A/N: Sorry for the delay but at least this update didn't take as long as last time :) Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

She'd gone to bed with her mind reeling, needing a chance to just push all of her confusing emotions down and try to be a blank slate for a while. Of course her nightmares had other plans for her but those had swiftly turned as well, becoming pleasant dreams that she hadn't quite wanted to wake up from.

Caroline knew why they'd changed, or rather who had altered them, and it was odd to wake up with a smile when she thought about Klaus. She quickly stifled it, hating her own traitorous thoughts. She needed to remind herself of every horrible thing he had ever done, to hold on steadfastly to each and every one of those things. A few good deeds didn't just erase everything that had happened.

But then what about Stefan? He'd helped her out, and Elena and the rest of them, but she also knew that he did awful things to people…and yet she still considered him one of the good ones. What exactly made all that Stefan had done not as horrible in her eyes as what Klaus had done? Was it because he hadn't done it to anyone she loved or because a lot of it had happened so long ago…and what kind of double standard was that if it was the case?

Caroline forced the thoughts out of her head, not wanting to dwell on any of them. Klaus was getting entirely too familiar with her, too intimate and it was throwing her off her game. His touches were far more tempting than she'd ever imagined they would be. His constant presence was something she didn't quite know how to handle.

It was one thing to steel herself for the occasional battle of wits between them, to prepare herself for the ideas he'd put in her head, to try and push down the dreams he seemed to see aching to be allowed to flourish every so often whenever she crossed his path in her small town. There were always another million things to deal with as well, something else to focus on so what was happening between them—these desires that she just couldn't seem to squash any longer—weren't allowed to venture out for more than a few moments every so often.

Now though they persisted and Caroline never quite knew what to expect.

It thrilled and terrified her all at once.

She had seen the tiny changes in his demeanor over the last few weeks. How he'd taken to bristling whenever she reminded him that he only had her for a year. Before he'd been smug, taunting that it wouldn't be enough for her. Now she had a feeling that only having her for a year wouldn't be enough for him and the two hadn't even done anything to merit that kind of change.

Klaus had worked at breaking his curse for one thousand years, had Katherine running in fear for five hundred. Caroline had a feeling that if he got the idea in his head that he wanted her by his side that he'd stop at nothing to ensure it happened. How long was she supposed to run, to push him away, to stifle everything when he'd already shown that he could wait at least a thousand years to get what he wanted?

"Okay, no more thinking," she muttered to herself as she finally got out of the bed. Wrapping the hotel robe around her body, Caroline stepped out into the living area of the suite.

It didn't surprise her to find Klaus and Sam already up. She'd heard them moving about while she'd lain in the bed. She hadn't expected the maps laid out on the table though. "Plotting escape routes?"

Actually that wouldn't be such a bad idea and was one that Klaus probably already did in his head out of habit. She hadn't expected for her stomach to clench when he turned around to look at her, pleasant smile on his face. "Did you sleep well, sweetheart?" he asked, and Caroline swallowed at that, noting the huskiness to his voice as he slowly looked her over.

Maybe the robe wasn't the best idea.

"You're so avoiding my question," she replied, her voice teasing and that threw her for a moment. She was so not supposed to be doing that, especially since Klaus' smile widened.

"Sam here has proved to be most valuable." Klaus motioned toward the cart that held various pastries and other breakfast items on it before continuing. "Seems there's another werewolf pack nearby."

It was funny how the nervousness that had been mixed with a stirring of desire inside of her could be put out so quickly by those words. She felt as though someone had just poured a bucket of ice water over her head, shocking her back to reality and reminding her of why she was there in the first place. Images of Elena strapped to the chair in Klaus' mansion flashed in her mind and Caroline glanced over at the fridge that held her friend's blood.

"Right. Wouldn't want to pass that up," she muttered, no longer wanting to try any of the displayed food. The bitterness in her voice surprised her though and Klaus glanced over at her, trying to gauge her response. She didn't want him to figure her out before she could though and she schooled her features, pulling at the anger she couldn't quite place to come forward. "Though really, how many will be enough? Are you going to just keep passing them off to your first set to try and train and maintain? How exactly does that garner you loyalty?"

Klaus' gaze narrowed and Caroline knew she was pushing his buttons but she couldn't seem to care in that moment. "Perhaps you should desist speaking about matters you know nothing about."

She crossed her arms at that, her 'oh please' expression clearly illustrated through her features. "I know plenty."

His smile was anything but pleasant as he stood and if she had any sense she might have backed away from him then. Everything was screaming predator at her, trying to ignite that flight or fight response. "Am I not freeing them from agonizing torture once a month?"

She rolled her eyes at that. "Please. You're not doing this out of the goodness of your heart. You're doing it to help you."

"I'm giving them a gift, why shouldn't I also benefit from it?" Klaus demanded and Caroline noted that Sam had headed into his room, the shower turning on seconds later. "No one does anything in this world for free, Caroline. It's always to get ahead, to better one's self, to show the world that they're the ones with power."

She shook her head to deny that. "No?" he continued, stepping into her personal space. "So you became head cheerleader out of the goodness of your heart? Planned all of those little dances for the good of your school and not because you enjoyed the praise it earned you when they went well? Or the nice little footnote to add to your college applications?"

"That's not the same! My doing any of that didn't hurt anyone. It didn't take someone's life and bind them to me," she protested, refusing to play into his little word game.

"That's because you are young," Klaus informed her, placing his hands on her shoulders and she pushed them off, stepping away from him, desperately needing the distance. "Regardless, we're leaving in an hour so I suggest you get yourself ready. I can't say that our next lodgings will be this nice so perhaps you should enjoy that lovely Jacuzzi tub that you've had your eye on since we arrived."

The fact that he was speaking about doing something nice for herself before they went on the road to enslave people to his will only increased her anger. From his amused smirk she knew that he was well aware of that fact. She didn't even bother with words, simply sighed in exasperation and turned on her heel, heading back into her bedroom. She made sure not to slam the door though, not wanting to further his obvious amusement with the situation.

There probably wasn't much she could do to stop him from turning more hybrids, but Caroline wasn't stupid. He had a limited amount of Elena's blood and eventually it was going to run out. That meant they'd need to head back to Mystic Falls and her friend would be in danger all over again.

It also meant that seeing the world would stop.

Caroline didn't like at all how much the thought of stopping the journey made her heart ache. She desperately wanted the anger back, to hold onto the indifference that she'd been able to cling to so tightly at the beginning. There was no getting it back now though, not when she'd had her eyes opened and seen just a little of what life had to offer her. How was she supposed to return to Mystic Falls and live there after glimpsing the possibilities of the world around her?

Except would that even happen with how Klaus' demeanor had changed in regards to her? Staying in Mystic Falls would mean that he would be leaving her behind and while this journey was only supposed to be a year, while it had only barely begun, she couldn't shake the feeling that he would be doing everything in his power to keep her at his side now.

A tiny part of her that she tried to keep tucked away, to hide and never let have a voice, was thrilled at the idea of that, of him desiring her that much, and that frightened Caroline more than anything. There was a darkness to it, a possessiveness that screamed vampire to her, that reminded her of the monster she strove so hard not be. She was supposed to be a good one and good vampires were not supposed to want to be in Klaus Mikaelson's company.

"You can do this," she muttered to herself, not entirely sure what it was that she was supposed to be able to do. But the mantra helped her to steel herself, to work at rebuilding the walls that Caroline knew she needed to have when around Klaus.

There were no friends here to gather strength from, no school or cheerleading or anything to serve as a something to throw herself into. There was only Klaus and he was successfully chipping away at her resistance and while she was stubborn, there was only so long that the gestures, the stories, the way he made her feel important could be ignored, could be brushed aside before she started to give into them.

But perhaps that was the problem. Maybe trying to hold back from them was a fool's errand. Maybe what she needed to do was somehow twist them around so that they worked in her favor. That was a dangerous game, one that she could easily take a misstep on and considering she'd be playing it with the most dangerous man in the world, the stakes were infinitely higher than anything else she'd done before.

But she was Caroline Forbes. Head cheerleader, a billion other honors to go along with that, and like hell was she going to be the only one to fall in this situation. If she went down the rabbit hole then she sure as hell was taking Klaus with her.

Ugh.

She'd figure out the hows later though. There was a Jacuzzi bath with her name on it and there was no way she was wasting it.

Caroline's had been sulky since they got into the car, not speaking a word, and while at first the lack of conversation would have been music to Klaus' ears, now all it did was further his irritation. He had become accustomed to her ramblings and while it has only been a little over an hour since they started toward where the pack was supposedly camping, he found himself missing the sound of her voice.

Klaus would much rather her rage at him, not this silence that grated his bones and set his teeth on edge. He wondered if Caroline even realized what she was capable of causing in him and from how she continued to stare out at the window at the Alps in the distance he couldn't quite gauge her emotions. Sam was napping in the backseat and he hoped the boy's information proved to be correct. Otherwise the new hybrid would be the one he'd be the target of his rage and, no doubt, that would only further Caroline's ire with him.

"Have you ever been camping, Caroline?" Klaus asked, trying to engage her, but silence was the only response he received for a long moment.

"No," she finally replied and that was it. One simple word made up of two letters and for some reason that only spiked his annoyance.

"If Sam's information proves to be true that's what we'll be doing for a few days," Klaus continued, pausing to wait for a response. "This is a newly formed pack. One that seems to have taken to hiding in the wilderness and taking odd jobs here and there to survive. Such a rudimentary existence but we'll need to track them so I've packed as light as I can for us."

"Ok."

It took all of his willpower not to slam the breaks and shock a response out of her. Things had been going decently between the two of them. While he knew the prospect of creating more hybrids wouldn't sit well with her but Klaus hadn't expected for her demeanor to shift so swiftly. "Sam will be staying behind at the hotel by the lake to ensure that the blood is kept properly in the fridge there." The sire bond should be effective enough to have the boy follow his directions but he'd add in some compulsion to be sure. "Would you rather stay behind there with him while I trapeze through the wood?"

The words were out of his mouth before Klaus knew he'd uttered them. At least that offer seemed to spark some life into her. Caroline shifted away from the window to look at him. Klaus glanced her way for a moment before turning back to the road. "Your choice, sweetheart."

He knew she was contemplating her options, no doubt creating a pro and con list for each of them. "You're not afraid I'd dump out all of Elena's blood and hightail it out of there?" Caroline asked, and Klaus grinned as he looked at her again.

"All that would do is require a trip back to Mystic Falls to drain your friend dry after I've hunted you down to continue our lovely little journey," he informed her, surprised he hadn't considered compulsion for her as well.

Caroline rolled her eyes; a gesture he'd learned was practically her trademark, before turning to look back out the window. Silence spread out between them again but it didn't have the oppressive air that had been there before.

"I'll go with you."

Klaus hadn't expected that answer and from the startled look on Caroline's face that she quickly masked back to indifference, he had a feeling that she hadn't expected to utter those words either. Perhaps he hadn't messed things up as badly as he'd expected with this new destination.

As she swatted at another annoying bug, Caroline was pretty sure she should have picked staying with Sam. There had been a hot tub and a heated pool. There were definitely no bugs flying around waiting to try and bite her inside that glorious lakeside hotel. Obviously she hadn't been thinking when she'd said she would head with Klaus to track down the wolves.

"Why aren't they attacking you?" she grumbled as she trampled across the ground after the Hybrid. He didn't seem to be swatting like crazy at the tiny annoying things.

"They're hardly a nuisance," Klaus replied and she glared at his back. Though at least her annoyance with the bugs and now with him was stopping her from checking out his backside like she'd found herself doing when they'd first started heading off into the woods. That wasn't allowed to happen.

Klaus stopped suddenly, breaking Caroline from her thoughts and nearly causing her to crash into him. This was not a romantic comedy though and she was extremely happy that she'd been able to stop herself from doing so at the last second. "I won't let them near you and their bite is harmless right now, but if things do get a little out of hand," he started, turning back to face her and she swallowed at how intense his gaze was as he looked at her. "You will not hesitate to defend yourself. If they mean to strike you with a stake it will not be to incapacitate you, Caroline. Do you understand?"

She nodded, remembering the animosity that most werewolves seemed to hold for vampires. Was it instinctual? She didn't think so. Otherwise that didn't explain why Tyler didn't hate her immediately when she'd turned. It seemed to be a learned behavior, something passed down through packs. Maybe these ones wouldn't even know about it considering they were newly formed.

They step into the clearing that's been taken over by a number of tents, a campfire area set up just to the side. Animal skins are hanging from a tree near the back and the three people who had been carrying a net full of fish to the camp from the other direction froze at the sight of the two of them.

Klaus was speaking, laying on the charm before they bolted, and Caroline wish she knew what he was saying. He was speaking in another language and she felt like an idiot for not being able to remember what most in Switzerland would speak in the first place. She expected the three to continue to show signs of fear, to start to run away, to try and defend themselves.

She definitely wasn't prepared for the delighted squeals that rose from the two women or the huge smile that the man gave. "It seems they've heard of me," Klaus told Caroline and she stared at them, watching as the man headed off. "He'll be finding the rest of the pack and they'll be heading back with us to the hotel."

But why would they… "They want to become hybrids?"

"You saw little Lockwood endure the moon once or twice, didn't you, Caroline?" Klaus asked and she frowned, knowing the point he was going to make. These people didn't look to be much older than her, just like the hybrids back in Scotland. Could she really blame them for not wanting to endure horrendous pain once a month?

One of the women had stepped closer and Caroline didn't like the way she was biting her bottom lip, or the doe eyes that she was directing toward Klaus. There was an emotion she hadn't ever thought she would feel in regard to Klaus stirring inside of her at that look and she wanted to blot it out of existence.

If it had been jealousy she could have handled that, threw it off as her insecurities getting the better of her. But no, this was a possessiveness that she shouldn't be feeling, a need to mark a territory that was hers, though she wasn't supposed to want it to be hers.

Caroline turned away, trying to stifle it, and stared down at her hands, hating how they shook in front of her. She nearly jumped when Klaus was at her side a moment later, his breath on her shoulder as he stood behind her, not at all respecting her personal space. "We're leaving now, sweetheart."

"Fine by me." Caroline stepped away from him, refusing to look at him. The last thing she wanted was confirmation that he knew how she'd been feeling a few moments ago. The same emotion that spiked again as the same woman started talking animatedly as the group began to walk and Klaus answered whatever she was saying.

Klaus' hand found hers though, linking their fingers as he tugged her closer to him, and from his grip Caroline had a feeling he wasn't about to let go any time soon. It should have caused her to yell at him, to unleash a verbal lashing far outweighing any that he'd ever received from her before.

Instead she grinned.

Caroline knew in that moment that she had already started tumbling down that rabbit hole and she wondered if she would ever get out of it again.