Tyler walked around the quiet house one last time to ensure that he had locked all the doors and windows. The hybrid felt anxious because of the threats looming over them. The approaching full moon exacerbated the situation. Tyler was tempted to shift again so that he could go for a run, but he didn't feel comfortable leaving Bonnie alone. When he was certain that the house was secure, he turned off the lights and headed upstairs. All of the guests had gone home for the night with one notable exception. Katherine was still shackled in the basement.

Tyler was ready to call it a night. In the last two days, he only managed to sleep for a few hours. Bonnie had been demanding, not that he minded that one bit. Fortunately, her heat was officially over. Ruby had confirmed as much before she left the house. If everything followed the werewolf-mating track, Bonnie would require his closeness for a few days. Afterwards her hormones would level out and they could resume their normal schedules. Tyler needed to pay special attention to her scent in the coming weeks. Ruby explained that there would be a noticeable difference if Bonnie was indeed pregnant.

Bonnie was wearing one of Tyler's t-shirts. She was sitting on the edge of the bed rubbing lotion onto her legs. She had taken a shower and dressed for bed while Tyler talked to Gabe on the phone. Despite their traveler problem, the couple had decided that it was better for Gabe to remain focused on the Augustine Group and Enzo. They needed to know if there was a legitimate threat or if Katherine had made up the story to garner Stefan's attention. Bonnie had been surprised when Tyler asked for her input on the matter. However, he had insisted that it was her right as his mate. It would take some time to get used to the significance of that.

Tyler watched Bonnie for a moment before shucking off his jeans. He tossed the pants and his t-shirt onto a nearby chair before climbing into bed. "Did you have a good shower?"

Bonnie nodded as she closed the bottle of lotion and placed it on her nightstand. She scooted across the bed so that she was close to Tyler. The green-eyed girl was embarrassed to admit that she felt overwhelmingly clingy right now. She said, "It would have been better if you had joined me."

He smirked as he thought about seeing Bonnie's body glistening with water droplets. His manhood twitched with interest. Tyler pulled Bonnie even closer to him and kissed her. "I'm sorry. Talking to Gabe took longer than I thought it would."

Bonnie instantly became concerned. She knew that Tyler had been reluctant to involve his pack in the supernatural shenanigans that seemed endemic to Mystic Falls. She asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine for now. Gabe was just updating me on what he has learned so far," he replied.

Bonnie's eyes widened. "Wow, he moves fast."

Tyler chuckled because Gabe's abilities used to surprise him, too. The man had tracked him to the Appalachian Mountains with minimal effort. Therefore, he had come to expect Gabe's otherworldly skills. He said, "Ruby swears that Gabe is the best tracker she has ever met. I believe her."

"I believe her, too." Bonnie asked, "Did he have anything interesting to report?"

He nodded. "He found the house Enzo is renting. It is about ten miles outside of Mystic Falls. Gabe found signs of a struggle and blood. The house looks like it has been tossed, too. He thinks that Enzo might have been grabbed a couple days ago."

She didn't relish telling Damon that his friend was either a prisoner or dead. The cocky vampire wasn't exactly known for making friends easily. She asked, "Does Gabe know if the blood belonged to a human or a vampire?"

"Some of it belonged to a human but Enzo is a vampire. That blood could have been left behind by someone he brought home as a snack. Gabe is going to start poking around Whitmore first thing in the morning. I told him not to go there alone. I can't risk sending him into an ambush without backup."

Bonnie sighed softly. "I was really hoping that Katherine was lying. I guess that would have been too easy."

Tyler nodded and slid his fingers through Bonnie's hair. He said, "Let's not jump to any conclusions but it doesn't look good. We just have to hope that if the Augustine Group is involved that they don't realize we are on to them."

"I understand that the Augustine Group was started because they wanted to protect humans from vampires. It is a noble goal. However, I don't understand how it evolved into this. What kind of logic do they use for justifying torturing and experimenting on sentient beings?"

He said, "Anybody can justify anything to themselves if they try hard enough. Bon…"

She looked up into his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Tyler sighed as he searched for the right words. "If this turns out to be a legitimate threat, we'll have to kill them all. They know too much about vampire biology. There is a chance that they might know about werewolves as well. I can't let them take that knowledge to set up somewhere else. We have to destroy them and the research they have compiled."

Bonnie frowned because she didn't like the idea of killing humans. However, the Augustine Group had put them all in a tenuous position. Damon and Enzo had killed the faction at Whitmore College. That should have been the end of it. However, they couldn't allow other members of the organization to pick up where their colleagues stopped. "I understand…"

"Really?" he asked in a skeptical tone.

"I don't like it but I also don't see an alternative. You, Damon, and Stefan could probably capture these people and compel them to forget everything they know about vampires but I am sure there is a failsafe in place. This organization has been capturing and experimenting on vampires since at least the 1950's. They must have contingencies for that scenario," she replied.

"I'm sorry."

Bonnie didn't want to think about what the Augustine Group would do if they captured Tyler. If they loved experimenting on vampires, then capturing the first sired hybrid would be a dream come true. The very idea sent an icy chill down Bonnie's back.

She said, "This isn't your fault. This also isn't the first time I have had to compromise my lofty ideals. Ethics and morality rarely usurps the desire for survival. I mean I won't kill an innocent person to save my own life but these people are far from innocent. We have people that we care about to protect."

Tyler kissed the top of her head and mumbled, "Yes, we do. How are you feeling?"

"I am better now," she promised.

"And your hand?" he asked.

Bonnie knew that Tyler was still worried about her. She couldn't blame him after what he witnessed. She held up her healed hand and said, "It's like it never happened."

Tyler ran the tip of his finger over the unblemished skin. Then he pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Good…"

"There is something that I've wanted to tell you since I came out of the trance but there were too many people here," she said.

"Okay. What's on your mind, Bon?" he asked.

Bonnie bit her lip for a moment as she tried to decide how to break the news. She had considered a couple dozen ways since the fog in her cleared after the trance. Finally, she settled on just showing him. Bonnie looked at the bottle of lotion on her nightstand and slowly raised her hand.

Tyler watched in awe as the bottle floated across the room before landing on the dresser with a soft thump. He turned to look at his mate with wide eyes. "You've got your magic back?"

She nodded with a small smile. "Yeah. The spirits give and take away at their own discretion. They aren't pleased about what I am becoming but like I said morality and ethics rarely usurp survival."

"You need your magic to stop the travelers," he said in realization.

Bonnie said, "Yep. It is all hands on deck now. They need as many Bennett witches as possible to stop the travelers from destroying the Other Side and spirit magic. It means even disobedient hybrid witches get to use their powers."

Tyler pulled Bonnie into his arms and hugged her fiercely. "That is great news, Bon. I am happy for you. I know it has been hard adapting to life without your powers."

She smiled at him. "It was hard but I think I am a better witch because of it. I know so much more about being a witch because I finally took the time to educate myself. Having powers is great and often a lifesaver but I took down Katherine with a potion I learned from my great-grandmother's grimoire. Those skills are just as important to being a witch."

Tyler kept his arm around Bonnie but leaned against her headboard. "I learned the same thing while I was living in the mountains. Living with the pack made me realize how little I knew about werewolves…about myself. My time in the mountains taught me more than just how to break the sire bond. I listened to the elders tell stories about how werewolves were created. They had all these amazing tales about the original bloodlines. I learned how to hunt and track as a werewolf and in my human form. I used those abilities to sniff out and identify the animal you detected in the woods today. They taught me how to filter out the barrage of information my senses perceive so that I can focus on what is important."

Bonnie looked up at Tyler as he spoke fondly of the friends he had made. She asked, "Do you think that you can teach me all of that, too?"

"Yeah, if you want to learn," he said.

She nodded. "It is stuff I should probably know if I am going to be the alpha's mate."

Tyler said, "I don't want you to feel pressured, Bon. I know that you weren't exactly expecting all of this to happen."

"I don't feel any pressure. I want to be part of your pack, Ty. I want to be part of your family," she whispered.

He cupped her cheek and said, "You already are, Bon. I carry a piece of you with me now. I can always feel you. Tonight when I stopped being able to feel you…"

Bonnie could feel the slice of pain that went through Tyler as he relived that moment. In a soft voice, she said, "When I was on the astral plane, I couldn't feel you either. It was such a strange place and it felt wrong. I was scared and angry. I was so angry that I started to shift."

Tyler studied Bonnie's face as she explained what happened. He realized that Ruby had been right about Bonnie fighting against something while she was in the trance.

"I thought that I was going to die when the bones in my back started breaking and realigning. I was terrified that I was going to shift for the first time without you, but then Grams did something. I don't know what she did, but it stopped me from shifting. My bones went back into place and I didn't feel so scared anymore. I still felt empty without that connection to you. It was as if this giant hole had opened up inside of me."

He pulled Bonnie onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. "Baby…"

Bonnie slid her arms around Tyler's midsection and tucked her head beneath his chin. She could feel his emotions crashing against their bond like waves breaking on the shore.

Tyler stroked his hand up and down her back. His fingers lingered over the mating mark between her shoulder blades. "I am sorry that I wasn't there with you, but I am glad that your grandmother was."

She said, "Something good came out of this. I feel connected to my wolf for the first time. I had felt it before but I didn't understand…not really. Now I feel her and I understand her. Like right now, she is as happy as I am."

He chuckled and said, "It took months living in the mountains for me to achieve that level of connection with my wolf."

Bonnie chuckled with him. "I probably had an easier time connecting with my wolf side because I am a witch. Witches have an affinity for nature and animals. Many of the older witches have animal familiars. I think the curse was sort of muffling my connection with her, but the curse is gone now. When I was on the astral plane, I felt the moment the curse snapped. Grams felt it, too. It was old magic. I haven't felt anything that old since Klaus broke his curse."

Tyler smirked and said, "No wonder Russell Crow is in love with you. You speak his language."

"I guess that you could say that. He certainly likes me more than he likes Damon."

He snorted. "That's not exactly hard to believe, Bon."

"Be nice. Damon is my best friend," she said.

He joked, "Don't let Caroline hear you say that."

She groaned and said, "Don't mention Caroline. She is going to interrogate me as soon as she gets a chance. I think the FBI or some secret intelligence agency trained her. She is scary good at getting the truth out of people."

Tyler had firsthand experience with Caroline's skills as an interrogator. Her sweet smile and crystal blue eyes were beguiling but underneath was a cunning mind. "I can handle talking to Caroline if you would rather not do it."

"No, I can handle it. I mean I understand why she is curious. I would be curious if our roles were reversed. I am just worried that the truth will be hard for her to hear. I don't think that Caroline is over you…not completely. I don't want to damage our friendship. I love her."

He said, "I haven't gotten the feeling that Caroline is eager to reunite with me. She definitely seems into Stefan and that is just fine by me."

Bonnie shook her head. "I don't mean that she wants you back."

He lifted an eyebrow and joked, "Don't pull any punches, Bon."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "You know that isn't what I mean. Just because Caroline doesn't want you back, doesn't mean that she will be okay with you dating her friend."

"What are you saying?"

Bonnie kissed him softly because she could tell that Tyler was becoming agitated. "Caroline's approval or disapproval doesn't change anything for me, Tyler. It would just be easier for everyone if she and Jeremy weren't openly hostile about our relationship. We can't stop the travelers if we cannot work together."

"I am sure that Jeremy will take the news with grace and maturity," he quipped sarcastically.

She laughed and said, "Just remember that you can't kill him."

"I won't kill him. However, I can't promise not to kick Jeremy's ass if he starts acting like a brat with you. You'd think that he would lay low since he is living in my house rent free but…"

Bonnie suggested, "Or you could just crash here a little longer. I mean…until things blow over with Jeremy. This way you wouldn't have to worry about wolfing out on him accidentally."

"Is that the only reason that you want me to stay here?" he asked.

"Well, Ruby said that I would crave your presence for a few days," she said nonchalantly.

"Uh huh," he replied.

Bonnie knew that Tyler could sense her emotions. He knew very how she felt about the idea of him going home. "Are you really going to make me say it?"

Tyler gave his mate a pointed look that said he was definitely going to make her 'say it'.

She let out an exaggerated huff as if confessing the truth was some sort of hardship. She wrapped her arms around Tyler's neck and said, "I think it will take awhile for me to adjust once you go back home. I have liked you being here with me. I will miss you but maybe I won't miss you so much if we have frequent sleepovers."

He grinned and kissed Bonnie passionately. "Sleepovers, huh? Are we going to paint our nails and talk about boys?"

Bonnie bit back a laugh. "Keep it up and I will leave you for Russell Crow. I told you that he occasionally brings me dead stuff and twigs. I think he's trying to woo me. Damon accuses me of spoiling him because I buy crickets and fresh fruit for him."

Tyler gave a lighthearted growl against her neck. "The full moon is only a couple days away. I'd hate to eat your feathered boyfriend when I shift. Crow wouldn't be the weirdest thing I have eaten during a full moon."

She gasped and pulled back to look into his mirthful eyes. "I have my magic again, Tyler Lockwood. I will put an annoying but nonlethal hex on you if anything happens to Russell Crow. Oh! I came across a neat hex in Grams' grimoire. The hex affects the person's taste buds. Everything you eat will taste like dirt."

He flipped Bonnie onto her back and said, "That wouldn't be very nice."

Bonnie grinned up at him. She spread her legs to accommodate him. "Well, eating Russell wouldn't be very nice either."

Tyler moved his lips back to Bonnie's neck and started working on a hickey. He wasn't happy that all of the marks he'd left had already healed. "Okay. I will play nice with your other boyfriend."

She giggled and wrapped her legs around Tyler's waist. "I thought that you would see things my way."

Tyler slid his hands underneath Bonnie's shirt. He pulled back with a wide-eyed expression. "You're not wearing panties."

Bonnie was thrilled by his reaction to something so simple. She said, "Well, my heat is over. We can be together whenever the mood strikes."

"And the mood has struck?" he asked facetiously.

"It struck while I was in the shower but you didn't join me," she complained with a pout.

Tyler said with a glint in his eyes, "Let me make it up to you…"