Tyler had not moved from his place beside Bonnie in the last thirty minutes. Bonnie's safety and well-being were his only concerns. He didn't care how many questioning looks he received from Caroline and Jeremy. Neither had been courageous enough to verbalize their curiosity. Tyler was using a Herculean amount of strength to resist the overwhelming urge to shift. His wolf side was panicking because there was something wrong with his mate. Tyler couldn't even feel Bonnie through their bond. Since the first night he had bitten her, Tyler had gotten used to feeling Bonnie's consciousness even when she was sleeping. Most of the time it was just a light tickle at the edge of his awareness but he liked feeling her. He felt strangely empty right now.

He tried to remain positive. Katherine didn't seem to think that Bonnie was being harmed in this state. She swore that magical possessions within the same bloodline were rarely malevolent. While he had no reason to believe her, Stefan concurred with her opinion. He had been present when Emily had possessed Bonnie a couple years ago. The young witch would have walked away from the encounter completely unscathed if not for Damon sinking his teeth into her neck while in the throes of a temper tantrum. Tyler wouldn't feel better until they received confirmation from Lucy. Unfortunately, they were having trouble getting her on the phone.

The Salvatore brothers could be relentless. Sometimes they annoyed the hell out of him. However, he was grateful for their presence tonight. Stefan and Damon had been calling Lucy nearly non-stop since getting her numbers from Katherine's phone. Damon had even directed Matt to track her down via FaceBook. He figured a woman in her thirties probably used the social media platform frequently. Tyler could tell by the way Damon was pacing that he was minutes away from hopping into the Camaro. Katherine had helpfully supplied Lucy's address in Durham, North Carolina. Durham was only 2 ½ hours away from Mystic Falls. Damon could probably cut the drive down another 20 or 30 minutes by speeding.

Tyler didn't want his pack involved in a situation that was rapidly unraveling. However, he didn't have much of a choice when there were threats coming from multiple fronts. The Travelers were most assuredly a threat to everyone. Lowering the veil and destroying the Other Side meant releasing long dead vampires and werewolves, too. This wasn't merely a witch problem. Furthermore, he still didn't know if Katherine was being truthful about members of the Augustine Group lurking around Whitmore's campus. It could take Gabe a couple of days to sniff out that potential threat. Tyler knew that it was time to give up his quest of being a one-man army. He had a mate and possibly a baby to protect. He couldn't do that alone.

He needed someone to help keep him focused. His wolf was growing stronger because the moon would be full in just a couple days. Worrying about Bonnie's safety only made him more volatile. Jonas was still in the area. He and Tyler had built a solid friendship. Jonas had triggered his curse a decade ago so he had developed a precise control over his other side. However, he was too concerned with respecting the pack's hierarchy to calm Tyler down if he was close to losing it. Tyler decided that reaching out to Ruby would be the best course of action. She was a beta within the pack and he could use her counsel on how to proceed with the Traveler issue. Moreover, she provided a calming presence that he sorely needed now. Ruby wouldn't concern herself with scraping and bowing before the pack alpha. He took out his phone and fired off a text to her.

Tyler: Something is wrong with Bonnie. Could use your help. ASAP

Tyler didn't even have the opportunity to put his phone down before it began vibrating. He opened the message and read Ruby's response with a small smile on his face.

Ruby: I am in the neighborhood. I will be there in a few minutes.

He couldn't think of any reason why Ruby would be in Mystic Falls. Normally, she stayed at the bar until 2 AM when it closed. She trusted her staff to clean the bar without her supervision. Tyler could only assume that Ruby had made her way to Mystic Falls at Jonas' behest. He was too grateful that she was nearby to consider being irritated by Jonas deciding to call her. Tyler put his phone away. He looked around the room and decided that Damon was the only person he trusted to stay with Bonnie. He knew the vampire would protect her until he returned.

He said, "Damon…"

Damon was listening to Lucy's line ring for the upteenth time. He turned around and asked, "What?"

Tyler stood up. "I need to go do something. Could you sit with Bonnie while I am gone?"

The brunette vampire wondered what Tyler needed to do but he didn't question it. He walked over to the couch and sat on the arm. "Go ahead. I've got witchy."

Tyler said, "Thanks."

Caroline watched as Tyler jogged up the basement stairs. She moved over to Damon without an ounce of subtlety. She had a dozen questions on the very tip of her tongue. She blurted out, "What's going on between Bonnie and Tyler?"

Jeremy perked up from his seat across the room. He had been thinking the very same thing. However, Tyler's intense demeanor had prevented him from saying anything. He wasn't as dumb as everyone seemed to think that he was. Jeremy understood when dying was a very real possibility. He had lived with Tyler long enough to recognize his warning signs.

Damon glanced at the girl as he called Lucy's number again. He had lost count how many times he had called the witch only to get her voicemail. Damon had already decided that he would only wait around for another half hour before he drove to Durham. He said, "I know that I like to tease you about being a dumb blond, but we both know that you are quite intelligent, Vampire Barbie. The wheels in your head have been going round and round since the moment Bonnie collapsed. Whatever conclusions you've drawn…just assume that they are correct."

Caroline folded her arms over her chest and cast a worried glance at Bonnie. She was worried about her best friend but also hurt that she had hidden such a big secret. "How long has this been going on?"

Damon ended the call when he heard the voicemail pick up again. He waited a second and then called the number again. He said, "Not as long as you and my brother have been playing tonsil hockey."

Katherine chuckled. "Your attempts to hide the relationship were truly pathetic. I mean all of that perfume was just a waste of money and effort. I saw you making doe eyes at Stefan. Even simple Elena would have been able to figure out that the two of you were involved."

Caroline sputtered, "I-I-I didn't want to hurt Tyler or Elena. Stefan and I are in love."

Katherine laughed harder and said, "I hate to burst your bubble but Tyler knows about your little affair, too."

Caroline felt as if she had been gut punched. She had been waiting for the right time to tell Tyler about her relationship. However, Caroline had been scared that the news would obliterate what was left of their friendship. They barely managed to be civil to one another if they were in the same room for too long. Tyler always seemed like he wanted to fight Stefan. The implication of that rattled around in Caroline's head. "You can't know that. We have been careful around him."

The older vampire smirked. She said, "I hate to flash my bona fides once more but I definitely know more about werewolves than you do. Werewolves have an amazing sense of smell—much better than vampires do. I promise he has known from the beginning. I can't imagine why he hasn't said anything."

Caroline glared at Katherine. She was suddenly feeling very defensive. "Why didn't you say anything?"

The older vampire shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I assumed your little fling would go down in a ball of flames like all of the rest have. I mean your dating track record is almost as tragic as Damon's is. I figured that Stefan would grow tired of being your dirty little secret and he would break up with you. I also thought that you might run back into Tyler's fur covered arms. Either way, I positioned myself to pick up the broken pieces of Stefan's heart. All of the reward and none of the work…"

Caroline opened and closed her mouth several times, but couldn't think of anything to say in response. She couldn't help but notice the tense expression on Stefan's face. It appeared that Katherine wasn't far off the mark with her theory. They would definitely have to discuss this later. Caroline suddenly felt as if the people meant to be her closest friends had become strangers before her eyes. They needed a 'friendtervention' immediately. She was going to host one as soon as Elena was in control of her body and Bonnie was upright again.

Tyler walked down the stairs with Ruby in tow. The older woman scented the room easily to pick out humans from vampires. She had met good and bad vampires over the years. Therefore, she didn't automatically assume that they were enemies. However, an unobservant werewolf often became a dead werewolf. It was always better to be prepared for anything.

The hybrid cleared his throat and said, "This is my cousin, Ruby. She might be able to help Bonnie."

Caroline watched the mysterious blue eyed woman with curiosity. She didn't think that Tyler had any living family members. "You have a cousin?"

He nodded. "I do."

Ruby looked at Damon and asked, "May I?"

The vampire moved out of the way but watched Ruby warily. Damon didn't trust anyone he didn't know. Frankly, he didn't make a habit of trusting people he did know. He just had to believe that Tyler wouldn't bring in anyone that would prove to be a threat to Bonnie.

Ruby moved closer and took Bonnie's hand. She wasn't pleased with the girl's temperature. She was much cooler than a werewolf or human should be. She carefully lifted her eyelids to get a look at her irises. Then Ruby looked at Tyler. "Can you feel her?"

He shook his head. "It is complete radio silence. It hasn't been like that since…"

She nodded at him.

"What does that mean?" Caroline asked in a worried voice.

Ruby said, "You need to shift, Tyler."

He shook his head. "I asked you here to keep me from doing exactly that. It is too close to the full moon. My wolf side is too powerful and too anxious. I can't guarantee that I can control it."

Ruby said, "You will not lose control when your mate needs you. You also will not be alone. I will be here to help you through it. Bonnie might be checked out for a moment but her wolf is not. Look at her eyes and you will see that I am right."

Tyler gently peeled back her eyelids and was surprised to see gold and black staring back at him. Bonnie's eyes had only ever changed to amber. If he didn't know better, Tyler would think she was close to shifting. However, that wasn't possible until the full moon because she wasn't a hybrid. "What's happening to her?"

"Bonnie's werewolf side is fighting back against whatever the witches are doing. I think you will be able to reestablish the bond if you shift. You need to connect with the wolf fighting inside of her."

Jeremy stood up because he had quite enough of being in the dark. "What the hell is going on? Bonnie isn't a werewolf. I mean we would know if she was, right?"

Damon glared at Jeremy. "There's a lot you don't know. We don't have time for your broken heart or whatever is going on with you. You have three options: shut up, offer something useful to help Bonnie, or get the hell out!"

The teen stormed out of the basement slamming the door behind him. He was genuinely heartbroken. Jeremy never thought that Bonnie would start dating someone else. He had believed wholeheartedly that they would get back together. He loved her. Jeremy felt betrayed by Tyler. He thought that they were friends.

Tyler looked down at Bonnie and then said, "I'll do it. The rest of you should go. I don't know what is about to happen. I can't risk biting any of you."

Damon snorted. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll take my chances, Wolf Boy."

Caroline was a little nervous but she was determined. She said, "Me, too. Bonnie needs us…all of us. We can't fail her again."

Stefan said, "I am staying, too."

Matt nodded in agreement. "We're here for both of you, Ty."

"Well, it's great all of you are willing to risk your lives. But maybe you should move the one person that can't defend herself from a werewolf attack," Katherine argued.

Damon smirked at her. "You're not going anywhere, Kitty Kat. We'll protect you from the Big Bad Wolf. After all, you are still in Elena's body. We actually care about what happens to her."

She gave an annoyed huff and glared at him.

Tyler started disrobing so that he could shift. He could feel the tension already beginning to bleed out of him.

Everyone, with the exception of Katherine, had the decency to look away as Tyler undressed. The vampire whistled and said, "I really should have given you a try…"

Tyler's eyes turned gold and black as he turned to look at her. "You're not my type."

His bones began to break and realign as he shifted. He growled at the pain because he was shifting faster than normal. The wolf was rushing the transformation. He could already feel himself losing control.

Ruby stood close ready to calm him once the transformation was complete.

It turned out to be unnecessary. The black and gray wolf trotted over to Bonnie's unconscious body. He nosed at Bonnie's hand and whined for a few moments. Suddenly, he lifted his large head and let out an ear-piercing howl.

Caroline inched further away because she had witnessed Tyler being out of control in the past.

Stefan moved closer to shield Caroline.

The wolf howled again but this time it was louder and seemed more demanding. The large beast bit into Bonnie's hand. The bite was so powerful that its front canines went straight through the other side. It was obvious that even in this state he was being careful. A werewolf had the jaw strength to crush a human hand.

Damon was about to intervene when Bonnie's body seized upward. Her fingers started transforming into claws.

Matt stared in shock. He had known that something was going on between Tyler and Bonnie but this had never crossed his mind.

Caroline muttered, "Oh my God, Bonnie really is a werewolf."

Ruby shook her head and said, "No, she's a hybrid."

The older woman couldn't help but smile despite the dire circumstances. She had no doubt that Bonnie would recover soon. Tyler had found a worthy mate. They were going to have two hybrid alphas leading their pack.

Bonnie stopped seizing and her eyes fluttered open. They were still golden but she was alert. She blinked in confusion before zeroing in on the wolf. "Ty?" she asked in a shaky voice.

The wolf removed its teeth from Bonnie's hand and lovingly licked at the puncture wounds. Afterward he moved to nuzzling at Bonnie's neck.

She joked, "Your breath smells terrible. Would it be weird if I bought you a pack of Dentastix?"

Ruby huffed out a laugh.

He licked her face happily.

Bonnie closed her eyes tiredly and scratched behind his ear. "How long was I out?"

"About 45 minutes," Damon replied. "You had us all scared, witchy. There are easier ways to take a power nap."

Her lips curled into a smile at his joke. However, she could hear the genuine relief in his voice. Bonnie slowly retracted her claws without even thinking about it. "I wasn't napping. I was in a trance. Grams was there to meet me. The spirits know about what the Travelers are doing and they are worried."

"They should be," Katherine replied. "Markos is not playing around."

Stefan asked, "Did Sheila have any tips on how to stop them?"

Bonnie went back to scratching behind Tyler's ear. She found the action to be soothing. Even in his wolf form, she could sense his contentment through the bond. She looked at him and asked, "Can you change back now? You really need to be part of this conversation."

Tyler backed away from the couch and lowered his head. Slowly his claws retracted and his black and gray fur began to recede. Once he was human again, Tyler slowly got to his feet. He pulled on his boxers and pants. He and his wolf were at peace once again. He could feel the bond pulsing between him and Bonnie. She was feeling so many things at once that he had a hard time identifying everything. However, the one emotion that stuck out the most was love.

Bonnie slowly sat up but she was feeling a little lightheaded. Her eyes had gone back to normal for now.

The hybrid was at her side immediately. Tyler sat next to Bonnie and said, "Take it easy…"

Bonnie rested her head on his shoulder. She laughed softly. "I'm okay. I am just feeling a little dizzy from the trance. It'll wear off soon."

He kissed the top of her head.

Caroline couldn't believe how close Bonnie and Tyler seemed.

Ruby asked, "Do you need anything? I can make some tea if you have any. Maybe something to eat would help with the dizziness."

Bonnie smiled at Ruby as if she just realized that the woman was present. "Oh, I don't want to put you out."

Ruby smiled in return. "It is no trouble at all."

Tyler nodded at her. "Tea and something to eat would probably be good. She hasn't eaten a real meal in hours."

She said, "I will find my way around the kitchen then. You can fill me in on everything later."

"Thank you," Tyler said.

Ruby squeezed his shoulder in support and then left the basement with a pleased smile on her face.

Bonnie said, "I have good news and bad news…."

"What's the good news?" Stefan asked.

"The spirits have been working on a way to stop the Travelers. They are going to need the help of a few very powerful witch bloodlines. Some of those bloodlines are already established covens. That is the good news. The bad news is that one of those covens isn't going to be happy to see us."

Damon rolled his eyes skyward. "Let me guess…the Gemini Coven."

She nodded. "Their bloodline is old and powerful. The Gemini Coven and the Bennett Coven were allies until the witch-hunts drove us from our homes in Salem. We are going to need their help. Grams said their coven is already tracking the Travelers. She and some of my other ancestors are trying to get through to as many Bennett witches as possible."

Stefan asked, "There are more Bennett witches?"

Bonnie nodded. "We are fractured and scattered but our numbers are not few. We are descended from Qetsiyah. She is the one that set all of this in motion with that immortality spell. The Gemini Coven are descended from the witches that cursed the Travelers. It is our duty to clean up this mess."

Katherine said, "That's big talk for someone that's no longer a witch."

The girl merely smiled at Katherine. "I took you down easy enough with a right hook and an immobilization potion."

Tyler chuckled and pressed a kiss to Bonnie's temple. He had never been so relieved in his life.

Bonnie squeezed his hand in response. She was okay but there was something she needed to tell him in private.