Chapter Thirty Five

At around three in the morning I managed to smother my tears by sheer force of will; Bekah had been amazing, holding me and soothingly stoking my hair while she let me cry, but she needed her sleep. So once I had managed to make it appear as though I had calmed down, I sent a wave of exhaustion towards Bekah, pulling the covers over her before I left the room and went to shower in the bathroom attached to her bedroom. As much as I wanted to continue my pity party, I knew that shedding more tears wasn't going to get me anywhere, so instead I used the time in the shower to allow my wall of resolve to fall back into place. Once I felt ready to face the day, I shut off the shower, silently dressing in one of Bekah's rosy pink body con dresses, black boots and black leather jacket, seeing as I couldn't face going into mine and Nik's room. I left my hair to fall down the middle of my back, letting it air dry. When I was completely ready, I left Bekah's room, softly closing the door behind me.

As I made my way to the courtyard my mind went back to yesterday and I winced when the first memory my mind conjured up was Nik's face glaring at me with murderous intent, followed by Davina's throat being cut wide open. Instantly dismissing the images as they formed, I thought back to something that had bothered me yesterday, though with everything that had been happening I had let it slide at the time. I remembered the ball of anxiety that had washed over me when Elijah mentioned Celeste's remains held no magic; it seemed completely off to me. If the magic wasn't held within her remains, then where had it gone? With that question in mind I steered to the right, instead of going to the courtyard I went to the small library and started to scan the books within the small magical section that we possessed. One title in particular stood out to me: Magical entities and their owners. I gently pulled it out without another thought and went to sit on the desk, my back facing the giant window that wasn't helping shine light into the room seeing as it was barely four in the morning.

I had nearly reached the end of the colossal book, and my hope that this hardback held all of my answers was slowly starting to fade, until a particular passage caught my eye after hours of reading:

Witches are known to be servants of nature, and are therefore expected to have an average life expectancy, similar to that of a human. While this may be so, there are certain remedies that can be obtained in order to create a longer life expectancy. Some spells and herbal remedies is one solution and this is considered the natural way. However, other witches have been known to bind their magic and soul to nothing but themselves, meaning that when their body dies, their soul and their magic are not confined to the host that they had been inhabiting, leaving them the freedom to jump into another body. This is certainly the less than traditional way, and is frowned upon in many covens, though because the witches who do this often take over bodies of the recently deceased, and therefore do not interfere with anyone's life, it keeps the balance of nature in a sense.

'What are you reading?' Nik's voice startled me from the doorway, my eyes snapping to his in surprise.

I was a little apprehensive when I saw that he was observing me wonder and curiosity shining in his eyes as well as emitting from him in waves. I guess that was better than the fury that had been present only hours before. I didn't give him a verbal response, holding up the book so he could see the cover instead.

'Any particular reason?' He smirked, clasping his arms behind his back as he waited for my answer.

'Actually I was just about to hunt down Elijah, you can tag along if you want.' I said, returning his smirk as I stood from my chair, folding down the page in the book as I made my way out the door. Nik turned so that I could slide past him, but not without my skin brushing up against his and leaving a tingling fire in its wake. I felt my heart beat pick up and I refused to meet Nik's eyes to see if he had noticed, turning on my heel and walking back downstairs where I heard Elijah and Hayley having breakfast in the kitchen. It looked like they were just finishing up so I wasted no time in throwing the book to land with a thud in front of the now empty place where his plate had been seconds before. He looked up to meet my gaze in surprise, his eyes flickering over my shoulder to where Nik was standing, giving him an almost warning look before his eyes returned to mine. I sat down in the seat directly across from him.

'What is the meaning of this, Kimberly?' Elijah asked, looking to the book and then back to me.

'Yesterday, when you mentioned Celeste's remains held no magic anymore I found it odd, but with everything else going on I didn't really question it. But this morning I got thinking…take a look at the marked page.' I said, bringing my elbows to the table and resting my chin on my fist as I waited for him to read the short paragraph I had found.

'You think that she's still alive?' Elijah clarified.

'When I went to visit Davina on Christmas Eve she had a huge portrait of a woman in her lounge. I never asked her about it or why she had drawn it, but I got a weird vibe from it. I think they're linked.' I explained, trying not to react when Nik went from standing to pulling out the chair beside me and taking a seat.

'You think Davina prophesised her return?' Elijah murmured, and I could tell that he believed me and was too deliberating the implications.

'I do. I don't know what it means for sure, but I think that her return is linked to why the harvest ritual didn't work last night.' I told him, absentmindedly running my hand through my now dry hair in a nervous gesture.

'The book says that the witches usually take over the bodies of the recently deceased. Can you think of anyone to fit that description?' Nik asked after he had read the short passage in the book he had taken from Elijah.

'Sabine.' I answered honestly, directing my answer to Elijah; she had been an elder and a witch; it would make perfect sense for her to be the body she chose to inhabit.

Just as Elijah was about to reply he was cut off by Kol's phone ringing as he and Elena joined us in the room. All eyes turned to him; everyone was in the kitchen now aside from Bekah and Finn. I assumed Finn was still with Elizabeth and Bekah was still sleeping.

'Yes, Sophie?' Kol murmured into the receiver, squeezing Elena's hand gently before he released her as she made her way to the fridge, probably for a glass of blood.

'We have a problem. The covens have reported three sets of sacrifices around the city, there's a witch who's gathering power and the markings they are leaving behind are like nothing I have ever seen before.' Sophie said, foregoing any kind of greeting.

'You're right, that is a problem.' Kol agreed, running a hand through his hair in concern.

'I'm sending you some pictures now. There are these markings engraved on the heads of each. As well as a triangular symbol they were each laid within. From what I can tell the first set were witches, the second were vampires and the third were werewolves.' Sophie said, her voice sounding further away; I assumed she had us on speakerphone while she spoke and sent us the pictures at the same time, which was confirmed when Kol pulled his phone away from his ear, hanging up on Sophie as he did, his expression paling as he took the photographs in.

'What is it?' Nik asked, standing from his chair and moving to take the phone from Kol, but it wasn't necessary as Kol turned the screen to face us all, stopping Nik in his tracks. The picture was of a young brunette, a vampire if the greying of her skin was anything to go by. She was laid in the centre of a triangular symbol, which appeared to be formed with salt, an asterisk star engraved into her forehead.

'What the bloody hell is going on?' Bekah asked, coming into the kitchen and sidestepping Kol, she looked cranky from lack of sleep but when she caught sight of the image on Kol's phone her whole demeanour emitted fear.

'What is it?' Hayley asked, which I was grateful for; I was wondering the same thing.

'Papa Tunde. But it can't be, I butchered him centuries ago,' Nik said, his tone one of disbelief, but I could sense his panic, I sent a comforting wave towards him out of reflex, as well as the other occupants in the room who were starting to panic as well.

'Okay, and what is it about him that's got everyone terrified out of their minds?' Elena inquired, coming to take the empty seat that Nik had vacated beside me.

'He sacrifices supernatural beings in factors of twelve until he has formed a pentagram. If he's already completed three of the five and he has so far taken witches, vampires and werewolves the next two he will commit is anyone's guess.' Elijah stated, his hands coming to rest in front of his face in a prayer position.

'Didn't you say he needed to form a pentagram?' I clarified, continuing when he nodded, 'well can't we plot the ones he has already committed so far? That should leave us with the two clear points that he will have to complete the other two sets of sacrifices, if we split up we can cover them both.'

'Excuse me, but who gave you the authority over what this family does to fend off its enemies?' Nik demanded, shouting at the side of my head, clearly enraged but I just ignored him looking over to Kol as I waited for his conformation. Kol glared at his older brother before his eyes met mine and softened immediately.

'Excellent idea, bestie. I'll go and get a map,' Kol said, flashing away without another word.

'What about Celeste? What if she's the reason Tunde is back from the dead?' Elena pondered, looking over to Elijah.

'She has a point. The harvest girls not waking up, Davina predicting Celeste's return and now Tunde, a powerful warlock that Klaus butchered centuries ago suddenly turns up? That can't be a coincidence.' Hayley agreed, her gaze flickering to everyone in the room as she tried to read us all.

'I agree.' Elijah murmured, but held off on saying anything further; I assumed he wanted to hold off until we had the other locations pinpointed.

Kol came down a few moments later, placing the map on the table; he had the sacrifice's that had already happened marked in red and the spots that would be needed to complete the pentagram marked in black.

'Well that's convenient,' I snorted when I noticed that one of the black spots marked the spot of the compound.

'Indeed it is,' Elijah agreed.

'So is anyone actually going to lay out a plan of attack or are we just going to sit around staring at a map?' Nik muttered, his voice angry, I refused to try and calm him down because I didn't know how he would react, I didn't want to risk repeating the events of yesterday.

'Wow. I didn't realise how much of a temper he had,' Hayley muttered under her breath, but of course everyone in the kitchen heard her, supernatural hearing and all.

'That's because you met him after my dear darling bestie tamed the beast. He was a lot less paranoid and much more trusting under her influence.' Kol said, his tone serious but it had a humorous lilt to it that made me snort.

Nik's eyes snapped to mine, glaring at me, though it was nowhere near the volumes of yesterday. I held my hands up defensively, fighting a smirk, 'I didn't say anything.'

Nik rolled his eyes but otherwise didn't answer as he looked over to Elijah, 'is there an actual plan or not?'

'I assume the fact that the sacrifices have happened since the ritual last night means that Tunde is determined to complete his pentagram by nightfall, as he knows that we are familiar with his patterns, he won't waste any time. Therefore, Niklaus, you and I will pay a visit to Celeste. We have an advantage in the fact that she doesn't know that we are aware of the body she is possessing; perhaps we can extort some information from her. Hayley, Elena, Bekah and Kol you will remain here and Kimberly can go to the other location.' Elijah murmured, standing and tucking his chair underneath the table.

'You want her to go on her own? Just how powerful is this Tunde guy?' Elena asked, looking over to me in concern.

'This is necessary, Elena. I can handle myself and if he does come here you and Hayley have much better odds at not being sacrificed with two originals to back you up.' I explained, agreeing with Elijah's plan.

'While you proved how well you could handle yourself yesterday, love, I'm not sure you'll be a match for him if while he is so powerful.' Nik said, his expression blank as he regarded me, but I could sense his concern, which surprised me.

'Be careful, Nik. I was starting to believe you actually cared about me for a second there,' I joked, smiling and I saw a reluctant smile play on his lips as well, 'anyway, now that we have our positions, everyone to battle stations.'

I patted Nik's chest on my way out, but I was surprised when he grabbed my wrist and pulled my back to his chest, his breath on my neck making Goosebumps rise on my skin as he spoke.

'Be careful, love.' He murmured, only loud enough for me to hear, before he released my wrist and left the room with Elijah. I stared after him, for a moment, stunned into silence, before I walked out of the room myself, ignoring the cautious hope coming from the remaining people in the kitchen. I headed to the other location; an abandoned warehouse. A location I wasn't thrilled to be attending alone, but it was better for me to go alone as I was more indestructible than Elena and Hayley. That didn't stop the slither of fear from slithering down my spine though. When I reached the location, I realised that I was completely screwed, which if I hadn't been focused on overanalysing Nik's actions on my way here I would have realised sooner, but I didn't. As soon as I entered the eerie abandoned warehouse that reeked with danger I knew I was in trouble, but it was too late to turn back, though I was definitely relieved that I had come alone at that point.

'I know you're here. I can sense you. It's rude to keep a lady waiting, you know,' I shouted out into the empty space, focusing my hearing as well as glancing around to catch any sight of him, but the cages piled with unknown objects was making that difficult. I heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind me and I whirled around without another thought, coming face to face with a grinning African man wearing a white suit, paired with a red and white bow tie.

'It is a pleasure to meet the newest member of the Original family. I am Papa Tunde, I assume you have already heard of me?' His head tilted to the side, the manic grin still playing on his lips, but what unnerved me the most was the way he was looking at me, like he was starving and I was his last meal. That's when I realised what he wanted; he was going to sacrifice me.

'The name rings a vague bell… you aren't that famous magician, are you?' I smirked, crossing my arms over my chest as I mocked his clothing.

'You certainly have confidence, I'll give you that,' he laughed, but it was void of any humour. He took a deliberate step forward, closing the distance between us a little bit more, but I refused to show any kind of uneasiness and remained rooted to the spot.

'I just came to ask you nicely to stop with the sacrifices, seeing as I'm the one who's least likely to resort to brutal murder…' I trailed off, my tone one of irony.

'Ah yes, I am sure that Niklaus was happy to tell you about how he bested me. However, it was foolish of him to send you here all alone, you see, I am much more powerful than I was back then, and seeing as I have already completed four points on my pentagram, I only need you to complete the fifth.' Tunde said, sounding extremely confident.

'Okay I'll take it you're not up for negotiations then,' I muttered shaking my head in mock disappointment before I looked over to him, my eyes narrowing threateningly, 'wait did you just say four points?'

'Yes, I did. That was the first point I completed, the garden that Marcel is keeping under the compound was full of desiccating vampires just begging to be sacrificed, my dear.' He grinned smugly and I felt my heart drop to my stomach in dread; I was officially fucked but I refused to let him know that.

'Well, regardless, you're an idiot if you think I'm going down without a fight.' I said, my tone emitting a confidence that I didn't feel.

'Oh, I'd expect nothing less, you are the most powerful creature on the planet after all,' he grinned, pulling out a knife that looked like it was fashioned out of bone from his suit jacket, 'that's why I bought this.'

'Wonderful,' I sighed, adopting a fighting stance, 'are you going to throw the first punch or what?'

Without another word he stepped forward, attempting to plunge the blade straight into my heart but I side stepped him easily, grabbing his free hand and twisting it behind his back. I used my leverage on his arm to flip him over, he landed on the concrete floor, a sickening crack coming from somewhere in his body. This didn't deter him, however, as I literally heard the bones fuse back together and he stood again, wasting no time and charging at me full force. The blade sliced across my stomach, and I couldn't stop the cry of pain that escaped my lips when it happened, I managed to take Nik's pain before he felt it, so the burning pain that was echoing throughout my body from just a scratch was twice as excruciating as it should have been, but I still managed to move so that the blade didn't embed itself in my skin. Tunde laughed at my cry of agony, using my distraction to kick the back of my knee, resulting in me kneeling on the ground, just before he plunged the blade into my heart I made sure to focus on taking any pain it would cause Nik, but if it was going to go into my heart, I would be temporarily dead, so I wouldn't be able to do anything about it then. I only hoped that my temporary death would result in Nik being oblivious to the pain, that was my last thought as Tunde stood behind me, yanking my head back with a fistful of my hair before the blade pierced my chest.

Klaus' P.O.V.

'Well that was truly bloody pointless. All she told us was that she was going to make our family pay for our vendettas against her. Nothing we didn't already know.' I muttered, trying to control my anger until I could channel it into something useful.

'Whilst I agree with you, Niklaus, at least we are aware that Celeste has in fact returned. Now we can apply our focus in making sure that when she dies she stays dead.' Elijah murmured, his voice calm and composed, though his eyes were unfocused in a way that I recognised; he was already plotting, just as I should have been. But my mind was currently else where… on the woman that I was supposedly meant for. So far Kimberly had been a conundrum to me. Yesterday I had attacked her and honestly words couldn't adhere to how much I regretted that. Waking up after the elders had taken over my mind and being told that I didn't recognise my mate had been hard for me to swallow and I had resorted to my defence mechanism; attack those who questioned me. When I had returned to the compound after last night's misadventures, I had gone to my room, or what I had thought was my room, but I found it littered with things that definitely didn't belong to me. My clothes were strung across the floor, but so were hers, my cologne, my leather necklaces everything that was mine was exactly as I remembered it when I had left the compound that morning, but now she was everywhere. Her scent lingered in the air, on the pillows and the sheets. Books that I had never seen before perfume that I didn't recognise, hair clips on my nightstand. It showed how intimately our lives together must have been and I found myself in that moment desperately wanting to remember her. So that led me to my art room; if I was as enamoured with her as I was starting to believe I was then I knew exactly where I would find proof of our relationship. I opened the door softly, closing it behind me gently enough as to not emit any sound and then I flickered on the light. The paintings that were currently stood on the various easels around the room were ones I'd recognised; various expressions of the rage that stirred within me, rage that I attempted to remove from myself and place upon a canvas. So far I hadn't had any luck. I ignored those works of art and made my way over to my personal sketchbook, the sketchbook I never allowed anyone access to. I opened it halfway, my breath leaving me with the picture I was faced with. It was her… and me. The passion present within the picture couldn't be denied as we stared at one another, our foreheads resting on one another's as a small smile played upon her lips, a smirk danced on mine. But the passion wasn't what made the air leave me… it was the loving way that I was observing her, a look she was returning. I had never in all my centuries been on the receiving end of a look that sincere, that…pure. An angry growl escaped my lips as I realised what the ancestors had robbed me of, something I was sure my mother had been responsible for. She wanted to keep us apart, because of the strength we exuded when we were together and because she couldn't kill either of us she had erased my memories of Kimberly, knowing the paranoid and rage engulfed man that would greet her. In that moment I swore I was going to get my memories back and I was going to protect my mate with every fibre of my being.

'You're bleeding, Niklaus,' Elijah said, the worry in his tone snapping me out of my thoughts, I looked down and noticed blood seeping through the black shirt I was wearing, when I lifted it I noticed I had a long gash along my lower abdomen.

'Something's wrong,' I whispered, my mind going back to yesterday, remembering the way that my own chest had opened up in response to me plunging my fist into her own. Elijah took out his phone when it suddenly rang, eying my blood soaked shirt with even more alarm when the flow increased as a long thin slash opened up over my heart, though I had the same wound, it wasn't affecting me in the same way it would have been her; she would be temporarily dead at this point.

'Niklaus, we have a problem.' Elijah murmured; I noticed him sliding his phone back into his dark grey trench coat.

'What is it, brother?' I asked, idly wondering why the wounds weren't causing me any pain.

'Kimberly has not been answering her phone and Kol has discovered that the wretched garden Marcel was keeping in our basement is littered with twelve sacrificed vampires. Therefore we sent Kimberly into a death trap.' Elijah said, his voice tinted with concern.

'He's going to use her.' I said, suddenly finding it very difficult to swallow.

'It appears that way, yes. She is the most powerful being on the planet since she has been turned, so although this is typically a fatal process, because she is an original she can't die and is therefore an endless source of power. I presume now he has her and his pentagram is complete, he will be on route to us.' Elijah said, glancing down the busy streets of New Orleans, a thoughtful look on his face.

'I don't care about his power, Elijah. We need to get her back.' I said, making a move to do just that, but he stopped me with a hand on my arm.

'Whilst I do agree with you brother, I fear it may not be that simple. You will need someone to go with you and I don't know if two Originals, a vampire and a werewolf will be enough to take him down in his full capacity.' Elijah murmured, his voice calm though I knew he was anything but.

'If we break his link to her he won't be nearly as powerful. Facing him while he is still channelling her as well as the other sacrifices is suicide.' I told him, knowing it was true, 'you go back to the compound, and I'm going to grab Sophie, she's a witch so maybe she can help undo whatever Tunde has done to keep her in place.'

'Very well brother.' Elijah agreed, placing his hand on my shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze before pulling away and flashing to the compound. I myself wasted no time in flashing to Rousseau's, managing to convince Sophie to come with me by her own free will, before I flashed to the warehouse, every inch of my being determined to get back the girl that had managed to find something redeemable in the monster that was I, Klaus Mikaelson. I stopped at the entrance to the warehouse cautiously; I could smell blood, and it was a scent that I recognised, the memory of how was tugging at my brain but I just couldn't appear to grasp it. Once I was sure that the warehouse was empty, I opened the door, ignoring the aching sounds leaving the metal as I did.

'This is creepy,' Sophie whispered, following behind me and looking wildly around her, 'are you sure she's here?'

I opened my mouth to reply as I followed the smell of the blood, but my mouth snapped shut as I rounded a metallic cage overridden with old junk to find Kimberly laying in the middle of a triangle that seemed to be formed with salt. Her dark golden hair was stained with blood, as was her dress, her skin was a decaying grey and she had the same symbol the others had carved into her forehead. There was also a circle around the triangle and when I tried to get to her, I realised the purpose; a boundary spell.

'Make yourself useful and take down this boundary spell, would you?' I said, my words more of a demand than a question, and she knew it, which was probably why she stepped forward without further hesitation, walking around the circle, trying to enter it herself or search for any weak spots I didn't know.

'It's a convoluted spell… like a witches recipe. You can spoil the balance by adding a more potent ingredient, a mystical binding agent… I don't know volcanic ash, rock salt… anything up to and including eye of newt.' Sophie declared after she had lapped the circle once.

I kneeled down, observing the thick layer of salt that formed the circle, when an idea popped into my head and I turned to pitch it to Sophie, 'what about the blood of a witch?'

'That would work.' She admitted, albeit a little reluctantly.

'Would you be so kind?' I asked, a dangerous smirk on my face as I silently warned her of the consequences if she refused to comply.

'Sure.' Sophie answered after a long moment, stepping forward and offering me her wrist, I nodded in thanks before I bought my hybrid face forward, biting into her flesh allowing the blood to flow over the circular line. Once I was satisfied with the amount I offered her a gulp of my blood to heal her wound as I watched the blood and salt react with one another, bubbling as it travelled around the entire line, when it reached it's starting point a gust of wind blew, creating a line that was roughly five centimetres thick, breaking the boundary spell. I stepped over the now distorted line and walked over to her, lifting her into my arms, bridal style, carrying her back over the boundary. As soon as we left the warehouse, her skin started to gain some colour at a rate that even I was impressed by. I placed a kiss to her forehead, silently relieved that she was now safe before I turned to Sophie and gestured for her to follow. It was time to leave. Due to the fact that my hands were full and I had a witch that could only travel at a human pace, I was prevented from returning to the compound as I wished to; instead I walked gaining a few odd looks and even a few glares. But that was to be expected when I was carrying a girl that was practically drenched in blood and unconscious; I was surprised that I didn't get stopped by law enforcement as with the grey tinge her skin still had, I looked like I was carrying a corpse.

I was about to cross the road, thankfully only a few more blocks from Rousseau's, when a truck caught my eye. It took me a moment to realise why I recognised it, but then the memories of the road trip I had forced Stefan to take over the summer came to the forefront of my mind, but as quickly as that happened I was suddenly overtaken by another memory, a powerful memory that wasn't to be ignored.

We had been driving for days and hadn't stopped for so much as a bathroom break. I had been surprised at the lack of complaint from my human passenger, as I knew how unbearable it could be to constantly have immortal beings as company who didn't need to use the bathroom or eat a steady diet, but she hadn't complained once.

Now the vampire on this trip was another matter entirely, though he never complained aloud, he brooded constantly, in a way that would have annoyed me if his desperate attempt to convince me that he didn't have any humanity left weren't so amusing. Said vampire was currently asleep on the back seat, his even breathing assuring that he wasn't pretending, the human on the trip however seemed to be bouncing with energy, something that made me smile and shake my head in amusement.

'What's gotten you all energetic, love?' I asked her, my tone amused although I genuinely wanted to know the answer.

Her eyes moved to mine, shining with light, laughter and life, the headlights from cars passing by illuminating her face in an enticing way, 'I'm a night owl, which doesn't bode well for me, at least not on this trip, always up at the crack of dawn.' She grumbled, genuinely annoyed by that.

'Yes that is most certainly not going to help you for the next ten years, love.' I chuckled, my eyes shining with mirth.

'You know what I miss?' She mumbled, her tone suddenly taking on a serious lilt, in a way that made me wonder if she knew she was speaking aloud.

'What's that, love?' I wondered, my eyes flicking between the road and her as I awaited her response, when I saw a blush tint her olive complexion it confirmed that she had spoken aloud by mistake.

'The slumber parties me and Elena used to have in my room when the weather was like this,' she muttered after a long pause that made me wonder if she was going to answer me to begin with. She glanced out of the window, observing the harsh rain and galling winds that were currently disturbing the night sky, 'we'd both be afraid of the weather so we'd stay in my room, taking it in turns to pick Disney movies until we fell asleep.' She confessed, not looking me in the eye as if she was embarrassed by her confession.

'What was your favourite?' I asked her, my voice soft.

'Beauty and the Beast,' she answered automatically, though she laughed when she saw my crooked brow and ironic smirk, 'okay, don't run away with that one old man.'

Her response made me chuckle before I asked her another question, 'why was it your favourite?'

She considered it for a moment, I could tell that she was deliberating between giving me a funny answer or an honest one, she seemed to settle for the latter as she stared out of the window, 'I loved the whole story. The idea of Belle being an independent woman who wants more out of life and not being afraid to pursue it despite the way that everyone else in the village treats her. But the thing I love the most is Belle falling in love with the Beast. I always thought he deserved to be loved, he wasn't a bad person, he was just misunderstood and angry with the world because no one took their time to get to know him… they assumed that because he was a beast he was incapable of showing any humanity and if you ask me that is just complete and utter rubbish. He deserved love just like anyone else, and he got it just like he deserved.' She told me, her voice gaining more conviction the more she spoke; it was clear that this was something that she felt passionate about, and clearly not just because of a Disney movie. I stared at her, wondering how a woman so innocent, so compassionate and so beautiful hadn't already been swept off her feet, but at the same time I was grateful, incredibly so; I was going to make her mine. Because I was incredibly certain that I was falling in love with her, and I didn't know how to deal with that.

I gasped as the memory that had just overloaded my brain suddenly triggered even more, like a ripple effect…

'Lady. Gentlemen. Why so glum?' I murmured, amusement dripping into my tone as the blonde beauty dramatically dropped her head to the bar at the sound of my voice, clearly realizing who I was. Her friends however, were a little slower on the uptake, but after a moment their faces shone in recognition.

'Klaus I presume,' Damon said.

'In the flesh,' I smirked. My eyes moving over to the Kimberly Gilbert, the young woman who had captured my attention when I'd been in the history teacher's body.

'Cut to the chase. What do you want?' She demanded annoyance and frustration dripping from her tone, but as soon as she met my eyes her whole body and her expression froze in place. I felt my smile become smug, as she seemed to be looking me up and down; her eyes alight with clear lust and attraction.

'What was that, love? I asked, my smugness only growing when she didn't appear to hear me, and seeing as she was taking the opportunity to eye me up and down, I decided to do the same. She was wearing a royal blue tank top that molded to her body so closely that I was able to tell that she wasn't wearing a bra, her white and blue stripy shorts were made of a thin material similar to pajamas and I found myself amused that she had attended a bar in that attire. Her hair was long, trailing down to her waist, and was an enticing dark gold, the loose curls her hair fell in catching the light and reflecting the color in a tantalizing way. She had a flawless olive complexion that seemed to make her deep blue eyes stand out even more. Her legs were long, and I could tell from here, soft; I had to resist the urge to reach out and run my hand up her thigh, knowing that even for me that was too far. She seemed to snap out of whatever trance she had been in, downing the whisky in her glass before she looked in between the three men that were currently staring at her.

She frowned, 'what?'

'Did you not hear what I said, love? Or were you too busy checking me out?' I said, a crooked grin appearing on my face. I enjoyed watching her try not to react to my words, but her eyes were easy to read, she was as attracted to me as I was to her…

I looked down to her, my heart thumping painfully in my chest, feeling almost remorseful as I observed the tears that wouldn't stop falling from her eyes. I opened his mouth, not sure what I was about to say, but I just felt the need to say something to ease the pain in her eyes, but all of a sudden there was a deadening crack. I looked down to my arms in astonishment as I watched my bones breaking, the shock quelling the pain for only a moment…

'Klaus, please,' she moaned, when my lips moved from her lips to her jaw, I smiled against her skin, pleased at how much she wanted me in that moment.

Deciding to bring her some relief, I reached down, my hand palming her core, and I groaned when I found out how much she wanted me. My thumb rubbed her clit, while one of my fingers went inside her, pumping softly; which I paired with sucking and nipping at her collarbone, causing her to fall apart in a matter of minutes. While the after shocks were running through her body, I lined myself up against her, before I pushed forward, filling her in one swift movement. I moaned at the feeling of being inside her, a sensation I wasn't sure I would ever get enough of. When I felt her dig her heels into my ass cheeks to urge me to move, I complied, an amused chuckle escaping my lips. I moved in and out of her swiftly, my hips meeting hers forcefully, in a way that I knew would leave her sore afterwards; a thought that made the wolf inside of me howl in victory as I marked her in some way. I stretched her thighs wider, giving myself more room and allowing me to move even deeper as I pounded into her. I could feel that she was about to break apart all over again and I kept my hands on her thighs, keeping them spread apart as I leaned forward and took one of her breasts into my mouth, biting down and breaking the skin. That was all it took for her to fall apart around me, her head thrown back as she screamed my name in a way that made the possessive part of me rejoice, while her orgasm traveled through her.

'That's my girl,' I whispered into her ear, leaning to suck her ear lobe gently, enjoying the shudder that echoed throughout her body as I also reached my climax with a satisfied growl.

I held her close, almost hugging her as we waited for our breathing to go back to normal. When it finally did, I pulled back almost warily; my expression was guarded as I tried to grasp how to handle this situation. All of a sudden, she leaned forward, and softly kissed my cheek; I felt my closed off expression melt away at the gesture.

'That was…' she started but she trailed off, seeming to be lost for words, which made a smug grin erupt on my face as I stepped forward, realigning her body with mine as I softly kissed her lips before pulling back.

'Yes love yes it was…' I mimicked her by trailing off.

'Better than I'd imagined my first time could ever be,' She admitted honestly.

I stared at her, shocked, as I tried to decipher if she was being truthful or not, when I realized she was, I felt my entire expression soften…

The fact that she could empathise with me, Klaus Mikaelson the man who had killed her sister was unbelievable in itself. I had seen an example of her empathy just over an hour ago, when she'd allowed me into her mind to see her vision. I had been in denial and the slightest bit afraid that I wasn't going to be able to build my hybrid army, but she had taken it all away, allowing me to feel calm. If she really hated me, like she should, then she wouldn't care how I felt. While we made the journey here in the car and she had remained silent, I had been concerned for her; I was concerned that she was angry with me for disputing her vision, but when I felt my concern disappear as quickly as I'd felt it I had realised what she was doing. She was focused on me, making sure that I wasn't feeling anything other than the calming waves she kept aiming my way, and when I realised that I felt my heart squeeze reluctantly, as my soft spot for her grew even deeper. A soft spot that had been growing since I'd first laid eyes on her in the history teachers body; it had become massively deeper when she'd told me that I had been her first. I still couldn't believe that, I knew she had told me the truth, but she was exquisite and I found the idea of no one before me noticing that ludicrous…

'I'll be there in a minute, love.' I promised her before I hung up the phone. I flashed there immediately, attempting to get my rage under control; the fact that the youngest Salvatore was currently using my family as a source of blackmail did not sit well with me, but I needed to make sure that she was unharmed. When I arrived at the bridge mere moments later, I was relieved to see that she was physically all right, facing the water, her hands resting on the railing as she looked over. I heard her sob and felt my concern grow; though the relief I felt at her safety was still present. As soon as she met my gaze, she didn't hesitate; she threw her arms around my waist, hugging me hard and nuzzling into my chest, inhaling. I felt myself freeze for a brief moment in surprise at her forwardness, but I quickly regained myself, wrapping my arms around her waist, my palms flattening against her back, my thumbs moving back and forth comfortingly. I heard her breathing slow down to normal, and I was grateful for the calmness and security that seemed to wash over her. I didn't say a word, allowing her to hold me for as long as she needed…

From there I brief flashes entered my mind, that seemed to trigger memories that had always been there; the image of her in the dress I had gifted her for my family ball; her tears of happiness and disbelief when I had proposed to her… everything. I had my memories back.

'Klaus? Are you alright? You've just been standing there with this vacant expression on your face for fifteen minutes.' Sophie's voice cut through the images in my brain, bringing me back to the present.

I looked over to her, 'I'm fine. Thank you for your blood, now run along the food in Rousseau's isn't going to make itself.' I smirked, ignoring her glare as she made the ten feet back to her place of work by herself, once she was inside I turned and flashed back to the plantation, walking straight upstairs to our room and gently placing her on the bed. I changed her into some sleep shorts and a vest top, ridding her of the crusty bloody clothes she had been in before. Now all I had to do was wait, and wait I would.

There's chapter thirty five! Sorry I couldn't leave it a week in between chapters, I needed to resolve the issue of Klaus losing his memories, and I hope I did it in a satisfactory way. Let me know what you thought!

MageVicky: I can't believe you answered every review I made! That's so embarrassing. But I appreciate it. Also, I don't really follow the originals, so I'm in the dark as to what's going to happen next! Will Davina come back to life? Will Esther? Again? Also, i can't believe Klaus forgot her! I hate Esther! That b***. Poor Kimmie. So sad. Don't be embarrassed! I answer all of my reviews, and I appreciate you leaving ones on so many chapters, it honestly means so much to me, so thank you (: And I guess you'll just have to wait and see (; I hope you liked this chapter too!

Ovgsmesa: Well that's a twist I didn't see coming, and a bit of a cruel twist too. It makes sense that since they are both nigh invulnerable, it'd be their bond that is exploited but still cruel. I can't say that I like this chapter very much but the twist in itself is a very good one. Please don't let this "crack" between them last too long. I know, I agree and I hated writing it, but don't worry it's all been rectified; I just wanted to add in an unexpected twist with Kim not being pregnant yet there wasn't much for me to play around with. I hope you liked this chapter (:

XxSunnaxX: WHY T.T thats so sad... but such a good idea XD great job:) Thank you lovely, and I know I was so emotional writing it, but it's all fixed now (: Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

Mili: Damn wat a trip i hope she ignores him for the pain he caused her while he chases her after finding the photo book. I know right? A total roller coaster of emotions; I hope you liked this chapter (: