ELEVEN

The soft pitter-patter of rain on the window filled my ears as I started to wake up. I gently turned my head towards the sound and opened my eyes to see the storm outside. I just laid there for a moment and watched the outside world before the door to the bathroom opened and the bed sank beside me. I adjusted so that I was staring at Damon. "How do you feel?"

I thought for a moment, doing a mental check on my internal status. "A little groggy, but I think I'm okay. How long have I been out?"

"It's almost six," he returned as he swept the hair from my face. His hand drifted down and stopped at the hollow of my throat. "Where's the locket?" he asked with a frown.

As a reaction, my hand flew to my throat as well and I put my head on the pillow as I swore. "I took it off when I was laying in the grass."

"Why were you out there anyway?"

"Stefan and Bonnie were upstairs so I decided to get out and not eavesdrop."

He nodded and then moved to get something off of his nightstand. "Here, your aunt called earlier. As did Caroline."

I took my phone from him and blanched at the amount of missed calls. "Did you tell Caroline to not talk to anyone until she talked to me?"

He stilled for a moment and then grinned. "I might have."

"Could you fix that for me? I'm going to tell her, but not right now."

He nodded as I dialed Jenna's number and waited patiently while it rang. "Hey, I'm so glad you called. Are you busy?"

Her good mood was not what I needed at the moment. "No."

"Perfect. Come over as soon as you can?" It was phrased as a question, but it sounded more like a demand.

"Sure. I'll be there soon," I said and she hung up on me. "She was in an awfully good mood."

Damon was smirking. "Well, she got engaged last night and she's been with Alaric all day."

I looked at him with horror. "Thank you for that," I said sarcastically and slowly got to my feet. As I pulled out from under the blanket, the draft in the room reminded me that I was still naked. I walked to the closet and began to dress. "While I'm at Jenna's, do you think you could warn everyone to be on the lookout?"

"I'm going with you," he said from right behind me as I fumbled with the hook on my bra.

He hooked it for me, running his fingers along my spine and planting soft kisses on my shoulders. I grinned as one of his hands slid down my abdomen and dipped behind the front of my panties. "I'm supposed to be getting dressed," I protested feebly.

"Tell me to stop and I'll leave you alone," he muttered against my skin. His breath made me shiver as I bit my lip from the feel of his fingers on me. I put my hand on his arm to encourage him instead of push him away and his laughter rumbled over both of us. "Thought so."

I groaned as he kissed his way up my throat and nuzzled the spot at the base of my neck. My eyes shut and I could feel my legs beginning to tremble from his touch. He added a second finger and moved his hand in a thrusting motion to which my hips responded in a matched pace. "Damon," I breathed and shuddered from the feel of his fangs sliding into my skin. At the second pull of my blood, I shook and dug my nails into his arm as my release came. His tongue ran over the bite marks before he stepped aside and turned me to kiss me deeply.

"Damon? Elena?" Stefan called from the door.

We both looked at each other and Damon licked his fingers around a fanged smirk before heading back to the bedroom to greet Stefan. "Yes little brother?"

"John and Alaric are here," he said in a tight voice, knowing he had interrupted something.

"We'll be right down," Damon replied and I heard the door shut. I pulled on a new pair of underwear and moved to the bathroom to clean up before choosing the rest of my outfit.

"I should call Jenna. I don't feel like leaving the house tonight."

He nodded from his spot on the bed as he watched me get dressed. "Good choice."

I picked up my phone and dialed Jenna again. "Hey Aunt Jenna. Can I take a raincheck for tonight?"

"What happened?" she asked, her good mood instantly vanished from the tone in my voice.

"I don't want to talk about it now. Just know I'm alright and I will tell you. Are you busy tomorrow?"

"I can make us lunch at two tomorrow?"

"Sounds good. I'm sorry I couldn't make it today. I'll see you tomorrow," I said and hung up after her goodbye. "Now will you take care of Caroline?" I asked, looking at Damon.

"After we attend our guests."

I sighed and walked downstairs with him. John, Alaric, Stefan, Bonnie, and Tyler were all seated in the living room. John stood up the moment he saw me and moved incredibly fast to put his hands on my shoulders. "Are okay?"

I nodded, feeling a bit strange that he was this open about his concern for my life. Apparently the talk we had had changed the dynamic in our relationship. However, the last thing I needed was for him to become overprotective. He must have realized his display of emotion and stepped back while clearing his throat. "My head still hurts, but otherwise, I'm alright." John took his seat on the arm of the couch while Damon and I sat on the floor in front of the fireplace. I used Damon as a backrest and he put an arm around me as I told everyone, in detail, the events of this morning. I started with my decision to go outside just to get it over with so no one would ask me in the end. "Honestly, if Tyler hadn't found me in the back, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be having this discussion right now."

I felt Damon stiffen as his inner turmoil seeped into my head. It was odd considering I had never been able to read his thoughts before. Stefan and Bonnie looked at the floor and I could feel the guilt radiating off of them. "Can you explain what it was that Roarke did?" Alaric asked just to break the tension.

"It was like having my nose plugged and being forced to exhale through it. I think I heard my skull crack and I lost a lot of blood."

"It was all over the woods," Tyler agreed and I met his gaze. He was torn between smiling at the fact that he had had some and fright that Damon would kick his ass.

"I had more than enough to replace what I lost, but it still hurt which means Roarke caused more than just physical damage," I added. My eyes landed on Alaric and it sparked a vague memory that I had to ask him something. "I know you showed me what Isobel found on Originals, but have you ever heard of one not wearing a ring?" I looked between him and John. "Do either of you know anyone that might have the answer to that?" I turned my head to look at Damon and then back to look at Stefan. "Do you?"

They were all silent for a moment as they thought. "I might," Damon said, his voice vibrating through me. Stefan nodded in agreement and I wondered if they were talking about the same person.

"I want everyone to be on full alert and I need you all to know Roarke is not a vampire. But he's not human either. I want the humans left out of this, with the exception of you two," I said and gestured to Alaric and John.

"But-" Bonnie started in confusion.

"You're a witch, you don't count as human," Tyler explained.

I nodded. "Right. No Jenna, Jeremy, or Matt. I don't care how much they whine or how much they hate us, but when the time comes, they are to have nothing to do with this. One of you has to tell Anna to keep her mouth shut." And her veins closed I added silently to myself. I sighed, yet another person I would have to talk to. I got to my feet and all eyes were on me. "Damon, I need you to tell Caroline to go back to her fathers and make her forget that she ever heard you earlier. Stefan, I need you to talk to Matt about this and explain why I need him to back off. Alaric, I'm going to talk to Jenna tomorrow. John, I want you to tell the other vampires what happened and tell Anna I need to talk to her."

"I'll talk to Jeremy too," he said.

"And where are you going?" Damon asked as the rest of them had gotten to their feet as well.

"Tyler, Bonnie, and I are staying here," I said firmly.

Damon grinned as he put an arm around my shoulders. "Spoken like a true queen." To Tyler and Bonnie he said, "Make sure she stays inside."

They nodded and in a few minutes the house was ours. "Where are you going?" Bonnie asked as I headed for the back door.

"I need to find my necklace. If something happens to me, the last thing I need is to have no connection with Damon," I said and then they were both following me.

Because it was raining and dark with clouds, the lights on the exterior of the house was no good to Bonnie's eyes. "I'll wait inside," she said and went back in.

I turned to Tyler and folded my arms. "And how do you feel now that you've had more than your fair share of vampire blood?"

He grinned. "Incredible."

"Thank you. For waking me up."

"I'm only sorry I didn't get there sooner."

"I'm not. He would have killed you without thinking twice. He wants something from me and its only a matter of time before he collects." I had been scanning the yard and came up with nothing. "It's not here."

"How can you be sure?"

I moved to stand in the spot where I had been laying down. "I can smell my own scent and I can still see the blades of grass bent from when I laid on them." I crouched and pointed to a patch of grass. "This is where I put it down."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that it didn't walk off on its own."

I shook my head as I stood up and looked at him with a seriousness that he caught immediately. "Klaus has it. I'm sure of it."