Pairings: Kol/Bella, Rebekah/Stefan, Klaus/Hayley, Elijah/Davina, Matt/Caroline, Bonnie/Jeremy, Damon/Elena

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or Twilight nor its characters.

"From now on we play nice with the Mikaelson's unless they deliberately attack us, got it?" I waited for their nods before continuing. "I will take care of any further meetings with the Mikaelsons because apparently, you lot can't handle it," I said, my voice & anger building in volume as I spoke before I took deep breaths to calm down again. "I get it, I do. I probably … no, I wouldn't have." I shook my head with a slight smile before continuing. "You guys, you're my family and I can't - won't - lose you. So, if I have to be the 'lieutenant' of this group, then I will. I -" I sighed, faltering on this part, but they deserved to know.

"I used to think this coven of cold ones were going to be my family. They were kind and sweet toward me - well, in my mind anyway. It wasn't until my boyfriend, supposed love of my life," I heard a growl from somewhere but I ignored it and continued, "left me alone in the woods calling out for him not to leave me, to stay, but he left anyway. It was good that he did because otherwise, I probably wouldn't have realized that they had influenced me to believe that I had loved them. They were controlling, never really listened to my opinions, degrading, and manipulative. A cold one had bitten me and Edward had to suck the venom out but he left some, unintentionally of course, and I started to notice little things that the Cullens would do & say that wouldn't add up. I didn't have enough venom in me to not be affected by them but it was enough to start thinking. It wasn't until Laurant showed up in Forks that I realized if I drank vampire venom I would attain the strength of them. Yes," I answered before they could ask. "I drank from him and killed him. With the help from some shifters but potato, potahto." I waved off before taking a sip of my water again. I looked up and found expectant and confused faces waiting for an explanation and I sighed.

"Shifters gain their ability to shapeshift into a particular animal from their ancestors and bloodline, kind of like witches. The shifters in forks turn into wolves but I've heard of others that could turn into tigers, werecats, panthers, etcetera, etcetera." I explained before huffing.

"Alright enough with the heavy, I'm hungry. Lets order." Bella said, lifting her menu and effectively changing the conversation and lifting the tension.

They spent the rest of the afternoon - and well into the evening - catching up, laughing and joking and playing around. It was the most she had laughed in awhile and it felt good. "Alright guys, I'm taking off. I love you all. Jer, Lana, I'll see you at the house." She said as she hugged everyone in departure. She waved as she exited the Grill and walked out into the dark and chilly night, a pleasant sigh escaping as she did so. She loved nature, it called to her and while she didn't necessarily understand why, it just felt right somehow.

"Darling." Kol greeted her as he fell into step with her.

"Kol."

"My family wants to meet you. Properly." He amended when I raised an eyebrow. I shrugged, finding no harm in going and nodded, following him when he turned around to walk in the opposite direction we were walking in.

"Why?" I asked curiously. I highly doubted they wanted to go and 'meet' anyone who defied what a Mikaelson wanted.

"They find you almost as intriguing as I do, darling. Well, that and your exceptional good looks." Kol said smirking. He turned his head to wink at me and I blushed, rolling my eyes. The blush I couldn't help because Kol complimenting me, in that accent of his, with no one around to stop me from mauling him, seemed to make my mind mush, my lips dry and my body quiver which only caused me to lose the hold I had on my walls and I loathed it. I never wanted to be weak again and Kol now held the power to stomp on my heart and break me; to put me in a place I vowed to never go back to again. And all I could do was watch me fall helplessly and hope to all that's holy that he didn't let me break.

"In all seriousness, darling, we all are confounded by you. I've never encountered a creature like you before. In beauty nor in diet." He said seriously before adding the last bit cheekily. I rolled my eyes. It seemed like that reaction would be constant around him, he just couldn't help himself.

"I'm sure." I drawled out sarcastically. I'm pretty sure he'd seen, and had, better.

He stopped suddenly, his eyes dark and intense, before he gently but demandingly flashed us against a tree, his arms on either side of my head, our breaths mingling together and fanning across each other's face.

"Make no mistake, darling, every movement you make, every lip bite, every eye roll is a testament to my control because everything you do makes me want to take you right then and there." He whispered intensely, his eyes holding mine before he stepped back. "But," he continued, still holding my eyes hostage. "I know you're not ready, so. I'll wait. Although, darling, I'm not much of a patient person." He warned with a smirk, partly joking but mostly just being honest. And that's the thing that made me like him even more. He was upfront with his feelings. Never one to beat around the bush and that's exactly the type of thing she loved. She knew he was giving her an out but she didn't want it. She wanted Kol, no matter how long it would take for her to say it out loud. She nodded watching his gulp and clenched jaw before he forcibly moved away from her and caused her to giggle.

"Careful, darling. Wouldn't want more than you're ready for." Kol warned with a tense smirk and she smirked back, opening her mouth to retort but thought better of it. She wasn't ready for anything, let alone that, just yet. She nodded and slipped from between Kol and the tree before continuing to walk in the direction they had been walking in before they had become … distracted. Kol quickly fell into step with her and they continued the rest of the trip in comfortable silence. Once they reached the Mikaelsons Manor, Kol held the door open for her before leading her into what looked like a living room.

"Family, Bella Swan." Kol introduced her, waving his hand in her direction, to the scattered group within the room. She nodded, leaning against a wall that opened up into the entrance of the living room.

"Ms. Swan," The tall brunette, Elijah, nodded to her before continuing. "I'd like to formally apologize for our last meeting. My younger brothers have the shared gene for a flare of the dramatics." He said with a wry smile.

"I bet," I snorted. "but I'm pretty sure it's a gene you all share." I laughed. Kol and Elijah chuckled lowly but Nik just rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm sure you all are just itching to know why I drink cold one venom, assuming Kol told you about that and that you weren't snooping on my friends and me at the Grill." I said pointedly at Kol but he just smiled and shrugged unapologetically. I choked out a laugh before shaking my head in amusement.

"And no, I didn't tell them anything other than that I saw you drinking cold one venom. It's your story to share, darling." He explained, flopping down into a plush, brown couch. His siblings looked surprised and I growled in my head before nodding to Kol in thanks. I braced myself, psyching myself up for the upcoming conversation that I knew would be nothing less than difficult, but with no pain, there's no gain, I suppose.