Greetings all! I have brought to you another chapter and it is a long one. I do hope you enjoy it.

Warning: mentions of violence and torture


Chapter Twenty Three: Ray

Kiara stared at the old building in front of them. The entrance was lined with motorcycles and cigarette butts. Above, there was a giant wooden guitar placed between the words Southern and Comfort. She could only assume that southern comfort was supposed to be music since there were other guitars painted around the rest of the building that had been there so long the paint was chipping away. But she couldn't be sure.

One thing she did know was that they had no hope of blending in with the people here, not if their cars were any indication. The fancy BMW Klaus had been driving really stood out next to the beaten-down trucks that seemed to cover this part of the state.

Not particularly looking forward to the day's events, Kiara took her time stepping out of the car. The rocks that littered the parking lot crunched under her combat boots. She sighed.

"Let's pick up the speed, Kiara, we don't have all day," Stefan called to her, already at the front door with Preston standing next to him.

"Suck a dick, Stefan," Kiara said as she slammed the car door shut.

Klaus stifled a laugh and said, "Come on now, we're all friends here."

"Well that's just not true," Kiara told him as they approached the building side-by-side. "Stefan and I have never been friends. Never will be friends. And I stand by what I said, he can suck a dick."

"Remind again why we brought the succubus?" Stefan wondered as he pulled the door open and they all walked inside. "We move a lot faster without her."

"Because I said so." Was all Klaus said. "Now go… before I get angry."

Klaus walked with Kiara up to the condensation streaked bar top while the other two vampires worked on compelling everyone inside. Their first goal was to find this Ray person and Stefan had heard he frequented this bar. It was the same werewolf they had been trying to track down for awhile now. Kiara had no idea how they were so good at hiding but she was seriously considering asking for some tips once they finally found one.

It was mid-afternoon. Meeting up with Stefan and finding the place took longer than any of them expected. Still Kiara wasn't in much of a rush because she didn't think anyone would be in the little hole in the wall at this time of day. The considerable crowd staring her down proved her wrong. What didn't surprise Kiara was the overwhelming smell of smoke and alcohol floating in the air, but the familiar assault to her nose didn't make her any less uncomfortable being there. Especially since the last time she was in a bar, it was her birthday and she had drunkenly flirted with Klaus after charming a room full of strangers mid-karaoke.

The bartender approached Kiara with a grin on his face. "Hey there pretty lady, what can I do for you?"

Kiara felt Klaus's eyes flicker over to her. She wondered if he caught the man's choice of words and what it implied. He said, what can I do for you? Not get. Do.

"I'd like a soda, please," Kiara said, hopping up into a stool. "Pepsi, if you have it."

"Pepsi? You sure?"

Kiara just nodded, ignoring the disappointed tone to his voice.

"Nothing for me." Klaus added as the bartender jumped to get Kiara what she asked for. He sat down in the stool next to her with a grace that Kiara pretended to lack in public.

He was quieter than usual. Typically he would talk her head off, but he hardly said anything to her all day. Kiara couldn't help but wonder if she did something wrong. She thought yesterday went relatively well all things considered. But now she was second guessing things despite the affection she could feel coming off of him. Maybe finding out about Holly's "treatments" made him want to keep his distance. He never really did say anything about it. She could only imagine what he thought of her now.

As if reading her mind, Klaus asked, "You alright, love?"

"Hm?" she turned to him. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"What makes you say that?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Nevermind."

The bartender put down her drink and leaned against the counter towards her. "Haven't seen you around here before. What's your name?"

"Sofie," Kiara told him, the lie slipping easily from her mouth. She pulled the glass towards her body. "I'm looking for a friend of mine, we lost touch over the years and I heard he hangs out here sometimes. His name's Ray."

"Ray Sutton?"

Kiara offered him a smile. "You've heard of him?"

"Yeah," The bartender blushed under her gaze. "I know all my regulars."

"Is he here now?"

The man shrugged. "I haven't seen him."

"Well," Kiara played with the straw in front of her. "do you think he'll show tonight?"

"Maybe," The bartender laughed, almost nervously before adding. "Will you stick around to find out?"

"Absolutely," Kiara told him, glancing at Klaus who was glaring at the man now. "We'll wait as long as it takes. I'll be right back. I need to use the little girl's room."

It was a lie. Kiara just wanted to give herself a second to catch her breath. She slipped into the tiny bathroom, locked the door, and opened the little window to the right of the mirror. Then she turned to the sink to splash water on her face. She'd been trying to prepare herself for weeks for the moment when they finally found a werewolf. Although she was sick searching, she really had no idea what Klaus planned to do to one once he had one. Turn them, sure. But that meant them dying and something told her that wasn't something they'd just agree to.

She always knew there was a ruthlessness to Klaus. Elijah had told her so only days after they met. It wasn't that she forgot that, but Holly confessed to her last night that she had heard horror stories about the Mikelson family. Holly was scared and with Klaus suddenly going quiet, Kiara's anxiety had come back full force. So she leaned over the stained sink for a few minutes and tried to prepare herself to face Klaus's dark side.

On the car ride there, Kiara attempted to ask Klaus about finding a witch to unlink them. It seemed to only make sense that they would do so soon. Keeping them linked together was a hindrance to both of them. But he shrugged it off.

"I'm afraid that isn't my main focus at the moment." Was how he phrased it.

Normally the response would have annoyed Kiara enough that she'd offer a smart retort or at least enquire as to why that was. But there was a distance in Klaus's voice. Like it was a rehearsed answer. Like even as he answered the question, his mind was elsewhere. And the realization scared her.

Why was he keeping them linked?

Surely there was a reason. There's a reason for everything Klaus did. The question was, did Kiara want to know the reason? She didn't know… so she didn't ask.

A knock on the door made her jump.

"Kiara," Klaus called on the other side. "Are you alright, love?"

"Yes… I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You've been in there awhile and I can hear your heart racing. If you're hungry, I—"

Kiara pulled open the door. "I'm sure."

Klaus peered into the room over her shoulder as if he might find a man hiding in there somewhere. But all he found was a cracked open window and stars scratched onto the wall next to the mirror.

"I just needed some air. It stinks of smoke in here."

Klaus smiled a little. "Yes, I suppose it does." He tucked her hair behind her ear. An easy excuse to touch her, Kiara was starting to realize. His fingers lingered behind her ear and ran down her neck. No doubt her heartbeat thudded under his touch. "I do apologize for having to bring you to such an establishment," he said, his eyes looking around them dramatically. Like the ceiling might cave in on them any second. "I hope you'll forgive me."

"I'm not mad," Kiara shifted on her feet. "I'm just-I'm worried. That's all."

"Worried?" He cupped her face in his hand. "What about?"

"Holly," she lied. "Don't get me wrong, I was happy to see her, but she was scared. For me."

"I assured her that she had no reason to be before she left," Klaus told her.

"You did?"

"Of course," Klaus said then leaned down slightly to force her to meet his eyes. His hand gently holding her face in place. "Do you doubt that I can protect you?"

Kiara didn't hesitate to answer. "No. No, I don't doubt that you can."

"And the fact that we continue to be linked assures you that I will."

"Yeah," Kiara nodded.

It seemed that would be the end of it, but Klaus squinted his eyes at her. He knew just by her heart rate and breathing pattern that she was still uneasy. He just didn't know why. "Do you want to be unlinked from me that badly?"

"I-I don't…" Kiara tried to look away from his intense gaze, but he held her in place. "That's not it. I just," she squirmed uneasily, which only made him take a step closer to her. Pressing her against the door frame. "I can hardly handle my own feelings, much less yours. I mean, you must be getting sick of me by now. Right? I'm a bit… much."

"Yes," Klaus pressed his thumb down on her bottom lip. Suddenly fixated on her mouth. "But you're safer linked to me."

"Yeah, no, I know," Kiara nodded in agreement and forced a smile.

"Klaus?" The sound of his name made Klaus immediately drop his hand. Stefan's head peeked around the corner at them. "Everyone's been taken care of. No sign of Ray, but another regular here claims he usually shows up around five or six o'clock."

Klaus turned to him, clearly annoyed. "Doesn't anyone have this man's number?"

Stefan shook his head.

"Honestly…" Klaus shook his head. "These werewolves don't trust anybody. Do they? What a complicated lot."

Since it was obvious Klaus wasn't looking for an answer, Stefan just walked away. Klaus glanced at her with raised eyebrows.

"Don't look at me," Kiara put her hands up and started walking back to the bar. "I'm still trying to figure you out and we're magically linked."

Klaus just smirked in response.


With time to kill, Klaus decided to try teaching Kiara how to play darts. A game that she insisted she didn't need to learn. But it was difficult to say no to Klaus and with nothing else to do, she eventually gave in to his demands. Stefan and Preston took turns playing against her. While Klaus stood behind her with one hand on her waist and the other on her wrist to help guide her movements.

As they played, the humans around them continued to chatter over the sound of obscure country music as if they weren't even there.

"It's weird," Kiara said, glancing around. "None of them are even looking at me."

"That's because they're compelled," Stefan explained to her as if she were a child.

"I know that. I'm just not used to the feeling."

"Well God forbid you're not the center of attention for five minutes."

Kiara rolled her eyes and considered sticking him with a dart when Preston nodded at someone walking into the bar behind them.

"What's up, Ray?" The bartender called the guy as he approached.

"Hey, Rick." Ray sat down. "Can I get a beer?"

Klaus smirked and tried to play it cool, but deep down Kiara could feel he was overjoyed.

They finally found one. A real live werewolf.

The three of them watched as Klaus strolled to the bar and greeted the man. "Ray? Ray Sutton?"

Ray stared at him for a moment before saying, "Who wants to know?"

"I've been looking everywhere for you," Klaus grinned, getting comfortable. "We started in Cincinnati where we met a cousin of one of your friends who sent us to the middle of nowhere. Then to Charleston where we found an old man who knew your father. Now he told us we could find you in Cumming, Georgia. But we only found an old girlfriend of yours. Eventually, we found ourselves in Florida, Pensacola. I met a young chap there who you worked with before you moved to Memphis. Now he directed some friends of mine to two lovely young women and they led me here. To you."

Obviously sensing some danger, Ray stood up and said, "I think I'll be going."

"Not so fast, mate." Klaus put a hand on his shoulder. "You only just got here."

The two wolves stared at one another for a tense moment.

"Now, your type are very hard to come by," Klaus told him.

Ray turned around only to be met with Stefan. Kiara had to do a double-take because he had moved so fast she missed it when she blinked. But she heard him say, "Yeah, I wouldn't do that."

"Vampires," Ray mumbled.

Because of Holly's potion, Kiara's abilities were dimmed slightly. She could just barely see the wolf's aura shifting colors from unease to full-blown panic.

"You're swifty swift, Ray," Klaus leaned towards the bar to grab Ray's forgotten drink and continued to say, "Yes, my friend here is a vampire. As is another friend of mine, over there," he gestured to Preston who waved at them. "They've compelled everyone in the bar so don't look to them for any help. I, however… I'm something else. A different kind of monster. I've got some vampire. I've got some wolf."

"A… what?" Ray asked, suddenly terrified.

"A hybrid, Ray. I'm both," Klaus told him. "You see, I want to create more of me. Now, you being the first werewolf I've come across in many a moon, pun intended, Ray. Heh. I need you to direct me to your pack. So… where can I find them, Ray?"

"You can't compel me. It won't work."

Klaus glanced at Stefan who was already scratching his head in irritation. They all knew what was expected by now. If Ray wouldn't work with them willingly then it was Stefan's job to make him.

Stefan turned to the bartender and said, "I need a scotch on the rocks, please." Stefan sounded uneasy and he must have realized it as he pulled something out of his pocket because he cleared his throat. "Tell you what, Ray. We're going to play a little drinking game. Something I like to call truth or wolfsbane."

"Oh, this is going to be fun, Ray," Klaus said.

The pleasure Klaus was getting from the idea of causing Ray pain made Kiara take a step forward.

"Wait," she called, trying not to sound as bothered by the whole situation. "I haven't had a chance to play with him yet."

This made Klaus look in her direction. It seemed he had almost forgotten she was there. He studied her for a moment trying to figure out what she meant by that. Klaus had never seen Kiara hurt anyone, not on purpose anyway, and he clearly had mixed feelings about the idea. It almost looked like he wanted to tell her to leave, but then he noticed how Ray was looking at her. With curiosity. Like he knew he was looking at something entirely unknown to him.

Klaus smirked. "Ray, allow me to introduce Kiara. She's quite lovely, isn't she?" When Ray didn't say anything, Klaus looked back at her and said, "You want to have a go at him, fine. Be my guest."

With all eyes on her, Kiara slowly approached the werewolf. She smiled gently at him as if that would somehow calm him down. But neither Klaus nor Stefan had given them much space so his instincts were probably preventing him from being able to do so. Ray's eyes would look at her and then dart from Klaus to Stefan. Then back at her. Knowing she needed to have his full attention, Kiara reached out and placed a hand on Ray's chest.

"Hey Ray," she smiled at him, trying to get him to calm down. He just watched as she trailed a hand up to his neck and to his cheek. He flinched slightly when he felt her fingertips make contact with his skin. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you," she told him. "I just wanna talk. Okay?"

"W-what are you?"

Kiara shook her head at the question. "Am I that obvious?" she asked, glancing at Klaus when Ray didn't answer. Klaus only shrugged, clearly more interested in seeing her work. Most of the time when she questioned people, he wasn't around. It's how she preferred it. Now she didn't have a choice but to work with him watching. She looked back at Ray and said, "I'm a succubus, Ray."

Ray frowned and stepped back. "A-a what? No. There's no such thing."

"I wish that were true…" Kiara smiled sadly. She pulled her hand away from him. She wasn't sure how to deal with him. It's a bit different charming someone who was so on edge.

"Prove it."

"I can do that," Kiara quickly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pressed him up against the bar top behind him. "But I'm a hands-on kind of girl. You okay with that?"

Instantly Ray's eyes flashed gold and Kiara smirked, her eyes glimmering their emerald green right back at him. "I like you, Ray. You're cute."

"I'm flattered," Ray said back, sarcastically. His eyes went back to normal.

"You should be. We could have a lot of fun, you and I," Kiara trailed a pattern along Ray's neck making him shiver. "If you answer some of my questions, it'd make me very happy."

"Yeah?" Ray suddenly grabbed her wrist. "What makes you think that I give a shit if you're happy or not?"

Kiara's eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly played it off with a laugh. "Because the happier I am… the better you'll feel."

Ray licked his lips and Kiara watched his adam's apple as he swallowed hard. He struggled to respond. It was like the words were caught in his throat. "Y-you think I'd give up my friends, my family for some tail?" he asked. Suddenly he twisted her arm. Hard. There was a snap and Kiara screamed. Ray leaned close to her and said, "Pass."

Ray pushed her away from him and Kiara stumbled, clutching her arm.

In a heartbeat, Klaus's hands were around Ray's neck. "Bad decision, Ray."

Kiara didn't hear what he said next because she rushed out of the bar. A rage was boiling from within her that she didn't even know she was capable of feeling. She could tear into someone. At that moment, she was capable of doing almost anything. Even killing. But the pain kept her focused on her arm. Once she was outside, she could feel her bones starting to heal. A terrible cracking sound was coming from it as the shattered bone popped into place and fused back together. The healing was taking a little longer than it usually would. So it hurt more. Tears were in her eyes and she let out the scream of frustration she'd been holding in.

A hand grabbed her shoulder and she jumped.

"Woah there, love, it's just me," Klaus said. His hands were up in the air when she looked at him. "I came to check on you."

"I'm fine."

"You're hurt," He pointed out.

"I'm healing," she snapped, keeping her back to him. "I'll-I'll be fine, eventually."

"Look, sweetheart, I'm going to need you to look at me," Klaus told her. "I nearly tore Ray's head off just now and the only thing keeping me from doing so is you." When Kiara met his eyes, he said, "I'm sure you can understand that as much as I'd love to tear him apart, I need him alive."

Kiara scoffed. "You know I don't want you killing anyone. Certainly not on my account. It's-this is nothing. Really."

"Perhaps you should let me be the judge of that," Klaus gently guided her to face him and he began to look over her arm that was changing color as it fast-forwarded through the healing process.

"It's already feeling better," she tried to reassure him. Her face turned pink as his fingers moved over her skin. She looked around the parking lot and didn't see anyone. "I just-I don't understand. No one's ever rejected my charm like that before… I feel like, I don't know, maybe something's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you," Klaus muttered. His eyes focused on her arm.

Kiara sighed as Ray's screams pierced her ears. She internally cursed her advanced hearing. The sound vibrated through her body and she shuddered as the faint echo of his suffering moved through her. It was like the sound carried his pain into her body. "If that were true, that wouldn't be happening right now."

"You can't blame yourself for that, love," Klaus said, making her look at him. "Ray made his choice."

And Kiara understood what Klaus meant. "He'd rather die than betray his pack."

"Yes. Unfortunately for him, death isn't on the table."

Kiara cringed as Ray cried out again. "I wish I could just turn it off."

"Turn what off?" Klaus asked, lifting his eyes to look at her face.

"Everything."


It only took about fifteen minutes for Kiara's arm to be completely healed and pain-free. Klaus remained at her side the entire time. He still wanted to punish Ray for hurting her, even though she was completely fine now. But the rage wasn't quite there anymore. Eventually, it became clear that they were only sitting outside because Kiara couldn't bear the thought of going inside just to watch Stefan torture Ray. His screams were awful enough.

"When I first woke up like this," Kiara said, breaking the silence they had fallen into. "I spent three days with headphones stuck in my ears. I kept the volume turned up as loud as I could bear to drown out the sound of… everything. It hurt so bad. My head was killing me. I couldn't focus. Sleep was basically impossible. I think a part of me was hoping if I left music blasting in my ears long enough I would eventually just go deaf."

"I remember the feeling," Klaus nodded and added. "Everything's heightened for vampires. It's quite a bit to get used to."

"For succubi too. Apparently."

"Yes, well, we all adapted eventually."

"Yeah," Kiara nodded. "But I jammed a pair of scissors in my ears first."

Klaus's face fell. "You what?"

"It's not like it did anything," Kiara looked down at her hands as she pressed her fingertips into her palms. "I was all healed up before the blood even dried. Holly never even knew I did it. No one did."

"Love, I—"

"You don't have to say anything," she sighed. "I get it. You want what you want. I just, I need you to understand that I have to try charming Ray again."

"No. Not gonna happen, love," Klaus shook his head. "I don't want you going anywhere near him."

Kiara bit her lip to keep tears from building behind her eyes again. "Klaus, please," she said. "I'm not asking you to abandon this whole thing, just for you to change your methods. You brought me along for a reason. Let me help before this drives me crazy."

It seemed like Klaus was going to tell her no. Kiara was preparing herself for more of a fight, but he nodded instead. "Alright, love. Give it one more try."

"Yes!" Kiara leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."


The two of them walked back into the bar together. The country-rock music was still playing overhead. The crowd was still moving about the bar like it was any other day. The only thing out of place was Ray, who was chained to the wall in front of the dartboard. There were darts stuck in his body and blood marks all over him. It was obvious what they were doing.

They were playing darts. Only Ray was the board.

Stefan dipped a dart into the borbon wolfsbane filled glass and threw it, hitting Ray on the forehead. His skin sizzled on impact and he screamed out in agony. Insteadly a wave of nausea came over Kiara. She tried to distance herself from him mentally, emotionally. But it was hard. His hurt was screaming out to her and she wanted to take it away.

"Good one," Preston laughed as he dipped a dart into the glass. He flicked his hair out of his face and said, "I bet I can hit his eye this time."

When Preston released the dart from his hand, Kiara rushed into its path and caught it.

"Hey! What the fuck was that for?" Preston asked.

"Game's over," she told him.

"And who the hell are you to decide that?" Preston took a step towards her. Almost like he might hit her. But when Klaus stepped in front of her, Preston backed down.

Confident that Stefan and Preston wouldn't hurt her, Kiara turned her back to them to face Ray. She frowned when she saw Ray was trembling. Whether it was due to the pain or fear she couldn't say. Slowly she removed the darts still stuck in his body.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you," she told him.

"Yeah, sure you are. What are you even doing here? Playing the good cop again? It isn't going to work."

Kiara crossed her arm over her chest and turned to the bartender to ask for a glass of water. Then she looked back at Ray and said, "Can't you see I'm trying to help you here?"

"Is that so?"

"It is."

"And why should I believe you?" he asked.

"Because being empathic is part of being a succubus," she told him. "Vampires can turn their emotions off when they need to. I don't have that luxury."

Ray's eyebrows scrunched together. "Empathy?"

"Yeah. You know… your pain is my pain."

"Oh."

"You may not believe me." Kiara picked up some napkins, wet them a little bit, and wiped the blood off of his face. Not necessarily because she thought it would comfort him in any way. But because she didn't want to talk to someone whose face was smeared with their own blood. "But I hate this shit. I've done everything I could to prevent the suffering of those we've come into contact with. It doesn't have to be this hard, you know."

Ray scoffed and looked away from her. "You don't understand. I can't tell them where they are. I can't."

"You're right. I don't understand," Kiara nodded her head in agreement. "And I'm sure if I were in your position, I'd be doing exactly what you're doing."

"Oh yeah? And what am I doing?"

"You're trying to sacrifice yourself for your pack. You'd rather die than give them up, but believe me when I say, these guys will not kill you. Not yet anyway. And they'll enjoy making you suffer in the meantime."

Ray didn't say anything in response.

"Look just tell me where your pack gathers for the Full Moon," Kiara cupped Ray's face and watched his eyes flutter closed. The change from the extreme pain he'd been feeling must have shocked him because his knees nearly buckled underneath him. "If you don't, they're going to go back to using you for target practice and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

Kiara could see the fear in Ray's eyes when he finally looked back at her. He tried to steady his breathing as she brought her other hand up to trial along his bloody neck. "I-I can't," he told her. His voice breaking.

"I know what we're asking is awful, but Stefan does whatever Klaus says and he won't let him stop until you tell us where to find them."

"And what about you? Huh?" Ray asked. "What are you his girlfriend or something?"

Kiara resisted the urge to look back at Klaus. She could feel his eyes on her as she searched her mind for the correct response. Finally, she settled on, "It's complicated, but you should know that this is my last shot. He won't let me try with you again. Which means it's nothing but agony from here on out if you say no to me."

It seemed impossible that he would say no to her. No one ever does. But as Ray clutched on the chains holding him in place, he seemed pretty determined to do just that. Again.

"Mr. Klaus," A woman's voice caught Kiara's ear. "I have some information for you. You told me to tell you if I saw anything. I saw that guy's brother Damon at the farmhouse."

Kiara froze.

Damon? Kiara shouldn't have been surprised. He was a dick, but he cared about his brother and probably wanted him back home. Family was family after all.

"Well thank you, Claudia," Klaus said. Kiara could hear the smirk in his voice. "You just tell your friends to keep up the good work with the neighbourhood watch, huh?"

"My brother's still on our trial?" Stefan asked.

"He's getting closer. I'm going to have to deal with that."

There was a slight growl in his voice that suggested violence. Kiara tried to imagine feeling bad about Damon being gone and she found that she couldn't. That made her feel kinda bad. Was her time with Klaus beginning to change her already?

"No, no, no," Stefan said. "Let me handle it. You and Preston stay here… help Kiara convince Ray to do his part. This won't take long."

Klaus paused like he was considering it. "Why should I let you leave?"

"'Cause you know I'll come back."

"Do I?"

"You saved my brother's life. I'm in your service," Stefan reminded him. It sounded like he was reading from a script or something.

"Oh, that almost sounds so tedious and indentured," Klaus complained. "Aren't you even having the least bit of fun?"

Kiara rolled her eyes at that but refrained from saying anything.

Instead of answering, Stefan just said, "I'll make sure that my brother doesn't bother us anymore." Then he left the bar. And Klaus let him.

Within seconds, Kiara could feel Klaus approaching her from behind and Ray's eyes shifted to look over her right shoulder.

Kiara tilted her head to glance at him. "Can I help you?"

"Easy, love. I'm just checking to see how it's going over here," he told her.

"Good. I think he's warming up to me," Kiara lied and gave Ray a look that told him to go with it.

Not that it mattered. Klaus didn't believe her anyway.

"Really?" he asked.

"Why do you sound surprised?" Kiara turned her body to face Klaus. She didn't even attempt to hide her annoyance. "People love me. I'm a delight."

Klaus just smirked at her. "Oh, absolutely, love. I don't mean to imply otherwise. It's just, well, I was under the impression that the… medicine you took last night might be affecting your abilities."

Kiara felt her face drop. She blinked and looked away from him. "I-I didn't even think about that. Why didn't you didn't say anything earlier?"

"Well," Klaus opened his mouth to respond and paused. "Clearly I was mistaken. Right?"

"Yeah…" Kiara nodded to herself as an idea popped into her mind. "Do you think you could unchain him?"

"I could, but I'd need a good reason," Klaus told her.

"I need him lying down," Kiara said. "Maybe we could just move him to the pool table over there?"

Klaus glanced back at Preston who was watching them with dark eyes. He wasn't Kiara's biggest fan so doing anything she asked would irritate him. Still, he stood and walked over to help. The two vampires easily moved the rather limp werewolf to the pool table. Then they stayed close as Kiara approached him.

It looked like Ray was still in quite a bit of pain. Kiara didn't bother to explain to him what was coming next. She just placed two fingers on his head and said, "Sleep."

Instantly Ray was unconscious. Weary, Kiara hopped up onto the pool table and laid back until her head was across from Ray's. She wasn't sure if Klaus was right about the potion messing with her abilities. She'd never used them all that much before to notice the difference after drinking it. But now, she was really needing them to work so she had to try.

"What're you doing, love?" Klaus asked, looking her over as she attempted to get comfortable.

"It'll be easier when he's sleeping," she told him. "Less resistance."

Preston snorted and collapsed in a nearby chair, but didn't comment. He didn't need to. It was obvious that he thought that she was ridiculous and so was Klaus for entertaining her. Kiara rolled her eyes at him as she settled her hands on her stomach. Then she closed her eyes.

In recent weeks, Kiara had gotten quite good at slipping into people's dreams. Well, Klaus's dreams. And maybe the link made it a bit easier to connect with him… but she didn't struggle too much finding her way into Ray's subconscious.


Once inside, Kiara quickly found herself in the woods. She sighed. "What's with werewolves dreaming of being in the woods?"

"Instinct, I guess," Ray said, suddenly behind her.

Kiara jumped and placed a hand on her chest to calm her racing heart. "Jeez Ray, you scared the crap out of me."

"Me? You're the one who shouldn't be here."

"I know, I just-I thought it'd be easier to talk this way. Less people listening, you know?"

"Right," Ray said, sarcastically. "Because you're on my side, right?"

"I never said that." Kiara shook her head. "Look, I'm really more of a neutral party here if I'm being honest. I just prefer my world to be torture free, that's all."

Ray crossed his arms in front of him. "What a coincidence, so do I."

"Then tell Klaus what he wants to know!"

"I already told you, I can't!"

"If you don't, Klaus is going to make you wish you were never born," Kiara told him. "Believe me, he has his ways. I know a girl who betrayed him. He killed Katherine's entire family as revenge and she spent 500 years after that running from him."

Ray just stared at her.

Eventually Kiara rolled her eyes. "Look, he will make you tell him either way. The only question is… how pissed do you want him to be? Because he can be very petty when he wants to be," she told him. "Literally everyone you've ever met is in danger here."

"Is that why you're with him?" he asked. His voice was almost kind now. "Does he have someone you care about?"

"I told you it's complicated," Kiara shook her head. She didn't want to talk about herself with this man. She didn't want to even try explaining her relationship with Elijah, or her father, or Klaus. She didn't want to even think about the magical link binding her to Klaus. Or the fact that he had Holly and Elijah in an undisclosed location. If she thought about it, she would have a panic attack. "This isn't about me anyway. You should really worry more about yourself right now."

Ray nodded in understanding. He was finally starting to get it. "Alright, I'll tell you," he said and Kiara smiled. Only instead of speaking, he punched in the stomach so hard she felt his fist come out her back.

Kiara screamed, almost forgetting she was in a dream and woke up.


Kiara's stomach muscles contracted as she opened her eyes. She was no longer in Ray's dream and the pain was still rippling through her. Quickly Kiara stumbled off the pool table and threw up onto the wood floor of the bar. Or at least she thought she did. But when she wiped her mouth, she found her hand was streaked with blood. She gritted her teeth and looked up at Klaus who was standing over her with a very grim expression on his face. His hands rolled up into tight fists at his sides.

"I think," Kiara tried to catch her breath. "I think he just knocked me out of his head."

"I see."

"I'm sorry. I tried to tell him what you would do to him. I told him about Katherine. I thought he was starting to understand, but—"

"No, love, I think you were on the right track," Klaus said. He offered her a hand and helped her up. "You take a seat and relax. I'm going to show him exactly what I'll do if he doesn't start to cooperate."

Kiara nodded, sitting down and drinking some water. Across the pool table Preston gave her a smug look that made Kiara roll her eyes again. She didn't think it was possible, but she liked him even less than she liked Stefan. Which was unfortunate since she was pretty sure he was her only hope of finding out where Elijah was.


By the time Stefan made his way back into the bar, Ray had told Klaus where they could find the pack. It turned out they weren't the chain themselves up to keep the public safe kind of wolves. They preferred to run free under the full moon instead and they would do so in the Smoky Mountains.

"There he finally told you," Kiara said, rubbing her temples. A headache had started to form ever since Ray kicked her out of his dream and it was only getting worse. Thankfully she didn't spit up blood again. "Now what?"

"Well, it's a three-step process. Alright, Ray?" Klaus said, keeping his attention on Ray who was still withering on the pool table. "This is step one. I want you to drink from my wrist."

"I already told you where to find the pack. What more do you want from me?" Ray asked.

Klaus leaned his hands onto the pool table and said, "Have you been listening to a word I've been saying, Ray? I have great plans for you." He pointed the dagger in his hand at Ray's face making a flash of fear move through him. Then he cut his own wrist and grabbed Ray's head forcing him to drink from it. "He'll thank me for it later." Klaus laughed.

Somehow Kiara doubted that very much.

When Klaus finally pulled away from him. Ray said, "What are you doing to do now?"

"It's time for step two, Ray," Klaus said, before quickly breaking his neck. It looked like he used a bit more force than necessary, but that might have been Kiara's imagination. Then he looked at Stefan and said, "You're back."

"Did you doubt me?"

"Not for a second," Klaus smirked. "I knew you'd pass the test. You still care for your brother; for your old life."

Stefan scoffed. "Nah. I don't care about anything anymore."

"You put on a good show, Stefan," Klaus pointed out. He walked towards him as he sat down at a table. "I almost believe you. Let's hope, for your brothers sake, he does." Klaus leaned towards him and said, "You never stop caring about family, do you? But every time you feed, the blood makes it easier to let go."

At that moment, Kiara almost felt bad for Stefan. He had a lot more to lose than she did. Family. Friends. The person he had worked so hard to become. Klaus seemed intent on bringing back this ripper version of him, but it was obvious that Stefan didn't want to be that person anymore. She could see it in his aura. She could feel his struggle to keep from completely losing it.

"Hey, Klaus?" she said, forcing herself to stand up. When Klaus sped over to her and made her sit back down, she said, "I'm okay. I still feel a little nauseous though… so I was just gonna grab another soda."

"Not to worry, love, I'll get it," Klaus said. He tried not to look concerned, but she could feel it as he walked over to the bar.

Kiara saw Stefan look back at her and she nodded at him. She didn't know what he just had to do. But it was obvious that he was hurting. She saw him swallow hard before nodding back. She didn't know what made her do it, but she decided to distract Klaus so he'd leave Stefan alone for the moment.

"You don't have to baby me, you know," Kiara said when Klaus came back with the drink.

Suddenly Klaus's hand was around her throat and he was leaning close to her face. His lips were nearly touching hers as he spoke. "Is it really so hard for you to say thank you?" he asked her.

It seemed the torture of Ray Sutton had brought out more of Klaus's dark side than she realized. He hadn't been that rough with her in a while now. She'd almost forgotten that he was willing to treat her that way.

"Thank you," she muttered.

Instantly he dropped her. Almost like he didn't consciously grab her like that. But it didn't matter. He had. He watched her drink the soda. He was so focused on her now that he didn't even notice when Stefan rushed out of the bar to get some air.

Klaus leaned close to her, his eyes on her throat, and mumbled, "You aren't healing."

"I told you," Kiara gasped, taking a few more gulps of the carbonated drink before placing it down on the little table next to her. "I'm fine."

Klaus's demeanor shifted from his cocky dominant self to something more uncertain. "Perhaps you need to feed."

"No," Kiara said before adding, "thank you."

"That wasn't a question, love," Klaus said. He looked back at Preston and told him to watch Ray before picking her up and using his vampire speed to rush her out of the bar.

Kiara kept her eyes closed fearing that the world blurring around her would make her feel even more sick to her stomach. When she opened them again, she found that they were in the backseat of the SUV and she sighed.

"You're angry with me," Klaus said, watching her face in the darkness.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are, love. You want to know how I know?" Klaus asked her, not even bothering to wait for an answer. "You're terribly easy to read and you won't even look at me."

Kiara didn't even bother answering him. She couldn't put it into words. And she really didn't have to. She knew that Klaus could feel her anger, disappointment, and embarrassment. She also knew that he really didn't much care about how she was feeling at the moment. And even if he attempted to tell her otherwise, she wouldn't believe him. Because more than anything, she was pissed off at herself for ever letting her guard down around him. It'd taken him some time, but he wore her down. She started to actually think that he gave a shit about her. But if he did… would he have grabbed her like that?

Without a word, she opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle. Only she found herself face-to-face with Klaus again by the time she shut the door. He easily pressed her against the car, forcing her to glare up at him.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked her.

Kiara just bit the inside of her cheek and looked away from him.

"Answer me, Kiara."

"Or what? You'll grab me again?"

In a blink, his hand was around her throat again. Only his grip was much gentler this time. Kiara's eyes flashed green in a warning. But she remained still.

"Is that why you're acting this way, love?" he asked her. He moved his thumb to look at her skin and his reaction told her that it was as bruised as it felt.

"Let me go."

"You're angry with me for grabbing you?"

"I said, let me go!"

"Don't you want to know why I did it?"

"No."

"No?" he frowned.

"No," she told him. "It doesn't matter why. You hurt me. Again. And I shouldn't be so surprised by it, but for some reason, I was starting to think you actually gave a shit. So I'm mad at myself. Okay? I'm mad at me."

Klaus leaned closer to her making her tense up. His nose brushed hers. When she didn't push him away, he slowly pulled her into a deep passionate kiss. Kiara kissed him back for a moment before realizing what was happening and pushing him away.

"Stop," she said, out of breath.

But he whispered in her ear, "You want to hate me? Fine. It's safer that way anyway, but you will feed."

Kiara's eyebrows scrunched together as she pulled back to study his face. "Safer?"

"I've been careless. Preston made a comment earlier…" Klaus admitted. "While you were unconscious. And Stefan before that. Even Ray is asking questions."

"So?"

"So the last thing I need is for you to be perceived as some kind of weakness of mine."

"I don't understand," Kiara shook her head. "You're being more confusing than usual."

Klaus just rolled his eyes. "Just feed, love. I need you in tip-top shape. We have work to do."


Alright, everyone, that's the end of this chapter. I hope you like it. As always, reviews are appreciated and often helpful in the forming of future chapters so don't be shy. :)