Disclaimer: I only own my OCs

A/N: In this chapter, we get a lot of twin time :) which I know you all love haha, but we also get some Dalexa moments too, not even I can deny you that ;) I also wanted to show that despite everything, including arguments, our girls will always remain friends.

XXX

For once, I woke up before Damon.

The sun was peaking around the edges of the curtains, indicating that I was probably late for school. Not that I cared. I was done with that kind of stuff, just going through the motions for the sake of my loved ones. No, I wanted to go and explore the world. With the man beside me.

I was curled up against Damon's chest, his chin resting on the top of my head. We hadn't fallen asleep until the early hours of the morning, having enjoyed the wonders of vampire stamina. And even when we had fallen asleep, my boyfriend hadn't relinquished his grip on me. I had fallen asleep in a position similar to the one that I was in now.

I was tracing patterns on Damon's chest, enjoying the feel of his muscles under my hand, when a warm one covered mine. I shifted my head back to look my boyfriend in the eye. He was staring down at me, a smile on his face. One that I immediately returned, "I didn't wake you, did I?"

Damon's hand ran down my bare back before settling on my ass as he shook his head, "No, you didn't wake me. I see that you're ditching school again."

"Hm, just the morning," I lifted myself up onto my elbows, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "Figured I would slowly decrease my attendance. Might make it less noticeable when I just stop going."

"I don't think that you'll be that lucky," my boyfriend chuckled, one hand coming up to cup my face. "Someone will notice."

"That's what you think," I smirked lazily, resting more of my weight against his chest. I could feel his erection against my thigh and I slowly stroked my fingers down his chest towards it. "I'm slier than you realise."

"Only in that pretty little head of yours," Damon smirked back, shooting down to grab my hand. With his speed, he flipped us over, so that he was hovering over me. I giggled as his head dipped down, kissing me, long and slow. I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close to me. The feel of his skin against my sensitive nipples had me shivering in pleasure.

Damon's lips moved to my neck, as his fingers slowly slid down my body. I tilted my head back, giving him better access. I felt Damon chuckle against my skin as I did so. If I didn't love the feel of his lips against my skin, I would be protesting his rudeness. I made a mental note to tell him off for it later, before all coherent thought left my mind.

Clever fingers brushed against my clit, before a strong thumb settled over it, rubbing firm circles. I let out a low moan at the pressure, at the sparks of pleasure that shot through my body. I dug my fingers into Damon's back as his fingers dipped inside me, sighing out his name in satisfaction. He knew exactly what spots to hit, where to rub his fingers, the pressure to put on my sensitive nub.

As he continued to tease me, slowly taking me to that pleasurable edge, his mouth started to move down my body. I gripped the back of his head, fingers curling into his hair, as Damon's warm mouth settled over one of my nipples. He sucked and flicked it with his tongue, the dual sensations driving me crazy. I didn't know what to focus on more. His fingers or his mouth.

Luckily, I didn't have to worry about choosing for long.

Once he had lavished enough attention on my nipples, Damon's mouth moved further south. His tongue replaced his thumb on my clit, flicking it lightly before sucking. And my moans turned louder. It was probably a good thing that the house was empty, because I was not able to keep quiet.

Damon quickly took me to the edge, keeping there long enough for me to start begging for me. And my boyfriend wasn't one to disappoint. I chanted out his name as I fell over the edge, my eyes rolling back. And Damon kept his movements going, drawing out the pleasure until I didn't know which way was up. Just as it was getting too much, his mouth and fingers disappeared.

Strong lips pressed against mine and I opened my mouth, letting his tongue swipe in. I could taste myself on his tongue as he lined up, hard cock pressing against my entrance. I let my legs fall open even wider, giving him plenty of room to slowly slip inside me. I was so sensitive that just the feel of Damon brushing against me had me moaning in pleasure. It was almost too much. But I didn't want him to stop. I wrapped my legs around his hips, urging him to keep moving.

Damon sucked on my neck as his hips thrusted, setting a strong pace. My nails dug into his shoulders as I held on, my head tilted back. The heels of my feet dug into his ass as I panted out Damon's name. I was getting close again, just about ready to fall back off that ledge. I just need something more, and Damon knew exactly what that was. I felt his fangs brush against my neck before they sank in. I let out my loudest moan yet as I fell over the edge into oblivion.

Damon followed not long after, fingers digging into my ass as his hips thrusted erratically. Once he was done, he carefully retracted his fangs, moving his head to look me in the eye. He still had his fangs out, the veins beneath his eyes pulsing as his lips were stained with my blood. And he had never looked more gorgeous.

"How about I ditch school completely and we just spend the day in bed together?" I purred, wiggling my eyebrows. And Damon, bless him, didn't put up much of a fight.

XXX

Unfortunately, a phone call from my sister had scuppered that plan. Elena had berated me for being late to school and had said that if I didn't make an appearance, then she would come to the Boarding House during lunch and drag me to school. I knew that she was serious. Even if she didn't actually drag me, she could just stick Jenna on me. Right now, more so than usual, I couldn't deny my aunt anything. All she had to do was look at me and I would cave in to her demands. So with a sigh, I told her that I would get ready and meet her as soon as I could.

Of course, that didn't mean that I couldn't dawdle. And I intended on doing just that. After all, I couldn't go into school without showering. And if I wasn't alone in the shower, well, that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world…

True to form, Damon was unable to let me shower alone. I had just finished washing the conditioner out of my hair when I felt a body press up against me. I rolled my eyes as Damon's hands settled on my hips, chin resting on my shoulder.

"You're going to get me into trouble," I sing-songed, but I didn't try moving away. I knew exactly what I was doing when I started showering in front of him, showing off all my best angles. There was only so long that my boyfriend would be able to resist. Not that I wanted him to.

"You're already in trouble," Damon purred into my ear, his erection pressing against my ass. "I'm just taking advantage of the situation."

"Well, you wouldn't be you if you didn't," I laughed, turning around in his arms. Water rained down upon us as I reached down to gently grab his hard cock. The water provided plenty of lubrication as I slowly pumped up and down, thumb occasionally teasing the head. Damon let out a groan at my movements, head slumping down to rest on my shoulder. I smirked into his wet hair as I kept my movements slow. I knew that he would take control soon, but for now, I could tease him as much as I wanted. And I really wanted to. Having Damon under my control like this was a novelty, one that I didn't get to enjoy often.

I knew when he had reached his limit, as he let out a growl. Damon spun me around, my hands resting against the cool tiles of the wall, supporting me as he gripped my hips. Strong fingers held me in place as his cock lined up against my entrance. I was already wet from earlier, the water from the shower adding to it. Warm water rained down on us, hitting my back as Damon slowly moved his hips forward. I groaned at the stretch that followed, head hanging low at the feeling of being slowly filled up. I knew that he would go slow, that he would torment me, in revenge for my own earlier teasing. But I didn't mind… too much.

My boyfriend proved me right as he slowly rocked back and forth, every inch of his cock dragging against me as he slid out so just the head was inside me, before pushing back in. It was infuriating and intoxicating and enough to make me moan. Occasionally, his finger would dart forward, brushing against that sensitive enough, providing enough pleasure to make me shiver. But it didn't stay there. He was determined to drive me to insanity with the pleasure that he was causing. And I almost didn't care if I did go insane from it.

When it all became too much, a pleasurably painful burning sensation spreading throughout my body, sparks of pleasure so intense that my fingers dug into the tiles, I begged, my voice husky from the moans that didn't stop, "Day, please, I need more."

"What do you need, baby?" I could hear the smirk in his voice as he slowly sped up. God, the man's levels of control were insane. How he was able to keep the pace that he had for so long was insane. And I envied those levels of control.

"God, just fuck me," I groaned, my legs shaking. It was only Damon's strong grip that kept me on my feet.

"As you wish," he purred before snapping his hips forward, filling me completely. I let out a high-pitched moan at the feeling, my eyes rolling back. He set a brutal pace and all I could do was hang on, moaning and panting, feeling like I was being taken apart.

After all of teasing that had come before, it didn't take long for me to cum. My legs shook and I just chanted my boyfriend's name. Damon followed not long after, groaning my name into my wet back. When he was ready, he slowly eased me to the ground. I slumped to the side, laying down, the tiles cool against my hot skin.

"You alright there, Ally?" Damon smirked as he crouched down next to me. I opened my eyes and looked up at him, rolling my eyes at the satisfied look in his eyes.

"Remind me why I love you," I grumbled dramatically, enjoying the feel of the water on my skin. My wet hair flared out around my face, sticking to the tiles beneath me. I knew that I wouldn't have time to dry it properly before I left for school. But in that moment, I really didn't care.

"Because I'm the one that can reduce you to this," my boyfriend pointed out, tapping my stomach. I paused before sighing and nodding.

"Damn straight you are," I tried to keep a straight face, but the satisfied look on his face soon had me giggling. "Now be a dear and help me finish showering. Because I don't know if my legs will support me right now."

Damn, why did that satisfied look do so much to me?

XXX

I was right when I suspected that I wouldn't get time to properly dry my hair. I managed to give it a quick dry, enough that it didn't look wet. But I knew that my sister would immediately pick up on it. And she would know the reason why I didn't have time to dry it properly. Damn, I would have to put up with that knowing look all day. Ah well, it was definitely worth it.

I threw on a floral wrap-around dress. It showed enough cleavage that Damon couldn't keep his hands off of me. But only when I leant forward. It was still suitable for school. Just about. I was just lucky that I didn't need to find something to cover the hickeys that would have been decorating my neck if I was still human. Because from the way my boyfriend had been at my neck, there definitely would have been a tonne.

"Don't suppose there's any chance of me persuading you to take that dress off and to get back into my bed?" Damon hummed, raising an eyebrow before glancing me up and down. I rolled my eyes as I slipped on my fancy new leather jacket. It was a present from Damon, given to me during our time in Alexandria. Lol, I loved the fact that I went to a city that was named after me. I hadn't worn it yet, which was probably a good thing considering I had been tortured several times. Wouldn't want to ruin my lovely leather jacket, that made me look badass.

"Protect me from Elena's wrath and I might consider it," I laughed, making my way down the stairs. I knew better than to look back at my boyfriend, as I would definitely just give up and risk my sister's anger. And that wouldn't be good for anyone.

"Please, I'm not scared of your sister," my boyfriend scoffed, shaking his head as he darted in front of me. I paused on the bottom step, raising an eyebrow and placing my hands on my hips.

"We both know that that is total bullshit," I snorted, bopping him on the nose. "Everyone is scared of Ellie when she gets wrathful. And I won't risk that unless I have a living shield."

"I can lend you Stefan for that," Damon shrugged, wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me from the stairs. I wrapped mine around his neck, smiling into his kiss.

"Well, it would work," I mused as he reluctantly putting me down, but he kept his arms wrapped around me. "Ellie is still pissed at him. So he would be a good target for her anger while we find a way to lock your bedroom door."

"At what point do we choose sides?" my boyfriend smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Because after Stefan's stunt with Jeremy, I would totally choose Elena's."

"Welcome to the superior side," I laughed, rolling my eyes. "That time has already started, Caroline took Stefan's, so I guess it's only fair that we take you in return."

"Fair's fair," Damon laughed, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "I'm surprised that you haven't followed through on your numerous threats to break Stefan if he broke your twin's heart."

"Pfft, I'm not stupid," I rolled my eyes dramatically. "I was always going to wait until I had vampire backup. Rebekah would have been my previous choice, since she is desperate to get back on my good side. But you'll do."

"Thanks," my boyfriend rolled his eyes and I giggled.

"You're welcome."

"Come on, let's get you to school before your sister hunts my ass down and makes me regret choosing her side."

"Ugh," I pouted. "Can we go back to when you just wanted to keep me in your bed? That would be a lot more fun."

"Hmm, only good girls get to spend the day in my bed," Damon purred into my ear, kissing the skin under my ear before stepping away from me. "Make it up to me and I might consider it."

"Rude," I rolled my eyes, flouncing over to the front door and opening it. I placed a hand on my hip as I turned around, facing my boyfriend. "I was going to give you a blow job before I left. But now I don't think I will."

Damon's smirk deepened as someone cleared their throat behind me. I winced and closed my eyes, muttering curses under my breath. I should have known that someone would be behind me. Because why wouldn't they be? FML.

I opened my eyes and slowly turned around, wincing again as I saw Stefan standing there. I cleared my throat, my voice annoying high-pitched, as I stuttered out, "Stef! Hey! How's it going, bro? I hope that your breakup with my sister won't make things weird between us. Cos I totally did not mean to be the reason why she dumped you. That was just unfortunate on my part. Oh god, I need to shut up. Uh, I'll see you at school!"

With a quick goodbye in Damon's direction, I bolted out of the house. Behind me, I could hear my boyfriend laughing and I cursed him. He would have seen Stefan; he would have been able to warn me. I bet that it was revenge for the Rebekah comment. Damn him.

I reached the road and glanced around. I didn't have a car to drive in with and I couldn't borrow Damon's, since I hadn't taken my keys with me. It would be far too awkward to go and ask Stefan for a ride in. So, really, my only option was to speed in. It wasn't the worst option. I mean, my hair was already in a messy bun. Not like it could get any worse.

So with a sigh, I quickly sped off, heading in the direction of the school. It was a good thing that I moved with a blur, because speeding in a flowy dress really wasn't the smartest idea that I had ever had. But hey, it got me to school. Which, as much I didn't want to be there, it did save me from my twin's wrath and aunt's guilt.

XXX

Damon's POV

"So, brother," I closed the door behind Stefan as he walked in. "What can I do for you?"

I turned to face him, a smirk still on my face, Alexa's adorable blush still on my mind. I probably should have warned her that Stefan was right behind her, but I loved how adorable she got when embarrassed. My girl always ended up rambling, digging herself deeper. I would make it up to her later, once I was able to hide my amusement.

My brother sighed, his favourite frowny face fixed firmly upon his face, "We should probably sit down."

Well, that couldn't be a good sign. When my brother suggested that you sat down, it was never good. And we had just gotten rid of Connor and the subsequent hunter's curse, we were due some downtime. And I had the feeling that Stefan's next words would ruin all of that. So, I shook my head sharply, "Not until you tell me what's going on."

"I was speaking with Caroline last night," he spoke hesitantly, sounding as though he didn't really want to speak those words. "And… we think that there is something wrong with the twins."

"You mean other than them no longer thinking that the sun shines out your ass," I snorted, rolling my eyes. As a pained expression form on Stefan's face, I turned my back and walked over to the alcohol table. As I poured myself a large bourbon, I sighed. I should have just taken Alexa back up to my bed. It would have been a lot more enjoyable than having this conversation with my brother.

"I'm being serious, Damon," Saint Stefan frowned and I rolled my eyes. "Ever since she beat the transition, Elena's changed. She's become sharper, harder."

"That was happening before then," I pointed out, moving to sit down on the sofa. Stefan moved so that he was sitting opposite me, a pained expression on his face again. "She started to toughen up while you were on your little humanityless, ripper bender. You're just pissed that she dumped you because you refuse to accept Alexa."

"It's not just that," my brother argued, shaking his head. "Whenever one of them feels strongly about something, the other has a headache. It pains them. And includes pain. Whenever Alexa has gotten hurt, Elena has experienced a phantom pain. Something is wrong."

I narrowed my eyes at him as I considered his words. I knew that Alexa had mentioned headaches, every now and then. She had just chalked them up to hunger pains, and so had I. Elena hadn't mentioned any such headaches to me, and I doubt that she had done so to my girl. The older twin had always been determined to protect the younger from her feelings, especially her pain.

"Why are you only suspecting this now?" I countered, my body tense. "You didn't think that anything was wrong until Elena dumped your ass. You never cared before then about any mysterious headaches."

"I was still putting it all together," my brother deflected, avoiding the accusation hidden in my words. That he only thought that something was wrong because Elena wasn't hopelessly in love with him anymore. What he didn't realise was that the older twin had changed while he had been on human blood. Yes, she had tried to make it work again. But the girl had changed over those few months and right now, her priority was making sure that her family got through this difficult time okay. And juggling a painful relationship with my brother would only make that difficult.

"Okay, say that you're right, and that something is wrong," I rolled my eyes as I repeated his words. "What do you think it is? Other than your inability to accept the truth."

"The bond that Esther created between the twins," Stefan replied instantly, probably wanting to avoid any more pointed barbs about his failed relationship.

"The one that got Alexa killed," I nodded, cursing the damn thing and the damn witch that created it. She was lucky that my girl had killed her, otherwise I would have made it a lot more painful.

"What if, when one twin remained human while the other turned into a vampire, it got damaged?" my brother suggested, frowning deeply. "That would explain the pain that is being caused. Elena becoming human again probably damaged it further."

"Say you are right, what would you do about it?" I raised an eyebrow, making a mental note to talk to Alexa about her headaches. If she remembered when she had them, then we might be able to work out what was happening to Elena at the time. And thus, if my brother's outlandish theory could be possible. "Elena won't turn into a vampire and Alexa won't be cured of being one."

"If we can confirm that the bond has been damaged, then a witch should be able to help us work out how to break it," Stefan sighed, shaking his head. "I would speak to Bonnie, but she's not answering my calls right now."

"Well," I smirked slightly, downing my drink. "The time to take sides has started. The little witch has probably taken Elena's. Which, you know, good for her since blondie seems to have taken yours."

My brother winced at my accusing words, "Caroline hasn't taken my side. She's just worried about her friend."

"Oh please," I scoffed, pushing myself to my feet. "That girl knows that she can't have you herself, but she can live out that relationship through Elena. She needs to get over herself and be a better friend. Before she finds herself losing them."

"Hey, that's not fair on Caroline," Stefan frowned, standing up and shaking his head at me.

"And her being a bitch to Alexa isn't fair either," I shrugged, walking past him. I had to go and see Alexa, and find out more about those headaches of hers. I hoped that my brother wasn't right, because breaking Esther's bond would not be easy. And I couldn't let my girl live in pain, especially when it affected her sister.

XXX

Alexa's POV

I arrived at school to find Elena, Bonnie and Caroline crowded around my locker. I sighed and rolled my eyes before walking over to them. I knew that my sister was there to make sure that I actually got to school. But the other two were a surprise. Although a pleasant one.

"Ladies," I gave them a nod before gently nudging my twin out of the way. I dumped my bag into my locker, grabbing my books before closing it. I turned around to see three sets of worried eyes staring back at me. I frowned, glancing between them, "What?"

"We, uh," Bonnie, sweet Bonnie, glanced at the other two before smiling weakly. "We just wanted to make sure that everything was okay."

"Everything's fine, Bon," I smiled back, reaching out to pat her shoulder. "No need to worry."

"It's just that Elena mentioned that you had to move out of your home to stay away from Jeremy," my friend winced, looking as though she regretted reminding me about that particular shitfest of a situation. It wasn't nice thinking about it, but I couldn't blame Bon for checking in on me.

"Well, that part does suck," I conceded with a sigh and a shrug, shuffling over to lean against my sister. "Els, how is it at home?"

"Quiet," she teased gently, giving me a nudge before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Matt moved in not long after you left. He's going to help keep all of the hunter stuff under control, while I look after Jenna."

I nodded, taking the silent hint. Someone needed to look after our pregnant aunt. And right now, Ellie was the only one who could do so. Jeremy didn't know about the baby yet, and for now, it would stay that way. The kid needed to focus on controlling his hunter instincts. Until we could find a way to get rid of them.

"Well, at least I know that you are all okay," I pressed a sloppy kiss to my twin's cheek, enjoying the dramatic huff that I got. But she didn't move away. I knew that my sister would be clingy for a while, until she got used to the fact that I wasn't living under the same roof as her for the foreseeable future. But I didn't mind too much. It was actually really sweet.

"But are you?" Caroline looked at me, eyebrow raised as she stared at my messy hair. "Because, Alexa, your hair looks a mess."

"I had to speed myself in," I rolled my eyes as Ellie started trying to fix my hair. She smoothed it down, carefully taking out my messy bun. Soft fingers ran through my hair, trying to neaten it out. It was only her years of practice that had it looking somewhat decent. "And that does not do wonders for the hair."

"You're telling me," my sister muttered, rolling her eyes at the state of my hair, before she raised her voice. "Look, do either of you have plans for tonight? I think we're all in desperate need of some girl talk."

"Eh, I can probably ditch Damon for you lot," I shrugged with a smile. "Gives me more time to think of a revenge plan. Hey, why don't we have it at the Boarding House? It has a lot more booze than any of our houses."

"I'm in," Bonnie smiled widely, nodding happily. "Shane taught me some small spells that I've been wanting to try."

"Oh, creepy professor guy is just Shane now," Caroline nudged the witch, rolling her eyes.

"He's not creepy," Bon shook her head, but I could tell that she was slightly put out by the blonde's words. And I couldn't blame her. Our friend must have still been in a bitchy mood from yesterday, as she was certainly getting the claws out.

"We're not judging," my sister was quick to say, giving Bonnie a soft smile.

I nodded, reaching out to bop her nose, "We're just glad that you're happy, Bon-Bon."

The smile on our friend's face quickly disappeared when Caroline snorted, "I am."

"Not cool, Care," I rolled my eyes at her while my twin focused on reassuring our friend.

"Don't listen to her," Ellie was quick to say, her voice soft. "So, girl's night? Alexa can help us raid the Salvatore wine cellar."

"And I know where Damon keeps all the good vintages," I added with a teasing smile, reaching out to draw Bonnie under my other arm. "Trust me, I can make this a real party."

"Well, if anyone can, Lexa, it's you," Elena laughed and I rolled my eyes at her.

"If you aren't careful, then I'll give you the cheap ones," I tapped her forehead, before whispering loudly to Bonnie. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that you get all the good bottles."

"You're too kind, Alexa," my witchy friend shook her head, but she looked a lot happier than she did earlier. "And Care, since I am a lovely person, I'll even let you pick the food."

"What's the catch?" the blonde raised an eyebrow at me.

"What makes you think that there is a catch?" I pouted at the insinuation.

"Because, Alexa, you never let anyone pick the food," Caroline laughed at me, her gaze flickering down to the arm that I had wrapped around Bonnie. "Not unless you want someone to owe you something."

"Well," I sniffed dramatically, throwing my head back. "If that's gonna be your attitude, then I'll take it away from you."

"No, no," the blonde quickly protested, a smile on her face as she shook her head. "I'd be delighted to pick the food for the night."

"Good," I laughed, before a familiar face over her shoulder caught my eye. "Gotta go, ladies. See ya later."

I slipped away from the girls and followed Damon through the crowd and into the empty classroom. What was he doing here? God, I hoped that nothing was wrong. The last thing that I wanted was more drama, beyond the friend kind.

XXX

I sat on the desk, Damon standing between my legs, as he told me what Stefan had told him. That he thought that the bond that Esther had created between me and Elena had become damaged, by Elena reversing her transition. And that the damage was causing us pain. He thought that whenever one of us felt strongly about something, that emotion caused the other to have a headache. It was… ridiculous. I mean, we already knew the consequences of Ellie reversing the transition, she couldn't have children. There couldn't be anything else.

"He can't be serious," I whispered once Damon had finished speaking. I looked up at him with wide eyes. "I mean, Ellie can't have kids. That's our consequence for this. The bond being damaged? That has to be nonsense. The bond was broken when we died."

"I don't know, Ally," my boyfriend sighed, reaching up to cup my face. He leant down, resting his forehead against mine. "Think back to when you had your headaches. What was Elena up to?"

"I, uh," I started to speak before pausing, and thinking deeply. "The other day, when Elena broke up with Stefan… I think I had one then. And I definitely had one the day of Rebekah's party. My sister was furious with the Original Sister, like all day. And I could feel it. I just thought that I was hungry."

I felt Damon wince, and I knew why. It was little bit of proof for Stefan's theory. It could just be coincidences, but I had learnt that in this town, there was no such thing as a coincidence. Because everyone's luck was just that shit. And this town was cursed. Honestly, it made leaving sound so much better.

"It could be nothing, just bad timing," Damon murmured, thumbs stroking my cheeks. "But I'll look into it. I know of a witch down in New Orleans, she specialised in magical bonds. She should know about this one and how we can break it, if Stefan is right that it has been damaged."

"When did you meet her?"

"Back in the 1940s, but she had a daughter. The family line would have continued and hopefully, that knowledge too."

"Witches do hate it when knowledge is lost, so it does make sense that they would have passed it down," I agreed before raising an eyebrow, "Why were you hanging around with witches back in the 40s?"

"I had a very pesky sirebond to deal with," my boyfriend rolled his eyes, an annoyed look on his face as he remembered the decade. "The witch helped me break it."

"That's why you recognised Tyler's," I nodded before Damon tucked my head under his chin. I wrapped my arms around him, clutching onto the back of his top. My boyfriend agreed the point with a hum, thumb gently stroking the back of my neck. We were silent for a few minutes, both of us deep in thought. Stefan's theory ruined everything. If our emotions caused the other twin pain, then what would we do? Was there anything that could stop it? eventually, I sighed, "This is all my fault. I should never have let Finn take my blood so easily. I should have put up more of a fight."

"While you are a badass, baby," Damon murmured into my hair. "Not even you can take on an Original without a dagger. This isn't your fault. Esther created the bond, she's the one to blame here."

"It's just so unfair," I whispered into my boyfriend's chest. "Things were just getting good again. And now we have this to deal with."

"Hopefully my brother is wrong. But on the off chance that he is right, there might be an easy fix. Witches' spells always have a loophole. A bond like this can be broken."

"I just worry what would need to be done to break it," I admitted softly, closing my eyes. "Esther probably used dark magic to do this, I don't know if any other witch would use that magic to help some strangers. Especially when one of them is a vampire."

"I'll make them help," there was a dark edge to Damon's voice as he held me tighter. "I won't let this ruin your life, Ally. You and Elena will be fine. And that damn bond will be broken."

"Speaking of my sister, does Elena know about this?"

"No, Stefan was discussing it with Caroline. But as far as I am aware, Elena doesn't know anything about it."

"I'll keep it that way. I don't want to worry her, just in case he is wrong. If I do have to tell her, I want to be able to give her hope."

"And I'll get that hope for you," my boyfriend promised. "Are you going to be alright if I go today?"

"I'll be fine," I gave him a squeeze. "We've made plans to have a girl's night, tonight. So I'll be plenty distracted."

"You're going to decimate my wine collection, aren't you?" Damon sighed dramatically, drawing a small laugh from me.

"Yep, and your champagne collection," I titled my head back to give him a smile. "Getting absolutely hammered sounds good right about now."

"Get as drunk as you want, Alexa," my boyfriend smiled before kissing my forehead. "I'll take Stefan with me to New Orleans, that way he won't bother you either."

"That leaves me with just Caroline. Yeah, that works. She won't say anything, Stefan will make her promise not to. Sounds like a plan."

"I'll make this better, Ally, I promise. You don't have to worry about anything."

"I know you will, Day," I smiled softly, pressing a kiss to his lips. "You always make everything better."

The soft look in his eyes melted my heart. I knew that no matter how bad things got, my boyfriend would fight to make things better for me. And I would always repay that favour. He did so much for me and for that town. It was only fair that someone looked out for him in return.

XXX

Once school had finished, Elena came back to the Boarding House with me. Our friends would arrive later, once they had gathered their sleepover kits. Elena already had stuff at the Salvatore home, so she was ready to go. I didn't mind that the others weren't here yet. It was nice to spend some time with just my sister. Jenna had invited Meredith over to spend the night, while Jeremy and Matt were out with Jamie.

We were in the basement, grabbing bottles of wine, when my twin asked, "How are you doing? I know that you won't give an honest answer in front of the other two. But you can with me."

"I guess I'm dealing with it all a lot better than I thought that I would be," I sighed, shrugging as I turned to face my sister, a bottle in each hand. "Maybe it has helped that Damon has been keeping me busy? But I don't feel like I'll break down crying."

"You're doing better than I am then," Ellie gave a wry smile, shaking her head. "I couldn't sleep last night, knowing that you weren't in the house with me. It's different to before, because I don't know when you'll be home."

"Aw, Els," I placed the bottles to the side and wrapped an arm around my sister, pulling her close to me. I rested my head against hers. "You know you can call me at any time, right? I'll always have time for you, sis."

"I know," she smiled softly, giving me a smile. "I guess its just made it obvious as to how much has changed. And in such a short amount of time."

I nodded, "It was only last year that we met the Salvatore's. And now I'm a vampire and Jeremy is a magical hunter. You're a doppelganger." I paused before wrinkling my nose, "I wonder what Jenna's baby could end up being. I mean, it won't have Gilbert blood, which seems to be cursed. But let's be real, Ric doesn't exactly have much luck either."

"I think Jenna is just hoping that it will be okay, anything else she will take at this point."

"Yeah, I suppose that's true," I conceded with a sigh. "I'll tell you what though, that kid is going to be the most protected kid in the whole world. No one is gonna be able to get anywhere near it."

"After what happened to Ric, I think that's the only thing keeping Jenna going. She still cries for him a night. She won't admit it to me, but I know that she does."

I winced at my twin's words. That made the guilt over keeping my secret even worse. I wanted so desperately to tell my aunt that we could bring Ric back. But I worried what that hope would do to her if I failed. I knew that Bonnie was getting her magic back, but it was different to what she was doing before. Would she still be able to do the spell to get Ric back into his body? And even if she did, he would still be a vampire. Would be even be able to be around Jenna and the baby? There were so many maybes, and that was why I didn't want to tell anyone about the dirty little secret.

"Damn, I might need to invite her over for a sleepover too," I muttered, shaking my head. "That might take her mind off of what happened for a while."

"If I wasn't using this girls' night to fix the bond between you and Caroline, then I would have been tempted to invite her over. But she doesn't need to be involved in that."

"Fix the bond?" I raised an eyebrow. "Damn, I should have known that you would have ulterior motives."

"It needs doing, Lexa," my sister rolled her eyes at me. "Things are off between you two, and until its fixed, you'll keep having disagreements, like you did yesterday."

"It never reached the disagreement stage," I muttered petulantly, crossing my arms. "I walked away before it could."

"Okay, you didn't fight, but it came close. You two just need to air out your issues."

"Like the fact that I killed her dad?" I sighed, shaking my head. "That won't be easy."

"She doesn't blame you, Lexa," my twin's voice was soft as she urged me to look at her. "She knows that it wasn't your fault. You just need to hear that. And then you two will be okay. Right now, you're avoiding her and its getting in her head. And then, in typical Caroline fashion, she's lashing out."

"Yeah, I know," I scuffed my foot on the ground. "I do need to talk to her. It's just… it's hard. I still blame myself for letting my evil side get so much power. I spent so long pretending that nothing was wrong with me. If I had just told someone, then maybe I could have been helped sooner. And Care's dad wouldn't have died."

"And I'll keep telling you that it isn't your fault," Ellie had a patient smile on her face. "For as long as you need me too."

"Yeah, I know you will," I smiled back at her before rolling my eyes. "Ugh, damn you for getting all soppy. This was supposed to be a fun night."

"It can still be fun while acknowledging and embracing our emotions," Elena laughed, tapping my forehead. "Honestly, you can't ruin away from them all the time."

"Watch me," I winked, before speeding out the basement. Behind me, I could hear my sister shout my name with a laugh. I knew that I would have to go back down there, to help her with bottles. But it was fun to use my new vampire abilities to get my twin to laugh. After the rocky start that we had had, courtesy of my sister's guilt complex, it was relief that we could do that now.

XXX

Once our girlies arrived, it didn't take long for the booze to be brought out. I placed one of the crates down on the coffee table in the parlour, leaving the others on the dining table, before picking up one of the bottles.

"Els, my dear, you get the first one," I beamed at my sister, passing her one of the bottles. We had decided to start with the champagne, it was a particularly good date and brand. At least, that's what Damon had told me when I had called him. He had grumbled dramatically when I had told him that we were going to have it, but I knew that he didn't mind too much. "Bon-Bon." I passed her the next one before winking at the blonde, "Last but by no means least, Care-Bear."

"Thank you," she laughed before examining the label. "Wow, Damon let you have the good stuff."

"Of course he did," I smirked, wiggling my eyebrows. "I have him wrapped around my little finger."

"He would do anything for you," Bonnie agreed, rolling her eyes as she popped open her bottle. "Including letting you drink his most expensive vintages."

"Yep," I laughed. "Does the phrase happy wife, happy life apply in these circumstances? Or am I using it wrong?"

"Is marriage on the cards for you two then?" Caroline asked, exchanging a glance with Elena.

I shrugged as I flopped back onto the sofa, opening my own bottle, "Care, I have no idea. I'm probably a bit too young to be thinking of that. I mean, I wouldn't have even considered properly moving in with him yet if it wasn't for Jeremy's delightful little hunter's instincts."

"Speaking of," my sister spoke up, looking at Bonnie. "Jer said that he and Matt were out with Jamie tonight. How is he settling into town?"

"It's been a bit hard for him," the witch sighed. "But it helps that the boys are making an effort to settle him in. He's been spending a lot of time with them."

"Let us know if there is anything that we can do to help as well," I gave her a smile as she glanced over at me. "He's a sweet kid, I don't want him to feel left out."

"I don't think he would mind being left out of the supernatural drama," Bonnie laughed slightly, shaking her head. "But I'll make sure to keep you involved. I'm surprised that Damon hasn't said anything to you. Jamie told me that he was speaking to him earlier in the day."

"Uh, Damon has been a bit distracted today," I resisted the urge to glance over at my sister. Because she was part of the reason for the distraction. We needed more information about the potential damaged bond, but we couldn't let Ellie know that something was wrong. I was surprised that Day had spoken to Jamie, but considering he had lived with a witch, it made sense.

"So, where is my least favourite Salvatore?" Caroline piped up, glancing around the room. It was pretty obvious that Damon wasn't here. Because he definitely would have made an appearance by now. He never missed an opportunity to tease the two in front of me.

"He's out with Stefan," I shrugged, swinging my feet over to the place them on Elena's lap as I dug out my phone. "He'll be gone all night, so you don't need to worry about him appearing during truth or dare."

"Truth or dare?" Ellie groaned, rolling her eyes at me. "What are we, 12?"

"Oh come on, Els, it'll be fun," I laughed, prodding her thigh with my toes. "What's wrong? Have a few dirty secrets that you don't want us to know about?"

My twin gave me a look, "If you make me play it, then I will make you regret it, Lexa. After all, the walls at home aren't the thickest and you aren't the quietest."

Luckily, before I could throttle my sister for embarrassing me, because damn, I was close, Bonnie interrupted us with a laugh, "Okay, new girls' night rule: no truth or date, yeah? Plus, why play games when we have this?" She pulled a plastic bag out of her bag. It was full of what looked like black herbs. I mean, I didn't want to say that it was weed. But I also didn't want to say that it wasn't.

"Is that stoner tea?!" Care exclaimed, looking at our witchy friend with surprise.

Bonnie shrugged uncomfortably as she corrected her, "It's spirit tea. It opens up your chi, or whatever." When the blonde didn't look convinced by her words, Bon rolled her eyes. "Come on, it's not drugs! Shane is helping me do natural magic without having to access the spirits." Caroline hummed, clearly judging our friend. The witch must have sensed that as she said, her voice painfully even, "Don't judge."

The blonde looked at her, getting a straight-faced expression in return, and groaned dramatically, looking between us all, "Okay, fine! I hereby vow not to be judgemental for the rest of the evening! Even if you are potentially ruining your life as I stand idly by, it's your choice."

"Just think, Care," I teased gently, letting Elena pull me to my feet. "You'll still get to say I told you so after. You've just got to bide your time."

"Thanks for pointing that out, Lexa," my twin rolled her eyes at me. "Now, we came here to have fun. So let's party!"

The other two agreed with a laugh, standing up. We held out bottles in the middle, clinking them all together. I glanced around the three lovely ladies with me and winked, "The first one to get drunk enough to drunk dial someone loses."

"Your new tolerance doesn't make that fair, Lexa," Ellie laughed, shaking her head. But she accepted the dare, as did the others. And it was time to let lose and have fun. After all, we had definitely earned it.

XXX

Once enough champagne had been downed, the music was turned up. It was a playlist that Caroline had put together, full of pop songs and dance tunes. It was a favourite of ours once we were in the mood to dance. We made full use of the fancy sound system that one of the Salvatore brothers had installed. Music blared out across the room and I could feel it pounding in my bones.

The humans were taking it easy with their champagne, knowing that they couldn't drink as much as me and Caroline. Of course, I teased them for it, in between chugging it straight from the bottle. Elena had gotten glasses out, but it just slowed me down. I knew that I could get through a few bottles before it truly got to me. And I fully intended on making the most of my new tolerance.

I spun Ellie around, enjoying the sound of her giggling. My hands settled on her waist as we bopped to the music. Care and Bon danced around us, mimicking a catwalk with the way they moved. Every now and then, I could spy a phone in the witch's hand. The sneaky thing was recording all of this. But I didn't mind. We had to record and enjoy these moments when they came along. Because with the lives that we led, they didn't come along very often. I couldn't even remember the last time that we had a girls night like this. It was definitely before my transition.

When my twin start tapping my forehead, giggling in a way that meant that she was definitely tipsy, I rolled my eyes and spun her to the side. She fell on the sofa with a 'oof', snorting into the cushion. Honestly, she was the worst drunk person. Because my sweet sister got annoying and handsy. She would wrap herself around you, but instead of acting lovingly, she would annoy the hell out of you. And yet, I loved it.

Our blonde friend laughed at Elena before grabbing my hand. She spun me around before we twirled around each other. I giggled into her shoulder as I wrapped my arms around her waist, pressing my face against her back. As she poured herself another glass, I snickered, "Your bottle still has far too much in it, Care-Bear."

"Oh no, what a horror," she rolled her eyes before turning around. She tipped my chin back before pouring some of her champagne into my mouth. The other two laughed as I just drank it, hoping that I couldn't choke on it as a vampire. Cos while it wouldn't kill me, it would be hella embarrassing.

"Chug, chug, chug," Bonnie laughed, recording it on her phone. I stuck my finger up at her as I drained the bottle dry. Caroline shook it, laughing as I grabbed it from her hands, draining the last few drops.

"That's cheating, Care," I rolled my eyes at her as I placed the bottle to the side, wincing as it rolled off the table and onto the floor. At least it didn't smash. "It doesn't count as one of yours."

"I don't care," the blonde grinned, her head flying around her face as she shook her head wildly. "Getting you drunk is way more fun."

"Shocker," I sighed dramatically, but I played along. It was just nice to see them all having fun. And I would let myself be the butt of the jokes if it kept the smiles on their faces. So I sped over to the dining table, where the rest of the bottles were. I jumped onto the table so I could properly look into the box. And the snorting laugh that I got from my twin made it even more worthwhile.

After grabbing a couple of bottles, I sped back over to the others. I placed one on the coffee table, before popping open the other one. My girls cheered as the champagne fizzed out, probably causing a stain on Damon's rug. But I didn't mind, instead, I flicked the drops that landed on my fingers at my sister. She let out a shriek before throwing herself at me.

I held the bottle to the side as I caught her. The last thing that I needed was for her to knock herself out on the thick glass. I laughed as I wrapped an arm around her waist, letting her tackle me to the sofa. A hand grabbed the bottle as Bonnie fell on top of my sister. I let out a laughing groan at the added weight. But I adjusted my twin so that I could pull the witch into my other side, leaving plenty of room for Caroline.

The blonde dropped down beside Bonnie, resting her head against mine as our two drunk humans giggled at the wet stain on my dress. Glancing down at it, I rolled my eyes, "Alright, which one of you cretins got champagne on me?"

From the way Ellie giggled into my shoulder, I assumed that it was her. Not that it was a surprise, drunk Elena was a clumsy Elena. It was why she didn't drink too much. Ever since that time she fell over in front of mom and dad, she made sure to stop when things got fuzzy. But this time, she either didn't realise or she didn't care. My twin deserved to let loose for once. She always took on the responsibility of looking after everyone. She had earnt this. And I was going to let her enjoy it.

"Think you got your answer, Lexa," Care laughed, passing me back the bottle. When my sister went to grab it, I moved it out of her way.

"Nuh uh, I'm temporarily cutting you off before you spill more on me," I rolled my eyes at her, before bopping her nose. "Sober up a bit and I might let you have more."

"Buzzkill," my loving twin muttered before slumping forward to wrap herself around Bonnie instead. I shook my head at the girl draped over my lap.

"Honestly, you're a lot more fun to deal with when I'm drunk too," I sighed. "Damn my new tolerance. Never thought that it would be a bad thing."

XXX

I left Caroline to force some water into our two drunklings as I disappeared upstairs to change my dress. The wet patch was getting annoying and I knew that it would need cleaning soon. So I dumped it on the floor before changing into jeans and one of Damon's shirts. I knew that the others would tease me over it, but I didn't care. It was comfy and besides, it was a girls night. I could get away with looking like this.

I had just finished getting dressed when the door opened behind me. I turned around to see Ellie leading the other two into the room. She glanced over at me and shrugged, a slightly too wide smile on her face, "They wanted to see Damon's bedroom."

"I mean, it's The Den of Inequity, right?" Caroline laughed, walking further into the room. She peered around with an interested gaze, checking out the size of the bed before walking into the bathroom. "Oh wow, that shower looks amazing."

"It really is," I agreed with a laugh, walking into the bathroom. I gave the blonde a wink before I stepped into the bath, leaning back against the cool ceramic. "It made moving in worth it."

"I'm sure all the sex helped too," Care giggled, sitting down in front of the bath. She rested her arms on the edge while the other two joined us. Ellie got into the bath with me, sitting opposite me, resting her legs against mine. Bonnie sat cross-legged next to Care.

"I mean, yeah, it did," I laughed, wiggling my eyebrows. "Why do you think I brought you over here and not the bed?"

"Ew, Lexa!" my twin wrinkled her nose and nudged me with her foot. "I don't want to think about that."

"You're just jealous that you aren't getting any," I smirked, nudging her back. "Am I right or am I right?"

"You're not right," she rolled her eyes, glancing away. That girl was so obvious. But I loved it. Made teasing her a lot easier and a lot more fun.

I giggled and looked at the other two, raising a hand to shield my mouth before stage-whispering, "I'm right."

Before my sister could try to throttle me, because it looked like she was tempted, Bonnie held up her phone, a pleased smile on her face, "Check this out: vamp-speed video."

Ellie sat up to take the witch's phone, tilting it to the side so that I could watch too. It was one of the times that Bonnie had recorded me. This time, I was speeding over to the table to grab more champagne. I was practically a blur, but with the beauty of technology, Ellie slowed down the video that you could see me moving. Elena giggled as she watched it, "You look like Superman, Lexa. Hang on." She rewound the video before pausing it as I ran back towards the girls. Behind me was a blur from the speed of my movements. She held it up triumphantly, wiggling her eyebrows at me, "This year's Christmas card."

"If you can persuade Jenna, then I'll allow it," I laughed as she gave Bonnie her phone back. But before the witch put it away, I saw her take a screenshot. Even if it didn't end up as a Christmas card, I had a feeling that it would end up in a photo album. But I didn't mind. We had to make memories, even if they were vampire related ones. And besides, it was kinda cool seeing that.

"This is such an amazing bathtub," Elena beamed, leaning back against the ceramic. "I can see why you love it here."

"I am definitely spoiled," I agreed, shifting to sit right in front of my sister.

"Do you not ever think about the other girls that Damon has brought here?" Care asked. There was teasing tone to her voice, which was the only reason why I rolled my eyes.

"You have to be special to be brought here," I tapped the top of her head, smirking as she pouted. "Before me, it had been decades since a girl was last brought here."

"You really are special to him," Bonnie smiled softly and I shrugged.

"He'll never admit it to any of you, but yeah, I am," I smiled back, not even caring that I was outing my boyfriend as a cutie. "He's a softie when he wants to be."

"Somehow, I doubt that we will ever see it," Elena laughed and I gently tugged on a lock of her hair.

"You might, one day, but the other two? Nah, soz girlies, you'll just have to make do with stories."

"I think we're good with that," Caroline grinned, shaking her head. "We've seen that he is nicer when you're there. But seeing Damon as a softie just doesn't feel right."

"That does make sense," I nodded, before wrinkling my nose. "It's like seeing Klaus' slightly less asshole side. It just doesn't feel right. It's like the world has turned upside down."

"Ugh, don't talk to me about him," Care grumbled, rolling her eyes. "This is a Klaus free night."

"I can get on board with that," I nodded sharply while Bon rolled her eyes.

"I take it that your 'date' didn't go well," the witch said, not even needing to phrase it as a question. It was clear from the slightly disgusted look on our friend's face.

"He just wouldn't shut up about making Tyler pay for being 'unfaithful', not that he even cares about me. He's just using it as an excuse to get into Ty's head. And then he had the audacity to keep making vague comments about you two," the blonde complained, the words just pouring out. I glanced at my sister when Caroline uttered her final words. I knew what she meant. Klaus had been dropping hints about the magical bond between us being damaged. But I couldn't let Ellie know that yet. So I went for the distraction technique and revealed the secret that Klaus had passed on

"That doesn't surprise me," I hummed sympathetically, patting Care on the head. "It was his blood that turned me. So, like the creep he is, he was probably getting his jollies on about that. Cos we all know how much he likes knowing stuff that we don't."

"His blood turned you?" Elena repeated, sitting up properly. She stared at me with wide eyes, a sympathetic look in her eyes.

"Unfortunately," I rolled my eyes as she grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze. "He was actually trying to heal me, after Evil Alaric smashed my head into a locker. Because, you know, he needed me to pop out babies after he drained you dry, Els. Unfortunately for him, Rebekah ruined that plan without realising. But anyways, he has now tied me to him as well as Tyler. Which means that we can't kill the dick."

"There are still ways that we can get rid of him," Bonnie nodded, exchanging a glance with the others. "You won't be stuck with him forever, Alexa."

"Ah, Bon-Bon, you always know how to make me feel better," I gave my witchy friend a smile before leaning forward to press a kiss to her cheek. "Now come on, let's get back to drinking. This serious talk is not girls night appropriate."

"Whatever you say, Lexa," Ellie rolled her eyes at me, but that didn't stop her from agreeing.

XXX

As we got ready to head back downstairs, the two humans declared a need to head to the kitchen. They insisted that we return to the parlour and start drinking again. They just wanted to grab some of the nachos that I had prepared earlier. I would have believed their need for food if it wasn't for the stern look that my sister gave Caroline before we separated at the bottom of the stairs.

"Someone needs to tell Elena that she isn't as sly as she thinks she is," I muttered, rolling my eyes, before looking at the blonde next to me. "Alright, spill. What is it that Elena wants you to do?"

"Okay," Caroline took a deep breath before grabbing my hand. She led me into the parlour and over to the sofas. She sat down, tugging me down next to her. My friend didn't let go of me hand as she looked me in the eye, one of the sincerest looks that I had ever seen on her face. "Alexa, I'm sorry for how I behaved yesterday. I didn't mean to trash your boyfriend like that. You were right, I was projecting my feelings for Klaus on Damon, because at the time, he was an easy target. He didn't deserve that and neither did you. It was just… Klaus got under my skin. I had to spend the day with him and I couldn't be with Tyler. It all got to me and I lashed out."

"Oh Care," I sighed and shuffled closer to her, using my free arm to pull her closer, resting my head against hers. "You don't have anything to apologise for. I knew that you were in a shitty position yesterday, which was why I walked away. It wouldn't have been fair for me to snap at you. And believe me, I know all about lashing out. I might be better than I was, but I do have a history of lashing out when things got too much. So trust me when I say that I would never blame you for that."

"Still, I'm sorry," Care breathed out, hugging me tight. I patted her hand, allowing her to smother me with affection. She was always physically affectionate when apologising. And if it made her feel better, I would let her do whatever she wanted. I wasn't mad at her, even if I was annoyed before. I knew it was just a shitty situation and I didn't blame my friend for how she reacted. Besides, Klaus just had that affect on people. He got under their skin and pushed and pushed until something gave. This time, it was Caroline that was on the end of that. Even if the hybrid didn't intend for it, as he was more determined to annoy Tyler, my friend paid the price for it.

"It's okay," I pressed a kiss to her temple before sighing. "Since we're clearing the air, I should say something that I've been putting off for a while. Because I just didn't know how to say it, because it feels like such a horrible thing to put into words. But… Caroline, I'm so sorry that I killed your dad. When I found out, I felt so horrible. I never wanted to hurt you like that. I just feel like I should have told someone about my blackouts sooner. And if I had done that, then your dad wouldn't be dead."

"Hey, I don't blame you for that," my friend gently grabbed my chin, moving my head so that she could look me in the eye. "You never asked to be manipulated by Esther into becoming some kind of vampire hunter. I know how much you cared for my dad; you didn't want to hurt him. None of it is your fault."

"One day, I might believe you," I smiled weakly before Caroline pulled me back into a tight hug. "I just feel like I should have fought harder against that darkness. Or I should have told someone sooner. There was so much that I could have done that could have saved your dad."

"I get the feeling that even if you hadn't done it, my dad still would have died," Care spoke softly, if it wasn't for my vampire hearing, I might not have heard her words. "Alaric might have done it instead." She carefully shook her head before sighing, "Either way, I do not blame you, Alexandria. And I will tell you that every day for the next one hundred years if I need to. We will both be around that long. And I'm sure Damon will help me do it if it helps you with your enormous guilt complex."

"I don't have an enormous guilty complex," I grumbled, but I could feel a smile tugging at my lips. I did feel better, now that I had finally let the words out. I had apologised for something that could never be forgiven, but it needed saying. And I needed my friend to hear it. And I think that we both felt better for it.

"Oh Alexa, you really do," my friend giggled softly. "But I'll get you through it. Just like I'll get you through this damaged bond with Elena. I assume that's where Damon is?"

"Yeah, he's down in New Orleans with Stefan, finding a witch who might be able to give us answers," I sighed, resting my head against hers.

Before Care could reply to that, probably wanting more answers about how Damon knew witches in New Orleans, or why he didn't take me with him, or maybe just more on why Stefan was allowed to go, a voice asked from behind us, "Damaged bond?"

"Ah fuck," I winced at the sound of my sister's voice. I refused to turn around and instead closed my eyes as I muttered, "We both have vampire hearing. And yet it didn't occur to either of us to listen out for their return. Maybe I'm not as sly as I thought I was."

XXX

When Elena repeated my name, I sighed and turned so that I could look at her. My sister had her hands on her hips, an eyebrow raised. She looked like she wanted answers. And I didn't know if I would be able to avoid giving them. I glanced over at Caroline, who was biting her lip, a guilty expression on her face. Well, she wouldn't be much help here. I glanced over at our witchy friend. Bonnie looked just as interested in finding out what I meant as well.

"I don't suppose that I can persuade you that you didn't hear what you thought you heard?" I asked, a hopeful look on my face. But that small hope was quickly dashed by the look on her face. It was a 'you've got to be kidding' face. "Damn, one day, that will work."

"Alexa," Ellie repeated my name, walking around to stand in front of me, her arms crossed. "What did you mean by a damaged bond between us?"

"For the record, I was going to tell you but not until later, when I had more information," I shook my head, glancing once more at the other two, just to see if they would back me up. But no support would be coming. So, I sighed and looked back at my twin. "You remember the bond that Esther formed between us? The one that very annoyingly killed me after you drowned yourself?"

"I don't think that I could ever forget that," Elena gave me a look before settling down on the sofa behind her.

"Right, yeah, good point, pretty unforgettable thing," I nodded, tapping my knee. I wanted to get up and pace as I told her about this, but I knew that she would just force me to stay still. So I would just have to get rid of my nervous energy by tapping my knee and shaking my head and fiddling with my daylight ring. It wasn't enough, but it was something. "So, uh, when you were made human again, courtesy of our amazing Bonnie Bennet, it somehow damaged the bond. Now, I don't know if it would have been damaged if I became human too. Or if we both became vampires. And I don't think that we will ever know. But… do you get headaches at times? That just feel really random but can be traced to a moment when I was feeling something really strongly?"

Ellie paused, a thoughtful look on her face as she thought back over the past few weeks. And then, she slowly began to nod, "That day that you were being held hostage by Connor, I had a headache that entire day."

"Yeah, I was being tortured that entire, thanks to fucking Connor," I rolled my eyes at the thought of the annoying Hunter. But Caroline's next words distracted me.

"It feels like you're getting darker too," the blonde spoke up, a hesitant look on her face as she glanced between me and my sister. "Like, your anger at Rebekah, it just wasn't like you. And when you heard about Connor, you were glad that he was dead."

"The darkness that you had, Alexa, do you think that it might be affecting Elena too?" Bon asked, a thoughtful look on her face. "I mean, I don't have much experience with bonds like this, but it is a part of you, even though you're a vampire now. Maybe it is affecting Elena too."

"So it's not just emotions that fuck up the other twin," I muttered, rolling my eyes. I pulled out my phone. "Let me message Damon. He can ask his witchy contact about it."

"Is that where Damon is?" my sister immediately leapt on that information. "To find out more about this?"

"Yeah, he took Stefan down to New Orleans," I nodded, pressing send on my message to my boyfriend. I kept my phone in my hand as I waited for a possible reply. And it gave me something else to play with while I spoke. "He knows of a witch family there that specialises in this kind of thing. He took Stefan with him, as he was the one to first pose the theory."

"Stefan?" Elena raised an eyebrow at that. But she didn't sound surprised. I knew that she thought the same as I did. Stefan was desperately looking for reasons as to why Elena broke up with him. Because he couldn't face the fact that he had fucked it up, even though his humanity was back and he was on the bunny diet. His 'good' side had ruined his relationship.

"He, uh, he was talking to me about it last night," Care spoke quietly, immediately wincing when my twin turned her attention to her. "I just pointed out that Esther created a bond between you and that Alexa now being a vampire might have damaged. It was him who realised the whole thing about the emotions causing pain."

Ellie nodded, thinking deeply. We were all silent as she did so. I knew that Caroline was worried that my sister was mad at her again. Bonnie was probably just itching to get her hands on her grimoires. I just felt guilty. I didn't want to keep this from my sister. And the worry that I could see buried in her beautiful eyes was the reason why. I wanted to give her this information when I was able to reassure her that I was able to fix it. But now she knew. And I had no way to making this better for her. The best that I could do was tell her that Damon was getting answers. That we would sort this out. But even then, I didn't know if it would be enough.

"When will Damon have answers?" my twin asked, looking at me.

"He'll be back tomorrow," I immediately answered. I was relieved that my sister trusted my boyfriend to get us answers. Because unless Bonnie had something special in her grimoires, he was the only one that could get them for us.

XXX

We had just cleared the air, content to put the worrying news behind us until Damon could return with answers, when the door burst open. I immediately shot to my feet, speeding to stand in front of Elena and Bonnie. I narrowed my eyes as two unknowns entered my home. Don't get me wrong, I knew their faces. And I knew that they were hybrids. But I didn't know their names.

"Hello girls," the girl smirked at us, crossing her arms. Her brown hair brushed against her shoulders as she gestured for her companion to join us. He glanced between us and her, an unsure look on his handsome face. It was immediately obvious that this wasn't his idea.

"Who the fuck are you and why are you here?" I snapped, tightening my hands into fists as Caroline joined me. She stood by my side, tilting her body slightly so that she could make sure the two humans remained behind us.

"Oh, hasn't Tyler introduced us?" the girl sneered, sounding unimpressed. I sneered back at her, refusing to back down. "We're friends with Tyler."

"You're Kimberly," my blonde friend piped up, eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced over at the other hybrid. "And you're Adrian. You're the one that hasn't broken the sirebond yet."

"You know a lot about us considering you betrayed one of us for Klaus," the girl, Kimberly, snapped, glaring at Caroline. My friend winced and I glared at the female hybrid.

"She didn't do it for Klaus, you dolt," I rolled my eyes, stepping forward slightly to draw her attention. "She did it to save me. Now do everyone a favour and get the fuck out of my house."

"Oh, we will," Kimberly looked past me, a hungry look in her eyes that made me nervous. "We just need something first."

With a twitch of her wrist, Kimberly sent the other hybrid speeding forward. I ran forward, meeting Adrian in the middle of the room and sending him flying. I bared my teeth at the boy, sensing his reluctance to be here in the first place. If I could scare him off, then it would be easy to take down the girl.

Behind me, I could hear Caroline taking on Kimberly. I just hoped that Bonnie and Elena were getting to safety. I knew that it was my sister that the hybrids were after. I saw that look in her eyes. It was common knowledge that my twin was a weak spot for Klaus, he needed her blood to make more hybrids, not that he seemed too interested in that right now. But it also meant that she could be used against him, to hurt him. And that was what Kimberly wanted to do. And I would not let that happen.

Adrian went to hit me, when I grabbed his hand. Using my new strength, I snapped his wrist with a growl, before pushing him back against the wall. My anger was fuelling me, my determination to keep my twin safe. My hands wrapped around the boy's throat, and I squeezed.

Behind me I heard Caroline cry out in pain before the lights started flickering. A few of the bulbs exploded, the sounds drawing everyone's attention to Bonnie. Her eyes were tightly shut, a look of intense concentration on her face. I went to snap Adrian's neck, going to move over to Bonnie to keep her safe until she completed her spell, when Kimberly's voice stopped me.

Her face had changed, her eyes a sickly yellow as she held Caroline to her. The blonde's back was pressed against her chest, head pushed to the side, giving the hybrid perfect access to her neck. Kimberly had her fangs hovering just about the vampire's skin, ready to bite when needed. She growled at the witch, "Stop!" Bonnie opened her eyes and looked over at the hybrid threatening our friend. "One bite from a hybrid and she's dead, remember?"

"You're a fool if you think that we won't get the cure from Klaus," I spat back, hands tightening around Adrian's neck, ignoring the way he scratched at me. "Because I will get that cure if you hurt her and then guess what will happen. Oh yeah, he'll rip you apart for threatening Elena. So go ahead, try it. See where it gets you."

Kimberly narrowed her eyes at my words. Because she knew that I was right. If we had to get the cure from Klaus, then we would tell him why. And no matter how loyal I was to Tyler, if they made a move against my twin, then I would get them killed. Kimberly must have sensed that as she glanced to the side, looking at Elena before looking over at Adrian.

The next thing that I knew, a hand was shoved into my stomach. I let out a low groan, hunching over in pain as the hand grabbed my heart, giving it a squeeze. Through the pain, I faintly heard the sound of a snap. Just as I wondered what was happening, the hand was gone. There was the sound of superspeed and then, everything was silent.

I hissed through my teeth as my body healed. The pain was temporary, but my anger wouldn't be. I stayed hunched over while my body healed, content to spit out vague insults. I didn't look up until a gentle hand rested on my back. I glanced to the side to see Bonnie staring down at me, a worried look in her eyes.

With a groan, I stood up straight, glancing my friend up and down, making sure that she was unharmed. I went to speak, but a wince from my friend stopped me. At my questioning look, she glanced to the side and I followed her gaze. Caroline was laying on the ground, her neck had been snapped. But it was the absence of my twin that had my heart freezing in my chest.

"Tell me that they didn't take my sister," I hissed, narrowing my eyes at the door. Bonnie remained silent, because there wasn't anything that she could say. Because the hybrids had just stolen my twin. And now, I would kill them.

XXX

"Tyler, pick up your fucking phone. Some of your hybrids have taken Elena and unless you come and intervene, I will go Blade on those assholes."

After leaving my fourth voicemail in the past five minutes, I hung up the call and paced back over to Bonnie. She was sitting next to Caroline, who I had moved onto the couch. The blonde hadn't yet woken up from her broken neck but I wasn't too worried. She hadn't been bitten; she was just on a temporary time out. It wouldn't be long until she did wake up.

Instead, I was worried about my twin sister. Ellie had been snatched by those hybrids because she could be used against Klaus. And I knew that, in their anger, they could hurt her. Of course, for every injury they inflicted upon my sister, I would return twofold. If they weren't important to Tyler and a part of his pack, then I would have already tracked them down and ripped them apart. Or told Klaus and gotten him to rip them apart for me. But because I cared about Ty, I would give him the time to fix their mistake.

Of course, that only worked if he picked up the damn phone. I grumbled under my breath as I paced back and forth, between my friends and the fireplace. My hands clenched and unclenched, and I frequently had to remind myself not to break my phone. After all, I had to be able to pick up when Tyler answered.

"Alexa," Bonnie spoke quietly, after watching me pace in frustration. "You need to calm down. Elena will be fine; they won't hurt her. They aren't that stupid."

"I don't know how stupid they are, Bon," I tried not to snap. It wasn't Bonnie's fault that my sister was taken. In fact, she had tried to help stop the hybrids with her magic. It would be unfair of me to take my frustration out on her. But it was hard to keep myself under control. "The fact that they tracked Elena down and took her means that they are out of control. It's even worse because this isn't just about Klaus, Tyler is involved in it somehow. There are a lot of pieces at play and I don't know how they will affect my sister."

My friend glanced down at the phone in my hand, probably praying for Tyler to return my call, before sighing, "Elena's smart. She won't antagonise them. She knows how to keep a situation calm, especially since she knows that you'll come to save her."

"That is true," I conceded reluctantly, shaking my head. "She is the more level headed one. At times, anyway." My phone buzzing in my hand immediately distracted me and I quickly answered the call, "Tyler."

"I got your voicemails," the hybrid answered, sounding stressed. "I'm on my way to the Boarding House. Don't do anything until I get there."

"Luckily for you, Bonnie is doing her best to keep me from doing something reckless," I replied, letting my witchy friend direct me onto the sofa. She settled a calming hand on my bouncing knee as she listened in to the conversation. "But please hurry."

"I won't be long," my adopted bro promised. "Can you ask Bonnie to do a locator spell? There are few places that they could be and I get the feeling that the quicker we find them, the better it will be for everyone."

"Well, you aren't wrong," I nodded before glancing over at my friend. "I'll ask Bonnie. See you soon."

When I hung up the call, Bonnie immediately stood up, "He needs a locator spell, right?"

"Yep, think you can do it? I know that you're still settling back into doing magic again."

My friend gave me a smile, nodding her head, "I can do it. It might take a few tries, but I will do everything that I can to find Elena."

"And that's why I love you," I stood up, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I'll grab the map of the town. Damon has several copies. There are candles in the sideboard. Think my blood will still work? Considering I'm a vampire now."

"Can't see why not," the witch shrugged, a look of concentration on her face as she prepared herself to do the spell.

"Well, hopefully we'll have some luck," I sighed before speeding off to get the map. Damon had taken to keeping several copies of the map of the town in the Boarding House. There was often a need to do a locator spell to find someone. And my boyfriend liked to be prepared. Which was something that I was incredibly grateful for.

I grabbed the map and returned to Bonnie in the parlour. She was setting up the candles on the coffee table, a knife already at the side. I laid down the map in front of her before glancing at Caroline. She was still unconscious, but I didn't know for how much longer. With broken necks, there was no set time for returning to land of the living. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much longer. Having some extra vampire backup would be advantageous when it came to saving my twin.

My friend nodded when I laid out the map and crouched down in front of her. Her eyes were closed, a look of deep concentration on her face. It took a few seconds but the candles flickered into life. The flames cast a warm glow on the witch's face as I held out my hand. She opened her eyes, reaching out to pick up the knife. Her eyes were almost completely back, her pupils consuming everything, as she radiated power. Not for the first time, I was so glad that she was one of my dear friends.

I watched as she sliced open my palm, squeezing my blood onto the map. Once she had enough, Bon gave me a nod and I took my hand back. It took barely a few seconds for the cut to heal and I wiped the residual blood on my thigh. The witch closed her eyes again, concentrating intensely as she started the spell.

A knock on the still open door had me glancing to the side. Tyler was in the doorway, looking around the room, from me to Bonnie to the still unconscious Caroline. He sighed and shook his head before walking over to us. Before he could say anything, one of the nearby lightbulbs exploded.

We both looked over at our witchy friend as she opened her eyes and winced, "Let me try again."

I nodded and got up, "Let me give you a glass of my blood. So you have some in reserve."

XXX

While Bonnie continued trying the locator spell, Tyler and I headed out into the woods. Since I was getting agitated again, needing to go and find my sister now that Tyler was with me, the hybrid thought it best to start searching the possible locations that he had identified.

We had just finished searching one when Caroline called. She had woken up not long after we left and Bonnie had updated her. The blonde was eager to join us, wanting to her us save Elena. I told her where we were while Tyler got a call from Hayley. He had texted her, letting her know what had happened. And the werewolf was not happy.

"I get it, Hayley," Tyler sighed when Care joined us. She exchanged a glance with me and I shrugged. I didn't know what the werewolf's problem was. It was more than them putting themselves with risk with Klaus. There was an element here that I didn't know about and it made me itchy. With my twin in danger, I hated not knowing the whole picture. "I'll find them and I'll get them in line."

When he hung up the call, Caroline sighed, "Bonnie's still trying the locator spell. She's having trouble reigning in her new power to reduce it just to this area."

While I muttered a curse, frustrated by Fate's determination to keep my away from my sister, Tyler shook his head, "They've gotta be here. they're not dumb enough to risk getting caught by Klaus in town."

"Why did they snatch Elena?" the blonde frowned, rubbing my back as we walked. Both of my companions could probably sense the tension coiling within me. Which was not at all relieved by the tapping of my hands against my legs. "It's got to be more than her connection with Klaus."

The hybrid paused, turning to face us, "Kim is trying to prove that she's the Alpha. If I can make her submit, the pack will fall in line and we can finally get them free of Klaus. You'd think that they'd play along with how much they hate him."

"But isn't Adrian still sired to Klaus?" Care asked, trying to piece it all together. "Would he still hate Klaus?"

"Being sired doesn't mean that you feel differently about someone," Ty shook his head. "I hated Klaus but I still did everything he said. The bond affects how you act, not how you feel."

"So they took my sister because this Kim bitch wants to play boss?" I raised an eyebrow, before narrowing my eyes, glaring into the distance. "Are you sure that I can't kill her? I won't make it hurt… much."

"If she doesn't back down, then I might be tempted to let you at her," my adopted brother sighed, resting a hand on my shoulder. "But I have to try. She just wanted to look after Adrian. Hayley has been pretty tough on him. He's the last one to be unsired. She's been pushing him harder than the others."

"Pfft, excuses," I waved off his words but I didn't push my point. I knew why Tyler wanted to keep her alive. There weren't many hybrids left in the world. And the werewolves that still existed had gone into hiding. Not that Klaus seemed too inclined to be making them right now. His focus was on the cure. Probably to stop anyone from using it against him. Which was a tempting thought. He probably figured that whoever found it first controlled it. And if it was him, it couldn't be used against him.

"But why Elena?" Caroline asked again. "Not to toot my own horn, but I figured that they would have taken me, considering that I was your girlfriend."

"I've known Elena my whole life," Ty shrugged as we started moving again. "She's important to Alexa, who is important to me. And she can be used against Klaus. Kim was probably planning ahead, thinking that if she can be Alpha, she can use Elena as leverage to get their freedom from Klaus."

"Bit naïve of her," I snorted, shaking my head. "Surely she must realise that Klaus would just rip them apart anyway? He isn't exactly the best at keeping his word. And, she must have known that we would just get revenge on them for hurting Elena. If she knows you that well, then she must know that I will kill anyone that hurts my sister."

"She probably didn't think of you as a threat," Tyler winced, looking like he regretted his words as soon as he said them.

"Well, that's a mistake that she won't make again," I smirked darkly. I wondered if I could get away with breaking a few bones while I rescued my sister. I knew that Tyler would try to de-escalate the situation as soon we found the hybrid pack. But that didn't mean that it would work. Kim was a girl on a mission, that would give me the opportunity to make her hurt for taking Ellie and underestimating me.

My hybrid brother was about to say something, probably to try and calm me down, when a familiar scream echoed around the woods. My heart froze in my chest as I breathed out my sister's name. That scream was full of pain. And I cursed every hybrid in this world for hurting my sister. She was in pain and I hadn't found her in time. I hadn't found her in time to stop them from hurting her.

Unable to hear her scream again, I sped off into the darkness. I could barely breathe as I ran, my panic about my sister taking over everything. I didn't even know where I was running, I just needed to get to her. fortunately, Tyler sped in front of me, grabbing my hand. He must have had a location in mind as he directed me through the trees, in the direction of my twin.

Hold on, Ellie, I'm coming for you.

XXX

Tyler led us to the old stables on the Lockwood estate. Horses hadn't been kept here for years, but apparently, hybrids had been. This was where Tyler and Hayley had been helping the others to unsire themselves. And now they were using it to torture my sister.

As we approached the stable, I heard my sister whimpered, "Why are you doing this to me?"

"To show Tyler who's in charge," Kim hissed back before there was a sickening crack. From the pained scream that erupted from my sister, I knew that the hybrid bitch had broken a bone. And I saw red. It was only the firm grip that Tyler kept on me as we rushed into the barn that stopped me from ripping them apart, like a dark voice in the back of my mind was itching me to do.

"Stop!" Ty shouted as we entered, running into the middle of the room. While the others tried to diffuse the situation, I only had eyes for my sister. She was chained to the bars behind her, hands held above her head. Tears stained her cheeks as she looked up at me. I could see her wrist sitting at an awkward angle and the red marks on her skin. I gave her a reassuring look before I glared at the hybrid standing above her. Kim just looked proud of what she had done. "Stop it, Kim. Elena's with us. Alright? We're all on the same team."

"She's on your team, not mine," Kim smirked, bending down to grab Ellie's injured hand. She twisted it cruelly, causing my twin to whimper. It was only the grip that the other two had on me that stopped me from rushing forward. The sound of my sister in pain had driven all rationality from me.

I vaguely heard the door open behind us. The rest of the pack entered the barn. New hands grabbed me, holding my arms behind my back. I struggled, desperate to get to my sister. Especially when Kim continued hurting her. Caroline and Tyler called out protests, calling on Kim to stop. I just kept eye contact with Elena, promising her that I would get her out of this. My head pounded, pain spiking through my skull, mimicking the pain that drowning my sister. But I could pay attention on the proof that Stefan was right. Getting my twin out of this was more important.

It wasn't until Adrian spoke, sounding so nervous and unsure, that Kim stopped, "Ease up, Kim. Klaus won't like this."

"That's a very good point," the wannabe Alpha smirked, standing up to grab something from the shelf behind her. "Do you think that he'll like this?" She pulled out a knife, examining the sharp edges.

"Don't you fucking dare!" I hissed, losing all composure. My body tensed as I got ready to move. I knew that I would have only one chance to get Kim away from Ellie and I wasn't going to waste it.

"Kim!" Tyler snapped, voice strong and commanding. "Don't do it. I swear to God!"

The bitch looked like she was enjoying our pleading as she held the knife to my sister's neck. I saw red and made my move. With all the force that I could muster, and with my vampire strength, it was a lot, I aimed a kick at the knee of the hybrid holding me. The resounding crack echoed around the room as I broke free of the hybrid's grip. I spun around, hands settling around his neck before I flicked my wrists. His neck broke and I let his body fall to the floor.

Tyler used the hybrid's shock to break free of the ones holding him. With a frustrated growl, he sped forward, grabbing Kim before she had the chance to move the knife in her hands. Ty shoved her against the wall before sticking his hand in her chest, grabbing her heart. Kim gasped in pain as Caroline broke free of her own captor.

I ignored the drama behind me as I darted forward. I crouched down in front of Ellie, reaching out to cup her face. My thumbs wiped away her tears as I whispered, "It's okay, Els. I'm here now. You're okay. It's all going to be okay."

While I reassured my twin, Tyler looked around at the other hybrids in the room, snapping, "Stay back! I'll rip her heart out right now!" Caroline watched my back, making sure that they didn't make any more moves. Content that the others were scared enough to stay still, Ty looked Kim in the eye, keeping his voice level and firm. He sounded like a leader and despite the situation, I was proud of him. "Kim put you all at risk today, but I'm not gonna hurt her. I'm not Klaus. I don't kill and torture my own friends to get what I want. Now, we broke the sirebond, but if you want to be free, we have to work together. No one can step out of line. Now, you're either with me or you're against me. Submit." When the female hybrid hesitated, Tyler repeated, "Submit or you die."

Realising that she had been beaten, Kim fell to her knees. Tyler knelt down with her, keeping his hand in her chest. Around the hand grasping her heart, the female gasped, "I'm… I'm sorry."

"I know," Ty nodded before gently removing his hand from her chest. Kim gasped, hand shooting up the cover the wound as she fought to catch her breath. My friend stood up, keeping his gaze on Kim. When she lowered her head, he looked around the room, making eye contact with the rest of the hybrids. One by one, the rest of the pack dropped to their knees, lowering their heads. All of them were submitting to Tyler. He was their Alpha now. And he was the only reason why I didn't rip them apart for what they did to my twin.

XXX

Once I had released Ellie from the chains, I gently picked her up, carrying her back to the Boarding House. She had insisted on walking, but I noticed that her ankle wasn't sitting right. Apparently, her wrist wasn't the only thing that Kim had broken. So despite I protests, I picked her up. Getting my sister home safe was my biggest priority. Tyler stayed behind to deal with his new pack while Caroline went with me.

Bonnie met us at the Boarding House door, a worried look on her face. Care had called her on our way back, but even so, it wasn't until she saw Elena that she relaxed. Sometimes seeing helped with the believing. The witch hovered around us as I gently lowered my sister on the sofa. She winced, pain filling her expression, despite my best efforts to be gentle. I knew that she should go to the hospital, but I knew that I would feel a lot better if I just gave her my blood. That way, she wouldn't leave my sight. And she would heal a lot quicker. I didn't know what else Kim had done to her and my blood would heal her a lot better than conventional medicine.

"Are you okay?" Bon asked, sitting down next to Caroline on the coffee table.

"I'm fine," Ellie smiled weakly, but she wasn't believed by anyone. Care shook her head while Bonnie gave her a look. I just rolled my eyes, face changing as I bit into my wrist.

"She isn't right now, but she will be," I muttered before holding my wrist out. "Elena, drink."

I was surprised when my twin grabbed my arm with her good hand, bringing my wrist to her lips. She closed her eyes as she drank, the tension easing from her face. Damn, she must have been in more pain than I thought, as I fully expected her to put up a fight about drinking my blood. But the fact that she hadn't made me glad that Kim wasn't still nearby. Because, despite my loyalty to Tyler, I would have ripped her apart.

Once she had had enough, Ellie switched her grip from my arm to my hand. I gently wiped away the blood around her lips before she gave me a soft smile, "Thanks, Lexa."

"Don't mention it," I smiled back before shifting her so that she was pressed against my chest. In the position that we were now in, I could feel her heart beating against my chest. The strong beat had me relaxing. She was okay. She was actually okay now. My twin was safe and healed and I wouldn't let her leave my sight again.

"What happened when you found her?" our witchy friend asked as the other two joined us on the sofa. We all piled in together, keeping Ellie in the middle of our protective sandwich. "I honestly thought that Alexa would come back covered in blood."

While I enjoyed the reassuring warmth of my sister pressed up against me, Caroline answered, "Tyler made them all submit to him. He's their Alpha now. And probably the only reason why Alexa didn't rip them all apart."

"It was tough stopping myself," I muttered darkly, squeezing my twin tighter against me. "But they will live to see another day."

Bonnie nodded before sighing, "I'm sorry that I didn't get the locator spell working."

"Hey, it's fine," I reached over Elena to give Bonnie's hand a squeeze. "You tried, that's what counts. And considering what you've been through recently, you did amazing. You're doing magic again, Bon. You're doing great, sweetie."

Elena shifted her head to give the witch a smile. Thankfully, she didn't try moving out of my protective grip to do more than that. She either sensed that I needed to keep a hold of her. Or she needed that comforting touch. Getting tortured like that, it was hard to deal with. It got in your head and you didn't feel safe for a while after. Especially if you knew the person that did it to you. And there was a good chance that she would see Kim again. Even if Tyler tried to keep her out of town for a while, Klaus might want her to hang around him.

"Your hottie-creepy Professor really knows his stuff, Bonnie," Ellie gently teased the witch. "That spell that you were doing earlier was impressive. How many lightbulbs will you need to replace before Damon gets home, Lexa?"

"Far too many," I played along, rolling my eyes dramatically.

Bon laughed, shaking her head at us, "It's been baby steps but he's helping me with a whole new kind of magic. He calls it expression."

"Huh, that explains why you are so much more powerful," I nodded. "I'm glad that you're doing well."

"We all are," Caroline added, a small smile on her face. "Now, since it's safe to say that Alexa will not Elena go for the next few years, if she's lucky, whose bed are we all sharing tonight?"

"Damon's is the biggest," I replied, ignoring their teasing noises of disgust. "Oh relax, I changed the sheets after we had sex last. There are no cooties there."

"But there are silk sheets," Elena laughed, leaning back against me. "His bed is comfortable. I've shared it a couple of times with Lexa. And it would fit all of us."

"Well, not even I can argue with that," Care giggled, shaking her head. "So why don't we continue this conversation in bed?"

"Sounds good to me," I nodded, edging a hand under my sister's legs before picking her up. "Care, you get Bonnie duty. While I am almost positive that nothing will happen on our way upstairs, I'm not taking any chances."

"You are ridiculously overprotective, Alexa," Bon rolled her eyes, but she didn't put up a fight as the blonde wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I am the right levels of protective," I sniffed dramatically while Ellie sighed, resting her head against my shoulder. "The fact that I haven't locked anyone in the cell downstairs shows that I'm within the normal level."

XXX

I didn't really sleep that night. I was too wired from the events of the day. Not only had I learnt that the magical bond that Esther had created between me and my twin had been damaged, she had been abducted and tortured. And I hadn't been able to stop her pain. It was a lot to deal with, and I wished that Damon was around for me to lean against. But until he came home, I would have to make do with acting like my sister's shadow.

It was only because I was awake that I felt Ellie gasp awake. I wasn't surprised that it had happened. After what she went through, nightmares were a given. I was just surprised that they didn't start sooner. When Elena woke up, heart beating rapidly, gasping for air, I gently stroked her back. I knew that it would take a few seconds for her to realise that she was safe. And I was determined to ease her through that initial moment of fear.

Once she was fully awake, nightmares fading enough to reveal reality, Ellie looked over at me. Her skin was covered with a light sheen of sweat, even as her gaze darted around the dark room behind me. I knew that I would need to talk to her about what she had been through. It was something that I had wanted to do it the morning, the reassuring light of the day would make it feel like a horrible dream. But I knew that until we spoke about it, Elena wouldn't be able to get back to sleep.

So, my grasp gentle, I urged her from the bed. My sister did as directed, still keeping her grip on me. As I went to lead her from the room, to somewhere that we could talk, I felt eyes on me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Caroline watching us with worried eyes. I gave her a quick smile and a thumbs up, letting her know that I was dealing with it. The blonde didn't look completely satisfied, but she remained in the bed as we left the room.

I took Elena down to the kitchen and got her settled at the table in there. It took a bit of urging to get my sister to let go of me, but I knew that she would need some water after waking up. Once I managed it, I used my vampire speed to grab a glass and fill it up. After placing the water down in front of her, I took the seat next to my sister. Ellie was quick to shuffled closer to me, resetting her head on my shoulder.

"Hey Els," I kept my voice soft as I spoke, gently shifting her to wrap my arm around her shoulders. "How are you doing?"

"Not good," my twin's voice was muffled as she pressed her face against my shoulder.

"Yeah, the nightmares always suck after something like this," I sighed, resting my chin on the top of her head. "But they'll get better."

"I guess you would know," Elena murmured, grabbing my hand. She gave it a squeeze before started tapping my fingers against the back of my hand. "How long do they take to go away?"

"Well, if you try to deal with it all by yourself, then ages," I replied, a knowing hint to my voice. "If you speak to people and accept their help, then they go a lot quicker."

"Yeah, yeah, I get what you're saying," Ellie grumbled, tilting her head back to give me a look. "I'll make sure to talk to someone about what I went through."

"Good," I pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Trust me, it will help. It took me a while to work that out, but dealing with this shit on your own is not a good idea."

"At least you finally figured it out," Elena smiled teasingly, looking a lot more relaxed that she did earlier. "Took you long enough."

"Oh shush you," I rolled my eyes, tapping the top of her head. "I always get there eventually, normally because you and Damon won't let me relax otherwise."

"Your stubbornness, while endearing at times, can be annoying," my sister hummed, closing her eyes as she relaxed against me.

"So can yours," I huffed back, carefully adjusting her so that she would be more comfortable. I knew that it wouldn't be long until she fell asleep again. It was the way her body was a bit too pliant, the lack of brain to mouth filter. Normally I would have urged her back up to bed, but I decided to be kind tonight. Once she was asleep, I would carry her back upstairs.

For now, I would enjoy having her in my arms. I was unused to her being in danger like that. Normally, when she was taken, it was by someone who wanted to use her as a either a bloodbag or as a hostage. Having Tyler's pack take her, purely to cause her pain to get to Tyler, it was a new feeling. And I hated it. I had worked so hard to keep my family safe, to keep my twin safe. And then, on a night that we were supposed to be enjoying ourselves with our friends, she was taken. And there was nothing that I could have done to stop it. Even as a vampire, I was powerless.

Once my sister was breathing deeply against me, I carefully picked her up. Taking her up to bed after a nightmare was easy now. Back when I was human, I had to get her there before she fell asleep or we would just end sleeping where we were. But now, I could take her to bed where she could properly relax.

Caroline was still awake when we returned to Damon's bedroom. After tucking Ellie under the covers, I met my friend's questioning gaze, "Nightmares."

"That's to be expected," she murmured, pulling the blanket over Bonnie. "Did you manage to get her to talk about them?"

"Not tonight, but she promised that she will," I sighed, tucking myself behind my sister. And that was good enough for me. I would help my twin through this latest traumatic event. She would be okay. Anything else just wasn't an option.

XXX

By the time Damon came home the next day, the lightbulbs had been replaced and the others had gone home. I was reluctant for my sister to leave my sight, but Elena had reassured me that she was okay. I asked Jenna to message me as soon as Ellie returned home. I knew that Jenna wouldn't question it, I was ridiculously overprotective over my sister, even if I wouldn't admit it. At least at home, no one invited could break in. And all of the supernaturals that had been invited in were on our side. Well, Elijah was always a question mark but he was no longer in town.

I knew the moment that my boyfriend returned home because strong arms wrapped around my waist. I had been stood in front of the fireplace, just staring into the flames. Damon rested his head against mine as he murmured, "Hey Ally."

"Hey Damon," I sighed, turning around in his arms. I wrapped mine around him, squeezing tight as I rested my head against his shoulder. "God, I'm so glad that you're home."

"I know," he muttered into my hair, letting me relax against him. "Caroline told Stefan what happened while we were gone. Are you okay?"

"Define okay," I snorted before shaking my head. "I'll be okay. Ellie is at home, Jenna told me that Caroline and Bonnie dropped her off. But I just can't stop worrying about her."

"You can always put a tracker app on her again?" my boyfriend suggested and I seriously considered that idea. It wasn't fool proof as it depended on her having her phone with her all the time. But it would at least help reassure me of her location and safety.

So I nodded, "Yeah, I might actually do that. How was your trip? Find out any good news for me?" Damon's silence said it all. "Fuck. Okay. Give it to me."

With a sigh, Damon took me over to the sofa. He sat me down, taking the seat next to me, and took my hands in his, "There's nothing magical that can break the bond. What Esther did was old magic and no one has heard of it being damaged like it has been. The only things that she could suggest were death. Which, obviously, not an option. Or distance."

"So either one of us has to die or we have to be separated from each other?" I frowned, squeezing his hands tightly. "Those options suck. What happens if we decide to just tough out the headaches?"

"It'll get worse," Damon replied, sounding reluctant. I could tell that he didn't want to be telling me this. It wasn't the news that he wanted to give to me. It wasn't the news that I wanted either. But what could we do? Even in death, Esther was fucking us over. "The pain will increase to just whenever you are near each other. Eventually, it could potentially take your lives."

I was silent for a moment, digesting what I had just heard. My boyfriend watched me with worried eyes, regret in those silvery depths. It wasn't his fault. He didn't cause this. I had, by being weak enough for Finn to take my blood. For choosing to go through with the transition. I should have done something to stop this. And because I hadn't, I was facing the potential of never seeing my twin again.

"I'm going to have to say goodbye to her, aren't I?" my voice was small as I stared up at Damon with desperate eyes. I was so close to tears, but I couldn't let them form. I had to be strong. Because it would be just as bad for my sister.

"I'm sorry, Alexa," Damon murmured as he pulled me into his arms. I clung onto him, burying my face into his neck. "I will find a way to fix this. Someone has to know about this magic. I'll even bring Esther back if I have to. You won't have to say goodbye for long."

But as much as I wanted to believe his words, I just knew that I wouldn't be that lucky.

XXX

A/N: A painful chapter for the twins! But don't you worry, it will get better, eventually... Thank you for the reviews, my darlings :) I love reading your thoughts on what has been happening! Friendly reminder that the poll is still active :) this will be the last update for a couple of weeks, as a: I need to get some more chapters in my backlog haha, and b: I'm going to be enjoying the sun with my hubbie :) the next update will be on the 10th June. Until next time, I hope you all enjoyed xoxo