Tyler had turned up on Ruby's doorstep three hours ago with his mate and an infant in tow. The older woman had not asked a single question before granting them a place to stay. Furthermore, she assured them that they were welcome to stay with her for as long as they needed. Bonnie and Tyler would be staying in the finished attic where they would have as much privacy as could be expected in a house with another werewolf. The attic would also be easier to defend against attacks. Moreover, the two hybrids could easily survive a jump from that height if the house was suddenly overrun. However, Bonnie didn't plan to allow the situation to become that dire. She had added several ingredients to Damon's 'shopping list'. She planned to place wards that would protect the entirety of Ruby's 43-acre farm.

Ruby's farm had belonged to their family for several generations. It often served as a safe haven for members of their pack. Occasionally, wolves stopping through the area would stay with Ruby for a few nights. Some visitors stayed so long that they eventually decided to find a permanent home in the area. Most of those wolves went on to join the pack but some chose to remain friendly associates. The old farmhouse had five bedrooms. However, the attic was the best space in the house. A few years ago, Ruby had the space converted into a one-bedroom apartment. The full-bath and galley style kitchenette meant the attic was largely self-contained.

Bonnie had wisely decided that they needed to stop at a store for supplies before reaching Ruby's house. The old farm was practically in the middle of nowhere. It would make it harder for the Mikaelsons to find them but it also made popping out to the store a hassle. Bonnie had grabbed the essentials before they escaped her home but the supplies would not last long. As if to prove the point, Mari burned through two diapers within an hour of their arrival. The trio did not have much time to settle into their temporary digs before Tyler's pack began arriving.

Normally, Bonnie would have been nervous about meeting Tyler's pack. She knew how important the pack was to him. These people were his family and he loved them. She was also aware that her sudden introduction might ruffle some feathers. Unfortunately, she did not have the luxury of being sensitive tonight. The meeting centered on the Augustine Group and the looming threat posed by the travelers. Tyler and Bonnie explained the plans for both situations with a steady confidence uncommon for such young people. Yet when watching the two of them together it was immediately obvious that they were natural leaders. If there were doubters among the ranks, no one was brave enough to contradict their alpha and his new mate.

Once the meeting ended, Tyler headed to the converted barn's loft to work with Gabe and Maddox. They needed to arrange the logistics for tomorrow's series of B&E's. Once the Augustine Group headed to the campus for the day, several pack members would break into their rooms to retrieve personal items. Once they brought those items back to the farm, Bonnie would construct the hex bags using the instructions that Lucy had left for her. Tyler would be on hand to compel any humans that accidentally witnessed something they should not. The goal was to eliminate the risk of accumulating innocent human casualties. Primarily, it was because Tyler didn't make a habit of killing innocent humans. However, he was also worried about drawing unwanted attention from Klaus. The original would be looking for them.

Ruby had insisted on properly introducing Bonnie to a few key members of the pack. The young woman did not see the harm in shaking a few hands and kissing a couple of babies if it meant ingratiating herself to the pack. Moreover, she was eager to meet the people that had become an essential part of Tyler's life. While the hybrid trusted everyone in his pack, he sent Jonas along to keep an eye on Bonnie as she made the rounds. Their lives were far too precarious for him to take anything for granted. Tyler hoped to be able to join Bonnie after he finalized the plans with his cousin and the tracker.

Tyler frowned as he looked at the surveillance pictures that Gabe had snapped of the surviving members of the Augustine Group. His work was impeccable as always. Thanks to the talented tracker's efforts, they now had names, faces, and hotel room numbers for every Augustine member lurking around Whitmore College. Furthermore, Gabe had reached out to a contact to have background checks run on each person's identity. Tyler wanted to learn more about these people and the identities of other possible co-conspirators. As they received the information, Gabe would pass it along to other packs that might find it of interest. The group based at Whitmore College had always focused their attention onto vampires. However, other chapters of the group specialized in werewolves, kitsunes, and witches.

He hummed and asked, "And you are sure that you can trick the card scanners on the doors?"

The brown-eyed wolf looked vaguely offended. Maddox said, "Those card scanners are child's play. I tested out my gear earlier when I was helping Gabe with surveillance. We will be in and out of those rooms before anyone is the wiser."

Gabe added, "I also sweet talked the cleaning schedule out of the head of housekeeping. We won't need to worry about maids accidentally interrupting us. They don't start the rounds until noon. Housekeeping likes to wait until after check out time passes."

Maddox grinned and lifted his eyebrows suggestively. "You sweet talked her, huh?"

Tyler rolled his eyes at his older cousin. Maddox might have been nearing thirty-years-old but he had the sense of humor of a teenager. He opened his mouth to speak when he heard a pair of small feet lumbering up the staircase.

A boy that couldn't have been more than ten years old ran so fast that he crashed into Tyler's legs. He looked up at Tyler with big blue eyes. He said, "Sorry, Ty…"

Tyler ruffled the boy's black hair and said, "It's okay. What are you doing up here, Benji?"

He replied, "Jonas said I had to get you to come quick."

The hybrid's spine straightened at the boy's urgent tone. He didn't think Bonnie was in danger because he would feel it through the bond. Currently, she just seemed…angry. He commanded, "Go."

Benji nodded and ran down the stairs as quick as his little feet would take him. He led Tyler to the large fire pit where many members of the pack were congregating.

It took a moment for Tyler to understand what he was seeing. Bonnie had a female wolf, Dakota, pinned to the ground. Even from several yards away, he could hear Bonnie growling from deep within her chest. Dakota was pack but she wasn't related to Tyler like so many others were. He blurred across the field and came to a stop behind his furious mate. Tyler winced when he saw that Bonnie had partially shifted. Her fingers had elongated into claws and they were currently buried in Dakota's chest. He cautiously asked, "Want to tell me what's going on here, Bon?"

Bonnie growled in response because she really wanted to rip out Dakota's heart. Her gold eyes possessed an ethereal glow in the darkness.

Dakota whimpered in pain but remained defiant even as Bonnie's claws inched closer to her heart. The 25-year-old woman's normally beautiful features had been bruised and bloodied by Bonnie's fists. She had expected the witch to resort to magic to fend off the attack. It would have shown the rest of the pack that she was no true wolf. However, the diminutive witch hadn't used her magic once. She had taken Dakota down with skilled hand-to-hand combat and the brute strength werewolves possessed.

Tyler looked at Ruby expectantly since Bonnie was nonverbal. He had experience with being so deep in the wolf brain that speaking no longer felt second nature. He knew that Bonnie couldn't complete the shift because she was pregnant. However, that was likely to further enrage her wolf.

Ruby stood nearby with a smug look on her face as she held Mari for Bonnie. She answered, "Dakota forgot her place with your new missus…"

A few women around Ruby's age nodded in agreement.

Tyler could have separated the women but the move could affect how the pack viewed Bonnie. This was a brutal display of power by his mate but everyone present would understand that she required respect. Bonnie was his mate and the second alpha for the pack. It did not matter that they had not held the ceremony yet.

The brief flicker of hope in blond woman's eyes died when she realized Tyler would not come to her rescue. She shut her eyes and bared her neck to Bonnie in a show of submission.

Bonnie blinked and her eyes slowly went back to the radiant shade of green. She hadn't even consciously known what it was she wanted from Dakota. She had merely listened to her wolf's outraged demands. She slowly withdrew her claws from the older girl's chest and stood up. Bonnie looked down and watched her claws recede into fingers once more. She simply growled, "Never again…"

Tyler motioned to a slender brunette woman that had been watching everything unfold. He said, "Make sure she gets home safely, Fi."

Fiona nodded at her cousin and replied, "Yes, Alpha."

Bonnie wiped her bloody fingers against her jeans. Then she walked over to Ruby and took Mari. She cleared her throat and said, "Uh, thank you for watching Mari for me. I should probably get her ready for bed."

Ruby said, "You are welcome, Alpha."

The girl nodded in acknowledgement and started back toward the house.

Tyler followed Bonnie because they needed to talk about what the hell just happened. However, he was also concerned because her uncertainty bled through the bond. Tyler wanted to reassure Bonnie but that would have to take place behind closed doors. "Are you okay?"

"She never touched me," she replied in a curt voice.

When they reached the attic, Bonnie placed Mari on a blanket that had been spread on the floor. There were a few toys there to keep her entertained. Then she disappeared into the bathroom to wash the blood from her hands—literally.

Tyler sat on the well-worn crimson couch and waited for Bonnie to return. He began, "Bonnie..."

However, she cut him off, "Did you sleep with her?"

He was briefly taken aback by the hard edge to Bonnie's voice. Tyler walked over to her and took her face into his hands. He kissed her softly and then replied, "Never. I don't shit where I eat. It is one of the first things I learned about being an alpha."

Bonnie wanted to believe him but she was apprehensive. Jeremy had made a fool out of her twice. However, she tried to focus on the fact that Tyler was not Jeremy in any conceivable way. "Do you swear?"

He kissed her again and then rested his forehead against hers. He said, "I swear that I never even touched her, Bon. I was nice to her. I occasionally flirted with her because…I am me. But it never went any further than that. I wasn't looking for anything serious and it is always serious when the alpha dates a member of his pack."

It felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She melted into Tyler's embrace and rested her head against his chest. "I completely lost it out there. They must think that I am insane. I guess any hope for a good first impression has flown the coop."

"I don't know if that is true. You were a little preoccupied at the time but I didn't see anyone particularly upset about the situation. Dakota obviously crossed the line and everyone out there knew that. More importantly, they respected your position and did not intervene. Do you want to talk about what happened?"

Mari tossed a chocolate colored teddy bear in their direction and fussed loudly.

Bonnie looked over at her little cousin and said, "Maybe after I put her to sleep. It is late for her to still be awake."

Tyler pecked her lips and said, "Okay…"

She slid out of Tyler's embrace and went to get the cranky infant. She picked up Mari and smiled at her. "A clean diaper and bottle probably sounds good to you right now, huh?"

Mari grinned at Bonnie and grabbed onto her talisman. It reacted to the infant's touch just as it reacted to the older witch. The talisman glowed bright in her hand. Mari gurgled excitedly.

Tyler lifted an eyebrow and asked, "Is that normal?"

Bonnie frowned a little and said, "Maybe. I hate to admit Katherine was right about anything but this isn't my talisman. It belonged to my great-grandmother. Amelia is Mari's great-grandmother, too."

Mari kicked her legs and gave a squeaky laugh.

She gently tugged on the necklace to pull the talisman from Mari's chubby hands. She joked, "It is too late for you to commune with our ancestors, little miss."

Mari squawked in annoyance and made a grab for the talisman again.

Bonnie grabbed the talisman to keep it out of Mari's hand. Suddenly, random images bombarded her mind. She swayed on her feet and nearly toppled over.

Fortunately, Tyler sped across the room in seconds to catch Bonnie and Mari. He steered the dazed witch over to the couch and then plucked the infant from her arms. Tyler placed her on the floor and then turned his attention to his mate. He moved onto his knees in front of Bonnie and took both of her hands. "Bon?"

The girl's eyes remained uncharacteristically blank for a few minutes. She returned with a shake of her head and groan. She blinked as she looked down at Tyler's concerned face. "Well that sucked…"

He cupped her cheek and asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded and said, "I am just dizzy. It feels like having vertigo."

"What happened?" he asked.

Bonnie's eyes moved to Mari. The baby was sitting on the floor sucking her thumb. Bonnie looked at Tyler again and murmured, "Someone wanted me to know that Lucy is alive. I can't tell if Lucy did some sort of projection or if this was someone meddling from the Other Side."

"You saw her?"

She nodded. Bonnie shivered in response to a memory. She said, "Klaus is injecting Lucy with wolfsbane. Her magic is already depleted because of the hex and now the wolfsbane has made it worse. Her magic doesn't have the time to rebuild because it is fighting the effects of the poison. There is no way that she will be able to escape without help."

Tyler tensed at the mention of wolfsbane. He had experienced the pain and weakness that wolfsbane caused. He couldn't imagine how painful it would be to a new werewolf. More than anything he was disgusted that Klaus would use the herb against his mate. Tyler couldn't imagine willingly doing anything to hurt Bonnie. Torturing his mate would be like torturing himself. He would feel every second of her pain. Tyler could only assume that Klaus and Lucy had not yet completed the bond by consummation. It was also possible that Klaus was twisted enough to resist the imperative to protect his mate that came with the bond.

He said, "We need to be careful going after Klaus now that we know that wolfsbane can hurt you."

Bonnie shook her head. "It is only working because Lucy was already weakened. Normally, her magic would have purged the poison from her system. However, her magic is too busy trying to keep her alive. She lost too much blood while fighting with Klaus and it hasn't been replenished. To make matters worse, she is refusing to take blood from him."

Tyler was confused by that piece of information. Klaus was pumping Lucy full of wolfsbane to weaken her. However, offering her his blood seemed to be at odds with his objective. There had to be something about the situation he was missing. There was also the chance that the flashes that Bonnie saw were out of chronological order.

She sighed deeply. "I promised Lucy to protect Mari from Klaus but I don't feel right leaving her with him. He doesn't seem to want her dead...yet. We both know that can change at any moment. She is so vulnerable. I doubt that she would be able to protect herself."

He pressed a kiss to Bonnie's temple as he stood up. He said, "Maybe Damon will be able to get his friend to help us."

She snorted and asked, "You mean my not-so-dead great-great aunt? She hid from my family for more than eighty years. I am sure she's eager to toss her hat back into the ring."

Bonnie sounded bitter but she understood Elodie's impulse to run away. She felt that way after being resurrected. Bonnie had gotten her fill of fighting and nearly dying. It wasn't nearly as heroic as popular media would have you believe.

Tyler tried for levity when he quipped, "Well, Damon is surprisingly good at winning over women."

She made a gagging noise at the idea of Damon 'winning over' Elodie.

Mari giggled at the strange noises Bonnie was making. She clapped her hands happily.

Bonnie stood and picked up Mari. In a high voice, she said, "You think it is gross, too? We will hex Damon with something nasty if he doesn't keep his 150 year-old junk away from our family tree. Yes, we will. Yes, we will."

Tyler chuckled as he watched Bonnie walk into the bedroom. He called out, "Do you want me to fix her a bottle?"

Bonnie replied, "Yeah. Just some milk would be good since she's already had her dinner."

"I can do that," he said.

The young woman changed Mari's diaper and put her into fresh pajamas before Tyler appeared with the bottle. He frowned and said, "I used the bottle warmer thing. I think it worked right."

She laughed and tested the milk on her hand. Bonnie said, "You could have given it to her cold."

Mari reached for the bottle with a small grunt.

Bonnie gave the baby her bottle and said, "There you go, little miss. Now it is time for little witches to go to sleep."

Tyler had zero experience with babies and very small children. He asked, "Any idea on how to put a baby to sleep?"

Bonnie on the other hand had done her share of babysitting over the years. She said, "I am going to hold her until she goes to sleep. I don't know how easy this will be without Lucy. Would you mind turning out the lights?"

He nodded and said, "I'll be out in the living room if you need me."

"Thanks."

Tyler turned out the light and then closed the double French doors that led into the bedroom. A pair of gauzy curtains provided some privacy. He turned off the lights in the living room, too.

Bonnie's enhanced vision meant that she could see Mari's face clearly in the darkness.

The baby grabbed onto Bonnie's talisman as her eyes grew heavier.

"I hope you see only good things," she murmured softly to her cousin. "Your mama loves you so much that she would risk everything for you. You might not know it now but that is special. I promise that we are going to get her back."

Bonnie thought about her mother. The woman was the perfect example of the type of mother she never wanted to be. Yet Bonnie reluctantly respected Abby's honesty about her inability to be her mother. There were no guarantees that Bonnie would have turned out better adjusted if her unhappy mother had stuck around to raise her. She had a few valid arguments for why her father should have done a runner, too. Bonnie probably would have been better off if Sheila had raised her alone.

It took nearly thirty minutes for Mari to finally fall asleep. Bonnie was on the edge of sleep herself. It had been a long day and she expected tomorrow to be longer. She gently plucked the bottle from Mari's mouth and placed it on the nightstand. Then she tried to slip out of the bed without waking her cousin.

She slowly crept across the room and placed Mari in the portable crib. The crib was one of the supplies that they had picked up earlier. She covered Mari with a small patchwork blanket. The infant's name was stitched into the blanket. Bonnie smiled at the faint magic she felt coming from it.

She quietly slipped out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her. Bonnie eyes moved to the couch where Tyler was lounging.

He tore his eyes away from the TV that he had been watching without volume. He moved to sit up but stopped short when Bonnie shook her head. Tyler put down the remote and opened his arms in invitation.

Bonnie curled up on top of Tyler and rested her head on his chest.

"Everything go okay with Mari?" he asked.

She nodded. "I think seeing Lucy through the talisman helped."

He kissed the top of her head. "Good."

"Thank you for helping me get out of Mystic Falls. I know that this isn't really your problem."

Tyler wrapped his arms around Bonnie. "It is my problem because you are my mate. Besides, I would be going crazy now if you had left without me."

Bonnie practically purred when Tyler's hand grazed the mark on her back. She smiled lightly. "I guess that is a fair point."

He waited patiently for Bonnie to elaborate about what had occurred earlier. However, he had no interest in rushing her. They had all night.

The witch used the quiet to arrange her thoughts into something coherent. The honest answer was that instinct had fueled the fight with Dakota. In retrospect, she didn't think the girl was even spoiling for a fight. It seemed that she was only trying to intimidate Bonnie. The girl's attempt to assert her dominance had gone horribly. Perhaps the only way the night could have gone worse for Dakota was if Bonnie had actually ripped out her heart. The part that scared Bonnie most was that she knew in her heart that she would have killed Dakota if she had not submitted.

Bonnie began, "You are probably going to think that I overreacted earlier."

"I have known you since we were in kindergarten together. I have never known you to be someone that overreacts about anything—even when it would be justified. Anyway, that's not the vibe I got from Ruby. She likes Dakota well enough but it seemed like she was in full support of how you handled the situation."

She tilted her head up to see his face. "Really?"

He nodded and said, "She looked proud. I am not upset with you, Bon. And I am not going to get upset. I just want to understand. Okay?"

Bonnie settled down and rested her head against his chest once more. "I overheard her talking crap about me to a couple other girls. I didn't particularly care about any of that. She didn't say it to me and I could understand why she would be wary of an interloper."

"You are not an interloper," he argued.

Tyler wasn't pleased that other members of his pack had even entertained Dakota's disrespect of his mate. He would have to get names from Ruby in the morning. He knew the group of girls that Dakota usually held 'court' with during pack gatherings. However, he didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"But I am, Ty. Only a few members of your pack had even met me before tonight. Suddenly, you show up with a bonded mate that they don't know. As if that wasn't a big enough slap to the face, I am not a regular wolf. If you combine that with Dakota's feelings for you...it was a recipe for disaster."

He huffed, "I have never given her reason to think that she had a chance of being more than my friend. She's not even my type because she reminds me too much of Caroline."

Bonnie said, "I believe you, Ty. But the other women around her age obviously respect and look up to her. She probably assumed if you were going to take a girlfriend it would be someone from the pack. Ruby is obviously the most powerful woman in the pack because she is your beta. However, you weren't going to date her since she's your cousin."

"And she's old enough to be my mother," he quipped.

"Exactly."

Tyler wasn't happy but Bonnie's reasoning made sense. In the beginning, he had appreciated Dakota's efforts. She had helped him ingratiate himself with the younger members of the pack. He didn't have to work as hard to win over the older members of the pack. They more closely adhered to pack tradition. He was the alpha because he had defeated the previous one. Moreover, his bloodline dictated that he should lead the pack.

Bonnie continued, "She had bumped into me once while I was talking to Fiona. I tried to brush it off because I didn't want it to turn into a thing. I was still trying to make a good impression on your pack. I had moved on to speaking to Rosanna and Jonas when Dakota shoved me from behind. I nearly fell and probably would have if Jonas hadn't caught me. I turned around and asked Dakota what her problem was. She told me that I wasn't welcome here because I was unworthy of you. She actually challenged me to a fight. Then it felt as if someone flipped a switch inside me. Ruby had come over to intervene on my behalf but I just handed Mari to her. It gets kinda fuzzy after that."

"Spoiler alert…you kicked her ass," Tyler quipped.

She wasn't exactly proud of that. Bonnie said, "I can't believe that I lost it like that."

"I can," he murmured and stroked her back. "I had to do the same thing after I took over the pack. A few people didn't want me as alpha because I am a hybrid. I was not a real wolf in their opinion. I didn't want to fight because I knew that I could seriously injure them or worse. But Ruby told me that it was the only way to make everyone fall in line. I am the alpha and they all have to submit to me, if not the pack falls apart. Only two of them were willing to fight me. I defeated both and gave them an ultimatum. They could fall in line, leave the pack, or die. They chose to fall in line. Tomorrow you will talk to Dakota and give her the same options."

Bonnie looked up at him again. She croaked, "Me? I doubt that she is going to be interested in talking to the person who humiliated her in front of the pack."

"It is your responsibility as my mate, Bon. You are as much their alpha as I am. It is the reason I didn't intervene tonight. Dakota was going to submit to you or she was going to die. If I had stepped in then other members of the pack would have taken it as a sign that you are not deserving of respect."

The girl bit her lip as she considered what Tyler was saying. She sighed, "Okay but I don't like it."

He kissed the top of her head. "I know that you don't like it, Bon. I didn't like it either but I realized that it was necessary. The only way that I can protect my pack is if we are all pulling in the same direction. The pack has to act as one. You and I are one."

Bonnie couldn't deny the warm feeling that washed over her when Tyler said that they were one. "We are, aren't we?"

Tyler gently grasped Bonnie's face and pulled her in for a smoldering kiss. He was just happy that she handled the situation with Dakota so well. Tyler would have killed the girl himself if she had actually hurt his mate. He couldn't believe that Dakota had acted so stupid. It made him wonder if her friends hadn't goaded her into the move. He was determined to get to the bottom of it tomorrow. Tyler knew that Bonnie was capable of defending herself. However, she was pregnant with his baby and shouldn't have to fend off members from their pack.

When she pulled back from the kiss, her heart was racing. She wondered if Tyler would always have this affect on her. She hoped that he did because it was the best feeling in the world.