Hey everybody, I got another one for you. A little faster than usual... hopefully, this is still a good one and I didn't rush things by posting this. I was so excited and couldn't wait to share it with you guys. Anyway, this chapter takes place in Season Three, Episode Two. Enjoy. :)

Warning: some violence


Chapter Twenty Four: What Happens in the Mountains

The Smoky Mountains National Park has about 800 miles of trails for hikers to enjoy. Of course, werewolves camp far from where the average person might venture so that meant they would have to hike in the woods for hours, maybe even days, before finding a safe place to settle down.

In the early morning, Preston drove them all as far up the mountain as he could and parked where the paved road came to a stop. Then they walked. Ray was still unconscious, dead technically. He had been for the entire night and by the time they managed to find the werewolf camp, he still hadn't woken up. After stubbornly carrying him the entire hike up, Stefan placed his limp body down on the ground in front of all his fellow wolves. Their fear was instantaneous. Maybe because the tension among their little group was palpable even in such high altitudes.

Kiara had barely said a word since Klaus whisked her away to feed. Instead of investigating it or attempting to make it better, Klaus spent a majority of the time verbally poking at Stefan who also didn't want to be bothered. All the while Preston trailed behind them watching them all in silence through dark judgy eyes. So when they came upon a rather large pack of werewolves, everyone was prepared for a fight. Itching for it really.

If Klaus had preferred that Kiara stay back by the car, he didn't say so. And because she had a feeling that was the case, Kiara pushed ahead right along with them. At the moment it seemed she was intent on doing whatever she thought Klaus might not want her to do. The link between them made it obvious that her behavior was starting to push his buttons, but still, he refused to say anything about it and she refused to stop.

With all eyes on them, Stefan dropped Ray onto the dirt floor and a woman rushed to check him over. Then she looked at Stefan and asked the obvious question, "Who are you?"

Before Stefan could answer, Klaus stepped forward. Rather it was a protective instinct or a prideful habit, it seemed Klaus preferred to have the attention on himself whenever possible. "The important question is, who am I?" he told her. "Please forgive the intrusion. My name is Klaus."

There was a heartbeat worth of silence as the woman slowly stood back up before she said, "You're the hybrid."

The word sent a ripple of panic through the camp. Kiara saw their auras change like Christmas lights blinking from one color to the next.

"You've heard of me?" Klaus grinned. "Fantastic."

Klaus sat down on a large flat rock and started rambling as he often does. But this felt more like a prepared speech. He was a salesman working a captive audience. It wasn't long before Stefan sat down next to him, but Kiara felt too wired to sit. She could practically taste the hormones in the air and her fight or flight response was triggered right along with the werewolves.

They were, after all, a pretty threatening group all things considered. Sure they were outnumbered, but they clearly weren't human. And the fact that they were willing to approach a pack of werewolves with a full moon on the way meant that they were either stupid, powerful, or both. Even the youngest werewolves among them had come to that conclusion.

"It's fascinating actually—a werewolf who isn't beholden to the moon, a vampire who doesn't burn in the sun," Klaus was clearly bragging. He wanted them to think highly of him and the idea of being a hybrid. He looked down thoughtfully and said, "A true hybrid."

Suddenly Ray gasped, his body contorting as he came back to life. Kiara crouched down and stroked his face with the back of her hand. She murmured words of comfort as he took in his surroundings.

"Excellent timing, Ray," Klaus said as Ray turned over onto his stomach. "Very dramatic."

Ray looked at him and asked, "What's happening to me?"

Instead of answering himself, Klaus turned to Stefan. Almost like it wasn't as much fun having to explain everything on his own.

Stefan pressed his lips together and stood up. "Are any of you human?" he asked the crowd. "Your friend here needs human blood to complete his transition to vampire. If he doesn't get it, he will die."

"Doesn't take much," Klaus added. "Just a sip." They all watched as he stood up. "Anyone? A boyfriend, a girlfriend along for the ride?" Not bothering to wait for a volunteer, Klaus looked at the closest man to him and said, "You."

Without a moment's hesitation, Klaus grabbed the man and bit his arm before pushing him towards Stefan. And almost as if they had rehearsed it, Stefan threw him onto his back and held him down on the ground next to Ray.

"No!" The woman yelled. She tried to run to him, but Klaus was prepared and held her back.

"If you don't drink it, Ray, I will," Stefan said. "The problem is, I don't know how to stop."

"It's the new order, sweetheart," Klaus told the woman that he was now held by the throat. "You join us or you die."

The woman bared her teeth at him and said, "I'd rather die than be a vampire."

Klaus's eyes shifted and dark vampire matter circled his eyes. "Wrong choice," he told her.

But she didn't actually have a choice.

Klaus bit his wrist and shoved it into her face anyway, forcing her to drink his blood before snapping her neck.

Ray glanced up at Kiara as if asking for her help, but he was beyond help now. The only thing she could do was nod her head in confirmation. He had a choice to make: drink and become a hybrid or die. Again. This time permanently.

He decided to drink.

"Okay," Klaus grinned, licking the blood running down his hand. "Who's next?"

It all happened so quickly. Stefan and Preston grabbed each of the panicked werewolves one by one and Klaus forced his blood down their throats. One minute they were thinking about running, the next they were dead on the ground.

Rather than lose herself in the misery of the moment, Kiara focused her attention on Ray. She watched as he pulled himself up to sit on the rock that Klaus had been sitting on earlier.

"Ray, are you feeling okay?" she asked him.

Ray just watched the events unfolding around him with wide eyes. He was shaking uncontrollably and hugging himself as if he were trying to keep himself from falling apart. Even Kiara's touch didn't offer him any comfort. And the more she looked at him, the more concerned she became. Something wasn't quite right. She couldn't put her finger on it, but his aura was off. She expected that it would look something like Klaus's now: a wild intense energy. Firey like a bonfire. But this was more like a dying flame flickering dimly in the dark.

"Ray…" Kiara waved a hand in front of his face. "It's me, Kiara. Talk to me."

But he didn't answer, he just stared down at the ground and said, "They're dead. They're all dead."

"Yes, they are," Kiara glanced at Stefan and then at Klaus before saying, "I think something's wrong with him."

"Shock, maybe?" Stefan guessed.

Kiara shook her head. "I don't think so…"

"Well, he's through his transition," Klaus reminded her. "He should be feeling better soon."

Transition, Kiara thought. Is this what a transition looks like?

She couldn't say. She'd never seen someone go through the process before.

"So is this your master plan?" Stefan asked, not looking particularly impressed. "Build an army of hybrid slaves?"

"No, not slaves," Klaus told him. Almost offended by the idea. "Soldiers. Comrades."

"For what war, might I ask?"

"Oh, you don't arm yourself after war has been declared, Stefan. You build your army so big that no one ever dares pick the fight."

Stefan shrugged. "What makes you so sure they'll be loyal?"

"Well, it's not difficult to be loyal," Klaus reasoned. "When you're on the winning team. That's something you'll learn once you shake that horribly depressive chip off your shoulder."

And Stefan just laughed. "That's why you're-uh-you're keeping me around? To witness my attitude adjustment?"

Blood started to fall from Ray's eyes and Kiara took a step back. "Uh, Klaus?" she said, pointing at the shaking werewolf. "He's-his eyes, their bleeding…"

Klaus however remained calm. He sat down and grabbed Ray's face to look him over. "You'll know why I'm keeping you around when I've decided that I want you to know," he told Stefan before saying, "You're right, something's wrong."

Kiara opened her mouth to say something and as if reading her mind, Klaus gave her a warning look. "Don't," he said. So she just threw her hands up into the air and mumbled to herself about men not being good listeners even after being alive for over 1000 years knowing full well he could hear her. But he had a point. A man was dying right before their eyes. There was really no point in saying I told you so.

When Stefan leaned forward and looked Ray over, he just said, "Yeah. That shouldn't be happening, should it?"

Klaus looked at him, clearly annoyed, and said, "Well, obviously."

As Ray continued to shutter before them, the three vampires circled around him to play doctor. They started listing the symptoms they could see and question what might be causing it among one another. It was like Ray wasn't even there.

"You said it was gonna feel better," Ray spoke up. "Why isn't it feeling better?"

Klaus folded his arms in front of him as he considered this. This turn of events clearly bothered him. But it seemed to almost entertain Stefan.

"Some master race," Stefan smirked.

This didn't bother Klaus as much as Kiara expected it would. He just said, "Lose the attitude," in response.

When the female werewolf gasped and opened her eyes, they all looked at Klaus to figure out their next move. He rolled his eyes. "Derek, come feed your girlfriend," was all he said. Then he looked at Kiara, "What made you think something was wrong with Ray in the first place?"

"His aura," Kiara said.

"His… aura?" Preston asked, almost mockingly.

Kiara glared at him. "That's what I said."

"What about his aura, love?" Klaus asked, ignoring Preston.

"It's hard to explain," she sighed. "I expected it to look like yours and it kind of did before he died, but now it doesn't. Now it's hardly there at all."

"Wow, that was super helpful, Kiara," Preston said, sarcastically. "Thanks."

Although Kiara was annoyed, she didn't comment on it. Instead, she looked at Ray and said, "It changed again."

Before anyone could ask what she meant by that, Ray sprang up with a sudden burst of energy and snarled loudly before running off into the woods on all fours. Stefan turned to catch sight of the direction he went in before looking back at Klaus with a shocked expression on his face.

Klaus looked just as surprised, but he said, "Go get him."

For a moment Stefan just stared at him as if he couldn't believe that Klaus was serious. He was a vampire after all. One bite from the loose werewolf could kill him. But he ran after Ray anyway. Thankfully Stefan was fast and able to catch up to him. Unfortunately, Ray bit him as soon as Stefan had him down on his back. It seemed like Ray didn't even have control of his actions at the moment. He was just a trapped animal doing anything he could to escape.

Stefan screamed out in pain and Ray slipped away.

When Stefan didn't come back, Klaus went to investigate.

Not sure what to do and not wanting to have anything to do with Preston, Kiara approached the first woman that Klaus turned, slowly so as not to scare her, and said, "My name's Kiara. What's your name?"

The woman stared at her with uneasy eyes before finally deciding to answer. "Paige."

"Is this your pack?" Kiara asked.

Paige just nodded her head, 'yes'. Her eyes were on the human, Derek, who was obviously her boyfriend. The fact that she wasn't even trying to help him told Kiara that either she couldn't help him or she was too afraid to try.

When Klaus came back to the camp, he found everyone else was slowly waking up. He smiled to himself, which meant that he was still hopeful. Certainly in a better place than Kiara was at the moment. Preston was taking Derek around to feed each new hybrid some blood one at a time. While Kiara watched in horror as their auras came to life only to tremble like flames in the wind. She didn't want to disappoint Klaus by saying something, but Paige was already bleeding from the eyes.

"K-Klaus," Kiara called out to him.

But Preston sped over to her and grabbed her arm. "Don't."

"What?" Kiara tried to pull away. "Why not?"

"You're just going to upset him. You don't even know what's going on."

"No. You don't know what's going on," Kiara said.

"Something wrong, love?" Klaus asked, suddenly right next to her. His eyes fixated on Preston's tight grip on her. The vampire instantly let her go.

"I-" Kiara went to answer him.

"No, everything's fine," Preston said. Verbally walking over her.

Klaus looked at him with a blank expression. "I didn't ask you, now did I?" Then he turned back to Kiara. Her green eyes were moving from one hybrid to the next. Each one looked the same as the last. And she realized why the dimming had worried her so much. Or rather, she remembered. Back when Luka and Jonas died, their aura went out and these auras were barely able to remain. "Kiara?" he asked her again. "What is it?"

"They're… it's like they're suspended between life and death."

"Well, yeah," Preston rolled his eyes. "They're vampires now."

"No, I mean-I think they're dying."


By the time that night fell, Paige's boyfriend Derek was dead and the hybrids were stumbling around like zombies. Klaus didn't want to admit it, but he was slowly coming to terms with the fact that Kiara might be right about what's happening to them. What he didn't understand yet was why.

"Preston," Klaus said, making the vampire appear next to him. "You and Kiara go back to the car."

"What? Why?"

"Because I said so."

Kiara swallowed. "Klaus…"

"Don't argue with me," he told her. "You will go back to the car and wait for me there."

The look in Klaus's eyes made Kiara unable to argue with him. It was a look that only an alpha could give. It demanded obedience. She could only nod her head.

Preston grabbed her and shoved her forward so he could trail behind her as they headed back down the mountain. He quickly became annoyed when she hesitated to continue in any particular direction. Even during the day, Kiara couldn't be sure if they were heading the right way. At night and with rabid werewolves around, it was impossible to know for sure.

"What are you doing? Move!" Preston complained.

Before Kiara could retort, something slammed into her. Hard. She flew back, hitting her head against a tree, and collapsed on the ground. If she had been human, Kiara would have died instantly. But she wasn't human. She looked up just in time to see someone with long blonde hair lifting their arm in the air and bringing their nails down across her chest. They were long enough to tear through her skin.

Kiara screamed, expecting Preston to help her. But she was struck again and again. Kiara kicked the person off of her only for them to run back at her again when she got back to her feet. She didn't want to hurt anyone, but the new hybrid's eyes were wild. Distant. And her aura looked like Ray's did before he bit Stefan. There was no way she could be talked down or reasoned with. When the young woman got close enough, Kiara broke her neck like she had seen Klaus do only hours before to Ray. It was surprisingly easy for something she'd never done before. The woman dropped to the ground with a thud.

"Holy shit," Kiara leaned on her hands on her knees to catch her breath. "What the hell was that Preston? Where were you?"

When he didn't answer, Kiara turned to look at him. He was staring at her with a faraway look in his eyes. "It's your blood," he said. His eyes darkened with this thirst. "It's calling to them."

"What are you talking about?" Kiara shook her head and took a step back.

Suddenly Preston rushed forward and pulled her arms behind her back.

"What are you doing?" Kiara gasped, trying to pull away from him.

"It's perfect," he said. His mouth close to her ear. "Since I can't do it myself."

Kiara gritted her teeth and stomped on his foot, but he didn't react. Then she tried to slam her head into his face, but he pressed her into a tree before she could. Kiara groaned in pain. "Klaus told you to take me to the car," she reminded him. "And I know he compelled you not to hurt me."

"You're right about that," Preston nodded. "But he never said I had to help when someone else was hurting you and since this hybrid seemed so interested in you and you're bleeding already… well I think we'll just stick around and see what happens."

"You've got to be kidding…" Kiara struggled some more. She managed to make him stumble slightly, but that was it. "What's your problem?"

"You. You're my problem."

"What could I have done? I've barely even spoken to you," Kiara said.

"No. You spend all your time whispering in Klaus's ear," Preston growled. "He cares about you. Listens to what you say. Watches what you do."

"So what?"

"So… what do you think he'll do when one of his precious hybrid's kills his girl?" Preston laughed. "It's a good thing you're in a weakened state right now, or he probably wouldn't believe that one of these things could take you down without my help. It's like it's meant to be, huh?"

At that, Kiara just started laughing. She knew it wasn't going to help anything, but she couldn't help it. It seemed he wasn't aware of the link or how it worked. Not only would it be extremely difficult to kill her, but Klaus already knew she was hurting. He could feel it. And he was probably coming to find her right now.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Preston asked. Then he pulled her arms up sending waves of pain through her. She screamed. If he moved them any further, he'd break her arms.

"Well, this is disappointing…" Klaus said from behind them.

There was an odd sound. A thump and then a squish. Preston's hands relaxed their hold on her and he slid to the ground. Dead.

Surprised, Kiara turned around to find Klaus standing in the moonlight with a heart in his hand and Preston's limp body at her feet.

"Klaus…" Kiara tried to say something. Anything. But he bit his wrist and rushed to press it against her lips. She felt his blood run down her throat. She swallowed it down knowing he would pull away from her until she did.

"Can you make it back to the car by yourself?" Klaus asked her, holding her face in his hand and pulling some branches from her red curls.

"I-I don't know," Kiara shook her head, wiping the blood off of her mouth. Her body was already vibrating in response to having his life essence moving through her. Healing her. "Klaus, I—"

"Do you trust me?" he asked her.

Kiara paused. "What?"

"We don't have time for this," Klaus told her. "I can't do anything if I'm worried about your wellbeing. You need to go. I'll come to find you after."

Kiara nodded, knowing that's what he wanted, and backed away from him. Then she turned to continue down the mountain. Preston was right, she wasn't at her best. But with Klaus's blood in her now she could run pretty fast. Trees blurred past her. For a long time, she was searching for the road by herself and then suddenly, there was movement to her left. Kiara nearly tripped over a tree root and had to catch herself on the tree. She hissed in pain. Her hands burned. She wiped them on her pants to remove the pieces of tree bark from them.

"Kiara?" Someone called her name. It was a woman.

Kiara straightened and faced the person. Her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Katherine?" she asked. Then she noticed someone else next to her in the shadows. "Alaric? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

It looked like he wanted to answer her, he just didn't know what to say.

And then Kiara realized why. It seemed impossible, but she couldn't deny what was right in front of her. "You're not Katherine, are you?" she asked the woman. "You're—"

"Damon don't!" Elena yelled.

There was a sharp pain in her neck and then everything went black.


Thank you so much for reading. Please leave a review. They are really appreciated. :)