Elijah had never before felt so frustrated. He hadn't meant to upset Elena, he was just trying to make her understand. She had no need to hide anymore and he would give her anything. It made him wonder what was really going on inside Elena's head. The bond let him feel her emotions but didn't give concrete thoughts. It was obviously the Salvatore's. Jealousy surged throughout his entire body. She was hiding from them. She may not love them anymore but she was still living her life based on their thoughts and actions not her own. He was really angry with them but had pushed Elena away. He thought about going after her but she was upset. She mistook his concern for trying to control her but he would never force her to do anything. After all the time she spent with Stefan and Damon he could see how what he had said would confuse her.
"Rebekah." He decided to call his sister. "I need your help."
"I just left you Elijah. What could possibly have happened already?" She laughed.
"Elena and I got into an argument and she took off. Would you please find her and make sure she is alright? She won't talk to me right now but she shouldn't be alone." He admitted.
"What did you do to her?" She mocked.
"Why do you assume I'm the one who's done anything wrong?" He asked.
"Because Elena is so disgustingly sweet she couldn't possibly have done anything." Elijah smiled, Elena was very sweet in many ways. "This didn't have anything to do with Stefan and Damon did it? You got all jealous and said something stupid didn't you? Don't worry, I'll take care of it." She insisted. "But only because I like Elena." She added and hung up.
Elijah sat down to do some work and waited patiently for Elena to return. Nausea filled his insides as he tried to work but he forced it down. He could feel Elena was upset and it was only getting worse but he was sure Rebekah could manage to talk some sense into her, Elena would be fine and be back at his side soon. He ignored the illness he was feeling and completely immersed in his work as it finally faded away. When he finally realized it was morning and Elena had not returned his anger resurfaced. Perhaps Rebekah had made things worse. It was not like Elena to act this way. They had arguments before but she always came back and they had always made up before the sun rose the next morning. It was a little underhanded but sometimes Elijah would purposely begin an argument just so they could make up.
As Elijah thought about their previous arguments he mentally noted that almost everyone had been started because Elijah had wanted her to do something that she didn't want to do. He had always managed to convince her what he wanted was best. Elena had never won an argument and it made him think. Why was that? He was brought out of this thoughts when his phone started ringing.
"Ah Rebekah, I was just about to call you. How is…" She cut him off quickly.
"We have a problem." His heart sank and the nausea returned.
"What happened? Are you alright? Is Elena alright?" He asked.
"I'm okay but I don't know where Elena is. I found her in a bar but before I got to her Damon Salvatore snapped my neck. I don't know what happened to her." She was clearly upset. She and Elena had a good relationship now and she must feel bad about her going missing. That, and she feared what his reaction was going to be. "I'm sorry." The Salvatore's were going to pay for this. Elijah knew exactly what they had done. They kidnapped Elena not realizing it was her.
"It's alright Rebekah. Please calm down. I am not mad at you." He heard Kol in the background yelling. He and Elena had become close and he was angry now as well. "Would you care to accompany me on a road trip?" He asked and in almost no time at all he, Rebekah and Kol were all in his car driving to Mystic Falls. The closer they got, the stronger he could feel Elena. They were about half an hour away when Elijah's phone began ringing again.
"Mr. Salvatore." He greeted.
"Hey there Elijah!" They could all hear the amusement in Damon's voice.
"Damon don't!" Elena cried.
"I've got your little girlfriend here and I'm willing to make a deal with you. Tell us where Elena is and maybe I'll return her with all her body parts." So Elena still had her necklace on. Elena shrieked and they all just stared. Damon had just hurt Elena. Granted he didn't know it was her but Elijah could still feel Elena's pain.
"Dammit Damon! I am Elena!" She screamed and no one said a word. Elijah felt relief, he was glad she was finally coming clean. It was what he wanted and with that thought it was just another victory for him. Why did Elena always do what he wanted?
"What?" Damon was clearly angry. They all heard Elena painfully shifting around.
"It's me Damon." She coughed violently. "It's been me the whole time." They lost connection after that and Elijah handed the phone to Rebekah.
"Elijah?" She reached to touch his shoulder but he growled. His only thought was getting to Elena and slammed his foot down forcing the car to move faster.
He barely parked his car before he was out and bursting into the boarding house. He stopped instantly at the scene. Elena was nowhere to be seen but Stefan was currently in a physical confrontation with Damon. Stefan was distracted by his appearance and Damon took the opportunity to toss him into a wall. Stefan moved to charge again but Kol sped and held him back leaving Damon and Elijah to stare each other down.
"I'm not going to fight you Damon. I'm here for Elena." That seemed to infuriate him and Damon threw himself but Elijah didn't even have to touch him and simple side stepped out of the way. Damon was so enraged he wasn't focused.
"Elena's gone!" Stefan shouted. "Damon tried to stake her and she took off!"
"When?" Elijah asked trying to keep calm. If he did it before she took the necklace off that would be different.
"What do you mean when? Just a little while ago! After we realized it was her." He explained. Elijah grabbed Damon by the throat and squeezed hard.
"I presume Elena told you what she's been doing these last few months?" Elijah asked but Damon just snarled at him. He took that as a yes. "Did you try to hurt Elena because of our relationship?" Elijah asked and Damon's face contorted with fury, another yes. Elijah wasted no time in giving Damon the beating of a lifetime. He broke both legs and used pieces of furniture he broke to sabe him in places not to kill him but to keep him incapacitated. When he felt satisfied Damon had been punished enough he bent down and wiped the blood of his hands using Damon's shirt then made the young vampire look him in the eyes. "You will do nothing to harm Elena or anyone she cares about." He felt comfortable compelling Damon. He didn't tell him to stay away from Elena, just made sure he couldn't hurt her anymore. No matter what, Elena would be devastated if Elijah flat out killed him. He tossed Damon across the room and sped to Stefan. He may not have tried to kill Elena but he still kidnapped her and let Damon torture her, he could let that go.
"I'm sorry Elijah. We didn't know." Stefan tried to defend himself.
"It doesn't matter. She was still hurt because of you and your brother." Elijah grabbed Stefan's throat and squeezed tight. "I could kill you both now and feel no remorse whatsoever." He nearly snarled and he could smell the fear radiating from Stefan. Elijah had to admit it wasn't just the fact that they had tortured Elena, he hated Stefan because he still held a piece of Elena's heart and he didn't want to share it any longer. "You will never touch Elena again." He compelled Stefan. "You will never approach her yet if she wishes to speak with you, you will listen to everything she has to say and respect her wishes." Elena was going to need some time to recover from the events of the last couple days but knew she would want to end things with the Salvatore's on her own terms. He needed to grant her that or they would never move forward. "Elena is mine." He declared before snapping Stefan's neck then took off to find Elena.
The boarding house had been filled with Elena's scent. She had been bleeding when she was there and likely still was. She lost a lot of blood and was upset about Damon and fear struck him. Elena may do something drastic in her current state and she would never forgive herself if she hurt someone.
Elijah traced her scent through town and wasn't surprised when it ended at her house. He wasn't sure why but he felt the need to knock instead of just barging in even though he could.
"Elijah." Jeremy answered not surprised by his appearance. The boy's look was severe but Elijah couldn't worry about that right now. He needed to make sure Elena was safe.
"Jeremy." He greeted. "I was wondering if Elena was here."
"Yeah, she's upstairs but she can't talk right now." He said.
"Why not?" Was she so upset she wouldn't see him?
"She's passed out. I don't know what the hell happened but she's pretty out of it. She should get some rest." He insisted, Elijah could see the restraint in Jeremy's gaze. His hunter instincts were in overdrive but was remaining calm. Elijah was actually impressed.
"I see and of course you're right. Would you mind if I waited here until she wakes?" Jeremy shrugged and opened the door wider to allow him access. The boy obviously knew how to pick his battles. At least someone was making his life easier.
"She's been asking for you." Jeremy said lounging across the couch.
"Excuse me?" Elijah asked.
"She was calling for you in her sleep." He repeated and Elijah smiled.
"May I?" He motioned upstairs.
"Sure." Jeremy shrugged.
He entered her room quietly and was disgusted by what he saw. Elena was passed out across her bed, her clothes were covered in blood, her blood, and her hair was a mess. Her veins popped out of her skin and she looked unhealthy. This was why she had been afraid, this was why she had worn that necklace. Not because she was hiding herself, she had been afraid of Damon and his actions proved her fears had been valid. He felt remorseful for pushing her and wished he had been there with her. He should have gone after her.
"Elena?" Her eyes were wide open and she was staring at him. "Jeremy said you were asleep." Elena blinked a few times and tried to sit up but didn't make it very far before she flopped back down.
"I was." She said quietly and a few tears left her eyes. "I'm so sorry." She said and Elijah sped to sit next to her. He brushed her hair back.
"What on Earth are you apologizing for?" He laughed.
"I should have just told them a long time ago like you said. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad. I wish I had listened to you." She curled herself up and it hit Elijah.
"Elena. I have to ask you something." He said sternly and she stared at him blankly. "I suppose it didn't matter before but I need to know now. Please don't think me rude for asking but how did you die?" He asked.
"I told you. Matt swerved so he wouldn't hit Rebekah." She responded.
"I know that part but how did you come to have vampire blood in your system?"
"I hit my head." She lifted her arm and held a spot on the side of her head. "Klaus had me hooked up so he could drain my blood. Stefan and Damon were trying to help but in the chaos I got knocked over and I smacked my head off the fireplace. I couldn't catch myself because my arms were tied to the chair." Elijah reached and took her hand rubbing it gently. "Jeremy was worried so he took me to the hospital. Meredith said I was fine and sent me home but she lied. She didn't want anyone to worry. I was bleeding internally, I would have died that night so she gave me blood. Damon always gives her a supply." Elijah thought for a few moments.
"Elena it was not Damon's blood that healed you." He finally said. "It was mine." He could feel that Elena was happy about this but he wasn't. "I gave a small supply of my blood to be used for you and only you if the emergency called for it."
"Why are you so upset?" Elena forced herself to sit up and she held her head. "Do you feel guilty that you caused it? Please don't, it isn't your fault. And if I'm being completely honest I like my new life, with you." Her smile was beautiful despite her ragged appearance. "I love you."
"I'm not upset that it was my blood that turned you. I'm upset by what it's done to you." He confessed.
"I don't understand?" Elijah stood and back away a few feet.
"Get up Elena." She whined.
"Please don't make me. I don't feel well." She argued.
"I asked you to get up." He pressed and she slowly did and he knew. Despite the pain she was in she stumbled a few steps but he caught her before she hit the floor and set her back down.
"Why did you want me to get up if you were just going to set me back down?" She was clearly annoyed by his actions but he had to know.
"You're sired to me." He ran his hands through his hair unsure what he should do. A sire bond explained everything, how he had been drawn to the alley the night he found her, how compliant she had been towards him, why she had let him share blood with him in the first place and why she thought she was in love with him. It was all a lie.
"The bond? I know." She responded.
"No. A sire bond is different from blood bonding. Blood bonding is a mutual ritual between two vampires who wish to mate as I've explained but a sire bond is not mutual. It forms when a newborn vampire feels they cannot control themselves. They become emotionally attached to the vampire they were turned by. This explains everything." He said sitting under her window.
"I'm sorry. I still don't get it." Elena was still confused and Elijah let out a loud sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.
"The blood bond is mutual; a sire bond is not. It's a physical connection, it's why you were drawn to the city, I was here, and why I was drawn to the alley where I first found you. We were supposed to find each other."
"A sire bond, like Klaus and his hybrids?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, exactly. I forced you into all of this. I'm a thousand years old, I should have known better. I was just so happy you were finally responding to my advances. I wanted you so badly I ignored my better judgement." He could feel that she was calm and not at all upset by the realization.
"It's okay Elijah. We'll work through this." She smiled but it only made him angry.
"Let me explain this a little clearer." The words came out harsher than he intended and Elena's face turned sad. "Nothing you feel for me is real, it never was."
"That's not true." She denied. "Elijah please, this entire situation made me realize how much I love you." Her face beamed and Elena truly believed what she was saying but he knew better.
"No. You don't love me. You only think you do because of the sire bond. You only acted because that's what I wanted you to do. It's nearly impossible for one to ignore their sire's wishes. They only reason you think you love me is because I want you to love me and that isn't fair to you." Life was so cruel sometimes. He was in love with Elena but this wasn't right. He couldn't force her to love him back, it's not how she really felt.
"No, it's not the only reason Elijah. I honestly think I loved you before I turned. It probably makes me a terrible person but I think I loved you from the first time I saw you." She admitted. "You were terrifying but you were also the only one who cared about what I wanted and let me make my own decisions."
"No!" He yelled standing up. "Nothing you're saying is true! None of this is real!" Panic rose in him and Elena stood to walk towards him. He couldn't handle this. He could not do this to her.
"Elijah please." She whispered with tears streaming down her face. Her small plea broke his heart and for a split second he contemplated just taking her and running to the ends of the Earth but instead he fled.