Loved the reviews!

I noticed that a lot of you don't like thwhat Elena/Matt thing, and I agree completely lol, but just stick it out. It gets better, I promise ;)

And also, there was a guest review I couldn't respond to, pertaining to hating Elena for cheating.

And again, I agree. It's not right, she knows it's not, and yes, she's being selfish. But instincts do play a part in it, as does her denial. She doesn't want to want Damon, but she can't help it, so she's trying to run from it.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy! :)

Mason lied for me this time.

He simply added to my original story.

Our cousin didn't make it out of the coma.

We had to go back for the funeral.

Matt immediately gave condolences and offered to take off work to attend the funeral with me.

I had shaken my head, and Mason asked that he respect the fact that this was a family matter.

Matt was too understanding, and let us go with little question.

I however, was still having an issue wrapping my brain around the bomb Alaric had dropped.

Enzo was dead.

Dead.

Killed by a wolf, at some point today.

So, it couldn't have been the same Mutt Damon and I had dealt with.

The thought of Damon made my chest hurt even more.

As much as the news of Enzo's death was killing me, something inside me was thankful that it hadn't been Damon.

The tightening I felt in my chest assured me that if it had been, I'd feel eminently worse than I did right now.

The thought of Enzo being gone was still sinking in.

I felt oddly numb, but I understood it to mean at least one thing.

The Pack is being targeted.

A Mutt had killed one of us for a reason, but I had no idea what that reason was.

But I did know that I wanted nothing more than to have Damon in my arms right now, to be assured that he was alright, even knowing how much I wished I didn't care.

Instead, I was stuck on this plane, mind racing, body immobile.

Enzo was dead.

Murdered, and left on Pack land.

One of our own, a friend, just gone.

I closed my eyes to stop the tears from pouring out of them.

Mason's hand found mine.

I leaned into him, and we drew comfort from each other.

"Whoever did this will pay," he promised, "We will make sure of it."

I nodded, all of my selfish desires having evaporated.

Enzo was dead.

Any of us could be next.

That's all that mattered to me now.

Protecting my Pack.

Getting revenge.

The wolf inside me snarled her triumph.

Tonight, she'd be let free.

It was dark when the taxi dropped us off at the gates of the Salvatore manor.

I was out of the car in a flash, grabbing the small bag I'd packed, and sprinting up the drive.

Mason was close behind me, and we hurried through the door.

Damon was waiting in the foyer.

"Elena."

Relief clouded his face as his eyes found mine, and he reached for me.

I couldn't help myself, as I threw my arms around him.

Finally confirming that he was safe, and breathing.

Unlike our Pack brother.

I pulled away, "Enzo-"

"We have him in the basement."

I nodded, and Mason moved past us to head that way, rubbing a hand on Damon's shoulder in the process.

Tonight, we all needed the reassurance.

Damon grabbed my face, "You can't leave me again. Not with this son of a bitch out there. Not when Mutt's are attacking the Pack. I need to know you're safe."

I nodded, "We're going to find whoever did this."

Damon kissed my forehead, "Yes. We will...come on, the others are downstairs."

I let him take my hand, leading the way.

Enzo's body was laid out on an old wooden table that had been covered with papers and books before.

A sheet covered everything but his face, in what I assumed, was an attempt to hide his fatal injuries.

A sob escaped my lips as the reality hit me all over again.

Enzo really was dead.

The others gave me a sad glance in welcome, but moved so I could have my turn at saying goodbye.

Tears streamed my cheeks, and I leaned down to kiss my friend's forehead.

The memory of his thickly accented voice flowed through my mind.

It hurt so much, to know that I'd never hear it teasing me again.

He was a brother.

The one member of the Pack I'd kept in touch with.

The one who would run with me through the crappy New York country, just so I wouldn't be alone.

His paled face didn't move as I stared at him.

Things would never be the same now.

My stomach lurched, as the memory of the last death I'd experienced came forth.

My parents, being lowered into twin graves.

The same pain, of knowing it was all going to get worse.

And right now...I couldn't handle worse.

I spun around.

I had to get away, I had to breathe, and think clearly, but I landed right into Damon's chest. I tried to pull back, but his arms wrapped around me.

"Let it go, kitten. I'm here. Let it go."

So I did.

I cried, and screamed into Damon's shoulder, letting the pain overtake me.

It was too big to fight off anymore.

Damon held me until I was a mess of silent shakes, and I vaguely heard Alaric tell Mason and Stefan to move the body to the backyard.

We would give him a proper burial.

I stayed with Damon until the hole was dug, and the body was placed and covered.

He led me out to the others then.

For one last goodbye.

Tyler brought out a glass of scotch, Enzo's favorite.

I smiled slightly.

He would have liked this.

We each took turns toasting to our fallen comrade, and taking a swig.

Even Damon's voice was thick in his goodbye.

Finally, the bottle was passed to me.

I swallowed.

"Enzo was an ass sometimes," I admitted, "But he always knew what to say to make me feel better. He was always there for me, and I'm gonna miss him like hell."

I took a drink.

Alaric sighed, "Rest in peace, Lorenzo. And now, may you always run free."

"May you always run free," We chorused.

Morning brought with it a headache that I probably deserved, after all the alcohol I'd consumed last night.

When I sat up, I realized I was in the study, on the couch.

My feet were in Stefan's lap, and Damon's shoulder had been acting as my pillow.

Mason and Tyler were in the chairs, opposite to us.

Alaric and George had had enough sense to go to bed at a certain point, but the rest of us had finished the scotch.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

Not so much now.

I groaned as I found my feet, and stood.

Stefan stirred, "What time is it?"

"Too damn early," Mason grumbled from his seat, eyes still firmly shut.

I shook my head at them, and forced myself into the hall, and up the stairs.

My shower was nearly an hour long.

Giving me plenty of time to shake off my drunken sleep haze, and remember why I'd decided to make myself feel better at the expense of my liver.

Enzo's murder.

I tried to separate myself from the emotions of it all, and work on the facts.

Trevor, the Mutt that had killed those other people, was tied to this.

But from what Alaric had said last night, it wasn't his scent on Enzo.

I'd gotten a brief whiff last night, and I had to agree.

It was another new Mutt.

I remembered then, that Trevor hadn't been just a random turn.

In my hurry to leave all the violence behind, I'd forgotten to tell anyone that he'd been a murderer as a human too.

Was this new Mutt a human killer as well?

It was worth looking into.

Apparently Damon had had a similar idea, because when I got downstairs, he was arguing with Alaric.

"I don't want the Pack going anywhere until we have more information."

"What more do we need to know?" Damon shot, "We go to town, track this Mutt down and find out who turned him, and then we kill him."

It was clear that Damon was wanting to go after Enzo's killer now.

Alaric countered his argument, insisting that it would be too hard to track in the daytime, that it would be better to wait until we were more prepared.

But it didn't matter what he said.

Damon's mind was made up, and he wasn't budging on the fact.

I waited for Ric to give an Alpha command.

To forbid Damon to leave, from taking his retribution.

But it never came.

Apparently Alaric was too distracted by his own grief to note that he hadn't made the request official.

An unfortunate oversight that I had no doubt Damon would take advantage of.

So I waited.

Sure enough, the second Alaric left the study, Damon was heading towards the door.

I followed, and rushed to the passenger's side of his car.

He halted as he noticed me.

"Where are we going?"

He blinked, "You don't need to-"

"I want revenge just as much as you," I shot, "Try to stop me from coming, and I'll go rat you out to Ric, right now. I'll make him forbid you to go. And if you've already left, I'll lead him to you."

Damon considered his options then shrugged, "Get in."

As we drove, grief gave way to common sense.

I wanted revenge so badly, I could taste the boil in my blood, but we had to be smart.

We would need a plan.

As Damon pulled the car to the town square and parked, I turned to him.

"So what exactly are you going to do?"

"I'm going to find that Mutt's scent, follow it to him, and make him pay for what he did."

I huffed, "Great plan, really. Except it's the middle of the day, Damon, in the middle of the town, who was recently on the lookout for wolves. We can't change. So even if we find the Mutt, there isn't much we can do."

Damon scowled, "So what are you saying?"

"That we do some recon. We need to follow up on the whole incident at the rave too. Find out if anyone is suspicious of that night."

"Who the fuck cares?" Damon spat,"It's a waste of time!"

"No, it's not," I assured him, "They have Trevor's body. What if someone runs tests on it? What if someone saw you jump out of that window, or saw us fighting him. This is right in your backyard, Damon, your home. You can't afford not to care."

He growled, but didn't argue, meaning he didn't have an argument to make.

"Fine," he caved, "What do you suggest?"

I thought up the plan as I said it.

"We get a paper. Anything of note will be in there. Go to the Grill, or a coffee shop, comb through what we can, until it gets late enough to check out the Mutt."

Damon wasn't happy with the idea, but allowed it, knowing he had nothing better.

I understood his frustration.

Not being able to do anything was even worse than fighting.

But we had to wait.

So there's that. Lol

Leave a review and let me know what you think!

Also, for those who have read MULTIPLE of my stories, I need a favor!

I'm entering a contest, and I'm not sure which fic to use.

So if you could comment your favorite fic that I've written, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks :)

Xoxo