A/N: Hello, my lovelies! Sorry it's taken so long. Hopefully this chapter proves to be enjoyable, and you're chomping at the bit to read it!
I have to remind my lovely readers that I do not own The Vampire Diaries. All I own is my OC Grace and this story. Wish I could know Klaus and Damon though. I'm sure they would be all kinds of fun … provided they're not ripping my throat out.
Let's begin…
HUNT OR BE HUNTED
"I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away. Ricochet, you take your aim. Fire away, fire away. You shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium." ~ David Guetta (feat. Sia): 'Titanium' (Nothing but the Beat [2011])
Klaus's Bedroom
Mikaelson Mansion
Day
A light breeze blows into Nik's slightly stuffy bedroom through the window that had been cracked open slightly. The sounds of birds twittering and jumping from tree to tree was heard, but at that precise moment I really couldn't have cared less. I was too busy being in the throes of slumber, having passed out last night when Nik and I were through comforting one another from a hard few days.
Or I would've been sleeping, except for one tiny little detail: something or someone was attempting to get my attention with their lips. It took a bit for me to actually realise that I was being kissed, exhausted as I was. But when it finally registered, I froze; eyes slamming open in alarm and immediately sat up trying to shove away the unknown kisser … and was greeted with an amused, but affectionate chuckle.
"Good morning, sweetheart." It was Nik, grinning down at me, laughter clear in his blue-green eyes. I scowled at him in annoyance.
"Nik? Geddoff!" I slurred grumpily, and attempted to roll out from underneath him as I glanced at the bedside clock. "What time is it?"
"9:00am." On a Saturday? I glared at him, unamused. He knew I didn't tend to get up on the weekend until at least 10:30 tops. I rolled again, aiming for the edge of the bed so I could get up. An arm blocks me. "Where you going?" Nik wonders.
"Bathroom." I bit out. I wasn't really desperate for the loo just yet. But I needed an excuse to get away from my beloved before I did something unfortunate … like smack him. The arm curls underneath my waist and tugs me towards him. "Nik!" I protested before finding myself sitting on his lap, astride his thighs and instinctively clinging to his shoulders for balance.
"Stay." He requested, the amusement gone from his face, but the sincerity very plain. His hands holding onto my hips to support my balance, and his thumbs rubbing circles into my skin.
A pleasant little shiver shot down my spine.
"I'll only be a minute." I reassured him, my mouth a little dry and feeling a combination of awkward and intrigued. Nik still seemed hesitant to let me leave. But eventually he nodded, dropping his hands from my hips and I scooted away so I could swing my legs around and hop off the bed. I quickly darted for the en suite bathroom, suddenly eager to use the loo now that my brain had been reminded, and just managed to get my pants down before anything embarrassing could happen.
Five minutes later, I finished and washed my hands before walking back into the bedroom. I found Nik, sitting in the same position as before; leaning against the headboard with his legs stretched out in front of him, staring contemplatively out of the window at the wilderness surrounding the mansion with a calm, stoic expression on his face. His expression immediately changed the second I came back into the room into a look of tender, open adoration. He reached out a hand for me.
"Come here, love." He beckoned and I went over without hesitation and climbed back onto our bed, taking his hand automatically. He pulled me back to sit astride him in the same position as before. I looked at him, puzzled.
"Are you alright, Nik?" I asked.
"Fair to middling."
I raised an eyebrow, "Really?"
"Of course, love. Why do you doubt me?" Nik questioned, still affectionately stroking my hipbones with his thumbs. I reached forward to smooth back a rogue dirty blonde curl and cupped his face with my hands.
"I don't. You're just not acting yourself this morning, is all." I admitted, playing absently with the small hairs on the back of his neck.
"Hmm." Nik acknowledged, but didn't elaborate. Just sort of stared off into space and frowned a little. I dropped my hands and we sat like this for a few minutes before the silence started getting to me.
"What are you thinking about?" I muttered, and I heard him chuckle.
"Nothing important. What are you up to today?" He changed the subject quickly and I was thrown by it. Mentally shrugging, I answered anyway.
"Honouring a promise." I answered, somewhat vaguely. This drew his attention.
"What promise is this?" Nik looked interested. I let out a heavy sigh.
"To look out for Damon." Nik raised a puzzled eyebrow. "I promised Rebekah I'd help her with him, while she dealt with a few things." I elaborated, and actually rolled my eyes when I noticed Nik looking a little jealous.
"He's her sodding boyfriend, why didn't you just tell her to bloody well deal with him herself?" Nik questioned, annoyed.
"Because Damon is also my sodding best friend, Nik." I reminded him, shortly. "And friends look out for one another when they're down and out." Nik still didn't look impressed and I gathered every ounce of patience I possessed and did not strangle him. I was so not in the mood for an overly possessive fiancé dictating what I could and could not do. That wasn't the sort of marital relationship I signed up for. And I was about to tell him this, but he beat me to it by spearing his hand into my hair and tugging me closer to him to plant a very passionate kiss on my lips.
Oh, for fuck's sake! I'm not a hydrant to piss on! I thought irritably and instantly started to struggle for release. Then Nik chose that moment to buck underneath me, and I immediately froze … which caused Nik to let out a devilish chuckle against my lips. It was then that I belatedly realised that I was sitting on something rather, well, hard.
That wasn't what I meant! I thought panicking a little because that wasn't the type of 'release' on which I was intending. But when Nik bucked again, his prominent erection brushed against my core and I let out an unintended and unexpected moan of pleasure.
"Everything alright, love?" Nik asked, innocently. I scowled half-heartedly at him. Innocent, my arse. He knew exactly what he had done. There was a playful challenge glinting in his blue-green eyes, and I was all too willing to take it up: I ground down on him, using his shoulders for balance and smirked smugly when he hissed and swore underneath his breath.
"You little minx." Nik grinned when he cottoned on to what I did and started massaging my scalp with his powerful fingers. He leaned into whisper into my ear, as I hummed in approval. "Don't start something you don't intend on finishing." He warned seductively.
Well, shit.
Who in their right mind would ignore an invitation like that? The only appropriate reply to that was to cup both hands onto his face and pull him closer to engage in a rather heated tonsil hockey session.
"Good answer." Nik mumbled, before wrapping his powerful arms around my waist and pulling me impossibly closer to him. My arms automatically wrapped around his neck, and I let out a slightly startled 'eep' when Nik suddenly flipped us over and I found myself 'trapped' beneath his warmer than normal body, with his hips cradled securely between my legs. But I didn't exactly have time to reflect upon this, as Nik had apparently made it his whole mission to distract me completely from anything remotely related to what I had planned today.
This wasn't the first time Nik and I had made out like this. But it was the first time, he decided to take it slightly to the next level and I couldn't help but feel just a smidge scared.
Nik apparently seemed to sense this.
"Relax, sweetheart." He reassured me. "Just let me take care of you for a while." I smiled and nodded, and just let myself succumb to the wonderful ministrations Nik was bestowing upon me.
I must've fallen back to sleep, because the next time I woke up, it was to an empty bed. Nik was nowhere to be seen. I immediately sat up, panicking, when my eyes zeroed in on a piece of folded up paper laying on Nik's pillow with his elegant scrawl printed on it. A beautiful full-bloom red rose was weighing it down.
I reached for the note Nik had left and picked up the rose, bringing it to my nose and inhaling its lovely fragrance before unfolding the paper and reading:
'Enjoy your day, elskede.
I love you, always and forever.
Nik x'
"You little bastard." I muttered underneath my breath affectionately. I set aside the letter and the rose and got up to get on with my day.
I just wondered exactly what it was going to in tale, and how it was going to somehow involve the most important men in my life.
Salvatore Boarding House
Day
I decided to walk the short distance towards the Boarding House, silently thanking God that Nik didn't live that far away from the semi-private residence. I just hoped that Damon wasn't up to his usual brand of mischief today, I think I had enough for a while.
As I turned into their driveway, I immediately spotted both Damon and Stefan talking to each other. Stefan was tinkering away trying to repair a motorbike, and had a rather annoyed expression on his face, while Damon was standing on the front porch looking a little better than he did yesterday, but not completely. I rolled my eyes; Damon was obviously poking the bear with a stick again. God, when will these guys grow up? The conversation got clearer as I walked closer to them.
"Ah, I see we're still fighting. Got it." Stefan was saying, fiddling with the motorbike keys in his hands. "Where you going?" He asked Damon, with exaggerated politeness. His eyes narrowed slightly when both brothers spotted me approaching them. I ignored him, focused entirely upon Damon.
"That hunter jacked Tyler Lockwood of his werewolf venom last night," Damon explained and I faltered a little mid-step, then cursed. Great. Now I knew where Nik was likely to be this morning. This Connor guy really didn't know who he was messing with. You never fuck around with an Alpha's pack mate; it was likely to get you marked for life. I resumed walking towards Damon to greet him properly.
"So basically, he's got vampire poison in a bottle. And I'm gonna find him, and I'm gonna eat him." Damon declared, and I snorted.
Not unless Nik finds him first… I thought as Stefan suddenly stands up from the motorbike and dismounts.
"I'll go with you." He offers. Damon shakes his head and automatically raises his arm and wraps it around my shoulders as I approached him for a hug.
"I don't want your help." Damon firmly rejects him, as he brings me into a warm hug against his side. I smile happily. "I already got some. Hey cutie, how are you?" Damon says this last part to me and affectionately kisses my temple in hello. "I just want to kill this guy and get the hell out of town." I froze and looked at him in surprise.
"Excuse me?" I looked between Damon and Stefan for an explanation. They both ignored me.
"Wasn't that the deal? I help out then leave when I'm done?" Damon reminds Stefan who scowled.
"That was before Elena was turned." Stefan retorted.
"Which was why I stayed and helped." Damon agreed. "If I take you punching me as the first clue, I'm not wanted here anymore."
Stefan sighed.
"Listen, you blood-shared with my girlfriend, and I punched you in the face. You deserved it. Why don't you stop being dramatic?"
"No, brother. Dramatic would be leaving before I kill this hunter." Damon corrected him before taking my hand in his and leading me off back up the driveway. I heard Stefan sigh in frustration behind us.
"You're leaving?" I blurted out to Damon who stubbornly refused to look at my face. "When did you decide this?" I demanded, a little hurt.
"Pretty much right after Alaric died and Elena transitioned." Damon responded after a few moments of nail-biting silence. "Then, naturally, Elena started having issues with her blood, which postponed those plans."
"So what? You were gonna ditch town afterwards; not tell me?" Damon's silence was damning. "What about Rebekah?" I pointed out.
"What about Rebekah? She was in on it too. She just wanted to finish her high school education first before meeting up with me later on." Damon made a face at the thought. "Why she'd want to do that, I dunno." He trailed off, and I filled in the blanks.
"She wants to experience life as a normal teenager for once. Nothing wrong with that." I defended my sister's desires.
"She's never gonna be a normal teenager though." Damon pointed out, then stopped and turned to look at me a little scornfully. "And anyway, what's it to you if I wanna leave Mystic Falls? Aren't you and Klaus doing the same thing too?" He pointed out, a little accusingly.
"Well, yes, eventually. But I think that Tyler incident you mentioned earlier to Stefan might have put that idea on the backburner for now." I confirmed. "Besides, I'm not about to sever all contact with you. I'd have told you that I was leaving beforehand."
Damon paused and looked at me vulnerably.
"You would've?"
"Of course, you idiot. You're my best friend." I told him sincerely, cupping his face with my hand. Damon reached up and grabbed my hand with his before tugging me closer to him without warning and planting a hard kiss in the centre of my forehead.
"God, I love you." He admitted, and buried his face into my hair. I giggled in amusement and hugged him back just as tightly.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily." I teased him, and both of us started when somebody cleared their throat pointedly. We glanced up to see Rebekah standing there, looking at us with amusement and a raised eyebrow. "Hey, Bekah. You on your way to school now?" I asked, breaking away from Damon and walking over to give my 'baby' sister a hug. Rebekah sniffed haughtily, an obvious attempt to hide what she was really feeling, which was hurt over Nik's rejection, however temporary it obviously was.
"Yes. I just stopped by to drop this off with you and Damon." She thrust a flyer into my hand before brushing by me to greet Damon with a passionate hello kiss. I raised an eyebrow at that; were the Mikaelson Siblings feeling particularly affectionate today? First Nik and his amorous wake-up session with me, and now Rebekah and her lusty kiss with Damon? Part of me was glad that neither Elijah nor Kol were here right now.
"Anti-curfew party?" I read the flyer in my hand and looked at Rebekah in a puzzlement. "What's brought this on?" I asked waving the paper in the air. "A little rebellion against Nik, perhaps?" I guessed, and Rebekah scowled a little.
"Nik has nothing to do with it. I'm just enjoying being a teenager for once." She responded, shortly.
"Uh-huh." I replied, throwing Damon a 'told you so' look and not believing what Rebekah said for one second. This was totally a 'screw you' aimed at Nik. Damon nodded in acknowledgement but didn't say anything. Probably a wise move.
"I'm feeling generous of spirit." Rebekah defended her actions and I nodded vehemently.
"No, I believe you. Really." I said sincerely.
"So, I'll see you there?"
"Sure." I grinned, and Rebekah squealed happily and hugged me before blowing a kiss at Damon and blurring off. I turned and looked at Damon, feeling bewildered. "That was weird."
"I heard that!" Rebekah's voice sing-songed from faraway, and both Damon and I quickly walked off to find out where Connor lived. I folded up Rebekah's flyer and stuffed it into the back pocket of my jeans.
Connor's Trailer
The Woods
Day
Damon and I eventually track down Connor to a non-descript silver Winnebago-style trailer. From a distance, nothing seemed remotely unusual or out of place about it … which usually meant it was a trap. And naturally, Damon ignored the signs. He goes to stand on the steps to see if he could enter the trailer without an invitation. I glared at him for his idiocy.
"Damon, stop!" I chided him, and tugged on his arm to stop him from walking any further. He shakes me off.
"Relax, Grace. There's nothing dangerous here." He tries to reassure me, but I didn't buy it for a moment.
"That's what concerns me."
"Thank you, Indiana Jones." Damon quips, raising an eyebrow at me, and I continued glaring at him. Damon twists the doorknob and enters the trailer.
"Damon!" He ignores me and continues going in. I don't follow, but from where I'm standing I can see what looks like a distillation setup, and a bunch of old newspaper clippings which have been strewn all over the bench. Damon starts rifling through them. "What have you found?" I asked him, and Damon hummed thoughtfully as he searches.
"Nothing interesting yet—" He is suddenly cut off when two arrows fly at him, piercing him through the leg and his chest. He yells out in pain.
"Damon!" I yell out in panic, but Damon raises a hand to stop me from coming in.
"Stay there!" He grunts out, and goes to pull out the arrow in his leg. "I got it…" He trails off, and I wait for him to say something else. Then, I hear a groan of exasperation: "Um… yeah."
"What?" I ask.
"I'm stuck."
"How? Let me see?" I dart around him and walk inside the trailer, immediately spotting what has him stuck. "Ah."
"Yeah. Ah." Damon drawls sarcastically. The two arrows that he had been shot with, turned out to be attached to a couple of claymore explosive devices by a wire. If either Damon or I even so much as attempted to pull them from his leg or his chest, the entire trailer would blow up taking Damon and me with it.
"What's the next move then?" I asked Damon, biting anxiously on my bottom lip. He reaches up and tugs my lip out from between my teeth with his fingers.
"Well, for starters; don't do that." Damon says, indicating to my lip biting habit. "And secondly, reach into my pocket." I frown at him, but tentatively reach for one of his front pockets.
"What am I looking for?" I ask, groping around. Damon stiffens a little, trying not to move and kill us both.
"My phone." He responds gently, obviously trying to calm both of us down so we didn't make a fatal mistake. "I want you to call Meredith Fell." Damon instructs me. I frown at him, confused.
"The doctor? For what?" I ask, finally tugging Damon's smartphone free and scrolling through the contacts for the doctor's name.
"So she can cut me loose." Damon explained, like it should've been obvious. I nod, too scared to be irritated with him for the sarcastic answer and stab at Meredith's name. "It's gonna be all right, baby. Don't be scared." Damon attempted to soothe me, as the call connected and Meredith's voice suddenly answered in my ear.
"Hello? Damon?"
"Uh, actually, it's Grace Williams. I'm calling on Damon's behalf." I responded, glancing at Damon nervously. "He's a little tied up right now." I explained, ignoring the snort Damon let out at the unintended joke. He reached out and grabbed my hand with his and squeezed, rubbing the back of it soothingly with his thumb.
"Well, whatever it is, can it wait? I'm a little busy right now." Meredith asked, sounding slightly irritated. I bristled almost immediately, before remembering she didn't know what was going on and relaxed.
"No, it can't wait. We kinda need you to drop everything and come here right now." I stated, coldly. Meredith sighed loudly over the phone before replying.
"Fine. I'll be there in ten. Where exactly are you?" The doctor asked, and both Damon and I relaxed.
"The woods nearby the quarry. You can't miss it, it's a silver trailer." I gave the directions.
"No problem. See you soon." The line went dead, and I lowered the phone from my ear. I quickly replaced Damon's phone into the back pocket of my jeans for safekeeping, as I glanced over at the piles of newspaper clippings Damon had been looking through before getting shot with arrows.
"What exactly were you looking at?" I asked him, trying to distract ourselves from the deadly bomb that Damon was attached to.
"Dunno. But the newspapers all relate to recent 'animal attacks' in town." Damon read over my shoulder, frowning at what he was reading.
Ten minutes passed, and approaching footsteps alerted us to someone's arrival. Hopefully, it was Meredith and not Connor himself. It would've been an awkward conversation to be having with the Vampire Hunter, in between trying to stop him from taking off Damon's head while he was vulnerable and trussed up more securely than a turkey.
"Why were you being so cryptic?" Meredith questions me, as she steps into the trailer and frowns at us. She doesn't immediately see the arrows embedded into Damon attached to the claymore mines.
"Come in. Close the door." Damon snaps, and Meredith hurriedly closes the door and moves back to Damon's other side. That was when she sees the explosives.
"Tell me that is not a bomb." Meredith's eyes widen in alarm.
"Okay. It's a kitten." Damon acquiesces dryly, and I shake my head, earning a smirk and a wink from him. "It's an adorable, exploding kitten." He says, sarcastically.
"Damon…" I glower at him, unamused. Meredith looks freaked out.
"Why didn't you call your brother?"
Damon's voice dripped acid, "Because I'm proud, and stubborn, and … oh, look! You're already here." It was my turn to snort now, especially when Meredith reacted to his snarky attitude by glaring at him. Like glaring was going to curb his rudeness. "Come on, you're not gonna get hurt. Grace wouldn't be in here if that were the case." I squeezed the hand Damon still hadn't let go. "All I need you to do is be doctorly and cut out the arrow." Damon instructed, somewhat impatiently. "I'd do it myself, but if I move…" He reaches over with his free hand to gently touch the string attached to the arrow embedded in his thigh. It immediately caused Meredith and me to cower in horror.
"Don't!" Meredith panicked, and Damon pulls his hand away and makes a soft kaboom sound effect to emphasise his point. "Okay." Meredith reaches for a knife lying on a nearby table and moves behind Damon and puts the point of the knife next to the entry point of the arrow going through Damon's back. "Okay."
I scowled at him.
"Jesus, Damon…" I hissed at him, somewhat angrily and he responded by squeezing my hand again and planting another affectionate kiss on my forehead.
"I'm sorry." He mouths on the skin of my forehead and I nodded accepting his apology. I move away from him and continue to inspect Connor's collection of newspaper clippings and other collection of random papers, before spotting a letter from Pastor Young to April. I pick it up and show it to Damon, who blinks at it in suspicion. I indicate to Meredith and he nods as I open it and started reading the letter.
"So, how well did you know Pastor Young?" Damon asks Meredith casually as she continues carefully cutting around the arrow in his back.
"He was a patient of mine." Meredith replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "He was always a nice guy."
"You mean barking mad, right?" I snorted, earning a curious look from Damon and a mildly outraged one from Meredith, who probably thought I was being disrespectful towards a dead man. "He wrote a letter about sacrifice and war brewing in Mystic Falls."
"Seriously?" Damon raised an eyebrow and I turned it towards him so that he and Meredith – who read over Damon's shoulder while she worked – could see it. I could see the disbelief growing in both of their eyes.
"What does he mean, "a greater evil is coming"?" Meredith questions, as she continues digging the knife around the arrow in Damon's back. I winced, surprised and impressed that Damon wasn't flinching in pain while she was doing this. "Don't we have great enough evil already?"
Damon shrugs, "You'd think."
Suddenly, his phone rings in my back pocket and I pull it free and check caller ID. It was Elena. I showed it to him, and Damon shakes his head firmly. I ignore the call, and Meredith obviously notices this direction but continues working on freeing Damon.
"How did you two get stuck on hunter duty?" Meredith asks curiously, and Damon sneers unpleasantly.
"Stefan had a Physics test, and Grace came along because I wanted her to." Damon replied, sarcastically.
"Lucky me." I muttered underneath my breath, but only Damon heard me and he smiles. Meredith smiles sympathetically at Damon's answer.
"You are a good brother."
"No, he's the bad brother." I corrected her, dryly. Meredith shook her head in disagreement.
"He's strung up to a bomb while Stefan plays vampire with the girl who broke his heart." Both Damon and I look at her like she's nuts. "But you're doing a very good job of acting like it doesn't suck." Meredith directed this to Damon who smirks.
"That's probably because he really doesn't give a toss. Damon doesn't like Elena that way. He's involved with somebody else." I pointed out, flatly. Meredith looks at me curiously.
"You?"
"Nope. Engaged." I held up my hand, displaying Nik's ring to her as proof. "Damon's with my fiancé's sister."
"You two obviously got a very strong friendship with each other then." Meredith observed as she finishes prying out the arrow as much as she can to allow Damon to remove it without the bomb exploding. "Okay, I think that should be good."
Damon yanks out the arrow in one swift motion and drops it on the table, as Meredith gets started on the arrow still embedded in Damon's thigh.
Salvatore Boarding House
Day
Damon opens the front door of the Boarding House, and steps aside to allow me to walk in first. While I had a completely reasonable bitch about what had happened earlier back in the trailer.
"So, remind me again what the whole point of snooping around Connor's trailer was?" I asked Damon, who shrugs as he makes a beeline towards the wet bar, pours himself a double and knocks it back like it was water. I normally would've questioned his motives, before remembering that he had just been impaled twice by arrows, and the bourbon was probably to help him numb the pain.
"Well, you found that letter. That's counts as something, right?" Damon pointed out, and I shrug, still not convinced it was worth being trapped in a trailer for almost an hour, praying the entire thing didn't suddenly implode on us. Damon pours himself another bourbon, and raises the glass at me to indicate if I wanted one.
"Please." I accepted, and took a generous sip from the amber liquor the moment Damon pressed the glass into my hands. He then abruptly turns on his heel and heads for the staircase, and I was hot on his heels. "What do you think our next move should be then?" I asked Damon, and paused when we walked into his room when we saw Elena rushing around Damon's stuff like a tornado, picking things up and dumping on the floor when it wasn't what she was searching for. There was already a large pile of Damon's clothes on the floor.
"Hope you plan on cleaning this up." Damon spoke up, causing Elena to jump like she had been shot.
"I need bourbon to get through Rebekah's party. Yours is better than Stefan's." Elena explains, and I look at her in surprise.
"You won't find any alcohol in there—"
"Top drawer in the dresser." Damon interrupts and both Elena and I look at him in confusion.
"Thanks?" Elena says, and I turn and look at Damon like he's mental as Elena she walks over to the drawer and opens it. Damon takes another pull from his bourbon.
"You keep alcohol in your underwear drawer?" I asked dubiously as Elena pulls out a pair of Damon's boxer briefs and holds them up.
"No," Damon responds to my question while looking at Elena calculatingly. She throws the underwear back into the drawer and shuts it. "But she wasn't looking for alcohol," He narrows his eyes at a suddenly guilty looking Elena. "Were you?" I continue staring between both vampires, feeling lost. Damon looks irritated by the invasion of privacy Elena has shown him by going through his things. "Do you think I'd actually leave the last remaining white oak stake where any vampire could just walk in and take it?" He questions Elena, while I look at him in shock.
"You have the last white oak stake?" Damon ignores my question in favour of unbuttoning his shirt to change into clean clothing after his arrow ordeal in Connor's trailer. I wince at the leftover gore on his shoulder caused by the arrow, and Elena notices it too.
"What happened to you?"
"Hunter mishap." Damon replies dismissively, walking over to me and taking a swig from my drink since he'd already finished his. I scowl at him in protest, and he responds with a smirk before handing the glass back to me. I roll my eyes and take another sip. Elena walks over to Damon, ignoring me and folds her arms across her chest.
"You know he was at my school today?" Elena informs him, and Damon nods.
"Yeah. Jeremy text me about it."
Elena frowns disapprovingly, "Why were you talking to Jeremy?"
"Don't worry about it." Damon stated coldly as he takes off his shirt. Elena starts getting defensive.
"Damon, don't bring him into this." She begs, and Damon rolls his eyes.
"Cherish the thought that he might actually be useful, Elena." Damon suggested, dumping his ruined shirt to the ground and reaching for his belt to undo it. Immediately, my cheeks warm up out of embarrassment and turn to leave the room to give him some privacy. Elena also looks down awkwardly. "You staying for the show…?" Damon taunts her as he unbuttons his pants. Elena practically stampedes for the bedroom door and leaves.
"Where'd you find that white oak stake, Damon?" I asked curiously, since the last time I clapped eyes on that weapon was when Alaric was facing off against Damon in a duel to the death.
"I didn't." Damon replies promptly, and I blink at him in a puzzlement. "But I'm finding that stake." He promises, looking determined.
I nod, "I'll wait downstairs."
While I waited for Damon to bathe and re-dress in less bloodied clothes, I went to wait for him in the Salvatore's private library, which had row upon row of books. I had always been a bit of a bibliophile, even during my first life during the age of Vikings when books were somewhat of a luxury. So I took the opportunity to take down a classic and curled up on one of the red sofas to start reading it. I had put a decent dint into Call of the Wild by Jack London when approaching heavy footsteps caused me to look up cautiously.
"What you reading?" Damon wondered, his ink black hair still damp from his shower and his dark red almost black button-up shirt hanging undone as he came over to see. I wordlessly held up the book so he could read the cover and a sunny grin spread across his face. "One of my favourites."
"I remember." I responded, "Bonnie launched it across the room at you to show to you how much she had been practicing her witchcraft." I attempted to jog his memory. He raised an eyebrow.
"Has it been that long?" He muttered underneath his breath as he starts buttoning up his shirt. "Why'd you pick that?"
"I was comparing it to the 1972 movie with Charlton Heston." I replied absently, as I finished the chapter I had been reading before Damon came back from his shower.
"And…?"
"The book's better." I critiqued. "The movies always take out the best parts of the book. It really shits me." I added, coolly.
"I think you'll get over it somehow." Damon stated, rolling his eyes. I stuck my tongue out at him, before sliding a torn piece of paper into the spine to mark my place and setting it aside.
"So what now?" I asked, getting to my feet and looking at Damon expectantly. He responded by picking up his phone and scrolling through it.
"Now, I'm calling Tyler and seeing if he wants to get even with Connor for jacking his werewolf venom." Damon said, and I deflated a little.
"Oh."
Damon dials Tyler's number, and freezes when whoever it was that answered spoke.
"Klaus?" I glanced up with interest. "Where's Tyler?" Damon demanded, sounding confused. I mouthed 'put it on loudspeaker' at Damon who huffed impatiently but did so, and I immediately heard Nik's voice come over the speaker.
"Tyler's otherwise occupied, making big decisions about honesty and whatnot." He explained sounding somewhat bored, but I could practically visualise the smirk on his face by the tone of his voice. Damon looked at me a little accusingly.
"Did you know about this?" He asked, and I shrugged.
"It's rare that Nik wouldn't act accordingly."
"You know me so well, love." Nik chimed in, and I rolled my eyes before scowling at Damon for his accusation.
"And anyway, how was I supposed to know? Nik doesn't tell me his itinerary." I snapped back a little defensive. Damon opened his mouth to retort, when Nik jumped in to steer the conversation back to the original point.
"Is there anything I can do?" Nik asked pleasantly.
"I'm going after the vampire hunter, so if he'd like to join…?" Damon queried.
"He wouldn't," Nik replied on Tyler's behalf. "I, however,…"
I snorted, "Naturally."
"Well, I can't let you have all the fun, now can I?" Nik sounded amused, and I couldn't help but grin with fond exasperation, while Damon looked mildly disgusted. "Be seeing you." And he hung up abruptly.
"That's what concerns me. Cockiness leads to recklessness." I mused with concern. Damon looked a little offended.
"Your lack of confidence in us, Grace, is a bit insulting." He pointed out and I shook my head.
"But I'm not wrong."
"I know, and it's so annoying." Damon smirked as he shrugged on his jacket and palmed his keys. "Come on, Gracie. We're burning daylight." He stated, sauntering towards the main door and I aimed a warning glare at him that he laughingly shrugged off, like water off a duck's back.
"So what's the first move?" I asked, falling into step beside Damon who heads straight towards his car and unlocks the passenger side.
"We enlist the help from a certain doctor." Damon replies succinctly as he opens the car door for me and I eye him curiously as I slide in.
"How is that gonna help us?"
"Our hunter friend venom jacked Tyler at the hospital. Plus, it's also where Meredith blood jacked me so she could save her patients. Odds are if he's done his research, Connor will target her." Damon theorized, and I raised an impressed eyebrow at him.
"You've really thought this through, haven't you?" I guessed and Damon shrugged nonchalantly.
"Again, that tone of surprise is very insulting, Grace."
"That's usually because your plans sometimes fall through." I retorted, and Damon snorted.
"There's no such thing as bad ideas. Only poorly constructed good ones." He starts the car and starts pulling out, while I roll my eyes and turn to glance out the window.
"Whatever. Let's just get this show on the road." I muttered, and take Damon's phone when he hands it to me, once again dialling Meredith's number. "Hey, Meredith. We kinda need another favour from you…"
Mystic Falls Hospital
Day
Peering out from a nearby doorway, I watched a nervous looking Meredith walk as calmly and as normal as she could down the hallway as planned by the four of us – Nik, Damon, Meredith and I – not ten minutes ago, when we cornered the doctor, and 'enlisted' her as part of our plan to outsmart and nab Connor for interrogation purposes.
Be very, very quiet. We're hunting the hunter… I rolled my eyes at the very lame interpretation of Elmer Fudd's lisp in my head, as I watched for Connor to arrive at any second. Meredith wasn't exactly thrilled to see any of us. She glared at Damon, looked at me suspiciously, and tried very hard and very nervously not to look Nik in the eye, much to Nik's amusement and my annoyance. As if we needed more indication that Nik's fearsome and violent reputation preceded him.
"Alright," Meredith demanded almost immediately after Damon surprised her by tugging the startled woman into a vacant hospital room. "What could be so important, that you needed to interrupt me at work? I am rather busy you know." Meredith bitched.
"A little bit of cooperation, and a little less cheek would do for starters." Nik replied smoothly, making Meredith blanch a little when she saw him.
"Yeah. You can go back to blood-jacking vampires and performing medical miracles with their blood soon." Damon added, somewhat sardonically, earning twin glares from both Nik and Meredith, and an eyeroll and shake of the head from me.
"The warning for cheekiness applies to you also, mate." Nik admonishes him, icily. Meredith looked like she had been cornered – literally – by these two notorious entities and let out a resigned huff before straightening up and addressing all three of us seriously.
"What do you want?" She asked, a bit politer.
"Your help," I confirmed. "We have reason to believe that Connor, that hunter guy, has targeted you and is coming to also ask you questions." I explained.
"Only we, got to you first." Damon added, smugly.
"Help with what exactly?" Meredith looked worried.
"Luring him to a deserted corridor, away from prying eyes so we can ambush him and take him back to the Boarding House." I replied but glanced at Nik when he laid a hand on my shoulder.
"Correction: take him back to my place." He stated, coolly. Damon frowned at him in protest.
"Why the mansion?"
"We have more interrogation expertise, plus more adequate facilities to ensure he will not likely escape." Nik responded, a little haughtily. Damon's scowl deepened before he shrugged it off and moved to stand beside me, perching his arm casually on my shoulder and letting it dangle a little.
"Whatever." He said, smirking at the possessive glare that immediately came over Nik's face when he waltzed over to me. I groaned with impatience, shrugging off Damon's arm and walking over to stand with Meredith, knowing full well Damon was deliberately needling Nik. Meredith raised an eyebrow at their actions, before leaning over to whisper to me. Not that it would've made much difference; both Nik and Damon would still be able to hear what she said.
"Are they always like this?" She asks me, curiously.
"Unfortunately." I replied with a sigh.
Focusing back on the present, I waited until Meredith was nearly about to turn a corner to the designated deserted hallway, then I stepped out from the doorway and followed from a respectable distance. My eyes zeroed in on the large, fake bandage we attached to Meredith's neck, hoping that it would act as a honing beacon and lure in Connor like a bee to honey. Unfortunately, I had not counted on Jeremy Gilbert, of all people, to be following alongside Connor, as they pursued Meredith. I powerwalked faster to the hallway and then to the supply room we agreed on Meredith going into, in time to see her opening the door and going in, with Connor and Jeremy hot on her heels.
"That's her." I hear Jeremy say to Connor who nods in acknowledgement, not taking his eyes off the unsuspecting Meredith. Hopefully, Damon would get her out in time before the shit could hit the fan.
"Stay here." Connor instructs Jeremy before striding towards the supply room door and going inside. I walk cautiously to stand beside the wall next to the door, close enough that I could hear the conversation better.
"Is a hospital really the best place for a germaphobe?" I hear Connor question a hidden Damon coldly.
I raised an eyebrow.
Germaphobe? That's the excuse Damon offered to avoid shaking hands with Connor? I hear Damon's boots thudding on the scuffed linoleum floor.
"Did I say that I was a germaphobe? Pfft, sorry. I mean vampire." Damon corrected, and I could picture the smirk on his face just from the words he had just spoken, and not physically with my eyes. I hear Connor grunt in pain and the sound of his gun clattering to the floor. "Stings, doesn't it?" Damon taunts and I glance up when I see Nik come up beside me, looking eager to go in. He smiles at me in acknowledgement before blurring without warning inside the room. I followed, watching him kick Connor's gun out of reach.
"Hello, mate." He greeted Connor with a predatory grin on his face, to match the devilish smirk on Damon's. Connor tries to pull the rigged arrow from his side, while Damon, Nik and I watch. I flinch at every attempt because he is attached to the same claymore bombs Damon had attached to him hours before. Nik takes my hand in his to calm me down. I squeeze his hand gratefully, smiling when he squeezes back.
"Keep it up, buddy. We'll be scraping you off the ceiling." Damon points out, and Connor momentarily gives up to deadpan at him.
"You're gonna kill me anyway."
"Well, let's not be too hasty," Nik interjects. "I feel like we're just getting to know each other!"
"Let's start with the basics." Damon carries on talking. "Where are you from? What do you know?" He questioned brusquely. "Maybe you can cue me in on this 'greater evil', because I've fought this guy—" Damon hooks a thumb at a preening Nik. "—And there's nothing more evil than that." He concludes, handing Nik the letter he had pinched from Connor's trailer, and I differed thoughtfully.
"Maybe, Mikael?" I piped up, reminding them of the prideful Mikaelson patriarch, causing Nik to nod in both agreement and amusement.
"I can buy that." He conceded approvingly.
"Meh." Damon shrugged. Conner bristled noticeably, obviously pissed that he was unable to follow through with his task.
"I'm not telling you anything," He said stubbornly. "And if you think you can kill me, it's gonna be over. There's another waiting to take my place." He vowed, delighting Damon and piquing the interest in Nik.
"See, this is what I like to hear; vague threats, ominous prophecies, disappearing tattoos." Damon listed, and the smile on Nik's face immediately dropped the second Damon mentioned disappearing tattoos. Now he looked deadly serious. That rang immediate alarm bells in my head, and it also sounded vaguely familiar also.
"What do you mean, tattoos?" Nik demanded and Damon waved a dismissive hand.
"Don't bother. You can't see the damn thing." He stated irritably.
"Well, maybe you can't…" I trailed off, grabbing Nik's attention. He looked at me accusingly.
"Why didn't you mention this before?" Nik frowned at me.
"Because I didn't think it held any relevance?" I replied, nonplussed. Nik's frown swivelled towards Connor, and he kneels next to him.
"There's more to you than meets the eye, isn't there?" Nik muses, gaining Connor's attention and quickly catches his arm when Connor attempts to stake him. "Nice try, but I'm faster than your average vampire." Nik reminds Connor before sharply twisting his arm and grabbing the stake from him. I come over to Nik and watch him examine the stake closely. There was a strange mark chiselled into the handle.
"What's that?" I asked, running my finger across the mark and flinching when Nik grabs it with his snake-like reflexes. He looked sternly at me, before turning back to Connor looking a little concerned and maybe even surprised that he even existed.
"You're one of the Five." Nik reveals.
"The what?" Damon pipes up. But then Connor suddenly smirks, putting all three of us on guard. What was he up to?
"And I'm faster than your average hunter." Connor declares. Nik's eyes widen in horror and he immediately throws me at Damon, at the same time that Damon notices Connor pulling once again on the string attached to the bomb. He scoops me up into his arms and rushes out of the room, leaving Nik behind with Connor.
"Wait, Nik!?" I protest, just as the bomb explodes sending both Damon and I flying. We land face down on the floor with Damon using his body to shield me from the radiant flames of the detonated bomb. We look back to see the massive fireball disperse. "NIK!" I scream in horror. Damon picks me up and blurs us to safety, all while keeping a firm grip on me, presumably so I didn't so something foolish, like run back into the raging inferno. Once outside, I immediately started coughing up my lungs, trying to coax in some desperately needed fresh air, and all while worrying about Nik and if he made it out okay.
"Relax, sweetheart. Your honey is virtually indestructible. He'll have escaped somehow." Damon reassures me, as we hear and see the fire brigade and officers rapidly approaching the hospital. I was about to retort to him when a hand descends onto my shoulder. I turn and sigh in relief when I saw it was Nik, unscathed. Not even his clothing had been singed. He pulled me into his arms and kissed the crown of my head as we watched the fire-fighters and cops file inside.
"I gotta go, love." Nik immediately announced and I blinked at him in surprise.
"Why? What for?" I asked, as Nik eyed Damon in annoyance.
"It appears Stefan is in need of my assistance." He explained. "Be right back." Nik blurs off, and both Damon and I rolled our eyes before turning and heading back inside to observe and offer explanations. We find fire-fighters and officers inside the room where the bomb went off. Carol Lockwood stood nearby, but when she spotted us, she walked over. A disapproving expression on her face directed towards Damon.
"So, the sniper was inside?" Carol asks and Damon nods, curtly.
"Yep. Still is. In tiny little pieces."
"Good." Carol lets out a relieved sigh. "I'll cancel the curfew and call off the extra patrols. I can't say I approve of your methods…"
"Well, anything worth doing is worth doing right, Madam Mayor." I defended Damon's actions and smiled sweetly at Carol when she gave me a look of disdain. Damon smirked at Carol's reaction to what I said.
"I'll give a donation. You can name a wing after me, Mayor." Damon attempted to smooth things over, before putting his hand on the small of my back and escorting me towards a nearby waiting area. Jeremy was waiting for us there. He had a triumphant, shit-eating grin on his face as he took notice of Damon and came over.
"See? I told you I could be badass." Jeremy stated and I aimed a questioning look at Damon, which he ignored in favour of responding to Jeremy.
"Shhh, badasses don't say that." I nudge him in the ribs and point towards a thoroughly disgruntled Meredith who had just walked into the room. "Doc!" Damon greeted Meredith, and we walked over to her.
"Nice job." I complemented her.
"You told me the plan was to lead him to the storage room." Meredith was accusing.
"And we did! Congrats!" Damon agreed, brightly. Meredith looked at him exasperatedly and folded her arms over her chest.
"You both left out the part about blowing up a hospital! With patients who are sick and fragile, and who don't need things exploding down the hall from them!" She protested insistently.
"It was contained. Nobody got hurt." Damon stated, defensively. "Come on, buy us a farewell drink." Damon claps a friendly hand on her upper arm. "We'll talk about what the hell Klaus meant by 'the Five.'" Meredith brushes off Damon's arm and sighs in frustration.
"I doubt you're both going anywhere." She suspected, and I tended to agree with her, if Nik's reaction to Connor's invisible tattoo could be believed. He'd want to get to the crux of it. "I'm also not your new partner-in-vampire-crime. Fix things with Stefan. Don't let your pride get in the way." Meredith advised before walking away.
Mikaelson Mansion
Dusk
Damon drove me back to the Mansion, where I fully intended on interrogating Nik on what Stefan wanted. Damon pretty much bade me a hasty goodbye before speeding off in his car. It was obvious that what Meredith had said to him about trying to fix things with Stefan, and not let his pride get in the way, had given my best friend a lot to think about. Was practically pounced on by Nik, the very moment I let myself inside.
"Jesus, Nik!" I scolded him after I finished jumping ten feet into the air and regaining control over my own heart beating. "What did Stefan want?" I asked and Nik merely waved a dismissive hand.
"Nothing important, darling." He replied and I smirked.
"Translation: it was something to do with Elena?" I guessed and Nik scowled at me in annoyance, before grabbing my shoulders and turning me back around to leave. "Where are we going? It's getting late." I pointed out in confusion.
"All will be revealed in due course, love." Nik explained rather hastily and wrapped an arm around my waist as he blurred off through the woods without warning.
Connor's Trailer
Dusk
When my surroundings refocused after the side along blur with Nik to only he knew where, I realised we had arrived next to a very familiar silver trailer. I blinked in absolute confusion.
"Connor's trailer? What are we doing here? Damon and I already thoroughly checked it out." I told Nik who ignored me and opened the trailer door with a flourish.
"Ladies first." I frowned at him, but nevertheless went inside, only to freeze in my tracks when I saw a slightly injured Connor sitting inside.
He was glaring at me; probably overhearing what I said about the ransacking of his trailer. So, sue me. How was I to know he was still alive? I turned towards Nik to demand an explanation but was beaten to the punch by Connor himself. He attempts to get up and make a bid for freedom, but Nik simply shoves him back down on his couch with a simple hand to his chest.
"You saved me." Connor states the bloody obvious. Nik merely smiles pleasantly at him, while I watched them from the sidelines, feeling completely bewildered.
"Congratulations. You just became worth more to me alive than dead." Nik told him.
"He is?" I blurted out.
"I am?" Connor echoed. Nik doesn't give any further explanation than what he had just given. Which told me, it had something to do with his past. Connor looked at him both suspiciously and warily. "What-what did you mean when you said I was one of the Five?" Connor asked cautiously.
I must admit, I am curious also. Previously, a guy like Connor would've been deader than a doornail for having the audacity of even remotely threatening one of the Originals, never mind the Original Hybrid. How did Connor being a so-called member of this 'Five', make him so special and worth being saved? Nik raised an eyebrow at Connor's question.
"You don't know your own history?" Nik kneels next to him to look him directly in the eyes. "Let's just say, it's made you the most well-protected vampire hunter in town." He declared, and both Connor and I stared back at him disbelievingly.
Now I was intrigued to learn more about 'the Five'.
Mikaelson Mansion
Day
The next day, I waited in the study for Nik to return from the Grill. He wouldn't say why he was going there, but I figured if I was supposed to know Nik would've either taken me with him or told me straight out. So, I decided to occupy myself by doing some research of my own about the so called 'Brotherhood of the Five' Nik was going on about, ever since he learned from Damon of the weird symbol that had been chiselled into the handle of Connor's dagger and apparently on the wooden bullets our not-so-friendly neighbourhood vampire hunter has been so gung-ho shooting at members of my vampire family and friends.
I could've gotten this information directly from the horse's mouth, but Nik had sternly forbidden me from going to the room he had chained Connor in, unless he was in attendance. Something about Connor being dangerous even chained up as he was. I normally would've objected, reasoning that I could be of help; but something about the serious expression on Nik's face when he requested that I listen to him for once about this, caused me to hold my tongue. He obviously had good reasons why I should trust him on this.
But so far, nothing had come up in the books I had pulled down off Nik's shelves to study from, and I was beginning to become frustrated and disheartened. I let out a sigh, leaning my chin on my arms, as I lazily flipped another page in the book I was reading. I paused when I heard the front doors open then shut and looked up eagerly thinking Nik had returned from his mysterious errand. However, when he didn't come into the study; I became suspicious and abandoned the book, getting to my feet and walking to the study doors to investigate.
"Nik? Is that you?" I called out, peering out from the opened study door. No response. I frowned. "Bekah?" I tried again.
Still nothing. I stepped out completely from the study and moved to investigate further. Worst case scenario, Connor could've have somehow gotten himself free and it was him I heard opening and shutting the front doors in his bid for freedom. But somehow, I doubted it, as Nik trussed this guy up like a scarecrow, making it virtually impossible for him to escape. According to the stories Nik and his siblings had told me, holding somebody hostage wasn't exactly their first rodeo; and they would know by now how to prevent such a thing from happening.
"Hello, love." I turned and saw Nik walking towards me all smiles, from the direction of the front doors. I sagged with relief.
"Oh, Nik. It's you. Why didn't you answer me before?" I scolded him, gently. He looked at me strangely.
"I don't follow you, love. I only just got back now." He explained, and I froze where I stood feeling the blood rushing from my face. "Has something happened?"
"I'm not sure. I heard the front doors open and shut and I came out to investigate, thinking it was either you or Bekah." I reported, and the confused frown on Nik's face deepened.
"It couldn't have been Rebekah. I just saw her at the Grill just an hour ago." He insisted. "Seems like we have an intruder lurking about. Let's go and investigate, shall we?" Nik suggested, wrapping an arm about my shoulders, and made our way towards the room we had Connor held hostage in. He removed his arm to open the door to the room and stepped through. I quickly followed, and sure enough Connor was still chained up to a piece of wood inside, glaring menacingly at Nik the second my fiancé stepped into the room. Nik goes and stands next to him, then stiffens a little and looks annoyed.
"Looks like I'll have to beef up the hybrid security detail." Nik random speaks into thin air, and I jerk my head towards the shadows when Stefan suddenly steps out from them.
"I was gonna take him, but I figured you went through such trouble to truss him up in your red room of pain." Stefan quipped, and I raised an eyebrow at the Fifty Shades of Grey reference.
"It's from the inquisition. I thought it was a nice touch." Nik smirked, but the amusement didn't reach his eyes. Stefan jerked his head in Connor's direction.
"What'd you get out of him?" He asked, getting to the point of his intrusion.
"Not enough." Nik replied, frustrated. "He's mum about the Council fire and he's not saying anything about this greater evil we're all supposed to be shivering over." I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at Stefan.
"What brings you snooping?" I demanded. Stefan eyes me with disinterest.
"What's it to you?" He retorts, and Nik growls a little underneath his breath.
"I second her question, mate." Nik defends me, and Stefan rolls his eyes.
"Well, I can't say it in front of him. As I'm sure you've figured out, our friend here can't be compelled." Stefan discovered, and Nik nodded looking interestedly at Connor.
"You're full of mysteries, aren't you?"
"I told you; I don't know anything." Connor insists, and Nik grins nastily at him.
"Thankfully, I know plenty." He states, and I make an exasperated noise, drawing his attention.
"You mean I just wasted all my time looking through those books, when you knew all along?!" I bitched, and Nik chuckled affectionately at me.
"No research is a waste of time, sweetheart." He reassures me, and I sulk feeling a little resentful. Nik walks over and wraps an arm around my waist, walking us towards the door. He gestures for Stefan to follow. "Shall we?"
Stefan takes one more look at Connor before following. Nik shuts the doors to Connor's prison and turns back to Stefan, who was yet to tell us why he was invading our privacy. "So, what's with the home invasion?"
"Damon mentioned you knew something about this guy." Stefan replied. "I should've figured out that you were up to something when you healed Elena from the werewolf poison without asking for anything in return." Stefan added, and I looked at Nik with interest. He ignored me.
Elena was infected with werewolf venom?
"I was feeling benevolent." Nik insisted, nonchalantly. Stefan sneers, and for once I tended to agree with him.
"You're never benevolent." Stefan pointed out. "Who is this guy? What's the five?"
"You really think Nik's just gonna answer your questions, Stefan?" I piped up, earning his attention.
"It's a good thing I have nothing to do today, except get answers out of you." Stefan sits down and looks at Nik, who looks thoughtfully at him.
"Fine. You might actually be useful in persuading my sister to cooperate." Nik relented, and I frowned wondering what use Rebekah could be in terms of these 'Brotherhood of the Five'. Nik walks from the room and both Stefan and I follow him, all ears to what Nik was about to reveal.
"The brotherhood of the Five was a group of highly skilled vampire hunters. We crossed paths with them in 12th century Italy."
I smiled, immediately excited about learning something new about what transpired with my vampire family after my untimely demise during the 10th century.
A/N: More will be revealed in the next chapter. If you've seen the series, you'll already know what that is. Hope you'll stick around to read on. Cheers, see you next time and please review. Xx