I apologize for this chapter in advance :o

"I got the job," I tell Caroline when I run into her on my way to the Grill. The sun is just beginning to set and I'm almost glad I was given night shift instead of day. The thought of being cooped up in the bar-restaurant during the sweltering daytime made my head pain. Besides my shift this week was with the sweet Matt kid and the dark haired bartender, whose name was Jerry, both persons who seemed nice enough for quirky humans.

"That's great!" The blonde gushes, "I'm so happy for you,"

She looked like she usually did, pretty, but I couldn't bring myself to feel envious or admiring today. All I thought about when I saw her glowing smile was Tyler betraying Klaus. I felt down right murderous, I had to restrain myself a few times from attacking her around town, merely to garner the information of Tyler's whereabouts. The hybrid had seemed to disappear once I gave my wolf free range to sniff him out.

Caroline more than likely didn't know about Tyler's intentions the other day, that's what I liked to believe. I didn't want to even think of the possibility that Caroline could have been involved, not in hurting Klaus like that. Not when Klaus has spent the last few days in silence, carefully going through the pages of books that were scorched and hardly even looking at Hayley, never mind me. If he thought anything about my confession, Hayley was right, he didn't acknowledge it.

So I didn't want to entertain the possibility of Caroline knowing, it was the only reason I had restrained myself from interrogating her. "Thank you for helping me," I say as honestly as I can, my hands clenching the edge of my shirt to keep restraint. Caroline isn't the one who hurt Klaus this time, I remind myself.

"Aw, no, it was nothing! I was more than glad to help out a friend." She waves away my apology with a grin and shake of her honey comb hair. "We should get together again and celebrate."

"No!" I cringe involuntarily and take a deep breath, looking at the shock on Caroline's face before softening my tone. "Thanks, but no, I'm not big on celebrations." My lips stretch into a wan smile, "If you really want to, you and Elena can stop by the Grill for coffee, I'll buy."

Caroline's face relaxes but I can still see the uncertainty in her smile, "If that's what you'd prefer,"

"It is," I probably still sound harsh, but I can't help it. I'm struggling to separate Caroline and Tyler in my mind and there's the added memory of Klaus flipping out to make this worse. I bite my inner cheek, my frustration and vengeance taking hold of me, "So, how are you and Tyler doing?" Not necessarily the smoothest way to ask, but it would get me my information anyway.

The blonde looks away and then back to me, her lips press into a hard line, "Could be better," she frowns slightly, "He's gone off again," her lips purse and she looks rather hurt, "Last time he came back he brought Hayley with him, who knows what he's up to now."

Nothing good, I think in annoyance, but at least this way Klaus has a chance. I draw a hand through my hair and sigh; I'm going to be such as asshole… "I don't want to make things worse, but from what I know of him so far, he isn't worth it." I don't dare look Caroline in the eye, it was one thing to be a bitch to Jacob and Sam, but I was trying to rip this bubbly girl away from the man she loved, I couldn't look at her in complete sincerity. "Tyler, he doesn't suit you," I want to slap myself so badly. "Maybe you should consider the things he does, the way he treats people," I swallow, "The way he treats you. I'm not the best judge of character, but I think you could do better," like Klaus.

The vampire is silent and I hardly pick up her nod in my peripheral vision, whether she's hurt by my words or they make sense to her, I have no clue, but she gives a faint 'Good-bye' and hurries off. I don't need to be a genius to know she won't be stopping at the Grill for coffee anytime soon.

Matt greets me when I reach the Grill, the place is surprisingly quiet, but I assume that's because it's five o'clock and people should only be getting off work about now. The kid is sweet enough to run through the menu with me and give me a two minute tour of the place before Jerry shows up to put me to work, by order of the manger.

"How you holding up, Leah?" Matt questions after a particularly drunk group of men stumbled out the Grill still singing off-key, they had attempted to steal my attention the whole hour they were there. Little did they know; they had succeeded. I'd found them amusing, somewhat like a wolf pack on a high after the kill. It brought back bittersweet memories and had my wolf brushing against my skin, whining for freedom, to run with the pack.

"I'm holding up," is all I'm willing to say and I give him a reassuring smile when he raises a questioning brow. The kid is gentle and patient, the kind of guy I might have found attractive if I'd never been a wolf…maybe because I was a wolf he seemed more so. He was the perfect combination of normal and uncomplicated; I could have used some normal in my life. Perhaps if he were a year or two older and I a year or two younger, it might have worked.

I punch his shoulder playfully when he continues to look at me in worry and hurry away back to my tables.

Jerry, I come to learn, for all his kindness and unsophisticated attitude, is a slave driver; so much so that I hardly realise it's closing time until Matt has to pester me to leave. My first shift, Jerry reminds me, is merely as a shadow, to see if I was capable and prepared to work the floor with Matt. Granted, I managed to mix up two orders and break one glass. The human goes on to say that I surely passed the test and he wanted to see me again the next evening for 'real' work.

At some point through the evening I'd almost ripped off my clothes, the wolf had been pestering me nonstop and my skin was crawling. It was late, really late, when I strutted out the doors of the Grill. The streets were empty and the air was crisp and misty. The only light was faded reflections streaming from within the Grill where Matt was counting and locking up the register with Jerry.

I might have taken the road back to Klaus' home if it weren't for the dark forest off to the side. Every instinct in me that was chastely girlish warned me about entering the dense foliage, it looked too much like the set of a horror movie, but I wasn't purely a human female. The wolf was excited by the unknown darkness, the rustle of leaves and the soft hum of insects. The creature wanted to break free and explore the mysterious new world, face the dangers of darkness head on.

It wasn't the best idea, I knew that, but my blood was pumping faster than usual and my hands trembled with the force of restraining myself. Slowly, carefully, I started towards the line of trees and as I neared my footsteps widened and my breath laboured past my lips. A hum of excitement rose in my chest and before I reached the line break I was sprinting.

Short dark hair whipped at my cheeks, stinging, and my mouth parted in a euphoric cry. There was exhilaration in entering the forest I had not yet thought to explore during the day; so many secrets hidden in between the fallen branches and dark shadows. Secrets my wolf was foaming at the mouth to uncover. It was better than anything I could remember feeling, so much anticipation and pleasure lumped into the few seconds it took me to plunge into the darkness. It was addictive.

I'm not sure whether the change always felt this way or whether it was simply a thing for the here and now, but I wanted it again and again and again. I could survive off the enchanting energy buzzing through my body in this instant.

Without hesitation I reached for my shirt, hardly caring it the buttons broke off or if the hem tore. I slung the material to the side, vaguely aware that it caught on a tree and hung limply. Next were my pants, which might have been shredded by the claws replacing my fingers, and then my underwear with just as little care. Where and when my shoes disappeared I didn't know, they were simply gone. And suddenly I could feel twigs lashing at my skin, the chill of the night over my terribly high body temperature. Intoxicating. Fantastic. Freedom.

A howl rushed up my throat before the wolf could claim me completely and I had a blissful two seconds to hear the sound echo. My back bowed, legs stretched, fingers curled into claws and the ripple of fur across my bare skin was intense. Gone was the fear of my canid form. Gone was the fear of being stuck in that terrible darkness Jane had forced on me. Gone was every doubt I'd had about the phase ever since I could first do it. Only here, in the silent mind of my wolf was I truly free from the pain and suffering of all the years before.

My paws thundered over rotting branches, spewing dew covered moss into the air behind me. My shoulders shook with the force of my every step, causing silver fur to flow back and forth over muscle and bone. Although unused, sinew stretched excruciatingly languorous with the exercise. A tail swished from side to side, fur catching on twigs and tugging gently the further I went.

Sleeping birds took to the air; rodents scurried behind trees and into their holes, a wild song of activity for so late in the evening. It spurred me on, enchanting me to run faster, to dodge shrubs and fallen trees. With every leap my claws dug into soil and decomposing leaves, the scent of bare nature and fresh, unpolluted air rising to tickle my nose, making the wolf crazed with the idea of the chase, the hunt. Dislodged moss clung to the fur on my underbelly, like debris from an abandoned building, coating me in the very surroundings from which I came.

My ears prickled and twisted as I loped listening and searching – for something, for nothing. They found only the distant cry of crickets' wings beating against their backs. A wakened primal instinct prompted me to howl into the dark, a call to the creatures of the wild woodland to tell them that I was there. It was answered by the frantic twittering of birds, the hum of bugs hiding in the dirt and the soft lonesome yelp of a dog far away.

How long was it? I could hardly tell. But by the time I stopped my chest was heaving and my tongue lolled out the corner of my mouth. The world seemed more alive as my heart beat faster than it ever had before. My legs buckled and I stood trembling between the trees, faint scents of various animals making my muzzle twitch.

Peace, my mind supplied and a snort followed in glorious abandon.

This is it, Leah, this is what you've been looking for.

I let myself sink back onto my hind legs, resting against them with my tail gently swiping across the ground. For a moment I allow my eyes to close, trusting my nose and ears to sense danger.

The world tilts and when I blink my eyes open I'm no longer sitting in the forest but I'm in Klaus' study, seated at his renewed desk, a neatly composed image of Caroline under my pencil gripping fingers. I feel disappointed as I look at it, something about it isn't right, even though I've drawn it a million times before and every other time I'd tried to fix it. I remember with uncertainty the first time I'd drawn Caroline's pretty face, she was standing with a horse, an image I'd conjured from my mind not from sight. The one thing I'd done right. The one I'd given to her.

I hear the creak of a door and before I look up I know it is Hayley. I sigh and look up at her, see the slight frown between her brows. "She's not back yet?" I ask and my hybrid shakes her head, she waves a hand in the distance between us.

"No, her shift ends-"

"I know when it ends," I snap and force myself to take a deep breath, it isn't Hayley's fault.

She looks at me, her lips pursing, "Do you want me to follow her trail?"

I shake my head, as much my gut was telling me to give her permission, I couldn't. Hayley was trustworthy to an extent, but there were too many people who hated me and wanted to see me suffer. Taking my last loyal hybrid would surely be terrible enough, Hayley meant too much at the moment. "Don't bother," I take Caroline's picture in my hand and crumple it in one fist.

Hayley opens her mouth and closes it, looks nervous before attempting to speak again. "Klaus, it might not seem like it to you, but Leah's a weakness for you as well now." She cringes at my glare, "If the other day is any indication, people can use Leah to hurt you. If Tyler figured that out…"

The darkness returns and I jump, the sound of insects exploding in my ears again. When my eyes open I'm back in the forest, soil beneath me and a canopy of trees overhead. It takes me a full minute to accept that I was still me and not Klaus as the weird dream-thing had attempted to convince me.

My head shakes and my ears prick, it was strange, the dream had felt so real. For a while there I was Klaus, my hands till felt the paper crumpling in my fist. I swear I could smell Hayley's scent, feel the slightest breeze from the door opening.

Fur twitched along my hind legs and I pushed myself up.

It took me a while to focus enough that I could find the direction from which I came and slowly I began following the trail. Unconsciously I brushed up against trees, leaving my scent in a way that I would have rolled my eyes at if I saw any other wolf do it. Thankfully, I had enough control over my wolf self that I refrained from marking territory, that might have been a disaster if it didn't kill me with embarrassment first.

It was somewhat half way back and nearly twenty minutes later that I came across a scent I hadn't marked during my frantic run, which I just now realised was more than twenty minutes into the forest – how was that even possible? The woods shouldn't have been that large, maybe I was running in circles the whole time.

But as soon as the scent reached my nose the fur on my back rose and my claws extended. Tyler. The name was a growl emanating in the back of my head, it drove the wolf crazy. As calmly as I could, I made my way, following the scent until I reached what might have been a storm shelter...in the middle of the woods, yeah that made perfect sense. It was a mere two foot cement extrusion rising from the decaying limbs of trees, bathed pale in the moonlight. A wooden door, much like that of a cellar, perched in the middle of the cement, a rusted lock keeping it in place.

For a moment I considered breaking into it, simply smashing the wood to smithereens, but common sense dictated that Tyler wasn't there anymore; the scent was faint and old, maybe from a week ago. The wolf lets out a snuffle of breath and a low whine before lifting a large paw to gently scrape at the wooden surface. It more out of irritation that anything else, I didn't want to think that Tyler had been here the whole time while I was searching for him in town.

Encouraging myself to leave the hide out was harder than I would have expected; all I wanted to do was wait for Tyler to return. Yet it seemed fruitless to my rational mind. With the amount of rubbing against trees I'd been doing Tyler would surely stay clear of this area. Not that this rationality made me happy, in fact it probably made me grumpy. Yet at the end I still managed to leave the discovery and continue on my way back to town.

Upon reaching the line of trees marking the end of the forest I came across my scattered clothing, in not too grand a condition might I add. I allowed my body to relax into the phase and soon enough I was gazing down at the shredded remains of my sneakers from two legs instead of four. A frown mars my brow and a frustrated sigh parts my lips. This is why you can't have nice things like cell phones, Leah, I inwardly berate myself.

To my luck there's enough left of my pants to leave me looking decent and at least my underwear are still whole. But my shirt isn't as lucky, one arm is missing, the buttons vanished into thin air and there's a gaping hole in the side where anyone could have a nice view of ribs and breast if I lifted my arm. For a moment I fancy leaving it completely, I'm not too bothered with a little skin, but the idea of showing up at Klaus' home without a shirt on – half naked – doesn't sit well with any respect I still have for myself. I don the scraps of clothing and with a heavy sigh I begin my journey.

Despite the late hour, I'm not willing to take a chance. I stay hidden in the shadows and keep my arms firmly around my waist in an attempt to piece my clothing together enough that I could be decent-ish. It's in this obscure manner that I come across something that makes me freeze for a second as I pass Elena's home.

At first I blink, once, twice, a third time. But it becomes obvious that what I'm seeing is actually happening and not another dream-like delusion like the one I had of Klaus in the woods. My mouth must have hung open from the shock; I probably caught a few bugs as I stared.

Elena and Damon. I was pretty sure it was real, I pinched myself to make certain. Yup, that's them. I shake my head; a mixture of shock, disappointment and pride courses through my veins. It was wrong; I knew that, I knew it very well. I knew it would hurt Stephan, but I felt a measure of pride for Damon. Finally.

I shake my head again and push further into the shadows. I shouldn't get involved, this isn't my problem. Didn't I tell Damon I was backing away from all this love triangle nonsense? Let them do whatever they want, I rationalise, just don't get involved. Just let them kiss on the porch in the moonlight; it's none of your business. I cringe and lock them with a scowl, Elena and Stephan had looked perfectly content together only a few days ago… What had changed?

My lips purse and I spin on my heel, turning towards Klaus' house. I remain careful, staying quiet and staying hidden. Yeah, Leah, just don't get involved, you have enough problems of your own.

Next chappy is going to be a shit storm of sorts to make up for this relatively boring one :3 sorry for no Klaus/Leah action here…