A/N: I am so sorry for how long it took to update this story. I was so focused on TDB that this one definitely fell to the wayside. But here's a new chapter. Hope you enjoy!
A few weeks ago and Caroline had dreaded dinner with Klaus, had constantly worried over who he might end up killing out of irritation or for no reason at all. She still dreaded it, but for entirely different reasons now, ones that were much easier to push aside as the conversation started flowing between them. She was getting used to his presence, used to the opulence of everything that he seemed to enjoy surrounding himself with. Her mother's words rang in her ears and Caroline couldn't help but wonder if the older woman was right; after a year of this how was she supposed to go back to life as she'd known it?
She remembered her father saying that you couldn't ever really go back once you had started off in a different direction. It was why he rarely came back to Mystic Falls—or at least the reason he'd told her he'd needed to—because it wasn't the same place as it had been for him before the divorce and it never would go back to being it again. Caroline remembered hating that answer, despising how everything had changed between them and knowing that no matter how hard she tried to hold onto how things had been that those ways were gone forever.
She'd persevered, she always did through whatever life decided to throw at her, with a plastered on smile and a bubbly exuberance that was expected of her, but that didn't mean she enjoyed it.
Caroline knew she was slowly getting used to everything that was happening now, to Klaus' constant presence, but it was the fact that it was becoming normal for her that probably worried her the most.
That and the kiss.
The one where she had definitely been kissing him back and hadn't wanted it to stop.
She'd also seen the changes in the way he regarded her, in the way he responded to her constant reminders that this was for one year only. Before he'd been extra smirky, always telling her that she wouldn't be able to give it all up after a year, but now she saw streaks of hurt in his eyes, of a possessiveness when he looked at her after that. Somehow this wasn't about simply having sex with her anymore which she was certain had been at least part of the point earlier in the game. She knew he'd wanted to get her out of his system but now…it was more than that. She didn't know what though, wasn't sure what his game plan was any longer. How was she supposed to alter her own plans in regards to something she wasn't entirely sure about?
All Caroline knew was that her stomach flip-flopped when he looked at her as he did now, like it had back at the ball when she'd first walked in, like when he'd rescued her in that hallway. It wasn't supposed to do that. She was very annoyed with it and wanted to have a lengthy conversation with it later about reacting to him in that way.
"You seem to be somewhere else tonight, sweetheart," Klaus said, interrupting her thoughts as their waiter appeared, freshening up their wine glasses.
"Sorry." Wait. Did she need to apologize for that? Ugh. She despised second guessing her responses. "I just have a lot on my mind. But what are we going to do while we're here anyway?"
"Tour the city. Continue to work on your skills," Klaus replied and Caroline swallowed at that. The last time they had worked on her vampire skills it'd ended in a kiss. From the way he glanced at her mouth before picking up his wine glass, Caroline had a feeling Klaus was remembering it too.
Not that it'd be hard to do so since it'd only happened a few hours ago. "Like what exactly?" Maybe if she knew what they were working on she could figure out how to control her emotions around him, prevent any more from happening.
"You're already utilizing your hearing and smell to be able to find me. Now shall we work on the art of eavesdropping?" Klaus inquired, looking around the restaurant for a target.
"I already know how to do that," Caroline laughed, surely that wasn't the next step. "Like that's one of the first things I even tried to do. I did it all the time when I was human, our kind of hearing just made it a whole lot easier." He was smiling at something she said, though she didn't quite know what it was that had him so happy. "Little harder here because I so don't know all of the languages being spoken but like the couple in the back with the woman in that purple dress that goes really horribly with her complexion is currently in an argument about the babysitter."
"And what about the chef in the kitchen?" Klaus asked, watching her carefully. "Your hearing can go far beyond those in this room; it should be able to penetrate the walls. Especially these ones that were built in the last decade or so."
She scrunched her nose as she concentrated, filtering through the other chatter to glimpse what was happening in the kitchen. "I don't know what he's saying but I think I found him."
"We'll need to work on your language acquisition," Klaus told her as the waiter returned with their bill. She watched Klaus place what looked like the appropriate amount of bills inside of it and she wondered when he'd had a chance to acquire money. Though most likely it had happened during their earlier lessons when she'd been struggling to find him in the first few rounds.
"Do languages come easier to you as you like…get older?" For humans it was the opposite, easier to learn them as children and learning multiple languages had definitely not been happening when she was a toddler in Mystic Falls. "How many do you even know?"
"I don't think I could give an actual number," he replied as they retrieved their coats from the coatroom and Caroline swallowed as he helped her into hers. "It has less to do with age and more to do with necessity and the amount of time you spend in any region. The easiest way to learn any language is by being immersed in it."
"Yeah, definitely didn't get that approach in school." She could ask for the bathroom in French but Caroline wasn't sure she could do much more than that.
She noticed that Klaus wasn't quite paying attention to what she was saying as they stepped into the cooler air. He was looking at something but before she could figure out what he was looking at her again, looking absolutely delighted about something. "Tell me, Caroline, how do you identify other supernaturals that might be in the area?" he asked as he settled his hand in the middle of her back, guiding her along the street.
She was thrown enough by the question that she didn't comment on his hand. "Well, with wolves—triggered ones anyway—they have a certain smell."
"Very good." She sniffed the air, wondering if one was near. "And vampires?"
"Uh…" Caroline wasn't quite sure how to put into words how she did that.
Klaus pulled her over into an alley, angling her so she would be able to see out into the street. "There's one out there. See if you can figure out who it might be."
She tried to focus on what was happening on the street but it was difficult to do with how close he was standing to her, his chest practically pressed against her back, breath tickling her face and hands settled on her waist. The stomach flipping was happening again and Caroline closed her eyes, willing it to go away, wanting the heat she could swear she could feel where he touched her to disappear as well.
"The heartbeat is there, the breathing as well, but it's just a little different, just a little off from everyone else," Klaus continued and she didn't like at all how husky his voice sounded to her ears.
"It's the woman by the planters that are in front of the restaurant with the blue door," Caroline managed to get out, not liking how squeaky her voice was.
"Excellent," Klaus replied and rested his chin against her shoulder as they studied her. "She's an older one and has been tracking us for a bit. Nothing to worry about with her. You'll find that we become a bit territorial as we age, not wanting newcomers to sweep in and cause issues."
"I'd think you'd be all about causing problems," she murmured, watching as the woman disappeared into the crowd. Though he had spent a thousand years hiding from his father so maybe that wasn't quite true.
"Only if I don't get what I want. Or boredom." She shook her head at that not surprised at all by his answer. "We're a predatory species, Caroline. It's something you can put off for only so long. When a vampire doesn't feed they become feral, no sense of reason as they tear into their victims." She swallowed at that, not liking what he was saying, but it was how he was brushing the fabric of her shirt between his fingers that she was focused on and had her emotions going crazy. "We were created to be the best predator, to be more deadly than any other, stronger."
"We can feed without hurting though," she murmured, not wanting to have this conversation. He was too close, too all-consuming and she didn't know how to keep him away from her.
"Of course, but it's much more satisfying when we do, when we let go and allow our nature to take over. One can only hold back from it for so long," Klaus mused, and she felt his nose brush along her neck.
Caroline practically leapt away at that, the intimacy of the gesture not lost on her. Her heart was racing and she refused to look at him, certain he'd see the mixture of fear and desire in her eyes. She wanted to lash out at him, to offer up some seething words that would put some distance between them again, but she couldn't seem to force that kind of tone to come out. Not when he hadn't actually done anything wrong. But she did know that she needed space again.
"I'm really tired and I'd like to go to sleep now. I want to go back to the hotel."
"As you wish," Klaus told her and she was grateful that he didn't move to touch her again, simply extended a hand in the direction they needed to head, and kept his hands clasped behind his back as they walked toward the hotel.
After securing Caroline in the hotel room and compelling a few people that had been heading back to their rooms to keep an eye on the room and do all they could to stop anyone but him from entering it, Klaus texted Sam to let him know to not head back just yet unless he wanted a stake in the heart. He then headed off to locate the vampire that Caroline had managed to pick out earlier. She shouldn't be an issue but he wasn't about to take any risks considering how young and vulnerable Caroline would be against her. He really needed to work on the girl's fighting skills while continuing to work on honing in her vampire senses.
It didn't take long for him to find the other vampire, not all surprised that he was unable to enter the house she was currently residing in. The older ones learned that compelling a human to let them inside and keeping the human alive meant they had a secure place to live unlike those who compelled and killed the previous occupant.
She opened the door though, watching him warily and no doubt ready to attack if necessary. "I have no quarrel with you. You've done nothing to attract unwanted attention here and it's obvious you're not looking to stay."
"Simply passing through. We'll be gone by tomorrow," Klaus told her, watching her nod.
It'd be easy enough to kill her from where he stood, even though he couldn't break through the barrier. A splinter of wood was all that he'd need and he could flick it into the woman's heart before she could blink. She was an older vampire but nowhere near his own age and he had a feeling she sensed that.
"Then I hope you enjoy your time here," the woman replied, trying to put off an air of authority, to show her strength, but he could sense the underlying trepidation. There probably hadn't been another vampire in this region for a number of decades considering her wariness. The fact she didn't have a daylight ring on also limited her ability to be a problem.
He locked his gaze with her, eyes dilating as she realized what was happening. "You will forget that you saw us here but you will keep your eyes out for this man." Klaus held up his phone, showing the picture of Alaric. "And these ones." The Lockwood boy and Salvatore brothers. He doubted the other three would show but it didn't hurt to be careful. "If you see them you will do everything in your power to kill them."
She rattled off the directions, a glimpse of realization of who he was before she was forced to forget him all over again. Klaus left her then, making a mental note to do the same to any other vampires they might come across during their journey. It'd be a good idea to do the same to others in the hotels they were staying at, perhaps get some of those who worked there to contact him if Alaric or the others showed up looking for them.
Klaus headed back to the hotel, dismissing the others and letting Sam know that he could return at his leisure now. He sensed Caroline in her room, didn't hear any sounds except her breathing and quick check showed that she was sleeping. He was ready to close the door and leave her be when he watched her cringe, heard her whimper and smelled the fear beginning to come off of her.
He easily pushed his way into her mind, glaring at Alaric's presence tying the vervain soaked towel around her mouth. He erased the history teacher from her mind, made the vervain and pencils disappear again and altered the scenery to that of the Eastnor Castle, remembering how much she had liked being there.
Klaus kept himself hidden in the shadows, ready to slip back out as he sensed her body calming down and watched her dreamself meander through the gardens. She turned though, looking around for a moment but never spotting him.
"Thank you," she murmured before moving on down the path.
He pulled out then and stared down at her sleeping form. The longings she brought out in him was something he wanted to rip apart, to shred into a million little pieces that he could easily get rid of while also finding that he was clinging desperately to it, wanting more than what he already had of her.
She'd been spooked by his touch though and while Klaus had expected a sharp response from her, something to push him away and erect the barriers between them all over again, she had seemed so fragile and small in that moment instead. He had smelled the stirrings of her desire as well, seen the whisper of her vampire features before she'd managed to push them down again.
He had to play this carefully, to slowly build the ties that would bind her to him, that would keep her at his side without accidentally driving her away because of her fear of what she was and the desires he obviously brought out in her. It was going to be a challenge, but he had always enjoyed those, and the prize for this one far outweighed any he'd accomplished so far.
Klaus brushed her cheek with the tips of his fingers before trailing them down her neck and across her shoulder. The safest way to play this out was probably to kill her, to extract this vulnerability that she represented for him, that she brought out in him. It'd be so easy to do, to end her life before she ever had a chance to wake up, but then where would he be? What would he have left?
Hybrids who were tied to him because of Sire bond and while he had their loyalty because of that, it wasn't enough. Not that he'd stop creating them. They were necessary, an army to help protect his siblings and himself from their enemies and whatever they might try to throw at them.
There were his siblings who he'd no doubt need to dagger at some point to save them from himself, leaving him alone again to wander the world. It was safer that way, no chance of losing something he cared about but Mikael was gone now and Klaus would find a way to dispose of Alaric as well.
There was no reason to wander alone and he wanted Caroline Forbes at his side, loyal to him, he needed her to love him. Klaus brushed the hair from her face, smiling down at her. He would get all of that, every last thing that he wanted from her. Part of him wanted to enter her mind again, to alter her dreams to something a bit more erotic, to see how she would react to his fantasies in her mind. That could backfire on him all too easily at the moment and Klaus stashed that idea away for later.
He could be patient, after all he had waited a thousand years to break his curse, surely he could wait a little longer for her walls to drop completely and allow him into her heart and soul.
Klaus left her room, wheels already turning in his head on how to continue to build trust with her, on how to continue to chip away at her walls. He spotted Sam on the couch and watched the young hybrid rise, eager to tell him something.
"I found another pack."
Klaus grinned, thoroughly pleased with the boy. He was a much better follower than the Lockwood boy had turned out to be. "Fantastic." He did so enjoy when things were going his way.