response.

"How so?"

"Well, after Marcel and I finished the last of the details for the ball, we had a few glasses of scotch at his place. And I learned some things about you."

"Some of it good, I hope." he snickered, a twinge of worry hitting him as he awaited her reply.

"We can talk about that later." she murmured before reaching up and grazing his lips with hers softly. He furrowed his brows as he watched her pull away and walk around him.

"After all, I would hate to set a precedent of not keeping my promises." she chimed before swiftly dropping the robe and revealing the most sinful little garment of red and silk. Thin straps hanging low on her back, the nightgown barely reaching the apex of her long legs.

She turned to face him then, the combination of her angelic features and the sultry look in her eyes baffling him shortly. Making him wonder if she existed to be a testament to his darkness or a salvation for which to bring him into the light. As she seemed to be both the sweetest gift and the most painful torture to ever exist at the same time.

His gaze dropped to the exposed cleavage, framed perfectly with lace that flowed down below her sternum. "I can't decide whether I loathe or adore it." he announced hoarsely as even his voice seemed impaired by the sight. Absorbing it all as she made her way to him with a voluptuous smile. "I couldn't possibly have done anything to deserve this."

A light giggle escaped her as she shook her head in response, her blonde hair pulling his focus as it swept over her skin. "Well, I could always take it off instead." she pouted coyly.

He moved before he could think, grabbing onto her waist and carrying her over his shoulder, drawing a delightful laugh from the vixen then. "Don't you dare." he implored her darkly. Walking her towards the bed and dropping her onto the mattress then with hooded eyes. Glancing over her body as he questioned if he could ever begin to be worthy of the incredible woman before him.

"I am prepared to profess that the Red Canna has nothing on the likes of you, Caroline Forbes." he crooned as he met her beaming face.

"Well, it's good to know that I have some kind of leverage to hold over you." she teased. "With you being the Original hybrid and all, it just doesn't make for a balanced distribution of power."

He scoffed at her words, not understanding how she could think he had any power between them whatsoever. If there was anyone with the unfair advantage out of the two, then it was surely her. He could not imagine there being anything that he could possibly deny her. Even if she so asked to see the lost city of Atlantis, he would dig through the bottom of the ocean until he found it.

She sat up on her knees and leveled their eyes, her hands reached out to his and moved them to her hips. "So, are you just going to stand there or are you going to claim your prize?" she murmured, creating the need for him to shake his head as he wondered if he was only imagining it all. If she was some dream or only part of his mind. Could she be real?

Moving closer to him, she framed his face with her delicate fingers and watched him shortly. Leaning in then and breaking the trance as he quickly reciprocated, gripping her harder and pulling her into his chest. His hands roamed the velvety fabric and traveled over her sides in search for her skin. Lifting her swiftly by the backs of her thighs and smirking as she quickly wrapped herself around him.

He crawled forward on the mattress before slowly lowering her on her back, breaking from her lips as he nipped at her jaw and neck. Her hand pulled at his hair as she let out quiet sighs. He lived for the sound as he ventured further down her body. Leaving kisses over her chest and sighing in gratification at the contact, breathing deeply as he pressed his face against her skin.

Her nails scratched over his scalp, sending a pulse through him as he thrusted into her in reflex. Feeling an urgency to rip the scantily excuse of a nightgown into pieces. Something else pulled his focus as his mouth moved over her abdomen, his hands pushing the silk up and revealing red lace underneath. Calling to him, the wet heat filling his senses as he longed to taste it. To watch her squirm and twist as he pushed her to ecstasy. He had trouble deciding whether he needed to rip apart the red material or keep it for him to admire.

When her breathy voice whispered his name, the decision was made for him. Bringing him to run his tongue over her, the lace creating interesting friction as he savored her taste. Catching the material with his teeth, he moved it to the side and granted himself access to her welcoming folds. He held onto her hips before pressing a deep kiss against her, cherishing the whimper escaping her as her body jumped in response.

His eyes closed as he dove in and lost himself in her warmth, lapping at her silky core and enjoying the reactions it brought on. Her raspy moans and breathy whimpers urged him on, guiding him to the right patterns, pressure, pace. Using his thumb to circle the tantalizing little bead of nerves that served as the most powerful tool to him then. To push her into submission. To make her beg for him. To share some of that control that she so clearly held over him. To make her his.

Her breaths became sharper and clipped, playing as music to his ears as she writhed under his touch. The feeling of power intoxicating as she was rendered into a mess of high pleasure and wanton moans. He wanted more, to draw those special little cries that followed her peak, the sound of them being just short of enough to find his release in return. How his name left her lips as if he were both her salvation and her downfall all at once.

Adding his fingers to the tease, he entered her velvety gates and sighed as he longed to feel it around his length. The slick heat that covered him so addictive, it sent a shiver through his body in expectation. Her thighs clenched his face harder, her fingers tugged at his hair with a searing force.

"Don't stop. Don't stop. Please, I'm so close." her chants called on something primitive inside as he groaned deeply in response. Sending her faster towards her climax as he chased the exquisite whimpers he was longing for.

When she reached it, he swore he could hear the pulses of pleasure hit and wash over her in violent waves. "Kla-aus." she groaned out; his name not ever having sounded better to his ears than when rolling off her lips in climax.

A guttural sound left him in return, as if she had reached in and touched the wolf hiding inside of him. The possessive need to claim her so forceful as he turned against her inner-thigh and swiftly bit into her skin. Her body convulsed and shivered when he fed on her blood, sparks lit his veins as he shared in her pleasure. He tasted the satisfaction within her at having gotten her release, the delicious notes of her affection for him warming his heart and the intoxicating feeling of her drawn-out orgasm rushing through his body.

It was so splendid, so perfect, an immense joy filled him at the knowledge of having been responsible for it. For her breaking apart under his tongue. For her whispering to him and pleading for more. Him. No one else. Never would there be anyone else. This was a privilege that none other deserved. He wasn't entirely convinced he himself deserved it either. The recognition of when she was truly and irreversibly his.

She started to build again, he could taste it, hear it, feel it. He broke away and licked his lips while he glanced up to meet her eyes. They were flipped quickly as she straddled his hips and gazed down at him. Her hands worked fast to rid him of his clothes, returning to his lap then as she leaned forward and kissed him passionately.

"It's crazy." she whispered against his lips. "I can't get enough of you."

The words pulled at his heart as he admired the beauty on top of him. A sensuous smile on her face as she ran her hands across his chest. "I want more." she murmured, convincing him that she could not be real. It didn't feel possible.

"Take whatever you wish, my love." he replied darkly. "However much you desire." He kissed her fiercely, holding onto the back of her head as he did not dare to let her go. "I am all yours." he proclaimed.

An incredible smile covered her lips. "Mine." she murmured against his mouth.

"Yours." he confirmed as she kissed him again.

"Always?" she pressed, the playful tone not quite matching her deep eyes.

He framed her face with his hands as he watched her seriously. "Always." he assured her with a slow nod, feeling elated as her features lit up in response.

"Don't you forget it." she beamed, bringing him to smirk in response as he gripped her hips and positioned her above him.

"That would be impossible." he admitted as her hands guided his hard cock to her offered heat. She held onto his chest for balance as she gently sat back and took him in. Making him grit his teeth as he took a deep breath, savoring the sensation before his eyes met hers again. "Caroline, if I have any soul to speak of, then you have etched your name unto it." he concluded as she tilted her head back in a smile.

She gazed down at him with parted lips as she moved over his length. Making him close his eyes in a sigh as pleasurable tremors coursed through him with every motion. Her hand grazed his jaw, causing him to look up at the goddess in gold and red above him. "Don't say it if you don't mean it." she whispered as she set a slow and torturing pace.

"I never say anything I do not mean." he countered firmly as he dug his nails into her flesh, guiding her to meet his thrusts. "Especially not with you."

She quickened her movements and drew a groan from him in response, arching her back and tilting her pelvis as he felt himself reach deeper within her. Allowing her control, he moved his hands over her waist and sides. Slowly running his palms over her peaked nipples as they called to him through the thin silk. He circled them with his thumbs, drawing out gasps from her as she gripped his arms to keep him in place.

"I mean it when I say this to you, Caroline." he murmured lowly. "I do not want anyone else the way I want you."

"You have me." she sighed out, creating a shivering pulse to rush through him and making him thrust harder into her then.

"I want you to be mine." he demanded through clenched teeth while he quickened his pace, kneading her full breasts as he teased her further. "All mine." he bit out, taking in her soft whimpers and sighs as she got lost in her pleasure, closed eyes and a blissful smile on her lips.

"Only mine." he grunted as she gasped at his touch and rocked her hips in a fast rhythm to earn more friction. "No one else's." he pressed, resisting the sudden urge to turn them around and drive into her delicious core wildly.

She bobbed faster over him, throwing her head back as she squirmed in pleasure. "Yes." she hissed, making him move even harder into her hips as he became desperate to feel her come apart over him then.

"You are mine." he gritted as he had to focus to avoid shattering before he got what he wanted. "Say it, Caroline." he hissed firmly.

"I am." she whimpered. A moan slipped past her lips as she scratched her nails over his arms. "Oh, I am."

"Tell me." he demanded as he felt himself getting so close now, ready to reach his climax at any moment. "Tell me, love. Tell me."

"Yes. Yours. I'm–" she moaned as she finally twisted into her release. She gasped and shivered, looking absolutely captivating as he watched her with intense eyes. Not wanting to miss a single beat as she broke apart over his shafts, pulsating and squeezing at him.

Her eyes met his again, mouth hanging open as she bounced over his hips. Veins crawled on her face as she quickly bent down and bit into his neck, eliciting a guttural groan from the hybrid in reaction. He held onto her tightly as he moved faster then, chasing ecstasy while he pushed on in frantic need. No doubt in his mind that his blood sent her the same message as the mantra going through his head and falling off his lips. "Mine."

The explosion of pleasure hit him from within as he groaned through his teeth. Not stopping until he had completely emptied himself within her as he craved to crawl into her skin suddenly. His hips rocking through his release as he marveled in her glory, gasping when her body trembled as she felt the echo in his blood. Her brilliant walls clenching around him tightly and pulsating in response, eliciting grunts from him as he rode the delectable high.

He turned his face then and bit into her neck just as he began to float back down. Mine. Mine. Mine. the mantra echoed as he tasted her blood. Electricity shot through him as they connected, her thoughts filling his mind as his did hers.

Yours. she promised. The confirmation flowing through her and satisfying him deeply.

He felt the intensity of the blood sharing nearly steal his breath. Her taste was laced with something new and intoxicating, something profound and intimate. And in the moment, if Klaus had any doubts left of her feelings for him, they were all sated as warmth and light enveloped his heart.

Biting deeper into her in return, sucking harder as he craved more of it, more of her. His arms holding her tightly as he couldn't possibly let her go in that moment, not when he felt her heart bond with his. A wide smile covered his face as pulled back from her, sucking gently at the remnants of blood by her already healing wound. He lied down with a long sigh, enjoying the spent feeling in his body as he ran his hands over the incredible woman on top of him. Reaching her hair and grabbing a fist of it, locking her in as he let her have her fill.

"I don't know what I was doing with my life before I met you, Caroline." he whispered under his deep breaths as she fed, stroking her back as he enjoyed her intensity. "If I had known that you would come to exist, I would have done so many things differently."

She pulled back then and met his gaze as her thumb dried off her bloodstained lips. "Or, it would have resulted in us never meeting at all." she murmured breathily, leaning into his touch as he cupped her cheek. "Maybe it's better that we don't know what's going to happen."

He took her in with awe, a part of him wishing he had some pen and paper to jot down the way she looked at him then. The back of his fingers traced her neck softly, grazing the veins under her skin as the blood coursing throw them seemed to vibrate and call out to his own. "Perhaps." he agreed softly. "We might not be able to enjoy our present if we constantly wait for the future to arrive."

She beamed brightly at that, shaking her head with such beautiful joy in her eyes, completely captivating him then. "I…" she said, her face falling as she wore a strange panic in her features suddenly. Closing her mouth with clenched teeth as if afraid of saying something wrong, but he couldn't imagine why.

"What, my love?" he asked, brushing his fingers across her jawline. "You can tell me anything." he promised softly, glancing up at her with a patient smile.

"I know." she responded before leaning down and meeting his lips in a tender kiss. Affectionate flutters washing over him in result, stealing his breath as well as his heart. He ran his thumbs over her cheekbones as he cradled her head, afraid that the angel in his hold might disappear into the air at any moment. Relishing in the essence of her kiss and hoping to be able to prolong the precious feeling a little longer.

I'm not worthy, he realized as he pulled back and met her eyes in a delighted smile, the adoring look on her face bringing another thought to his mind then. I will fight to become it.

She left a last peck against the hybrid's lips before pulling back and climbing down from him. Making him eye her intently as she threw her underwear and gown in the wash bin in the corner of the room. Picking up the satin robe off the floor and dressing herself in it, tying it around her waist swiftly.

His body moved on its own as he flashed over and held onto her then. "Where are you going?" he chimed into her ear as he pressed his chest against her back.

"You mean 'we'?" she corrected cheekily, the sound of it causing his heart to surely expand in size. He pulled at the bands circling her, steadily opening the robe to allow him access to her again.

Tracing his hands over her bare body, his fingertips brushing across her skin lightly as he enjoyed the soft feel of it. A sigh escaped her at his touch, making him smirk as she leaned back into him. Elated at the way she reacted to him; how her breathing hitched slightly, her heartbeat fluttered, her skin lit up as traces of goosebumps spread over her arms.

"Where are we going?" he asked then, breathing her in deeply.

"We're going to take a bath." she crooned before pulling out of his hold, turning around and tugging at his hand as she led him to the other room. The enticing look on her face convinced him that he would have followed her into the deepest, darkest pits of hell.

Letting go of him, she turned the faucet on and began to fill the extravagant tub, humming softly as she grabbed some bottles of soap and poured them into the water. He leaned back against the cabinets as he admired her in silence. Cherishing the way her nose wrinkled as she seemed to read something off the toiletries she didn't like. Treasuring the way her mouth pouted when she fell into thought.

She placed her hands over her hips as she looked over her work, seemingly happy with it, she nodded to herself and turned to him. "What?" she giggled as she met his eyes, making him shake his head lightly.

"Nothing, love." he replied, smirking as she closed the distance between them and held onto his shoulders.

"Now, why don't I believe you?" she mused, earning a chuckle from him in reply.

He reached out to the undone robe, gazing down as he took her in with a content sigh. "How long until the tub is filled?" he asked.

She pursed her lips shortly before throwing a glance over to the bath, shrugging as she faced him again. "Ten, fifteen minutes maybe?" she guessed. "See, this is why you were supposed to be here later." she chided half-heartedly.

"I disrupted your plans then?" he smirked, raising his hand to tilt her chin before leaning in. Kissing her softly as she pressed closer, bringing a sigh from him while he marveled at the way her chest felt pushed up against his.

"You did." she murmured into his lips, drawing her palms over his arms attentively as their eyes locked.

"Mind illuminating me on what I missed out on?" he teased as he stroked a path down her body, his fingertips grazing the sides of her breasts as he followed the curve of her waist. Reaching her hips before he ran back up her torso slowly and repeated the motion again.

"Well, there was the bath." she pointed out as she braided her fingers through his hair and scratched at his scalp. "And I was going to light some candles."

"Mm…" he hummed in agreement as he imagined how her skin would have looked in the light of flickering flames. "Go on." he murmured as he leaned into her lips lightly, leaving an airy kiss to them as she responded.

"I planned to greet you at the door, but I hadn't decided yet whether I was going to wear something or not."

He gulped at her words as they shot pulses to his groin, causing him to rub against her lower abdomen as he began to grow hard again. "Then what, Caroline?" he whispered as their breaths turned heavy together, parted lips pressed against hers as he savored her taste.

"I would have wrapped my arms around you, like this." she purred on as she clung to his neck. "And I would have kissed you." Her lips followed her instructions as she nibbled at him gently. "Your lips." she noted, moving her lips then and placing a deep kiss to the side of his face before murmuring again. "Your jaw."

She leaned closer, nipping at his skin as she traveled down his body. "Your neck." she whispered before leaving a bruising kiss over his veins. Making him close his eyes and hold onto her hips tightly as he began to rock against her. Deliberate and slow moves as he followed the pace of their breathing.

"What else, sweetheart?" he murmured as her teeth scratched over his neck tantalizingly.

She smiled against his skin as her hips began to meet his rhythmic rocking, building up the desire coiling within him. "I'd undress you so I could continue down your body. Run my hands over you slowly." she whispered sultry as she demonstrated then, stroking his chest and advancing lower.

"II would take off your pants." she went on, her breath hitting his ear as her hands brushed over his length then. Drawing a grunt from him when she wrapped her fingers around him, moving them up and down his cock as she spoke again. "I'd push you down to sit on the edge of the bed while I kneeled between your legs."

He reached up to fist into her hair, tugging as he hung on her words. Not sure how someone so angelic could come up with such dirty thoughts. "What would happen next?" he asked huskily.

Her teeth scratched over his throat, causing his hands to hold onto her tighter in response. "I'd grab you like this." she murmured as she gripped him harder, moving her hold over his length faster. "And I'd work you up slowly." she added as he sighed into her motions.

"Then?" he breathed out as he desperately waited for more.

"Then, I'd lean down, glancing up at you while I wrapped my mouth around your tip."

He thrusted against her on reflex, fighting to keep his patience. The urge to turn her around, bend her over and take her was becoming impossibly strong. "Go on, my love." he pleaded against her temple as he breathed her in deeply, the image behind his eyelids driving him insane as her words and hands aimed to ruin him.

"I'd swirl my tongue over you." she purred, her thumb demonstrating it as she continued. "And run it up and down your shaft." Her hands followed her words, making him grit his teeth as he marveled in her.

"A little faster, Caroline." he requested, sighing in delight as she accepted and picked up the pace. "Perfect." he crooned in appreciation, breathing heavily into her hair as her words swallowed him whole.

"I would slowly bring my lips over you and take you into my mouth." she whispered as she nipped at the skin beneath his jaw, sending pulses of need through him as his fingers dug tighter into her hipbones and hair. "I'd use my hand where I couldn't quite reach." she continued. "Advancing lower with every move, gradually covering your cock with my mouth and tongue."

He rocked harder against her, feeling restrained as he craved to end the torture and instead take over. But at the same time, he didn't want her to stop. She sensed his restlessness and fastened her movements then, causing his eyes to nearly roll back into his skull as incredible pleasure washed over him. "Continue, Caroline." he implored her, waiting with bated breath for her to speak again.

She picked up the pace further, drawing out a groan from deep within his chest. "I'd watch your reaction as I go faster. Moving up and down, pushing you closer to ecstasy with each stroke, each kiss…" she relayed hoarsely. "I'd see your reaction when you hit the roof of my mouth, making sure to repeat it again and again."

Yes. A growl escaped him as the word rang in his ears. His sanity hanging on by a thread as he thrusted against her hand in search for more friction.

"And when I saw that you were getting closer. So close to finishing…" she purred on as her teeth tugged on his earlobe. "I'd remove my mouth, continuing the pace with my hand." she said as the fast movements threatened to shatter him. "Quickly rubbing my palms against you as you started to near the edge."

"Mm, just like that." he breathed out in agreement as he began to lose himself against her soft skin and delicate hands.

"And then…" she murmured as she pushed him closer. "I'd lean into your leg. And bite you." she whispered, her words enunciated by her fangs piercing his skin as she fed on his neck. Everything became blurry then as he completely lost it, glorious pleasure pulsing as he came into her hands with a low moan.

Inhaling sharply as she stroked him through his release and sucked harder at his skin. The mix of sensations making him feel like he was floating shortly, all weight leaving him as he completely relaxed into his orgasm. She groaned against his neck, confirming that she was tasting his high, sharing in the satisfaction as he shuddered in marvelous fulfillment.

"Fucking hell." he gritted out, unsure of how he was still standing at that point. "You are the purest dream, my love." he breathed as he held her closer to him, shivers echoing through him as he rocked against her body in delight. "Oh, how I adore you, Caroline."

Pulling back from his skin then, she traced her lips with her tongue as her dark red eyes met his. "Mine." she said, convincing him once more that she was heaven and paradise and everything that was good in all of existence.

He felt his face change as he smirked at her then, grabbing her hand and raising it to his face. "Mine." he concluded firmly as he bit into her wrist, a gasp escaping her in response. She took his hand and mirrored him, feeding off his wrist in return as they connected once more.

Intoxicating warmth filled him, bringing him to shiver as he basked in her euphoric taste. A deep knot in his stomach made him want to hide her away and make sure she would be safe. Lock her up to keep her out of trouble, out of danger. Hold her and protect her forever. Not allowing anyone to ever touch her again. Not letting anything hurt her again.

The ball could not arrive any faster, he thought as he wished for time to speed up. He desperately wanted to wake up the morning after and know that everything was alright. Everything went according to plan. All of his worries had been in vain.

Then, an interesting thought floated through his mind. He first suspected it to be his own possessiveness ringing in his head, but he realized with elation that it was in fact coming from her. A delightful flutter filling him, his chest swelling with warmth in response as he felt her strong need to keep him safe. To protect him.

He could not imagine whatever from nor why she would ever need to worry for his safety in such a way. But the intense force which she felt it was an incredible validation. To know that she desired to keep him in her heart, protected from anything that may threaten to cause him harm. He wanted in turn to give her everything, whatever she may ever want, for as long as she wished.

Pulling away from her skin softly, he placed kisses across her wrist and made sure not to waste a single drop of her precious blood. He felt a wonder hitting him as he met her eyes, admiring her as she let go of him then. Running her tongue over the wound and making him grit his teeth as he suddenly wanted her again.

Always.

"I think it's time for that bath now." she chimed happily, causing a grin to spread over his face in response.

"Not a moment too soon." he crooned before grabbing onto her and flashing past the room. Prepared to make the absolute most of the night, as he feared he did not know what tomorrow may bring.


One year ago
New Orleans, Louisiana

Marcel was quick to pull the young witch into a tight hug, enveloping her in warmth like some big bear holding their cub. "Air. Breathing. Not a vampire." she croaked out as he restricted her lungs, bringing a deep chuckle from him as he pulled back and framed her face with his hands.

"It was way too long this time." he sighed out, a sweet smile on his lips as he scanned her features.

"Well, good thing it was the last time then." she snickered with an eye-roll, making his smile widen into a grin.

"Yeah, what the hell, let the Mikaelson's go on with their precious chase however much they like. Me on the other hand? I'm done." he chimed with a shrug. "I'm not leaving New Orleans ever again."

"What about Cannes?" Josh interjected then, frozen in the action of setting out plates for dinner. "You promised to take us next year."

The older vampire laughed warmly as he walked over and patted the man's shoulder. "Oh, we're still going. I'll finally be able to actually spend time with you both while there." he promised with a wink.

Davina smiled as she took her seat at the table, gulping down the anxious pit in her stomach as she worked hard to not let the men know what was going through her mind. Because how exactly was she supposed to explain that she had lost Cami's entire collection of dark objects while doing a spell to find a cursed candle that was supposed to bring Kol back unless it accidentally killed Klaus first?

All she knew was that she needed to find the person who stole from her, before anyone found out.

"Davina?" Marcel's voice brought her out of her thoughts as he eyed her closely across the table. "Everything alright?"

"Don't mind her, boss. She's been like this ever since returning." Josh sighed out before sitting down next to her. "I'm starting to think that something happened in Baton Rouge."

Marcel turned to her with furrowed brows at that. "You were in Baton Rouge?" he pressed.

"Yeah, I was visiting." she replied with a try at nonchalance.

"Did you see Cami?" he pushed on, reminding her once more that she really, desperately, needed to find those dark objects…

"No." she said as she realized he was still waiting for a reply. "I didn't stay for long, so I only managed to catch Vincent."

"How's he doing?"

"Good." she nodded with a short smile before hurrying to change the topic. "So, where was it this time? The UK?"

The vampire studied her for a moment before he answered. "Scotland." he corrected, his eyes lighting up as he pushed his chair back then. "Actually, I got you something…" he smirked, walking over to his jacket as it hung in the hall and dug into the pockets. He soon returned with something wrapped up in a cloth, holding it out to her before he unveiled it.

She gaped as she stared at the crystal in his hands. "Is that?" she stammered, looking up at him with wide eyes as he beamed back in return.

"A little souvenir from some witches I came across." he chimed with a playful shrug.

She accepted it then, examining the rock closely as she shook her head in disbelief. "Thank you, Marcel." she breathed out, standing up and wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"Of course." he chuckled as he stroked her back warmly.

"What is this exactly?" Josh drawled as they pulled away, a narrowed gaze on the gift as he awaited an explanation.

"It's a Phantom Crystal." Davina told him with another smile as she sat back down by table. "You can talk to people who've passed over through it."

"Really?" he said as he nodded with an impressed look on his face. "Does this mean you want to skip dinner and go make a… call?"

She bit her lip coyly as she glanced between the men. "Would you mind?" she pressed with a wide grin. "I'll just be gone like, five minutes. I'll be right back, I promise."

The men shared a laugh as they watched her eager eyes. "That's okay." Josh said with a snicker as Marcel beamed over at her with kind eyes.

"Go. Tell Kol we said hi." he chuckled with a wink, making her bite her lip again hard as she rushed out of the apartment then.

Running down the hall and entering her apartment with a delightful flutter in her stomach. She turned on the lights but stopped dead in her tracks as she felt a presence near her. The hairs on her arms rising in alert as she turned back and searched for the intruder.

Determining that the hall and living room were both clear, she moved towards the kitchen and continued to her bedroom. It really seemed like she might have imagined it, but there was a strange turning in the air that she couldn't quite ignore.

Someone was there, she just wasn't sure where.

"I'd show myself if I were you." she called out into the seemingly empty apartment. "You have no idea who you're dealing with here."

There was no response as she cautiously moved through the rooms to check them again, waiting for something to jump out of the shadows at any second. She saw something in the corner of her eyes then, causing her to turn in time to see something flaming slowly floating in the air. Putting out the fire with a wave of her hand, she moved closer to examine the foreign object and realized that it was a piece of paper. A note with a short message.

Invite me in.

"Why would I do that?" she snickered incredulously, awaiting some kind of reply to be delivered in a similar fashion. Soon, there was a thud behind her as something dense fell to the floor, she bent down and widened her eyes as she recognized it right away. A notebook that she'd kept along with the dark objects, inside of it was another note.

I have something of yours.

"You're the one who stole from me." she concluded with a firm tone, scoffing in disbelief as she glanced around the room. "Pretty cocky act for someone who can't even show their face."

There was a knock at the door then, drawing her attention to it as she made her way to the hall. That threatening tingle became stronger then, informing her that this was the intruder in question.

"Invite me in."

She winced at the familiar voice, opening the door then to reveal a face she hadn't seen in years. Leaning casually against the doorframe with a lopsided grin and dark eyes. "Hello, dear." he crooned, making her fold her arms as she cocked a brow at him.

"Lucien." she drawled. "Do you realize the danger you just put yourself in?"

"They won't hear us. Won't even realize I was here in the first place." he shrugged leisurely. "That little collection of yours has quite a lot of interesting artefacts in it, sweetheart… Some to send secret messages, other to keep vampires from sensing your presence…" he mused, his face turning cold as he spoke again. "Invite me in, Davina."

"You have thirty seconds to convince me not to kill you right now." she countered with serious eyes. "You've already wasted about half of it, so I'd start talking if I were you."

He rolled his eyes at her words, taking something out from his pocket then and showing it to her. To the witch's dismay, the object in his hands was a shell that reflected magic, meaning she wouldn't be able to defend herself if he tried anything. "Now I'm definitely not inviting you in." she scoffed.

"I thought you were perceptive, little witch." he purred with a smirk. "I suppose I was wrong."

"Insulting me will only shorten your lifespan, Lucien."

"Not if I have what you need to bring your beloved Kol back from the dead."

Her face fell as she studied him closely, trying to spot any deception in his features. "What?" she pressed.

His smile widened then, shrugging as he glanced over her shoulder. "Let's talk, love."

"Prove it." she interjected firmly. "Prove you actually have something."

He let out a sigh before reaching inside his jacket then, holding up yet another object that immediately caught Davina's eye. A weapon, glistening in the light as she examined it shortly. "Where did you get that?" she bit out as she gritted her teeth, not enjoying the casual way that the vampire was waving around an object that could end his entire bloodline.

"Invite me in." he repeated again. "I have much more to offer you than this."

"Like what?" she quipped grimly, earning another cocky smirk from him in response.

"I have the spell that can bring him back." he countered with a challenging look as he cocked a brow and tilted his head to the side. "What will it be, Ms. Claire?" he chimed, making her gulp as she considered her choices shortly. Wondering if inviting the devil into her home would be more than she could handle. Asking herself if it was really worth it, since he would naturally want something in return.

Her gaze fell on the Golden Dagger again, nearly making her fingers itch in reaction as she fought against her better instincts. She nodded shortly, stepping aside before muttering to him then. "Come in."


Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana

Wet, dry, clothed, undressed. Caroline Forbes was marvelous no matter her state, if Klaus wasn't already convinced of that then he was surely now. Watching her dry her hair with a towel while wearing a t-shirt and some pajama shorts, a glow to her skin as she met his eyes in the mirror above the hotel dresser. The two shared a smile as the serene moment felt natural, precious, rare.

Tomorrow, he reminded himself as he looked forward to taking all his baths with her. To spend all their nights together. All their days. All their years. Tomorrow.

She discarded the towel then and turned to him with a sparkle in her eyes that looked like stars in the morning sky. "So…" she drawled as she came to stand in front of him where he sat on the edge of the bed. Cupping his face with her delicate hands before she continued.

"What about tonight?" she chimed, confusing him shortly as he furrowed his brows up at her. She laughed at that, shaking her head as she beamed in response. "Are you going to be sleeping tonight?" she clarified with a little snicker at the end.

He took a deep breath, his eyes closed as he leaned into her touch. "I believe I just might." he mused as he met her gaze again.

A triumphant glee covered her exquisite features in reaction. "Well, it's about time I tired you out." she scoffed teasingly, making him shake his head in disbelief. How could he explain to her that he would sleep tonight, not because he had been sated and done with her, but because he intended to have her every night until the end of time?

"I suppose you did." he chimed in agreement, realizing she would not understand if he replied in any other way. The truth was too grand for the young vampire to grasp, but he knew what was awaiting them. He knew the incredible future they could have if she only stayed. He knew that they were bonded, that they were supposed to have each other forever. And that was enough for him for now.

He studied her as she walked back to the dresser and grabbed a brush, running it through her hair quickly before doing a loose braid and tying it up with a hairband. A thought occurred to him as he took in the swift and sure movements of her hands. "You never did tell me about your day." he pointed out.

Her face fell slightly at that, bringing a horrible sting to his heart as he wondered why. "Right." she murmured with a nod, glancing back at him with nonchalance that seemed strained to the hybrid. "Well, I finished the planning with Marcel." she mused as she turned away and busied herself with something in a drawer. "And… he told me something."

"What, Caroline?" he pressed cautiously as he tried to think of just what kind of poison the boy had managed to fill her head with. Wondering how much of it were true, and if it would push her away from him for good.

She walked over and took a seat next to him on the bed. Reaching for one of his hands as she held it with one of hers and used her other to draw patterns over his skin. "He told me the story of how he was turned." she explained.

"I see." he nodded slowly, suddenly unable to meet her eyes. "What did he say?"

She let out a sigh as she continued her circling over his wrist, giving him something to focus on as he waited for her to speak. "He, uhm..." she began with audible uncertainty in her voice. "He told me that you made him choose; a life as a vampire, or a life with Rebekah."

He didn't have it in him to look away from their hands, trying to make her stay in his proximity just a little while longer. "I did."

"Why?" she asked then. "Did you want to keep them apart?"

The question brought the memory back before his eyes as if it was happening all over again... As if he once more was standing in New Orleans over 200 years ago.

"Did I not warn you!?" he had yelled as he caught them in the courtyard. His fencing sword raised while he shoved Marcel back against a wall. The words he'd told him years before rang in the back of his head. "I love my sister, but she lacks fortune when it comes to men. They come and go for her, but I am the constant. She's my family."

The Original had agreed to turn him, to make him into a part of his family for good, but only when he was ready. "You go near Rebekah again, and you never will be." he had said. Yet, there he was. Going against his promise to him. Trying to steal Rebekah away.

"Klaus, I beg of you!" his sister had shouted at him, reaching for the sword arm in an attempt to lower it. "He is not like any other. You saw it in him from the very first day. You saved him, protected him... you raised him. You cannot kill him."

Finally, the sword had clattered on the ground as Rebekah's words hit the truth. Because, of course, he could never kill Marcel. He was his son. He needed him alive. And so, he had reached for the next best solution. Because even if he could not kill Marcel, he still could keep them apart. He had to.

"You are right. I cannot." he had admitted before plunging the silver dagger into her heart. "But you, dear sister, need a lesson in what you can and cannot take from me."

He hadn't undaggered her until 52 years later. When he was convinced that Marcel would not cause any trouble within his family again. Because by then, it was far too late for him to take him up on his offer. To either undagger Rebekah and live out his human life with her, or to become a vampire and remain by his side for eternity.

In his opinion, that in itself had proven how unworthy Marcel was of his sister. Proven that their love was nothing more than some illusion, nothing real and certainly nothing to fight for. Because any man who claimed to love a woman, would not so easily live with himself forever, knowing he chose to give her up.

Love: what had he told his brother about it, all those centuries ago?

"Love is a vampire's greatest weakness, and we are not weak, Elijah. We do not feel, and we do not care." For long, he had followed that sentiment. Enforced it. Lived by it. But he had started to wonder if perhaps, somewhere along the way, that may have stopped being true after all.

"I did it because I was afraid of losing them." he finally said, as he was brought back to the present with Caroline's hand stroking his wrist and palm tentatively. "I believed their relationship would tear us apart."

"Why did you think that?" she asked softly, her face free from judgment as he finally decided to meet her eyes.

"Because the only love I've ever known to last, is that between family."

"Do you still think that's true?" she asked, a frown forming on her face as she studied him carefully.

"Yes." he replied, perhaps more out of reflex than anything else.

Her motions stopped abruptly at that as she looked away with something hurt in her expression. "What makes you so sure?" she asked silently, her averted gaze and sad frown breaking his heart.

He considered his answer for a moment, unsure of how to explain that family was all that lasted. All that mattered. That love faded in comparison. It always had. It always would. Had it not been Rebekah who had pointed it out herself? He was broken. They all were.

"You with your anger and paranoia, me with my fear of abandonment, and poor Elijah, he dedicates himself to everyone but himself. We are the strongest creatures in the world, and yet we're damaged beyond repair. We live without hope, but we will never die. We are the definition of cursed, always and forever."

"I can only act on what I know, Caroline." he explained as he tried to convey his thoughts to her. "On what I have seen. What I have experienced over the centuries."

She turned and met his eyes then, drawing a breath of relief from him as he saw no signs of her having closed herself off to him. Yet. "What about Marcel?" she asked.

"What about him?"

"Do you love him?" she pressed, leaving him to blink shortly with a furrowed frown. "Or Hayley?" she added before he could think of an answer. "Do you love Hayley like your own family?"

"Yes." he replied with a nod.

"And Marcel? He was like a son to you, right? Still is in many ways."

"Yes." he repeated, baffled by her direction of questions.

"Neither of them are Mikaelson's, but you still think of them as family." she said, earning another nod from him.

"Blood isn't all that ties us, Caroline. Families are formed in many ways." he concluded.

"Yes, sure. But you had to love them first in order for them to become family." she countered as she reached for his jaw with a warm hand. "You didn't have to take Marcel in, care for him and raise him as your own… But you did. You didn't have to care about Hayley, you were never friends and I doubt you have all that much in common either…"

He chuckled shortly as she shrugged and continued. "But she is more than just Hope's mother. She is more than some one-time thing…" she drifted off shortly, narrowing her eyes as she examined him then. "She was a one-time thing, right?" she asked, making him bite back another laugh.

"Yes." he confirmed with an amused smirk.

"There's not some secret romance history there or anything else? You're not technically married or something?" she pushed on with clear disdain on her beautiful face, causing him to grin at her in response.

"Hayley was a one-time-terribly-drunk-let's-have-hate-sex-and-drown-our-sorrows thing." he replied cheekily. "What is your point, love?"

"Right, so technically… Hayley doesn't have to mean anything to you." she said as she got back on track again.

"You could just not want her dead, prefer if she was safe and healthy, but that's it. You could have decided to share custody over Hope and the only contact between you two would be parent-teacher meetings or whenever you dropped your daughter off at each other's places." she thought aloud, entertaining him as he caught a small glimpse into her brilliant mind.

"Instead, she seems to be just as much a part of your family as the rest of them." she concluded. "Just like Marcel."

"I suppose." he shrugged before she began again.

"That means that you loved them before they were family. And because of that love, they became a part of you." she continued, scratching lightly at his arm and sending a tremor through his body in result. "I guess, the way I see it; you could have loved Marcel, have him love Rebekah, and you would all still be a family today."

He eyed her closely, swallowing shortly as she seemed done then. "You mean to say I was wrong?" he suggested.

"I don't know." she admitted with a shrug. "But I think that we change and evolve and become different versions of ourselves many times over the years. Some of the choices that you make at one point in your life might not be as obvious a choice at another. Because you aren't the same person anymore, and perhaps you see things differently or know something that changes your feelings about it."

Watching her with furrowed brows, he let out a sigh and decided to be honest. Hopefully, it would be enough for her. "Your conclusion is based on the hope that people can change." he pointed out with a slight frown. "That is not always the case, love."

"You don't think that people learn from their pasts?" she questioned, making him nod before he responded.

"I do." he confirmed in agreement. "But I don't think that applies to everyone. And I fear it may not to someone like me either."

"Someone like you?" she echoed slowly.

"Someone cursed and beaten down." he clarified, a sad smile on his face as he accepted the truth. "Someone broken."

Her eyes roamed his features for a moment, her lips parted in disbelief as she pulled at his arm then. Swiftly taking him with her as she moved up and lied back on the bed, drawing him to her chest as she embraced him. Holding him tightly to her chest, his face above her heart as he closed his eyes and breathed her in.

"People don't stay broken, Klaus." she whispered after a long moment, her hands stroking his back and massaging his scalp affectionately. "We break. And we heal."

He felt the words hit deep within his chest, trying to fill something that had long been empty. His arms wrapped tighter around her waist as he wanted to believe her with all he had. "And for what it's worth…" she murmured softly. "I don't think you're broken."

His eyes burned and his throat tightened as her voice swept over him like some soothing light. "You don't?" he whispered in question.

She shook her head beneath him and hugged him tighter then. "Not at all." she promised, warming his heart with the certainty she exuded. "I think you're like me. I think we've both been broken many times over. And if we want to be better, to be unbroken, to stop hurting, then we will. I think that is the beauty of pain, it changes and strengthens you." she murmured warmly before sighing out and speaking again. "No matter how many times we break, we can still heal. Always."

A sad smile pulled at his lips then as he took it in slowly. An immense admiration building within him over the incredible woman who refused to stay broken. Because if anyone was capable of even beginning to relate to his pain - it would surely be her. She had lost nearly as much as him, and since her lifespan was a mere percentage of his; it was clear that she might be far stronger than he himself had ever been. Stronger even than Elijah, Rebekah… or everyone else in his life who had experienced grief on a similar level. He was sure that Caroline was the strongest of them all.

They stayed like that for the rest of the night. Him listening to her steady heartbeat as if it were a lullaby, and her holding him close as she stroked his hair tenderly. Nearly bringing him hope that within her proximity, he could heal after all. That he could be strong as well. That he could be good. And after more than a thousand years, that was the closest the Original hybrid had ever come to truly loving someone.

Someone who wasn't family. Someone who had no obligations or ties that forced them to remain in his life. Someone who was all he had been afraid to wish for. Everything he had not dared to want before.

Someone who may, possibly, be able to love him in return.