Chapter 6: Animal

It had been three days since Katherine escaped the tomb and Elena was a prisoner in her own home. She was scared for her family and scared for herself. Damon offered to compel Jenna to stay home and not invite anyone in until this was over and Elena reluctantly agreed.

It wasn't safe anywhere but here. Damon had been practically staying here going back to the Boarding House quickly then coming back. Caroline, Bonnie and Lucy also decided to stay to help keep the shield up.

Elena wondered if Stefan knew about what was going on…and why he wasn't here. He couldn't possibly be that mad at her that he didn't want to help. She hadn't heard from him since they broke up and she was worried. She couldn't even go to the Boarding House to visit him because Damon wouldn't let her leave.

She walked into the kitchen to find everyone in the kitchen making breakfast. Jenna was flipping omelets and Caroline was leaning against the wall drinking greedily from a mug. Elena mumbled a morning as she shuffled in.

Caroline pushed off the wall and walked to Elena. "Hey…Damon wanted me to tell you that he had to run back to the Boarding House. He should be back soon." She took another gulp and red stained her lips. Elena looked at the mug and then Jenna, silently asking if she noticed. "Oh Damon gave me some of his stash…I was starving, but don't worry Jenna doesn't know a thing."

Elena sighed in relief. "Good. Where's Jeremy?"

Caroline looked up. "In his room…still sleeping by the sounds of it."

"Have you heard from Stefan? He's been helping you with the hunting and stuff right?" Elena asked quietly.

The blonde crinkled her brow. "Nope…he's been MIA for a while. Probably brooding away cause you broke up with him." She said nonchalantly, and then apologized when she saw the hurt on Elena's face. "I'm sorry…that was so bitchy of me."

Elena sat down at the table. "No you're right…I should probably go see him, but Damon would kill me if I left this house." He rested her head on the palm of her hand.

Caroline sat down next to her. "Well I don't think he'd be as mad if you hand some vampire protection." She offered. "I'll come with you; I can test out my tracking skills."

Elena perked up. "Okay! Thank you, Caroline." Elena hopped up and ran upstairs to get ready before they headed out.

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Damon moved around in his room grabbing things to bring back to Elena's. They needed to be as prepared as possible. He packed stakes, vervain darts, other weapons and some books for research.

He turned when he saw Elena in the door. "I thought I told you to stay home." He ground out as he stepped closer to her.

"You know I was never the type to follow orders." Katherine drawled taking slow steps toward him. "That was very rude of you to lock Stefan up in the basement, he was soo hungry." She stated innocently.

Damon sped up to her and pinned her to the wall. "You let him out!" he snarled in her face.

Katherine laughed and flipped him, pushing his face into the wall and holding his hand behind his back. "Of course…I know what it's like to be locked up. It sucks." She let him go and walked to his desk, filled with books and pages of her history, and the history of the Originals. "So you guys really have been doing your research. What the hell makes you think you can beat them? They are a thousand of years older than you! They could rip you in half before you could blink." She turned back to the desk flipping through the worn pages.

"Yeah…I had a pleasant encounter with a pretty red-head just the other day." Damon walked back towards her and glared at her back.

Katherine smiled. "Ah so you've met Brea. She's feisty. She doesn't like me very much though, could be because I slept with her mate." She looked up and raised a brow. "Or maybe it was the angry mob I set on her trail in 1518." She shrugged. "I can never remember."

Damon rolled his eyes dramatically. "Why are you here Katherine? I thought you'd be running for you're life by now."

The elder vampire cocked her head to the side. "I've been thinking-"

Damon smirked. "That's a dangerous past time." He teased crossing his arms.

Katherine smiled cheekily. "I'm sick of running." She continued seriously. "I've been running all my life and I'm tired. We can't kill Klaus it's next to impossible, and I know you won't let Elena die at his hands…you'd probably die trying to save her." He just shrugged and she continued. "Does Stefan know…that his girlfriend is the one that makes your heart go pitter-pat?" she rolled her eyes. "Metaphorically, of course."

"He knows…but she doesn't. And that's all the matters." Damon swung his eyes away from her intense stare.

"Do you love her because she looks like me?" she asked seriously. This was the first time the two of them had a decent chat, and she would never admit that a part of her missed this.

Damon locked his eyes on her again. "I love her because she's nothing like you." His voice was hard with anger.

She frowned. "Ouch…" she put her hand to her heart, and then got back to her reason for coming. "Look, I'll help you." She reluctantly said in a flat voice. "So tell me what this plan is and I'll tell you if it'll work." She said quickly looking around his room. Damon just stared at her, not believing her words. "You know you don't stand a chance without me Damon."

"How do I know you're not gonna stab me in the back?" he squinted his eyes at her and then raised a brow.

Katherine sighed and cocked her hip to the side. "You don't. But if I even try to strike a deal with Klaus the most I'll get for my efforts is a stake through the heart. He's kinda mad at me." She stated looking at her nails. She looked up at him and dropped her nonchalant act. "538 years Damon…538 years and it's still not enough. I don't want to die…and neither do you so tell me the fucking plan."

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Caroline was driving to the Boarding House with Elena in the passenger seat and frowned when Stefan's scent moved in a different direction. "Hm…" she turned the car and drove in the opposite direction.

Elena looked at Caroline. "Where are we going, the Boarding House is the other way."

"I know…but Stefan's not there anymore. I can smell him this way." She continued to drive, not really knowing where Stefan was leading them.

Elena shook her head in disgust. "That's so weird." She frowned when they pulled up at the Grill. "He's here?" they got out of the car and Caroline followed his scent to the back alley. They stopped and the vampire sniffed again. "I don't see him Care…maybe he left." Elena looked around but saw no one.

"Jump on my back." Caroline took Elena and then they took off. Elena could only make out trees and green so she assumed they were in the forest. They stopped suddenly and she fell off her friend's back.

"Thanks Caroline. A softer landing would have been nice." She stood up and brushed herself off and looked at Caroline who was looking in front of her with shock all over her face. "What?" She followed her eyes to see Stefan viciously tearing into a girl's throat. She was limp and pale in his arms as he continued to drink. "Oh my God, Stefan?" she tried to keep the bile from rising in her throat when he looked over at her with black eyes.

He didn't even look like the Stefan she knew. He looked like a monster, with blood all over his face and his fangs descended. He snarled at her and hugged the body closer like she was going to take it from him.

"I can't be here anymore, Elena…the blood i-it's too much." Caroline stuttered as her veins popped out under eyes.

Elena couldn't take her eyes off Stefan. "Okay…let's go. We need to tell Damon." Caroline grabbed her and they took off back to Elena's.

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Katherine sipped the blood Damon handed to her. "It's a good plan, Damon. I'm impressed…We could all still die, but it might just work."

Damon sighed and sat in the chair across from her in the parlor room. "I know…but it's our only chance." He leaned forward and caught her eyes with his. "I am trusting you, Katherine…I promised myself I would never trust you again, but I'm willing to make an exception…for Elena's sake."

Katherine finished her drink and leaned forward too. "You have my word." She gracefully stood and placed the glass on the coffee table. "Anyways…I should let you find Stefan; chances are he went crawling back to Elena." She said distastefully before strolling out the front door, her heels clicking as she did. "I'll be in touch."

Damon shot up, just now remembering his brother. Katherine distracted him…on purpose no doubt. He sped out of the boarding house and followed his scent, stopping in the woods where he found the dirt and leaves soaked in blood. He turned and punched a tree, creating a splintering hole and a crack up the trunk. At least Stefan had the decency to get rid of the body.

He was about to continue on the trail when his phone buzzed. He whipped it out and tried to calm himself before answering. He didn't want to scare her.

"Hey."

"Damon…" her voice was full of fear and tears.

"What is it? What happened?" Damon was already heading to her house.

"It's Stefan..." she sobbed. "He killed someone! Please come here…I'm scared."

"I'm already here…get Bonnie." He decided to go up to her room knowing that's where she was. By the time he leaped to her window, Bonnie had already brought the shield down. He climbed in to see Elena sitting on the edge of her bed shaking, her face wet with her tears.

When she saw him she jumped up and through herself in his arms, and burying her face in his chest. "I've never seen him like that Damon…" she mumbled before looking up at him. "He looked like an animal, feeding off her like that. He didn't even recognize me." Damon held her face in his hands as he wiped away her tears.

"It's okay…I'm gonna take care of this." He soothed kissing the crown of her hair.

"I'm so glad you're here." She closed her eyes and let him hold her. It felt good to be comforted by him. The way his hands held her close and his kiss on her head made her feel so safe…even with her ex boyfriend out killing people. "He's on human blood, Damon. He can't be out there!" she exclaimed.

He sighed. "I know." His voice was so calm and quiet that it made her pull away to look at his face.

"You know? Did you see him too?" she questioned, her face scrunched in confusion.

Damon looked away and sat on the edge of the bed. "No but I saw the mess he left behind." He paused before looking back up at her. "Elena I need to tell you something. I knew that Stefan was drinking human blood…before today." He waited for her to blow up.

"What! Damon, are you serious? Why didn't you tell me?" Her face hardened with anger and she crossed her arms over her chest.

He stood again and stepped closer, only to have her step back. "Because I promised him I wouldn't unless someone got hurt." She was about to yell some more when he cut her off. "That day I went back to the Boarding House to find out what he talked to Alaric about I found him in his bedroom surrounded by empty blood bags. He was hurt Elena, and he thought he was insignificant so he filled the void." He explained with pain for his brother in his voice. He'd been there himself before. "I promised I'd help him…and I was Elena, I was keeping an eye on him, helping him control the cravings. I was just starting to break some ground, I had him locked up in the basement and he was fine…and then Katherine let him out." Damon admitted throwing his arm in a general gesture to the window.

Elena's eyes bugged out. "Katherine? She was at the Boarding House?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Yeah…she just wanted to rub it in how dead we're all gonna be when Klaus is through with us." He ran his hands over his face, collapsing on the bed and laying back. "I'm sorry Elena…I wanted to tell you, but he begged me not to. He's my brother." Elena nodded knowing that she would have done the same for Jeremy.

She sat beside him, and looked down at the worry etched on his face. "I understand…so what are we going to do about Stefan? Clearly, locking him up didn't work. What if Katherine is getting to him; making him go on a killing spree?" God his eyes were blue…She never realized just how blue they are.

Damon shook his head, and lolled it to look at her. "No…Katherine's not that stupid. She knows The Originals are looking for her so she's gonna want to keep a low profile. I'll find him and lock him back up…that's all I can do." He sat up and headed to the window. "Maybe beat him silly too." He added as an afterthought.

"Wait." Elena called. She walked to stand in front of him. "Are you coming back?" she darted her eyes away then locked them on him again. "I'd feel safer if you were here."

Damon frowned, not used to hearing her direct words like that towards him. He quickly smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder giving it a light squeeze. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He turned and was about to step through the window. "Don't miss me too much." He winked and then was knocked back by the barrier. He huffed and rubbed his head. "Well that was smooth." Damon mumbled. "Bonnie!" he hollered. "Shield down…please." He added as an afterthought, and then shot Elena a smile when she giggled. "Call me if you need anything." He tested to make sure the shield was down before hoping out and taking off running.

Elena watched him blur out into the woods and smiled. How did he change so quickly? How did he go from being the bad brother to the good one? How did he start caring so much about this town and the people around him? In the back of her brain there was a voice that screamed her own name, but she wouldn't believe that she was the only reason for his change.

The past few days Damon had taken charge and unknowingly proved himself to her friends. Bonnie was becoming more tolerable of him and Caroline's hatred of him was waning. Although his snarky comments and sarcastic attitude was still there, his walls weren't built as high as they used to be. And for that she was thankful.

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Stefan's eyes slowly opened as the haze lifted from his mind.

"Good morning, Sunshine." Damon said cheerily from his crouched position in front of his brother. "You look so sweet in slumber." He teased, resting his cheek against his palm.

Stefan lunged toward him, with his fangs bared and growling. He couldn't move far due to his hands being tied to the chair the rest of his body was bound to. When he realized this Stefan struggled harder.

"No point in doing that, bro. I did them up tight…I know how you like it rough." He joked watching Stefan snarl and sneer at him. "Oh, looks like you got a bit of drool." Damon smirked as he reached to wipe it off, and then snatched his hand back as Stefan snapped at him. "Hey!" Damon scolded. "Bad dog."

"Let me go Damon." Stefan ground out, glaring at him.

"Mmm, no. You see…you fucked up today." Damon stood and paced in front of him. "I told you I wouldn't tell Elena unless someone got hurt. Well guess what…not only did someone get hurt, but you killed someone!" The older brother got right in his face looking at him with anger all over his face. "Elena saw that. She saw you tear that girl's throat out, and she'll probably never look at you the same again! Are you prepared to lose her Stefan, because you continue down this road and I can promise you that's what's going to happen!" his eyes were intense as he stared at his brother's emotionless face.

Stefan smirked. "I've already lost her, Damon. I don't care anymore." It was with those words that Damon realized that Stefan flipped the switch. He shut off his emotions to everything and everyone. "Now let me go…I'm hungry."

Damon scoffed. "Yeah, okay." He turned around and headed towards the door. "Now you sit in here and think about what you've done." He mock scolded before he slammed the basement door behind him.

"Shit." Damon cursed as he made his way back upstairs. Stefan lost it and he didn't know how long it would take for him to come to his senses. Damon didn't have time to baby sit with the Originals after Elena. He poured himself a glass of bourbon while he contemplated what to do with his brother.

He couldn't keep him locked up forever, and he couldn't let him out with his uncontrolled blood lust. He could try feeding him animal blood again but that could aggravate him even more. Damon covered his face with his hand. He had no idea what to do. He finished his drink before heading back to Elena's with the bag he packed earlier that day.

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"Hey." Bonnie said from the doorway. "Did Damon leave?"

Elena looked away from the window and motioned for her to come in. "Yeah…he's gonna take care of the Stefan situation then come back."

Bonnie sat on the window ledge and pulled one leg under her. "Can you believe it? Stefan was the good one…I never thought that he'd…" she trailed off when she saw the sadness cover her friend's face.

"Oh how the tables have turned." Elena said bitterly, still looking out the window. "This is my fault…he started drinking human blood again because I drove him to it."

Bonnie shook her head vehemently. "No, Elena! This isn't you're fault, okay. Stefan was weak and he let it take over him. Don't blame yourself for his mistake." She said strongly. She took her hand and smiled crookedly. "I never thought I'd say this but…I'm glad you have Damon here to help you through this. He's really growing as a person…vampire, whatever." She rolled her eyes.

Elena laughed. "Yeah he is…I know he doesn't show it, but he really does care about this town, Bonnie. It was his home once." She claimed, trying to get Bonnie to see that they wanted the same thing.

Bonnie nodded. "I know…I see that now." She stood up. "I'm gonna head home for a little while and grab some things. Lucy will be here though and same with Caroline. Try not to hibernate up here the whole time Damon's gone, kay?" Bonnie teased as she stepped out.

Elena sighed and nodded to herself before looking out the window one last time. She ambled down the stairs to visit with Jenna, Jeremy and the rest of the crew. Jeremy was doing great at distracting Jenna from the weirdness that was going on, and Alaric offered to let her stay with him for the next few days which Elena was very grateful for.

Everyone around her chatted and joked, but for some reason Elena felt like she couldn't get into it. The jokes weren't funny and the conversation was unimportant, and she felt like something was missing. Damon. She missed him…she'd been spending nearly every waking minute with him at her side and today she'd seen him for no more than ten minutes before he had to leave. She was bored.

"Elena?" Jenna asked trying to catch her gaze. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah…yeah I'm fine. I'm gonna get a drink." She stood and rushed to the kitchen grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and guzzling half of it down. She leaned against the counter took a deep breath to stop herself from crying. There was so much pressure, so much going on that she couldn't help but carry the burden for. Stefan's recent blood habit, being Katherine's doppelganger, the danger she's put her friends and family in, and Damon's feelings….and her growing feelings for him. Was it something that was already there? Or were these feelings stirring because of what he told her that night? She didn't know.

She collected herself before heading back into the living room.

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Brea sat with one leg crossed over the other glaring at the wall. "She has that moonstone, Ramsey…Without the moonstone we can't break the curse."

Ramsey placed his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her. "Its okay, love…we'll get it. Katerina has to show her face at some point, she can't hide forever." He pushed the strap on her shoulder away and placed a kiss there.

Brea chuckled darkly. "Yes she can, Ramsey. She's been hiding this whole time. You know she has her tricks…she tricked you once." She turned her face up to look at him.

Ramsey frowned. "That was centuries ago…and if I recall correctly she tricked you too." They shared a laugh. "Klaus will come soon enough…and when he does, she'll come running with her tail between her legs." He moved around the chair and gently pulled her up and sat down, then pulling her to sit back in his lap.

"Klaus will not grant her mercy." Brea laughed before kissing her mate passionately.

Author's Note: thank you for you reviews! Sorry it took me a little while to put out another chapter but I was a little busy. Only one more chapter until Klaus shows up…what's he gonna do and how's he gonna do it? And how bout that with Stefan…did anyone see that coming? I did lol mostly because I thought it up and now I'm rambling.

Next Chapter preview: more back story on the Originals and Katherine's story. And a visitor of course!

Thanks you for reading…please review!

Love you guyys