Chapter Sixteen

'Kim, get up! You promised you'd come with me!' Elena shouted right next to my ear.

'Ugh.' I groaned, rolling over to the other side and covering up Klaus' shirt with my body, not wanting Elena to see it and ask questions that I didn't want to answer.

I waited until she had left the room before I got up, storing the shirt under my pillow, before I made my way to the shower. I sighed happily when I felt the hot water cascading over my body. As I was there I couldn't help but let my thoughts drift…I still needed Klaus' shirt to sleep, and since the whole Mikael plot and me revealing to Klaus I was in on it, I hadn't seen him. That had been a few weeks ago, and though I knew he was still in town, I missed him. More importantly I hated that he didn't let me explain exactly why I had been involved on the plan before he ran off. But I knew I'd have to let him come to me; if I went to him his anger would just get out of control and we wouldn't get anywhere. The problem was, the longer he left it the angrier I got; if he just let me explain then he would understand. Rebekah had been a good friend to me the past few weeks she had been repeatedly telling her brother what an idiot he was and that he needed to let me explain, of course he was as stubborn as I was, so I wasn't holding my breath. Bekah told me that she had revealed her part in the plan, at least until the very end; Klaus had been furious, but he had soon simmered down when she told him he found out about their Mother. I was just happy she had told him; if she kept it a secret and he found out further down the line he would have been pissed.

I got out of the shower and dressed in some black leggings, a black skin-tight tank top, running shoes and a sports bra with a black thong. Once I was ready I went down stairs and saw Elena by the door, jogging on the spot as she readied herself for the mornings activities. I saw her untangling her headphones and I took them from her, putting them on the side table while I ushered her out the door before she could demand them back.

'If you're making me run the least you can do is talk to me and get my mind off it.' I explained when she continued to frown at me.

She laughed but otherwise nodded in agreement, we made our way to the path and started out in a light jog, 'so… have you heard from Stefan?' I asked.

'Nope. Damon thinks he skipped town as soon as he got his freedom.' Elena murmured.

'Ah. Well, has anything been going on between you and Damon?' I asked, raising my brows suggestively.

She didn't answer, but she did pick up her speed a little bit, which I think was a punishment as I was forced to match it.

'Have you heard from Klaus?' Elena countered.

'Nope.' I said, hoping she would leave it alone, but my sister was nothing if not persistent.

'What do you think he's waiting for?' She asked, clearly worried.

'He's probably coming up with a perfect plan on how to make us all suffer.' I deadpanned, laughing when she looked horrified, 'honestly I have no clue, Lena. All I know is he's being a drama queen as per usual and he's disappeared of the face of the earth, and when he comes back I expect a dramatic entrance.'

She laughed but didn't disagree with me. The conversation for the rest of the run was light as we talked about the runs that Mom and Dad used to make us go on as a family. At the time we had all hated it, even Elena; before Mom and Dad had passed she hadn't been much for exercise either. I'd give anything to be forced onto a family run just one last time. We were nearing the last stretch and Elena looked over to me with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

'Race you to the end of the path.' She said, grinning when my face dropped in horror, '3…2…1… go!'

I pushed my legs as hard as I could, but I couldn't remember the last time I even went for a run, so when Elena beat me by a good few feet I wasn't that surprised.

'Okay you won, let's go… home' I struggled to get my words out over my heavy breathing.

Elena laughed breathlessly before she suddenly tensed as she saw something over my shoulder; I knew it wasn't Klaus and when I turned I saw a young man in a hoodie, jogging in our direction. I looked back to Elena, only for her to grab my wrist and pull me into another run.

'What the hell are you doing?' I asked, completely horrified.

'Hybrid.' She mumbled, trying to be quiet, but if he really were a hybrid he would have been able to hear us anyway.

'So?' I said, dragging her to a stop, 'if he is a hybrid, Klaus isn't exactly going to but a hit out on us is he? He still needs your blood to make hybrids and he needs me because I'm part Prophet.' I had told her about everything Mikael had said that night, but I hadn't acknowledged it out loud since then- it was kind of hard to when your supposed mate was going out of his way to pretend you didn't exist.

'So, we tried to kill him, Kim.' Elena said, worried.

I rolled my eyes and brought us to a stop, turning around to face the man, Elena looked horrified but I just gave her a look. I gestured for the guy to stop and he did, pulling out his headphones and giving me a friendly smile.

'Hey, is there something you need?' He asked.

'Just your name.' I said, giving him a warm smile so that he'd think I was interested in him.

'Tony.' He said, grinning.

'Well, Tony, tell me something; are you a hybrid?' I asked, completely serious.

I felt Tony's anxiety before he even opened his mouth, 'what? No!' He murmured, barely loud enough for me to hear; but I could feel his deceit and I knew he was lying.

'Well, your lovely hybrid master mustn't have given you much information if you think you can lie to me.' I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

'I- I don't know what you're talking about,' he stuttered, backing up a step.

'Listen, Tony. You run along to Klaus and tell him if he wants to know where we're going, what we're doing then he can grow some balls and ask me himself,' I raised my palms in his direction, not emitting a lot of pain as I didn't think the neighbours would appreciate a random golden shield and gold flowing from my hands, but enough to make him bow over, clutching his head, 'because I do not take kindly to strangers following me and my sister. Got it?' I dropped my hand when he nodded; as soon as the pain was gone he turned and ran in the opposite direction.

'Wow. Even I'm a little intimidated right now.' Elena said, looking shocked.

I grinned at her and continued running, feeling lighter now that I had gotten some of my anger out. I knew taking my anger out on an innocent hybrid was a little harsh, but I had to get my annoyance back to Klaus somehow seeing as he wasn't giving me the time of day. We got back to the house not long after and both immediately got ready to go to the Grill. Elena was meeting Bonnie and I was meeting Damon seeing as we were both pissed off with people right now. Stefan had ruined Damon's plans and Klaus was being an insufferable child. I dressed in some high waisted skinny jeans, a skin-tight white vest top, my black Vans and Elena's black fake leather jacket. Elena drove us in her car, hugging me before she went of to the table that Bonnie was sat at, I went and sat next to Damon at the bar, signalling for a whiskey. I noticed Alaric walking over to Elena but didn't think anything of it.

'Finally! Someone who wants to get day drunk with me.' Damon said, throwing his arm around my shoulders and squeezing me tightly for a moment before he released me.

'Here, here.' I clinking my glass against his before I swallowed the contents in one go.

'Did you hear about baby Gilbert losing his job here?' Damon said, looking over to me concerned.

'Yeah, he told me last week.' I sipped the new glass the bartender had placed in front of me.

'Did he tell Elena?'

'Nope.' I replied, 'he thought she'd over react and honestly I didn't disagree with him.'

'Well it looks like Ric just blew Jeremy's secret.' Damon commented, gesturing over to Ric talking to Elena, when I focused and felt her anger I knew we were in trouble.

'Uh-oh.'

Damon snorted in amusement before he leant over the bar and snagged a bottle of whiskey and the darts. He gestured for me to follow him over to the dartboard in the far corner and I complied, making sure to position myself so that Elena wouldn't be able to see me.

'Are you seriously hiding from your little sister right now?' Damon asked, laughing at my panicked expression.

'Have you seen her when she's angry?' I said, peeking over his arm to see her glancing around, I quickly moved back into my hiding place.

'Good point.' Damon nodded before he abruptly stepped forward, exposing me to Elena's view. I glared at his amused face before I guiltily turned to Elena when she shouted me.

'Kim!' She made her way over to me, 'did you know that Jeremy lost his job at the Grill?'

'Um… yeah kind of.' I admitted, holding my hands up defensively.

'What! Why didn't you tell me?' She demanded.

'Because I knew you'd react like this.' I carried on before she could continue yelling, 'Jeremy's going through a tough time right now, he basically lost Ana all over again and he lost Bonnie too. He's grieving, he may not be going about it the right way, but that's what he's doing.'

Her eyes softened a little as she nodded in understanding, ' I just worry about him you know? The last time he spiralled like this was when Mom and Dad died… I don't want him to go through that again.'

'He'll come out of it, like he did last time, it's just his process.' I squeezed her arm reassuringly before I took the darts off Damon to take my turn, 'just be grateful his wardrobe hasn't turned gothic again.'

That made her laugh, and I joined in with her, 'good point.' Elena agreed, 'it's a good job Jenna's in Denver for work; she would have been much worse.' That made our laughter continue as we both imagined Jenna trying to scold Jeremy.

I turned back to the dartboard, taking aim and releasing when I was satisfied; I got a bull's eye and two treble twenties, which made me turn to Damon with a smirk, which grew when I saw his dumbstruck expression. I walked up to the board and pulled out the darts, handing them off to Damon.

'All right, wipe that smirk off your face, princess. You made some lucky shots, it does not mean you're gonna win.' Damon said, his tone teasing though I could feel that he was a little worried.

'Hasn't anyone ever told you not to lie to an empath, Damon?' I smirked, ruffling his hair. Elena and I laughed when he glared at me but we both came to an abrupt stop when a British accent made its way over to us.

'Don't mind me.' Klaus said, his voice amused, which only fuelled my anger. Not thinking I reached and grabbed one of the darts from Damon's hand, I turned and threw it at his head. He caught it of course, but he cut it a little close; it was an inch away from embedding itself into his skin. I could feel his surprise, which then morphed into anger straight away, but he had nothing on me.

'Now, love, careful, wouldn't want me to think you're out to get me.' His tone was one of warning, which made Damon and Elena exhibit a little concern, but it didn't stop me from taking a step towards him.

'Don't you think you can come in here, throwing threats around, after being a virtual ghost for weeks, asshole.' I went to take another step but Damon placed himself in front of me. I could still see Klaus around him and noticed that though his expression was amused, he most certainly was not; he was jealous.

'I think I can throw around as many threats as I want, love, seeing as you all wanted me dead.' Klaus said, his hard eyes focusing on me; I hated being on the other end of that gaze but I refused to look away.

'Well Klaus if you'd given me a chance-.' Elena placing her hand over my mouth cut me off, which increased my anger even more.

'I think you need to stop talking.' She whispered in my ear, and I could hear how worried she was over how pissed off Klaus seemed to be. I shrugged her off and continued to glare at him but otherwise remained quiet.

'You're going to do this here? It's a little beneath you don't you think?' Damon said, his tone calm and collected but I knew he was anything but. If I wasn't so pissed off I would have sent him a comforting wave, but in that moment I was seething.

'I don't know what you are talking about. I just came down to my local pub to grab a drink with a mate.' Klaus said, gesturing behind him to Tony who was getting the drinks at the bar, he smirked when noticed that Tony looked a little afraid of me.

'All right Tony?' I asked, grinning over to him, I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing when he paled, 'I'm assuming Tony delivered my message?' I asked innocently, but I couldn't help the small smile that escaped when Elena snorted.

'He did,' Klaus said, trying to smother a laugh, 'now what was it…?' He trailed off as he pretended to try and remember, 'ah, yes! You run along to Klaus and tell him if he wants to know where we're going, what we're doing then he can grow some balls and ask me himself.'

Damon whistled in between his teeth, trying to smother his own laughter, 'well it was enough to scare your boy.' He gestured to Tony who refused to move from behind Klaus.

'Yes it does seem that way, doesn't it?' Klaus' expression suggested he was annoyed but I could tell he was actually amused and… proud. I quirked my brow at him when I sensed this; he simply smirked in response.

'I have to admit, I didn't think you'd stick around town long enough for happy hour.' Damon commented, his tone sarcastic.

'Truth is I've grown to rather like your little town. Think I might fancy a home here. Oh I imagine you're wondering how does this is affect you. The answer is: not in the slightest. As long as I get what I want and everyone behaves themselves you can go on living your little lives however you choose. You have my word.' Klaus said, his tone eerily calm in a way that made my hair stand on end.

'What more could you possibly want?' I asked, my own tone dripping venom as I stepped around Damon to face him.

He smiled humorlessly as he moved forward, stopping an inch from me, 'well for starters, love, you could tell me where I might find Stefan.'

'Oh, Stefan!' I said, my face lighting up in fake recognition before I let it drop as I stared blankly at him, 'I haven't seen him since the last time I saw him.' I heard Elena gasp in fear while Damon snorted in amusement.

I could feel his frustration growing, 'and when was that, love?'

'Coincidentally it was the same night that I last saw you,' I pursed my lips before continuing, 'you know the night you had a temper tantrum and stormed off? Ringing any bells?' I asked, aware that I was pissing him off more than I probably should but in all honestly, I didn't care.

Klaus smiled dangerously as he stepped forward, his body pressing against mine for a moment as he reached around me to take the darts out of Damon's hands. I tried to remain calm, but my body betrayed me; tingles broke out all over my body and my heart started pounding in my chest, I ached for him and from the knowing smirk he gave me he knew it.

'Well you see, that is a shame.' Klaus said, throwing a dart in the direction of the dart board, I heard it connect but I didn't see where it went as I refused to break eye contact with him.

'A shame for you, I'll take it?' I smirked.

'Stefan stole from me.' He threw another dart and I heard it connect again, 'I need him found so I can take back what is mine.' He released the final dart but didn't move away from me or break away from my gaze.

'What did he take?' I asked, curiously.

He studied my expression for a moment, probably trying to decide if my confusion was genuine or not, I felt him decide I was in fact clueless before he continued, 'that's no matter of yours, love. Just find him for me and I can take it back before no one gets hurt.'

I rolled my eyes, 'sorry, love, I can't help you. That sounds like a Klaus and Stefan problem. You're a big bad Original hybrid I'm sure you can figure it out on your own.' I winked at him, moving to step back but he caught my wrist and pulled me against his chest.

He opened his mouth to speak but I spoke up, cutting him off, 'if you dare stand there and threaten any of my family and friends I can promise you, Klaus Mikaelson, you will regret it.'

'Love, did you just threaten me?' He looked amused.

'If you have to ask than I obviously wasn't doing it right.' I mumbled, making him laugh lightly.

'Nik let the girl go.' Rebekah said, sounding annoyed as she came to stand beside Klaus, her arms crossed over her chest.

'Ah, my knight in shining amour has arrived.' I winked at Rebekah; she rolled her eyes but she still wore a small smile.

'This is no business of yours, Rebekah. Now run along sweetheart.' Klaus replied without looking away from me. I don't know how it happened it happened that fast, but the next thing I knew I was standing next to Rebekah and Klaus had his back to the bar, as if he had been pushed, which he did not look happy about.

'She's my best friend, Nik. Leave her alone.' Rebekah said, her voice firm and I felt my heart squeeze affectionately at her words and the fact that she was willing to stand by my side against her brother.

'Your best friend tried to have me killed, Bekah.' Klaus said, his voice furious, I could feel my own anger growing as well.

'If you would just let her explain then you would understand you absolute wanker!' Rebekah shouted, gaining the attention of a few customers.

'All right then, Bekah, I'll take your advice.' His eyes looked over to me; his expression was guarded and I hated it, 'so go on love, tell me your brilliant explanation.'

'Tell me how you remain innocent despite your knowledge of the plan against me,' he stepped closer, stopping an inch from me.

'Why should I bother?' I asked looking up to him with a defeated expression on my face, 'you've already decided that I've betrayed you. And we both know there's nothing I could say that would change your mind.'

I reached over to grab Elena's wrist, my other hand reaching for Rebekah, I gently pulled them with me as I made my way to the exit, desperately trying to fight off the defeated tears that wanted to stream down my face. He was never going to forgive me, he was never going to believe me, but at least he was alive. I was about a step from the door when Klaus suddenly appeared in front of me.

'Move, Klaus.' I said, my voice stern.

'Tell me.' He said simply.

'Move!' I yelled.

'Tell. Me.' He bellowed back.

'I KNEW IT WASN'T GOING TO WORK!' I shouted, and with that all of the fight left me and I suddenly felt drained, I looked up to meet his eyes as I continued, ' I knew it wasn't going to work. I told them not to bring Mikael here, but it was too late, he was here and threatening to kill everyone if Stefan didn't lure you back to Mystic Falls. The only reason I went along with it was because I knew that my friends, my family and… you weren't going to die.'

I noticed that his expression remained serious but I could feel how apprehensive he was; he didn't believe me.

'You wanted the truth and I gave it to you. And you don't believe me, just like I knew you wouldn't. Now, move.' I murmured, keeping my tone low to avoid it from breaking, when he didn't Rebekah huffed, pissed with him and shoved him out of the way, grabbing me and Elena and flashing us back to our house.

'You can come in.' I said softly as I unlocked the door, I didn't look back to see if Elena and Rebekah were following, I just went straight to the kitchen, desperate for a distraction. I heard the door softly close as I opened the fridge, looking at the contents but not seeing them.

'Kim…' Rebekah's soft voice snapped me out of my daze and I turned to her, forcing a smile on my face that she wasn't buying. I noticed Elena was gone but I didn't comment on it.

'I'm starving I think I'm going to make a sandwich, do you want anything?' I didn't wait for her answer as I pulled out cheese, butter and ham from the fridge, walking to the bread bin and pulling out four rounds of bread, planning to make her a sandwich if she wanted one or not. I dipped the knife in the butter and started roughly buttering the bread, shredding it to pieces; soft hands took the knife away from me and laid it down on the counter.

'Please don't.' I looked up to Rebekah, 'don't ask me if I'm okay.' My lower lip trembled as I tried to hold myself together.

She didn't say anything, she just pulled my head to her chest as she wrapped her arms around me; her gentleness made the dam break and tears flowed down my cheeks showing no signs of stopping.

'He didn't believe me.' I whispered, 'I mean I didn't expect him to, I told myself that it didn't matter if he never trusted me again as long as he was alive. But I underestimated how much it would hurt.'

'Klaus is a paranoid idiot. He wants to believe you, but there's a part of him that will always be whispering in his ear that you can't be trusted. It's hard for him to believe that you would want to save his life when Mikael drilled it into his head that he didn't deserve to live.' Rebekah explained.

'I get it. That vision I showed you wasn't the only one I saw. There was another, Klaus and Elijah were messing around sword fighting and Klaus cut Elijah's belt as a joke. Mikael almost put a sword through his head when he said they were just having fun.' I sniffed, pulling away from Rebekah to grab a tissue.

She sat down at the table while I washed my hands and finished off the sandwiches, without butchering the bread. I laid hers out in front of her and took the seat to her left.

'I remember that day; Elijah's face was priceless,' She smiled a little as she remembered, 'and father's anger was terrifying. He was always like that, with us all, though Klaus always had it the worst.'

'Pathetic excuse for a father,' I muttered, taking a bite of my sandwich, 'you deserved better, Bekah. You all did.'

She gave me a soft smile as she finished the last bite of her sandwich, 'well now he's gone, and we can finally begin living again.'

'Exactly. We can have plenty of girl trips, we could see the world,' I grinned, her expression mirroring mine as she realized that she didn't have to worry about Mikael anymore.

She opened her mouth to reply but she was cut off when the front door opened; followed by Jeremy, Elena and Ric. I stood up, wiping the tears from my face as I walked forward and hugged Jeremy, sending him a wave of comfort when I felt how stressed he was.

'Sorry, bro, I didn't tell I promise.' I whispered low enough that Elena and Ric wouldn't be able to hear.

'I know, sis, I know.' He hugged me back, sending me a genuine smile when we parted, he went to sit at the far end of the table and I took my seat next to Rebekah.

'So what is this?' Jeremy asked, sounding like a teenager hacked up on attitude, 'an intervention?'

'Yep. We're worried about you, Jer. We just want you to know that we're here for you.' Elena said, and I was glad she wasn't pushing him like she probably would have done earlier.

'That's it?' He asked, looking suspicious.

'That's it.' I confirmed, sending him a reassuring smile.

'I know that, I promise.' Jeremy said, his tone becoming soft along with his expression.

'I'm glad, baby brother. Now do you want a sandwich for lunch?' I asked, standing up and taking mine and Rebekah's plates over to the sink.

'No, I'm good thanks. Tyler's coming over, we're going to hang out.' As soon as he said those words a feeling of dread washed over me; it was so strong that I actually dropped the plates. Glass smashed all over the floor, drawing everyone's attention to me; I ignored their concern and turned to Jeremy, my voice pleading.

'Jer, I don't think that's a good idea.' Just as I finished speaking, the doorbell rang, and I knew who it was.

'What? Why not? Because he's sired to Klaus? It's still Tyler!' Jeremy said his face scrunching up as he became angry, I didn't get the chance to respond before he turned to the front door and shouted, 'yo! Tyler, you can come in!'

'Jeremy! What have you done?' Elena said, horrified and with good reason. Tyler was sired to Klaus and if he wanted to get to one of us he had a free ticket now.

'Fan-fucking-tastic.' I muttered as I reached into the pantry and pulled out a broom, sweeping up the glass on the floor.

Rebekah snorted at my language but otherwise remained seated; Elena and Ric both took a seat at the table, leaving Tyler to sit in the seat I had vacated. Jeremy stood and got Tyler a drink of water, placing it in front of him.

'Thanks' Tyler said.

'This is weird. Klaus has hybrids stalking us and now you're just sitting in our kitchen,' Elena commented, making me laugh.

Tyler gave me a nervous look before he looked back to Elena, 'look maybe I should go.'

'No, stay; you're not doing anything.' Jeremy said, patting his shoulder.

'And you better not, that is if you like your heart remaining in your chest,' I smiled innocently. Tyler gulped and I could feel the fear radiating from him, which made me want to laugh; I don't know why he found me so intimidating but I wasn't going to complain about it.

'But if you have to check in with your hybrid master though, feel free.' Elena said, trying and failing to sound casual.

'Yes, do feel free. I of all people know how incessant the arse-hole can be,' Rebekah smiled.

Tyler laughed, looking in between Rebekah and Elena, 'it's not like that.'

'Tell me Tyler… what is the difference between being sired and compelled?' Ric spoke up, looking genuinely curious, I finished with the sweeping and walked over to stand behind Elena, my arms crossed over my chest as I waited for Tyler's answer.

'Compulsion, that's just mind control; like hypnosis. And being sired is… it's like faith. You do something because you believe it's the right thing.' Tyler answered.

'So you believe that serving Klaus and completing every order he gives you without question is the right thing?' I asked, raising my eyebrows in disbelief.

'I don't serve him. Klaus released me from a curse that was ruining my life. I owe him for that.' Tyler explained.

'What if he told you to jump off a bridge?' Ric probed.

'He wouldn't do that. And even if he did, I'd be fine; I'm a hybrid,' Tyler shrugged.

'What if he asked you to rip out your own heart?' Rebekah asked.

'Oooo that's a good one,' I said, looking over to Tyler as I pointed to Rebekah, 'answer the lady.'

'He wouldn't ask me to do that.' Tyler insisted.

'But what if he did?' Ric prodded.

'I don't know! Then I'd rip out my heart,' He shouted, getting annoyed.

I wasn't surprised but everyone else was, if I wasn't part empath and I couldn't feel their shock then it would have been easy to read it from their expressions. I could feel Tyler's annoyance as he observed it for himself and he huffed in frustration.

'You guys sound like Caroline, getting all freaked out over something you don't understand.' Tyler muttered.

'You're right, Tyler we don't understand. We don't understand how you can wake up as a hybrid and suddenly not have any free will of your own.' I said, leaning down to become level with his gaze, he stared back unflinching.

'You're over-thinking it. I can still make my own decisions.' Tyler said; I didn't know if he was trying to convince himself or us in all honesty.

Jeremy's phone started to ring and without even thinking about it, I dived over the table and snatched it from him, reading the caller I.D. before I denied the call. I looked over to Jeremy, ignoring his annoyance, as well as everyone else's confusion as to why I was basically splayed out on the table.

'Jeremy, why aren't you wearing your vervain?' I asked, my voice eerily calm.

His annoyance turned into confusion as he looked down to his wrist where is bracelet usually was, 'I-I don't know.'

'Well I think somebody does,' I turned to Tyler, feeling his guilt, 'do you want to tell me why you got my baby brother off vervain, Tyler?'

'Klaus asked me to.' He answered, looking a little panicked as he stood up from his chair with enough force for it to clatter to the floor.

'Get out. Now.' I said, my tone icy as I pointed to the front door; he left without another word. I looked back to the phone in my hand when it started ringing again; Klaus' name once again lighting up the screen.

'Go and drink a gallon of vervain. I don't know what he's compelled you to do, but let's not risk him adding to it.' I said, glad when Jeremy jumped up and followed my instructions. I pressed accept and put the phone to my ear.

'There he is!' Klaus said, his voice sounding cheerful, 'So, that thing I told you to do… why don't you go ahead and get on with it?'

I hung up the phone, fighting the urge to shout at him, knowing it wouldn't do any good. I wanted to buy us some time and I wanted him to think Jeremy was going to go through with his compelled orders, though I knew that Tyler would fill him in soon enough.

I got up from the table and went to the front door, looking up and down the street; I noticed a grey sedan stopped in the middle of the road about ten feet down the road and I walked over to it. I knocked on the window and gestured for them to wind the window down. I smiled when I was faced with Tony's paling expression.

'Whatcha doing here Tony? Now, don't lie.' I said, my voice sickly sweet as I put my arms on the car and rested my chin upon them.

'I-I was just-,' He stuttered, incredibly nervous.

'Leaving?' I suggested.

He nodded vigorously, 'yes, I was leaving.'

I stood back and patted his door, 'be on your way then. And tell Klaus to stop being a coward and to do his own dirty work, or the next hybrid he sends my way will not come back with their heart intact.' I smiled dangerously, before I waved and walked back into the house, pleased when I saw Tony's car turn off at the end of the street.

'You know what, you can be pretty terrifying.' Rebekah said, smirking.

'If only your brother thought the same thing.' I muttered, grabbing my car keys and my coat, 'do me a favor and make sure no one leaves, don't let Jeremy answer any phones and get Elena to make sure everyone is still wearing vervain.'

'I will, I promise.' She said, I thanked her and hugged her tightly before letting her go.

I got into my car and made my way over to the mansion that Rebekah had mentioned Klaus was building, my anger growing the further I went. I had warned him not to come after my family, but the asshole had done it anyway. I put the car in park and jumped out, not even bothering to close the door as I let myself into the mansion.

'Klaus? Asshole? Bastard? Where are you? Come out come out wherever you are! I know you're here, for god's sake.' I shouted, getting more and more annoyed when he still didn't show himself.

'What can I do for you, love?' Klaus asked, his voice coming from behind me. I whipped around, glaring at him; I must have looked pissed because the amused expression he was wearing immediately fell when he took in my appearance.

'I'll tell you what you can do for me you dick! Stop sending your little puppies after my family! Otherwise I'll stop giving them friendly little warnings and start sending their heart's to you in a box.' I said, shoving his chest, actually managing to push him back a few steps.

'You come into my house and threaten me?' He said, sounding astounded rather than angry.

'I don't care where we are, you cannot go around threatening my family just because you aren't getting what you want!' I countered, not in the least bit intimidated.

'If Stefan would return what was mine then I wouldn't have to threaten anyone, love.'

'If you hadn't screwed Stefan over enough to make him want revenge on you, then he wouldn't have taken anything. This whole thing is your fault. You screwed up.' I said, poking at his chest with every sentence.

'Stefan should never have crossed me, and he will pay for it,' Klaus promised.

'There you go again, you think just because you're invincible you can do no wrong? Well I hate to break it to you, buddy, but that's not how it works. In the real world you have to take the consequences for your own actions and not force your fuck ups onto everyone else for them to fix.'

Klaus looked absolutely furious at my words, but I could feel that I was hitting a little too close to home, though I refused to feel bad about it; he needed to hear the truth from somewhere.

'You know, I've ripped out people's tongues for talking to me out of turn,' Klaus said, studying my expression as if he was looking for a sign of fear, but he wasn't going to find any.

'I'm not afraid of you, Klaus.' I said, looking him square in the eye, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach that were trying to make themselves known.

'No, you're not.' Klaus agreed, he looked away for a moment and when I saw the vulnerability in his eyes when he met my gaze again I knew what he was going to say, 'were you telling the truth? About knowing that the plan would fail?'

'Yes.' I answered immediately, not looking away from his gaze, allowing him to see the complete sincerity shining from my blue orbs.

He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to; I could feel that he believed me and I could feel my heart leap in my chest. He stepped forward and pressed an almost affectionate kiss to my forehead, the connection making my skin tingle, wanting more, as if he knew this, his lips lingered for a few more moments before he pulled back.

'I'm sorry I ever doubted you.' He said, his voice low and sincere.

'That's all right.' I smiled, laughing softly when he looked surprised, 'I know you, Klaus. I knew you weren't going to believe me at first, granted that didn't stop it from hurting, but I was prepared for it. So I forgive you for doubting me this time, just don't ever do it again, okay?'

He smiled softly and nodded, he went to step forward again; I could feel the hunger coming from him but with all my restraint I held my arm out in front of me keeping him at a safe distance.

'Don't try and distract me with that,' I gestured to his whole body, making him smirk smugly, 'I want your word that you and your hybrids will stay away from my family.'

Klaus regarded me for a moment before he nodded, 'I give you my word that I will leave your family alone.' He promised.

I knew he was telling the truth and I nodded, satisfied with his answer. I still had my arm out in front of me, but Klaus didn't seem to care as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me flush against him. I knew there was no way that I could resist him now; I hadn't been with him in what felt like so long and I couldn't resist the delightful tingles that crashed through my body any longer. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and I knew he could feel it too. I waited; wanting him to make the first move for once, though my self-control was withering away by the second. His lips hovered over mine, about a hairs width away, making my lips itch in anticipation. What felt like an eternity later, when in fact it was a few seconds, he pressed his lips against mine softly. The contact made my whole body sing in pleasure. I brought my hand to caress the side of his face, my lips gently moving against his; we had never kissed in this way before, it was tender and affectionate, and I found myself delighting in it. I realized that this was his way of telling me how he felt, rather than vocalizing it, and I reciprocated the kiss in the same way. He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine as we both regained our breath. I was about to bring his lips to mine, my hunger from him through the roof now that I had tasted him after weeks, when someone burst into the room. I moved back from Klaus, reluctantly, to see who it was and I couldn't help but smirk when I saw Tony. He had his mouth open as if he was about to say something but his words got stuck in his throat when he spotted me standing a foot away from Klaus.

'Something the matter, mate?' Klaus asked, seeming confused at Tony's behaviour.

'It's okay, Tony. You can give him the message with me standing here.' I smiled though I could feel a ball of dread falling in my gut that quickly made my amusement fade.

'I-It's done.' Tony whispered, his eyes flickering nervously in my direction before he looked over to Klaus.

'What's done?' I demanded, turning to Klaus when Tony refused to meet my gaze, 'what have you done, Klaus?'

'I'm sorry, love.' He said, actually looking guilty.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Rebekah's number; she picked up on the third ring.

'Oh, Kim thank god! Alaric, he-,' She sounded panicked and I felt the worry grow in my gut.

'Bekah, slow down. Tell me exactly what happened.' I said, my voice soft and encouraging.

'I was trying to calm down Jeremy because he was angry and rambling about going to look for Tyler and I was trying to get him to Listen to me, but he was having none of it. Elena left with Damon to try and find Stefan and talk some sense into him, so there wasn't anyone else to notice Alaric answering the door to Tony disguised as a deliveryman. He asked for help to grab something out of his truck and as soon as he stepped outside he snapped his neck.' Rebekah rushed out, and I could tell she felt guilty.

'Bekah, it's not your fault I don't blame you.' I said, completely calm because I knew that Ric was wearing his ring; he would be fine, 'I just have an errand to run…' I said walking over to the far wall where there was a sword hanging up, I grabbed it, getting used to the weight as I casually turned around, 'I should be about thirty minutes okay?'

'Okay. I'll be here when you get home.' She promised.

I hung up the phone, placing it in my back pocket before I charged towards Tony, stabbing the sword into his gut, 'you see Tony, I know you're sired and all that, but I would have thought you would have made bit more of an effort to heed my warning.' I murmured, twisting the sword in his gut.

'What on earth are you doing?' Klaus asked, horrified.

'I'm following through on my threat.' I answered, abruptly pulling the sword out, I took his pain and felt guilt grow in my gut over what I was doing; 'now I know I said it would be the heart but I think the head will be easier.'

I brought the sword up over my head, bringing it down with as much force as I could muster; his head fell to the floor with a sickening thud. I had to hide my surprise over the fact that I had actually killed someone, over the fact that Klaus had let me kill someone, as I lowered the sword to the floor, holding it in a death grip.

I turned to Klaus, noting his horror and disbelief, 'you come after people I care about then be prepared to face the consequences.' I said, dropping the sword and turning to walk out of the door. I got into my car and drove in a trance; I refused to think about what I had just done I just focused on getting myself home. When I did I parked the car and walked into the house like a zombie, I wasn't paying any attention to my surroundings so when Rebekah suddenly appeared in front of me after I closed the front door, I jumped.

'What the bloody hell happened to you?' She asked, taking in my appearance, I looked down at myself and noticed I was completely covered in blood. It was all over my white t-shirt, all over my hands. I could feel myself start shaking as the reality of what I had done sank in.

'I-I killed him.' I whispered, tears falling down my cheeks, 'I killed Tony.'

Rebekah looked at me, shocked before she pulled me to her chest for the second time that day, offering me much needed comfort.

'It's okay, it's going to be okay.' Rebekah assured me, she pulled away, looking into my eyes, 'you protected your family. You told him what would happen if he went after them and he still did it anyway. You can't blame yourself for going to drastic measures to keep your family safe, Kim.' Her voice was soft and sincere and I realized that she was right; while I hated that I had to do what I did, I knew that it had to be done. Tony was sired to Klaus and despite my threats and warnings; he would continue to do as Klaus asked regardless. He had proceeded to attack my family despite my warning; it was his fault. I nodded, agreeing with Rebekah's words as I came to this realization.

The rest of the night passed in a blur; Ric eventually woke up on the sofa, completely fine. Elena came back, without Damon, looking completely pissed and destroyed; apparently Stefan had refused to give Klaus back what he had taken, saying that him going after our family didn't matter to him, which I'll admit irked me a little bit. It was eventually revealed that Klaus wanted the coffins containing his family back and I'm ashamed to say when I heard that was what Stefan had taken, I had felt a little bad for Klaus, knowing how much his family meant to him. Elena told me about how Jeremy had a little freak out while I was gone, talking about how we should pack our bags and leave, while we were all targets and pawns for Klaus to use in his ploy to get what he wanted from Stefan. It broke my heart, and I hated that he had to go through all of this at such a young age. Elena did too, apparently and suggested that we should ask someone to compel him to leave town, where he would be safer for the time being. I agreed, reluctantly, knowing it was for the best; Rebekah offered to do it for us, telling Jeremy that he was going to move to Denver and stay with family and leave Mystic Falls behind him without a second thought. I held Elena as she cried after that, biting back my own tears as I watched our little brother eagerly pack.

Rebekah and Ric eventually left, both going to their own homes. I kissed both Elena and Jeremy's foreheads as I checked up on them before I got into my own bed. I could see images of what I did to Tony flashing in front of my brain, but I pushed the guilt away. The images completely disappeared as I inhaled the scent coming from the shirt that had been stashed underneath my pillow; a blanket of calm and security washing over me as I fell into unconsciousness.

That concludes chapter sixteen! I hope you enjoyed it, I had a lot of fun bringing Klaus and Kim together in this one, though they are still on the rocks while Klaus is threatening those closest to her, hopefully they can work it out ;) Let me know what you think!

A huge thank you to IMTB, khamilton16 and SwimmingInTheRain for choosing to either follow or favourite my story! It means a lot :)

Yazzy97: Love your story- Thank you so much :)

XxSunnaxX: My heart broke T.T. So sweet chapter but the end… love it, sad, but love it! I'm glad you liked it, and I know what you mean; I hated ending it that way, but I know how Klaus reacts to betrayal so it needed to be done :( Hopefully they can fix things soon, though, once the coffins have been returned anyway ;)