Four days. Bonnie and Tyler had hidden from the rest of the world for four long days. They spent nearly half of that time satisfying the all-consuming heat that descended on Bonnie at random intervals. Sometimes they would have nearly half a day's rest before the next phase. At other times, they only had a few hours' reprieve. Before all of this occurred, Bonnie would have assumed that she would grow tired of having sex at such a high frequency. However, she often craved Tyler's touch even after a phase ended. He explained that wolves were creatures that often relied on tactile communication. Frequent touching helped wolves reduce stress and anxiety. They also used it to strengthen bonds within families and packs. Bonnie felt warm inside every time she thought of Tyler as family.

She bit her bottom lip as she watched Tyler sleeping peacefully. He was sprawled out on his back with only a thin periwinkle sheet covering his lower half. Tyler was exhausted because the previous heat phase had ended only a few hours ago. However, after a short nap Bonnie was wide-awake again. She had this overwhelming urge to wake him so that they could play. Bonnie knew that to someone else that would sound like a euphemism for sex. Nevertheless, intercourse was the furthest thing from her mind. She didn't know how to put her feelings into words, but it was similar to how she felt after leaving Ruby's dive bar.

Bonnie rolled onto her back and let out an annoyed sigh. Tyler would probably be asleep for another couple of hours. In the meantime, Bonnie felt like climbing the walls. Going for a run would probably burn off some of her excess energy. Unfortunately, Tyler would wolf out if he awakened to find his mate missing. The girl had learned that lesson the hard way on day two. She had merely woken up early and decided to go outside to meditate. Bonnie had been in the backyard for maybe an hour when she heard a bone rattling howl from inside the house. She had rushed into the kitchen to find a very irate wolf waiting for her. It had taken a good five minutes for Tyler to shift back into his human form.

Bonnie heaved another big sigh as she considered activities that could distract her until Tyler woke up. Leaving the house to go on a run was out of the question but she could always hit the treadmill in the basement. Yoga in the sunroom also didn't sound like a bad option. However, she knew the responsible thing to do was to dive back into her research. If Bonnie and Tyler had spent half of their time enthralled by her heat, then they had spent at least a quarter of the remaining time pouring over every book in their possession. A few of Jonas' grimoires were in Russian and one was in French. The couple used translation websites to make sense of everything. Despite all the work they had put in, Bonnie felt no closer to figuring out her situation.

She rolled onto her side and prepared to climb out of the bed when Tyler's strong hand gripped her thigh. Bonnie squealed as he dragged her across the bed and on top of him with ease.

"Where do you think you are going?" he asked with a sleepy smirk.

She stared down into his brown eyes and said, "I thought that you were sleeping."

"I was asleep before you spent the last fifteen minutes sighing and flopping around next to me like a fish out of water," he replied in a voice roughened by sleep.

Bonnie nuzzled his neck. "I'm sorry."

Tyler ran his hand down her spine. The bite mark on her back had healed completely leaving behind a scar. However, Bonnie still had a visceral reaction whenever his fingers came in contact with the mark. "What's wrong, Bon?"

She hid her face in the crook of his neck. Bonnie breathed in his scent and tried to settle down. Her sense of smell had improved greatly. She could smell Tyler when they were in different rooms now. She mumbled, "You're going to think that I sound ridiculous."

He brushed his fingers over the healed bite mark and pressed an open mouth kiss against her shoulder.

She whined at tingle that traveled down her spine. "Ty…"

"Try me," he said.

Bonnie glanced at Tyler's face only to find love and acceptance staring back at her. It made her feel as if there were butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't remember anyone looking at her that way in the past. "I wanted to wake you up so that we could go for a run or something. I have all of this energy…I am going crazy."

Tyler could tell that she was holding something back. However, he was patient with Bonnie. It seemed that the curse binding the wolf inside her loosened a little more each day. Her body and senses were changing in incremental but observable ways. Tyler almost felt grateful that he had changed all at once—almost. He moved his hand up into Bonnie's curly hair and pulled her down for a smoldering kiss. Afterwards he said, "Going for a run sounds fun. Do you want to run out to the Falls?"

She perked up. "Really?"

He pecked her lips as he sat up. "Yeah. Get dressed. We can leave out in a few minutes."

Bonnie didn't try to hide her exuberance as she scrambled out of the bed. She knew that Tyler would be able to feel it through the bond. She made a beeline for the dresser and grabbed an outfit suitable for running.

Tyler smirked as he watched Bonnie dash into the bathroom. He moved to the side of the bed and stretched. He was still exhausted but it would have been cruel to ignore his mate's condition. The hybrid figured that he would wear down Bonnie during the run. He hoped that by the time they returned home, that she would be ready to nap. Tyler picked up his phone and fired off a quick message to Ruby.

Then he stood up and walked over to the dresser. Bonnie had been nice enough to give him a drawer for his clothes. She didn't want him living out of a duffel bag for the duration of his stay. It only took Tyler a few minutes to put on a pair of running shorts, t-shirt, and sneakers.

The hybrid turned towards the bed when he heard a phone vibrate. He walked over to the nightstand only to realize it was Bonnie's phone. Tyler picked up the phone and walked to the bathroom door. "Damon is calling you, Bon. Again…"

Bonnie opened the door and rolled her eyes at Tyler's pouty face. She leaned up and kissed him before taking the phone. "Don't be mean, Ty. He is probably bored. Normally, we hang out while everyone else is at school or work."

Tyler's expression changed when he saw that Bonnie was wearing a pair of black Lycra shorts. His hands went to her butt like a heat-seeking missile. "What do you and Damon do together all day?"

She frowned at his tone of voice. Bonnie argued, "I don't spend all day with him. Normally, we train in the morning then we binge watch some TV show that Damon insists is essential. Sometimes he is just making fun of me like when he bought the Bewitched box set. But the joke was on him because I love that show now. I totally stole the DVDs from him and blamed it on Caroline. Anyway, I usually leave the boarding house before lunch."

"If you say so…"

He knew that their relationship was not as innocent as she made it seem. He had been close enough to overhear Damon flirting with Bonnie at his party. If Tyler was being strictly honest, he had kept a close eye on her the whole night. She had looked good enough to eat in that jade colored bandage dress. There had been no shortage of men hitting on her. Tyler had been grateful that Bonnie had turned down every suitor. During the party, he had assumed it was because she was still hung up on Jeremy. Tyler was pleased to know that wasn't the case.

"I do say so," Bonnie said. She slipped by Tyler and tossed her phone on the bed. "I'll call Damon when we get back. I am ready for our run."

The couple walked downstairs together. Tyler asked, "Which direction would you like to go? We could run through town."

Going through town was the quickest way to the Falls. He wasn't concerned about anyone seeing them. It was Wednesday afternoon and all of their friends would be at school. Besides, Bonnie was no longer skittish about everyone learning the truth. She was prepared for a backlash, but it wouldn't change what was happening between them. Bonnie was his mate and no one's opinion could change that.

Bonnie briefly stopped to lock the door. She smiled and said, "I know a shortcut. It avoids all of the major streets. I rarely see anyone on my route. You can run as fast as you want without attracting attention."

Tyler grinned. "Let's do it."

She returned his grin and then hopped over the porch railing. Bonnie took off running like a jack rabbit down a side street.

He had expected as much from Bonnie. He could tell that she was feeling frisky. However, he hadn't expected her to be quite so agile. Tyler stood there for a moment in shock before his brain started working again. He jogged down the stairs and then sprinted after Bonnie. Tyler slowed down when he realized that she had a healthy head start. He added enhanced speed and agility to the mental checklist he had been compiling. Bonnie still wasn't as powerful as a full-fledged werewolf but the changes removed any lingering doubts that she would be soon.

Tyler resumed chasing Bonnie with a broad grin on his face. He understood now what she was too embarrassed to tell him in bed. It was not just that she had excess energy. Bonnie had entered the stage of the mating cycle when she was ready to play. If she were capable of shifting, they would almost certainly be hunting, romping, play fighting, and running together. The good news was that this change in Bonnie meant that the heat was winding down. It would probably only last for another day or two at the most. Tyler only knew of one reason why a heat ended early—it was successful. However, there was a chance that Bonnie's heat was following an altered path because of the curse binding her wolf.

The nervous energy Bonnie felt while lying in bed had all but evaporated once she started running. She felt her heart thumping loudly in her chest as she tested the limits of her newfound abilities. She had noticed the changes in herself, too. The girl wondered just how fast she was capable of running with the curse still acting as a malfunctioning gate. She looked over her shoulder and noted the substantial gap between her and Tyler. Bonnie knew that the hybrid could easily pass her. The only person she had witnessed move faster than Tyler was Klaus. However, he obviously knew that she needed to get whatever this was out of her system.

Bonnie led Tyler on a circuitous route through the sparsely populated back roads. She knew this section of Mystic Falls like the back of her own hand. Despite living with her father, she spent the majority of her time with Grams. Her grandmother had been old fashioned and didn't see the benefit of children staying in the house to watch TV or play video games. She had encouraged Bonnie to go outside and explore. It had been Sheila's subtle way of ensuring that her granddaughter had a strong connection with nature. That connection was such an important aspect of being a witch. Long before Bonnie's powers made their first appearance, she could just tell when a thunderstorm was approaching. It was as if she could taste the electricity on her tongue. She was always able to predict the first snowfall of the season. Her father had dismissed it all as old wives' tales and she had believed him. Rudy had explained that her grandmother had a reputation for being eccentric. Now she realized that her father had been trying to lead her away from a life that would always endanger her.

She made a sharp turn into the woods surrounding the falls. In the beginning, Bonnie could only hear the steady thump of her heartbeat and the crackle of the dried leaves beneath her feet. She darted around trees that stood taller than any building in their sleepy little town. However, without warning the steady rush of water reached Bonnie's sensitive ears. Her stride faltered because of that realization. There was no way that a person with human hearing would be able to hear the falls from that distance. Bonnie stood stock still beneath the canopy of nearly barren tree branches. Her eyes fluttered closed as she tried to manage the overload of sensory information. She could hear the falls, but Bonnie also smelled the rich soil beneath her feet. The girl even smelled what had to be some sort of animal. Her head tilted in the direction of the scent. She wondered if she could single out the creature's heartbeat.

Tyler slowed to a stop beside her. He had expected Bonnie to run until she reached the falls. He had spent enough time watching her at night to know the place held a special meaning for her. "Bon?"

She frowned and opened her eyes. "It ran away," she complained.

He lifted an eyebrow at her. "What the deer?"

Bonnie spun around to look at Tyler with bright eyes that burned with curiosity. "Is that what it was?"

Tyler nodded and sniffed the air. "Yeah. There was a deer about 20 yards upwind of us. Did you see it?"

She shook her head. "I smelled it. I was hoping that I could hear its heartbeat but the falls is too loud."

The hybrid's pride for his mate thumped against their rapidly expanding bond. He was certain that Bonnie could sense it by the way her heartbeat quickened. He was impressed by her abilities. Tyler was curious to see what Bonnie would be capable of doing at full power.

He said, "I'm sorry, Bon. Deer have an amazing sense of smell. The thing probably got one whiff of me and took off. When I was in the mountains, I learned that some animals can detect what we are even in human form. Some animals can smell the wolf in us and determine that we are predators. It is fair because I have killed and eaten my share of deer, moose, and elk while in my wolf form. Actually, I took down a bear once, too."

"Oh," Bonnie replied in disappointment.

He stepped forward and took her face into his hands. "But there are animals that are drawn to us because of what we are. Wolves, dogs, and foxes tend to be relatively friendly with us."

"Really?" she asked excitedly.

Tyler nodded and said, "Dogs tend to flock to us because they have been domesticated. Wolves are a little more cautious but we would find them lingering near our base camp. Foxes are scavengers so they would hang around to find scraps after a hunt."

Bonnie wrapped her arms around Tyler's neck. "That is amazing. This is all amazing. I am getting faster. Did you see me?"

His arms circled Bonnie's waist and drew her against his body. "Yes, you are. I think we should be prepared for you to shift this weekend."

She hadn't expected Tyler to say that. However, it made sense when she thought about it. Bonnie looked up at him and asked, "Because of the full moon?"

He nodded and said, "The pull of the full moon is powerful and the curse seems to be hanging on by a thread."

Bonnie frowned because it felt as if Tyler was holding something back. Her curious green eyes searched his for answers. She asked, "Is that the only reason you think that I will change this weekend?"

Tyler licked his lips because he realized how insane his thoughts would sound. He said, "My wolf…has been telling me it will happen soon. It will sound strange but that side of me feels connected to something inside of you. I think my wolf is connected to the wolf inside of you that the curse has bound."

She smiled and shook her head. "I don't think that sounds strange at all. This is uncharted water for the two of us. I don't know if this has ever happened to anyone else. Whatever I am becoming is an affront to nature."

He growled deeply and his eyes turned amber in warning. "Don't say that. You are amazing, Bonnie. That is true whether you are a witch, werewolf, or some combination of the two."

Bonnie bit her lip for a moment. She said, "Witches are meant to protect the balance. It is dangerous for one creature to become too powerful. I mean look at Klaus. The spirits…"

"Are we talking about the same spirits that required your death because you chose to save Jeremy?" he asked with an edge to his voice.

"I am not saying that they are always right. I am not even saying that the spirits always go about things the right way. But there is wisdom in preventing the creation of hybrids. Not everyone is as good hearted as you are, Ty."

Tyler was taken aback by Bonnie's declaration that he had a good heart. He had never given a lot of thought to whether or not he was a good person. There was a lot of evidence to suggest that he was an inconsiderate jackass.

He kissed Bonnie softly and then leaned his forehead down against hers. "Well, if I am good hearted then so are you, Bon. You have risked your life more times than I can count to keep us all safe. You just kept kicking ass no matter how much you lost in the process or how unappreciated your actions went."

Sometimes Bonnie found herself in awe of Tyler-this was one of those times. The bond between them was thrumming with energy. She wasn't sure if it was coming from Tyler or her. Bonnie could literally feel electricity crackling beneath her skin. "Do you want to go skinny dipping with me?"

"Not worried about the cold?" he asked. Tyler was definitely on board with seeing Bonnie naked and wet. However, he was mindful of her rapidly changing physiology.

She shook her head. "I can barely feel it. Besides, it's like 53 degrees today. The water won't even feel that cold."

Tyler chuckled and said, "Alright…"

Bonnie grinned and pecked him on the lips. "Let's go. I haven't been to the Falls in days."

Tyler took her hand and started walking toward the waterfall. "I know."

Bonnie heard a bird fly overhead. She glanced upward and frowned at a large crow. She tried to shoo the bird away discreetly. However, when she turned around Tyler was staring at her as if she were crazy.

"Not a fan of birds, Bon?" he asked in an amused voice.

She said, "Uh, I like birds just fine."

"Then you have something personal against that particular bird?" Tyler asked with a raised eyebrow.

She jabbed him in the stomach with a finger. "Stop teasing me. I just don't like crows. Crows are bad luck because they are harbingers of death."

The hybrid was sensing something strange through their bond. It felt as if Bonnie was trying to hide something from him. However, he couldn't understand what could cause her to lie about a bird of all things. He watched as the unusually large bird landed a few feet away from them.

Bonnie released Tyler's hand and walked over to the crow.

The bird automatically flew up to settle on Bonnie's shoulder. It picked at her ponytail with its beak.

She sighed deeply and stroked the creature's head. Her lips twitched into a small smile. "Hello," she cooed.

He watched Bonnie doing her Snow White routine. "Is he a friend of yours, Bon?"

Bonnie didn't feel good about lying to Tyler. Besides, she couldn't think of any compelling reasons that she would need to talk to a bird. She didn't want him to think that she was going batty. She asked, "Can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah. What's going on?"

"This is Damon," she answered.

Tyler stared at Bonnie and then looked at the bird. "Run that by me again."

Bonnie laughed a little. "Well, it's not exactly him. It isn't as if he is a shapeshifter but he can compel Russell to monitor stuff for him. I guess Damon sent him to spy on me since I haven't been answering his calls."

"He named the crow…Russell?" he asked.

"That's the part you latched onto first?" Bonnie asked with a huff.

He chuckled. "I'm sorry. Russell Crow here is a spy for Damon. How come I didn't know that he was capable of that?"

Tyler knew that he was not always in the loop but this seemed like a crucial piece of information.

She shrugged. "Damon doesn't really share stuff like that with people. I think Stefan and me are the only ones that know. He probably won't be happy that I told you."

"I get it."

He didn't tell their friends everything he was capable of doing. It wasn't their business and there was always a chance that it might get back to Klaus.

Bonnie held up her arm and encouraged the crow to move there. She looked into the bird's eyes and smiled. "I'm sorry for not returning your calls, Damon. I've been busy but I promise to call in a few hours."

Tyler was still mulling this over in his mind.

She gently smoothed her hand over the crow's back. "Off you go. Go back to Damon."

The crow gave a few high-pitched caws and then took to the sky.

Tyler walked up behind Bonnie. "I think Russell Crow has a crush on you."

She giggled. "Maybe. Sometimes he brings me dead stuff."

"He's a real charmer," Tyler replied. He picked up Bonnie and tossed her over his shoulder.

Bonnie laughed. "What are you doing?"

"We're going skinny dipping before your avian boyfriend comes back," he huffed.

She squealed as Tyler ran through the woods at a neck breaking pace.

The crow was used in the beginning of season 1 and then abandoned. I decided to bring it back because it is cool.