I slept late and when I woke up, the wolf was gone. There was no trace he'd ever been there and I wondered if the whole thing had been a figment of my imagination, some mental manifestation of my feelings towards Klaus.

I got up and went to the bathroom as if in a trance. I felt drained, stripped from the inside and I wasn't sure why. I stood under the hot spray of the shower, hoping it would revitalize me somewhat. Seeing the wolf the night before had reminded me of things I needed to do. I decided to finish the cure for the bayou werewolves and drop that off before anything else distracted me. Once that was done, I could consider performing the reversal spell on Klaus. After last night, with him being so sweet, I was almost reluctant to do it but I knew that I needed to think about the future. Just because he'd been nice once didn't mean anything. He was still a threat.

I got out of the shower and sent Jeremy a text telling him that I wouldn't be free to hang around that day. I got dressed and gathered up everything I needed. I'd gotten Kol to translate the spell to English for me so I was now confident I had everything I needed. I decided to perform the spell in the bayou where there was less chance of being disturbed. I put the translation in my pocket and, after a moment's thought, I put Celeste's grimoire in my bag.

I went into the kitchen to get a snack, grabbed my bag and headed towards the door, surprised when no one appeared to stop me. In fact there was no one around at all.

I was going to just leave but I felt bad. I scribbled a quick note and left it on the stairs, before heading out of the house. I was walking through the streets when I paused. I felt like someone was watching me and it made me incredibly uncomfortable. Maybe it would be better to have someone with me.

I rang Bonnie's number.

"Hi Elena"

"Hey Bonnie. Are you doing anything?"

"Not really. Caroline has gone into hyper holiday mode and is trying to cram the day full of activities but has been so preoccupied with that that we've not actually left yet."

"Well would you care to join me on a little trip?"

"Does this trip involve magic?"

"It does… although you don't have to join in with that bit if you don't want to. Oh and maybe ask Tyler if he wants to come?"

"I'm guessing there are wolves involved then?"

"We probably won't see any but yes, I am heading out to the bayou to visit the wolf pack."

"Well I'm up for it. Hang on." I heard her calling to Tyler, her voice muffled slightly. "Yeah, he's in as well."

"Great. I'll meet you by your hotel?"

"See you in five."

I headed down the street to their hotel, keeping an eye out for any sign of Klaus lurking nearby. I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched even though I didn't see anyone. My paranoia delayed me a bit and when I reached the hotel, Bonnie and Tyler were already waiting outside for me.

"Hey, sorry I'm late."

"It's alright. You have to waddle everywhere, we can make allowances," Tyler teased. I scowled.

"You try carrying twins, see how fast you can walk."

We headed out of the city and towards the bayou. I led the way, weaving through the trees as if I was being guided by something I couldn't see. Progress was slow and by the time we got there it was late afternoon. I reached the cabin and called out to Eve so she wouldn't be startled by our arrival. She didn't appear so I assumed she was busy or asleep.

"This is where the werewolves live?" Tyler asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Not everyone can be the son of the mayor," Bonnie said.

"But this is…"

"Well they're banned from the quarter and cursed to be stuck as wolves, so this is the only place they can really stay." I explained.

I built up a fire and put a pot over it. Tyler sat down nearby as Bonnie and I worked through the spell.

"So what do they have to do with this?" she asked. I checked the paper.

"It says they all have to drink it on the next full moon."

"That's only a few days away." Tyler said. "It's the 12th, the full moon is the 18th."

"Good to know," I smiled. "So I've got a jar for it, I'll put it in the cabin with instructions but I'll probably come back out here on the full moon just to make sure it all works out." I sat down next to Tyler and waited for the pot the boil. Bonnie perched on a log opposite me.

"So how goes the plan for getting rid of Klaus?"

"Well I still think the best idea is to strip his werewolf side completely but I don't know how to do that without recreating the spell that bound him originally. And Jeremy was right, Klaus will just grab me, go straight back to Mystic Falls and do the sacrifice again. I don't want that… So my back up plan is to use the same curse that's on the werewolves around here on him. He'll still be dangerous but I figure at least if he's a wolf he'll be lacking opposable thumbs and the ability to recruit anyone into helping him."

"Do you have the spell?"

"I do." I fished Celeste's grimoire from my bag and handed it over to her. "Elijah gave it to me. Most of it's in French."

"So this belonged to the witch who performed the curse?"

"I guess so. Or she knew her." I shrugged. "Do you think it would work?

"I can't see why not… the only issue is that this spell is designed to reverse the nature of a werewolf. Klaus can change at will, so it would require some alterations." She settled down, examining the spell with interest. We sat in silence for a while, watching as the sun set over the water.

"Bonnie, could you tell me if there's wolf blood in me? I mean, in my children?" She looked up.

"Maybe. I can try at least. I don't know any specific spells for that… I mean, I can't imagine there's much call for them, but I could try… something."

"Would you…?"

"This Klaus thing has really got you worked up, hasn't it?"

"I just… I need to know if it's another thing to worry about."

"Okay, sure. Tyler can I have a little of your blood? It'd be helpful, since you're part werewolf and your vampire side comes from Klaus." He nodded.

Bonnie got up and gestured for me to lie down. I got comfortable on the dirt and she knelt beside me. Tyler came over and sat next to her. Bonnie pulled up my top and took Tyler's hand. He handed her a penknife and she carefully ran the blade across his hand. The blood dripped down onto my stomach. I grimaced.

"Never going to get used to this." Bonnie gave me an apologetic smile and held her hands over my bloodstained skin.

"Veritatem revelare. Et sanguinis vinculis reveletur." Nothing happened. Then, slowly, a small tingle spread through my skin. The blood on my skin began to bubble as if it was boiling. Pain seared across my flesh, red hot.

"Ahh!"

"Oh shit…" Bonnie quickly wiped away as much of the blood as she could. I sat up, wincing.

"What does that mean?"

"I… I don't know."

We moved back to our original positions slowly. Bonnie returned to the grimoire, Tyler returned to poking the fire with a stick and I sat, thinking about what a mess I'd made of everything.

This couldn't be my life… I couldn't do this… I couldn't put my children through this. It was just one disaster after another.

"Fire's dying down," I said to no one in particular. "I'm going to get some more. Tyler, can you give me a hand?" He nodded and got to his feet.

We wandered a short distance, picking up sticks as we went. I forgot how at home I felt out here, surrounded by nothing but trees and the sound of water.

"Tyler?" I said suddenly, breaking the silence. "Can you… sense other werewolves?"

"Sometimes… it's more like I can smell them though. Why?"

"What Klaus said… about my children being his… it made sense…" I picked up a stick. "Vampires can't procreate, werewolves can. It makes a lot more sense than anything else."

"Nothing makes sense around you Elena."

"Klaus will never stop trying to get them... will he?" Tyler stayed silent, looking down. "It's okay, you can tell me the truth."

"He's not the type to give up." I leant against a tree, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I knew that I couldn't force my children into a life of fear, running from their father. I'd seen what that had done to Klaus.

"Am I a bad person?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because everything turns to crap around me… everyone dies and those that don't get hurt… if I was a good person, I would have put rocks in my pocket and walked into the river."

"Don't say that Elena."

"It's true though. If I was dead, people would be safe." I opened my eyes and looked up at the sky. "If I was a good person, I wouldn't let these children exist… their lives can only be bad…"

"Elena…"

"Tyler I want you to promise me something."

"What…?"

"If I can't do the spell… if I can't stop Klaus from being a threat to them… I want you to take my children and send them far away… and then I want you to kill me."