A/N: Thanks everyone for reading, reviewing, following, telling others about this fic.

I know the Klaroline buildup is slow in this one, but I'm trying to be as realistic as I can be considering all Klaus did at the beginning of the fic, but this IS a Klaroline fic, and they will be happening. And until then (which really isn't that far away from happening, I promise) the tension between them is going to keep building.

And now, on with the story.

i am mine, before i am anyone else's -nayyirah waheed

Although Rebekah had always had her own share of power—it came with the territory of being an Original—she quite enjoyed the freedom the twenty-first century granted her. There was no need to compel others when she was without an escort or worry about other trivialities that came into play because she was a woman. There was still the blatant ogling, the little games she'd seen played out through the centuries with men angling what power they had over women, but those had always been easy enough for her shut down. It was the morals of society, that belief that women needed to be with a male member of their family while traveling or out shopping or a hundred other little things, that she was pleased to see was abolished in most places.

It would come in handy if she took the cure. When, she reminded herself, strumming her fingers along the arm rest in the car. When I take the cure. The little doubts her brothers had placed in her head were going to be pushed aside and buried if it was the last thing she did. They were not allowed to take this chance away from her with their words when she knew nothing would change between all of them.

Nik would still wave around the damn daggers. Kol would run off for decades at a time for a break. Elijah would have some sort of falling out, probably over the ridiculous doppelganger, and she'd be left with Nik. Nik who was working his damnedest to get the stroppy little cheerleader to become his new companion for eternity.

This wasn't like his past dalliances where she watched her brother court, feed, and dispose or court, turn and then get bored of them, leaving them to make their own way in the world. Rebekah had thought that at first, could have handled that little game playing out again as it always had, but this was different and she didn't like it. She didn't like the feeling of replacement that had settled into her bones and couldn't be shaken.

So she would replace him and the rest of them with a new family. It was a simple plan and one she thought would work out beautifully. Well, as long as she didn't look too hard at the fine print of it all, but the fantasy of being human and having a family was a nice one to hold onto, even if she knew in the back of her head that it would be nothing like she was dreaming of.

"Why aren't we simply flashing our way to the damn school again?" Rebekah inquired, glancing over at Stefan in the driver's seat.

"We've been away for weeks and have no idea what's going on in the town. Liz isn't in charge of the council any longer. But as far as we know they all think we're human and attend the school. So we go in like we would any other day, get the tombstone, and leave," Stefan replied, replaying all he'd told her before.

"If they tried anything I could simply kill them." Easy enough.

"Like you did when the Reverend's people took you?" he asked, and she pursed her lips in annoyance at that.

She hadn't been expecting an attack, hadn't thought they knew her little secret, but this time would be different. She'd be aware and on the lookout for anything. She'd also been highly distraught over Klaus' supposed death so Rebekah figured that gave her some leeway on not having been able to adequately defend herself in time. "Besides, some of us do want to be able to come back here when all is said and done," Stefan added.

Rebekah rolled her eyes at that and looked out in time to see the 'Welcome to Mystic Falls' sign. "Don't be so naive, Stefan. This place will never feel like home for any of you when all is said and done. Elena's brother is dead and who even knows where her or Damon are. Perhaps they've decided to go off on their own little adventure together. Without you. It was always inevitable. Sire bond and all. Pesky little thing to break and I doubt Damon will care much about doing so considering it gets him what he wants."

Even if it did cause him to lose his brother. Seemed family didn't mean all that much to the Salvatore brothers in the end.

Stefan's grip tightened on the wheel, the force behind his grip reminding her of Klaus on their prior road trip, and she wouldn't be surprised if the steering wheel was a wrangled mess when they exited the car. "There was maybe a decade here for the lot of you, anything more and people would've become too suspicious," she continued. "But you already know that. Unlike the rest of your little motley crew you and your brother have been vampires for over a century now. We do not stay in any one place for too long. I'd think that would be even more crucial nowadays."

With digital photographs and videos and the damn internet. It was becoming so easy to track down someone. Though there would be no more running from her father so that was a plus and if she did become human, well, then, she wouldn't need to worry about any of that anyway. "And your family's line is dead, is it not?"

Hadn't she heard that little rumor from Damon during their tryst? Something about killing their last relative? She couldn't remember exactly but Stefan's deepening frown seemed to support her belief. "So really, what's the appeal of this place?"

"I don't know? Why did you decide to stay? Why didn't you leave like Kol and Elijah did?" Stefan asked, and she looked out the window, watching as the beginnings of the town came into view.

"I had a chance for normal but it's buried in the ground now." Not that she was even sure Matt would have ever forgiven her in the end but she had desperately wanted that forgiveness. "Be thankful Nik simply compelled you, Stefan. Most of my lovers don't get such luxury as their parting gift. But then he did count you as a friend."

Stefan didn't reply and Rebekah didn't really feel like continuing the conversation. She simply wanted to get to the high school, get the tombstone, and get out. They'd figure out what to do afterward once they had the object in their hands.

It wasn't long before Stefan was parking the car in the parking lot, the rest of the student populace doing the same, piling in from buses or walking. Rebekah cast a quick glance in his direction before the two of them headed into the school and down to where the exhibit was set up, making sure to offer up the requisite smiles to cheerleading teammates or others that she knew.

"Do you see it?" she murmured to Stefan as they looked over the exhibit. She wasn't seeing it. Had it been moved? Knocked down maybe? That had to be possible. Especially with all of the people who passed by it on a daily basis.

The bell was ringing, the hallway becoming less crowded as everyone headed to class, and the two of them stepped closer, moving objects out of the way as they tried to find the stone. Her hands began to shake as they uncovered nothing. This couldn't be happening.

"It's not here, Rebekah," Stefan muttered, sounding as frustrated as she felt, and she looked over at him, seeing the same shock and disappointment that she knew she was displaying.

How could it not be there?

"Rebekah?" April's voice came from behind them and the two whirled around to see the younger girl in the hallway looking at them with wide eyes. "Stefan? Are you guys back? Where have you been?" April stepped forward, hugging her and Rebekah hesitated for a moment before hugging the girl back.

"Just passing through," Rebekah informed the girl she'd called friend. "Has anyone been near Professor Shane's exhibit? Touching items they shouldn't have?"

April shook her head. "Not that I've seen."

Rebekah frowned, looking back at the various items. It had been there when she'd left town and asked April to keep an eye on it but now it was gone. And yet the girl hadn't seen anyone near it. Of course April wouldn't have been around school after hours so perhaps it happened then. She really should have compelled the girl to tell her if anything ever went missing, but she hadn't expected the damn exhibit to be of any importance to anyone else.

"You could always check the school security camera. They have one on it because of its importance," April suggested, nodding toward the camera in the ceiling. "Especially since Professor Shane was found dead."

Rebekah glanced over at Stefan. So it seemed his body had been found. Not surprising considering what Klaus had told her of his death.

"Thank you, April. Why don't you go on to class now?" Rebekah suggested, watching the girl walk away. She'd be the one person who might actually miss Rebekah in the town. From what April had said she'd been the only one who asked about her disappearance. None of the other girls from the squad or planning committees had. She didn't doubt for a second that they all wondered where Caroline was though.

"Mrs. White, the office manager, should know where we can see the feed," Stefan stated, breaking Rebekah from her thoughts.

Ten minutes and some compulsion later, and the two of them were sitting in the conference room, reviewing the security camera feed. There wasn't anything of importance at first, just the comings and goings of students, some dusting by the night janitor, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary until they finally spotted Katherine and Elijah.

"Of course," Rebekah muttered as she paused the feed.

"If anyone would throw a wrench into all of the plans it would be Katherine Pierce," Stefan pointed out, leaning back in his chair. "At least she's with Elijah. You can contact him, can't you? Figure out where he is and we can get the stone."

If only it were that simple but Rebekah knew better. If Elijah was with Katerina that meant he was no doubt being influenced by the doppelganger. She'd seen how that played out before with other women in his life. They'd have to be careful and plan their next move out thoughtfully. After all, in order to have taken the tombstone and only that stone he had to have known it had some importance. No doubt he was aware it linked to the cure somehow. So why hadn't he called them? Why hadn't he reached out to any of his siblings?

He certainly hadn't to her and she was sure they would have heard it if he had tried to talk to Klaus or Kol. Her oldest brother had to have his own agenda, one that apparently involved Katherine, and Rebekah knew that wouldn't end well. Most likely it had to do with bargaining for Katherine's freedom, something Rebekah doubted that Klaus would want to give. Though he wouldn't have much of a choice considering the circumstances.

"Elijah will do what Kol did. He'll go to the one witch we all knew would have information." And she had a feeling he would seek out Zelda. "We need to go back to New Orleans. Hopefully they're still there or at least she'll be able to let us know where they headed." Perhaps Zelda would put the other two on the same trail her group had already ventured.

Rebekah rose, ready to leave. Stefan didn't move though, and she shifted her gaze to the photograph of the cheer squad that he was looking at. It was before her time, but she easily picked out Elena, Caroline and Bonnie in it. "Let's go. I have no desire to be here any longer," she told him, heading toward the door.

High school and all that pertained to it didn't seem as appealing as it had only a month earlier. She couldn't help that little sliver of doubt running through her, asking how quickly she'd find being human unappealing as well, before she headed out of the room and out of the school, trying hard to squash the annoying reasoning in her head.

Katherine Pierce didn't like others knowing more than she did. Knowledge was power, something she had learned to cultivate and keep close to her chest for centuries. It was how she had survived for the last five hundred years, utilizing what she knew to barter deals, to betray others and insure her survival, to bribe, blackmail, and do whatever else she could to be the one who came out of any situation on top.

Five hundred years of never being able to call somewhere home. Of running from one man she had thought she could love. Of turning others and having to leave them behind because they were too much of a liability. There were no friends, not really, in the last half millennia, only those she had exploited, some less than others, but in the end any affection she had for another was quickly trumped by her own safety and well-being.

And she was done with living like that.

Klaus had gotten his damn curse broken. Why did she have to continue to suffer for wanting to live? To not be the catalyst in his damn sacrifice? He'd gotten what he wanted and Katherine was determined to have it finally be time for her to get what she desired. If she had to bring down a few more people to insure that then so be it. What were a few more souls on her already fully notched belt?

Aside from the one beside her. Elijah Mikaelson.

She really did think she could love him, had felt the first inklings of it back when she'd been human, but love had become a twisted emotion for her in the last few centuries, and she truly did not know if it would ever be able to be as pure as it had been back then. Back when she'd still had a touch of naivety to her being.

But she wanted him and the fact that it might cause Klaus a bit of pain if Elijah chose her over his family was a nice bonus. And wasn't the fact that she thought that she could love him saying something?

It wasn't as though he was a saint either. He had tormented her, chased her across the world for his brother, but when she was with Elijah, she did feel a small piece of the girl she had once been, the one she'd sacrificed so she could live, and Katherine wasn't quite ready to give up on that yet.

She wanted him and she would have him.

In the end, it was as simple as that.

New Orleans wasn't a place she liked to visit, too many witches around, wolves as well, and other supernatural creatures that went bump in the night. Too many who could've recognized her and sent a message to Klaus of her whereabouts. That didn't matter at the moment though. Not when she had Elijah at her side. Anyone old enough to know Klaus wanted her would also know Elijah and no doubt assume he was bringing her to his brother.

"How do you know she'll help us?" Katherine asked, already thinking up ways to get away from the situation if needed. Her survival instincts were always on overdrive.

"She's an old family acquaintance. Knew Kol quite well almost a century or so ago and I can be quite persuasive when needed," Elijah reminded, brushing specs of dirt of his suit jacket before nodding toward the tourist shop across the street.

"So you want her alive when we're done here?" Better to know that upfront.

"That would be my preference, yes," Elijah replied, and she was certain she could hear amusement in his voice, noted the slight upturn of his lips as they crossed the street.

The smell of death was overwhelming before they even got to the door. A Closed sign hung in the window, all the lights in the shop off, and Katherine noted the number of newspapers and flyers piling up on the doorjamb and space in front of it. "Something tells me you're not going to get your preference, Elijah," Katherine remarked, glancing around the street once again to make certain no one was watching them.

He easily pushed the door open, the lock hardly a deterrent. The two headed back toward the smell, Katherine looking around for exits, traps, anything that set off her instinct to bolt.

Elijah sighed at the sight of Zelda on the floor, body decomposing and looking as if it had been doing so for a few days. Katherine frowned at the sight, wondering what had killed the woman and if it was related to what they had in their possession. That stone which was currently stored away for safe keeping.

She watched as Elijah headed to the body, no doubt wanting to see if he could tell what had caused her death, and Katherine headed to the woman's desk, trying to see if anything useful was on it or inside of it. Anything that could give a hint as to what to do next. Klaus was not allowed that cure. Not until she got it and was able to bargain for her freedom.

The shrill ringing of Elijah's phone cut through the silence and Katherine glanced up, watching him answer it. "Hello, Rebekah."

Katherine doubted she would have needed vampire hearing to overhear the conversation considering how loud the other girl seemed to be screaming, rolling her eyes at Rebekah's colorful names for her. She listened carefully, picking up on everything, and snagging a piece of paper with some numbers that looked to have been scrawled down in a hurry. She tucked it away in her bra before Elijah looked back at her, ending his call.

"It seems Rebekah and Stefan will be joining us in the evening. They have quite a bit to tell us about this so-called cure," Elijah informed her and Katherine simply smiled.

Hopefully they would get a new lead but she had every intention of figuring out how to eliminate the other two from the equation if needed. She had no patience for Rebekah's tantrums and her own survival trumped Stefan every time. Not to mention Rebekah that when push came to shove, Rebekah would always side with Klaus, and Katherine had no intention of losing out on her one chance for freedom.

"Then why don't we enjoy the city before they get here?" Katherine suggested, pleased when Elijah smiled, offering her his arm.

She would make certain they had a wonderful time together because if push came to shove and it was their last, if she had to betray him all over again, she'd at least like to part with some nice memories of what could have been.

They'd been in Romania for three days and Caroline was certain that she was coming apart at the seams. It had been okay that first day, even if she'd still been riding high on his blood and trying not to show it, to push down the inner thoughts that blood from his vein seemed to invoke in her. Brasov had enough of a modern feel to it that while she hadn't been able to understand what was being said around her or on the television that she hadn't felt too disjointed from the world.

But that had all quickly been stripped from her when Klaus had moved them onto a smaller village about a hundred miles away from the city, nestled closely to the looming Carpathian mountains in the background. It was almost picturesque and Caroline had a feeling a lot hadn't changed in the area in the last century if not longer. It had been quaint and fascinating for the first few hours as she allowed Klaus to lead her through the area, eyes widening with the actual horse drawn wagons that had made their way through the town.

Funny how all of that was quickly gutted and left her aching for something normal when he compelled them lodging with a family near the edge of the village.

Caroline didn't like Romania with its language she didn't understand and the people who are entirely too nice and accommodating. Maybe at another point in time she would have embraced the culture, would have adored the families living under one roof that showed her and Klaus how to create wine with their freshly picked grapes. But she looked at all of them with their trusting eyes, all too welcoming smiles, and couldn't help thinking that they needed to stop inviting the wolf into their homes.

She didn't know these people, and barely understood what they were saying to her outside of some hand gestures and body language that seemed to be universal, but Caroline didn't want any harm coming to them. It wasn't their fault they didn't have vervain and ate copious amounts of garlic instead, hung the plant from their entrance ways and crosses in every room. She wouldn't be surprised if they drove stakes through their dead loved ones hearts before burying them either.

"We perpetuated those lovely myths," Klaus had murmured to her after dinner the second night. "Very few who are not actual hunters, witches, or descended from Councils like in your home town know of vervain."

And then he'd left in the middle of the night, practically ordering her to stay in the house, while he disappeared into the darkness, coming back with blood coating his collar and the stain of it on his face. She hadn't asked questions that night, simply sighed and turned over in the bed, not in the mood to comment about his hapless kills and once again thankful that there were two beds in the room they were sharing.

But he'd been gone again when she woke in the morning, the family already out in the fields or in the yard to do their chores. Caroline looked around the room, wondering where Klaus could have gone, looked for some kind of note for a few minutes, before settling for looking out the window at the two little girls alternating between washing the clothes and hanging them to dry.

Caroline's hands shook a little as she watched their mother come over to two of them, helping the shorter one reach the line to place the clothespins on it to secure the skirt. She closed her eyes, trying not to think of her mother, for the worry to seep back into her bones and try to take over again. She needed to be stronger than that, to not show the kind of vulnerability that she had been because she knew Klaus. He would seek out that weakness inside of her and exploit it to his benefit for all it was worth. And maybe that wouldn't be in the same way as he would to others, but she still couldn't allow him that inch of power.

"Good, you're awake," Klaus remarked as he entered the room and she breathed in, noting the smell of blood that seemed to come with him, or maybe that's her imagination as well, but she looked behind her and no, his lips are an even darker shade of red than they should be and there are flecks of blood on his collar.

"Who did you kill now?" she demanded, glaring at his bright smile and then turning away as he moved to change the shirt he was wearing.

"Who I needed to," Klaus replied, and god how she hated the mirth to his tone, the amusement that seemed to radiate off of him whenever she asked had her wanting to bash his head in.

Which was not good? She should not be thinking of ways to plan his death. Or maybe she should be. She wasn't sure any more and it was driving her mad. "Don't you think you need to like stop? This isn't that big of a village. I'm sure they'll totally notice if anyone goes missing!"

Yet there hadn't been any inquiries into it and that confused her. Had he compelled them all when she wasn't looking? She didn't think that was the case but it really wouldn't surprise her.

"It was no one of importance to this little village," he continued and she crossed her arms, still not looking back at him.

"Your definition of important is seriously skewed, Klaus," she muttered, needing to get away from him and the damn smell of blood.

That made at least three people who were dead, maybe more, probably more, but so far he'd left her three times to kill.

"As I already told you, Caroline, I'm merely getting my point across to those who need to know. We should be contacted sometime today," Klaus told her and she sighed at that. "Vincent's people will have gotten the hint by now that I'm around."

"Because simply walking up to the door and knocking is like totally out of the question," she murmured, turning around to look at him and thankful he was actually wearing a new shirt, his necklaces now hanging from his neck.

"There's a certain game that needs to be played out with Vincent when wanting to meet with him. Simply going up to his door will lead to witches blindsiding us and a number of other possibilities that I am in no mood for you to endure," he replied, and she frowned at that, wishing she hadn't turned around. "Vincent is a collector of many rare items, some of which others would do anything in their power to possess. He's powerful—hardly any match for me—but he does things a certain way so to weed out any undesirables. I play his game because I enjoy his company from time to time. Not to mention I quite admire his penchant for torturing any who would try to swindle him out of one of his wares. I'd rather not need to kill him if he were to mistakenly attempt to harm you because I failed to leave my calling card."

Caroline didn't like to think that more people were apparently dead in order to protect her. That was the last thing that she wanted to happen and she looked away, wishing there had been an alternative and annoyed that she hadn't thought of one. She had a feeling there were other ways to go about it but Klaus needed to feed and no doubt he was enjoying the game he was playing in leaving the victims in various spots along the Carpathian mountains right outside the town.

Her attention shifted as the smell of fresh blood hit the air, eyes darkening at the smell, and her gaze shifted to the window. The mother was trying to soothe one of her daughters who had accidentally cut her leg on a rock and Caroline bit her lip, trying to force down her need to feed. It had been a day? Or was it two? She couldn't quite remember any more. Not since the hotel room at least.

"You're going to need to feed, Caroline," Klaus told her, his tone implying that it wasn't up for discussion.

There were no blood bags in the village they were in and as much as she wanted to simply feed from one of the pigs out back she'd realized doing so would hurt the livelihood of the family and she didn't want to do that. So that left feeding from him, something she really didn't want to do again. She'd held off since the train and he'd provided her a glass of blood at their first hotel, no doubt from his victim, but she hadn't had anything since the day before and knew it was going to catch up to her soon.

Caroline had a feeling he'd only allowed it to slide because of the fact he was playing some weird game to contact Vincent. Why they couldn't just send a gift basket that let the other vampire know they were around was beyond her.

"I'd prefer you do it now, sweetheart. Never know when we'll be contacted and need to head off to meet Vincent," Klaus continued and she grimaced at that, gaze darting to his wrist for a moment.

"Why don't you just like slice your wrist open and fill up a cup for me and I'll drink that way. Worked back at the hotel that one time. Of course it wasn't your blood then…" Because his had its own distinct taste that wasn't exactly like a human's. She'd had animal blood, bagged, even from the vein, but Klaus' always reminded her of the really good dark chocolate her grandmother had used to give her, that tempting treat that was only supposed to be devoured on special occasions.

She knew the moment she'd said it that she shouldn't have. Not when he quirked his brow in that damn way and his lips curved into a seductive smile that would have had her shivering if she hadn't steeled herself for it. "Is there a reason you don't want to drink directly from my wrist?" he asked in a tone that implied he damn well knew why she was so against it. "I offer my blood to very few, Caroline, and when I do I prefer it to be from the source, not in a cup."

"You gave Damon your blood in a damn vial," she pointed out; pretty sure that was how it had transpired when the other vampire had needed the cure.

"You're not Damon," Klaus quipped, and looked out the window. "Unless you'd prefer for me to get one of them. They already have so many mouths to feed. I'm sure they could stand to lose one of the children. Or perhaps one of the older generation. We'll just compel them to think it was a heart attack or an illness they couldn't prevent." Caroline narrowed her eyes at that. "No? Well, then we'll need to stick with the alternative you and I both prefer."

Klaus tore into his wrist and stepped forward as he held it out to her.

Caroline tried to fight the need, willed her face to remain the same, for her fangs to stay in their place, but she was starving and his wrist was there, dying to be drunk from. "Would you rather the neck?" he continued and she sneered at him, trying not to notice how aroused he seemed to be. That coupled with her vampire features blossoming before him was driving her insane with need to take a sip.

She was on him in a second, hand grasping his arm, bringing his wrist to her mouth as she licked the blood, moaning at the taste of it before she sank her fangs into his already healing skin. Klaus tugged his wrist upward and she followed, desperate to keep drinking and he moved so he was standing behind her.

Caroline felt his chest press into her back, could feel his free hand in her hair, on her neck, his lips hovering dangerously close to her own skin. She inwardly screamed as her body moved back against him, hands curling tighter around his arm so that they wouldn't wander to where they wanted to go. His fingers were trailing along her neck, and she arched it, exposing more skin to him and moaned before continuing to drink, trying to focus on the blood and nothing else.

Her heart was beating frantically and all she could think of was hummingbirds and their tiny little hearts, trying so hard to stay alive as they darted along like her fingers were desperate to do. But she would not let them, dug them into his flesh instead, and could smell the blood they brought to the surface and oh how her eyes darkened at that, wanting more, needing more than she would allow herself to feel. She could almost taste his heartbeat, felt it in the pumping of his blood into her mouth, and she was certain that it was pattering along almost as quickly as her own.

"There's no need to be afraid of what you are, Caroline, of what you need," Klaus told her, and she kept drinking, tried to ignore him. Neither of those were what she feared from drinking his blood and for a moment she wondered if maybe he didn't know her as well as she thought he did.

But that was quickly squashed as he continued, his breath on her ear, "Nor do you need to be afraid of what it makes you feel."

She closed her eyes at that, trying to drown out his voice, to block out the way his body was pressed against hers and that his blood running down her throat was driving her crazy, unraveling her further. Her grip loosening just a little bit, wanting to touch other parts of him.

"Just a little more, sweetheart," Klaus continued, and when he pressed a kiss to her neck she pulled away, dropping his wrist.

"No," she gasped out, hating that it came out as a hiss, seeing the amber flash in his eyes because of it. She was shaking, her body and her mind at war with one another and she knew she needed to create space between them before her body did something she would regret.

"That was the last damn time I'm drinking from you." She pushed him away from her, and threw her suitcase onto the bed, needing to do something else with her hands and picking out clothes to wear for day seemed as good a task as any. She couldn't be idle even if she was telling him off. "Stop trying to control my actions. Do you think I don't know what you're doing?"

Did he think she didn't realize he'd completely upped the game they had been playing for months now? She needed to work out how to rework things so she'd have an upper hand again, so that she wasn't simply reacting to what he did. She needed to anticipate his actions again.

"And what is that?" Klaus mused and she whirled around, unsure which her body wanted to do more—tear out his jugular or slam him into the wall for far more pleasurable reasons that she should not be considering—so she rolled her eyes at him, building up her defensive wall all over again.

"I know what it means to share blood with another vampire, Klaus." Okay not really. She only knew that Damon and Stefan said it was intimate and that Stefan had been royally pissed when he learned Damon and Elena had done so before the whole breakup extravaganza. And that when she drank Klaus' blood her body was so damn sensitive to the touch and wanted things it shouldn't.

"I don't care if Vincent contacts us or not today. I'm not doing it again." She wouldn't. She couldn't. She needed an alternative though because Klaus was right about the fact she shouldn't be vulnerable. "I'll go do my own hunts and live off deer or whatever animal is around here in the woods because your blood should sustain my strength for the next few days anyway." And if it was more than a few days…she didn't know. She'd figure that out if it came to it.

Maybe she could feed just a little off one of the…no. What the hell was she even thinking?

"Did you ever think you've got my motivation completely wrong, Caroline? That perhaps I'm simply trying to ensure your survival, all the while obeying your wish not to feed directly from humans," Klaus inquired, and she didn't want to hear that now. Didn't want to deal with him and his words that sometimes she understood completely and other times were entirely cryptic to her.

"If that was the case you would've done the whole blood in a glass thing like I requested," she pointed out, suitcase snapping shut.

"I'm not one to deny myself what I want like you're so steadfast to do, love," Klaus replied, and she pressed her lips together, refusing to look at him, her entire body was tensed though and she knew he would notice that. "You have excellent control but as we've already seen your desire to stick solely to blood bags is hardly going to sustain you once you're far from the comforts of home, Caroline. They're not as easily accessible as you seemed to have believed and you need blood to survive."

"I could survive on freaking animal blood." Ugh. Not that she wanted to, but she could.

"And be far more susceptible to an attack," Klaus pointed out, and she knew he was right. She'd seen the difference between Damon and Stefan's strength with one drinking human and the other animal blood. But she'd also managed to kick Damon's ass when she was angry enough. Caroline knew that wouldn't always be the case though. "It's my blood or you allow me to teach you to feed properly."

"No." She wouldn't treat others as a damn blood bag. She remembered what it was like to be one; she wouldn't do that to anyone else.

"The end result doesn't have to be death and you do not have to cause them pain as it seems the elder Salvatore enjoyed doing to you. Or I doubt you'd have such a steadfast hang-up in regard to trying it out," Klaus continued, leaning against the wall as he watched her. She saw that barely contained rage in his eyes, had a feeling he was thinking out various torture routines to try out on Damon.

Her body was too tense and Caroline realized that her vampire features were still in play, that she could feel her fangs cutting into her bottom lip as she glared at him. He was hitting all the right buttons and she didn't trust herself to react like she needed to in that moment. Not around him when everything was so heightened. She needed to get a handle on her control again.

"It's my life. Not yours. I get to decide how I feed, not you," she muttered and grabbed her clothes. "I'm going to go get ready."

"Did you ever think I'm trying to help you learn how to truly live it?" he asked, and she had a witty reply on the tip of her tongue, but Klaus continued before she could reply. "You're not human, Caroline. You're a vampire. One that's been sheltered to a ridiculous degree by other vampires and allowed it because of ties to the human world. Ties that will end up dying, that will wither away with age and leave you alone in this world. Or did you think that Elena and the Salvatores would always be there for you? They're hardly there for you even now. Your mother already called Stefan out on his behavior, on their blasé attitude with waving you in front of me when I could have quickly ended your life. And let us not forget that he put up no fight to come with us on our journey."

Her hand clenched at her side, the other holding her clothes close to her chest. Her emotions were still getting the better of her but she didn't want to react to his words, even if they cut deeply because she couldn't help but see the truths in them. "His goal isn't your safety. Not truly. It's to find the cure, just as my sister wishes, and to give it to his precious Elena."

"Isn't that what you wanted?" she demanded at that, unable to hold her tongue any longer. "To give her the cure and start your little hybrid factory all over again?"

"I've seen where hybrid making leads and I'm not one to make the same mistake twice," Klaus replied, and she heard that anger in his voice, mixed with a hint of hurt and something else that had warning bells going off in her head, trying to remind her not to poke the beast within. "I've shifted to other priorities. Ones that I have no intention of giving up on."

His gaze locked with hers and it was amazing how that look could seem like both a threat and adoration all interlocked into one. Klaus had spent one thousand years to break his curse; Caroline didn't doubt that he would try to spend just as long in pursuit of her if needed. And that both terrified and thrilled her.

Why did it have to be him that put her first? That was making her first choice? Everything she had so desperately wanted but it was tied to Klaus. "We don't always get what we want," she replied, head held high in defiance.

Klaus simply quirked a brow. "Forever is a long time, sweetheart. The wrongs of the past are hardly an issue after a decade or two."

"Oh because your siblings don't still hold the past against you? Or you against them?" Really? She wasn't blind to that undercurrent of hostility and anger that ran through the Mikaelson siblings. "Must be convenient to simply dagger them away when you're tired of them."

His eyes narrowed, lips pressed in that way that reminded her of the ball when she'd doled out some hard truths. "Tell me, Caroline, why is it you're so intent on trying to pick a fight with me? Do you think it will lessen my regard? Have me give up on my intentions toward you? Or are you waiting for me to lash out and give credence to the monster you wish me to be so that you won't need to remember the other parts I've allowed you to witness?"

"I don't have to give credence to anything. You are a monster," she reminded, clutching her clothes tightly.

She didn't like Klaus' smile. There wasn't anything nice about it. This one was meant to offer up harsh truths to her, to cut and sting. "As are you and the sooner you stop trying to play the part of a human, the better you'll be at it."

He was much too close again, no regard at all for her personal space, but she stood her ground, not wanting to be backed into a corner even if there was only a miniscule space between their noses, and his gaze was even harder to ignore. "You'll be an amazing vampire if you let yourself be," he told her, fingers drifting to touch her face and Caroline realized that her vampire features were still in full bloom.

She wrenched away from him. "I'm getting ready," she reiterated and headed straight to the bathroom, needing distance.

Everyone else was outside so there was no need to worry about being seen and she needed a moment to herself. She had to gain control of her body, to calm it down, as well as stifle the thoughts and emotions coursing through her that demanded release, that wanted to feed. She wouldn't let her bloodlust win out, couldn't let it. Not with him. So she latched onto the one thing that usually forced Klaus from her mind.

Tyler.

She wanted to call him, to see him, needed to keep his presence in the forefront of her mind before she cascaded over to a side she didn't want to go down, not yet. She had a timeline. She was supposed to have at least a decade before confronting any of this, before allowing herself to really experience all being a vampire entailed. She desperately wanted to see him, to hear his voice, to hold onto him and remember all of the terrible things Klaus had done.

Jenna.

Stefan.

Elena.

Matt.

Jeremy.

Mrs. Lockwood.

Tyler.

Caroline kept repeating their names over and over again in her head as she tried to control her breathing. She could feel the bloodlust reside, her face transforming back to normal and her fangs sliding back up. The need Klaus was able to create in the pit of her stomach was still there though, lingering and waiting to be ignited all over again.

"Don't take all day in there, Caroline," Klaus called out, and she shut her eyes, fighting off the shiver that ran down her spine at his voice, her fangs dying to come back out and play. "We still have a number of tasks to accomplish for the day."

Caroline gripped the sink, working on her breathing again and looked up at herself in the mirror, seeing the pronounced veins in her face and the darkness of her eyes. It had terrified her before, frightened her to the very core when she'd first turned and control had been her way of coping with it. Klaus' words played out in her head, lovely, and she shut her eyes, calming her body down again, refusing to look at herself that way.

Not yet.

They needed to deal with Vincent, get the damn bones, and get back to civilization where she could get blood bags and not need to depend on Klaus and his damn delicious blood. Because Caroline didn't know if she could keep forcing her body to hold back from what it desperately wanted to do if she had to continue drinking his blood. Each time was harder than the last and she really didn't want to find out what her breaking point was.

To say that Bonnie Bennett was out of her element at the moment was a bit of an understatement. She'd never been in a Coven, never really seen how one would act or the deep bond that seemed to flow between all of its members. Resentment was unavoidable and she couldn't help but wonder why it hadn't been something she had ever been part of.

She'd had her Grams until she died. Lucy came into her life and left it just as quickly. Luka and his father had been more enemy than friend in the end. Her mother had been there for a brief moment and Bonnie had thought maybe things could have been different, but that dream had quickly been snatched away and shattered before her eyes. And then Shane had been playing her the whole time, just like Valerie, and Bonnie wondered if she would ever be able to truly experience what it was like to be in a Coven.

Maybe it simply wasn't something her branch of the magic line did. Her grandmother hadn't been part of one, it didn't seem like any of her ancestors had even when Mystic Falls had been a sanctuary from Salem. Maybe she was destined to be a lone witch, though she was at least grateful that these other witches were willing to try and help her.

Though laying on the ground in the middle of their circle was a bit surreal. Eddie was standing off to the side with Joanna—her cousin or second cousin or somehow family, Lucy's mom—but she couldn't see him any longer with all of the other witches standing. He had been hesitant about Joanna's plan, still not used to all of the supernatural nonsense that he'd been dragged into, and Bonnie couldn't really blame him for that. It'd taken her a while to really get a handle on it all and there were still times that she was thrown for a loop.

Like right now.

"Close your eyes and focus your mind, Bonnie," the head witch—what was her name? She really should have tried harder to remember names—told her as she knelt down behind Bonnie, hands coming to rest on either side of Bonnie's head.

Taking a deep breath, Bonnie did as she was told, putting her trust in these women. They said they needed to protect the Bennett line, that it was being decimated around the world, and that she couldn't be tainted as she was with expression. They needed to eradicate it from her very being so she could be open to the spirits again.

Bonnie feared it wouldn't matter though, that the spirits would still shut her out and she'd be locked out of magic all over again. She had to try though; she couldn't risk using expression again now that she had a better understanding of it, even if she knew she still didn't know everything about that form of magic.

"Phasmatos tribum nas ex viras," the woman started and Bonnie felt her body freeze, as if every muscle inside of her was suddenly on lockdown, and she was unable to move. "Purgal animum sous obscarus."

She could hear Eddie talking in the background, no doubt reminding Joanna once again that he didn't like what was happening, but Bonnie couldn't really make out his words. Not when the other witches started to chant as well, all saying the words in tandem. She screamed, pain shooting through her like she'd never experienced.

Her body felt like it was on fire, as if every single cell inside of her was burning, and she tried to grip at the ground, to move an inch, anything to get away from the source of pain, but it was no use. She couldn't move an inch as the heat inside of her amplified and her screams only became louder, pounding in her ears, and Bonnie was certain she could feel her brain boiling inside of her head.

And then just like that, the pain was gone and the chanting stopped. She opened her eyes, staring up at the smiling face of the Coven leader, the other members all chatting happily away as Eddie pushed his way through them, coming to kneel at her side. "Are you okay?" he demanded, full of concern for her before glaring at the others.

"Let her rest for a moment. She needs to tune her mind and body to the world around her," the leader snapped and Bonnie offered up as reassuring a smile as she could give to Eddie who looked ready to throttle the other woman. It was quite something to see on the usually timid college freshman.

Bonnie did as instructed, internally calling out to the spirits, trying to feel the nature that was all around them as she'd been able to do before. There was nothing at first and panic started to set it. What if cleansing her had stripped her of everything? What if she couldn't help at all any longer? What was the point of her existence then? What would happen to her friends?

The smallest tingle started down in her toes before quickly spreading through her. This time it didn't hurt, instead it filled her with a joy she hadn't experienced since those first few days of witchcraft. Back when it had been floating feathers and lighting candles. It filled her and she smiled, finally feeling like herself again. Whole.

"I see it worked then," the leader remarked, helping Bonnie to her feet.

"You're okay?" Eddie asked, needing reassurance to that.

"Better than okay," Bonnie promised, thankful that he seemed to let go of some of his tension at her answer.

"I wish I could give you time to rest and get used to having magic at your disposal again," the leader told her, motioning toward where the rest of the Coven had started to walk. "But there is much you need to learn, both of you, and not enough time."

"We'll be there in a minute," Bonnie replied, glancing over at Eddie who still was too tense for her liking. Plus her mother was over there on the outskirts of the group, glancing her way, and Bonnie didn't want Eddie to accidentally kill the woman. She also didn't really want to speak to her either or well, part of her did, but she didn't quite want to really face her either.

Not after the way she had left.

"I really am good," Bonnie told Eddie once they were alone. "Valerie won't be able to get a lock on me like before. I'm not using the same magic that she is so I won't be of use to her like I was. I'll be able to help you stop Silas from rising." Be able to help insure that all of the others would be safe as well. This was a good thing. It had to be.

"It looked like they were killing you," Eddie replied, raking a hand through his hair. His hands were shaking. "You're the only one I know in this Bonnie. The only one who's been straight with me. I'm still wrapping my head around it all."

She clasped his hand in hers. "I am not going anywhere. We will get through this all together and I am going to help you with what's happening to you." Like she had Jeremy before he'd been killed.

A car pulled into where the others were parked, causing the two of them as well as the Coven to glance over at it. Everyone was on high alert, waiting to assess the threat level. Bonnie's jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the woman who stepped out of the car.

"Hey, cuz," Lucy called out and Bonnie didn't hesitate, heading over to her.

She had waited and waited to hear from this girl again, to learn more about their heritage and maybe she should have been furious with her, but it was just really nice to see a familiar face. "Where have you been?" Bonnie demanded, not bothering to look over as her passenger got out of the car, her focus on her cousin.

"It's a long story that I will fill you in on—" Lucy never got to finish as Eddie leaped at the passenger, in full-blown Hunter mode, and ready to drive a stake through a heart. "Shit."

Eddie was thrown back into the air, landing with a thump on the ground. "Looks like the Bennett witch also found us a Hunter," came the voice from the ground and Bonnie readied herself to use magic on the vampire that was rising from the ground. "That certainly makes this all a lot easier."

Kol Mikaelson.

She hadn't really met him yet, but she knew who he was, and from what Elena had told her, he wasn't exactly the best Mikaelson to have around. Bonnie raised a hand ready to send him flying back, but Lucy gently grasped her hand.

"He's on our side. The spirits want us all working together. It's the only way to end Silas once and for all," Lucy told her and Bonnie looked incredulously at her cousin and then at Kol who simply grinned at her, wagging his eyebrows for extra measure.

Oh this was going to be such a headache.