Possession

by maevelin

She belonged to him, she was his possession, his wife, but how could she feel drawn to the man she should hate? He knows that if he lets her in she would become his greatest weakness but she has awakened his heart. An arranged marriage between two rival mafia families is just the beginning. AU/AH

8. Nothing's Fair in Love and War

A/N : Yes this is me. Updating!

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Disclaimer : I own nothing.

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Warnings : M rated story that may occasionally include dark themes.

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Many thanks to the amazing Anastasia Dreams for her beta work.

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Songs used as inspiration for this chapter :

Love and War by Fleurie

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Chapter 8: Nothing's Fair in Love and War

For one, for all, I'll do what I have to do
You can't understand, it's all part of the plan

Broken pieces of the night
Sing like hollow lullabies
You and I, always in disguises

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Fire swallowed paper and slowly the ink melted in the heat.

Klaus' nostrils flared as he inhaled the smoke and the scent of the burned paper. The orange tint that warmed his face was not casting away the ice cold sensation that buried him in fury and rage. During the past weeks, he had sketched endless drawings of his wife. It had become his obsession. And like every obsession it twisted inside and threatened to strangle him.

And now…now he had to burn his obsession. To burn everything.

Page after page was torn and thrown into the crackling embers. Klaus wondered what the name of the feeling that thrummed inside him truly was. It was like a faint fluttering. It was constant. It reminded him of pain but it was new. It was raw. It was desperate and strange. He was accustomed to wrath but this ache was something new.

Under the rage, there was this heartbeat. To remind him that he had lost what he never had.

He always got what he wanted but now as he watched the fire eating away Caroline's sweet smile and burning the paint of her hair like a burning halo coming to life he realized that this time something was different. This time he couldn't have what he wanted. This time he realized that for the first time in years he had allowed himself to hope. For what he didn't know. But that hope, that unknown longing for something he couldn't even name, was ripped away from him so cruelly it left him vulnerable like a raw nerve ending bared to agony.

He didn't delude himself. Monsters like him did not feel. Did not care. Did not hope.

This feeling was new because what he was coming up against was new. This kind of defeat was not something he was familiar with. It had never happened to him before. He had never been this unprepared before. So blindsided.

He ripped the collar of his shirt open and tugged on his necklaces angrily before he ran his fingers through his hair. His jacket and his tie were already on the floor. His phone was ringing but his fingers were twitching on the handle of his gun. He was still holding his gun with the hand that carried his wedding band.

Made from silver the piece he carried was heavy and ready to fire. He placed it on the mantle of the fireplace and leaned his head against the marble stone.

Flashes of carnage and bloodshed filled his head and transmuted his desperate anger into something tangible.

He wrapped his fingers around the unforgiving metal of the gun and felt the need to start pounding his head against the marble.

There had been times in the past he wanted to turn that gun against himself. In those times he had taken solace in the thought it would not do any good to die and leave Mikael victorious to dance on his grave. The balm that would sooth his soul would be to stick a bullet in that bastard's head and so for years he had imagined and planned of how his dreams would come to pass.

Those dreams kept him alive and he had sworn that anyone that would dare to tarnish them would face death.

And Caroline did that tonight.

He wanted to roar and scream and trash everything in the study; instead, he only scratched his skin with the end of the gun dreaming of the day when he would point it at Mikael and put a bullet in his damn head. When he would make his dreams come true.

The fire was not enough. Everything was dark now. Caroline had been like a glimpse of sunlight. She blinded him and the darkness was rising.

The embers of the fire on the hearth beneath him were sending their heat to him but he only turned his head to the side and noticed one more open sketchpad on one of the sofas. Left open to the last drawing of hers he had sketched…just today. He had sketched her and dreamed of a life where she would be by his side as he would rule.

Caroline was meant to be the crowning piece in his brilliant plan and he would cherish her as such. He would polish her and show her for the priceless jewel she truly was. He was not Mikael. He would treat her far better than any other man in their world treated his possessions. There was tension between them and desire. Deep down he wanted her and she wanted him. Love was not part of this life but she would grow to be content. He would treat her right and he would give her everything any woman dreamed of and more. Eventually, she would learn to trust him and they could create a dynasty together. What more could she possibly want?

He had been so close to having everything.

He had anticipated everything. Every variable and unwanted inconvenience… except for her brilliant plan. Except for her.

He should have known. Caroline's instant compliance was too good to be true. She only wanted to distract him. She used the attraction he felt for her against him and he only noticed it until it was too late. She had played him like a fiddle using the oldest tricks in the book. How could he have been so foolish and naïve? She had distracted him without even playing more than the role of the innocent damsel in distress when she was, in fact, the femme fatale. He was used to women that used sex as their weapon of choice but sweet Caroline was far more intelligent. He had to hand it to her. She didn't even have to sacrifice anything more than some fleeting gazes and empty vague promises.

He had foolishly hoped she would be able to see underneath the monster and just maybe give him a chance. If he was deserving of that chance or not was not the issue. He knew he wasn't but with her, he had been faking it convincingly enough.

But he had miscalculated. He had done the mistake of respecting her boundaries and of giving her space. He thought of her to be young and inexperienced. He believed that wooing her would suffice.

He had left her to her own devices and didn't try to force her to open up against her will. He hoped she would cast him just one glance and that his charm would do the trick. Showing her respect and giving her time should have been enough for her to buy into his slow seduction and give him a chance. It was inevitable anyway. She was already his wife.

What truly twisted him inside was that a part of him had wanted to get to know her better. He had tried against all reason. Against all the plans he had made before he married her. Before she stood radiant and vulnerable in her wedding dress in front of him without cowering down. She had been vulnerable and fearless at the same time and he had wanted that bravery and that light.

He fancied her. He liked her. He had let his guard down. And she betrayed him.

He went to the sketchpad and his fingers hovered over the lines that shaped her face. Without bothering to tear the sketchbook apart like the rest he threw it as it was in the fire.

He watched as the flames devoured her image. Her smile. Her face. Her eyes that haunted his every waking hour. His infatuation with her had blinded him and clouded his judgment.

Temporary insanity he would call it. He had more important things to deal with now than his failed seduction and his fleeting crash on a mafia princess that he had made the mistake of misjudging.

He took the crystal glass from the mantel and drank down the last gulps of his scotch.

Giovanni Montavaro had already sent his men to his house and it was his wife that led them in his domain.

For the first time in decades, they had foreign men on their grounds. Supposedly for joining the alliance but the message was clear. They were there for Caroline's protection and to obey her will. What her brothers and even her conniving father failed to do for her she did on her own. She had managed to have gun power and trusted guards inside his own terrain with Mikael's blessing and also had Mikael's men ready to create a coup in her name should Mikael decide to use Caroline as a scapegoat for his power games.

He scoffed and threw the glass into the fire. Just like his fury, the glass shards exploded; like falling crystal rain that showered the blazing flames and fed the fire more.

Caroline a scapegoat? Surely enough he had wanted to use her as one but the tables had turned. The laugh that burned his chest twisted under his ribs like a weapon branded in fire. She was not a scapegoat. Even if she was collateral damage in Mikael's mind she was a master planner. Now that the wool was pulled away from his eyes he could see her clearly for who she truly was. And for what she was capable of.

He gritted his teeth so hard that he tasted blood in his mouth.

The idea of Caroline cavorting with Mikael behind his back made him physically ill. It was the ultimate betrayal.

That bloody infuriating blonde bane of his existence was more of a menace than any other women he had met ever before. That sweet innocent face was nothing but a façade. That faux naivete was a tool she was using to pull the strings she needed to make everything fall into place for her plans to work out. For her protection….for her revenge. For making him lose his leverage and dignity in the Famiglia.

Montavaro's men had already raided three storages tonight with Caroline's blessing. And with Mikael's approval. And he had to concede. He did not want an internal war. Not with Mikael setting him up for failure. And yet one way or another tonight he appeared weak but even so, this was not what made him want to destroy everything in sight. Blood would rain tonight but it would all be for show and for cooling his madness down long enough for him to be able to think straight again. He couldn't aim his fire to the other side but he could still get rid of his useless men for starters. One more thing that would be a reason for celebration onthe Salvatore side. Yet it was necessary if he wanted to keep his side on a tight leash despite what happened tonight. He had to instill fear and terror in his ranks and remind everyone who he still was.

This was a lost battle but the war was still on. It stung like hell of course. Caroline had won that round. More importantly, she had given this victory to Mikael.

Klaus threw his head back and laughed. He laughed until the only sound that bounced on the walls was nothing but the tolls of his manic amusement. His own wife turned to Mikael. They became secret allies just under his nose. How could he have missed this? She played him for a fool. Like he was a rookie. Like he was a lovesick schoolboy. And what was worse was that he was rendered powerless. He would have killed anyone else that would have dared pull such a stunt. He knew he appeared weak by not dolling out any punishment to those that were directly responsible for this travesty but somehow his hands were tied.

There was part of him that needed to think strategy and not act irrationally and there was another part of him that for some reason was unable to touch a hair on Caroline's head. It would be so easy to wrap his hands around her neck until her breath would seize. It would be so very easy to rip out her heart but the idea of her lifeless body in his hands was not easing his demons. It was driving them wild instead. And that made him even more dangerous. More than ever.

His laughter died out and everything else stilled in him.

Caroline had no idea what she had woken up in him. If it was her safety she was after then she was about to get a rude wake-up call because she was not safe. None of them were safe and how much more now that the beast inside him was about to escape its leash. He craved blood and disaster and to make his enemies pay.

He closed his eyes and a painful expression that resembled exhaustion won over his fury. His shoulders slumped. He looked at the depth of the flames. The heat was rising and every line that had memorized Caroline's beauty had already burned to ash. He reached for his gun again.

Caroline had declared herself as his enemy. Could he treat her as one?

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Damon Salvatore reached for the crystal decanter and poured himself a generous glass of bourbon. The golden hue of the alcohol reflected the dim lights from the embedded lamps on the wall and sparked in the glass. Damon observed the dance of the light pensively, his mind miles away, before he downed his drink in one go and fixed himself a second.

"You had managed to postpone your marriage to Rebekah for a few weeks already but our sister just extended your time," Stefan tiredly said, his tone marked with a faint hint of sarcasm, as he entered the study and closed the door behind him.

Damon smirked and turned around just enough to raise his glass at Stefan in mock salute.

"You've got to love family sometimes," he mocked and watched Stefan scowling at him.

They were finally alone. The tedious dinner and the Midnight Council had come to an end and along with them all their pretense. He had locked himself in his study for the past hour going over the mess Caroline left in her wake as she unleashed chaos at Klaus Mikaelson.

That delightful thought alone was enough to lift Damon's spirits but obviously not Stefan's who was doing nothing but worrying and predicting literal doomsday for their family and their sister despite his cool demeanor. Even as they tried to defuse the tension with the representatives of the Families, no matter how Stefan and Giardano spun it, they had to admit they had all been equally ambushed. Most of them had been played tonight despite how much they enjoyed seeing the Mikaelsons squirm. And in the aftermath Stefan saw only the bleak disaster that could befall them rather than what they could gain out of Caroline's maneuver.

"I have to say I am impressed," Damon said as he fixed his brother a drink, which from the looks of it he obviously needed more than him.

Stefan's eyes turned to slits when Damon approached him and gave him the glass.

"Impressed but not surprised," Stefan observed, "Why is that brother?"

Damon clinked his glass with Stefan's and his lips curved upwards.

"Should I be surprised?" he wondered, his sardonic tone laced with fake worry and he had to force himself not to laugh as Stefan's eyebrows shot up to his forehead.

"After everything Care did tonight? Under our noses? What do you think?" Stefan grit out and Damon snorted.

"Thus the impressed," Damon snickered and winked at Stefan who shot him a deadly glare before gulping down his bourbon and grimacing at the effect the strong heat of the alcohol had as it burned down his throat.

Damon went and sat behind his mahogany desk peering at his brother's brooding stance.

"If what Caroline said is true then Klaus has taken over and it will be a matter of time before his true plans come to fruition. Then-"

"Then," Damon continued emphatically," we will still have a person on the inside to work for us. As she did tonight," Damon smiled in content and crossed his legs over the top of his desk.

"Damon," Stefan exhaled his name as if he was trying to not curse while he pinched the bridge of his nose. Damon counted the seconds in his mind before Stefan narrowed his eyes and just like clockwork it was as if someone had finally turned the lights for his little brother.

"This is why you wanted to marry her off to Klaus in the first place," Stefan sputtered, having the kind of epiphany that brought an expression of incredulity over his features.

Damon rose his glass at him as Stefan finally started to connect the puzzle pieces.

"And here it is. Dot, dot, dot," Damon taunted his brother, "aren't you quick to connect the missing pieces!" he sneered and saw the sparkle of rage in Stefan's eyes.

Damon scoffed and took one more sip from his glass enjoying the soothing taste of the well-aged alcohol. He licked his lips and made himself more comfortable in his chair. Finally, in the seclusion of his study and alone with Stefan, he could be himself and throw away the mask.

"Did you actually think I was in such a rush to honor the wedding pact Giuseppe forged just out of respect for our father's last wishes?" Damon rolled his eyes, "please Stefan. I could not care any less about what that son of a bitch wanted," Damon muttered and brought his glass back to his lips albeit somewhat tiredly now as Stefan cursed under his teeth.

"This is low even for you," Stefan spat and Damon shrugged.

"Why? Don't tell me that you expected me to sit back and mourn Giuseppe?" Damon simpered, his words cutting through the air with irony and malice, "To follow his lead even after he croaked? Don't be naïve. Having one of us in the Mikaelson household paid off. Sooner than I even planned," Damon easily discarded Stefan's anger with a careless wave of his hand.

Stefan ran over at him hitting his hands over the desk. Damon rose an eyebrow as the infamous Ripper was starting to scratch the everlasting calm surface of his brother's stoicism begging to come out to play.

"This isn't about father! This is Caroline we are talking about! Our baby sister!" Stefan yelled at him and Damon felt the muscle in his jaw tick.

Damon forced himself to casually finish his drink before throwing the glass to the side. He took his legs off his desk and glared at Stefan.

"Don't get sentimental on me," he threw at his baby brother, "it is not as if you objected to that marriage tooth and nail," he reminded him and Stefan's palms clashed over the wood of the table.

"You are using our own sister as a bargaining chip and a spy!" Stefan exploded, "what will happen when they bring us her head on a silver platter?"

"It won't come to that," Damon groaned with a sigh and grimaced at the way Stefan shook his head disappointed.

"How can you be sure of it Damon?"

"Because at the first sign of trouble I will take her out of that snake pit and send her away," Damon lashed out and Stefan tilted his head in surprise, "this is what she wanted after all wasn't it? A life away from us? To be free from all of this? Eventually, I will make sure she gets it. When the time is right," Damon told Stefan who straightened his back and scrutinized him with a pointed gaze.

"You have a person on the inside," Stefan realized and Damon could already tell that his brother was not happy. He was not happy that he had hidden something like this from him. He was not happy that he was left in the dark and most of all he was not happy that he had not seen this coming.

It should not have been that hard, however. To imagine that he had taken precautions and placed a safety net and an exit plan for their sister.

Stefan thought that he didn't care for Caroline. Truth was that a part of him always hated her for having it so easy with their father. Where they bled she was always coddled. It was far easier to let out his anger at Caroline than admit the obvious. That Giuseppe loved her more than he did his sons. That bastard always acted as if he only had a daughter and Damon was left with the hit of his abuse. He protected Stefan from dealing with the same crap he had to deal with since he was always the disappointment for that old bastard.

Giuseppe was training him as a soldier and not as his heir while he turned both him and Stefan into monsters. But Caroline was different. He had even allowed her to go to college and he always sheltered her with care. His princess. Always the sunshine of the Salvatore Boss.

He could not blame her for this and the more Stefan adored her along with father the more he despised her constant positivity and enthusiasm for life.

And yet, she was still his sister. His young brilliant sister that no matter how many times he butted heads with her, in the end, he would die to protect her as he would Stefan. He was selfish and as damaged as they could get but Caroline was his sister.

Even Stefan seemed to have forgotten that.

"You didn't think I would let our sister marry Klaus out of all people without anyone to look out for her, did you? Plus, Caroline made sure tonight that she will have a private army inside the fold. As I have said...I am impressed," he finished and actually nodded proudly at Stefan who slumped down in one of the chairs in front of the desk, running his fingers through his hair.

"Why didn't you tell me anything, Damon?" Stefan accused him and he rolled his shoulders to relieve the tension.

"You needed to be convincing, baby bro," he gloated and leaned back in his chair. This was now his chair, not Giuseppe's.

On second thought maybe he should burn it and buy a new one. Why keep warming the same seat that bastard's ass sat on for years?

"This alliance is important to us after all and until I manage to take over Giuseppe's power we will need to tread carefully," Damon sighed and pressed his lips into a thin line before he continued, his voice controlled and tight, "you saw what Montavaro pulled tonight. Even Pedro pretended to be clueless. Giovanni acted as if he has the last word now that Giuseppe died. I need to contain him and Caroline's marriage did put a temporary stop to some of his plans but it barely registered. Not just for Montavaro but for many of our own. So it had to at least be convincing," Damon tersely said.

They had too many enemies. In the inside too. Their family's future was hanging in the balance. Stefan had to understand. And the fact that he was even coming clean and explaining his actions to Stefan, to a subordinate, was enough to show that he was not like their father. It had to be.

"Caroline needed to believe that this union was real and would stand. Her desperation sold the deal in the Mikaelsons' eyes, buying us time to regroup and separate our friends from the enemies," Damon concluded and watched cautiously when Stefan laughed bitterly.

"Such a perfect plan Damon. If only it was infallible," Stefan said, his face blank.

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"You basically prostituted our sister and now Caroline hates us," Stefan responded sourly, "how long do you think it will take for her to shift her allegiance to the man we forced her to marry?"

Damon looked at his brother as if had gone insane.

"To Klaus?" Damon said with exasperation, "Please! Not even Caroline could ever be so gullible brother and if anything she is too stubborn for that. Not even Klaus himself can go up against that lovely trait of hers," Damon chuckled but Stefan was not sharing the same festive mood with him.

"Damon..."

"You keep repeating my name so dramatically," Damon snorted.

Stefan's eyes blazed with fury making him shake his head.

"Relax brother. Besides, Caroline can take care of herself," he reassured Stefan, "she proved it tonight. I never thought I would come to see the day but our little sister managed not only to one-up Klaus Mikaelson but from the looks of it she already has him wrapped around her little finger," Damon remarked impressed, "I always thought that her and I did not have much in common but would you look at that... she did get the Salvatore charm after all," he laughed.

"Is this a joke to you?" Stefan's incredulousness was laced with disgust and disbelief.

"She will be a good distraction," Damon only said and he could have sworn that Stefan's eyebrows were about to jump away from his forehead and reach the ceiling.

"Against Klaus? Have you even stopped to consider what this actually means? The price she will have to pay? What do you think he will do to her?"

"He won't hurt her," Damon waved Stefan's worry away despite the uneasiness he felt deep down in his gut. This was a dangerous game and they were navigating uncharted waters. Getting under Klaus' skin and being more elusive than him was something not even the best of them could do. And yet here he was placing his bets on Caroline. It was like a risky casino game. Only this one was lethal. The wheel of the roulette was spinning and they had to control where the bullet would land. Somehow.

"That is what worries me," Stefan mumbled warily.

Damon gave him an exuberated look in return.

"She is his wife!" Stefan exploded and Damon found himself gripping his glass tightly, itching to feel the sharp shards cutting his skin to dull the rest of his madness away, "you saw the way he looked at her tonight even after the stunt she pulled," Stefan swore, "your plan is to take her out. Do you think that Klaus Mikaelson, of all people, will allow any of his valuable possessions to slip away from his hands that easily? She's a pawn who gives him power and even more so she's his wife which from the looks of it he is on the verge of becoming obsessed with?" Stefan snarled and Damon knew that Stefan was right. His brother was always able to see under the surface. Stefan Salvatore always observed people and saw what others did not. This was one of his traits that made him so effective in the field.

And he could not argue with him. Not on this anyway. The way Klaus and Caroline interacted tonight was…unnerving.

"It won't get to that," Damon tried to convince Stefan…and himself. Klaus was a conniving bastard but despite his trickery, they had to play the game the right way and that depended on Caroline. The stunt she pulled tonight was desperate but also smart. He had to hand it to her but it only proved to him what he already knew. Her safety and her allegiance to them had to be a top priority.

Or they were screwed. Big time!

"You mean that this is a risk we will have to take," Stefan corrected him sarcastically and Damon got up and stalked around the desk and went to Stefan.

"Yes. Yes, it is!" he admitted, "we are the only ones left Stefan," he reminded him and clasped his shoulder tightly. He felt how his brother stiffened," if we do not manage to swim right now we'll sink. Everything we have and everything we hold dear will be destroyed. Either it is Mikael or Klaus at the helm of the Famiglia, in the end, they are still our enemies. Never forget that."

Stefan threw his hand from his shoulder and rose to full height confronting him.

"And we gave our sister to them," Stefan whispered accusingly, guilt and anger shining in his eyes.

This time Damon gripped both of Stefan's shoulders forcing him to understand.

"She is our blood. She will do what she must as will we all," he said, every word carrying unbearable finality.

"It's not right Damon," Stefan uttered defeated and Damon's hands fell down.

"It never was."

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Tonight might have been a bitter success but Caroline soon came to realize it was also a recipe for disaster. Her first act in this house without any supervision from the Mikaelsons was to make sure that Montavaro's and her brothers' men would get settled in the pool house close by–but not too close- to the quarters of the Mikaelson men. She didn't have to be a criminal mastermind to see that she had just placed extremely volatile ingredients in the same lethal pot. Stirring them in the right direction without causing a blast that would tear everything apart would be a challenge and maybe more than she could handle.

Still, she had to believe that she was up to the challenge because there was no going back anymore.

For now, however, all Caroline wanted was to go to her room, get rid of the gown and the jewels, step under the shower spray and let the hot water wash away all her doubts and stress. She wanted to drain this dreadful night away from her skin and mind. Her whole body ached as if she had just returned from war suffering casualties that threatened to break her. The dinner at her former home, Salvatore Manor, had taken its toll on her and so had the silent drive back to the Mikaelson estate.

After their confrontation in her childhood bedroom, Klaus had not spared her a glance. He didn't talk to her or even acknowledge even her presence. Gone was the man that had wanted to seduce her, earn her trust and had promised her the world just hours ago. She was sure that for him her actions were nothing less than the worst betrayal imaginable, and maybe they were, but they were nothing less than the equivalent of his treatment so far. She was not his possession or his pawn and after tonight he would come to understand this once and for all. She was not going to compromise on this, so why did she feel so conflicted?

For some reason, she could not even begin to comprehend, this didn't sit well with her. She had expected him to lash out and she had prepared herself for his outrage knowing all too well she was treading dangerous ground but his stillness and ice was unfamiliar territory. Terrifying and troubling. This distance bothered her. What he told her in her old room bothered her. He bothered her.

What did not bother her was how the rest of Klaus' family reacted.

No one tried to confront her tonight. No one from the Mikaelsons who had made her life a living hell for the last few weeks dared to face her when the Outfit members surrounded her. It was like a victory march. The scathing comments and the mockery were absent. The silence was heavy and awkward. And Caroline both hated it and welcomed it.

When Montavaro set what would be from now on her personal guard in the Mikaelson territory it was she who welcomed them aware of the many eyes that followed her. This time none dared to get in her way. She walked around, for the first time ever since she married Klaus as if she owned this place and instead of feeling at ease she never felt more pressure. The weight of the world had just been added to her shoulders and it was wearing her down.

She had this throbbing sensation in her temples on both sides of her head and her limbs had turned leaden. She was dragging her feet and she felt almost feverish.

As she walked up the marble staircase, she realized that tonight Kol would not jump in front of her way to terrorize her. She also noticed how even Anna watched her from the bottom of the stairs with a guarded gaze and how even the guards at the corridors had matching grim expressions. She was no longer the bashful bride or Klaus' little wife. She was one more ticking bomb in this house as every other resident was.

"Did you enjoy stabbing my brother in the back?"

Caroline closed her eyes and refrained from sighing as Rebekah's shrill accusation reached her ears. One more bomb ready to go off.

'Of course,' Caroline thought. 'It was good for as long as it lasted.'

Caroline wrapped the shawl around her tighter. Her fingers dipped in the silk texture before she relaxed her body and turned around to face Klaus' sister.

Rebekah's features were a mask of disdain. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest and was already sharpening her claws.

Caroline only smiled in return. Two could play this game.

"It was an entertaining evening wasn't it?" Caroline casually said and immediately noticed how Rebekah seethed. More than usual anyway.

In fact, she had never seen Rebekah Mikaelson as furious as she looked right now.

"Nik has been nothing but kind to you," the blonde spat with contempt and Caroline hummed sarcastically.

"You think?"

Rebekah blinked incredulously at her response.

"This is how you repay him?"

"My relationship with my husband should not be your concern, Rebekah," she advised Klaus' sister, "You should focus on your impending nuptials instead. Of course, your wedding, thanks to me, will get delayed a bit. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me for this," Caroline mocked, knowing all too well that Rebekah did not want to marry Damon at all.

And for the first time ever since she came here she saw Rebekah's icy exterior cracking and the shimmering vulnerability underneath peaking through.

"This is what I don't understand. Why would you help me?" Rebekah asked her softly. Her obvious confusion caused Caroline to arch her eyebrow.

"Help you? You think I did this to help you?"

Caroline bit her lip teasingly and Rebekah narrowed her eyes.

"Here's the thing…sister," Caroline sighed the word, ready to crash Rebekah's hope once and for all.

"The worst days of my life were the days before my wedding. It was not just the fact that I was forced to marry an enemy. I had dreamed of love and it was taken away from me," Caroline confessed honestly and even though she thought she would enjoy this, a part of her felt a tinge of sympathy at the way the always cruel and insolent Rebekah Mikaelson paled. Her family had traded her in the same way her own sold her to the Mikaelsons. Nothing could save either of them.

"There was no escape. Knowing what was about to come and being unable to stop it. I felt helpless. Trapped," Caroline continued, "that little freedom you have right now is nothing but an illusion and the more you count down the days, the more desperate you will become. That kind of delay when it comes to the inevitable can drive a person crazy. Not that you need it."

Caroline's sarcastic remark cause Rebekah to open her mouth to lash out but whatever angry retort was ready to come out of her lips got swallowed down when Caroline approached her with a content smile.

"You had quite the fun at my wedding, didn't you?" Caroline reminded her and Rebekah pressed her lips together angrily, "and I did warn you that I would not forget your kindness," she sweetly said, "so take comfort in the fact that your wedding will be as grand and beautiful as mine was. If not more so. I will make sure of that just as you did with mine. And then you will be married to my brother."

Caroline could hear the glee in her own voice and it felt so strange. She knew she could be mean but her sadistic tendencies were never as harsh and heartless as they were now.

Rebekah's eyes glossed over and Caroline knew that she had her in that moment.

She knew that Rebekah was counting down and dreading the days till her wedding day. Caroline knew that her family had always spoiled her and would now treat her as nothing else but a commodity. She was expendable and what she wanted didn't really matter. Caroline knew it because she had lived it. She should be more understanding with Rebekah, girls sticking together and what not, but she was not that evolved as to be the kind, selfless Samaritan with all those who did nothing but abuse her mentally and psychologically for weeks, relishing her pain and discomfort.

But this was a hollow victory. Who would have thought that, Rebekah Mikaelson could stand in the face of misery like a little lost girl and not the heartless bitch she always pretended to be?

She was being been truthful with her, though. The days before her wedding were indeed the worst of her life. She was not only mourning for her father but for her life as well. She knew that marrying Klaus meant that she would end up living a loveless life bound to a monster. She would be in danger and she would be alone. And while growing up, she had dreamed of falling in love and being happy. She had dreamed of the white knight and not the dark King.

Rebekah was probably not that different and Caroline knew all too well that Damon was just as terrible as Klaus was. He was her brother but Caroline never believed that he was anything else than a monster despite being her family. Damon would not love Rebekah. And Rebekah would not love him. In the end, they would hate each other. And that was a terrible life to live.

"And Damon….Well, Damon is not easy, that's for sure," Caroline went on thoughtfully and stared at her sister in law, "I can only wonder, Rebekah. How will you adjust inside the Salvatore family? Away from your brothers' protection," she taunted.

"You managed so far. How hard can it be?" Rebekah threw at her with derision and Caroline genuinely laughed.

She then looked at Rebekah with sadness and saw how taken aback Rebekah seemed by that.

"I could have been your friend," Caroline confessed and Rebekah could not stop the small gasp that left her lips. As if that concept alone was not just inconceivable but literally impossible. As if there was a hint of regret for missing that chance, "God only knows you need one and it shows you never had one," she noticed, "I could be telling you what you are about to face. Warning you. Helping you. Being there for you…But I think it will be interesting to see you dealing with all that on your own," she mused indifferently and then shrugged.

"And that is exactly why you should have tried to make an ally out of me when I came in your house," Caroline said all too quietly but then she smirked provocatively, "Payback is a bitch isn't it?"

Rebekah's expression hardened and she took a threatening step towards her. Caroline stood her ground unimpressed. The days she feared the Mikaelsons were over. The playground was even now and Rebekah knew it too. In fact, right now both of them knew that she probably held more direct power than any other woman in this house.

'Be careful of the hidden demons,' a small whisper warned her because she had revealed her cards tonight and not everyone in this house was as hotheaded and impulsive as Rebekah who looked ready to rip her heart off with her bare hands.

"I hope Nik shows you what it means to truly betray him," Rebekah hissed and Caroline scoffed.

"I am sure your brother can handle it. It is not as if his sister supported him tonight either," Caroline pointed out amused, "do you think Nik will be so eager to play the doting brother with you after tonight?" Caroline dauntingly pushed Rebekah's buttons more but internally cringed at calling Klaus, Nik. In her mind he could only be Klaus," you didn't side with him. Instead, you chose to join me. You betrayed him too, Rebekah. You are on your own now."

Rage was cast like a shadow over Rebekah and Caroline clearly saw Klaus in her.

"You-"

"Time to say goodnight, Rebekah."

The low voice that broke their showdown before it went any further belonged to a man. The one man that Rebekah feared the most. Mikael.

"Father," Rebekah mumbled and stumbled back. Caroline tensed but didn't move or show any discomfort.

Rebekah glared at her just as Mikael sauntered close to them. Caroline watched the way Rebekah's father cast a castigating gaze at his daughter until she lowered her eyes.

Caroline tried to suppress her cringe at the way Rebekah seemed to become less in the presence of her father.

"We shall talk tomorrow," Mikael told Rebekah in a commanding tone that was not up for debate.

"Yes, Father. Have a good night," Rebekah whispered with respect and kissed him on the cheek before going to her room.

The air did not become any lighter now that Rebekah's animosity was gone. Caroline felt as if poison was filling her mouth and she was trying to not gulp any of it down.

Mikael's sharp eyes scrutinized her sharply and she held her breath.

"We should speak," he simply said and Caroline knew that it was not a question as her father in law placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her deeper into the corridor.

Towards his private wing.

---

If there was one thing Klaus Mikaelson hated more than lack of loyalty it was incompetence. The excuses his men have been trying to give him by the phone clanged inside him and fed his rage further still. Blood was going to rain down tonight. He would paint the docks red.

His mouth tightened and he gripped the device in his hand so hard that he heard the glass of the screen crack.

"I want the feed," he growled a raw command, "I do not care for any excuses. Gather anyone that was in the warehouse tonight. I want to know what went down in every detail and who let them in despite the orders they had!"

Klaus ended the call and threw the damaged phone on the desk just as Kol entered his office with a taunting smirk.

"Easy, Nik. Don't shoot the messengers," his brother chuckled.

"What did you find?"

Kol shrugged.

"Trapped outside my own house as Montavaro's men descended upon us like a swarm of locusts you mean?"

"Kol, I swear to God I will remove your head from your shoulders!"

"You know, Nik," the younger Mikaelson spoke without concern, "if you keep using the same old threats over and over again, in the end, they lose their impact. Maybe that's what your wife saw in you and went for the kill. Which is quite literal because now we have six widows to compensate. Those of the men that actually did obey your orders."

Klaus' fists banged on the desk and then under Kol's amused gaze he took the heavy granite paper weight with the M insignia, one of Elijah's old gifts to their father, and threw it on the wall. The offending object he hated for years smashed the mirror and broke it. The silver frame rattled and glass shards exploded to the floor.

"Ouch," Kol snickered before he sobered momentarily, "not to be the bearer of more bad news but the men we lost coincidentally were some of your most loyal. And from what I hear we can't retaliate in their memory because it was all a misunderstanding from where everyone stands. Miscommunication will do that to you," Kol mocked.

Klaus' jaw clenched causing the muscles of his face to twitch violently before he cursed out loud.

Mikael's plan had worked perfectly.

'No,' Klaus corrected himself. 'It was Caroline's plan.' He pounded his fists on the desk again wanting to destroy everything in sight.

Kol tilted his head to the side and checked out the broken mirror with a humming noise of disapproval.

"You know Bekah had bought that ugly mirror. She won't be pleased but I am sure she'll let it go if you forgive her little misstep," Kol simpered and Klaus' face turned into a mask of unforgiving malice.

Kol took his phone out of his pocket and showed it to Klaus.

"Sister, dearest, texted me and begged me to put in a good word for her too. I admit, though, I would have loved to have seen your darling bride calling checkmate on you brother," Kol blatantly toyed with him not caring for how he was adding fuel to the fire.

Klaus walked around the desk with heavy steps.

"Hold your tongue," he warned his brother with an eerie calmness.

"I have to give it to her," Kol continued ignoring him and went to inspect the damaged mirror from up close not caring for Klaus' looming presence near him, "I didn't expect her to be more than a blonde sidepiece," Kol said with an impressed snigger, "Even father sided with her despite giving more leeway to Damon Salvatore. All to ensure your demise," his brother mocked him and Klaus body became unnaturally rigid. If Kol knew what was good for him he would stop talking.

Instead, his brother came closer with an eagerness to cause havoc supposedly in his name so to please him. But the line he was crossing right now, after everything that happened tonight, was a very dangerous one.

"Maybe you should teach her a lesson," Kol advised him with a sadistic tint in his eyes. One Klaus knew all too well. He had cultivated it in him after all.

Klaus stepped forward into a deadly dance with his brother as Kol started walking back enjoying their interaction since as always, he loved annoying him.

The only thing was that this wasn't a game this time. His tricks would not go unanswered.

"Or," Kol sweetly added, "let me do it for you."

One eyeblink.

No second followed.

Klaus lost all control. Before Kol could even react he punched him, his hand wrapping around his neck and he slammed him against the broken mirror. His attack knocked the air out of Kol. Their feet stepped on the broken glass on the floor and the crunching sound was a crude noise as Klaus lifted Kol's body up until only the tips of Kol's shoes touched the ground and the glass.

Kol struggled and Klaus glowered at him with distaste. He was done tolerating him. His fingers dug into his brother's windpipe seeking to draw blood and cut his air.

"Touch a hair on her head and I will tear out your liver!" he snarled in his brother's face and squeezed Kol's throat more until his brother choked and his skin started turning blue.

This was not like their training sparring. This time Klaus wanted to wound and damage and cripple. This time he didn't want them to part with a few bruises and jokes. This time everything became distorted in his mind. His rage blinded him.

Only moments before Klaus had dreamed of how it would be to unleash his anger on Caroline. To terrorize her with the violence she claimed she was afraid of. To break her down. To hurt her until she would weep tears of blood. Those were the desires he had for all his enemies and Caroline had declared herself to be his enemy.

He had wondered on the drive back and when he burned her drawings how it would be to burn her hopes, to make her hurt. To show her that the protection she had secured for herself was nothing but a worthless paper armor he could tear apart as easily as he could take away any life that would get his way. Her life.

That's why he had distanced himself from her immediately after their fight in her old bedroom in the Salvatore mansion. He had been pondering and debating how it would be to cross the line. And even though he knew he was capable of doing so he quickly came to realize that it was truly unthinkable to hurt Caroline. Or let anyone else do it. It made him nauseous for some reason. Hearing Kol declare his intentions to hurt his wife broke the dam inside him. All the rage that he hadn't allowed to flood out of him at the Salvatore dinner. All the menace he kept in now roared and what triggered it to rush out and seek destructive release was Kol threatening Caroline. His wife.

His traitorous wife.

Wife? He wanted to holler until the gold from the wedding ring he wore liquefied and turned to dust. A wedding ceremony was not enough. He and Caroline were still practically strangers but something bound them together and it was magnetic. So magnetic it tied his hands like a vice. So magnetic it forced him to take action against anyone that would dare hurt even a hair on her head. The wedding ring would not melt despite his madness.

He knew he could hurt her but he would be damned if he ever allowed anyone else to do so. She was his now and anyone that aimed to cause her harm aimed to harm him. And no one would hurt anything that belonged to him.

The magnitude of his need to protect her shook Klaus to the core and he found himself faltering. His knees almost buckled. His hold on Kol wavered and Klaus knew that he was losing ground.

If this happened to him in the streets he would be losing his head. It gave enough of an opening to Kol for the first time to twist his arm and break free from the strangling punishment without Klaus intending to release him.

Kol's fist collided with Klaus' face but he barely felt it despite the metallic taste of blood that touched his tongue.

Kol staggered in surprise. Both of them did. No one had managed to land a shot at Klaus in years and now all it took was the distraction of Caroline's and Klaus faced one more defeat.

Klaus panted and angled his head as if lightning had struck him. It was all because of her. Because of Caroline.

Kol pounced instinctively again and Klaus' palm wrapped around his brother's punch stopping him. No one withdrew. It was a contest of strength and will.

Kol coughed and touched his neck with his other hand as he eventually tried to disengage. The purple shade of his skin slowly faded away but it was Klaus that lost his balance while he was still trying to realize what was happening to him. He stared at his hand as he gripped Kol's fist in midair and his eyes centered on the wedding ring on his finger.

Kol's eyes widened when he followed Klaus' gaze.

"You care for her," Kol mumbled stunned but Klaus said nothing causing Kol's eyes to go from wide to narrow in seconds, "have you grown fond of your wife, brother?" Kol croaked incredulously and Klaus blinked and immediately let him go.

Kol rubbed his knuckles and coughed again but then his coughing turned to laughter. Taunting laughter.

"Be careful, Nik, some could say you are growing a heart."

Klaus took a threatening step at Kol but then halted and tried to control his breathing. He wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand and started counting backward in his head to stop himself from lashing out again.

"This is my one and only warning to you, Kol!" Klaus barked and pointed a warning finger at him. They could not afford to get divided right now but Klaus meant what he said. It was not an empty threat. Should Kol try to hurt Caroline in any way he would live to regret it.

"Well, brother, I have been nothing but a graceful host to your wife so far. No need to threaten me," Kol claimed sarcastically and lifted his hands up in the air in mock surrender.

"Don't you think I know you've been sneaking up on Caroline whenever she goes out of her room," Klaus yelled, seeing red, "She is even afraid to go out to the gardens."

Kol only shrugged and rubbed his neck again. This was nothing but a game for him. A deadly game that terrified Caroline and backfired right back at them.

Damn it! He should have done something about it earlier. Maybe Caroline would not have felt the need to retaliate like this.

"I have not touched her," Kol simply told him trying to clear away the graze from his aching throat and Klaus felt the need to knock Kol's teeth out. Even the mere idea of Kol touching Caroline in any way made him sick.

"Should you have you would be residing in a hospital wing, Kol."

"She is a Salvatore!" Kol exclaimed and Klaus stepped into his personal space again. This time Kol became rigid as if his spine had turned to an iron ruler.

They stood against each other. No one backing down. Both of them ready to tear each other to shreds.

"She is a Mikaelson now and you will respect her," Klaus commanded him, his tone unyielding.

This time it was the tone of the head of their family and not one of a sibling speaking to his brother. Kol always loved to break the rules but this time was not the same and they both knew it. This was the first time Klaus addressed him as the leader of the Famiglia. That command carried weight, one that not even Kol would dare ignore.

And Klaus did it for Caroline.

Kol's eyes shone with incredulous astonishment. As if he was not believing what he was hearing or… facing.

"She betrayed you."

She had. And it was something that everyone knew was a death sentence for anyone that would dare to do so. Klaus didn't comment on that. Instead, he evaded. He turned his back to Kol and closed his eyes. Caroline was becoming a weakness.

"And I will deal with her," he breathed out trying to convince himself, more than Kol, that he would. He had to. Somehow.

"How? Maybe by thanking her over a fancy dinner?" Kol scoffed and this time Klaus whirled around, truly ready to strike and actually send him to the hospital when a booming voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Enough!"

The booming voice of Esther Mikaelson filled the room. Esther Mikaelson closed the door behind her and Klaus and Kol did not move until their mother approached them.

Esther's hands pushed them back separating them and stopping any further escalation. She looked at the broken mirror and the cracked casing before she admonishedthem with disapproving eyes.

Kol's and Klaus' staring match continued but Esther stepped between them and turned her attention to Kol.

"I need to speak with your brother," she said to Kol, her voice a whip of command, "Leave us."

---

Mikael walked ahead. Caroline followed him and kept glancing around feeling uneasy. She tried to tone down her jangling nerves that twisted more when she realized that Klaus' father was leading her to one of the upper floor's hall rooms.

In his private wing.

Ever since she had come to live in this house one of the first things Klaus and even Esther had told her was that she was not allowed to venture into Mikael's wing. It was forbidden. No one but Mikael's private personnel ever entered these corridors and his quarters.

Mikael eventually turned left and opened a door gesturing for her to get in and despite her anxiety she did. She tried to make sure she appeared confident and it was the first time in her life she improvised the façade of courage. To that degree anyway. She remembered the nerve-wracking feelings that had turned her body into a huge knot of nervousness just a few hours ago at the dinner in her old house and now she felt even worse. She knew she couldn't back down from her deal with Mikael as she also knew that should she show him any weakness or fear she was done for.

When the door closed behind her she managed to glue her feet to the ground and not to jump.

She was in a parlor area with old wooden furniture and dark beige walls. No flame was lit in the handmade carved fireplace but on two tables lamps with incandescent light bulbs dimly broke the darkness with a soft yellow glow.Enough to create a haunting environment that was more dark than bright.

Caroline noticed that this room lacked the luxury the Mikaelson Mansion had. There were no paintings or extravagant decorations. There was more wood than marble. And no electronic devices. Everything seemed old fashioned. Including the old gramophone with the stack of worn out records placed in the corner of the room.

Caroline watched with keen eyes as Mikael strolled to an antique dressing table with cabriole legs made from black cherry wood with gold veins. He took out a small key from his pocket and unlocked the main drawer.

When he came near her again, Caroline couldn't take her eyes from what he was holding.

"Nontraceable. As promised," Mikael told her before he handed her the cell phone he had in his hand.

Caroline took the small device thinking that she had to check if that was true and to make sure the phone was not actually bugged.

"Thank you," she replied to Mikael trying to sound as cordial as possible even if she knew this was not a kindness on his part. Still, she had to play nice.

Mikael nodded and Caroline hoped that he would tell her that she could go. She was so ready to put this dreadful night behind her and staying in such a confined space with the patriarch of the Mikaelson Famiglia was depriving her of all oxygen.

Standing in Mikael's presence was like being encased in ice.

"I do expect you to continue your mediation with Montavaro," Mikael commanded her without preamble and Caroline gripped the phone in her hand tighter before she took in a deep steadying breath and pocketed the phone in her clutch. As she did her eyes fell on the diamonds on her wrist. Klaus' gift. His wedding gift to her. The infinite design symbolizing eternity. His promise.

She steeled herself and withdrew her eyes from the bracelet.

"Something that should not be expected of me," she retorted with a crisp tone knowing how risky it was to act this way but something inside her seemed to be kicking and demanding to be let out. It was frustration. Despair. Undiluted anger. She was angry all the time. With her family. With Klaus. With the Mikaelsons. With the whole world.

Mikael cast her a warning gaze, but Caroline only lifted her chin up. She hated him. She hated all the Mikaelsons. For leaving her without options. For treating her like this. For turning her into one of them.

"Coming into this marriage I believed in your word. You promised me...and my family... your protection," she reminded him sternly and Mikael inclined his head.

"And you shall have it. Especially if you side with me."

Caroline said nothing at that. She held her purse in her hand that was starting to sweat. Mikael's reassurances were sounding like threats. More so, she didn't miss the part of Mikael not trusting her despite her actions tonight. He still expected her to side with him. As in future tense. He knew she was not on his side and he couldn't be more right about that.

She stood tall as Mikael scanned her with a contemplating expression as if he could read her thoughts clearly. She had to work with that. She had to learn how to hide what she was thinking and her anxiety better.

"You have my protection and Giovanni's. Your brother also put some of his trusted men under my roof in your name. I allowed this too despite it not being part of our initial agreement," Mikael granted with a condescending tone.

"Just to cause Klaus more problems," Caroline's riposte was sharp, and Mikael's hint of a smile unsettling.

"In any case, I have been more than generous in keeping my end of our deal, child."

Caroline gritted her teeth. Child. That term of endearment sounded like an insult from that man's mouth.

"And you get to stay longer," Caroline refreshed his memory and her eyes didn't leave Mikael as he turned his back on her and went and poured himself a glass of cognac.

He owed her and she was not going to stand back and allow him to treat her as if he was doing her a favor. And, hell, she wasn't going to act as if she was his lesser and a nuisance to him or any Mikaelson for that matter.

Yes, her protection was tied with Mikael's presence in Chicago. That was the initial agreement for her wedding contract with Klaus. One that Klaus never aimed to honor. And she was caught in the crossfire because of it. She had to maintain the balance between those two monsters without being left at the mercy of one of them. She had to buy time, she knew that. But Mikael needed her right now as much as she needed him.

And she hated it.

If things were different she truly would not mind Mikael leaving. She didn't care. But, if he left now, it would be only a matter of time before Klaus struck against her family. And without Damon and Stefan, she would be left completely defenseless against the Mikaelsons. All of the Mikaelsons and not just Klaus. She had to keep reminding herself of that. She needed protection against all of them. Including Mikael. He was her enemy too.

Mikael staying longer was a temporary solution. Finding a way to get rid of him and his son would be a permanent one. She tried to fight the bile that rose in her stomach and churned. She was starting to think and behave like a monster. The only way to get rid of them would be to kill them.

"But, not forever," Mikael said, his mouth turning into a grim line.

Caroline felt the need to shrug but buried it under a blanket of indifference which she used to cover her whole body with. She schooled her face into impassivity remembering her father's words. The best lies are those that don't even need to be uttered. Give nothing. Take everything. And if you can't take everything take what you can without showing how much your losses and your winnings mean to you.

In the opportune moment, she would probably have to find a way to contain Mikael too. His digging his claws in Chicago forever was out of the question.

Mikael tasted his liquor and then his gaze became alight.

"Maybe if you were to become a widow though," he proposed and Caroline could not help reacting despite how much she tried to remain detached. Her legs moved on their own volition and she stumbled back as if she had responded to a physical blow. She even stopped breathing.

Her throat constricted and she tried to swallow down the breath she was holding.

"Klaus is not easy to kill," she said a bit ruefully willing herself back to stillness. Of course, Mikael didn't consider her a threat. Of course, he believed that it was Klaus that was the only real danger to him. The only obstacle he had to wipe out.

Should Klaus die, at a moment where she could find shelter with her brothers or better yet find a way to escape and cover her tracks, she would be free. For good.

But for some reason, that suggestion alone, wreaked havoc inside her.

Mikael's eyes shadowed with hate. His grimaced as if the fine alcohol he had gulped down was the most disgusting thing he had sampled in his life.

"You give him too much credit, girl," Mikael spat his venom with unending abhorrence.

Being in the presence of such fathomless hate was unnatural. More so when it was directed by a father to a son.

Caroline bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from retorting. She was starting to feel an irrational wave of anger hitting her with force. Enough force that she regained the ground she had lost from stepping back by boldly taking a step forward.

She must have consumed a lot of alcohol at the dinner because her senses were sharp enough to dull her self-preservation instincts.

She would never allow herself to even contemplate the possibility that those instincts were overrun by those of another kind. The protective ones that commanded her even like this, even beyond logic, to somehow take Klaus' side. It would be impossible as were the words that left her mouth without any restraint in the presence of the Boss of the Famiglia himself.

"I give him too much credit? Should he have been so easily killable you would not need a woman to rescue you from exile," Caroline bit out, her tone cold as she remained unflinching despite standing in front of one of the most terrifying persons she had ever encountered in her whole life.

It was in that moment she realized that Klaus himself was not as high on that particular list as she had assumed. Mikael terrified her right down to the bone and this was why she needed him. He was a necessary evil. Or so she kept saying inside her head while trying to somehow convince herself that she had not made the worst mistake of her life tonight and she was not in way over her head.

She was way out of her head she realized when Mikael's face changed into blackness and malice before he smiled and then… laughed.

She felt her gorge rise at the sound of that cruel laughter. No wonder everyone was so scared of this man. Caroline remembered how Rebekah only minutes before had made herself less in Mikael's presence and ran away from him out of fear of displeasing him.

Mikael set his glass down and approached her but Caroline refused to back down. Either it was bravery or plain stupidity, she did not know. Maybe it was fear that had immobilized her but she knew that either way she had no options left. She had taken Mikael's side tonight and it was too late to change her mind but she would not cower in front of any Mikaelson no matter the cost.

"What do you think he will do to you now, child?" Mikael wondered, his voice amused as he asked her what she thought Klaus' punishment would be.

Sharp needles pricked her body; she felt as if tiny spiders crawled all over her skin running poison over the thin layer above her roaring blood that streamed in her veins cold.

Still, despite the darkness that kept creeping and destroying her from the inside out with waves of dread and terror, she refused to show fear. She only responded with an acerbic smile that somehow clashed with Mikael's amusement and actually put a halt to it.

"Somehow I am sure you should care more about what he will do to you. You got you wanted. ..For now," Caroline warned him making sure he would understand that she was not truly on his side.

She wondered if she was the stupidest person on the whole planet. She should play the role of the naïve child Mikael had given her, feed that delusion and tailor it to her advantage. That was what logic commanded. But she couldn't. All it took was Mikael speaking out loud about killing Klaus and the axis that kept her plans in carefully laid out order shifted and with it sodid her intentions.

She had not taken Mikael's side out of loyalty after all but out of need. She knew Mikael would use her for as long as he needed her and after that, she would be on her own but the same counted the other way around. The moment she would not need him any longer, for all she cared, he could die at Klaus' hands or they could both just kill each other.

Even though it was hard to imagine there was something in this world, no matter how terrifying it would seem, that would be able to put down Klaus Mikaelson.

The same Klaus Mikaelson she had betrayed tonight and yet somehow that thought weirdly enough eased her tension. Maybe she was losing her mind or she was becoming bipolar or something but the thought was actually comforting.

Mikael did not seem so terrifying after all. Not when he needed her to go against Klaus. Not when he was cowering so much at the power of his son that he needed...a child… to get him out of the mess he was in.

Mikael regarded her with a steadying look and she tried not to flinch under his scrutiny.

What was it that she had just dared to say to him? That he got what he wanted… for now?

Okay, maybe she was an idiot after all. Going poking the beast like this. Why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut?

"So did you ...daughter," Mikael pointed out and Caroline saw red.

"I am not and will never be your daughter," she snapped throwing once more all caution to the wind.

She had spent the last few weeks hating her father. Her dead father! They had taken even that from her. The chance to mourn for her father as a loving daughter instead of a victim that held a grudge against those that sold her to the Mikaelsons; but Giuseppe was her father. He had raised her. He had loved her in his own way and she had loved him. Unconditionally.

Hearing Mikael calling her daughter nauseated and aggravated her beyond reason and all sense.

Mikael arched his brow and went and retrieved his glass.

"You are a proud woman. The true daughter of Giuseppe I see," he commented dryly and sipped his cognac, "I hated your father for years. A hate that never dimmed the respect I felt for him. In his name, I have to apologize for giving you to a bastard like Niklaus."

Caroline blinked at the sincerity she heard in Mikael's voice. She ignored the scathing belittlement in Mikael's words. He viewed women as lesser beings and as things he could give to others and pass around. That was how people like him viewed people like her. That happened in their circle. She knew it. She hated it. She had to swallow down her pride and focus on what Mikael had honestly just admitted.

"He is your heir," she muttered and Mikael gulped down his drink in one swift swig and Caroline tensed when he almost broke the glass when he put it down.

"He is not my son," Mikael disowned Klaus with so much revulsion it made Caroline actually realize the true depth his hate. It had no beginning and no end. It had consumed him whole and she could tell Klaus felt the exact same.

Caroline wavered.

She claimed to hate Klaus too but she didn't know how to hate. Not in the way Mikael and Klaus did. Not in the way that maybe she should.

"But, he is my husband," she softly said, and it was the first time she had said it out loud and actually believed it. A soft inaudible gasp passed through her lips. Klaus was her husband. It was in that moment she started to actually realize it.

"One you did not hesitate to betray tonight," Mikael reminded her as if he could see right through her inner struggle.

Caroline's stomach lurched. Her heart started racing with a thunderous beat.

The emotion that built up inside her was corrosive.

She had betrayed him. She had burned all bridges tonight. She had done it for her survival. For Damon's and Stefan's survival. She was so angry with her brothers. The kind of anger that resembled the burning passion of an emotion that left only ashes and cinders in its scorching devastation. But, they were her brothers. They were bound by blood. By loyalty. She couldn't leave them prey to the predator Klaus was. They would not win. They could try but they would lose. They would die and she had to make sure that wouldn't happen. Giuseppe's legacy depended on it and so did her life.

So why did betraying Klaus felt so wrong right now? Why didn't she feel the satisfaction she ought to feel?

Why was she replaying in her mind Klaus' face when he realized what she had done to him? His anger. His defeat. The loss that was pictured in his eyes as they lost all warmth. The warmth he bathed her in whenever he looked at her with desire and something that resembled devotion. She knew it was a lie but it had been warm and intense and magnetic and she felt her skin stretching over her bones.

She almost felt as if the wedding ring on her finger was becoming tighter and tighter.

What was happening to her?

Mikael stepped closer and faced her seriously.

"And you would do it again wouldn't you, Caroline?" he questioned her, this time addressing her with her name as an equal, seemingly confident in his certainty that she would.

Caroline realized she had lost all her ability to speak. She only stared at Mikael and felt as if someone was drowning her in the depths of the deepest ocean she had ever dived in. Its surface was gone and Mikael's answer demanded an answer she couldn't give.

Would she?

---

Klaus was not surprised to see Kol obeying their mother and backing down despite his obvious chagrin. His brother may be notorious for his inability to adhere to orders but even his volatility simmered out at the presence of Esther Mikaelson.

A trait of hers that Klaus always envied. He always commanded fear with violence and blood but Esther was a different breed. She always had the uncanny ability to impose a sense of stillness and dread simply by staring back at you but tonight facing her abilities was the last thing Klaus wanted to do. He already had reached his quota of femme fatale schemes for this night. He was still reeling from Caroline's wicked shenanigans.

He tried not to grit his teeth at the involuntary comparison his mind made. No matter what Caroline was capable of doing she would never be like Esther Mikaelson. That thought alone drained the blood from his limbs but he kept his demeanor passive despite his tense muscles and blackened mood. Allowing any sign of vulnerability or weakness to show in front of Mikael and Esther was a death sentence and an invitation for pain. A lesson he had learned a long time ago.

Klaus cautiously watched his mother under heavy eyelids as she sat on one of the chairs with the poise of a Queen. She looked majestic in her dark teal gown and her gold jewelry but he knew better. His mother was like a vulture and this night reeked of blood.

He turned his back on her and strode towards one of the Degas paintings. He unlocked the frame by pressing the concealed button at the bottom of the casing. He slid the painting on the wall revealing the hidden safe behind it. He punched in the code fully aware of his mother's scrutiny and the metal door opened with a soft sound.

He reached for the Beretta and checked the clip to assure it was loaded. He pushed the can back to the handle and drew the clipdraw before he secured the gun on his belt feeling the weight of the metal against his back. He made sure to grab two knives and spare gun clips before he reset the code and closed the safe again.

Esther's features showed only patience but his own was wearing thin. Klaus strode to his desk and decided to forego all pretenses. He leaned against the surface and crossed his arms in front of his chest. The leather of his shoulder holster stretched over his white shirt.

Klaus arched a brow and waited. He knew all too well that his mother would not step back from her waiting game first. He took a deep breath. This night truly had no end.

"Speak mother," he sighed dismissively.

"Are you planning to dispose of her?" Esther cut straight to the chase and Klaus' went rigid; his eyes widening infinitesimally.

It was an involuntary reaction that did not go unnoticed from the sharp gaze that was scanning him. Esther's satisfied hint of a smile assured him of that and the muscle of his jaw twitching gave more ammunition to his mother's detection skills.

"I didn't think you would," Esther softly mused and despite every instinct of his body whispering to him to reach for his gun and plant a bullet between his mother's eyes, he remained unresponsive. The oxygen in the room felt less potent somehow. As if it was feeding the flames in the fireplace, creating a hot suffocating atmosphere around him.

Esther crossed her legs and leaned back against the accent frame chair.

"If there was anything your history with Mikael should have taught you it's that family means power. Once your family is divided you are going to lose your power," she sternly reminded him and he had to restrain himself from seeing red. Instead, he let out a huff that resembled a chuckle before he theatrically rubbed his temple with his fingers.

"Is there a point to this drivel?" he mocked and felt something that could be described as almost sadistic satisfaction at the way his mother's palms turned into fists.

"Caroline is now part of your family. Keeping her by your side ensures your position," Esther told him and Klaus' felt bile rising in his throat.

His attention focused on the way Caroline's name sounded at Esther Mikaelson's lips. It lost all its beauty and turned to venom and for some reason, it felt wrong. So very wrong.

"Keeping her satisfied by your side ensures your power," Esther continued her manipulation before she finally said what she was really thinking of.

"At least until she gives you children."

Klaus' smirk was nothing less of a sneer while he was making sure to appear unaffected when in truth he felt disgusted right down to the bone. He had relived this exact moment. He was there when Esther was pulling Elijah's and his' strings years ago and she was doing it again. Different chapter, same story.

Her intentions had not changed. Vile as ever. Only now his mother's mastery of destruction was far more lethal. And he would be damned if he allowed history to repeat itself again. He was not Elijah. He would not be the honorable son. If he had to he would rip out her heart with his bare hands.

He looked straight into the bottomless darkness reflected in his mother's eyes and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the day would come. First, it would be her husband and then –when she would finally become expendable– she would follow.

Still. Her words still twisted the thorns she had sewn into his heart when he was a child.

"Like you did with your husband?" he coldly taunted and his lips curled into a cruel smile when her breath visibly hitched.

"I stayed next to Mikael because that was my duty and because it secured your safety," Esther reproached defensively before she locked her gaze with his, "but the day he raised his hand against you was the day he lost my support."

Klaus demeanor changed. The calmness disappeared and his blood surged into his veins hot and ready to burst. All the hate that always brewed inside him threatened to choke him and he had to spit it out somehow. His enemies, his victims, his targets were inconsequential prey that barely fed the beast inside him anymore.

"Such a protective mother figure you've been."

The sarcasm dripped heavy from his voice but Esther only smiled sadly.

"Which progressively weakened Mikael and gave you the advantage against him," his mother made her point as if his scathing comment had not interrupted her.

She got up and Klaus' watched her every move carefully as she approached him. Her eyes were pleading for him to understand and at the same time were ordering him to follow her command.

"If you allow history to repeat itself you will lose more than just your throne," she warned him and tried to reach for him but he gripped her wrist in midair denying her the opportunity to lay a hand on him. Her touch was as abhorrent as Mikael's abuse had been. How much more now when they both knew how fake her motherly care truly was.

"You will lose your head! And your enemies won't spare our lives," Esther's hiss was made from ice and Klaus' gave her a scathing glare before he threw her hand back as if it had somehow contaminated him.

"Why are you saying this to me?"

"Because I am your mother."

Klaus gave his mother an incredulous look before he threw his head back and laughed. He moved past her and went to get his jacket. He felt his mother's eyes boring holes in his back and knew all too well that she hated her inability to reach him. Because that meant that she was losing power. And there was nothing Esther hated more than that.

"Klaus-"

"Too little too late. Your maternal instincts are coming out too late in the game...mother," Klaus emphasized the last word with as much of a lack of respect he could master.

Esther closed her eyes and shook her head as if she was trying to hold on to her precious control and not break under his mistreatment.

She lifted her chin and indignation blazed in her fixed stare.

"I understand your enmity towards me but do not let that cloud your judgment Niklaus," she lectured him, "You are the head of this family now. I made sure of that. You fall, we all fall," she reasoned and somehow even that imploring advice sounded like a threat. A threat and a reminder of how much he owed her and how much she could still take away from him if he opposed her will.

Klaus turned around and waved at her dismissively.

"So this is what it is all about? Making sure you won't lose your power?"

The tone of his voice held a sardonic cadence that echoed like a caress, forcing his mother to press her mouth into a hard line and Klaus' lips curled as he witnessed the first crack in her armor.

"Making sure you won't lose yours," Esther boomed, "you need Caroline as Mikael needed me once," she berated and Klaus rooted his feet to the floor to stop himself from lashing out.

"Letting her walk all over you, however, is not smart. If I was her-"

"Caroline is nothing like you," Klaus growled loud enough to interrupt her but low enough to tell her that she was threading a very thin line.

Esther's eyes turned to slits as she took in his reactions cautiously.

Despite his hate, he had never crossed the line with her. He had never done what Mikael had done but right now he was so aware of the weapons he carried on him.

It would be so easy. So very easy. Hate was spreading like rot inside his guts. Memories assaulted him and even the idea of exchanging all that pain and all that misery with Caroline's face as the center of a new tragedy was challenging his sanity.

He didn't know why his jerk response was this but he could not allow his mother to taint anything more in his life. More so to taint Caroline. He knew that after tonight he should not care but somehow everything Caroline did and all that she had cost him this night paled in comparison to what his parents could do if they used her against him. What they could to him and to…her. Caroline was still his wife. Even if their wedding was a charade as she so callously believed, in the end, it didn't matter. She was his. His to keep and his to protect. He would deal with Caroline on his own. He didn't need his mother meddling and bringing more chaos in whatever it was that he and his wife had.

He took a threatening step towards Esther and that gave his mother pause.

Yet, he was not blinded enough to not admire Esther's courage and restraint. Her discipline in the face of danger was probably one of the few valuable things she had taught him. Along with how caring was a weakness. And he was not weak. Neither was she.

"Isn't she?" Esther provoked him, "You still think so even after tonight?"

Klaus fell silent. He couldn't refute this. Not when the world was still crumbling at its seams all around him. Caroline had played him tonight. With her façade and her taunting defiance.

She had managed something that not even Esther had been able to do. She had outsmarted him and he had not seen her coming. She had blinded him and deceived him very masterfully but she took a risk if she believed it was calculated when it was nothing but a ticking bomb.

Caroline had acted out of impulse and woven herself into a very dangerous situation that could backfire very badly. And not just by provoking his unending rage.

Klaus' gaze blurred and he lost his focus. It was that rage that ran in his family's blood that always destroyed everything in sight. He was the monster in Caroline's tale. He had created her fear. He couldn't blame her either. For Caroline, maybe he was what Mikael was for his mother.

If anything, that alone proved that she was nothing like his mother. Esther's deceit was far more intricate and born out of misery and hate. Caroline's was created out of misery and fear. Fear of him.

The real question was why wasn't he putting that fear to good use? It would be easy. To unleash the monster. To make Caroline see all sides of him and understand why she shouldn't tempt the devil inside him.

He didn't want that he realized. He didn't want to justify her fear. To feed her dread until it would turn to hate. Caroline was not like him or like Esther. Despite her potential for darkness and greatness she didn't have even an evil bone inside her.

"Caroline was born and raised in the same life," Esther's voice reached his ears dissolving the haze of his thoughts and he felt as if his skin could not contain him any longer. He had not felt so trapped since he was a child.

Maybe this marriage had been a mistake. Maybe it would cost him more than what he believed he would gain. Maybe it would even cost him his sanity.

"I can see the potential in her. You should-"

All it took was two strides for him to stand mere inches away from his mother. He felt the throbbing vein in the neck. It was pumping acid into his bloodstream.

"You will stay far away from her," Klaus' snapped, "I won't let you fill her head with such nonsense."

Esther observed him closely. Like she was seeing him for the first time. When her fingers wrapped around his forearm he stilled but didn't push her away this time. He looked down at her hand and then back at her face.

"What are you afraid of, Niklaus? That if she becomes like me… she won't love you?"

The air thickened between them and his mother's words struggled against every last ounce of humanity left inside him.

He reached for her face and cupped her cheeks. Tenderly. Gently. Enough for Esther to falter and for real fear to reflect in her eyes. His eyes. They shared the same eyes he realized as he looked intensely at the face of the woman that had given birth to him but refused to give him anything else.

He smiled like a loving son and his thumbs caressed his mother's cold skin that was slowly turning clammy.

"If she becomes like you she won't be able to love anyone, mother. Not even herself," Klaus whispered and kissed his mother's forehead.

It was a warning far more dangerous than any outburst could bring. Esther froze. His hands were ready to wrap around her neck and he nodded at her. A clear message; he had chosen sides and she wasn't on his. Not anymore.

Allowing Caroline to become like his mother was not a choice he could make. Not even he was so cruel as to let that happen. He wouldn't allow his mother to extinguish his wife's light and in that moment, he knew that he wouldn't break Caroline into the kind of wife Mikael and this life had turned his mother into.

Maybe he still had more to gain. His mother was only half wrong. He did need Caroline by his side. Tonight proved him as much. But not in the way his mother believed. No. Caroline did have potential. The kind that could become a weapon both in the right and the wrong hands. He would have to make sure that the last would not happen.

He stared back into his mother's eyes for a long moment before his smile settled as did his mind and maybe even his heart.

He would not falter. He would not bow down. He had set his course years ago and so had Esther.

Caroline's didn't change the endgame. But just maybe she had changed the game.

He let his mother go and walked away despite her attempt to hold on to him. The sigh that escaped his mother's lips didn't bring him any satisfaction this time.

Time was running out and these were the last death rattles before the end.

Esther's hand fell to her side as she watched her son close the door behind him. She inhaled deeply and tried to suppress the shudder that ran down her spine.

She realized in that moment that Caroline could, indeed, become Klaus' strength but she could also become his weakness.

And that could definitely make Caroline a problem.

---

When Klaus stormed out of his study he felt a dark calm spreading through his veins carrying murderous intent in its wake. His temper always had a quick fuse but it was when he was not loud and had no outbursts of anger when people should truly fear him. His family had that effect on him. They left him without mercy. When it came to his mother and those close to him that betrayed him, his frenzy and the violence that built up inside was like a slow rot. Eating him up alive. Building and building and rising and choking every emotion, every thought, every feeling, until he only thought of death. Until he was death.

Like now.

So when he left Esther and the promise he had given her and found Kol leaning against one of his paintings in the corridor outside his office, he got ready to unleash all that fury and all that deathly madness that urged him into action.

Kol was already holding his bat ready to take a swing at him, at anyone, at the world.

In times like these, Elijah's absence hit him and Kol the hardest. His older brother was the only voice of reason that tamed their savage flare-ups of brutality and instead of having someone like Elijah by his side Klaus was now stuck with his younger brother that could only wake up the worst sides of the beast inside him. He and Kol always butted heads. Always brought out the worst in each other. Kol was always pushing and pushing his limits. Always provoking him. Using everything he could to force his rage and cruelty. To make him lose control.

And Klaus' control was waning. The walls of this hell hole they called home could not contain him any longer. Esther was here. Mikael was here. Caroline was here. His enemies were gathering. Everyone wanted to destroy him. His paranoia was screaming and Kol, especially after their confrontation in the office, would be the last straw.

All it would take would be one wrong word. One wrong glance from Kol and he would finish what Esther had interrupted between them. And this time he wouldn't stop. He didn't know if he could.

Kol aimed his attention at him with an unwavering focus for a few dire moments that stretched between them and thickened the air.

Their gazes remained locked and instead of the wrong word, Kol said all the right ones.

"Well, Nik?" Kol sang with a manic smile and twirled the bat in his hand like a sword, "who are we killing tonight?"

Klaus only smirked.

---

Bonnie Bennett held the tablet in her hands reading over and over again the various news headlines from the different Chicago online sites Matt had bookmarked in his browser.

"The Princess of the Salvatore family marries the eldest Mikaelson Scion."

"She wouldn't do that. I know her. She would never act that way," Bonnie muttered as she realized that those weren't just rumors. Caroline had actually gotten married. Out of nowhere. She had left without even saying goodbye and actually got married to a notorious crime lord.

"I am leaving," Matt announced and threw a few clothes into a small bag.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked with worry. She had brought beer and chips and gone to his apartment for one more break up all nighter and despite the late hour, she had already found him packing.

If Matt planned to do what she was thinking, then they would get into a whole load of trouble they couldn't actually handle. That wasn't wise. If those articles were to be believed, Matt would be way over his head. Not only was Klaus Mikaelson a ruthless mobster but Caroline's family belonged to the mafia too and she had never told them. It was as if they didn't even know her. Her cheery best friend with the cheeky smiles and positive attitude belonged to a crime family!

Then there were the brawny men that came to pack Caroline's things from their dorm room and said they belonged to the Salvatore security. They didn't look like security guards though. They looked like the kind of gangsters her mother used to obsess over in the Godfather movies. And they had even told her to tell Matt that Caroline wasn't going to return and didn't want to see him ever again. They practically threatened her and told her to make sure Matt would not call Caroline again. Bonnie was sure they had approached Matt too but he hadn't told her anything about it. God, this was crazy!

"Chicago," Matt bit out and zipped his bag, "I need an explanation don't you think?"

Bonnie sighed and turned off the tablet.

"Matt"-

"I am going, Bonnie!"

"What about your job at the Grill?" she tried to reason with him and maybe stall him. At least long enough until she could reach Caroline. Until she could get some answers of her own. Maybe this was just a huge misunderstanding.

Who was she kidding! Bonnie knew that this was just wishful thinking. Caroline hadn't been answering any of her calls for so long. What was even going on? Nothing made sense! And now Matt could get in danger. If he wasn't already.

"I got Chad to cover for me. I need to catch my flight Bonnie," he firmly shut her down.

"This is…if what those sites say is true," Bonnie mumbled concerned, "it could be dangerous."

"I don't care."

"Maybe if you just waited. I am sure Caroline-"

"She broke with me over a text!" Matt finally exploded, "And she got married! I need some answers!"

"This is the only thing you need?" Bonnie asked him with a soft voice, "Are you sure?"

Matt was already at the door when he stopped in his tracks and gripped the knob tightly.

"What I need is to bring her back."

---

Klaus stood outside Caroline's door and felt a tingling sensation running through his fingers. Such a flimsy obstacle to separate him from Caroline. An illusion to make her feel safe.

He knew that even the walls of this house had eyes and ears but nevertheless he stood between uncertainty and a feeling he could not name nor battle. Behind those closed doors Caroline...his wife...was hiding thinking she could hide from him. Thinking she could hide from the world she had set on fire. Darkness was already roaring and these doors could not keep it out.

Hours had passed but he knew she wasn't sleeping. He could feel her. He could sense her through those doors.

He had taken out his rage. His night out with Kol had dulled his impulsive rage. Killing and torturing his own men was a far better alternative than losing his mind and lashing out in ways he would later regret. Those that had allowed the storage to be raided without even informing him had been spectacularly punished. He had sent the message he could destroy both his enemies and those that served him. Tomorrow he would send more. Much more.

Still, there was one more message to send before this night would come to an end. To the one recipient that was trying to lock him out. The only one he truly wanted and the only one who had managed to catch him off guard and to turn the blood he always shed in his kills not to the cure that always calmed him but to burning poison.

He closed his eyes. He felt tired. Exhausted was a better word. He didn't have the luxury of allowing himself to take a break from all that tired him and he found himself oddly drawn to the woman that managed to tire him the most.

Caroline was a handful and he had to deal with her. Showing weakness was not an option. Allowing her to become one was not one either.

He opened the door and stepped in. He could not help but smile at Caroline's bravery or more should he say at her statement. She had left the door unlocked. Not that it would make a difference but even like this she refused to cower despite knowing that this night he would join her in their room. She had set their course after all.

When he closed the door behind him, Caroline's eyes snapped up and her gaze sank into his. He cocked his head to the side and waited. He waited as her eyes took him. As she focused on the half dried blood on his clothes, face, and hands.

The room was half immersed in shadow and light. The lamp at her nightstand was bright and was giving a sweet luminance to Caroline's features that paled at his sight.

Klaus watched her as she immediately set the book she was reading aside, hiding it from view. A college textbook. Interesting.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded trying to keep her cool.

His eyes slowly roamed over her body. Long gone was the black gown and the diamonds. The sophisticated elegant look was missing and what was left in its place was a beautiful girl who didn't need makeup or seductive dresses to shine. With her hair pinned up in a messy ponytail at the top of her head and with her cozy PJs, Caroline was the image of adorable innocence, but he knew better than that. All the pink and the cuteness could not hide the steel and the danger that hid underneath.

He stalked closer to the bed, to their bed, not missing the way she tensed. He quickly noticed that she had hidden the phone she had taken from her old room in the Salvatore mansion. He felt the need to laugh at that. It was not as if he needed it. He already knew everything about her life before him. For now, he would let her feel secure in her delusion that she could protect her secrets for him. After tonight he would not allow her to have any more. Her secrets cost him years of planning.

His lips curled up and he looked around nonchalantly.

"In our room you mean, sweetheart?" he played along feigning innocence.

Caroline's mouth tightened into a straight line.

"Get out!"

Klaus clicked his tongue making a tsking sound.

"What kind of a loving husband would I be if I was to leave my beautiful wife to spend her night alone in our bed?" he wondered tauntingly.

His lips cut to a cruel line at the sight of her face. A perfect blend of anger and revulsion with hints of panic.

"Your grace period is over, sweetheart," he announced casually.

Caroline started counting backward in her mind trying not to explode. She quickly realized this was his way of punishing her for tonight. By taking away her personal space and making her feel as if she was under threat. Only in this case, the threat was very real. This was his way of reminding her that they were married and that she had to share a bed with him. She half expected it but as the night progressed she had dared to hope he wouldn't come.

Fear poured inside of her in waves.

She might have gained protection, but it was only for her life and her well being. No man from the Outfit of the Famiglia would oppose Klaus when it came to expecting her to be his wife in every sense of the word. They would definitely side with him on that. She was his wife after all and he had every right on her. It was her duty to be Klaus' wife after she gave her oath.

She remembered what Mikael had asked her.

"What do you think he will do to you now, child?"

Would Klaus do that as a punishment for what she did tonight? Even the idea was sending rivulets of ice in her heart. She knew she was going to reap what she sowed sooner or later but that didn't mean Klaus was justified in taking away everything from her or forcing her to sleep with him. She tried to keep her calm. Falling apart would not do her any good.

She struggled to get a deep breath when Klaus gave her a knowing smile.

"Starting now we will be sleeping in the same room if not the same bed," he crooned and red exploded in Caroline's vision.

"Over my dead body!"

Klaus smirked and his eyes traveled up and down her body. The expression of triumph in his eyes twisted Caroline's nerves more and for the first time in her life, she regretted the fact that she had not inherited her father's taste for keeping a gun under the pillow. Wouldn't it come handy right about now?

"I think you misunderstood my noble intentions, my darling wife," Klaus drawled the last word before he slowly licked his lips as he gave her an apprehensive glance, "I wanted to give you time to adjust and come to terms with our marriage. Obviously, the distance between us did not make your heart grow fonder," he noticed, his tone dripping with sarcasm and Caroline followed his movements as his legs touched the duvet off the bed.

"And how did your passionate declaration go?" he pondered out loud, his eyes dark and sharp.

A few hours before

"You are my wife! Act like it!" he finally exploded and Caroline's heart stopped.

She squared her shoulders and gulped down the bile that rose in her throat. She looked Klaus from head to toe with a repulsed gaze.

"And you are my husband! Mine!" she declared out solemnly and most of all with a fierceness that made Klaus narrow his eyes, "A husband I can't trust."

"I will not let you decide what my destiny will be," she swore in an unwavering tone as her body melted closer to his, making his rigid muscles thrum with need, "It is my life. My choice. And if you want to play with my future like that then I will repay the favor…husband," she promised and Klaus' eyes followed the flash of her blonde hair and her rosy cheeks as Caroline moved her head back just to lock her gaze with him.

"I am your husband, love and we do need to work on your trust issues so what better way than me moving in with you?"

He rolled his shoulders and angled his head teasingly.

"What's more natural than wanting to be with my wife?" he added, giving her a significant look.

Caroline narrowed her eyes and watched Klaus casually shed his jacket and throw it on the bed with a flick of his wrist.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest to stop them from reaching for the lamp and flinging it at his head.

"I am not going to have sex with you!"

Klaus's arched an elegant eyebrow and laughed.

"I do love the way your mind works, sweetheart. But, I would like to believe women want to sleep with me on their own accord. At least this is what prior experience has shown. Multiple times," he bragged and winked at her.

Caroline scrunched up her face unable to hold back a grimace of revulsion.

"You are disgusting!"

Klaus placed his hand on his chest mockingly.

"I promise to be a gentleman, love," he purred smoothly, and Caroline's nails dug into her palms until they turned into fists. She didn't remember the last time she had been so furious with anyone. He was playing with her! She had expected anger. She had expected tantrums. But she hadn't expected him to be this…annoying!

"As if!" she threw back at him and began pushing away the pillows. No way in hell she would share a bed with him even if he claimed that the only thing they would do in said bed was sleep.

Klaus watched her in amusement as she started moving the coverlets.

"Where are you going?"

"Even standing next to you makes me want to wash with bleach," she huffed indignantly.

"Such attention to sanitation," Klaus quipped.

"Ugh!"

Her movements became erratic and just as she was about to get up and out of bed Klaus jumped on the mattress with an elegant move and pushed her back on the pillows. Caroline's eyes popped open and when Klaus pulled her closer by the upper arm she tried not to cringe at all the blood on him.

Any humor his features carried disappeared. And for the first time since she met him she saw the legendary rage everyone talked about and it was directed at her. She should be terrified but for some reason, she wasn't. Yeah, so it was official. She was not losing her mind. She had already lost it!

His breath was so close. She stared at him and didn't even try to push him back.

"If anyone else pulled the stunt you pulled tonight," he started with quiet anger, "they would be getting acquainted with the fish," he merely said but then his eyes twinkled, "I hear cement goes lovely with beautiful legs."

He gave her a satisfied smile looking appreciatively at the skin her shorts revealed.

She stared at him with distaste and finally yanked her arm away from his grip trying not to quiver at the blood stains his fingers had left on her skin.

She was not unfamiliar with blood. At times she had even hugged her father and her brothers while they were drenched in blood and back then she hadn't cringed. She had only felt relief at them being alive, not caring for those they had to kill as long as they came back to her.

This time it was different. This time there was no relief. This time the blood branded her and this time she had caused it to flow and now it was on her. Literally. She was sure it was a calculated move from Klaus to touch her like this and smear the blood on her skin.

She let out a huffing breath blowing a few messy strands of hair out of her face.

"You don't scare me, Klaus."

Klaus fixed his gaze on her. Moments passed and she found herself holding in a breath.

"I don't, do I?" he mumbled in a matter of fact tone stating this more to himself than her, "Then why? What is it that scared you into doing what you did tonight then?" he asked her, his words fueled with the intensity of a man that wanted to understand not just her motives but what moved her very soul.

Caroline stilled and his body stirred closer to her.

"What is it that you truly fear, sweetheart?" he whispered, and his voice was a thrall that snared her, immobilizing her and Caroline tried desperately to remember how spiders always devoured what they caught in their web.

His fingers ghosted over her neck. She stiffened, her spine locking into iron, but her pulse raced until she felt it pumped so much blood into her frozen veins her heart would burst out of her chest.

She hated this emotion. It was fear but she didn't know what kind of fear. Klaus' scared her because when he was so close she forgot why she had to fight him. She forgot reason. She felt things she didn't want and things that made no sense. She barely knew the man. What she knew about him was not good and he had trapped her into a life she hated. She had no choices because of him. So why did she feel as if the opposite was happening?

"What is it that made you so desperate you felt the need to raise more walls between us?"Klaus' voice was low and it triggered a visceral response inside her body. It brought heat. The vein in the column of her throat throbbed wildly.

She gripped the pillow next to her and Klaus watched her every reaction before he removed his fingers from her neck allowing her to breathe again.

"No matter," he drawled, "Each one you build, I will tear down."

"You can try," Caroline challenged him feeling a new charge of rebellion in her veins.

Klaus hummed in contemplation but then his lips pulled into a feline smirk that quickly changed to a vibrant chuckle.

"Now there is the honesty, I remember," he noted as if he was having an epiphany and Caroline frowned when he stretched closer and pushed the same strands of hair that annoyed her behind her ear. Did he leave more red on her?

"The difference between your truth and your lies is astonishing. I am amazed I didn't see it before. Rest assured, I won't be making the same mistake twice," he assured her and darkness exploded between them.

Caroline felt her mouth going dry and she tried to hold on to something. Anything. Her fingers dug into the bedspread and anger burst in her heart pumping its poison with each beat.

She hated these mouse and cat games with Klaus and his family and what she hated more was that she had been forced to play them too. She had lowered herself to become what she judged her whole life. Right now, she should be at college. Building a different life for herself. One that was not meant to include Klaus and all this blood. Instead, here she was. In the same bed with her enemy. Married to him. Trapped and alone. Worse than that she felt lonely. Inadequate. And facing Klaus in his element was more than she had signed for. More than she could bear.

She jumped on her knees rising closer to him.

"You want honesty?" she provoked him and saw the interest that shone in his eyes as he took in her reaction almost with depraved satisfaction.

He nodded eagerly and she forgot who she was dealing with or the fear she should feel.

She even forgot the reason why she invited all those hired guns to protect her from him.

"This marriage is a sham," she faced him boldly and didn't give a damn about the way his eyes narrowed in what she assumed was anger, "I am not raising walls. I am putting up shields to protect myself from terrible people," she bit out and struggled to breathe waiting for Klaus to lash out at her. To prove her right. To show to her that he was the terrible monster she believed him to be. He was after all soaked in the blood of the people he had just killed and tortured. The line was thin and they were both treading it. She didn't want to pretend that they were anything more than rivals but she was not going to play the role of his prey either.

Yet, she didn't miss the way everything about him screamed that he was the hunter and he was marking her as his prey. Her. The way he looked at her. The way he moved closer. The way he took in every word she said and did not miss any reaction she had. He might as well have been stripping her naked and diving into her mind unlocking every secret she hid. It was uncomfortable and thrilling.

Klaus' eyes roamed over her provocative stance and the way her top had stretched over her skin tauntingly.

Gone was the doe-eyed damsel he had faced before they left the house today to go meet her family for the official dinner before the midnight council.

The façade was gone. This was the real Caroline. The layers were getting peeled off one by one and her brazenness and honesty was the most refreshing thing he had encountered in his whole life.

A part of him irrationally felt oncoming spikes of anger pricking his patience at the way she constantly kept insisting and reminding him at every chance she got that their marriage was not real. Yes, he knew there was a long way to go before they would truly bond as husband and wife in all the sense of the words but that didn't mean their union was any less real. She was his wife. His possession. His. And he was coming to realize this was as dangerous as it could get but it also meant he had to fight harder to get through to that stubbornness his sweet wife kept using as a shield against him.

It was intoxicating really. He always loved a good challenge.

His stare dipped to the blood he had left on her arm. She had not cringed at all. She had not shouted or accused him for it. She had not pled or become meek because of it. He had seen the way she stiffened when she saw the blood on him but she didn't have any response to the blood that marked her now. She didn't try to wash it off at all. She was not a stranger to the experience it would seem.

"Interesting," he simply said. Almost offhandedly.

Caroline paused. Obviously not expecting that answer to her angry rant.

"What is?" she suspiciously asked and his brows rose slightly.

"You want to protect yourself from terrible people," he mocked her, "by using and helping other terrible people, knowing all too well that many will get caught in the crossfire. You know firsthand it is only a matter of time before they all fall like flies now," he pointed out and saw that there was no shift in her expression. She knew indeed," Even more so in your name," he stressed out," What does that make you exactly?"

Caroline said nothing to that and he snorted.

"For being so afraid and in need of protection you are quite fearless, love."

He couldn't resist. She was like the brightest flame he had ever seen. Her hair was like a burning halo in the dim lights of the bedroom and he was like a moth to her light. His finger traced a lock of her hair and he smiled softly at the way Caroline's gaze followed his hand. There was caution in her eyes but no fear.

It intrigued him beyond reason. Realization dawned on him. He had been bored with everything up until recently. There was no thrill. No resistance. He had been chasing death to fill the emptiness inside him but there was no challenge to inspire him and here he was now. Entranced by a strand of blonde hair. Enticed by her lack of fear and her audacity to play power games with him. To dare. And he wanted to see if this fearlessness was real. If it went deep or if it was superficial.

"Should we put that courage to the test?" he challenged her, his voice low," maybe I should give your fear credit?" he tried to intimidate her making sure to deliver that ominous threat in his most seductive tone, "you think the worse of me after all. How would a terrible man repay your betrayal? Terrible people do terrible things don't they?"

He tilted his head in expectation and held his breath. She didn't recoil. There was fury blazing in her eyes but no fear. Interesting, yes. Oh yes. She was strong. Full of light and so very beautiful and she was his. She had to be. She would be. She just didn't know it yet and she struggled because of it.

Amusement tugged at the corner of his lips when Caroline slammed his hand away and for a second, he felt the loss. His fingertips itched with the need to touch her hair again. To touch her.

"You always do," she spat at him with conviction and he beamed at her.

"Do I now?"

His hand wrapped around her waist and tugged her closer. Her eyes went round when her body crashed against him. Pliant and tense and so very soft. Her scent was maddening. After his blood high he was finding it so hard to resist indulging in her pink lips that were parted now as she stared at him in astonishment.

She wasn't pushing him away and he cursed his idiocy for not coming to their bedroom sooner and for allowing all this distance between them. Oh, the irony. For the first time in his life he had tried to be the good guy and it had backfired in so many ways.

And it would appear that missing the chance to be this close to her seemed to be the one thing that irked him the most. Not her trickery or her betrayal. But this moment. It was daunting and it was clouding his better judgment.

Instead of confusing her he felt he was the one that was losing sight of the objective.

He leaned closer. His nose almost touching the long column of her neck. He felt the intake of her breath and he inhaled sharply. What was happening?

His bloody fingers touched her lips.

"Heed your own warnings, Caroline and tread carefully. Terrible as I may be, I am also your husband and you can't change that," he whispered and smirked when he felt her shiver. He lifted his head until their gazes clashed, "something tells me you are foolish or brave enough to try, however," he sighed and the fire in her eyes confirmed his thoughts, "go ahead and get it out of your system," he playfully allowed and almost frowned at the gentleness he heard in his own voice.

Caroline's eyes flashed with anger and she tried to hit him with the pillow. He chuckled and avoided her assault easily.

Klaus realized he had missed this. All that time her pretense of being docile and weak was but a shade for the real thing. And the woman in front of him now was the real Caroline. A challenge.

He let her go and didn't miss how her body swayed towards him before she fell back to her knees.

He was probably enjoying himself more than he should. This night had been a disaster after all and she had been the one to land the harsh blow to his plans but somehow, he felt as if he had made progress with her instead ofthe other way around and he finally understood the joy of finding the bright side in defeat. Not that he planned to get used to it.

He took the pillow she had tried to hit him with, put it behind his back and rested against the bed frame.

Caroline watched him incredulously as he crossed his legs over the duvet.

"There is nothing that can come between me and you love. No matter the obstacles you create. Remember that," he taunted her and she looked at him as if she was about to explode.

Klaus only made himself more comfortable and pushed his hand behind his head while stretching his legs over the covers.

"And you should remember who you are dealing with. My last name was and still is Salvatore. And that can't change either," Caroline said through her teeth.

Klaus narrowed his eyes reminding himself that he was indeed dealing with a Salvatore. One that was quite adept at the life that went along with the name. More so than even Damon Salvatore was. Caroline had separate connections than her family. She was able to inspire more loyalty. He remembered Giuseppe's words and started connecting the dots. Caroline had connections that could turn out to be very useful to him too. Montavaro was a prime example of that.

Getting in bed with a Salvatore could be getting in bed with a viper but every garden had its snakes. He had grown up with them as had Caroline. If only he could make her see that. He still wanted her by his side. He still wanted to be true to what he had promised her when he asked for her trust and he wanted for her to stand by his side. He could give her the world and maybe she could give him more in return than just her trust. He had to check out Caroline's connections and her ability to reach out to them far more closely.

"You forget so easily, love. You are Caroline Mikaelson now," he reminded her and the way her name rolled next to his filled him with pride.

"You should not worry about my memory, Klaus. I don't forget easily. I don't forget at all" she snidely told him, "I will never forget what my name means now. I will always remember how you forced me into this marriage. How you isolated me from everyone. How you tried to manipulate me into doing your bidding-"

"How your father came to me with his daughter's hand," Klaus interrupted her, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "how your brothers sold you to me without any remorse," he countered almost halting when he saw how the intensity in her gaze dulled but he found himself unable to do so, "how I tried to protect you from my parents and my siblings," he continued and stopped for a moment before he knowingly lowered his voice, "how I did not force you to my bed. How I tried to reach out to you. How I have been nothing but kind to you. How I am still showing you mercy."

Caroline scoffed.

"Only the fact that you call throwing to someone crumbs of fake decency and kindness after taking away everything from them shows how delusional are you," she exclaimed with outrage.

"While you are free from delusions?" Klaus snickered, relishing her growing frustration, "do you know exactly what you are getting yourself into?" he questioned as he would a child, "maybe you'd like me to shutter those dangerous misconceptions before anyone else does," he offered seemingly in a kind and innocent mood but the menace just underneath the surface was bursting out in waves.

Klaus titled his head to the side almost smirking at the way Caroline did the same. She was gauging him and he smiled and waited until she raised her eyebrow in what one could translate as a triumph.

"Is that a threat Klaus? No more trying to earn my trust?" she mocked him with cloying sweetness and Klaus ran his tongue over his lips slowly.

She was delightful. He sat up and faced her.

"Maybe it was not your trust that I should be aiming at. How about common sense then," he wondered, "why would I bother trying to manipulate you into doing anything if I could simply force it out of you? If I want blood, I shed it," he reminded her, pointing at his hands, "it is that easy, Caroline. I chose diplomacy the moment I stepped to that altar. The point of marrying you was to secure an alliance," he remarked.

"And power," Caroline added with indignant loathing and he agreed with a shrug.

"And power."

Caroline's eyes flashed with more anger. The kind of anger she could barely suppress and weirdly enough he felt frustrated by the fact that even mentioning their wedding twisted her so much.

She truly resented being married to him. Being tied to him seemed to be her personal hell. That resentment prompted her to rush into danger as long as it would find a way to tear their marriage apart and get rid of him.

Did she hate him so much as to be blinded by that kind of hate? Surely she knew that sooner or later her family would force her to marry someone like him. Someone that could very likely treat her horribly but in her mind, he was an…abomination. She rejected him just like everyone else in his life did. She didn't even know him and yet what she thought she knew was enough to drive her to refuse him.

"Of course you would want more power! While you gain everything and leave my family with nothing," Caroline retaliated and his eyes raked over her body as she gestured wildly pointing at him furiously, "leaving me to be dependent on you!" she seethed and he marveled at her fire as it pushed back his self-loathing and doubts.

He could not help but be inspired by all her energy and defiance. Despite her sharp mind, she was still so young. So inexperienced. The world was not fair but she still fought for the rights she believed it owed her. And as she did she was coming alive. Flushed cheeks, panting breaths and glistening eyes. He found her quite adorable really. Not to mention sexy.

If only he could make her give him a chance. To get to know him. They could spend their time together much more productively and he would help her release all that pent-up anger of hers in such pleasurable ways.

He coughed and put a leash on such thoughts. Now was not the time. He could not afford to get once more sidetracked by her beauty and the attraction he felt for her. That was how she managed to play him for a fool just a few hours ago and it would seem he hadn't learned his lesson. Not even the hard way.

He decided he had to turn his attention back on the matter at hand. And maybe later a cold shower could help.

"Even so," Klaus agreed without bothering to even deny her accusations, "why would I endanger that power and all that potential for more by losing what it gives to me? You," he reasoned, "you who I wanted content by my side in order to not cause more tension with your family's allies and head into more bloody collisions that would bring me more problems at an inopportune time. I sought peace instead of an outright bloodbath," he pointed out and neither of them missed the irony of his statement. The one time he wanted to take a shot at becoming the peacemaker it was she that turned it down and opted for war. "one that seems unavoidable once again after what you did tonight," Klaus solemnly prophesized.

Caroline didn't bat an eyelash, but she could not help the paleness that spread over the blush of her cheeks which was dissolving quickly.

Her eyes scrutinized him, and her thoughts were unreadable. And Klaus felt uncomfortable. It was usually quite easy to get into the minds of his opponents but Caroline's seemed to be a maze.

He wanted to make her see reason but he couldn't get through to her. His usual tricks of manipulation were falling on deaf ears and so were his attempts to be as truthful as his conditions allowed him to be.

"That means that supposedly you had no intention to hurt me," Caroline finally said too quietly.

Klaus let out a sigh.

"I did not."

"While now you do?"

"I should," he confessed trying to convince himself to act without any restraint. To squash those pesky confusing emotions that kept creeping inside him to hinder his rage and make him ache. To treat her as he would anyone else.

But she wasn't anyone else.

He suddenly felt so tired. Everything that happened crashed into him. He just wanted to lay down. To sleep. He curled his fingers into fists wanting to tear his arms out at the insane need to maybe lay down with Caroline in his arms. To feel peace for once with her by his side. To dream life was different.

"But, you don't?" Caroline pressed for an answer and he saw how her eyes were now intently looking at his closed fists.

A knot formed in his throat. He couldn't answer. He didn't know the answer and he realized he couldn't lie to her.

Did heintend to hurt her? And even if he didn't could he stop himself from doing so? He was who he was after all.

The bitter smile that formed onCaroline's face looked so foreign. It didn't belong there.

"In any case either you do or not want to hurt me, if your intentions are so…innocent," she tried tentatively and he tried not to scoff. Innocent intentions? Such a word to be used for him, "then what happened tonight should not make any difference," Caroline noted coldly and his eyes snapped up at her.

He assessed her carefully.

Something flared in her eyes and it startled him. He had seen it in her eyes at the dinner when her disposition shifted, and her true colors were revealed. And now there it was again.

He rarely ever saw it in others.

He saw it in the mirror. He had seen it in her father. In Mikael and Esther. He had seen in it in Elijah too. That wit. That quick response. That darkness.

It was a rarity. It was the machinations of a brain that was starting to whirl its gears.

Flames seemed to rise in her eyes. Like quicksilver melting into hot fire. It was bristling rage but it was also something else. Something more. So very dangerous.

It was...challenge. Calculation.

It was potential, Klaus understood.

Raw. Untamed. Potent.

"You cannot claim to be kind and expect me to be grateful that you choose to not hurt me because it would inconvenience you," Caroline lashed out but there was depth in her anger. There was an opportunity for the things she aimed to gain.

She was taking her fear, her anger, her ingenuity and turned them into something lethal.

Caroline was not just regaining her composure as she faced what she viewed as a threat and a dangerous obstacle, but she was also planning how to overpower him and how to think several steps ahead. She did not see him as a dead end but as a problem, she had to solve. And she was solving it in her mind right now. She was attempting to solve him in her mind.

"That should not be an option for you at all," she argued passionately, "so you cannot stand here and accuse me of taking away that option…that choice… away from you. In the same way, you have a choice in the same way I want one and not to only depend to yours," she objected and Klaus saw her under a new light again.

Over and over again in just the span of a few hours, she had surprised him. It was as if she were reinventing herself constantly and transforming back and forth into so many shades of a character that it was obvious that she could not be bound by trivial conventions or rules. She was making her own rules. She was trying anyway.

How had he ever missed this? How had she blinded his senses to this point? There were times her armor was eerily impenetrable but there were times like these where he was facing a brilliant mind that in time he knew would transform into a mastermind.

And to see this in one so young. To a girl so sheltered at that. It was like catching lightning in a bottle.

"These men are here for my protection but also for the alliance and they would not threaten it without cause either. If they have nothing to protect me from then you have nothing to worry about," Caroline tried to diplomatically deflect and smooth out the provocation and the divide she created tonight by lulling him into a false sense of communication and security while mocking him at the same time.

The audacity she had was astounding. More so was her bravery. No one else would dare say or do what she was saying and doing.

And here she was. Trying to have him negotiate terms with her. That was her endgame. To corner him into conceding to her terms. To strong arm him into a bargain with her. Not with her family or with the rules of their world but directly with her. And she was ready to use all the weapons she had at her disposal and he was not sure of all the cards she truly held. He couldn't be sure he realized. Not right now.

For the first time since the day he first met her in her old house before their wedding, he regarded her with calculation again. As if he was seizing up an opponent. Re-adjusting his perception all over again. Did she even realize she was doing it? Strategy was not an easy field to prevail at but Caroline was trying to navigate it.

It was a valiant effort for sure. Not very refined, of course. Flawed also.

He had played this game ever since he was born. She was trying to catch up to him. She was still inexperienced and she still felt desperate and cornered despite how she tried to appear brave. She was getting all in with him right now. She was fidgeting and hanging from a thread of hope. She was trying to hide her impatience, but she was under pressure and the little details showed it. If someone knew how and where to look. If someone actually bothered to look. He assumed most people never went out of their way to view her as anything but a blonde sidepiece as Kol had described her tonight.

But now that he was looking he could see. She used the idea people had for her as a mask while she managed to make others look the other way to leave her free to her own devices. People devalued and underestimated her and she had turned it into a weapon.

He let everything in.

Caroline was very good at playing the distraction but there were signs. The little crease in her brow. The way she was smoothing her hair. The fast way she seemed to breathe. She wanted him to fall under her control no matter what. He could see how much this mattered to her and that was a mistake. She had a lot to lose. More than him right now because she had beat him at his game tonight but he was playing the waiting game longer than her. The road was long, and she didn't know the obstacles. Her starting point alone was putting her at a disadvantage, but she was still standing her ground and she knew how to pull her punches.

The potential was definitely there.

The things he could teach her!

He focused on her voice.

"If anything, this should be a chance for you to prove that what you say is the truth," Caroline advocated and breathed out slowly as if trying to gather her courage for what she would have to say next, "to …show to the stronger members of the Outfit that you respect us and want to gain their...trust.

Klaus kept his impassive stance. Did she realize she had included herself in the circle of the Outfit? She referred to herself as a made member but for their trust she distanced herself.

So much more than a pretty face after all. Smart enough to use the importance of the Salvatore name in the Outfit as leverage but not dumb to completely alienate herself from him by siding with the other side.

He had wanted to marry a pawn and he ended up married to a schemer. Wasn't that something?

"Isn't this what you wanted all along? If it is peace you want…then lay down your arms and give me the option you claim I had all along with you," Caroline cajoled him with her most enticing expression. Her voice was soft. Honest even.

He stood mesmerized as she breathlessly finished her rambling and he reprimanded himself for even thinking of this. It was not a ramble at all. These were terms and conditions. And she was thriving in the moment.

Caroline Salvatore - Mikaelson had begrudgingly gained his admiration tonightand now she had gained his respect. An almost impossible task for many but here they were. Facing each other as equals but he couldn't have that. Not if he was to win.

He realized with regret that until then he would have to change the tide and get her on his side which meant he would have to treat her like he would treat any other dangerous opposition.

In reality, Caroline was his equal. But he couldn't allow her to know this. Not right now. Not when she had managed to land such a shot to him tonight. He had to regroup and cut his losses.

He had to be very careful in their pull and push game that had just started.

He had to corner her. He didn't want to dim her light and despite her potential, she had to realize that he was not an easy opponent and she could not expect to swim in a sea of sharks without any losses.

"Very nice, Caroline. I am impressed," he congratulated her with a condescending chuckle that had the desired effect. It deflated her hope. She didn't seem surprised by his derogative tone. As if this wasn't the first time she was hearing it. As if she were used to it.

She faltered momentarily and Klaus tried not to press his lips into a hard line. This was how Mikael had treated Esther and Rebekah for years. This was probably how Caroline had been treated her whole life. He had seen how Damon had treated her at the dinner and how some of his men followed his example.

Women in their world were not taken seriously, at least no directly. And he was sure people treated Caroline as if she were a nuisance along with her existence. She was there to be pretty and nothing more. There to become a timid wife and to pop out babies, to further the lines and create alliances.

He was ashamed to admit he had fallen into that mistake too. He had not seen the bright mind underneath her sweet beauty.

Caroline right now watched him with hollow eyes. With the same gaze Rebekah had many times watched him with when he had dismissed her. Caroline was upset at him for not taking her seriously.

She had not expected that from him from the looks of it and he regretted making her feel that way.

He recognized her struggle. She felt trapped and wanted to break the chains that held her down to show the world her true worth. In the same way, he had wanted to every time Mikael ridiculed him.

Caroline would never be content with being what others expected her to be. A wife and a mother without any other purpose in life. It would stifle her spirit.

In time, he would offer her more. But not tonight. Tonight they were on different sides.

"Inventing a …choice," he drawled, "where others in your place have none is… an incredible ability. One I admire…" he praised her making sure to give a joking hint to his words and he felt pride at the way Caroline rallied back in her resolve and refused to back down. She folded her arms in front of her chest and glared at him.

He expected nothing else really. They were bargaining after all and he didn't expect her to surrender so easily. Even if his tone insinuated that he was not taking her seriously since she was there only to play his wife and nothing more. That's what everyone wanted from her after all. Even the men she had brought into his domain.

"And yet, there you go again, sweetheart," he mused, "dividing up the sides and putting yourself in the one opposite to mine," he tsked and she pinched her lips. Her expression was dauntless and he chuckled at her indignation. She was furious that he had outright dismissed what she said and offered as if she hadn't spoken at all. As if she was an ignorant burden who should not have an opinion. She was frustrated because she believed he wasn't even bothering to take her seriously and actually considering talking with her about this matter to hear her arguments out.

Their gazes clashed and Caroline stood her ground in their staring match.

"There is only one side, love. And that is mine," he assured her confidently. Lethally. "Anyone outside it only ends up burning out."

"Is that a threat?"Caroline asked him with a scowl.

"No. A simple stating of the facts," he shrugged and laughed at the way she glowered at him and when her defense mechanism kicked in and she reached for her hair again he caught her hand in the air.

Caroline gasped when he brought her hand closer to his lips. She tried to take it back but he didn't allow her such an easy escape. He pressed his mouth to the inside of her wrist, at the same place the diamonds he had gifted her with had been.

His nose grazed her skin and he took in the soft fragrance that still lingered there. He felt the tempo of her heartbeat that echoed in her throbbing pulse.

"Why burn out when you could just ignite?" he tempted her, his lips warming the flesh above the pale blue veins, "you and I could have been an 'us' tonight. We still can. Tonight and every night that would follow," he purred with his most seductive tone and relished how she shivered.

His eyes traveled from the hand he still held firmly in his grip up to her flushed face and he studied her reaction.

The way her throat bobbed. The way she tried to stifle her involuntary arousal. She was so responsive. So ready to fall into his trap but instead of letting go she gave him a withering look and her fingers curled into a ball. They were in a standstill between desire and war. Her shivering stopped, and she turned to steel in his arms. She pulled her hand back again.

This time he let her.

"No, Klaus. We really could not," she sighed in a low voice. Her face solemn.

He quickly masked the disappointment he felt with spurious nonchalance.

"I am starting to realize that," he muttered and felt restless as he admitted this. Why did it all feel so very wrong somehow?

Still, this was not the end. It was just the beginning. Nothing but one more setback in the midst of many.

Caroline didn't know that what the world denied him he always conquered. Recognizing the oceans between them was nothing more than his first step to parting them.

"I should congratulate you, sweetheart. You got what you wanted tonight," he complimented her with a small bow of his head before he smirked jeeringly, "let us hope it will be what you really need in the long run and it won't put you in a position with limited choices… if any at all."

Caroline's shoulders slumped and a tired sigh escaped her lips.

"And you wonder why I can't trust you," she mumbled. This time her displeasure seemed to come from a person who was completely worn out and jaded and Klaus saw the black circles under her eyes and he pushed back the irrational need to comfort her until her cheery expression would return.

Instead, he pushed more. More and more trying to guess what it would take for her to bend. He would hate to see her break, though.

"Obviously you are smarter than that. More than I could say for your brothers," he jibed, his lips curling intoserpentine smile, "while they don't seem to even bother reading the fine print, here you are. Rallying power to your side. Making sure to be ready for when the time comes. And you are smart enough to know that the need for assembling an army is very real and the time is fast approaching. But, are you ready to wage war, sweetheart?" he challenged her and reached for his back holster.

He gripped his Glock and with a knowing look, he set it on the mattress between them. The same gun that had taken more than just one life tonight and he was certain Caroline knew it.

The gun was left between them in the bed on top of the silk sheets. If that wasn't what their marriage truly was he didn't know what it was.

His brow rose when Caroline frowned at his move but without showing any real discomfort. A part of him wondered if she would dare to go for it. Even though he believed she wouldn't be so foolish he still had to consider what she had told him. He was dealing with a Salvatore. More so one that carried his name too. That combination could prove to be the variable no one could ever predict.

"Are you ready to pay the price?" he pressed, "and you know what that price is, don't you?"

He extended his hands at her showing off all the blood.

Caroline's features hardened and Klaus saw how she finally tried to push down her disgust. Not so impervious to the blood after all.

But she had a built in resistance. One he could use to his advantage. Caroline was not all that pure underneath the surface.

"Just a taste, sweetheart. It is all that it takes. One drop of blood and it becomes an addiction. Once you step into my world there is no going back. Paint the world red with me, Caroline," he enticed her and saw the curiosity and the desire that flickered in her eyes. There was a thirst in Caroline's eyes. In her very soul. It called back to him. It was a river that reached right down into her darkest desires. He knew this river all too well. He had one too. He had swum it and unlike others, he hadn't drowned in its deep dark waters and he was sure Caroline would not either.

Caroline averted her eyes momentarily trying to squelch that thirst. Little did she know that it would not go away that easily.

"You should go change," Caroline reprimanded him, her hard gaze pointing towards the stain on his shirt as she hugged her pillow and tried to move away from him. Away from all the red he promised her. The death that was still wet and warm on his skin.

Before she could take one more step away his fingers wrapped around her wrist. The gun lay beneath their entangled hands. Beneath their wedding rings.

He didn't want to let her go just yet.

She looked at his hand, at the gun and then at him. He brought her closer and she breathed in. Her eyes sparkled and somehow this time he knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that the blood on his hands that he was ready to bathe her in whole felt more natural to her than the diamonds he had showered with.

She snatched her hand away breaking all contact and glared at him.

"Don't forget to wash the price off. It stains," she threw at him before she went to sleep on the couch.

Klaus could see she was so vexed she could scream and it brought a smirk to his face. His eyes followed her as she almost stumbled on the covers she carried with her.

This time he didn't try to stop her. He only smiled and pocketed his gun back into his belt again.

He had asked her to paint the world red with him and Caroline hadn't realized it but she had not said no. The price was steep but she was already staring at the tag. The world was hanging in shades of grey but Caroline was a kindred spirit. She yearned for all the red.

---

A few years ago.

Klaus stepped into the piano room. The same room where Elijah kept his finest scotch but instead of finding the aged bottle he found his brother sitting in the dark in front of the piano pressing one of the keys. He was not playing. He was simply counting the seconds with each out of sync stroke.

"It's the hour of the wolf. Shouldn't you be with your wife right about now, brother?" Klaus jested moving closer to the bar. He masked every conflicting emotion of envy and bitterness he had with a tone of indifferent casualness.

Tonight was a cause for celebration. Beheading his enemies was always a reason for joy. A joy that didn't sway away the resentment he felt as he said those words to his brother but as always he didn't allow any emotion to show. It wouldn't change anything. It was done. They couldn't go back, and it was time for him to focus on everything else he yearned for. Power. Revenge. Dominance. Chicago was out of reach but the world wasn't. A world without Mikael. Klaus smiled fondly at the thought.

Elijah smiled sadly.

"My wife would rather not be with me," Elijah shrugged and Klaus froze. The black key Elijah caressed awkwardly gave noise to the silence between them.

Klaus' eyes narrowed as he turned around and took in Elijah's disheveled appearance. At his wrinkled shirt. At his tangled hair. At his sluggish form.

It was the first time Elijah ever mentioned such a thing to him. Tatia was a sore subject between them. Elijah knew. He knew of his and Tatia's past affair but he had never made even an insinuation about it.

Elijah Mikaelson. The heir to Mikael's blood throne was the honorable man their father and himself could never be. Elijah was always the gentleman and the devoted husband to the lovely wife Mikael bought him. To the woman they both loved. The woman Klaus had never touched since the night she married his brother. The woman he was silently watching from afar falling in love with his brother.

"Tatia's brother is dead," Elijah informed him and Klaus blinked.

"How?"

"It would be a misfortune for the biggest part of Tatia's family fortune to end up to different hands would it not?"

Klaus' jaw clenched. That was why Mikael had sent him to take care of the Navaros tonight he realized. It wasn't just for efficiency or because he hoped he would get caught in the crossfire and he would be rid of him for good. It was all a set up in order to keep him preoccupied and ensure he would not interfere with his plans. Did his brother know about this?

'He had to,' Klaus realized and anger spiked in him.

Elijah's finger stilled over the piano key.

"My bride feels more alone when she is with me than when she is alone. At least father is happy," Elijah sighed and rose up from his seat.

He approached him with a sad smile and Klaus watched him with caution as he stalked closer and placed his hand on his shoulder.

Klaus stiffened and looked at his brother's extended arm wondering if this would be the moment even Elijah would turn his back on him.

"Brother-" he started but Elijah interrupted him.

"I would not wish such a fate even to my enemies, Niklaus."

"You love her," Klaus whispered, watching the always cold and emotionless exterior of his brother shutter in front of his eyes.

Elijah's hand gripped his shoulder.

"At least as much as-"

They looked at each other and Klaus' heartbeat skipped a bit.

"…A husband should love his wife," Elijah finished his phrase.

Klaus gulped down the knot he didn't know his throat had formed.

What was that he had once confessed to Elijah when he had first met Tatia?

The loveliest girl he had ever seen was what he had confided in Elijah. One he could fall in love with if he was able to love. Elijah had smiled back at him then and tried to convince him that he was capable of love. Telling him that if he loved his siblings as much as he did then he had more love to give to others too despite how their destiny would always be bound in blood. Elijah was the one that had assured him that should he allow his heart to love then none other would love Tatia as much as he would. Should he only give his heart a chance to love.

His first mistake was that he had allowed himself to believe in his brother's words. His second was that he gave Mikael a weakness to exploit.

And right now, he knew Elijah was thinking the same thing he was. Tatia was now Elijah's wife and none of them could change the past. Or what lay ahead.

Elijah let him go, quickly regained his composure again and gave him an unreadable look.

"She is in mourning and our family is the reason for her pain," Elijah told Klaus with a distant voice.

"You knew," Klaus said and Elijah didn't bother denying it.

"Does it make any difference?"

"Bloody hell! What do you think? You should have told me!"

"What would you have done?" Elijah sighed and Klaus felt rage blinding him but as quickly as it came it soon dissolved.

What would he have done? What he was good at.

"I would have done it instead," Klaus simply said. 'Instead of you,' he had wanted to say but the words were hollow in his head. He would have done it for Tatia. So she wouldn't have to hate her husband for the rest of their lives. And maybe if she grew to hate him things could become easier. For everyone.

Elijah seemed surprised at what he had said but then shook his head.

"What is done is done," Elijah surmised and went to the armchair to retrieve his jacket, "I would rather be by Tatia's side but I am not sure she will accept my condolences. And I would hate for her to be alone in such times."

Elijah stared at him sorrowfully and put on his jacket. He straightened the fabric with careful movements and adjusted the cufflinks before he cleared his throat.

"You had been her… friend once. She may be more inclined to your comfort than mine," he proposed and then left the room leaving him standing behind, alone, like a ghost.

Elijah was right. He wouldn't wish such a fate to his enemies either.

.

.

The ticking of the clock in the night was the only sound bouncing between their distance in the dark. There was only but an hour till dawn. The time when the deepest sleep and the worst of nightmares unraveled.

Klaus' eyes had adjusted to the darkness and he was staring at the ceiling. He didn't move. He couldn't sleep. He simply lay back on the bed, waiting for one more sleepless night to come to an end.

Only this night was different. It was not like all the others.

This night he could feel her. Caroline.

Hours had passed in the darkness but he could still feel her. She was awake and alert and did not even move an inch from where she had found refuge on the settee at the other side of the room.

She was not asleep. A thrum of restlessness danced in his body. Flowing from his head to his fingers to his toes. It urged him to break into movement. To not lay like a corpse on the bed. To do something. Anything to crack the ice that surrounded him and allow him to breathe.

His gaze traveled slowly right across the room and landed on her silhouette in the dark. And right on cue as if she had sensed him her body tensed.

Klaus knew of fear and of dread, but loneliness was the word that came to mind as his eyes outlined her figure. Like a shadow in the night. She was alone and so was he. He was used to it. Had been for years but something told him that Caroline was not used to it. Not in the dehabilitating way that broke souls. Klaus' breath hitched. He was so confused. He shouldn't give a damn if Caroline was lonely.

It was an unsettling feeling to care if others felt alone. But he found himself caring for Caroline.

His brother's piano strokes ringed in his ears and Elijah's words echoed in his mind.

"My bride feels more alone when she is with me than when she is alone…I would not wish such a fate even to my enemies Niklaus."

Klaus tasted acid on his tongue. Tonight was the first night he and Caroline had spent together in the same room and they couldn't be more alone.

This night seemed too long and too cold, but he was not used to this kind of cold. His nights and days were plagued by ghosts of the past but he never felt guilt for the present. He never cared. He had sworn a long time ago to never care again. To never allow himself any weakness.

And he had kept his oath.

Till now.

"My father is a dangerous man, love. You should be careful," he called out in the dark, his voice steady and soft. A tone just below a whisper but loud enough for Caroline to hear him. Even though he knew that it would not make a difference. She wouldn't listen to him. She wasn't ready for that just yet. She didn't want to.

There was a moment and then another without a response even though Klaus could tell that her figure in the midst of the shadows heaved before she stilled again under the sheet and he wondered if she would continue this game of deceit and continue to pretend she was asleep.

He did not have to wonder for more than a heartbeat. Her sweet voice, nothing more than a whisper calling to him, enveloped him as if she was next to him, sharing the same air his lips inhaled.

"Not as dangerous as you are."

Her whisper was like a flame. It melted all the ice away. His fingers flexed as if he wanted to get a grip something. As if the night burned him. As if he wanted to reach out to her.

He forgot all his plans. The carefully laid out ones and those he kept coming up with every time he was stuck in a corner. In the corner, Caroline had trapped him in tonight. In that very moment, he didn't care to play games. Just for this once. Just for tonight.

"Am I dangerous to you?" he asked, and he did not know if he was asking her or himself.

"Yes."

Klaus glanced at her and he felt that she was doing the same. She was trying to convince herself and not just him.

He took in a deep breath and reigned over his emotions.

Caroline said nothing else but her resolute answer, or at least what she tried to present as such, scorched him right down to the marrow. He wanted to ask her in what way she felt he was dangerous to her. Because he knew that everything would depend on her answer. If she would be brave enough to give him the truth because he was not brave enough to ask.

He was a coward because he wanted to ask her but he couldn't. He was afraid. And he wondered if Elijah had felt the same despair and pain knowing how helpless he was when he had to face the face of the woman he loved only to be rejected by her.

Love?

Klaus frowned in the dark and his fingers itched for his gun. Instead, his thumb touched his wedding band and glided over the gold. He didn't love Caroline. She was nothing but an infatuation. A dangerous one at that and he knew the wise thing would be to get her out of his system. And soon.

He closed his eyes and wondered if she had not meant for him to hear her admission in the first place.

That simple yes carried both the match and the spark in its letters.

Klaus' opened his eyes again and smirked wistfully.

Did Caroline even understand what kind of danger she meant? Because there were so many kinds of danger but none more dangerous than the moment they were sharing right now. Dangling at the precipice of the abyss together. Stuck in this uncertainty. Close enough but very far away. Lost in the dark.

Alone.

---

The moment Caroline drifted off to sleep Klaus felt it. He was always trained to be aware of his surroundings. It was the difference between life and death for him.

The very second Caroline fell asleep it was as if the tension dissolved from the room and the air shifted, it became less charged.

Klaus pushed his hand behind his head and tried to shuffle his pillow. Whatever he tried, he could not get comfortable. He had no problem sleeping in the dirt and on hard floors but sleeping in Caroline's bed felt like he was trying to rest on pins and needles. Everything he touched and everywhere he rested was redolent with her aroma.

He knew Caroline's sleep had not come easy. A childish part of him wanted to wake her up on purpose just so to annoy her and tire her out but he decided against it. The smart thing would be to get on her nerves and exhaust her physically and mentally but instead, he let her sleep.

He knew that any sound would wake her up so he tried to stop making even the slightest rustling noise but he was on edge.

He never fidgeted and tonight he did. He closed his eyes and tried to relax but it was of no use. He sat up on the bed and ran his fingers through his hair. Caroline's perfume still lingered on the sheets and she was just a few feet away from him. Curled on a couch because she couldn't stand to share her personal space with him. Because she was afraid of him. Because the idea of sharing the same bed with him was abhorrent to her.

His lips twitched and before he knew it, he was up. His bare feet tiptoed on the floor. Klaus made sure to keep his steps soft. It wasn't the first time he was lurking in the dark ready to sneak up on someone but it was the first when he was trying to slither into the shadows so to avoid scaring someone. Well, that was a first.

He prowled closer making sure to not startle Caroline in her sleep. She needed the few hours of rest she could get.

He stood above her watching her uncomfortable position on the settee.

'Stubborn woman,' he thought.

He very carefully removed the sheet from her body realizing how small and young she looked now her walls were down. Surely she had given in to exhaustion but he would like to think that she felt safe enough in his presence as to allow herself to fall asleep. He knew terror and he knew that if Caroline was as scared of him as she was believed she was she would not let her guard down when he was a few feet away. Her survival instinct would kick in and would not allow it.

Klaus took comfort in that thought that at least Caroline knew he would not hurt her physically. Somehow that soothed him and irritated him all at once. It annoyed him because it was true. He would not hurt even a hair on her head even though she had betrayed him in the way she had. He had almost torn Kol's head off for even suggesting harming Caroline.

He should not care. He should really find a way to make her submit to his will without caring about breaking her body and spirit and yet he knew he could not and a part of him was relieved that deep down she knew it too. He did not want a meek woman by his side and for all intents and purposes, Caroline was anything but that.

He froze when a soft moan escaped her lips. As if she had sensed his presence. She stirred and tried to make herself comfortable. The soft whimper that resonated between them made him realize that her dreams were not peaceful. Nightmares haunted her and her brow wrinkled. Her palms turned into small fists and her body twisted more in the hard meager surface of the couch.

When she finally seemed to find a position that allowed her to somewhat relax she stopped fussing so much.

It gave him the chance to observe her silently. The lights in the bedroom were dim and shadows engulfed her body. The paleness of her skin resembled a silver glow in the night. She did seem young but she also was nothing less than a vision of genuine beauty.

He regretted burning his drawings of her. He felt the longing to depict her beauty on paper again. To sketch her sleeping form and he knew that hours later he would from memory. Because the visage of her sleeping form would now forever haunt him, stick in his memory, taunting him for as long as he would draw breath.

His fingers feathered over her face. The slightest of touch that could be as light as the steady breath that whispered through her parted lips or as airy as the smallest summer breeze. He pushed back an unruly strand of hair from her face and Caroline leaned closer to his touch as if it was something she needed in her sleep. She momentarily stopped tossing and turning.

There were no traces of makeup hiding her graceful features from his scrutiny. He never had the chance to watch her like this. His eyes drank in her clear skin and realized he preferred it like that.

Caroline looked so very young like this. So fragile. So innocent. His tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek pushing down the rancor that swam in his mouth at the thought.

Caroline's innocence was half-truth and half illusion. He now knew she was hiding a hurricane under that fragility and her innocence was just the surface that separated the world from all the darkness she was able to emit whenever she set her mind on whatever it was she wanted to achieve. She was the perfect blend of kindness and cruelty, of light and potential for darkness that was maybe even similar to some of his own and it was all so very alluring to him.

Caroline's chest heaved and she tried to stretch in the limited space of the furniture she had chosen to sleep in. His gaze traveled slowly over her, taking in every detail.

She would probably be more comfortable on the couch if she wasn't so tall. He glanced at her longs legs. His eyes roamed over her slender figure taking in, without any guilt or shred of innocent and modest thoughts, her curves. She was his wife after all and should things have been different, those beautiful legs could be wrapped around his waist right about now. Caroline should be in their bed. In his arms. Writhing under him, panting and screaming his name.

His knee touched the floor and he crouched down close to her. Her beautiful hair seemed to radiate in the dark. There was so much beauty contained in such a vulnerable body. There was no sharpness in the softness of her face now. No hate or anger and yet Klaus realized he missed her gaze. Her eyes were so full of life and light and no matter how peaceful she was in her sleep he seemed to crave and miss the energy that was always pouring out of her eyes whenever she looked or even glared at him at him. A part of him wanted her to open her eyes and stare at him in the dark but he knew that if she did it would not end well right now.

'What am I going to do with you?' he thought apprehensively.

With painstakingly slow movements, so very cautiously, he slid his hands under her body. Caroline's body seemed to gravitate closer and turn right straight into his arms. Her knees looped over his one arm as he supported her back with the other. Her head rolled over his shoulder and her exhaustion prevented her from waking up. She seemed to prefer his embrace than the couch and he carefully lifted her up.

Caroline snuggled closer and when his chin gently touched the crown of her head he couldn't help himself. He inhaled her scent and it felt as if he would carry that elegant fragrance in his lungs to forever invite every wave of oxygen that would bring life and death to him.

With silent steps, he reached the bed and smoothly laid Caroline on the mattress. She was still out like a light and she nestled closer to the pillows and Klaus smiled when she hugged one. He pushed her legs under the comforter until Caroline comfortably curled them up over the silk sheets and he covered her.

Caroline sighed cozily now and Klaus realized that his restlessness went away now that she was back in their bed and sleeping peacefully.

He sat at the edge of the bed and realized that he did not mind guarding Caroline's dreams and chasing away her nightmares.

"Sweet dreams, love," he whispered so lowly the words barely were heard. Caroline's face pressed more into the pillow and Klaus wet his bottom lip with his tongue.

Dreams.

That was the answer he was seeking.

He was so used to becoming his enemies' nightmare, he had not stopped to consider that maybe this time he should just flip the script.

He knew Caroline believed him to be her nightmare and maybe he was but just maybe he could become her dream.

He stared at her and everything became clear.

Deep down Caroline hated him for that very reason after all. Because he had taken away from her a dream life. The life where she would be free to fall in love and be loved in return. Because Caroline was smarter than what he initially had given her credit for. She knew that falling in love and having love, in general, was not part of the pact their families made. Or their pact.

But what if he could change? Or more so what if she could change him? Or believe she did?

He smiled in the darkness.

Caroline Salvatore longed for love and had tried to follow her dreams only for them to be destroyed by their marriage because she believed he couldn't love. He wasn't just her family's enemy and dangerous. In her mind, he was incapable of love and thus capable of every evil imaginable. Which was true but Caroline was still young after all and he had more years on his back to perfect his lies.

He had seen the error of his ways. Albeit a bit too late but there was still time. He had taken Caroline for granted and chose all the wrong paths with her. He had tried to offer her a conventional marriage and to have her settle for less than what the naivety of her age wanted. He had tried to turn her into the kind of a wife she dreaded to become.

He believed his superficial charms would be enough. A little wooing and a little bit of manipulation and she would fall at his feet and settle for a loveless marriage as long as she would feel relatively safe and generally content. He would bathe her with expensive gifts and some attention in bed and like every other woman he had met she would care for nothing else. Most women liked powerful, dangerous men so why would Caroline be the exception? She would come to terms with the inevitability of their marriage and would be grateful to him for keeping her safe and comfortable and being a kind husband. She would be naïve enough to trust him and not see him for what he was. The devil in disguise. And by the time he would be done with her brothers and he would have achieved his goals she would have no one but him to turn to and he would have dulled her senses enough for her to stay by his side in the way he wanted her to.

He was wrong. He knew that now.

But not entirely. It was not a matter of deceiving her. The key was to find the deception that would work on her.

He just had to up his game. To readjust the variables. Caroline liked power and danger. For herself and not just in him. He knew that both were addictive and he was sure he could get her hooked up on both. She was also not that impervious to his charm. Her body wanted him. Her mind struggled. She couldn't hide that. Should she not have been so young and had her family allowed her more freedom she would have been able to hide her interest in him and the sexual tension between them better.

Caroline knew how to be a distraction. She had a brilliant mind and a Machiavellian streak but despite her potential, she was still a girl. A woman. All he had to do was offer her, her heart's desire. Find her dream and give it to her. Not just any dream. But what she yearned for the most.

He examined her carefully.

She wanted freedom. She craved power. Her darkest desires were awakening. But, in the end, she was still a girl that wanted to be loved. She wanted to be put first. To have a choice. To be his first choice.

Klaus pulled the comforter higher over her body and smirked. Sometimes the hardest problems had the simplest solutions if you looked for them in the right place.

How hard could it be for Caroline to mistake lust for love? Every lie could be convincing enough if one knew how to serve it right.

What woman wouldn't want to feed her heart's delusions with fairytale stories of redeeming a monster and falling in love with someone, no matter how terrible he was, when he would still care only for her? It didn't have to be true. He only had to make it seem as if it was. It would take some time. Some effort and putting on his best behavior but every woman would be flattered and fall for such an illusion. To bewitch a man like him body and soul and save the unredeemable devil. To find the misunderstood hero underneath all the darkness. Even for a smart woman like Caroline. She was still a woman after all and that ensured that she couldn't be the exception. Not to this anyway.

Caroline was just starting her life. He had checked her past. She didn't have the time to truly fall in love. She feared her family and she was constantly guarded and kept on a leash. Her story with that waiter guy her brothers had tried to hide from him was insignificant. That boy was beneath a woman like Caroline. A small-town boy, a small-town life, it wouldn't be enough for her.

Caroline wanted more. She dreamed of more. And that was the answer to getting her by his side. The only way to gain Caroline's devotion and secure his future and power would be for her to fall in love with him. Not to just trust him or depend on him. Not to settle for him. Not to give in to their marriage because she had no other choice or options. He had to make her believe that this would be her choice.

He had experienced firsthand the loyalty she bore for her brothers even after the way they had treated her. Love was the key and unlocking a woman like Caroline would not be that much of a dreadful task. She was a beautiful woman he already wanted to bed, possess and keep. A woman that belonged to him and should she fall for him it would be all the easier.

He did not believe in love but she didn't need to know that. He could seduce her in more ways than he initially intended to and in return, he would be good to her. Better than most husbands in their circle were. He would have her heart and even her mind which was far more valuable. And Caroline wouldn't need to ever learn the truth. He would feed that fantasy for her and give her the fairytale she wanted. Enough for her to not want to escape it. Besides, they surely were compatible and Caroline could become the Queen he needed and now also wanted. She would be happy in the bubble he would create for her. After all, certain highly charged situations demanded quick solutions and he had learned a long time ago that when it came to survival and to gaining what you wanted any method of achieving your objective was justifiable. Even if it was…'love'.

That way he wouldn't break Caroline's spirit. He would just blindfold her perception enough to brainwash her into behaving and stop fighting against him. Instead, she would fight for him and after tonight he was certain he could make a great weapon out of her. One whose trigger would belong only to him. Ready to fire at his command and only to serve him.

Oh yes. Caroline had potential and he would ensure he would be the only one to exploit it even if he had to deceive her into giving into him.

It was not her trust he had to only earn. It was her love. Something that he would not bother attempting with any other woman but better to win her over with a dalliance of a loving kiss than with a brute battle. To which he even could count more losses than he could predict.

All was fair in love and war after all and the lines were already blurred between him and Caroline. Sometimes wars were won by trickery and even a dream of love. And when the dream ended, the castle would already be sacked and the princess hiding behind its walls surrendering without a fight.

And when Caroline would wake up a few hours later she would find herself safely tucked in their bed and Klaus sleeping on the couch.

---

Lover, hunter, friend and enemy
You will always be every one of these

Nothing's fair in love and war

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A/N: And here was one more chapter which I hope you all enjoyed. And as always I am here for your opinions and constructive criticism.