Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Twilight or Vampire Diaries. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer and L.J. Smith. Thank you.
Writer's Notes: Thank you CrazyGryl, JynxxD, and Guest for your reviews! Just a reminder that this is a confusing time for Bella at the moment so she's going to have a wealth of emotions going on right now. Obviously, she has given in to some feelings for Damon. That is a major moment for not only her, but also Damon. He's becoming someone different because of her. Keep reading on to see what's going to happen next. Will Jasper be able to tap down his feelings for Bella, and her too when she discovers this mix of feelings? As always, thank you everyone for your support?
Dawn broke, casting a warm glow over the floor through the window in Bella's room. She lay there, still sleeping in the arms of Damon. There was a knock at her door and then Jasper's voice sounded at the door. Damon was awake, just laying there, content, with Bella against him. He sighed and slid away from her and pulled on his jeans from the night before and went to the door. He pulled it open to look at Jasper's shocked expression.
Jasper recovered quickly and nodded. "I was checking on Bella. Is she okay?"
"She is. She's sleeping right now. I'm about to wake her up for school," Damon said calmly, without any lilt in his voice.
Jasper nodded. "I see. Okay, I'll leave you two then," he said and started to turn.
"Major," Damon said and then stepped forward. "I'm not going to pretend that I don't know how Bella feels. I know you know her extremely well and that you have feelings just the same. I'm not naïve and neither is Bella. I'm not going to fight with you, not because I know your capabilities, but because ultimately, it will be Bella in the end. I'm not going to force her to do anything that she doesn't want to do or into something that she doesn't want."
Jasper looked into Damon's sincere eyes and nodded. "Alright. Thank you for that Salvatore, but I remind you that I am married and-"
"Which is clearly not a good one if pixie and my brother are locking lips," Damon said with a little coolness to his voice.
Jasper stood there a little stunned at first and then nodded, understanding. He had noticed a difference in Alice and could feel that she was having some confusing, conflicting feelings. He just hadn't realized that she acted on them. He couldn't condemn her because he had done the same thing with Bella. "Well, that's something I would have to talk to my wife about. I'll leave you be. Bella is waking up now," he said and walked away.
Damon stepped back inside the room and closed the door and going to the bed where Bella was stretching. "How do you feel?"
Bella looked up at Damon sleepily. His chest was still bare, and his jeans were hung low on his waist. The memories of last night heated her face a little. Her muscles did feel a little sore…down there, but it wasn't completely uncomfortable. She smiled at him and then raised up out of bed, the blanket starting to fall down. "I'm fine," she said simply.
Damon moved to her and pulled the blanket up for her. He smiled at her and then kissed her temple. "Well you have to get ready for school and I have to get ready to go talk to this Ezra Shaw at your school. We could ride to the school together," he offered, and she shook her head.
"It's okay. It'll be best that we drive separate. Besides, I…" she drifted off and looked down at her hands.
He nodded. "I understand Bella. I'm not going to expect there to be a relationship because we had sex last night. I want you to know that I would be very happy if there could be something, but I'm not going to pressure you…like I said last night."
She smiled at him now. It warmed her heart that he was so patient when everything that he said when others were around was the exact opposite. "Thank you," she said and then he kissed her softly on the lips before getting up off the bed and retrieving his shirt. He pulled it on and smiled at her before leaving her room.
"I see that you had fun last night," Lexi called to Damon as he exited Bella's room. He rolled his eyes at her. "Buzz off Blondie number two," he said and walked past her.
Lexi smiled. "You know, I've never seen you like this with anyone. I have seen how you look at Bella. Don't fuck it up blue eyes," she called after him. When he just put up a hand to wave her off, she grinned and shook her head.
Damon went down to the parlor like normal and made himself a drink. His thoughts were swirling of Bella and last night. Something gripped his heart. He made a grunt sound and then reached onto a shelf and pulled down a book and began reading it.
Meanwhile, Alice flitted around the room and dressed quickly. Jasper was staring out the window when he finally spoke. "Alice, I think that we should talk," he said without turning to look at her.
She stopped and moved over to the window and looked at him. "What about?" she said with a calm voice, but he could feel her nerves jump alive.
"About Stefan," he said simply, and she looked down. "Jazzy, I…" she started but he just shook his head and then turned and looked at her and smiled. "I'm not angry or upset darlin'. I want you to do what makes you happy. Hasn't that always been our policy?"
She smiled at him now and nodded. "It is, but Stefan and then Elena…"
"Listen," he said and then cupped her face in his hands. "Everything will eventually work itself out. I want you to know that I understand your feelings, I've had some other feelings rise up for Bella, and I'm not going to be ashamed of them, and you shouldn't either," he said softly and then kissed her forehead. "Now we should head out to the school. I want to be there before Salvatore gets there and started throwing people," he said, and she giggled. Alice was more at ease now, and he could feel that. There was no reason to have harsh feelings towards someone that he has spent the last seven decades with. They left the boarding house without telling anyone and drove to Mystic Falls high.
Stefan wandered into the parlor and saw his brother there reading a book. He didn't say anything, but Damon knew he was there. "Brother, if you're going to be locking lips with pixie, I suggest you talk to Elena. Just so you know…she saw you two and the honorable original brother picked up the pieces," he said without looking up from his book.
Stefan stood there in silence. He hadn't meant to hurt Elena. He loved her; he didn't want her to hurt because of a moment of weakness for him. He sighed and then turned and left. He got in his car and drove to Elena's, hoping that he could somehow smooth this over. He had to put Alice out of his mind. She was nothing to him, right? She was a little bewitching at times, but he's given Elena his heart, his soul if he had one.
Elena was walking out the front door when Stefan pulled up. Her dark eyes looked at him sharply when he got out of his car and approached her. He smiled at her, but the smile wasn't in his eyes. "Elena," he said and then she was running into his arms. Everything told her that she should hit him and be upset, but her heart would rip in two if she didn't have him.
"I'm sorry Elena," Stefan murmured into her hair, shocked by her hold on him.
"I don't know why, and I don't care Stefan. I love you and I'm not going to give up on us," she said, a couple of tears escaping her eyes. He pulled back from her to look down at her and then kissed her softly. His heart fell. This wasn't right, and it confused him greatly, but he stamped it down and decided to just let it be for now. He smiled down at her. "Come on, let's get to school," he said and guided her to the passenger side and opened the door, letting her duck in before shutting the door and then skirting the hood, got in the driver's side and drove to school.
Bella made it downstairs after a few moments of getting ready. Damon was in the parlor when she walked through. "Where is everyone?"
"Lexi and Violet went to town for shopping and the others have already left for school. Jake went to pick up Caroline and Jared never came home. I'm assuming he's with Barbie Klaus," he said and then stood from his chair and walked over to her. "You sure you don't want me to ride with you?"
She smiled at him. "I'm sure. I'll be fine. I'll see you later Damon," she said and leaned up and kissed his cheek. When she went to turn away, Damon spun her back to him. She hit his chest with a 'oof' and he covered her lips with his, kissing her with intensity. It made Bella's head swim from the passion, but she steadied herself and when he drew back, she smiled at him. "I'll see you later," she repeated and left him in the parlor grinning.
Bella started off towards Mystic Falls high. It was really overcast today, and she hated that it would rain because she was supposed to train with Alaric later today. She still hadn't forgotten that she needed to train her body before the war hit. Her thoughts were thinking about how everyone had come to fight to protect her when she barely saw the dark-haired man with glowing red eyes in the middle of the road. She braked hard and swerved to the shoulder. Then he was there at her door pulling her out of the Jeep.
"This was easier than I thought it would be," the vampire said grinning at her with bright teeth.
"Wait! You're that boy…the missing boy. Riley!" Bella said and that caught him off guard. His grip loosened on her. Then there was a larger man there in a blur. Bella almost didn't see, but it was Emmett! He threw Riley backwards and pushed Bella behind him.
"Bella, I want you to call someone. He's a newborn, and I'm not going to be strong enough to take him out by myself," Emmett growled through clenched teeth.
Bella blinked as Riley got to his feet smoothly. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and she called Klaus because he was the strongest out of everyone she knew. Klaus answered, like always, on the first ring. "Little Swan, I was just thinkin- "
"Klaus, I need you!" Bella said quickly.
"Where are you?" his voice was sharp now.
"Not far out from the manor, I was heading to school," she said and then the line went dead. Bella looked at Emmett who was trembling now. "Emmett," she said quietly.
Riley charged at them and Emmett braced for the impact, planting his feet as Riley collided with him. It was a struggle, Bella could see, Emmett's muscles rippled as he fought hard to keep Riley back. Emmett threw Riley backwards again and shifted to shield Bella again as Riley lunged and his teeth caught Emmett's shoulder. Emmett could feel the venom enter his body, but he didn't stagger. He had to keep strong until Bella's reinforcements came.
Klaus rushed to Bella and saw the two tangled bodies fighting. Bella's eyes were panicked and full of fear. "Which one?" was all he said.
"Red eyes," Bella choked out and Klaus pulled Riley from Emmett. It took Emmett a moment to realize what happened. Klaus stood there with his eyes burning gold and the black spiderwebs under his eyes. His fangs exposed.
"Well, it appears that they've sent a scout to kidnap our little Swan," Klaus spoke with ice filling his voice. "I'm going to give you five seconds to beg for your life," he said. "One,"
"Victoria has three hostages held up. People that are important to Bella," Riley rushed his words out quickly.
"Who!" Bella stepped forward but Emmett put an arm up to block her way.
"Asian boy and girl and some older black lady," he shuddered. What was this guy? He was stronger than he was, and he was told that newborn vamps were the strongest.
Bella gasped. "Angela and Ben!" Emmett looked at her. "They were missing recently. They haven't been recovered yet," he confirmed. Tears threatened to overtake her.
"Two, Three-"Klaus still counted, obviously not satisfied with Riley's answer.
"Wait!" Riley pleaded.
"Four, Five," Klaus finished his count and then he tore Riley apart. Emmett shielded Bella's view, placing her behind him again.
"Light him on fire," Klaus said, and Emmett moved, pulling a zippo out of his pocket. Klaus looked a Bella who was trembling. He moved to her now and then he was pulling her against his chest. Her arms hands clenched his shirt tightly as she started crying. Klaus had her hugged against him tightly. "Shhh. Bella, I will find your friends. Let's get you to the manor. You need to clean up…you have…his blood on you," he said calmly, and he was right. Riley's blood had splattered when he was ripped, and even though Emmett shielded her from seeing, it didn't shield her completely from being splashed with blood.
Bella's body still shook as she tried to move away from Klaus, but his arms still held her to him. "You," he said talking to Emmett. "Call the Major and tell him of what happened here. I'm taking Bella to my manor. Finish cleaning this up," he said and took one arm and swept Bella's legs out from under her and into his arms, cradling her gently.
Emmett didn't know who this man was, but he was the one Bella called in this time of crisis. He nodded and was pulling out his phone to call Jasper.
Back at the manor, Klaus gathered some clothes of Rebecca's and brought Bella into the bathroom. She was sitting there on the bench still in a sort of shock. "Bella, you need to shower…" Klaus said to her again, and she blinked a few times. Klaus sat beside her now, a rag in his hands.
"I…" she started. "I'm sorry," she said in defeat. She didn't know how to defend herself. If Emmett hadn't been there, she would have been dead, or he could have kidnapped her like Angela and Ben.
"Bella don't apologize for something that wasn't your fault. It's a sign of weakness and I know you're stronger than that," Klaus said and then took her hand in his and turned it over. "Have faith in yourself," he said and left her to be alone for her shower.
Damon was at the school with Alaric. "So, Ezra knows about Bella?"
"He does. Ezra and Callum both," Alaric said and sat down at his desk in his classroom. It was first period and he had this as a free period. Ezra knocked on the door and leaned against it with his arms crossed. He had dark hair like Bella did that was pulled back in a bun, but his eyes were a dark grey. His skin was lightly bronzed, and he was tall and muscular. His light grey shirt was a little tight across the chest and he work dark colored slacks and his tie matched.
"Ric, I have a student teacher watching the class right now, so we need to make this quick," he said, his voice was deep and rich. His stormy eyes met Damon's and nodded to him.
"Ezra, this is Damon Salvatore," Alaric introduced and then Ezra crossed and held his hand out for Damon to shake. Damon shook his firmly and then went back to crossing his arms.
"Nice to meet you. You're Stefan's family?" Ezra stated and Damon nodded. "Older brother," Damon said, his eyes not leaving Ezra's.
Alaric sighed. "This is about Bella Ezra. Not Stefan," he said and a flash of surprise and then understanding crossed his face.
"Well, I see. I knew this was coming, I just didn't have a handle on when," he said and paused before looking to Damon. "I'm Bella's older brother as I'm sure Ric here has told you, and now I'm assuming Bella knows. She also probably knows about Violet and about Renee's pregnancy."
Damon nodded. "She does. It's not easy for her, and I would appreciate it if you and your brother wouldn't surprise her alone. Come to the boarding house to talk it out with her."
Ezra nodded. "Understood. Bella isn't here today though. Is everything okay with her?"
Damon looked at Alaric confused. "I saw her leave this morning heading here. Is Jasper and Alice here?"
"Alice yes, but Jasper left quickly this morning. I saw him running out of here and forcing Alice to stay behind with Stefan and Elena," Alaric stated.
Damon's eyes narrowed. "Something's wrong," he said and turned, pulling out his phone and called Bella.
Klaus answered her phone. "Ah, the fun brother, calling Little Swan."
"Where's Bella, honey," Damon's voice lilted at the last word.
"I love you too mate, she's in the shower at the moment," Klaus said with a husky cadence, teasing Damon.
Damon growled and Alaric stood from his desk. "Is Bella okay?" Ezra was stepping forward too dropping his hands to his sides and pushing them into his dark slacks.
"Don't get your panties in a twist, the other Cullen brother is here, and the Major just walked in. We've got everything under control. Don't you worry about a thing," Klaus said and then hung up the phone.
Alaric was watching Damon's face, which was full of fury now. "Damon, calm down. What happened?" Ezra looked at his watch now. "I'm going to call a sub for the rest of the day Ric. I suggest you do the same. We'll go together," he said and left Ric's classroom to make arrangements.
Damon's mind was racing all over the place. What other Cullen brother was he talking about? Was it Edward? Did he come back and why was Bella showering at Klaus'? "I'm not sure what happened, but Bella is at Mikaelson Manor," he said and ran a hand through his hair. It bothered him that she had been in trouble and she didn't call him, but she called Klaus.
"Okay, that means that she's safe Damon. Klaus may be an original dick, but he's taken an interest in the safety of Bella. She's protected by the Mikaelson family," Alaric said, laying a land on Damon's shoulder and patted it.
Ezra returned a few moments later. "Hey, I called in a sub for you too Ric. Let's head out before the principal realizes what's going on," he said, and they all left the school and headed towards the manor.
"I'm Emmett," Emmett said to Klaus and then Jasper was joining them. Bella was still in the bathroom, but he could feel that her emotions were all over the place. She wasn't panicking quite yet, which was an improvement because she would have had a panic attack by now.
"So, it was Riley?" Jasper said to Emmett as he joined them. Emmett nodded. "Yeah, he went missing several months ago. I'm assuming Victoria has everything to do with it, because he mentioned her name. She has Angela and Ben," Emmett's eyes were dark topaz, he needed to hunt soon.
Klaus move over to the liquor cabinet and poured them all something to drink. "Well, I believe he was talking about Sheila Bennett as the third hostage. She's a witch. She's older, but she still holds some power that can be useful for their escape," he said and drank.
The water cut off now, and they all heard Bella moving around in the bathroom. Moments later, she emerged slowly. Her eyes went to Jasper's first and then to Emmett's. Then Emmett crossed to her and picked her up in a bear hug. Bella actually let out a small laugh when he swung her around.
"Em, I missed you," she said, and he set her on the floor.
"When Alice called Carlisle and I heard about what was happening I had to come protect my little sister right?" He said and kissed her cheek. She smiled at him and reached a hand up and patted his cold cheek. Then he looked at Jasper. "And you, look human," he nodded to Jasper and Jasper smiled, holding up his hand to show the band and the amber stone.
Emmett then went to Jasper and the two were hugging a very brotherly hug. It was clear that they had missed each other dearly.
Klaus moved to Bella's side. "I'm glad you called me," he said and then handed her a glass of whiskey.
"You were the first person I thought about," Bella said and took a drink.
"Oh? I figured it would be the Major or the pretty boy Salvatore," he said as he reached over and tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear. The motion sent a shiver through Bella.
"Well, you're the strongest person I know and when Emmett said that he wouldn't be able to hold him off long, I feared for the worse and then called the best I suppose," she explained and drank the whiskey. Then Klaus was pulling her into an embrace. Her whiskey sloshed, but Klaus set it down on the small table beside the navy armchair. "Little Swan, when I heard your voice, for the first time in ten centuries have I actually felt fear," he whispered in her ear.
Bella sighed and then hugged him back. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. It was an emotion I don't have often, so stay out of trouble," he said with a small inflection in his tone.
Jasper watched Klaus hold Bella and his stomach flipped. Emmett smiled at the sight. "So, is that who Bella's seeing?" Jasper shook his head. "It's more complicated than that," he said and then answered his phone when it rang. He stepped out of the room to talk to Alice when he saw Alaric, Damon, and Shaw walk through the door.
Klaus heard the three before he saw them, and then right when Damon got to the door, he leaned his head in and kissed Bella softly on the lips. Nothing deep, nothing forceful, but the motion got a growl out of Damon, which satisfied Klaus deeply.
Bella stood there a little stunned, but she smiled at Klaus and then looked down before moving away from him and turning. She spotted Damon, and the look on his face sent a pang through her heart. Then she saw her uncle and Mr. Shaw standing there. It was Alaric that moved across the room to her and hugged her. "Thank goodness you're okay," he said and then moved back and looked at her. There were no marks on her other than the same crescent scar on her wrist.
"I'm okay Uncle Ric. Emmett's timing was impeccable, which is surprising since he's always late to everything else," she teased.
Emmett snorted. "I'm not always late to everything."
Damon's eyes were staring straight into hers. She wanted to look away from him, but she couldn't. She moved away from Alaric and then Ezra was in her view. He had a look of worry on his face too. She realized that this was her older brother, and it was the first time that she realized that he did hold some of the same features her mother had.
Ezra spoke now. "Bella, I know this is hard…" he began but she moved to him and hugged him, making him stop. He then hesitantly wrapped his arms around his little sister and hugged her back.
"It's okay. I'm alright. I understand. Thank you," she said and then moved away. Her eyes connected with Damon's again. His eyes looked hurt somehow, but she wasn't sure why he was so hurt. She was fine, not a scratch on her. He should look worried, but that didn't stop her feeling guilty somehow.
Emmett cleared his throat now. "Well, I'm starving, so I'm going to go hunt. I'll take Jazz with me," he said looking to the doorway where Jasper had returned and was standing.
"Oh, Jasper isn't a vegetarian anymore," Bella said looking at Emmett, when he made a baffled noise.
"What? Jazz, you can't possibly," Emmett's voice was louder now.
"Don't worry. Blood bags. I'm heading back to the boarding house. Alice said that the power went out mysteriously and they're dismissing school. I'm assuming we'll have a meeting later," Jasper said, and Alaric nodded to him. Right mysterious power outage. Alice… Alaric thought.
"Well, I will not be joining this little meeting, I have a masquerade ball to plan for. I'm sure I'll get the details of said meeting from Elijah or Rebecca. You kids have fun," Klaus said and waved his hand in a shooing motion.
Bella nodded and then looked to Emmett. "You shouldn't go alone anyways. Jasper, can you go along just in case?" She asked and Jasper nodded. "Sure," he agreed and then him and Emmett disappeared. Ezra looked at his watch again. "Well, I'm going to go meet with Callum and let him know what is going on. We'll meet at the boarding house," he said and turned. "Oh, Callum doesn't like crowds, so go easy on him," he said looking at Damon. Alaric nodded, remembering Callum's anxiety issue. "I'll head back with you Ezra," Alaric called and left with him, leaving Damon and Klaus with Bella.
"Oh, Little Swan, I've left something for you in your room for the masquerade ball," Klaus called as he left the room.
Damon shot daggered looks in Klaus' direction and then his gaze landed back on Bella's. "You're okay?" he finally said when he was sure his voice was ready.
Bella nodded. "I am," she responded and then he nodded and reached and grabbed her hand and pulled her with him. He got her to her Jeep when he turned to face her again. "Why didn't you call me?" he demanded, his tone holding a little rage.
"I…" she looked down and then he was pushing her against the side of her Jeep, his body close to hers.
"Why. Didn't you call me?"
Bella looked into his angry ones and let a tear slid down her face. "Damon, I…didn't want you to get hurt," she realized. She knew that Klaus was the strongest and he was closer to her than the boarding house. She knew that Klaus would be able to get to her faster.
Damon loosened his grip on her when he saw the tear slide down her cheek. "A newborn cold one is not going to put a dent in me Bella."
She sniffed. "Klaus…he was closer and he's stronger Damon. I can't…" she pushed away from him. "Let's just go back home." She said and got into the Jeep. Damon sighed and got in and drove them back to the boarding house.