Chapter Seven

I groaned at the dull aching in my neck as I regained consciousness, proof that my neck had been snapped. When the memories of what had happened came back to me my eyes jumped open. Everything was upside down and it took about three seconds for me to realise I was tied to a tree by my feet, leaving me the wrong way up. I was glad that my skirt had been tied into the knot that secured my feet, for that would have been a whole other problem. Just as I reached up to break the ropes, a hand stopped me.

'Why am I upside down?' I asked the alpha, hoping conversation would delay the inevitable.

I could tell that night had completely fallen now, fire torches were the only things lighting the clearing, though I was surprised he was the only one there.

'I've been bleeding you out.' He replied, and he was right, I hadn't noticed the dried blood on my arms until that moment, or the pools of crimson on the floor, 'I'm going to release you just before the moon reaches its apex and we're going to chase you down.'

'That sounds like fun.' I muttered sarcastically, 'what is that, some kind of wolf bonding exercise?'

'As a matter of fact, yes it is.' He grinned and it was all teeth.

'Well then where is everyone?'

'A mile away, gotta give you a head start or it will be over far too soon.' He said, casually bringing a blade to my wrist and dragging it down to my elbow.

I bit back my scream of pain when he repeated the action on my other arm before throwing the blade to the ground.

'That should be enough. The moon will be rising soon, enjoy your last few moments, blood sucker.' He sneered and walked away, leaving me struggling to stay conscious from the blood loss.

When I was sure he was out of earshot I tried to lean up again, but I couldn't find the strength. I couldn't die like this, Klaus knew why the ritual failed before, but I needed to make sure that this time was a success. My family and friends were counting on me. I felt my stubborn streak rise up inside of me and I managed to reach the ropes. It took a lot longer than it should have, but I managed to snap the rope and when I landed on the ground I untied my legs and unsteadily got to my feet. Taking a deep breath, I focused my hearing—the pack was definitely close and they were in the path I would need to take to reach the Mikaelson mansion. I inwardly cursed and started heading in that direction, being sure to stay as far away from them as possible when I reached them. The relief at making it past them didn't last long as after about five minutes of stumbling I heard bones breaking. They had started. I'd learned from Tyler that the more wolves transformed, the quicker the transformation happened. I was willing to bet that these wolves had transformed more than a few times. Using my last bit of strength I flashed forward, managing to make it to the woods directly in front of the house.

'Klaus!' I yelled but looked behind me when I heard twigs breaking.

When I was met with several fully transformed wolves I felt my stomach drop. I saw one lunge for me and I closed my eyes, fully ready to accept that I was as good as dead. A whimper followed by a crash made my eyes snap open in surprise and what I saw surprised me and relieved me at the same time. Klaus had thrown the wolf that had lunged at me into a tree with enough force to knock it out, and was steadily working his way through dismembering the others. With his strength and speed it didn't take him long to deal with the four that had caught up with me. Before I knew it, he was in front of me, his hands grasping my upper arms, but I barely registered it, because he was looking at me with an expression of pure worry on his face. Though admittedly, due to my weakened state he was a little unfocused and so my sight wasn't completely reliable. There was no way he was concerned about me.

'Evangeline, look at me.' His hand went to the side of my face, bringing my gaze to his.

'They're coming.' I murmured and I was grateful he was holding me because if he weren't, I would have fallen to the floor.

'Let's get you inside, love,' he whispered, but before he could lift me up, the sound of growling filled the air.

Klaus' face hardened and he shifted me to stand behind him as he faced the newcomers. I felt my knees buckle without him supporting me and I was helpless to stop myself from falling to the floor. I was sure I was about to pass out, but before I could I felt a sharp sting in my side that made me scream before blackness consumed me once again.

Klaus' POV

'Elijah!' I yelled as I rushed into the house, carrying Evangeline's body in my arms.

I had managed to destroy all of the wolves, but not before one had bitten her. The feeling that accompanied me hearing her shout for me was a feeling I hadn't felt in centuries—complete and utter fear.

'What happened?' Elijah's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

'A wolf bit her.' I growled, blinking away the tears in my eyes, 'find me a witch, any witch.'

'Brother—,' Elijah started, probably about to remind me that no witch was going to be able to stop the inevitable but I didn't want to hear it.

'Now!' I roared before taking Evangeline to my room.

I laid her down onto the bed, brushing her hair out of her face and frowning at how pale she had already gotten. Wolf bites wouldn't usually work so quickly, but the state she had already been in was hurrying the process along at an alarming rate. Watching helplessly as she deteriorated wasn't something I wanted to do, so I decided to take a different approach. I took her hand in mine and opened up my mind before delving into hers.

Evangeline's POV

The smell of bacon cooking roused me from my sleep. It must have been Saturday; mom always cooked bacon on the first day of the weekend as well as pancakes. I rolled out of bed and pulled my hair up into a high ponytail, smiling when I heard Elena skipping down the hall. After grabbing my dressing gown I followed after her, eager to eat breakfast. Today was going to be a good day.

'Good morning family,' I greeted brightly, ruffling Elena's hair on my way past her to take my seat.

'Hey!' she complained around a mouthful of bacon, making me chuckle.

'You're chipper this morning.' Mom said with a little laugh, her hand coming to the side of my face for a moment before falling away.

'I have a good feeling. I'm gonna roll with it.' I said in between mouthfuls of pancakes, 'is dad already at work?'

'Yeah one of his patients went into labour early this morning. He went to the surgery from there.' Mom answered after taking a sip of coffee.

'When's aunt Jenna getting here?' Elena asked, standing from the table and loading her dishes in the dishwasher.

'This afternoon.' Mom said, watching Elena's movements with a knowing eye, 'although she's staying longer than she planned so if you want to go to this party tonight, you'll get to see her tomorrow.'

'Really?' Elena's expression brightened and when mom nodded she squealed and ran over to hug her.

'Same rules apply. In by eleven and no drinking.' Mom gave her a stern look and Elena nodded with an innocent expression.

I laughed but then something occurred to me—this had already happened. This exact day was the day my mom and dad had died. How was this happening? Was I dreaming?

'Sweetie would you get that?' Mom said, patting my arm.

'Get what?' I frowned.

'The door.' She smiled, and at that moment the doorbell rang.

I stood to answer it, a feeling of uncertainty burrowing in my gut, but when I opened the door a feeling of relief washed over me.

'Klaus.' I breathed, stepping out onto the porch with him.

'Hello, love.' He smirked, though he was surprised when I leaped into his arms and hugged him hard—he was the only connection I had to genuine reality right now. Last I remembered I was running from some wolves in the fifteenth century and I'd reached Klaus' arms.

'I must say, this is not what I was expecting the future to look like.' His comment distracted me from my worry and I pulled back from him to give him an amused look.

'Ah, yes, you're dressed how I'm used to seeing you.' I joked, observing his shorter hair, brown leather jacket and jeans.

'I much prefer the fashion here.' He said looking over his own outfit. When his gaze moved over to mine he looked a mixture of confused and amused.

'Believe it or not, nightwear is much more comfortable in the future.' I told him, very matter-of-fact.

'I can see that.' He smirked and offered me his arm, which I took after smiling in bemusement at the gesture, 'show me around your little town, love.'

'Is that a good idea?' I wondered but I led him to my car anyway, pleased to find my keys in the jacket of my bathrobe, 'showing you what life will be like in six hundred years?'

'It can't hurt,' he smiled, taking a moment to observe my car in amazement before climbing into the passenger seat, 'what is this?'

'It's called a car, not as traditional as a horse and carriage, but it gets you where you need to go.' I teased, deciding not to turn on the radio in favour of not wanting him to combust.

'So where are you taking me?' Klaus wondered, staring at the surroundings with wrapt interest.

'I'm taking you to the Mystic Grill. It's the prime hangout here.' I informed him, pulling into an empty parking spot and gesturing at the establishment, 'you can see how different alcohol tastes in the future.'

'Lead the way love.' Klaus smiled following me out of the car and into the bar.

It was exactly how I remembered it that day; of course I'd originally come for lunch with my mom. The people were all there, Matt was busting tables, and Tyler was playing pool with Vicki hovering around him. I smiled faintly at the familiarity, of course in reality, Vicki wasn't alive and neither was my Mom or Dad. I didn't know why I was having this "dream" but I was going to roll with it for as long as I could.

'Two bourbons please, Jeff,' I grinned at the middle-aged man behind the bar.

Klaus slipped into the stool next to mine and accepted the drink with an amused smirk.

'Of all the things you could have had me doing… this is not what I expected.' He commented, taking a sip of the bourbon.

'This is the day my parents died,' I murmured, smiling slightly when his eyes widened in surprise, 'I woke up to pancakes and mom letting Elena go to this party she's been asking about all week. I would have come to the Grill for lunch with my mom and then headed over to the library to start my summer reading.'

'Summer reading?'

'I was about to start my first semester at collage…' I continued when he looked confused, 'it's somewhere you can go to get refined skills in specific subjects. I was there most of the day, and I went home to dinner with my family, apart from Elena. It was going perfectly well, until Elena called for a ride home. Mom and Dad left but never came back.'

'Being heartbroken over the loss of a parent is not something I can relate to,' he admitted, looking down for a moment before looking over to me, 'but I'm sorry, love.'

'I miss them every day. But it does get easier.' I murmured, 'I hate to say that because it shouldn't should it? The pain of missing them should grow every day, not lessen.'

'Those who love us, never truly leave us.' Klaus said softly, his hand resting on top of mine, 'you don't need to feel guilty about not missing them as much because they're always going to be with you.'

I hadn't realised I was crying until he gently wiped away the tears from my cheeks. I cleared my throat.

'Thank you. I needed to hear that.' I smiled softly and shook my head, 'come on, I want to show you something.'

Klaus allowed me to drag him back to my car, where I drove him to Mystic Falls High School. I grinned at him as he eyed the building curiously.

'This is where I went to high school,' I told him, taking his hand and leading him to the front doors, 'of course it's the weekend, but we have supernatural strength.'

I shot him a mischievous look that made him chuckle as I broke the chains that had the doors locked. After throwing them to the ground, I opened them and led him inside.

'How long were you in high school for?' Klaus asked, glancing around at the lockers, classrooms and stopping to look at the class case that held pictures of past sports teams.

'Four very long years.' I said very melodramatically.

'You didn't enjoy it?' he wondered.

'Sometimes I did.' I nodded, 'and sometimes I didn't. It was a… unique experience. Of course, when I graduated, every time I came back to this school it was for something bad.'

'How do you mean?' He frowned and I pursed my lips, debating whether to tell him—I had held back the fact Elena was a doppelgänger on purpose when I told him about the future the other day. But it seemed futile now, what difference did it make with him knowing about Elena?

'I'll show you.' I said, an idea forming as I dragged him to the cafeteria, I pulled him into the corner and let the memory of Elena and I being attacked by one of the tomb vampires play out in front of us.

We had both managed to fight him off, using pencils and I even managed to steak him in the back. Before he could retaliate out of anger, Damon and Stefan had arrived.

'Your sister is the next doppelgänger.' Klaus realised, looking over to me with an astonished look on his face, 'that's why you want me to complete the ritual now.'

'It's one of the reasons.' I nodded, hoping I wasn't making the wrong decision by telling him, but at the same time I knew I hadn't.

'What are the others?' He asked, squeezing my hand gently.

I had already told him what he had done when he came to Mystic Falls, but maybe showing him would help him understand more. I took a deep breath and imagined we were back at my house, internally cursing myself for driving around when I could have manipulated the scenes around me. When I opened my eyes, we were stood in the hallway and I silently pulled Klaus so we were standing side by side, looking in on the living room.

'Those are the reasons.' I smiled softly watching Elena and Jeremy arguing over who got the last valentine's chocolate.

Jenna walked in from the kitchen and took the box out from the middle of them, telling them that seeing as she was the only one not to receive anything for valentines, she deserved it. Jeremy and Elena didn't argue, holding up their hands in surrender.

'That's my aunt Jenna.' I said softly, being careful to keep the anger out of my voice, 'I told you about her. You turned into a vampire and used in the ritual to unlock your werewolf side.'

Klaus looked surprised, glancing in between me, and the light-hearted family scene that was taking place in the next room. I looked away from him, taking in every detail I could. The sound of Jenna's laugh, the way she teased Jeremy over his valentine, which Elena enjoyed until she turned her antics on the older Gilbert sibling.

'You miss her,' he noted, when my eyes flickered over to him I noticed he was watching me.

'I do. When our parents died she was all we had. She suddenly had three teenagers that she was obligated to care for overnight and honestly I don't know how any of us would have gotten through it without her.' I felt tears trailing down my cheeks, but didn't bother with wiping them away.

His hand came up to the side of my face to wipe the moisture away, and I felt myself unintentionally leaning into his touch, but something broke the moment. A sharp pain flared up in my side and I whimpered, pulling away from Klaus to lift up my shirt, revealing a bite mark.

'Is this real?' I asked in a small voice, not meeting his eyes in fear for what I'd find.

'Yes,' he said reluctantly, his index finger went to my chin to force me to meet his gaze, 'I have Elijah on his way with a witch.'

'There's only one cure for a werewolf bite.' I told him, suddenly weak—apparently I'd been distracted from reality for as long as I could. The irony wasn't lost in me—the two pieces of information I'd wanted to keep to myself, I had ended up telling him in less than twenty-four hours.

'What is it?' he demanded urgently.

'Your blood.' I said simply and I felt the alternate world we were consumed in collapse around me.

'Klaus?' I groaned; I could feel the fever burning underneath my skin, the sweat and the pain erupting from my side.

'Here, love.' He said and my eyes snapped open when I smelled blood.

His wrist was in front of my face, a bite mark already in place to release the blood from underneath his skin. I could feel the veins growing underneath my eyes at the sight; I had been weak and hungry before I'd been bitten and now it had increased ten fold.

'I might take too much.' I warned him, already bringing his wrist to my mouth and moaning when a few drops spilled onto my lips.

'Take as much as you need. It won't kill me.' Klaus assured me, lifting my head up to make it easier.

Without further hesitation, I allowed my vampire face to come forward and I bit into his skin, savouring the taste of his blood on my tongue. He tasted exquisite; even better than the first time I tasted blood. I didn't think it was possible, humans were supposed to be the best food source for vampires, but I could have easily survived on Klaus' blood without any complaint. I drank until the fever broke, until the pain stopped, until the wound on my side stitched itself back together, and my hunger was satisfied. When I was finished, Klaus wasn't any worse for wear; he continued gently stroking my hear and when my fangs withdrew from his skin, he kissed my forehead and lay me back down on the bed, where I went without complaint. I was more than happy to sleep, as the whole days events had been more than exhausting.

Klaus' POV

I heard her breathing even out and felt myself release a sigh of relief that she had been right; my blood had cured her werewolf bite. She was going to be okay. Now that I knew that, I was fully able to digest all of the information she had given me while I'd been inside of her head. What she had both told me and shown me in the last twenty-four hours made me realise a few things. First, she was telling the truth about coming back for her family, and I couldn't blame her, because her sister would have had to die for the ritual to be completed. Second, she was one of the strongest women I knew; she lost her parents, her aunt, her life and she was the one who shouldered the responsibility for her family. Third, I vowed that even if Katherine got away this time, I was never going to walk into her life and tear it apart like I had before, because… she didn't hate me. She should have, but she didn't. That was made clear when she comforted me by the river and told me she wasn't going to blame me for something I hadn't done yet, when she easily could have and with reasonable justification. And another reason that I wouldn't hurt her sister, or any members of her family was because I wouldn't be the reason that her life was ripped away from her, hindering her from living a full immortal life. I couldn't hurt her. Not when I was more than certain that my affection for her was starting to become more than me fancying her. There were a few things that needed to be done, to assure that Evangeline went back to the future she deserved.

There's chapter seven! What did you think? I really wanted Klaus to see what the future is like for Evangeline, in terms of family and physically. Also, I thought it was time for her to be more specific about why she wanted to change the future so badly. And it was definitely time to explore how Klaus is starting to feel about Evangeline. Specifics about their feelings will be delved into in the next chapter!

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