So here is the first chapter of Unleashed. Again, this has not been betaed, so if you catch any mistake, please, tell me so I can fix it.

To everybody that favorited, followed or reviewed: thank you. It was certainly more than I expected.

Edited: 02/08/15

Reedited: 25/03/18

Chapter 1

Isabella entered her hotel room as if the very hounds of hell were on her heels. She locked the door and backed away. As if locked doors are going to be enough to stop them, she thought self-deprecatingly. And if her thoughts possessed a shred of hysteria in them, she decided to ignore it. Her face was ashen and she was shaking. Her eyes were unable to focus on one thing only, darting from one corner to the other, searching imagined shadows for imagined attackers.

She continued her slow retreat, not really paying attention to her surroundings; she was trying to focus her hearing, hoping – and not hoping at all – to catch any sound other than her labored breathing and thunderous heartbeat.

Unsurprisingly, she didn't see the suitcase beside the bed, concentrated as she was on what could possibly come from outside her bedroom. But she certainly felt it when her back came in contact with the unforgiving and hard frame after she, with a surprised squeal, tripped over said luggage and fell backwards, crashing against the bed.

She just stayed there for a while, thinking about her situation and sporting a sore back.

Somedays, she just couldn't believe her bad luck. First in Forks, and now here! What the fuck was wrong with her? Was she some kind of magnet to supernatural creatures or some shit like that? Vampires that were cold and hard as stone – and acted like that too, came the unbidden and thoroughly bitter thought – natives that turned into horse-sized wolves and vampires that were just like the ones in the books. What is next? Witches, traditional werewolves, fairies, elves…? She would love to meet an elf. Maybe he would be as awesome as Legolas. Or maybe she would be able to finally meet Harry Potter.

She put a lid on those thoughts because hey, she knew real werewolves and witches existed! He had told her that much. And considering her shitty luck, it would be easier for her to encounter a true lycanthrope on the full moon and serve as its chew toy than to encounter a handsome elf, if those were even real.

She ran a hand through her hair. How was this her life?

The buzz of her vibrating phone snapped her out of her daze. With trembling hands, she reached out to it and answered without checking the caller ID.

"Hello?" Her voice came out with a slight tremble.

"Isabella Marie Swan, you inconsiderate bitch!" Angela's voice sounded in her ear, scolding her, and Isabella felt like sobbing, relieved at having something familiar to keep her from drowning. Dear, sweet Ang… as always, the lifeline to which Isabella clung to. "Why didn't you call me to tell how things are going? You promised, remember?"

After the Cullens left, and after Isabella came out of her fog, Angela Weber became her best friend. And then, through the years, she became more than that; she became Isabella's sister. She had been the one who almost single-handedly put Isabella back on her tracks after she woke up kind of lost from her zombie state. From starting to live again – Edward's stunt almost destroyed her, after all – to discovering her connection to the Salvatore family and meeting Zach, Angela had been with her through it all.

"Ang," she choked on the word. How she was going to tell dear, sweet Angela, who loved Zach as much as she did, about what she was sure had happened here?

But Angela apparently didn't hear the way her voice trembled as it left her, because she continued her interrogation. "So, how are things in Mystic Falls? The same since we were last in there, I suppose. The curse of small towns… Are you at the Boarding House yet? How is Zach?" Question after question was fired up in quick succession, and Isabella knew she wasn't the only one worried. Ang was just like her, shy and prone to long silences. But Zach had been unreachable and now here she was, trying to get as much information out of Isabella as she could.

"Ang," she tried to interrupt Angela and make herself heard, but her voice still quivered and her friend was a little too caught up in her anxiousness to hear her; which did nothing to calm her already frayed nerves. Isabella's composure was, admittedly, already shot to hell; she didn't the other adding to it. So, in an effort to calm herself down enough and be able to convey herself clearly, she took a deep breath. She counted to ten, then released. She did it until she felt her heart slowing down from its frenetic pace.

On the other side of the line, Angela had finally gone silent. Isabella could faintly hear it when she also breathed in deep, clearly doing the same thing to calm herself.

"Bell?" Ang asked quietly and a strangled sob left her lips, because Angela and Zach were the only ones she allowed to call her Bell. Her father and Jacob called her Bells from time to time – usually when feeling overly affectionate – and her mother and the rest of Forks still called her Bella.

After the Cullens had left her, and after she had recuperated from her catatonic state, Angela had asked her if she hadn't found it weird to have complete strangers calling her by a nickname. Bella had known what she had meant, that nicknames were for those close to you, to give you a sense of intimacy. But Bella had never liked her full name, and she had tried to explain that aversion without sounding somewhat childish. At the end of the conversation, Angela had been calling her Bell ("So it will mean something when I call you.") and Bella had promised to try and overcome her dislike of her name.

She had done it once she had matured. Because Bella had been the name of a little girl full of dreams, low self-esteem and rose-colored glasses, who believed that love conquered all; who believed that her perfect, copper-haired Adonis would make her into his perfect goddess and they would love each other forever. Bella had been the girl who crashed down when that image had been crushed into dust.

Isabella was the name of the woman who reinvented herself; the woman who overcame the phantasies of a little girl in love and faced reality, only to discover it was harsh: she had almost destroyed her father in her downward spiral, the man who loved her the most, while the world had moved on without her. Isabella was the woman who picked up the broken pieces of herself and forged them into something new, probably not as beautiful as what had been before, but certainly sturdier, made to endure.

Hearing the affectionate moniker in Angela's distressed voice made reality crash down on her – the harsh, harsh reality – and she felt the tears start to spill from her eyes. She still couldn't believe what her brain told her was the undeniable truth.

"Bell?" Angela was still on the phone, and her voice showed just how worried she was. Dear, sweet Ang… what would I do without you?

"He's gone, Ang" was all she said; all she could say. Despair was closing up on her and she was starting to drown in it (drowning in despair and sorrow and grief and oh my God! Will the pain ever cease?), even as she kept on clinging with all her might to Angela. Because even though she had made herself sturdier, nothing was ever enough when a loved one left us forever.

"Who's gone?" Angela's voice was a mix of concern and apprehension. Isabella remained in silence. "Bell, who's gone?" Her voice was more assertive now, demanding an answer.

The only response Isabella could give was another strangled sob. How could Isabella tell her when she hadn't even told it to herself? Oh, she knew deep down it was true, even if no one had told her. She didn't need anyone to tell her, and that was why she wept. But even then, she hadn't uttered it. It was way too painful.

But when she heard Angela cursing softly on the other side (dear, sweet Angela, who was the daughter of a Minister, and who, unlike her, would only utter these words in the direst circumstances), she knew she would have to tell her.

Isabella closed her eyes.

After getting away from the Boarding House, she stopped at the center of the town. It was best to stick to populated areas until she could get back to her hotel room. Make it so her scent got lost amongst the others.

Once again, she ran into Sheriff Forbes. This time, though, she was accompanied by Carol Lockwood. Mrs. Lockwood, or Mayor Lockwood now that she had taken over after her husband's death (Shouldn't there have been an election or something like that? She thought absentmindedly), immediately expressed her surprise at seeing Isabella in Mystic Falls and welcomed her back enthusiastically. After a few minutes of asking how she was doing, Mrs. Lockwood asked her if she had had any news on Zach. She was confused, of course.

"I don't want to sound rude or anything, Mrs. Lockwood," she started cautiously, "but the only reason I am in Mystic Falls is to see Zach."

"I told you, Carol, that she didn't know," Sheriff Forbes said. She turned to Isabella then. "Earlier I didn't have the time to inform you, but Zach is out of town on family business."

She slowly nodded her head. "That was what Damon said too."

She could see how both women visibly brightened at the mention of the blue-eyed man's name. She almost raised an eyebrow at their reaction.

"Oh! Damon…yes…" The blonde started. "He has been taking care of things here while Zach is absent."

"That's right," Carol agreed exuberantly. "He has been doing a lot for this town since he and his brother arrived. Have you met Stefan too?" Isabella shook her head. Honestly, if it had depended on her, she wouldn't have met Damon either. Her experiences with vampires plus Zach's warnings were enough incentive for her to stay the fuck away.

It was then that everything clicked inside her mind as she had one of her many epiphanies: Zach not answering her calls, him going away without warning her or Angela, the brothers' presence in the town. She inhaled sharply, her heart refusing to believe the reality her mind was showing her. And by God, she wanted to be wrong! She wanted it so badly! But she had always had the annoying habit of drawing the right conclusions from the clues she gathered. Must be Charlie's influence showing.

"I gotta go," she told them a little shakily, interrupting whatever they were saying (something about her having to get to know them since they were Zach's nephews, which made them her family too). She had to get away. "I'll see if I can get in contact with Zach. Sheriff, Mayor, it was good to see you again." And she was gone.

"Bell?" Angela's voice brought her back. "Come on, sweetheart, you have to tell me what's going on so I can help you," she cooed, but Isabella barely listened.

She opened her eyes and was greeted by the sight of the hotel room she was staying at. She took a deep breath to center herself – she didn't even try to wipe away her tears, knowing it would be useless, as they wouldn't stop coming – and opened her mouth.

"The brothers are back," she simply said, knowing that the other Ang would draw the same conclusion she had. True to her prediction, a few moments later she heard it when Angela's breath caught soundly in her throat.

:::

"Damon Salvatore."

Isabella froze. You've got to be fucking kidding me! She thought despairingly. If there is a God up there, He must really hate me. Wasn't it only minutes ago that she was thinking about the impossibilities of ever meeting the infamous brothers? It's not looking so impossible now, she thought bitterly, watching the man in front of her. She was once again thankful to her observational skills when she saw the minute tensing of his shoulders and the narrowing of his eyes in response to her body locking in place.

"I-I…" She took a deep breathe to calm her nerves. Come on, Swan, you can do it! She turned her eyes away from him. Once calm, she stared at him again. "Sorry about that." She gave him the most embarrassed smile she could muster. "It's just that Zach told me about you. You're supposed to be the bad brother, right?" Damon just raised an eyebrow at that.

"If I'm the bad brother, it means that there is a good one," Damon smirked. Despite herself, she couldn't help but perceive a note of sardonicism in the curve of his lips. "Would you like to come in?" He gestured inside.

Isabella swore her heart stopped beating for a moment. Step inside the Boarding House with Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome here, without Zach to back her up? So not happening! After the Cullens' departure she did everything she could to develop a sense of self-preservation. She wasn't going anywhere with Mr. Vampire. The scar on her wrist said so.

She looked at the wrist where her bite mark was concealed by the long-sleeve of the shirt she was wearing. The tingling told her that whatever Zach told her about Damon's nature was more than likely true. It tingled when she was around Jacob or when Victoria was relatively close, there was that teacher in high school, and the first time she met Sheila Bennett and Richard Lockwood – though when around the deceased mayor, it wasn't as strong as with the others.

"I would love to Mr. Salvatore—"

"Damon," he interrupted her. "Mr. Salvatore makes me feel old," he gave her a charming smirk.

"Damon," she conceded. Experience taught her that antagonizing vampires usually didn't lead anywhere. "But I still have some things to do before calling it a night." And it wasn't even a lie. She did have things to do, planning her escape taking precedence over anything else. She would have to find a way to get away from the town without arousing suspicion. "Do you know when Zach is coming back?" She repeated her earlier question while looking at him through her lashes. For some reason, being in Damon's presence had made her incredibly shy. The charming way he was treating her wasn't helping.

"He didn't say," he answered her. "But next time I talk to him, I'll tell him that you came looking for him, miss…"

She felt her cheeks heating as the blush presented itself once again. Though embarrassed for not having introduced herself, she was also reluctant to do so. She didn't want him to know who she was; that way, he couldn't find her if he went looking. But she also didn't see any other way out of it now. She glanced at him again and saw the amused spark in his eyes. Good to know he is finding this so entertaining, she mentally grumbled. Isabella sighed. Oh well, nothing she could do now. So, she straightened herself, plastered a smile on her lips, looked at him in the eyes and extended her hand.

"Isabella Swan."

:::

Damon was sitting in one of the many couches that littered the living room of the Boarding House, a glass filled with bourbon in one hand. He was thinking about the visitor he had earlier today: the pretty and shy brunette that had knocked on his door, looking for his nephew. She had looked vaguely familiar, though, for the life of him, he couldn't figure exactly why.

"I-I…" The girl took a deep breath. Damon could see how she forced herself to relax. Despite himself, he was impressed; there weren't many people who could do that once wary of him. "Sorry about that. It's just that Zach told me about you. You're supposed to be the bad brother, right?" She looked sheepish, and Damon found himself raising an eyebrow. He didn't remember anyone ever apologizing to him for having preconceived notions. How curious.

"If I'm the bad brother, it means that there is a good one," Damon smirked; and if there was a hint of cynicism coloring it, could you really blame him? Typical Zach, badmouthing him while praising Stefan. Especially after 1994 (and Damon was left wondering if Stefan hadn't been strong enough to compel him, or if he had been and compelled Zach to dislike and distrust him). But even if that wasn't the case, Damon still wouldn't be surprised about this kind of attitude. It had been happening since the time he still had been human. Even his father – specially his father – had praised the goodness that was Stefan while demeaning each and every effort Damon had ever made. He should be used to it by now.

He brushed those thoughts aside; they weren't important at the moment. But knowing who this girl was… that was important.

She just offered him a shy smile in response to his statement.

"Would you like to come in?" He gestured inside...

The sound of the front door opening then closing was heard, followed by two sets of footsteps and two voices, announcing the arrival of his brother and his girlfriend, Elena. They came straight to the living room but paused when they saw him there. Damon held back a snort; where had they expected him to be? Maybe he should start passing around memos so everyone would be reminded that this was his home too. Apparently, being a Salvatore wasn't enough anymore.

"Hey," Elena said in greeting while his brother nodded in his direction, going straight to the many bottles of alcohol and pouring himself a glass of bourbon. He just raised his glass in response, for once not willing to talk, and simply observed her.

He took in Elena's oval face, light olive complexion, almond-shaped brown eyes, long brown hair and slim physique. He tilted his head to the side and hummed. This was why he thought Isabella Swan looked familiar. Though there were quite a few obvious differences between them, Isabella could pass as the doppelgänger's older sister.

"Damon!" Stefan snapped at him, causing him to blink. He was still somewhat close to where Damon was sat but had moved to place himself between him and an uncomfortable-looking Elena, green eyes narrowed at him.

Damon blinked again. What had he done now? He suppressed a sigh, suddenly feeling tired. Even when he did nothing, he still got the blame for some perceived slight.

Deciding to ignore his brother for now; he instead chose to ask Elena about this new enigma that had presented herself to him.

"Say Elena," his voice was casual, not letting them in the suspicions he was having. Elena and Jeremy were fine, he couldn't do anything about them without having his brother, Barbie or Witchy bitching at him; John… sadly, John was still useful at the moment so he couldn't kill him yet, but he was slowly getting there. That being said, he didn't need another Gilbert in the town. When he had her attention, he spoke. "Are there any other Gilberts that we should be made aware of?"

"Other than John?" She was clearly confused by his question. That ruled Isabella out as a Gilbert. Maybe a Sommers? "None that I know about. Why?"

"Did something happen, Damon?" Stefan asked him while going back to Elena's side, the frown on his face told Damon he was slightly worried about the theme of the conversation. Not that Damon could blame him. The Gilberts have been on the Founder's Council since the very beginning, and the Council, as a whole, was extremely anti-vampires (Damon himself didn't count, for obvious reasons). If there had been another Gilbert around, then they would surely cause problems to them.

And with Elijah around, they had enough of those.

"There was this really pretty woman who came here today…" He trailed off and lifted his glass to his lips, seeping his drink, thinking.

"So…" Stefan prompted. The impatience he was displaying was a clear indicative that he was starting to lose interest in what he had to say. Damon knew his brother well enough to know what was going on inside his head: of course, a woman caught his Damon's attention! It was inevitable! He held back the urge to curl his lips; St. Stefan was so predictable.

It was a great thing, then, that he wasn't interested in what his brother had to say at the moment, as it wouldn't help him solve the puzzle. He needed – wanted – information about this possible-Gilbert. Who knows, she could be just like Elena and Jeremy had previously been and didn't know anything about the supernatural. He could only hope. Unfortunately for him, his only source at the moment was Elena.

"So, she was looking for Zach," Damon said, looking straight in his brother's eyes, hoping to convey his thoughts on the matter. Stefan stiffened. Well, would you look at that! It seemed his baby brother's attention wouldn't be wandering anymore. "But what I thought really interesting about her is that she could easily pass for your sister," he said redirecting his gaze to the brunette by his brother's side. The sight still made his insides churn; he would never get used to this.

Starting to get side-tracked by his thoughts, he almost missed the look of realization that crossed her eyes. He refocused his attention on her. "You know her." It wasn't a question. Perhaps, if he focused on this new riddle, he could force his thoughts away from the brunette in front of him and what she represented to him.

:::

Elena became slightly flustered at the attention both brothers were bestowing upon her. While she was used to have Stefan solely focusing on her, she still wasn't used – or comfortable really – to have Damon doing the same. The way those ice-blue orbs were craved on her was too intense. Too much. She turned her eyes from his to more familiar green ones, which were regarding her curiously, and centered herself. She shouldn't be entertaining those kinds of thought. She wouldn't allow herself to.

After regaining her composure, she spoke. "You see, I don't really know her," she commenced, alternating her gaze from one brother to another, but never allowing her eyes to remain on the elder one for too long. Damon raised an eyebrow at her answer. "I only know of her…" she trailed off, fidgeting with her hands.

Damon made an impatient sound when she didn't continue, so Stefan decided he would be the one to prompt an answer out of her.

"So, who is she?" He didn't try to hide the curiosity in his voice, so she easily caught it.

"Her name is Isabella Swan." Elena licked her lips nervously, not knowing if she should continue or not. On the one hand, she didn't want to put the other girl in danger by telling the two men in front of her who she was and why she was looking for Zach. On the other, she thought they deserved to know; it was family business after all. Their family business. And maybe Isabella will be able to help us make Damon behave, said a little voice inside her head, though she thought it highly unlikely. Zach had tried after all and look what happened to him! Even if he had tried to starve Damon, he didn't deserve what happened.

"And…" She looked up to see those intense blue eyes staring at her. In that moment, she made her decision.

"And she is Zach's cousin."