a/n: I feel like I made a mistake but I don't know where...maybe I'm just being paranoid...either way, if you see anything iffy, let me know :)

SEVENTEEN

We had come up with a basic plan, but had to wait until the other vampires came to town to fine tune the details. The only major problem was Bonnie. Resurrecting Katherine the first time had caused her to become unconscious and weak and since we needed her to defeat Roarke too, we were stuck. The morning after the meeting downstairs. Damon told me he was going to check something with Stefan. "You said you wouldn't leave," I argued.

"I know-"

'Then tell me where you're going," I demanded, hands on hips while I glared at him.

"Not far."

"Damon!"

"I promise I will be back late tonight. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but if I'm right, Stefan and I can get some extra help."

"You can't just use the phone?"

He shook his head. "No, trust me Elena. If I play my cards right, we might actually have a shot at beating Klaus."

I sighed, knowing he was going whether I wanted him to or not. "You're not going to kill him are you?"

"Of course not."

"You'll call me every hour?" I asked, earning a small smile from him.

"Yes, I will call you every hour on the hour until I return."

"This is not funny," I growled, irritated that it turned into a real growl.

He crossed the room to gather my hands in his, mostly to keep me from pacing as I had been doing. Between the situation at hand and my reaction to Tyler's blood, I was completely restless. I felt like crawling out of my own skin in the hopes of being able to sit still and judging from Tyler's jittery actions this morning, he was feeling the same way. "He gave you a week. Vampires hardly ever go back on their word. I will be fine and I will be back tonight. Try to stay indoors," he said.

I sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Be careful," I breathed.

He nodded before bringing his lips down to mine. I slid my arms around his neck as he put his hands on my waist to pull me close. We were both greedy with passion and the fear of it being the last kiss. We both knew the two of them needed to go now, but it didn't do anything to stop us. I groaned against him as he pushed me up against the wall, our hands hastily tearing away the clothes that prevented our closeness. He pushed my pajama bottoms off of my hips and tore the panties from me before lifting me by my hips. I wrapped my legs around him as he moved to the bathroom and sat me on the edge of the counter. I rested my back against the wall as he momentarily broke the kiss to free himself. He wasted no time in sliding inside of me and we both moaned into the harsh kiss. I arched my back and moved my hips in time with his thrusts. My hands clenched in his hair as his dug into my hips, both of us trying to pull each other closer. It was the fastest climax either of us had reached and we came together. When we both felt sated, we just leaned on one another. He was still inside of me so I was careful not to move too much.

There was a knock at the door, pulling us away from our connection. "Damon? Are you ready?" Stefan called through the door in the bedroom.

"Almost," Damon returned and finally stepped back from me. He wiped himself off briskly before pulling his pants back on. "I will be back," he assured me once more and kissed me deeply.

"I know," I whispered and then watched him walk away. I let my head fall back against the wall and shut my eyes as I tried not to cry. After a few minutes, I slid off the counter, removed the rest of my clothes, and stepped into the shower. That would kill about a half hour of time. I took another half hour to take my time getting ready for the day and guests downstairs. I was grateful everyone had stayed over night and was relieved to see Bonnie on the couch next to Tyler. They both turned to look at me and Bonnie slid off the couch and put her arms around me.

"He'll be back before you know it," she said and I hugged her back.

"Where are Pearl and the others?" I asked as I realized I hadn't sensed the three other vampires in the house. "And John and Alaric?"

"Harper and Anna went to find more people to help. Alaric went to console Jenna because her and Jeremy are really upset about being out of the loop. I did talk to Jeremy and he promised he would stay at home until you said it was okay to come over." I smiled at the fact that he had listened to me for once in his life. "Pearl and John went back to her house because she has the invention that Emily spelled to hurt vampires."

I frowned at that. "I thought he gave all the inventions to Isobel?"

"Pearl refused to give this one to him."

I nodded as I thought it over. "Won't it hurt us?"

"I have a solution to that too. Once we figure out how the invention works, I could create a counter spell for the vampires so that it only affects Klaus."

"Who's to say it will work on him anyway?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, but I'm willing to try it."

I nodded and smiled lightly. "Alright, it sounds like a good plan." My eyes moved past her to Tyler who was watching TV. "Hey Tyler?" I asked.

He turned on the couch to look at me. "Yes Elena?"

"Do you know of any other werewolves?"

"It's not like we have a convention," he said dryly.

"You are pack animals by nature."

"I like to think of myself as a lone wolf," he said proudly. Bonnie and I both rolled our eyes and moved towards the couch.

"Does your father know what you are? Is he one too?" Bonnie asked.

His eyes widened in a moment of fear and he shook his head. "I don't know. He might, but he hasn't said anything. My grandfather was sent to a mental hospital because he kept raving about it."

"And the hospital never noticed he went missing during a full moon?" I asked, keeping his gaze with mine. "There is no way that your father doesn't know."

He sighed, knowing where I was going with this and nodded his head. "Fine, I'm assuming you would like to talk to my father?"

"Do you think it's a good idea to leave the house?" Bonnie asked.

"No, but I don't see any other option. Mayor Lockwood is on the council and he's probably at work."

Tyler shut off the television and got up. "Alright, let's go."

The keys to Damon's car was missing, meaning he had taken it to wherever he was going. I thought about what to do and then remembered Stefan's car was also in the garage. "Do you know where he keeps his keys?" I asked Bonnie.

"I'll get them," she said and dashed upstairs.

"What if he doesn't know anything?" Tyler asked.

"I'll compel him to forget we were ever there," I assured him, reminding myself that I should probably eat before going anywhere. I had two bags by the time Bonnie returned back downstairs and I let Tyler drive to his father's office since he knew the way.

We wandered around the building with Tyler muttering hello's as we went and then he knocked on his father's office. Mayor Lockwood's assistant opened the door and waved us inside. He was on the phone in a heated conversation that he cut short the minute he realized who had come into the room. He signaled for the woman to leave and smiled wearily at the sight of the three of us. "What is it Tyler? I'm working."

"Elena has a few questions for you," Tyler answered, obviously used to his father's harsh words.

I offered a light smile, trying to maintain my innocent look. I wasn't fooled for a second as his father tried to mask his sharp intake of breath as he caught of whiff of my scent. There was knowing in his eyes and it scared him, but he cleared his throat and straightened his shirt. "I'm busy," he repeated.

"It will only take a second," I said in a tone that told him we weren't going anywhere.

He let out a little breath and inclined his head. "What can I do for you Miss Gilbert?" he asked.

"Tyler tells me of your family history where your father is concerned." He fidgeted with his tie and I could see the sweat starting to bead on his forehead. Not to mention the smell of fear that hit my nose. "Are there others like you close by? A pack that you're aware of?"

He smiled and tried to laugh as if I were playing some sort of practical joke. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."

"John tells me you're on the Founder's Council," I said and moved to corner him behind his desk. "So you know that there are vampires and I know that you know full well what I'm asking. I can sense that you're a werewolf just like Tyler is."

Mayor Lockwood's eyes snapped towards his son and widened. "You are? How long have you known?"

"For a year. Elena was the one who helped me cope, no thanks to you," Tyler said coldly and it made me pause. I had never thought to ask if he had ever tried to bring it up with his father.

Rather than start an argument we didn't have time for, I reached forward and grasped Mayor Lockwood by his wrist. My eyes clamped shut as I reached into his mind and searched for the answers I was looking for. He knew exactly what I was talking about. He himself changed under the full moon, but he always arranged his business trips out of town at the time. He was late for today's trip because we were here and he was afraid he wouldn't make it. Mrs. Lockwood had no idea about what he was and he had no plan to tell her in the near future. He thought of the brother he never talked to anymore in Maine who had joined a rather large pack and kept trying to get him to join. I let go and smiled. "I think I have everything I need."

"What the hell are you?" he asked as he backed up into the filing cabinet.

His fear was too much for my hunter's instincts and I couldn't stop my fangs from sliding out, my eyes outlined by the blue and red veins. "I am a vampire."

His eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. "Your uncle-"

"My father already knows," I interrupted, catching him off guard.

"Elena," Bonnie warned, breaking from my predator trance.

My fangs retracted and I cleared my throat. I took Mayor Lockwood's face in my hands and made sure his eyes were locked on mine. "Tyler came to visit you today to ask you what you needed him to do around the house while you were gone. Bonnie and I waited in the hall. Do you understand?"

His eyes went blank and his body relaxed. "I understand," he mumbled and I dumped him in his chair before we walked out of his office.

The three of us were silent until we got to Stefan's car. "What did you find out?" Tyler asked.

"You have an uncle that lives in Maine right?"

He was completely dumbfounded that I knew that. "My uncle Darren. He and my father don't talk anymore. Something to do with my grandfather."

"Apparently, Uncle Darren is part of a pack. We should run to your house and get his number to get in touch with him. He might bring the pack down here to help if you ask him to," I said as I watched him lean against the car.

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think that would be such a good idea."

"Why not?" Bonnie asked as she moved closer to my side.

"The last time I saw him I was really young. I saw them get into a pretty big fight and he said he would never step foot in this town again if my father was going to deny like a true politician," he explained. He was mentally reliving that day and I stepped back to keep me out of his thoughts.

"Would you just try? For me?" I asked, putting on the best guilt tripping face I could make and he swore under his breath.

"Only for you," he said and swore some more as we piled back into the car and drove to his house. Luckily his mother was out for the day and we found no number whatsoever anywhere in the house.

"I would have thought they'd have a number for emergencies," Bonnie said as we stood in the living room.

"The hospital might have a record of it," Tyler suggested.

"If not, we could always call information," I added.

Bonnie nodded in agreement as Tyler went to get the hospital's number from the address book in his father's home office. When he returned, he picked up the phone, but Bonnie pulled it away from him. "We can do that from the boarding house. Let's go," she said and we headed back.

Bonnie and I sat on the couch as Tyler used the formal living room to make the call. "That didn't kill as much time as I would have liked," I said as I sank into the couch.

She smiled lightly, "It helps if you don't watch the clock."

"I haven't seen a clock all day," I pointed out.

She gave me a sideways glance. "You know what I meant."

"He didn't even tell me where he was going. Did Stefan mention it to you?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, he told me he wouldn't tell me because Damon was afraid you would pick my brain."

"Ha ha," I said dryly and felt a wave of misery at the fact I had no idea where he was. I didn't have long to think about it because Tyler came into the room and dropped on the couch between Bonnie and I. "Did they have a number?"

He nodded. "They said he calls once a year and it's always from this number. I told them it was a family emergency so they gave it to me. Any idea on what I should say?"

I shrugged. "How was he with you before the fall out?"

A smiled tugged at his lips. "He was great. I always wished he was my dad because he actually did things with me other than say he would and cancel because of meetings."

I laid my hand on his arm and squeezed for comfort. "Then use that. Tell him your father finally told you what happened and you've been having some questions that he won't answer."

"Thanks," he said and I could feel the air of confidence surrounding him. He dialed the phone and before putting it to his ear, he inhaled deeply. "You smell fantastic by the way."

I socked him in the leg before reaching to grab his hand to let him know I was there for support. The moment someone answered, he stood up and started talking. "What are they saying?" Bonnie asked as Tyler walked in circles around the room.

I was listening to both sides of the conversation and filled her in as I did so. Tyler came back and held the phone out to me. "He wants to talk to you."

I exchanged glances with Bonnie before getting up and taking the phone. "Hello?"

"Elena Gilbert," the voice on the other end was cool and followed by the sound of a low whistle. "Your father contacted me the other day."

I was startled for a second before I realized he was talking about John. "What did he tell you?"

"That there was some pretty bad things lurking around town."

"And?"

"And if my nephew hadn't just called with the same information, my answer would still be the same." I straightened as I looked back at my friends who were watching my every move. "You must be pretty important to my nephew for him to defy his father and contact his relative after all these years."

"Your brother may not realize what kind of danger is out there and try to deny everything, but Tyler is fully aware of what he is. I know you don't want to come back, but I am asking you, from one founding family to another, please bring your pack to town and help us."

There was a pause, but I could hear other people in the room besides the man on the phone. "Tell me, the man that you're doing this for. Is he worth it?"

I closed my eyes and nodded. "Yes."

Darren chuckled. "What kind of founder would I be if I didn't save my town? When do you need us by?"

"The sooner you can get here, the better. No later than Monday," I rushed as I swelled with excitement. "Thank you."

"No, thank you for taking care of Tyler when his father wouldn't. There's not a vampire I know that would do that for our kind. They usually think their better than us. We'll be there soon," he assured me and then the line went dead.

"Well?" Bonnie asked as I stood there in awe.

I nodded and smiled a real smile for the first time in days. "They'll be here soon."