So I was blown away by the number of reviews I got for the last chapter!

You guys are awesome! :)

Here's the next chapter, and as soon as I've finished writing the new one for my other story, Do you Believe in Angels, I'll post it too!

Glad ya'll noticed Ric's little drop there. The whole story will be explained later, I promise ;)

My plane took off at 8:47 the following morning.

I was secure in my seat, thanking any deity listening that I'd actually made it on time.

Between all the goodbyes and Damon's chilly demeanor, I was just glad to be heading back to the city.

Back to my life.

I'd told Matt not to bother picking me up from the airport.

It was a silly thing to take off work for when I was more than capable of getting a cab.

It was, however, nice to find yet another bouquet of flowers, waiting on the counter, upon my return.

A quick flash of guilt overcame me as I leaned down to smell them.

Matt really was too good for me.

With a deep sigh, I pushed away the guilt, and any lingering memory of last night's events, to focus instead, on unpacking.

It took only a few hours for me to finish my laundry, check in with Caroline, then start a load of dishes, Matt's pile from my time away.

Everything was almost back to normal.

But even as I stared off our balcony at the sprawling city around me, I felt off.

Maybe it was just the lack of trees, or knowing that in coming back, I was forfeiting my ability to run freely.

Or maybe I was just overwhelmed by the lack of rowdy, warm, male voices, reverberating the silence, in spite of the Manhattan buzz below.

It would just take some adjusting, that's all.

Mystic Falls was such a big part of my life that it was bound to have a lingering effect.

Surely a day or two would wear it off.

Matt was beyond thrilled to have me home, if his text throughout the day were any indication.

When evening finally came, he hurried through the door, calling my name before it had even shut behind him.

I smiled, "Here!"

I came out of the living room, and landed straight in his embrace.

He squeezed me tightly, "There you are. Man, I missed you."

I buried my face in his neck, "I missed you, too."

He pulled away, "Everything okay with your family?"

I shrugged, "Nothing they can't handle without me."

"Good," he grinned, pulling me back into his arms.

I closed my eyes, letting him hold me.

After a moment, he began kissing down my neck.

I tensed, my body suddenly riddled with the urge to push him away.

I cursed myself.

Why did this always fucking happen?

Giving in to my body's wants by sleeping with Damon made it a stubborn thing.

Each time, the wolf in me would recognize Damon's claim on me, as sure as his fading bite mark on the back of my neck.

And my body would try and refused to let anyone else take his place.

My mind could scream in denial all it wanted, but my body, my instinct, recognized Damon as its mate.

I growled determinedly, grabbing Matt's face and kissing him hard.

Fuck instinct.

This is what I needed. What I wanted.

Matt winced slightly as I shoved him back against the wall, kissing down his throat now.

"Easy," he laughed, "You know, we have all night, babe."

But I didn't want easy.

I wanted a distraction that would make me forget everything I'd left behind.

That would wash my mind clear of everything but pleasure.

I ripped at his shirt, pulling it off of him as quickly as possible.

He seemed a little shocked by my enthusiasm, but went with it.

Soon, he was scooping me into his arms and carrying me to the bedroom.

I would have been just as satisfied fucking him on the floor in the hallway, but that wasn't really Matt's style.

He's a gentleman.

I didn't waste time when we reached the bed.

I shoved him down, unceremoniously, and within the next few seconds, we were completely naked and I was sinking down onto him.

This was better, having control.

I moved, and he moaned beneath me.

I relished in the fact that I could do this.

That Matt was the kind of guy to let me use him, then thank me for it.

So I rode him, hard, relentlessly, until we both came.

As he pulled me to him after the fact, I sighed, trying to pretend like I wasn't seeing another man when I stared into his blue eyes.

An hour later, we had showered and dressed.

Matt was cooking dinner, and the smell of it filled the apartment.

Some health conscious meal I'd pretend to love until I could sneak out and find something more filling.

The wolf in me was always hungry.

We'd just finished eating when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Matt smiled, kissing the top of my head.

I nodded, taking our dishes to the sink.

But I almost dropped the plates when I heard our visitor's voice.

"Yes, hi, is there a beautiful girl here? Tall, dark hair, stubborn as hell on occasion-"

I whirled into the hallway.

"Mason?!"

He grinned, looking over Matt's head, "There she is!"

I shook my head, walking over, "What are you doing here?"

He rose a brow, "What? Not going to introduce me? That's rude, you know."

I rolled my eyes, "Matt, this is my...cousin, Mason Lockwood. Mason, this is Matt Donovan."

Matt had relaxed now, and was smiling, "Come on in! I haven't had the pleasure of meeting any of Elena's family yet."

Mason wiggled his eyebrows at me suggestively as Matt shut the door.

I gave him a warning glance.

He only smirked.

"So what brings you here?" Matt started, as we walked into the living room.

"I just happened to be in the neighborhood," he said, "Thought I'd stop by and see my favorite cousin. Would it be incredibly rude of me to steal her for a few drinks?"

Matt was buying into him way too easily.

"Of course!"

I groaned internally, "You know, it's actually getting a little late, and-"

"Nonsense," Mason told me, "Just one drink, Elena."

I sighed, "Fine."

Five minutes later, I'd kissed Matt on the cheek and followed Mason out the door.

I waited until we were outside before turning on him.

"Why the hell are you here, Mason?"

He lifted a brow, "Did you really think Alaric was going to let you come back to the city unprotected?"

I exhaled, "I'd hoped he would. But I guess I was mistaken."

Mason grinned, "Sorry baby girl. But count your blessings. Damon wanted to come,when Alaric first mentioned it."

I groaned, "Of course he did."

A beat of silence, "How's he doing anyway?"

Mason shrugged.

"You know Damon. Full brood and in the nude, when I left. I think he's trying to run off the frustration of Alaric not letting him come in my place. The arrogant bastard seems to think I can't protect you as well as he can."

Mason smirked, "But fortunately, Ric seemed to think you'd much rather me turn up on your doorstep than him, so here I am. You're stuck with me until the others can find whoever turned that Mutt."

I sighed, "Still no new leads?"

He shook his head, "Nope, and we're giving Elijah a few more days to come through, before he's officially added to our list. Alaric doesn't like that he was so close by. Almost like he was waiting for us to call."

I put my hands in my pocket, "Well, I'm sure you all will figure something out."

"It would be easier if we had our best tracker helping out," Mason teased.

I shot him a look, "If you are trying to talk me into coming back, you're just wasting your breath."

He nodded, "I know. And I'm not. Well, not really. I just want to make sure you know that we need you, Elena."

I sighed, stopping as I spotted a bench.

We sat down.

"You don't need me," I told him, "The Pack was plenty capable before I came along."

"Sure," he allowed, "But you changed things. We're family, all of us, whether we like it or not. And when you left, you didn't just leave Damon, you left every single one of us."

I hung my head, feeling a little guilty, "I know, Mase. And I'm sorry for that, I am...but I can't be that person. The person I am in Mystic Falls..."

"What's so bad about her?" He challenged, "Because, I'll tell you now, she's better than this. Better than living a lie. Better than eating tofu with some guy she can never really have a future with. No matter how much you want to change it, you aren't this girl, Elena. You don't belong here, and you know it."

"I know that I like my life here," I defended, "I like not killing, not worrying about having to fight or track down murderers. Just being able to be as normal as possible."

"And your boy-toy in there?" He asked.

"I love him," I assured him.

Mason scoffed, "Please, you had to deal with Damon on a daily basis for nearly ten years. You'd eat that guy in there alive, and spit him out for dessert. You can't tell me that he's doing it for you. Hell, I know he's not."

My eyes narrowed, "How could you possibly know that?"

Mason smirked, "Remind me how many days it took Damon to get you on your back again?"

"Fuck you," I shot.

He chuckled, "I rest my case."

I sighed, "Look, the thing with Damon...it's complicated. It's his fault that all this," I motioned to the buzz around us, "is the closest I'll have to the life I wanted."

"But you still love him," Mason murmured.

I stared at the cars passing, "I can't imagine a day that I won't."

His phone rang then, and I dropped my eyes to the ground.

He answered.

"Ric?"

I didn't have to strain to hear the reply.

"Are you with Elena?"

"Yeah, she's here," Mason told him.

"Good, the two of you need to come home. Now."

His voice sounded shaky.

Off.

And given our last conversation, I knew he wouldn't be making the demand, unless something was seriously wrong.

I tensed, "What's going on?"

I knew he would be able to hear me perfectly. "We found..."

He trailed off, then cleared his throat, "We found a body by the front gate, about half an hour ago...it's Lorenzo."

I froze, my breath catching.

"No."

Enzo.

A little bit of a cliffhanger lol.

But I'll post the next chapter soon!

Review and let me know what you thought!