Chapter 3 Predator and Prey

~Normal P.O.V~

Ashi woke up with a start, with a pair of strong arms around her waist. 'Something's wrong.' Ashi slowly sat up and looked over Damon's shoulder to see the time. When she looked at the clock it read 1:30 AM in bright read numbers. 'Something's definitely wrong, I woke up at 1:30 in the morning.' She thought to herself.

Five seconds passed before Ashi felt a burning sensation in her throat. She felt her face change a compelling feeling to bite into Damon's neck and drain him dry. ' I need to hunt I cant wait any longer.' She shook her head for a second. She pushed the feeling back long enough to remove his arm around her waist and get out the door, but not before she turned and looked at Damon's sleeping body.

'I wonder if anyone is out this late.' Ashi wondered in the middle of the forest.

'No I cant hunt here. Damon does, if theirs to many killings theirs going to expect more Vampires here.' She thought. 'I'll go hunt in the next town over.' She took a look around the forest, making sure she's alone.

"The hunger is too strong, for me to wait to run to the next town, I'll have to use my power's," she silently muttered to herself. Taking another glance around, she disappeared.

Ashi crouched down on the branch hiding from view, but still able to see who passes by. She waited silently, and patiently, like a predator for its prey. Five minutes passed before she saw two men coming her way. 'Oh… two handsome men coming my way, to feed me how lovely.' She thought with a smirk. 'But Damon's still sexier.' She took a deep breath. The smell of alcohol hit her nose, making her grin. 'Lovely,' she smirked 'no one will miss them for sure.' She took another deep breath. 'Self-loathing. Even better.'

She stayed crouching down patiently for the two to come closer. When they came close enough, she jumped behind second man, knocking him unconscious, before moving in front of the first man. She put on her vampire face and bared her pearly white fangs to him. Only to change back when she saw it was Damon.

"Damon…" she whispers softly. He stayed silent, but nodded his head to tell her he heard her. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at home sleeping?" Ashi asked. " I awoke when you moved amore mio." Damon said softly. A look of disappointment in her, showed on his handsome face. Ashi looked at the ground sadly. " Mi dispiace, amore mio. I wont do it again." When Damon raised his hand to go grab her cheek she flinched. She silently prayed that he didn't notice. When he softly grabbed her chin to gently make her look at him, it seemed like he didn't.

"I'm not mad at you love, I'm just disappointed that you wouldn't bring me along for the fun. " Damon said softly, sending chills down her spine. She laughed. "Go get your prey then. Bring another one for me please. I am going to need another one besides him." She said pointing to the unconscious man on the ground. He nodded, and kissed her tenderly on the forehead, before he left to get their prey for the night. Ashi looked at the unconscious man on the ground before she bit his necked and drained him of his blood. Killing him, without any remorse.

Ashi picked up the body and hid it in the woods. When she stepped out of the woods, Damon was standing there with her prey. She stopped at the edge of the forest she had a horrible feeling. She sniffed the air, both humans smelled of drugs and sex but one human smelt of something familiar. But what was it. Then it clicked. 'Shit vervain.'

"Damon no! Don't feed from the blonde she has vervain in her system. She's a witch." She warned.

Damon pushed the witch away, and looked at Ashi curiously. " How do you know?" he asked. She gulped and tapped her fingers nervously on her leg. " I can smell the vervain in her and sense she's a witch." She finally answered. Her facial expression looked guilty. His eyes sparkled.

"Oh. I get it now, your playing jokes on me." Damon replied as he brought the human closer to him. Ashi growled in annoyance, she wasn't joking with him or lying. With her powers she would know for sure. Ashi appeared next to Damon, with saying a silent prayer for him to not find out she threw him into a tree and bit the witches neck a within three seconds. She tasted the vervain, but to keep up appearances she pretended it affected her. She drained the witch before she took a deep unnecessary breath before she pretended to collapse gasping for air. Damon rushed to her side.

"Ashi are you ok? My love, speak to me. Why did you do it?" Ashi sighed. She spent five minutes in his arms before she stood up and turned her back to him. Looking over her shoulder she told him "Hurry and feed, so I can dispose of the bodies." He nodded and turned to the remaining human, but not before he gave her a lingering look. Seconds later Damon was done and dumped the body on top of the rest.

Ashi grabbed all three bodies, picked them up without a grunt and ran deep into the forest by a hiking trail and tossed the bodies on the forest floor. She worked quickly making it look exactly like a hiking animal attack. She ran to the next state grabbed 3 hungry wolves put them down gently next to the bodies all within 10 minutes.

She stood back and watched the wolves eat. A slight smile found its way to her lips. "Fabulous if I do say so myself." A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist from behind, resting on her flat tone stomach. "I know you are." They whispered in her ear before nuzzling her neck. Ashi sighed but laughed softly anyway. "Come on Damon. Let's go home now."

Ashi said as she got out of Damon's grip. She pulled out her cellphone from her short pocket and checked the time. "Its three O' clock in the morning, I'm going back to bed and your coming with me weather you like it or not." Damon laughed.

"Still not a morning person, I'm guessing?"

"Yep, so to bad let's go." Ashi said literally dragging him all the way back home.

When Ashi and Damon returned everyone was still asleep. Not wanting to wake up anyone they jumped onto Damon's bedroom balcony. Damon made his way to the bed; he sat up his back resting on the massive amount of pillow's he owns. Waiting for Ashi to join him. Instead Ashi stayed at the balcony and leaned against the railing watching the forest with deep thought. Damon stayed on the bed watching Ashi from where he sat. He say Ashi close her eyes as the wind blew through her hair, making it fly around her slender frame.

Damon took this time to really see the women she became since 1863. Back then Ashi went by the name Jessa. She had long black hair the looked blue when she played in the sun; her hair was always in a bun. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of light brown, whenever you saw them you can get lost in them; her eyes were always so warm and cheerful. She always used to wear beautiful dresses that always complemented her body wonderfully. Jessa was always laughing, smiling, and spending her time making others laugh and smile to. Always helping anyone she could. But Jessa was really, really stubborn. She always did what she thought best not what others tell her, when she said 'no' she really meant 'no' nothing changed her mind. But she also smiled all the time it was contagious.

She's no longer Jessa but Ashi. Her long black, blue hair is now stained with red strikes flowed down her back ending just under her butt with a layered look to it. Her once light brown eyes are now dark brown almost black, with a dark, cold evil look. Her clothes now consist of skinny jeans, baggy pants and black or red shirts. She no longer laughed, smiled, or jokes around. Her face is cold, with a serious expression. She's always tensed never relaxed. This girl is no longer Jessa Marie Patience he knew in 1863, She's Ashi Taishou here in 2010. And Damon vowed he'd get his Jessa back, if it were the last thing he'll do.

A lock of red hair filled his vision. "Damon are you alright. You're really quite and staring at me. I mean I know I'm sexy and all that but still. You don't have to stare for 10 minutes straight you know." Ashi said with a slight smirk on her face, doing Damon's famous eye thing. Damon smiled and chuckled softly and grabbed the lock of hair and softly held it. "As much as I loved your black hair before, you look even more beautiful and sexy then ever, if even possible, with the red strikes in it. Damon said softly as he kissed the lock of hair before he let it go. Ashi's expression softened at his words. Her eyes going a shade lighter if only for a second. "Grazie." Ashi whispered smiling softly. She kissed him softly on the cheek, before she made her way to her side of the bed, sitting down next to him. Minutes passed, it seemed like hours. No words were spoken silence filled the air instead; thinking.

"Ashi… can I ask you a question."

"hummm…"

"What did you do over the century and a haf?" Damon asked softly.

"Of course, but were should I start?" She pondered.

"How about when Katherine threatened you to leave Mystic Falls?"

Ashi flinched but it went unnoticed by Damon. "Alirght." She sighed.

"Before I tell you. Your going to let me know what Katherine told you after I left."

"Katherine told me that you found someone better then me and left with him. But when I told father about that he didn't believe me. He just told me to stay away from Katherine."

"Good he warned you. I told him Katherine was a vampire and that she turned you to make me stay away from you. I told him I was leaving it wasn't safe for me to be with you. He reluctly agreed with me and let me leave." She smiled at the memory. "But what Katherine told you was what she was planning on doing with you. She plays with any man just to get what she wants she doesn't care for feelings. When she gets tired of one she just goes to the next one without regard to the previous feelings. What she told you was what she was planning on doing with you and Stefan. She made me leave because she didn't want competition with your feelings Katherine Perice does not share. Her plan was to use you then turn you and leave, to get a new toy. She was never in the tomb to begin with. Ashi growled out angerly.

Damon laid there quietly, while softly stroking Ashi's hair. Ashi sighed and moved to lay down and turned away from Damon so she was no longer facing him and closed her eyes. Damon looked at her sadly, a frown forming on his handsome face. 'Why do I always upset the ones I love. I still Love Ashi after a century and a half. But I feel about Katherine? Its just confusing. But she made Jessa leave. She turned her without asking. I bet katherines the reason why the Jessa I knew is gone and how come Ashi took her place. But why cant I bring myself to hate her. I want to but I cant. Why?' he thought. He leaned over and gave Ashi a gently kiss on the forehead before he moved to lay on his side and went to sleep. Little did he know Ashi was awake and heard his every thought.

All of a sudden she shivered and grabbed her neck. He's here!