Bonnie stayed in the meditative trance until the following evening. Stefan was waiting for her with a dozen bags of blood but she ignored him for a few minutes. Immediately, she realized that her transition to a witchpire was complete. She could detect the changes in her body and magic without much effort. She could not explain why her magic felt more dynamic in this body that lingered between life and death. That was another thing, Bonnie could sense that she wasn't quite as dead as other vampires were. Her body's ambient temperature was the first clue that she was different from traditional vampires. Bonnie was warm to the touch. She was not as warm as a living human would be but she was close enough.
She frowned because Stefan was talking and interrupting her self-assessment. Bonnie gave him a sour look and asked, "What?"
Stefan noted her attitude but decided against commenting on it. He needed her focused not pissed off at him. He said, "Damon has decided that he's going to join our road trip."
Bonnie huffed out a laugh and languidly stretched across his bed. "Yeah, that's not going to happen. I don't want a babysitter, chaperone, or whatever he is trying to be."
"I told Damon as much, but he's your soul mate, too. He's not going to agree to let you out of his sight. I can't say that I blame him. I certainly have no intention of letting you go anywhere without me. But his presence will complicate things."
"A threesome with Klaus is good fun. A foursome with Damon is way too cocks for my liking," she said while wrinkling her nose. She stared up at the ceiling as she tried to think of way to get rid of Damon.
A day ago, she would have suggested killing him. Frankly, it was still a viable option, but her conscience was back. However, it wasn't as loud and judgmental as it once was. Besides, there were other ways to distract Damon. The vampire saw himself as some sort of maverick, but he was painfully predictable. There were only two things he cared about: Stefan and Elena. If either of the doppelgangers were in any sort of peril, he would forget all about Bonnie. She just had to figure out how much chaos her recalibrated conscience would allow her to cause.
Stefan glared at Bonnie and growled, "I'm not sharing you with Damon under any circumstances. But definitely not in the same bed. I have my limits."
"There's no need to get all growly, Stefan. Klaus is the only other vampire I plan on screwing in the near future. As for our Damon problem, I'll figure that out before the snow melts. In the meantime, we have other plans to make. When need to get rid of Klaus' vindictive bitch of a mother before we return his coffins. We can't have him getting nostalgic and deciding to wake her up considering she wants to kill her children and us with them."
He relaxed once Bonnie started talking about their plans for Klaus. He stretched out beside her on the bed. "What did you have in mind for Esther?"
Bonnie glanced at Stefan and booped him on the nose. "Well, we have to kill her, silly. I thought that would be obvious. I think the witches on the Other Side will be quite pleased with that development. Esther should have been dead long ago, she's only a witch. There is something unnatural keeping her alive. I am going to convince Lucy to help me open the coffin and kill her."
Stefan liked her plan. Klaus might never open Esther's coffin but his siblings were wildcards. He didn't know enough about their individual relationships with Esther to make an educated guess. He stroked a hand down Bonnie's side and asked, "Do you think Lucy will be easy to convince?"
Bonnie scoffed and sneered, "I could practically smell the guilt and self-loathing on her yesterday. She feels guilty for skipping town without a single warning about Klaus. I'll play on Lucy's guilt to secure her cooperation. You worry about finding a safe way to transport Klaus' siblings. I don't think he will be very receptive to a threesome if they're damaged or lost in transport. We also need to find him…"
Stefan chuckled as he listened to Bonnie. She was right. Lucy had been watching over her little cousin like a mother hen since she arrived. She felt guilty for abandoning Bonnie while she was in the path of a psychopath like Klaus. The guilt was multiplied exponentially since Klaus was the reason Bonnie had been killed in such a brutal way.
He said, "Transportation is easy enough. I'll acquire an 18-wheeler but we'll need a protection spell on it. We can't have someone stealing the cargo like...I did. You're right, showing up on Klaus' doorstep empty-handed would be ill-advised."
"Any idea where your bestie is hiding out? You said you didn't think he'd be coming back to Mystic Falls for awhile," she complained.
Stefan looked thoughtful and replied, "The last time we spoke, Klaus was making a nuisance of himself out in the desert. Apparently, there are a lot of werewolf packs out west. He started in the Pacific Northwest and has been traveling South since. He has a place near Las Vegas. He would probably use it as his home base."
Bonnie sat up with a grin. She bounced on the bed and asked, "Las Vegas? I've always wanted to go to Vegas. Can we go, Stefan?"
He chuckled at Bonnie's unrestrained excitement. "I'll take you to Vegas even if Klaus isn't out there. You and I could have a lot of fun there. The largely transient population of the strip makes it prime real estate for vampires. We can eat and erase til our hearts' content."
"And gamble! And cheat at gambling," Bonnie gushed excitedly.
Stefan barked out a surprised laugh and pulled Bonnie on top of him. Seeing her bare thighs peeking out from underneath that dress was having an effect on him. "You want to cheat at what?"
"Well, with my magic...it would probably be easiest to cheat on craps or roulette," she said after some thought. Bonnie squirmed to get comfortable on top of him. She felt her magic react when Stefan touched her. It was entirely too pleasurable and curious. Bonnie wondered what it meant. Was this related to their soulmate marks?
He hummed in agreement and said, "We should probably start at smaller casinos so that you can practice."
She nodded eagerly and said, "And I want to see Cirque du Soleil."
"Any other demands?"
"Not now. I'll probably think of more at some point. Now I want blood," Bonnie said. She reached across the bed and grabbed a couple bags of blood.
Stefan slipped his hands up Bonnie's dress while she devoured the blood.
She said, "I want to remove Klaus' commands from your head tonight."
"Tonight?" he asked with a frown. "I thought you wanted to wait until we left the boarding house."
"Well, we're making all these plans but it could all go to shit once you have your free will again. I have to know that you are worthy of including in my plans. If not, I'll ditch you and Damon the first chance I get," Bonnie explained practically.
Stefan wrapped his hand around Bonnie's throat and brought her face down to his. "You're not going to get rid of me that easily. You and I have plans and I intend to see them through."
Bonnie grinned at the dark look in Stefan's eyes. She really did enjoy provoking him. That probably wasn't healthy but she didn't care about healthy. She turned her head to the side and bit into his neck without warning.
He was stunned for a moment but then growled as Bonnie gorged on his blood.
Slowly Bonnie pulled away from Stefan's neck with a smirk.
"I brought you perfectly good human blood," he said amused.
She shrugged and licked her lips. "I like the way you taste."
"Is that right?"
She nodded and licked at the blood staining his neck as the puncture wounds closed.
"And how do I taste?" he asked curiously.
Bonnie seemed to contemplate his question. Then she said, "You taste like you belong to me. I like that."
Stefan was taken aback by the answer.
Bonnie hopped out the bed before he could say anything else. She sauntered into the bathroom to check her appearance. She washed her face and then reapplied her make-up.
"What are you doing?" he called from the bed.
She walked out the bathroom with a sly smile. "I have to go pretend to be nice Bonnie. The spell I'm going to perform on you is new to me. I should probably have a trial run. I'm going to start with Tyler and that annoying sire bond."
Damon had been looking for Bonnie for nearly an hour. He was eager to speak to the girl now that the transition was complete. The boarding house was large but he was familiar with every nook and cranny. It became obvious that Bonnie was staying out of sight purposely. He didn't even bother trying to ask Stefan about her whereabouts. His brother wasn't in the mood to be helpful. He was still irritated that Damon planned to pursue Bonnie. Stefan had foolishly believed that he would willingly allow his soulmate to slip through his fingers. Damon wasn't sure how he felt about magical forces influencing his life, but it was nice to have an explanation for his feelings towards Bonnie.
In the last fifteen minutes, he realized that Tyler was missing, too. It made his search a little more serious. Bonnie had fed from Matt yesterday under Stefan's watchful eye. His brother would have stopped the baby vampire from draining the quarterback if she lost control. Tyler didn't have that sort of safety net now. Perhaps the only factor in the hybrid's favor was his poisonous bite. However, Bonnie could easily manhandle Tyler with her magic. He had watched her fling Stefan across the room just yesterday. Lucy expected Bonnie's power to continue to grow as it settled more firmly in her new body. The older witch was considering joining the trio on their road trip. She was concerned for Bonnie's well-being.
Damon was about to give up on his fruitless search when the cellar came to mind. It was the last place he had considered looking since Bonnie was worried about being imprisoned down there. However, it's use as a supernatural holding cell also made it the perfect hiding spot. No one would have a reason to venture into the cellar. Furthermore, the stone room muffled sounds surprisingly well. No one would hear Tyler screaming for help down there. As he walked down the staircase, his gamble was proven right. He could hear Bonnie's almost melodic voice speaking to the werewolf.
The raven haired vampire opened heavy wooden door and raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of him.
Bonnie had Tyler chained to a chair and she was straddling his lap. She had forced a gag into the teen's mouth but he didn't look too distressed.
"Kinky. Anybody want to explain what the hell is going on here?" he asked.
She looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes at him. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Salvatore. I am healing Tyler. Isn't that right, Ty?"
The werewolf nodded eagerly.
"See," she said smugly.
"Yeah, you're going to have to elaborate on that if you don't want me to intervene because this looks...I don't know what the hell this looks like actually," he admitted.
Bonnie huffed in annoyance. She wasn't overly fond of the idea of explaining herself to the likes of Damon. Frankly, she didn't like the idea of explaining herself to anyone. Who the hell were they to question her?
Instead of giving voice to her rage, she smiled sweetly at Damon. "Well, you know how Tyler is beholden to that pesky sire bond because Klaus turned him. Well, I have a way to remove it."
His eyes went wide because that could be a game changer. If Bonnie could remove the sire bond from Tyler, then she could remove the compulsion from Stefan. However, he was suspicious about her claims. "How come I haven't heard about this before now?"
"Well, before Klaus had me killed I had been researching the process. I didn't mention it to anyone because I wasn't certain I would be able to do it. It is complicated and...painful."
Tyler nodded at the painful part. Bonnie had been frying his brain for the last 30 minutes. However, he could already feel Klaus' pull on him lessening.
Bonnie smirked at Damon and asked, "Now can you leave us alone? I still have a lot of work to do. The sire bond is layered and buried very deep."
"And you're sure that you aren't just torturing the mutt for your own amusement?"
"Would you care if I was?" she asked boldly.
Damon grinned and said, "Probably not but then I'd have to listen to Caroline complain. That...that I can do without."
Bonnie chuckled softly. "She'll thank me later."
He noticed that Tyler had puncture marks on his neck. "Had a snack while you were working?"
She shrugged and said, "I was a bit peckish. This is hard work I'll have you know."
He glanced at Tyler with mild concern.
Bonnie huffed, "I'm not going to hurt Tyler. He used to be my naptime buddy in kindergarten. I mean he turned into an asshole once we were teenagers but all boys do that."
Damon snorted. "Naptime buddy?"
She nodded and placed her fingers onto Tyler's temples once more. She focused her magic on the sire bond. "Our pallets were right next to each other during naptime. We always started out on two separate pallets. But we always ended up closer together when we woke up. Tyler was snuggly and warm even when we were kids."
Tyler growled and bucked as Bonnie sliced through his brain with her magic. His eyes turned gold as his werewolf came to the surface.
"Just a little longer, Ty. You want to be free of Klaus, right. You don't want to be his bitch for the rest of your life. Because let's face it, you've got a long freaking life ahead of you," Bonnie said soothingly.
He glared at Bonnie's word choice but nodded slightly. He would give anything to get Klaus out of his head. He had hurt the people he cared about because of the sire bond.
"I was thinking that this would be a good time to talk, Bon-Bon."
"Now? While my magic is cutting thousand year old magic out of Tyler's brain?" she asked.
He chuckled darkly, "At least you can't run off."
"Whatever. Stefan said you plan on joining us for the road trip. I don't care as long as you don't disrupt my plans. Also, Stefan said I can't have sex with you. He got all possessive about it."
Damon almost choked on air at her response. "Was sex on the table before Stefan ruled it out?"
She shrugged. "Why not? I died a virgin. How pathetic is that? This is what I call a course correction. Besides, you're hot and I like drinking vampire blood so it seemed like a good idea. But Stefan was all I'm not sharing you with my big brother. It was kinda hot actually."
Tyler's eyes went wide at that.
Bonnie laughed at his expression.
"And Stefan runs things in your relationship?" he said to goad her.
She rolled her eyes at the pathetic attempt to manipulate her. "There is nothing wrong with having respect for your partner's wishes. Besides, I have no interest in the two of you fighting like idiots and ruining everything. I'd sooner leave you both to Elena. She enjoys that sort of ridiculous competition between you."
"You don't want us to fight over you?" he asked skeptically.
Bonnie huffed. "I am not a prize to be won. And if I were, I would be looking for better prospects than either of you. What do the two of you even have to offer? No, if someone is going to 'win' me, it would be a far older and more powerful vampire."
"Klaus?" he asked with a dubious look.
"Someone's been eavesdropping on conversations that don't concern him. Did you learn anything interesting about your baby brother?" she asked in amusement.
Damon scowled at Bonnie. He had been eavesdropping and he did learn some things he'd rather not know about his brother. However, he had already guessed that Klaus and Stefan had been involved previously. It was something in the way he looked at Damon's brother. Klaus always hovered between longing and hungry.
"Can't say that I am surprised," he answered.
Tyler bit down on the gag as Bonnie poked a particularly painful area in his head. It felt like his entire body was on fire.
Bonnie chuckled and said, "Neither can I. But I'm not one to judge. I say live and let live. Everyone should find their happiness where they can."
Damon grinned and said, "That's what intend to do."
"Oh? And I suppose that happiness involves me?" Bonnie forced more of her magic into Tyler's head. She could almost detect the root of the sire bond.
Tyler grunted in pain as blood started dripping from his nose. Listening to Damon and Bonnie's banter wasn't making this any easier.
"It could," he conceded. "I would like to figure that out. It's why I told Stefan that I'm leaving Mystic Falls with you."
Bonnie shrugged and said, "If you were smart, you would latch onto Elena while Stefan is distracted. You know eventually he's going to turn his humanity on again. Best you plant your flag on Mount Elena before he's back to normal.
Damon walked up behind Bonnie and rested his hands on her shoulders. He lowered his lips to her ear and asked, "Is there a reason you're trying to get rid of me?"
She tried to ignore the way his thumbs massaged at her shoulder blades.
Tyler shot her questioning look.
Bonnie returned his look because this was an unexpected turn of events. She said, "You are distracting me from my work. Back off!"
Damon chuckled deeply and slowly slid his hands down Bonnie's arms as he pulled away. "Excuse me…"
She felt sparks of magic under her skin from his touch. She rolled her shoulders and tried to ignore the feeling. Bonnie was reminded of having a similar reaction to when Stefan touched her upstairs. This might be harder and than she expected.