"I have questions. But before I ask them, I will make you a deal. You answer my questions, and I leave you alive." Klaus browsed the liquor cabinet with a casual nonchalance.
The empty bar was dim as the low light of a Sunday evening washed through fogged windows. "I will not be threatened." Her voice cut through the air, haughty and more demanding than she had reason to be. "You seem to have forgotten how to bargain, Niklaus."
Klaus turned sharply. She hadn't moved from where she'd been sitting when he'd entered. In fact, she hadn't even turned around as the locked door had swung open. Perhaps he'd visited too often and become too familiar with the old witch. "Gloria." He sighed, but the silence that filled the space told him all he needed to know. "What do you want?"
Gloria's nails rapped against the table she sat at. "What are your questions? Information has a price, and I can only give you a fair one if I know what you're asking for."
"They're on mating. Werewolf, mostly."
Suddenly Gloria was on her feet, a sharp intake of breath had filled her lungs as her eyes caught his for the first time.
"If you enjoy having a fully functioning jaw, I'd suggest you keep your remarks to a minimum." Klaus snapped back, digging his nails into the wooden bar and leaving deep grooves behind.
"Interesting." Gloria hummed, slowly lowering herself back into a seat at his reaction. She could hardly contain a knowing smirk. "My price is a favour. There may come a time when I need a hybrid on my side."
Klaus grabbed a bottle before taking a few steps over to sit opposite her. "Very well."
"What do you need to know?" She said plainly.
Klaus sighed and tightened his jaw as he glanced around the room.
"We are alone. No one can hear. You have my word." She encouraged.
Klaus knew as much - the herbs burning on the table, the strong scent of bay, the looming haze of her spells catching the corners of the bar all told him so. "Hypothetical situation. One of my hybrids has been marked by a vampire."
Gloria's eyes did not leave his, and she gave nothing away. Her heart beat at the same rate, her breathing didn't falter. Klaus continued, "He has not marked her back. The vampire is experiencing intense bloo-"
"-She craves you." Gloria interrupted as she reached her fingertips out to play with the flame of the candle in front of her. "The way a human mate would crave your presence or touch or scent-"
"-she craves my hybrid." Klaus assured.
Gloria paused in her actions, setting a hand down on the table. "You never could lie to me, Niklaus. Don't start now."
Klaus said nothing and instead reached for the bottle, pouring a heavy measure into a glass.
With her suspicions all but confirmed, Gloria continued. "The vampire craves all of those things, but craves your blood above all. What better way to ensure a fulfilled mating mark?"
Sipping from the glass, Klaus sat back in his seat, feigning relaxation. "My question is how do they stop the bloodlust?"
"The same way any werewolf stops the mating craving. Why are you here? There is nothing I can tell you that you do not already know. I know you have studied this, Niklaus."
"Humour me."
Gloria broke eye contact. "Fine. Bite her. Or kill her."
Klaus hummed in agreement, though his wolf rumbled at the idea of hurting her. "Hmm. And if my hybrid were to separate himself from the situation?"
"The longer the mating goes unfulfilled, the stronger the symptoms."
"List them."
"I imagine they'll present differently for a vampire-hybrid mating. But traditionally mutual yearning, yielding, shared emotions, rut, madness, death."
"Pain." He summarised.
"Pain." She agreed. "For both. An unfulfilled mating does not end well for anyone. You've seen it yourself if I am not mistaken."
Indeed he had, toying with werewolf matings and dabbling in experimentation more than once over the centuries, he'd tested just how much pain a mate could withstand until the other went mad.
Like a shadow in his head, he could feel Caroline. She'd been a stable but growing presence that he'd experienced since he'd gained the bite mark on his wrist. He felt her - probably ten times a day now - in the looming, faint and foreign emotions in his mind. It was the only reason he'd managed to continue driving across state lines, feeling her content and happy even in his absence.
Klaus clicked his teeth together. "How long do we have?" He muttered, as he downed the last of his scotch and set the glass back on the table.
"Mating is not set magic, I cannot predict the ways fate will push you together." Gloria shook her head before she stood up and headed back behind the bar. "I cannot tell give you all the answers you seek, Niklaus. You are the first of your kind and thus there is no precedent for this kind of mating. I would suggest that you do not try and overcome this magic. They say the pain of an unfulfilled mating is quite unbearable."
Klaus stood too. "Tell me how long I have."
"For an educated guess I'd need the girl, too."
He smirked then. "See, I know that exposing an easily killed mate would be a rather bad idea."
Gloria hummed, offering the echo of a smile. "Then I suppose you'll find out. In time."
Klaus nodded, before he began to walk towards the door of the bar. As he gripped the handle, he called back to her. "I have one more question, a piece of homework as it were." Gloria's eyes met his, a slim eyebrow raised. "I need you to find a way to make her immortal." And with that, he was gone.
It was a quarter to eleven by the time Klaus stepped back into his New Orleans bedroom. The party was only just beginning and music and cheers echoed up from the streets outside. It stirred something in him, some kind of nostalgia sitting deep in his stomach. His wolf was loud now, restless and constantly disturbing his otherwise calm facade. While it refused to be understood, the wolf let its presence be known in the uncomfortable buzz under his skin.
As the door slid shut behind him, he moved quietly to sit on his bed and reached a hand under the pillow to withdraw the thin piece of material beneath. Bringing Caroline's stolen t-shirt to his face, Klaus inhaled its scent and finally felt his skin settle.
It took five deep, growling breaths of her in his lungs before his phone shattered the new found peace. He answered immediately, catching it mid-ring.
"Hello, love." He growled, far huskier than he had intended but with the scent of her in his lungs he couldn't find time to care.
Caroline seemed startled by his punctuality. "Klaus."
Klaus could hear nothing but her voice, no background noise, no music, no breathing. Just her, alone. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He crooned, lying back on his bed and pulling her t-shirt to lay on his chest.
"You've given me a shadow. I'd like rid of her." Caroline spoke carefully, and Klaus wondered just how many times she'd practiced this conversation in her head.
"How observant of you. I was hoping it'd take a little longer for her to catch your attention." He should have known, Caroline was smart. Of course he'd have a smart mate.
Caroline chortled, "She's crouching in a bush outside of my house."
"Well, don't be rude. Invite her in - I think you'd get on rather well." They would too, he'd been exceptionally picky in deciding which hybrid would be her bodyguard.
"She is not coming into my house." Caroline snapped. "You're going to tell her to leave me alone."
He couldn't help the smile which crept into his voice. "And why would I do that?"
"You know you're being like, really creepy?"
It was his time to chortle, "She'll only be with you until I'm home, love."
Caroline was silent for a few seconds, before sighing. "And when will that be, exactly?"
A low tug in his chest alerted him that his wolf might not be content after all. He pulled her t-shirt up to his nose once more and took a breath. "Soon." He breathed. "Miss me?"
"What did the witch tell you?" She dodged.
"Not nearly enough. How are you?" He asked, gazing out of the wide window at the lights of the city below.
"Stop dodging my questions." Caroline said bluntly.
"Stop dodging mine." He rebutted. He was curious, he hadn't felt her in his head for at least a few hours.
"I'm fine." She sighed quietly. "I feel okay." And then a few seconds of silence later, "It's not pleasant."
"How bad?" Klaus sat up, brow furrowing at the ongoing tug in his chest. Once again he took a breath of her scent, but still the tug persisted.
"A three, maybe. Worse right now." She said. The worse now that I can hear your voice went unsaid, but Klaus could feel it tighten his chest all the while.
"Drink the vial." He breathed, wondering just what it'd take to bring his wolf under control. Would it be safe to let it out here, thousands of miles away from her? Or would it run straight for her? Would he even try to stop it? "Then drink your shadow."
Caroline gasped. "I'm not touching her, Klaus! Now, your turn. Tell me about the witchy things?"
Witchy things. A smile broke onto his face once more. "She'll look into it." He said finally.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"Are you lying?"
"No." Not technically a lie - just withholding information he reasoned.
Down the phone, he could hear her sigh as fabric shifted. Was she in bed, or lying on her sheets like he was? Klaus could hardly stop his thoughts spiralling, picturing her alone in her room, listening to his voice.
"Your witch is worse than mine." Her voice cut his thoughts short. A few seconds of silence passed, before "when are you coming home?"
"Tomorrow." He decided.
"Okay."
"Okay." Klaus repeated, taking another breath of her, before pushing off the bed and heading towards the door. After all, his work in New Orleans was done. The sooner he was on the road, the better.
"Well… goodnight." Caroline spoke quietly.
"Goodnight, love."
Klaus had hardly stepped over the threshold when she pounced. He caught under her thighs, wrapping them around his waist as her fangs sank deep into his neck. Klaus managed to kick the door shut and press her back to the hallway wall before the rumbling growl escaped his lips, tearing through the house and the woods beyond. It was lucky that she lived in such a secluded spot, but he couldn't find the time to be thankful when her teeth felt so good in his neck.
He held her there for a good few minutes, his own forehead pressed into the wall too as his wild growls sounded with every exhale. The scent of her was everywhere, sweet and all-consuming. His eyes squeezed shut as her limbs tightened around him, pressing chest to chest while his palms held the bare skin of her thighs.
The wound in his neck didn't even sting as she sucked, tongued over the broken skin and drank messily. Indeed, Klaus couldn't even think about how good it felt to have her like this, desperate and moaning under his fingertips. Instead, his mind was solely focused on reigning in the wolf coaxing him to bite. His own fangs pressed against his gums, but his jaw clamped shut in a feeble attempt to stop what seemed like the inevitable.
Then, just as quickly as she had appeared, Caroline was gone with only a door slam as proof of her presence. With her scent dissipating, Klaus found himself stumbling in her direction.
He opened the door to her bedroom in a daze and was hit by the intensity of it once again. It took a second to hone in on her, slumped at the end of her bed with her head in her hands.
"Caroline." Klaus murmured her name like a prayer, absentmindedly wiping away the wetness at his neck with his hand. Steaks of red covered his fingers, leftover residue from where his wound was already beginning to heal.
"Don't." Caroline hissed, voice thick. She didn't move, but the deep sinking feeling which washed over him was sign enough of her feelings..
Klaus closed the door before stepping over to crouch in front of her. "Don't be upset love."
"What have you done to me?!" She hissed, fingers pulling at her hair while her eyes remained squeezed shut. Her throat was on fire, and even shaping words hurt. She was quiet for a few seconds, before offering a whispered "I'm sorry, that's rude-"
"-It's fine, love. You're hungry." Klaus cut in, wrapping his clean hand around her wrist. The morning sunshine was streaming in through her bedroom window, shining off the blonde in her hair.
Caroline almost smiled, letting him pull her wrist down and finally meeting his eyes. The corners of her mouth were still marked with his blood, but her face showed no sign of her monster underneath. Her hands fell to her knees as her hair fell in front of her face. "I was fine until you showed up."
"I know." Klaus murmured. He could feel the pain, secondhand and not his own. Tempting fate, Klaus let his blood smeared hand reach for her face. He moved slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away before his fingers touched at the blood around her mouth. For a second, neither moved. Then, with a stuttering exhale, Caroline turned her head and licked at his thumb.
Klaus shifted closer slowly, like a hunter approaching a wild animal. He pressed his thumb onto her tongue, letting her wrap her lips around it as her eyes fluttered shut. Caroline sucked gently, hands shifting to wrap around Klaus' wrist. Only a thin henley sat between her skin and the mating mark she left. Klaus wondered if she could feel the electricity he did.
Caroline's brow furrowed, breaking his focus on the tingling in his wrist and the roaring wolf underneath his skin. "Klaus?" She whimpered, tightening her grip on his wrist and licking at the smears on his hand. "What is happening to me? Why can't I stop-"
"-Eating me?" He finished gruffly.
Caroline pushed his clean hand away when she was done, leaning back and trying to put some distance between them. "Why is it so strong? The bloodlust."
As the flames of arousal died down, the sinking feeling returned to Klaus. She was… upset? "Phrase it however best pleases you, Caroline." Klaus muttered, standing up to his full height to tower over her. "You are the first vampire to ever taste a hybrid. There is no precedent here."
Her wild eyes met his, pleading. The burning in her throat was hardly contained, ripping through her whole body and setting her skin on fire. "Klaus, please. I can't stop myself, it hurts so bad."
Klaus hated this, hated the secondhand emotions he was feeling, so separate and foreign to his own. The itch in his own throat was irrelevant next to the pain she felt. "I will find a way to fix it, love. Now, drink." He spoke gently, sitting down next to her.
"I hate this." She echoed his thoughts, once again putting her head in her hands.
Klaus watched the sun dance through her blonde hair for a second, before gently laying a hand on her shoulder. "Drink, Caroline. While the witch is working you will drink from me when you need to."
Caroline didn't move an inch, but he could feel her unease. "In exchange for?" She whispered accusingly.
"Nothing."
It was then that she sat up and turned to face him, eyes wide and questioning. "You don't do things for nothing."
"No, I don't." He agreed.
"So I don't have to go on a date with you?"
Klaus chuckled, reaching for her. "Would you agree if I asked?" He smirked.
He never got a reply. The second his hand touched her hair, Caroline pounced, pushing his shoulders until his back hit the bed. Her thighs bracketed his hips, and Klaus caught just a glimpse of the veins on her face before she buried her head into his neck.
With a deep exhale as her fangs re-pierced his skin, Klaus wrapped both arms around her back. "Drink, love."