[edit: 30 Jan, 22]

[Hello? I am still alive? Warning for swearing and underage drinking I guess.)

The morning is crisp and surprisingly busy away from Klaus' mansion. Sleep last night was light but there's a persistent crick in my neck which throbs when I look over my shoulder to gauge the traffic.

I dreamt of swirling smoke, the rich charcoal of corn roasted over the fire, a lulling song that seemed to drift over the sea. Water dampening my shoes and Klaus kneeling down to examine a crab. He smiled, like sunshine and the sweet burst of cherries on my tongue. When I awoke my chest ached and I had to blink away the lingering of salt water.

Klaus and Hayley were already gone, staying inside without them suddenly a stifling weight.

The traffic starts to lull by the time I walk past the high school. A teenager stumbles from their car, hair in disarray and dragging a backpack, they curse vehemently when a bell sounds from inside the building.

I watch for a moment as the teen fumbles their way past the school doors and I snort.

Off to the side I notice Damon obscured in the shadow of a tree, gaze fixed on the school's walls unblinking. For a moment I stall, wondering whether interference would be worth the trouble. In the end curiosity wins and I trudge to his side. "Damon," I call out mildly, not wanting to bother anyone close by.

The vampire unfurls like a cat rising from slumber and straightens, turning toward me with a slow grin. For a moment I'm taken aback as the sun hits face, there is no sparkle save what's in his eye. "Leah," The greeting is pleasant enough considering he's a vampire.

"Loitering isn't a crime here?"

There's an edge to his grin, manic, and he tilts his head just-so. "Not loitering, love, keeping an eye on things."

"By the high school? Don't tell me those damn delinquents are up to no good again."

"In a manner of speaking." He turns from me to look at the school, I follow his gaze but see nothing but brick and a singular window two floors up. "I'm keeping my eye on Elena, if you must know."

"Bodyguard duty, nice," The neatly manicured lawn, the barren oak trees where youngsters must have sat under between classes in the spring, the place is standard for a public building. It's much bigger than the one the kids on the reservation went to.

"Kol's in town and that blonde bitch was here too, so we can't be too careful."

My gaze darts back to Damon, the sharpness of his gaze suddenly so much darker. The blonde bitch is supposed to be…Caroline? But doesn't Damon know she's friends with Elena? I frown and ask instead, "Kol?" My mouth is dry as I watch the muscles of his jaw tense and quiver. "What does Kol have to do with Elena?"

"You've met him, huh?"

I force my shoulders to loosen and shrug. "I guess. How'd you know?"

He waves a lazy hand and smirks. "Must have been the flash of fear in your eyes. Kol is pretty harmless if you stay on his good side, but when he has his hands on your secrets he can be as dangerous as any other Mikaelson. And the whole lot of them are pretty good villain material." Damon looks at me carefully, "So what secret does he have of yours?"

My first instinct is to deny it, deny everything, but he's already on the money. What would be the point? "Wouldn't be a secret if I told you, now would it?"

"Good point." He turns back toward the school. "Kol went after Jeremy, tried to rip his arms off."

"Jeremy is her brother, right?"

"Lucky and ungrateful, he's still got his arms, not that I got a thanks."

I try not to cringe too obviously. There's clearly a lot that I'm missing from this situation. The events I've witnessed since coming here have been confusing and the very brief life-story Elena had given me when we first met doesn't do much to explain.

There's clearly so much more to understand and I feel like I've missed the first three seasons of a show and been made to watch a random episode from the fourth.

By now my questions should have started being answered but they just keep piling up.

Why did Kol want to hurt Jeremy? Why is a human child any kind of threat to an Original? How did Kol know about the imprint? What the fuck is up with the Sephan-Elena-Damon thing? Why did Elena need Klaus' help so desperately? Who was the girl in the diary? Why was Tyler a hybrid yet an enemy of Klaus?

My head aches with confusion.

I don't want to think about it, but I can't not. Apparently something much bigger is happening under the surface and I've just been swept along with no direction.

Mystic Falls indeed, there's too much mystery. Universe please reconsider!

I message my forehead and try to rally my thoughts. "Why would he do that? Did Jeremy attempt to stake him or something?"

Damon lets out a short humourless laugh and shakes his head. "Not necessarily. No one tells you much about what's going on here do they?"

I offer him a glare, "No, but I really wish someone would."

Damon 'hm's for a moment before nodding. "Jeremy is a hunter,"

"Okay? So he has a collection of deer heads and bear skins?" I scowl, "What does that have to do with Kol?"

"No, love, a vampire hunter,"

So that's a thing. Granted technically I could have been called a vampire hunter, too, but I can also turn into a giant fluffy dog. What business does this human have hunting vampires? Why would he go after the (apparently) most powerful group of vampires? "He's human right?" Damon nods. "How old is the kid?"

"I don't know, sixteen… seventeen?" Damon shrugs. "Young enough to be living at home, I guess."

I try desperately not to think of Seth, human, going to school, hunting vampires, almost getting his arms ripped off…actually, many of those things pretty much happened. Is there no divine power that cares about letting kids just be kids?

"You don't seem to like him,"

"I don't like many people," he flashes me a grin and I incline my head, reasonable. "He's just annoying, damn, I remember Stephan as a brat, sassy ass thing. Charmed all the girls, still does, and annoyed the daylights out of me."

"I doubt he was worse than you though,"

He grins, "Stephan was the bad boy back then, believe it or not, I was the quieter, 'good' brother. Granted, I wasn't particularly special, still had a few stones to throw, a few things up my sleeve."

I pause, " Exactly how long ago was 'back then'?"

"Ah, I don't remember anymore. A hundred, two hundred years maybe?"

My brows shoot up. I know vampires can be pretty old, most of the Cullens were around a hundred, but it never gets less surprising. "That's a pretty long existence."

"I look pretty good for an old man, yeah?"

I check him over thoughtfully, as always taken aback by how well preserved vampires are. I say, "Pretty good," and turn my attention to the building. In theory, a Wolf could live pretty long, maybe not as long as a vampire, we are not immortal after all. But the possibility of extended life is still rather daunting. If the first thirty years of life were already this awful, what could possibly possess someone to live for another hundred, or thousand, of years? Does it get any better? Judging from the torment I've seen on countless vampire faces, apparently not.

"How'd Stephan go from the bad boy to the good guy? And still get the girl? Because no offense to Stephan, but you're better looking,"

He hears me, I know he does, but he stays silent, his gaze focused on nothing but the school, assessing something I couldn't see. Can he hear Elena's breaths? Does she have a heartbeat? I shake my head, Damon doesn't. "Kathrine, Rebekah, all of them liked pretty bad-boy Stephan, the human Stephan. As a vampire he was worse and he made me worse too, but he got straight, I didn't." He snorts, "Typical. I met Elena first, you know? But he meets her and somehow she doesn't care about how bad he used to be, just that he is better now. Apparently, that does not work for me. But why should I be good? Why should I care when the world is so fucking awful?" His hands curl into fists and he doesn't breathe but it feels like his breath would tremble if could.

I think vaguely of Sam's "Lee-Lee, let's get married next year." I think about Emily's coy smile and the ring on her finger. I think of crying into my pillow, "Why couldn't it be me?" Am I not good enough? Was I never good enough?

"I don't do what she wants; I don't coo and drink animal blood. I could, but I don't and so I'm not the man she loves. I'm selfish, Leah, I want it all."

I think of the pain of having our minds meet daily. I think of the bitterness and fights I would instigate. If selfish had a picture it would be me standing just far away enough not to be seen by the wedding party, seething, considering scaring the guests away by chasing a bear into the clearing.

"If you're so selfish, why haven't you taken the girl yet? You wouldn't be worried about what Stephan or Elena wanted if you're as selfish as you say."

"Not sure if that counts, moon-moon. You think I don't make things hard for them? That I don't think about killing my brother to steal his girlfriend?"

I consider this, consider my own jealousy and rage. Is it so bad to be wanted by someone? Perhaps I never thought of killing Emily, but did my glee at her disfigurement make me any better? I think of how I just gave Klaus advice for winning Caroline over, is this not also jealousy? Did I not hope he would fail.

"At least you have a chance," I say, "I'm pretty sure she does love you."

"But she loves Stephan more,"

I wish I could be angry at him. I want to yell at him for not taking a chance when he has it. Such opportunities are not common.

Instead I huff, "I've dealt with too many love triangles for my short lifetime. You figure it out. I'm not a love Guru. I feel like all I'm doing here in Mystic Falls is trying to fix people's love lives." I straighten, "I'm done, I'm not taking any responsibilities for broken hearts. You want her, that's your problem."

Damon laughs and looks at me quickly, "Fiery,"

"I try,"

"How's your triangle going?"

"My triangle?" I am amused, "There is none."

"Maybe we should hook up."

We stare at each other for a long moment, then I snort. Damon's smirk grows.

I decide not to comment, merely giving him a parting pat on the back and before leaving him to his devices.

I meet Caroline for dinner at the Grill. The place is just as busy as the two previous time's I've been there, and someone's had the idea to remove the Christmas lights from the windows. There are still space heaters turned on although the nights are not nearly as cold as when I first arrived in Mystic Falls. There's some kind of wrestling match on TV and the patrons are uninterested.

The manager accepts my CV with a smile and a promise to give it a look.

Elena and Stephan, not sure if they were invited by Caroline or merely just happened to be there at the same time, greet me and chat with Caroline about some school project or other while we wait for our food. The food comes and the two disappear while Caroline drives a conversation I struggle to take part in.

Mere moments later Tyler arrives.

I'm not sure what I expected of him, not sure why I imagined him being much more…unfriendly. He seems nice enough and utterly in love with Caroline. He sits at our table and picks at Caroline's fries, she does not seem phased by this and leans into his side.

It's easier to be on the back burner as they chat. Occasionally trying to draw me in asking for opinions or asking to settle a debate on which ketchup is best.

I try not to be impressed by how cute they are, how very much Klaus is losing at this competition.

Once our food is done I'm roped into a drinking game that attracts a few other patrons. I decide to bow out when it looks like there might be an all out brawl over who the winner is.

It's surprisingly fun and I find myself smiling as Caroline regales me with tales of Tyler's attempts at wooing. Tyler retaliates with a story of a disaster date wherein Caroline punched a store clerk by accident.

The Grill is starting to quiet, but Caroline convinces me to try my hand at pool. It's not a sport I've really tried by hand at and Tyler directs me to bend my elbow, squint my eye. I don't win any rounds, but I get in a few balls and feel near intoxicated with the feeling. Caroline laughs and indulges me in a few more rounds.

"Agh, it's a school night, we best head out." Tyler says after checking his watch. Tyler offers to walk me back to the mansion, his face relaxed and his hands in his pockets.

I want to say I can walk myself, I want to say "Shouldn't you walk Caroline home? Don't you have school, too?" But my brain blips and for a moment I'm lost before I remember that these are children, that I am an adult and I've just been drinking with children. In one sense, I know they are not human, but it still leaves me feeling dizzy and not in the fun way.

Maybe I drank too much.

I'm somewhat dazed. Shouldn't there be restrictions at the bar? Shouldn't Tyler and Caroline have curfews? How did I forget that they're teenagers? I'm an adult! If anything I should be walking them home!

I'm led to the Mikaelson mansion, trapped in my daze, head sloshing and fingers trembling.

It's only when we arrive at Klaus' home that it hits me. Tyler smiles and waves good-bye, giving me a lasting pat on the back. I stand frozen for some time, my mind finally righting itself, catching up and struggling from its fog.

I shake myself, "Stupid. Stupid, you're imagining things. Nothings going on."

I'm wrong, I discover upon entering the house to find Hayley pacing back and forth, her hands wringing the hem of her shirt.

"Hayley?" I ask, uncertain with her destress, still buzzing with my own nerves. I try to blink away the lasting thoughts from the night, I need to focus. Need to ask what's wrong. I'm wading through mud, reaching blindly through the rising anxiety.

I wait, twitching, as she takes another turn and pins me with dark eyes, her lips having been worried into red lines on her face.

"Are you fucking stupid?" She demands and storms toward me. She pauses a step away and cringes, her nose wrinkling. "God, you smell like him. You are senseless,"

"Smell like him?" I blink and my slushing mind is screaming, howling because even if I can't catch up, my Wolf can.

I want to deny it, they were so nice. The night was good - I smiled! I learnt to play pool! Tyler and Caroline were funny! Tyler walked me home, he-he patted my shoulder and righted my elbow, and he…he didn't drink, just handed me glass after glass, eyes wrinkling. He brushed up against my side to point out a fault in my stance.

I close my eyes, breathe in deep.

My hands are still shaking and I want to cry.

I smell like him. His cologne and the undertones of wolf, that special Hybrid cocktail trailing over my skin.

I look at the hybrid, pleading, but I'm not sure what for.

Hayley continues to stare at me, her gaze disgusted. ( I don't know then, I won't know for a long time still, about Hayley's own actions, about how she had helped Tyler. One day when she tells me, she'll wear the same disgust on her face.) She spins away and continues her pacing.

As the air becomes thicker and my throat closes around fresh air, I croak, "Where's Klaus?"

The wolf flashes me a row of pearly teeth, whether it's a warning or a smug reminder that she knows him better than I do, I don't know. "In his study," she snarls and storms off in the opposite direction.

I take my time going toward the room, trying to decide whether approaching Klaus when I smelled like Tyler was a good idea. I mean, it clearly isn't, but the same dark pulsing urge that made me chase after Jane on my own has me blinking at the doorknob to Klaus' study. I know it's stupid, but I let myself in anyway.

What I'm greeted with is silence. Klaus does not look up from whatever he is writing, does not stop the movement of his hand. The room is lit with the dull glow of a candle on the desk, the lights are off. While not a new sight it forms lead in my stomach and I curl my toes in my sneakers, feeling adrift..

"Klaus?" I call, taking a step forward. Can he tell from this distance?

His hand moves steadily back and forth, I can almost hear the sound of the tip on paper.

"Klaus?" my voice dips into an unsteady whisper. I'm not sure what part of the night would be the worst for him. Is it the knowledge of Caroline and Tyler together? Is it the betrayal of my spending time with them? Is it Tyler's presence so close to his home? I suck in a deep breath, "Please-"

"Did you know that I sired Tyler? I turned him into a hybrid." I freeze and stare at his bent head in confusion. "He managed to break the sire bond with Hayley's help and then he decided to assist the others in doing the same. They planned to immobilize me and bury my body in cement." He lifts his head, his face eerily calm, he places the pen down, "I freed them from the change and all I wanted in return was people like me, people who would be loyal to me. But I guess even that's too much for the bastard Mikaelson to ask for, isn't it? All I wanted was not to be lonely, but they forced my hand. They wanted to escape me, harm me, and imprison me, the one who gave them the chance to escape that monthly week of suffering." He frowns, his eyes seeming to look right through me.

I swallow.

"I tore them to pieces. With my hands, with my sword, I ripped off their heads. I saw every face that I spent time learning to trust; I watched the blood of my pack pool at my feet. Their screams as they tried to escape still rings in my ears." He blinks, and his eyes narrow. "Tyler wasn't even there to see what he had done. Granted, he found their remains later, I made sure of that."

I've tried forgiving his actions before, after all, what do I know of what he's been through? But his words make my gut twist. I'm supposed to love someone capable of this? So blase about murder and hatred, I don't want to comfort him through it. Is the vengeance of the act really an acceptable reason? Does he realise how wrong it is? The story of Klaus' life is so vastly different from my own. I cannot begin to imagine the pain his family and those he trusted inflicted on him. That doesn't make it okay though.

I bite my tongue - did I not plan to rip out Jane's throat, tear her to pieces and set her corpse on fire? I'm self aware enough not to justify my actions. She's a monster, she tried to hurt my family. Would I attempt to kill her again if offered the opportunity? Yes. Does this make me a hypocrite for judging Klaus? I don't know, maybe. Maybe this makes us both monsters, but I already knew I was a monster.

Does he realise that he is one, too?

Whether Klaus' actions are just or not, it doesn't change the fact of what I am and, thus, what he is to me. I might not like it, I certainly don't condone it, but he is still my everything. Would he kill me one day like he did them? I probably wouldn't be able to stop him. All I know is prevention - I will be better, I will not betray him, I will not run away.

At least this is what I promise a second before Klaus' desk is flying through the air.

I barely just dodge the wooden contraption. It shatters on the door behind me.

I jerk around to stare at the devastation of wood and the scratter of stationary around it.

"Why doesn't anyone understand?"

I jerk back around, dizzy, adrenaline buzzing along my veins and setting off a familiar and hated racket of beez. I can hardly draw in a breath, my body is frozen even as my eyes glue to Klaus.

He stands in the empty space his desk had been, chin lifted, eyes black as coal on the roof. He is highlighted by the fallen candle, which has set flame to the scattered drawings of Caroline I know are littering the floor. His breath makes a familiar hitch and his tone drops, "Does no one understand loyalty? No one…"

The first wisps of smoke dance across the room, cheerily eating up the kindling and flickering light over the Original's face. The flames are dangerously close to the curtains. "Klaus-" I choke out, not sure what I'm trying to convey.

I'm scared. I've been scared before, but this is too much. I'm not sure what I'm scared of right now.

"Not even the stray little shifter understands what it means to be loyal. Again Tyler, I should have known he'd try for revenge." He turns those lifeless eyes to me and if I could move maybe I would have flinched back. "Everyone can't get enough of taking what's mine."

Uncaring of Klaus' fury or perhaps in spite of it, the fire crackles and jumps for the curtain. Within a second there's an orange blaze that dyes Klaus' pale skin in a sunset of hues. With the way his body heaves even without the need for air, I doubt he's noticed it.

I moan, my eyes flickering from Klaus to the roaring wall of flame. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I breathe and the smoke burns in my throat. "Hayley!"

The Original starts moving toward me, slowly, deliberately, a predator stalking his prey. The Wolf shakes beneath my skin, wanting to protect itself but also confused. Mate, it whispers questioningly. I stumble back a step, hands shaking as I raise them. "Klaus," I try, "Klaus, stop!" but he keeps moving, "Please, don't do this. We need to leave."

I don't want to hurt you, please don't hurt me.

My legs are locked, but the rest of me trembles, I can't breathe. By the time he reaches me my ears are filled with bees and seagulls and the crash of waves, and when he bends toward me something snaps.

My hand extends of it's own violation intending to shove him away. There's fire behind him though and in it I can see the corpses of slain vampires, their diamond skin torn to shreds. My fingers curl into the fabric of his shirt and yank.

Neither of us expect this and we tumble back into the debris of his desk. My head knocks on a splinter of wood and Klaus' weight drives me down to the floor. He catches himself before he can join me completely on the ground. He's hovering over me, a shard of wood dangerously close to his face.

The shock of it, or something, has his gaze wavering and for a moment I don't feel like I will die immediately. My hand is still curled in his shirt and I don't loosen it, not when he starts to pull away nor when our gazes meet. "I don't understand," I choke through emotions and smoke. "But I'm still here and I want to understand."

Our eyes are locked. I can't breathe. Klaus doesn't pull away when I raise my free hand to touch the corner of one black eye. "He could never take me from you. You're everything."

He jerks but I hold tight. In the background the flames continue to cast shadows, Klaus' eyes are so dark here.

"I'm not leaving you." I say, even as my eyes burn and water from the smoke. "I'm not a hybrid, I probably cannot give you what you want. But-but I'm staying whether you want me to or not." I cough and use the opportunity to hide my face, curling up until my forehead almost touches his collar. "You're my imprint. Klaus, you're everything."

When my voice dies down, all I can hear is the roar of the fire chewing away the curtain, but I keep my eyes on Klaus. His eyes are losing the dark veins and it eases some of the tightness in my chest. Now, I can see the light flecks of silvery-white swimming amidst greens and browns. They make my nerves settle, the wolf gently nudging now rather than shoving. He doesn't blink, just looks down at me for a startling several moments in which I can hear the fire growing.

He has a mole on his neck, I realise when he swallows.

"Hayley," he says quietly and I jerk. My heart slams against my chest, eyes wide, it hurts.

"Klaus?" the hybrid calls and I snap my head to the side to see Hayley standing in the doorway with a fire extinguisher at the ready. We lock eyes and I immediately drop my hand from Klaus' face and release my deathgrip on his shirt. My face turns red, my fingers curl around air.

"Stop the fire," he says just as softly and Hayley complies without a word, easily having heard him over the flames twice.

I flush even further, had she heard me? Had she heard all those feelings and thoughts that I never even expected to let Klaus hear? It feels like someone has shoved their fist in my gut. I draw in a shuddery breath and squeeze my eyes closed. At least I'm still alive.

"Clearwater," I open my eyes cautiously and Klaus is frowning. "That was some speech,"

That's all? "Yeah," I utter lacklustre and my brows draw together. It sure was.

Hayley's put out the worst of the fire and all that's left is charred fabric and the debris of ash. Somehow the fire hadn't damaged too much, not reaching the book shelves or the cabinets. This in itself feels supernaturally lucky.

He pushes to his feet and offers me his hand. I accept it and he pulls me up. I let go as fast as possible. "Go take a shower, you're going to smell like Tyler on fire and I don't want to get used to the idea."

Ignoring the very obvious threat to Tylers life (as a joke?) I scram.

After a 10 minute shower, I stumble dazed into the passageway and plop down onto the floor. I've been staring unseeing at a landscape of an English countryside for at least 15 minutes when Hayley approaches me. She's quiet when she moves and I stiffen at her sudden presence.

"Hey," She mutters and slips to the floor next to me, leaning up against the wall and stretching her legs out along the carpet. Hayley joins me in staring at the painting. "You good?"

No, I don't say. I close my eyes instead and breathe deep, Hayley still lingers with smoke or maybe that's the house itself. I'd scrubbed my skin near raw with a scented gel, however,I can still smell faint traces of the night on my skin. "I guess," I fiddle with the edge of my shirt. "Tonight was wild."I blink my eyes open and look at the painting properly for the first time. The artist had used splattered white paint across the canvas, it looks like old film. Idyllic. "What's the damage?"

"Not too bad, there's some scorch marks on the wall, the curtain's a goner and the desk is history again, some books are cooked."

I nod my head, "Does he do that often…the desk thing?"

Hayley makes a sound that's probably supposed to be a laugh but sounds more like someone's kicked her shin, "More than I think is healthy, it probably takes up the majority of the money he spends." We fall into a companionable silence that is rather pleasant and civil considering it's Hayley and me sitting together talking about Klaus. After a moment she sighs and leans her head back, all earlier indications of amusement gone. "Don't think too badly of him because of the 'Tyler' thing. Klaus has been through a lot and unfortunately Tyler has been the instigator of some of it."

"And you?" I ask softly, not wanting to start a fight just yet, "He said you helped Tyler rid himself of the sire bond."

"Yeah. I knew Tyler when I was still just a wolf, before I'd met Klaus. When you're a magical creature without much support, you tend to settle." Her knee nudges mine and she pulls her legs up to her chest. "I was also the one to tell Klaus that Tyler and the rest were planning to betray him. I organised for them to meet that day so Klaus could get to them."

I turn my gaze to her and drink in the small frown, the closed eyes, the tension of her jaw. For the first time since we've met, I realize she's as lost as I am.

"I killed them,"

"You probably couldn't have stopped them from trying to harm Klaus," I offer.

"No, but I didn't have to get them killed." She lowers her head and looks at me, her eyes are focused elsewhere, somewhere I cannot see. "I just wanted Shane to bring my parents back. They needed 12 lives for the ritual. How lucky, how fortunate, that there were twelve lives I was willing to give up. In the end I didn't get my parents anyway." Hayley's smile is flat and does not reach her eyes. "I should have known that even that would be too easy."

Hesitantly, I reach out and touch her hand, light as air. After tonight's events I want to curl away and never touch another living being again. Instead, I curl my fingers and catch one of her's, her own hand spasms and accepts the touch. "I can't blame you for holding on to hope. Anyone would try to bring back someone they love if they could. If I were in that situation I probably would have done the same."

She chuckles, "Not sure about that,"

"There's a lot you don't know about me."

She hms a reply and we sit with our hands entwined. I expect her to ask or at least give some kind of criticism. She doesn't and I'm grateful. I'm not sure I could tell her anything right now.

Eventually, when the tension seems to have bled away, I ask, "Why'd you help Tyler?"

Hayley's lips twitch, "I liked him, which in hindsight was pretty ridiculous. I didn't know he had Caroline, you know?" SHe makes an interesting groaning sound and buries her face in her knees. "All I could imagine was the horror of being forced to do whatever someone else said. Tyler's opinion of Klaus did not help. But then I met him."

I watch closely as her face softens, she looks at me while the first real smile I've seen.

"He changed me, he helped me escape the full moon. I know how to break the sire bond, but there's a kind of connection there that's so much more than following orders. Tyler hates Klaus, while I understand why, I can't help but be thankful that I've got some kind of connection again. Klaus hasn't given me reason to hate him, he's helped me and given me something I thought I'd lost forever." She pulls her hands away to pick at the cuffs of her jeans. "But Tyler is an ungrateful little bitch." Hayley snaps and then visibly calms herself again. " He's persistent and hateful. He will use anyone when it comes to hurting Klaus. That's what happened tonight, I knew as soon as I spotted him outside the window."

My hands begin to shake again and I try to focus my breaths. The Wolf brushes up against my skin for release, pushing and pushing. She's mad. She wants to taste his blood for trying to hurt what is Ours.

The hybrid nudges me with her elbow, "Don't let it bother you, he probably didn't mean to get you hurt, he is just looking for a means to rub Klaus up the wrong way."

"That's what makes me mad." I grumble and pull up my own knees.

"Hm," Hayley hums and I look at her with a scowl, she snickers, "You're pretty protective. It's kind of adorable."

I roll my eyes, "And you don't fuss over him?"

She grins, "It's not nearly as embarrassing when I do it." Hayley pauses, "I think he likes having you here. He's a very…lonely man, he thrives under TLC. Under all that Klaus-ness he's kind of a marshmallow. Like a cat."

"I doubt it," I snort, "but I'm not going to argue with you on this. You like him don't you?"

Her eyebrows hike up and Hayley gives me a lopsided smile, "I like him, but not in the way you think. Don't get me wrong, he's hot, but he's also kind of like a grumpy older brother. Besides, fighting for attention isn't my thing."

I raise a brow at that, "Then what's with all the growly faces?"

She gives a sheepish shrug, "Klaus sired me, he still looks after me; firstly, I can't let you steal my place as his right hand and secondly, I can't let you hurt him like the rest did."

"I won't," I assure in all seriousness.

She chuckles, "I know, I heard you. So maybe it'll be okay if I'm not the only person who trusts him, maybe I can take a few days off as his right hand woman." She winks at me, "There might be someone around here who can fill the role, who can almost play it as good as me. If there were such a person in our lives, I might just be grateful for their bleeding heart."

"And maybe such a person would be happy to help out." I reply smiling.

"Maybe," Hayley says and pushes to her feet, she starts to head down the passage, but stops to give me some parting words. "I know what you said wasn't easy, Leah, and I'm sure Klaus knows that, but don't let it bother you if he doesn't acknowledge it. He tends to ignore things that seem too real or painful to find out are fake."