A/N: I'm soory that I haven't been able to update lately but I'm starting to get unmotivated again, so if you'd like to get a hold of me after a week this is posted to check on me, go right ahead. I'd also like some long winded semi-educated reviews, if readers don't mind. Well my speech is over. Remember, thoughts are in Italics!
Damon's point of view
There have been rumors of wolves becoming connected to their land and the people that live there, but the only way that could happen is that the pack's land is the Alpha's true home. I've never really thought much about the rumors, until after I got Aspen and Natala back. For some reason, I felt compelled to head to the road that led to the boarding house.
When I got to the road, I heard a car coming. Not wanting to be seen, I backed up from the road and shifted into my wolf form. The driver didn't see me but I recognized the driver. It was Elena. If I wasn't driven to come here, I'd probably just ignore the fact that she's here, but she's probably the reason why I'm out here.
I followed her car until I saw someone standing in the road up ahead. No matter how many scenarios I thought of, I couldn't think of one that would keep Elena, the person in the road, or me from getting injured.
I hated being in these positions, and being an Alpha brought on these positions pretty frequently. I got to where the man was standing and I waited. The person didn't move when Elena got closer. She tried to miss the person but she ended up rolling her car. The sound of the metal bending was screeching in my ears.
The person was nowhere to be seen. It had to have been a vampire. There's no doubt about it. I made my way towards Elena's car when the vampire showed himself again. At that moment, I didn't care if Elena saw me. I had to stop the vampire from getting close to her. I started to make my presence known by growling. The vampire didn't seem phased by my growling and he kept walking towards Elena. I picked up my pace and lunged at the vampire. I was able to get a hold on him. Elena started to scream. I let the vampire go knowing that his time is now numbered.
I debated about checking on Elena since I didn't know how she'd react to me. She stopped screaming. I sighed and turned around. I saw that Elena somehow got herself out of the car. She was using the car as leverage.
"D-don't come any closer..."
She kept whispering that over and over. It was obvious that she was in shock. I didn't know what to do. I can't shift back in front of her and Aspen and Natala are asleep. I tried to get closer to her but she screamed every time I took a step. When I figured out that I couldn't get any closer, I laid down on the road, a sign of submission. She eased up a little and was able to catch her breathe. She sat next to the overturned car.
"I guess you're not going to hurt me," she said out loud. "I can't believe I'm less than twenty feet away from a wolf and I'm talking to it. Vampires are invading my home, my best friend almost turned into one, my boyfriend has an ex-girlfriend that looks exactly like me, and now I'm talking to a wolf after I almost hit a guy. I've been through it all now."
I stared at her to act like I was listening to her. After she was done talking, I whimpered to comfort her.
"To be honest, you're the friendliest wolf I've talked to. You scared that guy off and you stayed here to watch over me. It's like you were sent to protect me," she continued.
She wasn't afraid anymore. She found her phone and got a hold of someone.
"My aunt Jenna is coming to get me. She won't believe what happened to me. I know this is a stupid question since you're a wolf, but can stay with me until she gets here."
I stayed with her. Elena told me about her boyfriend, my brother Stefan. She talked about her friends, Bonnie and Caroline. She was worried about her brother Jeremy's drug habits until he met a girl named Anna. Eventually she ran out of things to talk about but she found a new subject, me. I perked up when she mentioned my name. She didn't notice it and continued talking.
"Damon. Now he's a whole different story. He's the complete opposite of Stefan. He's arrogant, self-centered, and many other things. I've only met him a few times but I think that's all an act," she explained. I turned my head to act curious.
"The reason I think that is because at this festival a few weeks ago, I met these people who were only a few years older than me. Their names were Aspen and Natala. They were really kind. Aspen mentioned mentioned that Damon helped his parents a few times and stayed close to them. That doesn't sound like the Damon I've met. I think Damon only acts like a decent person around those two. He genuinely cares for them. For some weird reason, you remind me of him."
If only you knew the truth. I heard a car coming. I got up and started towards the woods. I stopped when I heard Elena's voice.
"Thanks for protecting me and staying here."
I nodded my head and I ran into the woods. Normally I would have just headed home but I made sure that it was her aunt. A woman with red hair was in the car. I assumed that it was her aunt because she gave Elena a hug and asked what happened. Elena gave a believable excuse and didn't mentioned me.
I decided that Elena was safe now and I left the scene. I didn't run into anyone on the way back home. That was a good thing because I didn't need anyone in my business.
When I got home Aspen was still asleep on the couch and Natala was sitting in one of the chairs. She was awake, which surprised me.
"What are you doing up? It's 1 in the morning," I asked.
"I woke up and I wanted to see you but you weren't here and I checked on Aspen."
"How is he?"
"Still alive. His breathing is uneven though. He hasn't woken up yet."
"It's progress. He'll probably be asleep until later today."
"Why did you leave?" Natala asked.
"You know those rumors about an Alpha becoming connected to its territory if it's their true home?"
"I remember hearing them but I thought that was impossible."
"It's possible because if I wasn't driven to go to the road that leads to the boarding house, there would be a dead girl there."
"Wait. What?"
I explained what happened starting with the need to go near the boarding house and ending with staying with the girl until help came.
"You were a wolf the entire time and she didn't run?" Natala asked.
"No, I just keep my distance."
"That's still weird. She didn't run at all. Was it some random girl?"
"No. It was Elena."
"You're kidding, right?"
"I wish I was but I'm serious this time."
"I can't see why someone would want to kill her," said Natala.
"Neither can I. Let's finish this discussion later. Now, what did you want to see me about?"
"I didn't want to be alone. My nerves are still shot."
"That's understandable. Come on," I said as I held my hand out to her. She took my hand and I led her to my room. "You can sleep with me tonight."
Natala hugged me. "Thanks for the offer." She went to the left side of the bed and laid down.
I laid down next to her on the right side of the bed. I pulled Natala closer to me. "Everything is be fine, Nat. I promise," I whispered to her.
Natala put her arms around me and relaxed. "I know it will. It's because you're here, Damon."
Natala's point of view
When I woke up, it was a little past noon. Damon was gone. I heard the shower running and I assumed it was him. I would've stayed in Damon's bed, but someone was knocking on the door.
I got up and went into the living room. Aspen was muttering something in his sleep. He mentioned his parent's names a few times and then started screaming.
"It wasn't your call! They weren't a threat!"
It was hard listening to Aspen, knowing what happened after that fight. It was one thing he never talked about. I knew I had to wake him up before things got worse.
"I don't give a damn if you like my choices or not! I'm not a member of the pack as of now! And I'm sure as hell not a member of this family anymore!" Aspen screamed.
I grabbed Aspen's shoulder and started shaking him. "Aspen, you have to wake up before you injure yourself. Aspen, it's not real! Damon and I are your family now! Aspen, wake up!" When that didn't work, I had to use my last option. I put all of my strength into the slap.
That woke him up but it had some consequences. The slap must've put Aspen's instincts on alert since he lunged at me. I was at a disadvantage since Aspen was taller and heavier than me. My head hit the floor hard. After the pain passed and I was able to open my eyes, I saw glowing eyes. Aspen was on the verge of shifting. I had to get him off me before that happened.
"It's me, Aspen. It's Nat. You know? Your best friend? Aspen, don't do anything that you'll regret. Aspen!"
He didn't say anything, instead he put his nails in the back of my neck. The person at the door must've heard my screams because the knocking was faster now.
"Aspen, that hurts! You have to snap out of this! I'm your friend! Your family!" I yelled. Aspen kept digging his nails into my neck. "If you don't stop I'll get someone that will! Help! Damon! Damon!"
Before I could yell Damon's name again, Aspen was pushed off of me. I immediately grabbed my neck to see how much blood was there. Surprisingly there wasn't that much. I saw that Damon had Aspen pinned to the couch.
Damon was able to get Aspen out of his trance. He didn't remember anything that happened within the past few minutes. Damon tried to explain what happened but didn't have much luck.
"Nat, I'm so sorry. You know that I wouldn't hurt you..."
I couldn't stay that mad at him. "Asp, don't beat yourself up about this. I'm fine. At least you apologized," I said as I got a wet rag to clean off my neck. "Damon, who's at the door?"
"Alaric," Damon answered.
That name didn't ring a bell to me. When I walked back into the living room, I automatically remembered who Alaric was.
"It Natalia, right?" Alaric asked me.
"Just Natala," I answered. I took a seat next to Aspen on the couch.
"Just as unusual as Alaric."
"Why are you here, Alaric?" Damon asked.
"I need to talk to you about what's going on in this town."
"Besides the murderous vampires and the werewolf packs that might cause a war?"
"Actually, that's why I need to talk never mentioned your last name," Alaric mentioned.
"It's Salvatore."
"Salvatore. Are you by chance related to Stefan Salvatore?"
"He's my brother."
"Is he like you?"
"He's not a hybrid. He's just a vampire. The werewolf gene skips around so there's a good chance he didn't get it. I'm not even sure if he knows werewolves are still around," Damon explained.
"That explains why he acts different than the other students. This might surprise you but I've been watching the tension between the Fading Echo pack and the Light Shadow pack. So my next question is, how have you managed to outsmart the Light Shadow Alpha?"
"We've dealt with Ayden before this and he wasn't that smart then. He hasn't changed since then. I also have a person spying on them for me."
"Of course you do. So you trust this informant?" Alaric asked.
"I made a deal with her so I do."
"If you don't mind me asking, what was the deal?"
"If she watched Ayden and reported to me, I would help her get her mother out of the tomb under the church ruins."
"Who exactly is your informant?"
"A girl named Anna."
"A girl who looks around fourteen and has dark hair?"
"I'm guessing you know her."
"I've seen her around," Alaric said.
"She's been a big help and I trust her."
"That's all I needed to know. I should head back to the school now."
"There's one more thing you should know."
"What's that, Damon?"
"You can knock yourself out hunting Ayden's pack. They're not my problem so I don't care."
"Hopefully I won't have to."
With that being said, Alaric left. I helped Damon with changing Aspen's bandages. Most of his injuries were almost fully healed. Damon checked my neck and saw that it was already healed.
"Do you trust him?" I asked.
"Alaric?"
"Yeah. Him. You basically told him all of the pack's secrets."
"I know I did. I've only met him twice, but I think I can trust him. He did help me last night by helping getting you two home. I didn't know how I was going to do it alone."
"Hopefully things get better soon."
"I hope so too, Nat."
Damon's point of view
Everything was quiet for the rest of the day. Alaric didn't come back over. It wouldn't have bothered me if he did. Aspen didn't go into another trance. Natala stayed close to me for the remainder of the day. We didn't hear anything from Anna either.
It was after sundown when we got another visitor. I assumed that it was Alaric, but when I opened the door, it wasn't him. Instead it was Lexi and some guy.
"I didn't know you were back in town. I'll tell Stefan the news."
"He doesn't need to know that I'm in town," answered Lexi. "I can't believe that I'm going to say this, but I'm here to see you."
"Come in then. Who's your friend?"
"I'm Lee," the guy answered.
"Ok, Lexi, Lee, why are you here?"
"I heard rumors about you and I want to know if they're true or not," said Lexi. As she said that Natala walked into the room and tried to retreat back to her room.
"I have a feeling that I'll need your help with these rumors," I called out. She came back and took a seat in one of the chairs. She introduced herself to Lexi and Lee.
"What type of rumors have you heard?" I asked.
"Why are you meddling in werewolf business?" Lexi asked.
"It's not what you think."
"Then what is it?! I've that you supposedly killed two rogue werewolves! You know what they can do to us, Damon! They're not good company to be around!"
I saw that Natala was ignoring the conversation, otherwise she would've started yelling by now. "Sure. I killed two rogue werewolves, so what?"
"Damon, I heard that they were killed while in their wolf form. One's neck was snapped and the other's underbelly was clawed. If that was you, there is no way you could've done that without getting bitten."
"I.. Uh.. Um.." I couldn't think of a way to get myself out of this.
"I want a straight answer, Damon."
There's no way to avoid this, Damon. You're going to have to tell her, Natala told me.
I know, but there's no telling how she'll react. She twice my age. She stronger than me, I responded.
Just tell her the truth, Damon.
"Do you believe in hybrids, Lexi?
"Don't try to change the subject, Damon!" She yelled.
"You'll get your answer soon, Lexi. Now, do you believe in hybrids?"
"What exactly do you mean by, hybrids?"
"Half vampire and half werewolf," I explained.
It was Lee who spoke up. "That's impossible. Those can't possibly exist."
"You have no clue how many times we've heard that," said Natala.
"What do you mean?" Lexi asked.
"Those type of hybrids exist whether you like it or not. And I'm one of them."
Lexi didn't say anything so I continued my explanation. "The reason I killed those rogues is because they were after Aspen and Natala and I were in the way so we fought them and won."
"That's... Impossible. You... Can't... Be." That's all Lexi could get out. "You're lying!"
"I'm not Lexi."
"Prove it then!"
That was the last phrase I wanted to hear. "I'm prove it then. Let's go outside." Lexi, Lee, and Natala followed me outside. I got away from the driveway in case someone decided to show up.
"Well?" Lee asked.
I ignored his question and the familiar sensation of the shift took over. The next thing I knew, I was a wolf and Lexi and Lee had shocked looks on their faces. Natala had her signature smile on her face.
"I can't believe he was telling the truth," Lee whispered.
"I think hell just froze over because I think I have a little more respect for Damon," said Lexi.
"Have a little faith in people, Lexi," whispered Natala.
Satisfied with their reactions, I shifted back. I walked over to them. "Is that enough proof for you?" I headed back inside with Natala, Lexi, and Lee in tow.
"Stefan isn't like you," Lexi commented.
"No, the werewolf gene is spotty when it comes to picking a carrier," I answered. "You cannot tell anyone this. Not even Stefan."
"He doesn't know?" Lexi asked.
"No, and I don't want him to know. There's no telling what he'll do if he finds out."
"I hate to do this to him but I won't tell him."
"I won't either," said Lee.
"I'd appreciate it."
"That's all I wanted to know. So I just we're done here. It was a pleasure meeting you, Natala. Look after Damon."
"I will," Natala answered.
"Goodbye, Damon," said Lexi. Lee just shook his head. Natala and I watched as they drove off.
"They seemed kinda nice," Nat commented.
"Lexi has something against me."
"And it has to deal with Stefan, doesn't it?" She guessed.
"Yeah. It does."
"Am I the only one that has the feeling that something terrible is about to start?"
"I've had that feeling since last night so you're not the only one."
"Whatever it is, we should prepare for it."
"Are you thinking that it's a war with Ayden?"
"That's what my instincts are telling me."
I wrapped my arms around Nat's shoulders. "We'll get through it together, Nat."
Ayden whatever you're possibly planning. We'll always be one step ahead.
A/N: Reviews would be greatly appreciated. They put a smile on my face, so review, review, review! (Please) Some followers would be great, too.
