Originally Published: May 29th, 2014

Villagers

A feisty anon requested: "wolf!klaus." Well my mysterious gray friend, I hope this satisfies your need! This drabble takes place back in Klaus's human days, and it does deviate from the story told in TVD. In this version Klaus gets to spend a few months as a wolf whilst his mother prepares the spell that would change everything.

The pain was unlike anything Klaus had ever experienced in his life. Every lash Mikael had delivered was nothing compared to the sheer agony oh the boy's limbs being broken and contorted every which way. The only thing worse than the physical pain was the doubt that was clouding in his mind. Niklaus was not naïve, he knew exactly what was happening–tonight was a full moon and that could only mean one thing. Nikalus was a werewolf.

After spending years being the bane of Mikael's existence, Klaus finally knew why. The man he'd thought to be his father had no possibility of carrying the werewolf gene, and since Ester was a witch there was only one logical explanation: Klaus was not Mikael's son.

It was strange that one piece of information could be so life altering. Klaus was both liberated and condemned. How could he endure Mikael's beatings or his sharp words knowing the truth? After spending so many nights distraught, praying to God that his father would grow to love him, it was like a weight was lifted—he, for the first time, had hope.

As Klaus's bones continued to break he felt the pain dull and before he knew it, his body something else entirely—he was a wolf. Catching his reflection in the pond beside him, Klaus would have smirked if it had not been for his current state. The wolf starring back at him was sandy blonde and demanded obedience. He was strong. Klaus finally looked like the very thing he always thought he could be: a leader.

Howling once, since it seemed like the only thing to do, Klaus set off at a pace he never thought possible. Dodging between trees and churning the ground beneath him he pushed forward. When he smelled a human village not far off in the distance he had to use every piece of humanity left in him to not storm through and tear apart the human residents.

Killing wasn't something Klaus hoped he would ever grow to do, even though he had triggered the curse it had been the defense of family, of Henrik, and even then his intention had not been to cause great harm. As the wolf's blood thirst died down, something else urged Klaus forward. A force so strong he couldn't have fought against it if he wanted to.

As he surged forward he heard the light noise of music, a song he recognized to be lullaby, being sung by a lone woman. She stood outside what he assumed to be her family's hut, her blonde hair flowing past her shoulders and glimmering in the moonlight as she hung up the laundry.

She was beautiful and seemed so content with her life—something Klaus had never been able to say for himself. He yearned to be nearer to her, but when he took a step forward her head snapped up and their eyes met.

It was like the world had frozen, trapped in the ocean of her blue eyes. Suddenly this random girl was the only thing that mattered—her smile, her happiness, her life was now of the utmost importance. This stranger had in an instant removed all memories of Taita, someone whom a day ago Klaus would have readily declared himself in love with.

The blonde's eyes held no fear, only wonder, and as curiosity took the better of her she took a step forward. There was no sense of predator and prey between them, but before Klaus could relieve any of the distance between them and do what his instincts were telling him to do, a door creaked and the spell was broken.

"Caroline, come back inside before you catch your death." A worried mother called from inside the home.

"Yes, Mama" she mumbled, walking back inside. When she turned around to get one last glimpse of the wolf he was gone.

For weeks the two only dreamed of each other. Going crazy with a need neither of them understood. Whilst Caroline may have had no inclination of the situation, Klaus had the upper hand. The boy dodged Mikael at every corner, and collected as much information about his kind as he could. It wasn't long before he knew exactly what was happening—he had a mate.

Not just any mate, but a beautiful, brave, and strong one. Someone whom, although he had quite literally only seen a glance of her, he could see an eternity with.

When the next full moon came Klaus was ready. The pain was nothing compared to the excitement he felt at the prospect of seeing his mate, his Caroline, again. Following the same pull that had brought him to her the first time, Klaus arrived at her bedroom window and spent the night listening the the steady beat of her heart.

If any one asked, Klaus was not a coward, but he couldn't seem to find the ability to talk to his blonde beauty. She knew he was there, but as months went on, the closest he ever got to claiming her as his own was sleeping below her bedroom window.

One full moon Klaus barely had the energy to complete the transition–the day before had been long and strenuous, Mikael and Ester were obviously up to something, and the stress of their secret had been taken out on Klaus's back—repeatedly. The calm feeling that came with being around Caroline lulled Klaus to sleep and before he knew it, the morning sun was shining upon his bear back.

"Do you make it a habit of sleeping naked just outside of an unwedded girl's home?" A voice asked—the very voice that had been filling his dreams since the first time he laid eyes on her.

"My apologies." Klaus mumbled unable to meet her gaze. Of all the ways he could of officially met her, it had to be on that made him look like some sort of unmanned schlepper.

"It's okay." Caroline said softly, her hand automatically going to his back where the markings of the lashing—some as fresh as the day before—were clearly evident. "Here," she continued throwing some trousers at him and a shirt, "they were my father's, they'll be loose but it's the best we could do."

Klaus grunted his thanks and quickly got dressed. How was he supposed to explain that she was exactly where he was supposed to be?

"Would you like to join us for breakfast, my mother assured me that–" when their eyes met Caroline froze.

She knew it was crazy, after all men who turned into wolves were things of legends. The eyes looking back at here were identical to the ones she saw every full moon watching her from afar. For whatever reason, there was an undying truth that flooded Caroline's mind—this man was the wolf.

Klaus watched as the confusion and disbelief danced across her features. Somehow Klaus knew that a part of her understood–knew what he was, what they were.

With a deep breath he steadied himself. Klaus would need all the courage he possessed to explain who he was and what she meant to him. The fear of her rejection would be enough to scare even the bravest solider, but it was a risk Klaus knew he had to take.

Deciding to start simple, Klaus gave her a lopsided smile as he stepped forward and took one of her hands in his, before he whispered the two words he'd been dying to say for six months.

"Hello, Caroline."