Hello everyone! Sorry, it's been a while. I've been very busy dealing with work and some personal things. I want to thank you all so much for the love (and criticism) you've given this story. Your enthusiasm has been so encouraging to me.

I know the last chapter wasn't as good as some of the ones before... and I needed to take some time away from the story since I wasn't able to dedicate as much time to it and didn't want to continue pumping out bad chapters. However, this story is still being read and receiving some love so I thought I'd try updating it again (a little bit at a time when I get the chance). Please keep in mind that I don't have a beta reader so this story is basically a self-edited first draft and therefore far from perfect.

All that being said, I have some exciting news!

Annoucement: I have been rewriting this little gem of a story into its own unique book series! It's reimagined and not exactly the same for obvious reasons, but Kiara's general storyline is about the same and she still finds herself catching the attention of two supernatural "brothers" (found family, not blood related). I just finished writing the first draft and will start editing soon. I haven't decided if I will try to have it published the traditional route or self-publish just yet.

If any of you think you'd be interested in reading Kiara's own book series, please let me know. It will be helpful for me to know if any of you would be interested and, if you are, I will be sure to keep you guys updated!


Chapter Twenty-Six: The Morning After

When Kiara woke, her body was completely healed. The injuries she had earned in her fight with the hybrid girl and Preston had long since disappeared. Her muscles were a little stiff, but other than that she was physically fine. Mentally it was a whole other story. All night her mind shifted through last night's events as if searching for something she had misplaced. The memories of what happened right before she suffered a broken neck were replayed in her dream over and over again. At first, she couldn't understand why she was so stuck on that moment. But then there was a flash of something familiar. A face she'd recognize if she could just focus on it long enough. And eventually, she did.

"Katherine?" She heard herself ask.

As she said the name, her voice sounded distant. It called from the faraway part of her mind that was screaming at her to remember.

Katerina Petrova. Kiara's one-time attacker, two-time victim, and past "prison buddy". Also known as Katherine Pierce. It may have been naive of her, but Kiara thought of Katherine quite fondly, even if the last memory she had of her was her leaving her behind as she ran from Alaric's apartment to freedom. She could still remember the few happy moments she shared with her. Somehow in the short time, they spent together, Kiara had come to like Katherine. Or least sympathize with her a little. Maybe it was because, despite her cunning nature, Katherine was pretty easy to talk to. Her warning of the dangers of falling in love with two brothers still turned around her mind, becoming more relevant to Kiara's current circumstances each day. Or maybe it was because they had shared a moment back in Alaric's apartment. An intimate moment where Katherine held her, singing foreign songs comfortingly under her breath, as Kiara withered in pain. It was one of the painful moments of Kiara's short life and she couldn't have imagined surviving it without Katherine running her fingers through her hair. Kiara would have liked to have seen her again, to thank her, but Kiara knew it was impossible. There was no way that Katherine would ever risk Klaus seeing her again and changing his mind on sparing her life so there was no way that she was there on the mountain that night. If it wasn't Katherine that she saw and this dream was actually a memory, then that left only one option.

Her doppelganger Elena.

Only Elena was dead. Klaus killed her when he broke the curse. Didn't he?

Before Kiara could properly collect her thoughts, pain shot through her neck once more sending her into blackness. It was impossible to know how many times she repeated the same dream. Recalling the moment she briefly touched death. There were a few times when Kiara thought she was seeing something far off in the distance of the never-ending darkness. Maybe she was supposed to walk towards it, but she was too scared. Instead, she turned around and walked the other way, back into the moment when she was running through the trees. She thought it might be impossible to escape until she jerked awake.

The feeling of fingers lightly brushing against her cheek had shocked her back into the waking world. "Good morning, sweetheart," she heard Klaus say as she stirred. The words were gentle on his tongue. "Good news, I have a plan on how to find answers for my hybrid problem. Or rather the means of obtaining one. How do you feel about Chicago?"

Kiara opened her eyes and found herself looking at a very wet, very naked Niklaus Mikaelson with a towel settled around his waist.

Surprised, she sat up in one fluid motion.

"You alright there, love?" Klaus asked her with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah," Kiara nodded. Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion as she tried to put back the pieces of the rest of the night. The events that happened after the darkness. When she had woken up in this beautiful hotel room and Klaus had drawn her a bath. Or was that just a dream? Pieces of the night that her mind placed into the memory section by mistake.

It had happened before. The night of her birthday, after Klaus brought her back from the bar, Kiara dreamed that she spent the night with Klaus under her and he had been willing to do whatever she asked of him. When she woke the next morning, she knew it must have been a dream. A wonderful tantalizing dream. But a dream.

"I just had a weird dream and you surprised me, that's all. Would it kill you to put some clothes on?"

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "Sorry. Am I tempting you, love?" He grinned, not really expecting an answer. "Well you look much better than you before, how do you feel?" Klaus's hand reached out to run his fingers over her hair and down her face affectionately.

Shivers erupted over Kiara's body as she slowly realized that her memory from last night was not fantasy. That Klaus had tasted her blood, intensifying their link and weakening her resolve. She may not have been sore, but her legs seemed to remember being around him. The feeling of having someone, of having Niklaus, inside her echoed through her nerves. The experience of being fully and completely one with him was seared into her flesh like muscle memory. Even sitting there trying to come to terms with the fact that she had lost her virginity to the Original hybrid, her body vibrated with the residual energy left from him. If she could have turned off her racing thoughts and building guilt, her body might have reached out for him. But she couldn't.

Was this why Katherine had appeared in her dream? Was her subconscious trying to remind her of what Katherine told her all those weeks ago about falling for brothers? It felt like longer than that. Kiara felt like she had been traveling with Klaus for years, but it had only been half the summer. A little over a month was all it took for Kiara to give in to his advantages. To be properly seduced. Like Elijah never even existed. And she hated herself for it.

"Great." Kiara pulled away from him. "Better than ever… probably a side effect of sleeping with you." Kiara tried to keep her voice steady, not wanting to make it obvious that she was feeling regretful of her actions, out of fear of how Klaus would react. But their connection didn't allow such deception.

Klaus allowed his hand to drop back to his side. "You're upset."

It wasn't fair of her. She knew what happened last night wasn't completely his fault. She had to take responsibility for her actions. But she told him a long time ago not to drink from her, knowing what would happen, and he did anyway.

"I just-I told you not to drink from me," Kiara brought a hand to her neck. "But you did and-and look what happened. We slept together last night. I just… I can't believe I did that."

Klaus's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I'm sorry that sharing a bed with me fills you with such regret."

"Don't do that." Kiara shook her head.

"Do what?"

"Make me feel bad. I feel bad enough as it is."

"So I've gathered." Klaus turned away from her and began to pick out his clothing for the day.

Kiara could feel his disappointment settling in her stomach. He was offended. Hurt. And she didn't want him to be. The experience wasn't unpleasant. If she allowed herself to think about it, she'd remember that she had really enjoyed herself. But such thoughts only made her feel more guilty and she couldn't help how she felt. "You don't understand." She shook her head.

"Oh, but I think I do, love," said Klaus. "I've been alive a long time, I've seen buyer's remorse before. Not usually in the eyes of those who've left my bed, they're usually quite satisfied, but—"

"This isn't about you!"

"No, I don't imagine it is," Klaus said as he roughly pulled on his clothes. "I imagine it's about my annoyingly stuffy and rather boring brother who you've been pining over for weeks. News flash, sweetheart, he's not as perfect as you think he is."

Kiara stared at him, eyes filling up with tears, and he stared right back. His eyes hardened, void of any emotion that Kiara could feel swirling around inside her like a tornado. Finally, she wrapped the sheets tightly around her body and stood up. "Yeah? Well, at least he wouldn't have let things go the way you did!"

"Me?" Klaus took a few angry steps towards her. "You're actually blaming me for what happened? There were two of us there, sweetheart. And last I checked, you were the hungry temptress. If anything, I'm the victim here!"

"Oh, please." Kiara rolled her eyes and headed towards the bathroom. "You're never the victim of anything." She paused in the doorway and said, "I told you to unlink us a long time ago. I warned you of what could happen. You were the one who wanted to keep me close. Besides you've been trying to get me in your bed ever since we met. For all I know, you bit me on purpose."

"Is that really what you think? That I took advantage of you?"

Klaus was behind her before she even turned around to face him. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Honestly, I really don't know what to think. I should probably take a minute to clear my head," she told him, slowly meeting his eyes. "I don't want to say anything else I might regret."

"Fine," Klaus said, clenching his jaw. Almost disappointed that they weren't going to have a screaming match for him to let out his frustrations in. "Take the time you need. I'm going out. You should have time to shower if you'd like, but I expect you to be ready to leave by the time I return."


Again, sorry this chapter is short. I'm doing the best I can. Please let me know what you think of it. It's been some time since I've written anything for this version of the story so I feel a little rusty.

Thank you for reading!