Disclaimer: I only own my OCs
A/N: A chapter, isn't it wonderful? This one has a lovely little twist that came to me while I was writing it, although there was a lot of indecision! We also get some family time and a bit of plot progression, so quite a full chapter!
XXX
I arrived at the cabin, only to find it empty. Which was definitely not a good thing. I knew that none of the boys had any reason to be out and about. And there was no way that Damon would get me to come here, only for him to pull a disappearing act. Which meant that something had gone wrong.
With a muttered curse, I closed my eyes and listened intently. Initially, I could only hear the sounds of nature, the water lapping against the shores of the lake, the insects buzzing around, the wind in the trees. But after a few moments of concentration, I heard it. The frantic beating of a heart. The sound of someone panting in fear as they ran. And then, someone falling to the floor.
I didn't know how I knew, but I just knew that it was one of my boys. Either Matt or Jeremy. But I knew that it was one of them. And they were in trouble. And I had to save them. So with another muttered curse, I sped through the woods. I ignored all the noises around me, focusing only on the human heartbeat.
The moon in the sky illuminated my surroundings and it gave me the perfect view of Matt on the ground. He was staring up at someone, his neck bleeding as he scrambled back. Unfortunately, he couldn't go far as his back quickly hit a tree. The vampire, and it had to be a vampire, grabbed my friend's foot, dragging him over to him. The sound of Matt's struggles, the cursing and the yelling, had me narrowing my eyes. I forced my body to move quicker as I saw the vampire go in for the kill.
I skidded to a stop just behind them, letting out a growl as the scent of Matt's blood consumed my senses. The other vampire, sensing the danger, let Matt fall to the ground. But before he could turn around and try anything, I shoved my fist through his chest. I acted on pure instinct as my heart grabbed his heart, squeezing it hard before I ripped my hand out. I stared down at the cold heart in my hand as the body fell to the floor with a thud.
I couldn't quite believe that I had done that, that I had killed the vampire. That I was holding their heart in my hand. But I didn't have time to process it. I had to help Matt. So with a shudder, I threw the heart to the side, uncaring of where it fell. Wiping my hand on my jeans, I muttered, "Ew, gross, it's gone under my nails," and crouched down in front of my friend.
Mattie squinted up at me, "Alexa? Is that really you?"
"The only and only," I flashed him a quick smile before gently grabbing his chin, tilting his head to the side, so that I could get a good look at his injury. Sucking my breath in through my teeth, I swore. "Fuck, Matt. That does not look good. Are you okay? Can you walk?"
"I can manage," the blue-eyed cutie nodded, although I could see the pain in his expression as the movement tugged at the edges of his wound. "We need to get inside though, before the rest of them come."
"The rest of them?" I frowned, helping Matt to his feet. But before he could reply, I heard footsteps behind me. I spun around, pushing Matt behind me, ready to protect him from anything else that came our way. But I immediately relaxed when I saw Jeremy running through the trees. "Jeremy! Thank god!"
"Lexa!" my brother sighed as he reached us. He was breathing hard, clutching a crossbow in his hands as he glanced around. "We need to get back to the house."
"Alright, you two run on, I'll watch your back," I nodded before shoving the other two forward. I could tell that my brother wasn't happy with my words. But I wasn't giving him a choice. Despite being a hunter now, he still couldn't take on a vampire without more of an advantage. Whereas I could just rip their heart out again. And if anymore vampire tried to hurt either of my boys, I would do it without hesitation.
I kept glancing behind us as we ran, making sure that no one tried to sneak up on us. I didn't know who these vampires were, but I did know that the boys were in danger. We were just lucky that that the lakehouse was close by. Because I could see shadows through the trees. And there were a lot of them.
I heard Matt opening the door, hands shaking as he shoved the door open, the wood bouncing off the wall. Now that my boys were safe, I paused on the edge of the porch, looking out into the woods as I asked, "Jeremy, what the fuck is happening? Who are those vampires?"
"It doesn't matter, they're coming," Jeremy shook his head, reaching out to grab my arm. "Just get inside."
I let the kid drag me inside as I watched the vampires start to arrive. I counted at least six before the door closed in front of me. I knew that there were more, but they wouldn't be able to get inside. So, for now, at least we were safe.
It was then that it registered that while I knew where two of my boys were, I had no idea where my boyfriend was. I glanced around the room, looking for any sign of him. But I already knew that Damon wasn't there. I looked over at Matt and Jeremy, who were in the kitchen. Matt had a wet cloth held against his neck as he tried to clean off the blood. My brother was busy downing water, probably dehydrated after running for god knows how long. With a sigh, I approached them, taking the cloth from Matt's hand. I tilted his head to the side and took over cleaning his wound, before asking, "Alright. Someone better tell me what has been happening here before I lose my patience."
XXX
Things were even worse than I had expected.
Klaus, the motherfucking asshole, had arrived and had immediately started fucking things up. Apparently, he had turned a whole bar of people into vampires, just so that Jeremy could kill them. And when Damon had tried to put his foot down, Klaus had threatened to kidnap my brother. I had been so relieved that he wasn't in Mystic Falls, that it hadn't occurred to me that he would track down Jeremy.
So while I cleaned up Matt's neck, rolling my eyes as he declined the offer of my blood, I kept on muttering curses. All of this had become a complete shitshow. And I was now more determined to find the cure, so that I could shove it down Klaus' throat. He was a continuous threat to everyone that I cared about. And if finding that cure meant that I could get rid of him, then I would do it.
"Sun's up," Jeremy murmured, placing his gun down on the table in front of him as he looked out the window. "They'll be long gone now."
"Thank god," I muttered, placing a bandage on Matt's neck. "We can get you two out of here now and back home. Once you're safe, I'll work out a way to deal with them."
"You'll work out a way?" Jer repeated, raising an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. I gave him a look before rolling my eyes.
"Look, if you think that I'm going to let either of you near those vampires, then you've lost your mind," I pointed my finger at the kid as I stood up. "I've just spent the past hour making sure that Matt will neither bleed out nor die from infection. Because the idiot won't accept my blood." I ignored the eye roll from Matt at my words. "I get that you're a big strong hunter now, Jer. But I'm still better at killing those vampires than you are."
Luckily, before the kid could argue with me, which would probably lead to me throttling him, Damon walked through the door. He glanced between us, a relieved look in his eyes as he saw that we were all safe, before he walked towards me.
"You neglected to tell me that Klaus was around, causing trouble," I grumbled as my boyfriend wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
"I foolishly thought that he would back off after I shot him a few times," Damon rolled his eyes.
"Elena is going to kill me for this," I muttered, glancing over at Jeremy as he sat down next to Matt. "All she wanted was for him to learn how to fight, vampire style. And now he is being hunted by a pack of baby vampires."
"Well, she doesn't have to know," my vampire pointed out and I paused in thought. I mean, he was right. Ellie didn't have to know all of the details. She just had to know that Jeremy had been learning how to fight.
"What do you think, Jer?" I raised an eyebrow at my brother. "Think you can keep this a secret with me." When he glared at me, I sighed dramatically before loudly whispering to Damon, "He's got the grump with me because I won't let him play Rambo with the vampires."
"You're planning on taking them all out yourself?" Damon raised his own eyebrow as he looked down at me. "That's a bit ambitious of you."
"Hey," I pouted, crossing my arms. "I'm a lot more capable of taking them on than Jeremy is. Besides, I'm older than them. And I know how to fight."
"How do we know that Klaus won't just turn another group of people if anyone that isn't Jeremy kills this one?" Matt pointed out, a reluctant look on his face as he spoke those words. But as much as I hated them, they needed saying. Because it was a good point. And one that I hadn't considered.
"Fuck," I muttered. "You might be right. I don't suppose Klaus said anything about that?"
"He didn't, but it sounds like something that he would do," Damon nodded, looking reluctantly impressed by Matt's deductions. "Donovan is right. Jeremy needs to be the one kill them."
"I don't like it," I sighed, shaking my head. "But I can see the logic. There's nothing stopping Klaus from creating a new group of vampires and he'll probably compel that lot to kill Matt too. Elena really is going to kill me over this."
"If Donovan can keep his mouth shut, then she doesn't have to know," my boyfriend ignored Matt's indignant look. "I'll take Jeremy to kill them and grow his mark, while you take the least most valuable player home."
"What? Hey, no," I immediately protested, turning around to look Damon in the eye. "If Jeremy is going after a pack of vampires, then I'm going too. I have to be there to look after him."
"Ally, trust me," Damon's voice was soft as he cupped my face. "I'll keep the kid safe and I'll bring him home straight after. You need to protect Matt. Despite those muscles, he doesn't have anything to protect him against any vampires that might be sent his way."
"I don't like it," I sighed. "But I trust you to look after my brother." My gaze flickered over to Jeremy, "I swear, kiddo, if you get hurt, then I'll kick your ass, you get me? Just remember to show them no mercy and I'll worry about your humanity when you get home." I shook my head and repeated, "Elena will kill me, I just know that she will."
"I won't tell her about this," Jeremy nodded, already picking up his gun. "Because we need to find that cure, to get rid of Klaus."
"That's the only reason why I'm agreeing to you growing that mark," I pointed out as Damon's hand slid round to rest on the back of my neck. "Once he is dead, you'll be safe and I can fix any damage that all of this caused."
XXX
I pulled up outside my home with a sigh, before cutting the engine. I pulled the keys out of the ignition before handing them over to Matt. I had insisted on driving us home, since I was worried about the amount of blood that my friend had lost. And he was still refusing to let me give him my blood.
I looked at the house in front of us. I could see Elena and Jenna moving within, through the light shining through the curtains. I could hear their laughter as they joked about something they had seen on TV. And it just made my heart ache. They deserved to be happy. And I always seemed to ruin it. Like I inevitably would today. Because I knew, despite my best efforts, the truth would come out about what happened up at the lake. And then their lives would once again be filled with worry and fear.
Eventually, I sighed and tore my gaze away from my childhood home and instead looked at my childhood friend. Matt was watching me, his beautiful blue eyes full of worry. And I sighed again. All I seemed to do was worry people. And I hated it. I never wanted to be that person that everyone worried over. But ever since I turned into a vampire, it was all that I did.
"I'm sorry, Mattie," I murmured, leaning back against the seat and closing my eyes. "If I had known that you would end up getting hurt, I never would have asked you to go train with Jeremy."
"It's not your fault, Alexa," my sweet friend was quick to say, resting his hand on mind. "I don't think any of us expected Klaus to do what he did."
"He knows that we want revenge," I sighed, opening my eyes and turning my head to look at Matt. "After what he did to Mrs Lockwood, he knew that we would put more effort into finding that cure so that we could finally get rid of him. His only option is to find the cure first."
Mattie nodded, "He won't risk losing the advantage of the cure. Do you think that he will destroy it?"
I hesitated before whispering, revealing one of my hidden fears, "I secretly worry that he will force me to take it. So that he can use me to carry on the doppelganger bloodline. And that is, like, the last thing that I want. I don't want to take the cure, Matt. I like being a vampire. I'm strong, I can protect my loved ones. Taking the cure is not an option for me."
My friend had a sympathetic look in his eyes as he gave my hand a squeeze. I knew that I could trust him with this secret. Even though he had no love for vampires, I knew that Matt wanted the best for his loved ones. And while I knew that that he would never quite get his head around me wanting to be a vampire, he would still support me.
"Well, we'll just have to find the cure before he does," sweet Matthew smiled, a reassuring look on his face. "But if it's any consolation, I don't think Damon would let Klaus force the cure on you. He was kind of scary when he was shooting Klaus yesterday."
"Yeah, he was pretty pissed when I told him what happened to Mrs Lockwood," I sighed, shaking my head. "If he didn't have the cure to find as a perfect way of getting revenge, then I think he would have tried using magic to put the hybrid douche down."
"Even though Bonnie can't do spirit magic right now?" Matt frowned and I shrugged.
"Damon knows of other witches. The only difficulty would be persuading them to use dark magic. But my boyfriend can be very persuasive when the occasion calls for it."
"I can imagine," my friend muttered before shaking his head. I gave him a sympathetic smile before resting my hand on the doorhandle.
"Do you wanna come in?" I asked as I got ready to go face my family. I wouldn't tell them about the Jeremy situation yet. No, I would give it a bit more time, just in case I can cover it up.
"Nah, I should probably get to the Grill and see when my next shift is," Mattie sighed. "I know you compelled them to keep paying me even though I wasn't there. But it doesn't quite feel right."
"Oh Matthew, you are far too noble for your own good," I patted his shoulder before getting out the car. I waited by the door as Matt walked around to the driver's side. "But if they give you any trouble about those shifts, then give me a call. I don't want you to have any issues with work, just because you were helping my family."
"Thanks, Alexa, I will," the cutie smiled at me before getting in the truck. I watched him drive away before sighing and shaking my head. There was nothing to stop me from going inside now. I just had to hope that I was able to keep my cool and not immediately spill the beans.
My family called out greetings as I walked inside the door. Ones that I returned before my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I frowned when I saw that it was my brother calling me. I had a sick feeling in my stomach as I answered the call. While there was nothing suspicious about him calling me, I just knew that it hadn't been enough time for all of the vampires to be dead. No, this had to be bad news. I just knew it.
"Hey, kiddo," I rested my back against the front door, ignoring the looks that I got from Elena and Jenna.
"Lexa, we're in trouble," my brother panted down the phone, sounding as though he was running again.
"Ah fuck," I groaned, quickly moving over to the bowl where we kept the car keys. "What happened? Where are you?"
"Listen to me," it was the tone of Jeremy's voice that had me pausing, my hand still in the key bowl. "Kol attacked us. I barely got away, but… he has Damon."
XXX
I paced up and down the length of the hallway, muttering obscenities under my breath, using my fingers through my hair, tugging on the ends. After my frustrated shout, Elena had quickly taken over the phone call. Jer had told her some of the story before she ordered him to get home as quickly as possible. I had let her, unable to focus on anything else except for the fact that the man that I loved was being held hostage by an unstable Original Vampire.
Jenna had gently pulled the story of what happened last time from me as I paced. It was jumbled and garbled as I struggled to focus. But they there were able to understand most of it. I knew that I would get in trouble for it all later. But for now, they left it alone. It was probably because of how unstable I looked.
"Lexa, you need to breathe," my twin's voice was soft as she watched me pace. "I know you're worried, but we can't work out a way to help Damon if you're one step away from a panic attack."
"I'm a vampire, I can't have panic attacks," I muttered as I continued pacing.
"We both know that you can," Ellie sighed, stepping forward, into my path. She rested her hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look her in the eye. "Alexa. Breathe."
I gave her an unhappy look but I got a stern one in return. I knew that my sister wouldn't back down. So I closed my eyes and took a dramatically deep breath. Content that I was listening to her know, my sister started speaking again, "Kol won't kill Damon, not yet. He must need him for something. "
"Last time you saw Kol, he was working with Rebekah, right?" Jenna frowned, looking deep in thought. "So do you think its something to do with that?"
"If he was after the cure, then why was he threatening Jeremy and stopping him from growing the mark?" I reached up to grip my twin's wrists as she stroked my shoulders. "Unless… he doesn't want the cure?"
"He tried to kill Shane," Ellie murmured, exchanging a glance with Jenna. "Because Shane knew where the cure was."
"So Kol has officially gone off the rails and he has my boyfriend," I shook my head sharply before Elena encouraged me to go and sit on the sofa next to Jenna. "And there is no way that I can take him out. If I was human, I could have used a dagger. But as vampire, there is nothing that I can do."
"There is one person who can get Kol under control," my sister spoke slowly, looking like she didn't really want to say what was on her mind. "But I know that you won't like it."
I squinted up at her, before forcing myself to ask, "Who?"
"Klaus," Ellie sighed, sitting down on the chair opposite me. "Klaus can get Kol under control, and he can get Damon back. While also ensuring Jeremy's safety."
"Fucking Klaus is the reason why we are in this mess," I muttered angrily, my knee bouncing. "He was the one that turned all those vampires. Because of him, Jeremy and Damon had to go and track them down. Why should we trust him?"
"Because he wants the cure," Jenna nodded, looking like she agreed with my twin. "He won't risk anything happening to Jeremy. And you could probably leverage that to get Damon saved too."
"I don't know if he would help me," I admitted quietly, squeezing my hands into fists, my nails digging into my palms. "He must know that I want revenge for what happened to Mrs Lockwood."
"I think that you could persuade him," Elena leant forward, trying to catch my gaze again. "You know how to play him, Lexa. Just appeal to his ego, he'll do anything if he thinks that you are begging him for help."
"I guess the thought of taking him down will help me," I sighed, shaking my head. "I should probably go now. The longer that Kol has Damon, the worse it will be. Just… let me know when Jeremy gets home? If I'm not here?"
"It'll be the first thing that I do," Ellie promised and I gave her a grateful look. I took a deep breath before standing up. The last thing that I wanted to do was see Klaus. He took Tyler's mom from him, he threatened Matt, he threatened Jeremy. He threatened to take my brother from me. But I had to do it, for Damon. I refused to let anything bad happen to my boyfriend because I was too proud to go and beg Klaus for help.
Elena was right. I could play Klaus. He had helped me before; I could get him to do it again. Despite my hostility towards him, the Original Hybrid had proven that he wanted to be my friend. Hopefully he still wanted that. Otherwise I was officially screwed. And if I was, then Damon was too. And I refused to let that happen.
I used my vampire speed to get me to the Mikaelson Manor. I could have driven, but I needed to keep moving. It was one of the few things that could help me keep my emotions in check long enough to get through this conversation. And I needed to play this perfectly. Damon's life depended on it.
When I came to a stop outside of the front doors, I took a deep breath. I reminded myself why I was where, clenching my fist around my birthday ring. I was doing this for Damon. I would do anything for Damon. Including beg Niklaus Mikaelson for help.
With a shaking hand, I bagged my fist on the door three times. God, I hoped that he was home. It never really occurred to me that he wouldn't be. Lord knows what the hybrid did during his free time, when he was plotting to murder and torment the people that I cared about.
Luckily for me, he was home.
XXX
I had blurted out the reason why I was here the moment that I saw the Original Hybrid. I wasn't sure if my words made sense, but from the way Klaus' face tensed slightly, he knew what I wanted. I was beckoned inside before the Original led me through his home, to the living room.
Klaus gestured for me to sit down on the leather sofa, passing me a glass of whiskey before sitting down on the sofa opposite me. Behind him, flames crackled merrily in the fireplace. Other than the lamps on either side of the sofas, the flames provided the only light in the room. It was a dark atmosphere, but it felt oddly right.
With a wave of his hand, the hybrid requested that I repeated why I was here. So, with a deep breath, I said, "Kol has Damon. He took him when Damon and Jeremy went to go kill the vampires that you created. Jer managed to get away because Damon used himself as a distraction. And now… I need your help to get him back."
"A bit ironic, you coming to me for help," Klaus smirked, looking like he was enjoying the situation far too much. It took all of my energy to not narrow my eyes at him. "Weren't your friends just trying to bury me in a cement tomb?"
"I would like to point out that I was actually out of town when that happened," I muttered, tapping my nails against the glass. "But either way, it was your actions that led to this. Jeremy and Damon wouldn't have been there if you hadn't have killed all of those vampires. They could have been in town, safe. I don't wanna say that this is all your fault, but if the shoe fits…"
Luckily, the hybrid ignored my dig in favour of dramatically sighing, "And now my little brat of a brother has gone and made things worse. Well, with the history that he has with Damon, it makes sense as to why he would want to play with him for a while. But still, I suppose I should do something, shouldn't I?"
"As the older sibling, it kind of is your duty to get your brat of a brother under control," I pointed out before draining my glass. "Trust me, I would know. Jeremy went through a brat phase too."
"I usually left that duty to Elijah," Klaus smirked, giving me a wink. "But, for you, I will get Kol to play nice."
"Thank you," I sighed, leaning forward to place my glass on the table in front of me. "I do appreciate it. But I do have to ask, why are you helping me so easily? I honestly thought that I would have to get on my knees and beg."
"Because if I help you, then you might consider not using the cure against me," the hybrid shrugged as he pulled his phone of his pocket. "And if not, then your loyalty might force you to hesitate long enough that I can destroy the damn thing."
"You won't use it against me?" I frowned, unable to stop myself from asking the question. I didn't want to know the answer, not really. Because how could I trust that he was telling me the truth?
"Whilst I'd like to cure you so that I can carry on the bloodline, destroying the cure so that it can't be used against me is more important," Klaus stared at me as he answered, blue eyes looking almost black in the dark room. "So don't fret, Alexa. I won't be interfering with your plans just yet."
"Oh goodie," I rubbed my face, needing to look away from his intense gaze. "I know that I owe you for all of this. Just don't make me regret it, please."
The hybrid just smirked at me as he called his brother. That wasn't exactly reassuring. But I couldn't worry about it. Not until I got Damon home, safe and sound. And removed the threat from my brother.
"Little brother," Klaus sighed dramatically, sounding incredibly put upon. "Just two days home and I'm told that you've already gone and made a mess."
"Come on, Nik," Kol replied, the mischievous tone in his voice was not particularly reassuring. "I was only having some fun."
Klaus' voice immediately went serious as he snapped, "Those vampires were for my hunter."
"I'll make some more," the younger Original retorted, sounding completely unbothered by the threat in his brother's voice. "There's no shortage of people."
As I shifted in my seat, Klaus' gaze immediately snapped to me. It was though my movement had reminded him as to why he was calling his annoying younger brother as he asked, "Where's Damon Salvatore?"
"I gave him a good and proper beating, just for old time's sake," Kol replied, sounding quite jovial at the thought. I narrowed my eyes at his words but wisely kept quiet. If Kol knew that he had a card to play in all of this, then he could hurt my boyfriend even more.
"Yes, well, you've had your fun," the Original Hybrid shook his head. "Now let him go and come home. Avoid any more trouble or you'll find yourself back in a box."
Ah, I had wondered when the daggering threats would happen. It wouldn't be Klaus if he didn't threaten to put his siblings in an extended time out. Although I was surprised that he would make the threat in front of me. I always assumed that he would be the type to keep family drama like that on the down low.
"Hey, no need to be nasty about it," the younger brother protested, sounding like a younger brother who frequently got told off. If it was any other situation, I would have found it quite amusing.
"On the contrary, I find nastiness to be essential whenever my siblings try to sabotage me," Klaus snapped back. "Listen closely, Kol. Stay away from the Gilbert boy. You understand?"
I didn't like the way Kol said, "Fine. I won't touch him. You have my word."
XXX
Damon's POV
I glared up at Kol as he hung up the call. I knew that, despite what he promised to his brother, he wasn't finished with me. My fingers clenched around the stake in my hands, wincing slightly as the movement sent pain throughout my body. The fucking Original had compelled me to stake myself and to keep it there, keeping me in pain. Weakening me as I lost far too much blood. But I couldn't bring myself to regret being here. I had managed to save Jeremy. If Klaus knew what Kol was up to, it was because the kid had managed to get to safety and alert his sisters over what happened. I was just relieved that I had insisted that Alexa had gone home. Because I wouldn't have forgiven myself if she had gotten hurt.
"Very good, darling," the Original smirked down at me as he rested against the counter. "Now, stab yourself a little bit further."
I couldn't avoid eye contact with him and I cursed inside my head as he compelled me again. So, despite every instinct screaming not to, I forced the stake further into my body. I couldn't hold back the groan of pain as the wood scrapped against my heart. With narrowed eyes, I spat, "If you're gonna kill me, do it like a man."
"I don't want to kill you," Kol laughed, his voice jovial despite the dark undertone to his words. "I just wanted to make sure that you could be compelled."
"I'm gonna rip out your spleen," I growled as I tested out the stake, seeing if I could get it to move out of me. Kol hadn't actually told me not to take it out, just to stab myself with it. He also hadn't ordered me to stay here. I just hadn't found the right opportunity to escape. But there was one benefit to that. I knew what his plan was. And now, I could stop it.
"You ought to be thanking me," the Original scoffed, shaking his head. "I mean, you don't really want the cure found. While I'm sure that Alexa won't want it, that doesn't mean that she won't be manipulated into taking it. Hell, even my brother would try it. And the only way to get the cure is sweet, young Jeremy. Deep, deep down, I bet you want him dead because of that, don't you?"
I tried to ignore his words as I gripped the stake, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice. I knew that I would only have seconds to escape when I made my move. And I had to make every one of those count. Especially now that I knew his plan. Kol wanted to use me to kill Jeremy. Even if I wasn't fond of the kid, I wouldn't do that to Alexa. I wouldn't let her lose anyone else that she loved. My girl had lost too much. And I wouldn't put her through anything else like that.
"Nope," I ground out, making sure to avoid eye contact with the Original. I cursed the fact that Pastor Young had destroyed all of the vervain when he blew up the Town Council. Ever since he did, I had lost my advantage against the Originals. I had no way of protecting myself from their compulsion now. Of course, it also meant that I couldn't be vervained. But with the council gone, the Mikaelson family were the bigger threat.
That just made Kol laugh. He shook his head as he crouched down in front of me, "You're lying. I bet you'd love to rip his head right off. And I'm gonna give you your wish. Of course, you won't actually remember any of it. Can't have you fighting my compulsion, now, can I?"
"If you think that I'll fight it, then you know that I don't really want to kill Jeremy," I smirked weakly, trying to make out that I was weaker than I was. When the Original paused in his monologuing to glare at me, I made my move. With a pained grunt, I pulled the stake from my chest. With strength born from adrenaline, I managed to shove the wood into Kol's stomach. I had missed his heart, not that it would kill him. But it would put him out of action for a while. It was just a shame that my hands had been shaking too much for me to aim properly. But the sudden pain was enough to make him stagger out of the way of the door. I didn't even hesitate as I ran from the room.
Despite the pain from my still healing body, I didn't stop. I bolted from the back room and ran through the bar. I knew that it wouldn't take Kol long to recover from his injuries and I couldn't afford to let him catch me. Fortunately, I had somewhere close by that I could go where he wasn't invited to enter. I ran through the woods towards the Gilbert lakehouse, noting the fact that my car was gone. I figured that Jeremy had taken it, having used it to escape back home. The kid better not have damaged it. Otherwise I would be seriously tempted to take Kol's offer to rip his head off.
I knew that I could hide out there until I was fully healed from Kol's little torture session. It wouldn't take long. I could already feel my body healing. The bloodbags that I kept there would only speed it up. And once I was healed, I knew that I had to get back to Mystic Falls. Because Kol would go after Jeremy again. Oh, he had promised not to lay a hand on the kid himself. But the Original was sneaky. And he would find others to do his bidding. Which was something that I couldn't let happen. I couldn't let anything happen to Jeremy. I refused to let my girl lose anyone else that she cared about. Including her annoying little brother.
XXX
Alexa's POV
After reminding me that I now owed him, Klaus cordially told me to leave. Not that I was planning on hanging around. I was eager to get back home and see if my brother was back yet. Unfortunately, he wasn't. When I started worrying over his continued absence, Jenna forced me to sit on the sofa next to her with a mug of camomile tea.
I had grumbled but I had let Jenna cover my legs with a blanket. I knew that she worried about Jeremy herself, but since we had forbidden her from getting properly involved, all she could do was worry from home. Of course, now that I was home too, she could also fret over me. And after everything that she had been through, I couldn't bring myself to stop her. Of course, there was also something else that persuaded me.
After Jenna had turned off the TV, unable to find something to watch, I paused as I heard a new noise. Elena was upstairs in her room and I could hear her heartbeat. I could hear Jenna's next to me. But there was a third one in the house. I closed my eyes and concentrated, trying to work out where it was coming from. If someone had broken in, then I would find them and get rid of them. No one was allowed to threaten the safety of my pregnant aunt and human twin.
But no one had broken in. I startled as I realised the noise was coming from right next to me. My eyes shot up and I ignored Jenna's questioning as I stared at her stomach. There was a steady beating coming from it, from the baby within. I reached out my hand and it hovered over her stomach as I paused and glanced up at her. My aunt stared at me with wide eyes as she jerked her head in a nod. Now that I had her permission, I rested my hand on her stomach, over where the baby safely stayed.
"Oh my god," I murmured, as my enhanced senses allowed me to feel the baby's heartbeat. "Holy shit."
"You can hear it, can't you?" Jenna whispered, not wanting to break the magic of the moment. And it did feel like a magical moment.
I nodded, a wide smile on my face, despite the seriousness of the day, "I can hear it. Oh my god, Jenna, you're having a baby!"
"You've only just realised?" my aunt laughed, shaking her head at me. But there was a fond look in her eyes. She probably realised that until now, her pregnancy felt quite abstract for me. I mean, yeah, I knew that she was pregnant. And I could smell the vomit from her morning sickness. Which didn't even happen in the morning. But it still didn't quite feel real. Until now. Until I could hear the baby's heart beating strongly.
"Of course not," I rolled my eyes at her, as I continued to stare at my hand and where it rested on her stomach. I was utterly mesmerised by the proof of life from within her. "But this just makes it feel more real. I can hear the little bean. This is so cool."
"What's so cool?" a voice asked from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see my sister standing in the doorway, watching us with a raised eyebrow.
"I can hear the baby's heartbeat," I laughed, beckoning her over. "Oh wow, it's such a soothing sound." I glanced up to see Jenna watching me with watery eyes, "Oh no, Jenna, don't cry. It's okay."
"They're happy tears," she smiled, wiping away the ones that started to fall. "My baby is still okay."
"Oh yeah, this sounds like a healthy heartbeat," I nodded, finally removing my hand from her stomach. "I can keep an eye on it for you, if you want me to? Especially until you get your scans done."
"I would really appreciate that," my aunt nodded, resting her hand on my cheek. "Thank you, Lexa."
"You're welcome, Auntie J," I pressed a kiss to her cheek before winking. "I mean, I am the family's official protector. That extends to the unborn ones too."
"This isn't going to be good for her ego," Ellie muttered as she joined us on the sofa. She sat on Jenna's other side, ignoring my indignant look. "But Alexa won't let anything happen to your baby, Jenna. If I know my sister, she'll be obsessively listening out for that heartbeat whenever she is near you."
"I'm going to find a compliment in those words and ignore any insults," I sniffed dramatically, enjoying the smile on Jenna's face. "But Ellie is right, I'll listen out for the little bean's heartbeat whenever I am around."
"Little bean?" Elena repeated with a raised eyebrow and I shrugged.
"We don't know if it is a boy or girl," I replied, reaching over to poke her thigh. "And I don't want to get it wrong. So until we know, the baby will be known as Little Bean."
"There are worse things for it to be known as," Jenna shook her head, but she accepted my words. Besides, I didn't want to keep referring to the baby as an 'it'. It didn't feel quite right. No, the newest member of the family needed a name. Even if it wasn't a proper one just yet.
"Speaking of Little Bean's," I turned my head so I could look at the front door. "I don't suppose we know where the big bean is?"
"Jeremy called when I was upstairs," Elena replied, looking slightly apologetic. "It's why I came down. He is on his way back in Damon's car. It shouldn't be too long until he is here."
"Awesome," I sighed in relief, relaxing back against Jenna. "The kid better hope that he doesn't damage Damon's car. Because my boyfriend will kill him if he does. And not even I could save him from that."
XXX
The sun was starting to set when Jeremy walked through the door. The moment he did, I pulled him into a hug. While I knew that he was okay, it wasn't until I saw him, with no blood and no injuries, that I actually believed it.
"Jeremy, thank god," Elena muttered as she joined the hug. Now that the kid was home, I was determined not to let him out of my sight. That kid was under house arrest for the rest of the year. Or at least until Kol had fucked off out of town again.
Apparently, our brother didn't share our relived feelings. After enduring our hug for a couple of minutes, he gently pushed us off before walking over to the cupboard under the stairs. He grabbed the duffle bag from within before walking over to the dining table. I exchanged a glance with my twin as he did so. We both knew that the duffle bag was full of Ric's weapons. And the fact that Jeremy wanted to see them was worrying.
I let Ellie take the lead, leaning against the doorframe, as we watched the kid take all of them out. He started cleaning the guns and loading the clips, before checking the pointiness of the stakes and the sharpness of the knives.
We watched him for a while, wondering when the best point of intervene would be. I could understand the kid wanting to make sure that he could protect himself. But this felt like it was more than that. This felt like a Hunter thing. And it was kind of worrying.
I exchanged a glance with Elena before she sighed and stepped forward, resting her hand on his shoulder as he continued loading a magazine clip, "Jeremy, it's over. You can put all this away. You're safe here, just relax."
"I can't relax," Jeremy shook his head sharply as he clicked the magazine into the gun. The click had me wincing as I realised just how tense the kid was. "Klaus still wants me to finish the mark. He's not gonna stop. And Kol won't stop until he kills me."
"Neither of them can get into the house, kiddo," I kept my voice soft, not wanting to add to his tension. I knew that just by being in the room, I was making him be on edge. Even though the hypnotism and the detour trick had worked, I was still a vampire. And his Hunter instincts were probably fighting to do something about me being alive. Or whatever counted as alive when it came to vampires. "So you can breathe. And then, when Damon is back, we can regroup and work out our next steps."
"What can we do about them, Lexa?" Jeremy sighed, looking up at me. I couldn't stop myself from wincing at the hopelessness in that gaze. "The only thing that can stop them is the cure. But I just… I don't know how I'm going to do this. Every time I kill a vampire, I feel as though I am losing a part of myself."
"Then maybe we don't find the cure," I suggested, shrugging when Elena turned around to face me. "Yeah, we can get rid of Klaus. But it's not worth your humanity, Jer. There are other ways to take him down, even if they won't be permanent. I love you too much to put you through that, kiddo."
I went to step forward, but my brother held up a hand, "Don't. Whatever it is that is inside of me that makes me want to hunt, right now, it's on overdrive. But I appreciate your words, Alexa." The kid sighed and shook his head, "And maybe you're right. It's not like you want the cure. So maybe we should stop all of this."
"See, you don't need to worry at all," I smiled gently, stepping back so that I was next to the doorway again. "So why don't you put all of these away and we can relax on the sofa until Damon gets here? Then tomorrow, we properly plan what we want to do."
Jeremy nodded and stepped away from the table. While he hadn't put the weapons away, he seemed content to not be near them. Of course, the paranoid part of me worried that he would still use one on me. But I tried not to think about that. Once the kid had calmed down, his instincts would stop being a problem.
"You know that Klaus won't stop until he has that cure, right?" Ellie whispered when Jer left the room. I sighed and nodded.
"Which is why I'm going to find him another Hunter," I replied, looking down at all of the weapons on the table. It was completely covered and it wasn't even all the ones that our family owned. "They were created by magic so magic should be able to find us a new one. Once he has a new Hunter, he can do whatever the fuck he wants."
"But to do that, won't that mean that you have to leave town?" I looked at my sister as she stared at me with wide eyes. I knew that we had to have a difficult conversation, but I didn't know if now was the right time. While we had been worrying about Jeremy and his Hunter instincts, we hadn't discussed the damaged bond between us. And the fact that one of us would have to leave town soon. Well, I say one of us, it was always going to be me. I had eternity to do whatever I wanted; Elena only had a human life. And she deserved to spend it surrounded by our loved ones.
"It was always going to happen, Els," I murmured, looking away from her pained expression. "I won't age and sooner or later, someone will notice. But when you factor in Esther's bullshit, I'll have to leave a lot sooner than I thought. But if my leaving means that I can help Jeremy, then I'll do it."
XXX
After my conversation with my sister, I had to go outside to get some air. I knew that Ellie got upset whenever I walked about leaving town. But it was something that neither of us could escape. And while I hated causing her any pain, I also couldn't hide from that conversation.
With a sigh, I walked off the porch to go sit on the grass. It was officially night time now and all of the crickets and the moths had come out to play. I leant back on my elbows, looking up at the moon in the sky. The cool night air brushed against my skin and I was able to relax. Well, not completely relax. That wouldn't happen until Damon was home. But for now, I could ease some of the tension from my body.
Of course, that wouldn't last for long. I had just closed my eyes when I heard the familiar sound of vampire speed. But before I could move, strong hands grabbed my arms. My eyes flew open as my back was shoved against the side wall of my home. A strong hand covered my mouth as an arm pressed down on my chest, pinning my arms to my sides. I froze as I stared up into Kol's eyes.
He looked furious. I had never seen the normally jovial Original so angry. Not even when Damon snapped his neck or when he was beating someone with a baseball bat. He was practically vibrating with rage. There was a bloodstain on his grey top, over his stomach. And I had a nasty feeling as to who caused it. My fears were confirmed when Kol spat, "You know, darling, your boyfriend really screwed up my plans. I was going to use him to give Jeremy a nice, easy death. But now, I really want to punish you all."
I tried to protest, to beg him to leave my brother alone. But his hand still covered my mouth. I knew that it was so that I didn't scream for help. I couldn't fight of his grip, because of the arm pinning mine down. I was completely powerless and I hated it. I had become a vampire to stop this from happening. But not even that had stopped me from being a pawn in someone's sick game.
"Now," the Original forced my head up, so that I met his gaze. I tried to close my eyes but before I could, that sick feeling of compulsion washed over me. "You are going to kill Jeremy for me. You will hunt him down and it make it as painful as possible. You will know what you are doing, but you won't be allowed to tell anyone. Nor will you able to fight it." I blinked away tears as he released me from my compulsion. Now that he had accomplished his plan, he seemed a lot happy. I could no longer see his rage, even if I could still sense it. "Honestly, darling, I'm hurt. You told on me to my brother? That was low. And then everything with your boyfriend. You're lucky that I'm just getting you to kill your brother. It could have been a lot worse."
I wanted to scream. How could it be worse? He wanted me to kill my brother! it didn't really get worse from there. It was one of my worst nightmares. And it wouldn't even be because I lost control. It would be because of compulsion. Because an Original was being a little bitch. God, I should never have left the house. I should have waited there until Damon came home. Now, because I needed some stupid air, I was being compelled to kill my brother.
Content that I was now doing his bidding, Kol gave me a cheeky smirk before winking, "I'll see you later, Alexa."
With that said, he disappeared. Without his grip holding me up, I collapsed to my knees in the mud. I tangled my fingers in my hair, tugging on it harshly. Already, I could feel the need to hunt my brother bubbling away under my skin. I wanted so desperately to scream it out, to warm them of what Kol had done. But I couldn't. It was like there was a blockage in my throat, stopping the words from forming.
I felt tears drip down my cheeks as I realised the hopelessness of the situation. My only hope would be that Jeremy's Hunter instincts protected him. That they sensed me coming and allowed him to stop me. To kill me, if necessary. Because I would rather die than hurt my brother. He was too important to me. I had sworn to myself that I would never hurt him. And I wouldn't let fucking Kol's compulsion break that promise.
I froze when I heard the front door opening and the sound of my brother's voice. He was telling Elena that he wanted to go check in on Matt. Who was currently at the Grill. Damnit kiddo, I had told him that he needed to stay at home. But here he was, taking advantage of my absence to leave the house. I swear, if it wasn't for Kol's compulsion, I would be going over to that kid and throttling him. But as it was, it took every ounce of effort to not move. To fight the compulsion. The sound of his heartbeat as he jogged over to the car was like torture. The noise called to me as Kol's voice filled my head. How he wanted me to hunt my brother down.
I'll never know how I managed to not move, to not go after my brother. But somehow, Jeremy drove away unharmed. Of course, the blood running down my chin from where I bit my lip, the deep nail groves in my palms as I clenched my fists showed just how much effort it was to keep myself still. But I knew one thing for certain, I had to avoid my brother for as long as possible.
XXX
I had managed to move myself up to the porch steps. Every step was an effort as my body wanted to go in a different direction. To go to the Grill and kill my brother. But I couldn't allow that to happen. So no matter how painful it was getting, no matter how hard it was getting to fight, I knew that I had to be strong in a way that I never had been before.
I was just debating whether it was worth finding a way to snap my own neck or staking myself to the ground when familiar hands cupped my face. I jolted as my eyes snapped up, meeting Damon's. He seemed shocked that he had caught me by surprise. But that didn't stop him from wrapping his arms around me when I pulled him closer. I could smell his blood on his top and his skin, and I knew that it was because of Kol. The Original had hurt him before trying to compel him to kill my brother. But somehow, my boyfriend has escaped his clutches. Of course, that had pissed Kol off enough that he had tracked me down to do it. But I couldn't let Damon find that out. I didn't want him to feel guilty for escaping. His escape wasn't a bad thing. It just had unintended consequences.
"I'm glad that you're okay," I mumbled into his chest as I squeezed hard. I knew that Damon all healed up, so I allowed my need for reassurance to outweigh any worry that I might have felt. Apparently, Damon felt the same way as he squeezed me just as tight. "I was so scared when Jeremy told me that Kol had you."
"It'll take more than Kol Mikaelson to take me out," Damon scoffed, but I could tell that the day had taken a lot out of him. It was the way that he held me just slightly too tight, the way that he had moved us so that he didn't have his back to the street. Getting taken by Kol was a surprise and it was not one that was going to happen again.
"Kol sucks and I hope he dies," I grumbled as the muscles in my body tensed. The urge to go after Jeremy was getting stronger. And I didn't know how much longer I could fight it. I let out a long breath, trying to style it out like I was relieved that everyone was safe now. "He's been threatening Jeremy and I just know that he will kill him if he gets his hands on him."
"He tried to compel me to kill Jer," my boyfriend revealed, keeping his voice calm so as not to worry me. But I already knew this, because of Kol. And because the same was happening to me. "He failed, obviously. I got away before he could. But you are right. We need to get Jeremy somewhere safe, where Kol can't get to him. Is he still here?"
I shook my head as I felt something inside of me break. When I answered, it didn't feel as though it was me answering. The tension in my body had eased and I wanted to try as I knew what it meant. The compulsion was winning. And I wasn't strong enough to fight it anymore.
"No, he left a little while ago. He said something about checking in on Matt. Who, if I remember correctly, is working a shift at the Grill."
"We should go and get him," Damon muttered, ushering me to my feet. I nodded, taking his hand in mine as we walked over to his car. But inside I wanted to cry. Because I had failed. And now, I was going to where my brother was. "Get him back here before Kol tracks him down."
"I thought that Kol had promised not to touch him," I frowned as I felt my body acting on its own accord. I wanted so desperately to dig my heels in, to stop myself from moving. But I just couldn't. Something had broken inside of me. And because of my failure and my weakness, my brother was in serious danger. And I couldn't even warn anyone.
"Kol is a sneaky little bastard who will either compel someone to do his own dirty work for him, or just lie to his brother and kill Jeremy himself," my boyfriend shook his head. "We shouldn't trust what he promised."
"You are right," I sighed, getting into the car, even though my body itched to just speed away. To take the fast route and not the car. "He knows that the worst that Klaus will do is dagger him. And I get the feeling that it isn't much of a threat anymore."
"He needs that dagger shoving somewhere else," Damon muttered before looking over at me. He paused before starting the car, frowning deeply as he examined my face. "Ally, are you okay?"
My body smiled for me, and I nodded, "It's been a bit of a tense day. But I'm fine. I just want to get my brother home, safe and sound."
But Damon, my amazing Damon, didn't look convinced. His gaze darted down and he reached out to prod a spot of blood on my top. Blood that must have dripped from my lip. He took a deep breath, almost scenting the air, before his eyes snapped up to meet mine. He was barely hiding the panic as he breathed out, "Kol?"
"Please stop me," I whispered, hoping that my eyes showed the pain that I was in, that I was trying to fight this nightmare. But before Damon could make a move, I found myself speeding from the car. I was still fighting myself, but it was hard. The closer that I was getting to Jeremy, the less strength I had to fight. I just had to hope that Damon stopped me in time. He was my only hope. He was Jeremy's only hope.
XXX
I got to the Grill in record time. I had barely paused for a moment after I left Damon's car. Despite my mind screaming at my body to fucking stop. The first thing that I noticed was that the Grill was packed. And while that would normally be a bit iffy because of my hunger, it would only benefit my brother as it would slow down my search.
I pushed my way through the crowd, trying to move as slowly as my compelled body would allow me. Fortunately, I failed to see my brother through the crowd. He had either gone home, or he was out of sight. Either way, it gave Damon enough time to track me down. He knew where to go. I just had to hope that he got here in time. He felt like my only hope. He was the only one that trusted to stop me. It was probably a bit ridiculous, as there were others that could stop me. But I trusted Damon the most. And it was that trust that stopped me from breaking down and internally crying.
I was just making my way through the crowd when a familiar voice called my name. I glanced to the side to see Matt staring at me, looking confused. I gave him a strained smile before striding over to him. I paused when I reached his side, looking around again, "Matt, where's my brother?"
"Uh, he's in the back, I think," the cutie frowned, looking behind me. I knew that I was acting weird. But it also meant that he could call in backup. He could get someone else here who could stop me doing something that I would regret. Because fighting this was getting harder.
I nodded, muttering a distracted, "Great," before walking past him. But then a thought hit me. Kol had told me that I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. But if I wrote it down and someone just happened to see it, then I wouldn't technically be breaking the compulsion. It could be a way around it. And if I found a way around some of it, then I could find a way around the rest of it. So I grabbed Matt's hand, pulling him behind me as I walked.
It wasn't until I saw my brother walking out of the back corridor that I froze. Matt repeated my name, frowning at me. But I couldn't focus on it. All I could focus on was my brother's heartbeat, the scent of his blood. I could feel my face changing as I made eye contact with the kid. Jeremy froze, looking shocked and alarmed. And he wasn't running away. The idiot wasn't running away.
As my body tried to move forward, I fought the compulsion to mouth one single word, "Run."
Jer nodded, still looking alarmed, before he turned on his heel. I fought my body, stopping it from moving, as I watched my brother run into the back room. I knew that the entrance to the tunnels was in there, so he had a way out. And the tunnels were a maze. It wouldn't be easy to find someone in there, even if it was a vampire tracking a human. All I had to do was give him enough time to get deeper into the tunnels before the compulsion took over again.
Matt called my name again and my foot took a step forward. Despite my internal screaming, I just kept on walking until I got into the back room. The entrance to the tunnels was on the floor and I knew that my brother had escaped for now. So I let go of Matt's wrist and grabbed a spare pipe from the floor. With a muttered curse, I shoved it through my leg, hoping that it would weaken me for long enough.
While my friend shouted out my name, I pulled out my phone. Pulling up a blank text, I typed out 'Kol compelled me to kill Jer. Getting harder to fight. Get backup. Now.' And I placed my phone on the floor. I left it there, making sure that the words on the screen could be seen. I knew the moment that Matt had read it as he crouched down in front of me.
"How bad is it?" he asked as he picked up my phone. I took it from him, placing it back in my pocket. I knew that I could be tracked using it, if necessary.
"Bad," I grunted, clenching my fists tightly. "It's getting so hard to fight this, Matt. I don't know how much longer I can hold on."
"Does anyone else know?" my friend asked, as he started looking for the screws to the tunnels entrance. If he could get it back on, it would slow me down. Even if for a moment. And that moment would be essential to Jeremy's survival. All of those moments were important. And I would do whatever I could to give my brother as many of them as possible. Including shoving more pipes through the my leg if needed.
"Damon, I think," I could feel my hands wrapping around the pipe, despite my determination to leave it in. "He should be here soon. But I don't know if it will be quick enough."
"I'll call him, let him know where Jer went," Matt nodded, pulling out his phone. "And I'll call Caroline and Tyler too. If one of them can find Jeremy, I'll tell them to take him to my house. You haven't been invited in there. He'll be safe."
"Thank you," I sighed out as my strength gave out again. I ripped the pipe out of my leg, dropping it to the side. I didn't care about the blood that dripped down my leg, even as the wound rapidly healed. "Tell Jeremy the truth for me? I don't want him to hate me for this."
With that said, I disappeared from Matt's sight and sped down into the tunnels.
XXX
Once I got down into the tunnels, I tried to keep to human speed to give my brother a chance to escape. But it was difficult. My body was itching to run through these tunnels, to get to Jeremy as quickly as possible. And I knew that when I had the kid in my sights, it would be virtually impossible to fight the compulsion. I had felt that way up in the Grill. The moment I saw him, I felt my face changing, the need to kill him was overwhelming. If I saw him again, after fighting so long, I didn't know if would be able to stop this time. I could feel my strength waning and I didn't know how to get stronger again. The only thing that I could do was rely on old methods, dangerous methods, to get control of my mind and body again. But for that kid, I would do anything possible, even go to some dark places.
Every time my body tried to use its vampire speed, I managed to force it into the fall. The grazes and cuts that I received healed quickly. Too quickly. I needed something to slow me down. But there was nothing around that I could use. There were no handy pipes to shove through my legs to slow me down. There wasn't even a handy stick around. All I had was the sharp rocks on the walls around me, but they wouldn't be enough.
All I could do was shout, beg my brother to run as quickly as he could out of here. Because that was his only chance. To run and get out of the tunnels. In an ideal world, he would emerge in town and not the woods. But at least the others were looking for him and they would go to the other exit to the tunnels. They would be able to find him soon. I just had to give them time. I had to give everyone time. Time was the only thing that would save my brother.
"Jer! You need to run!" I shouted, repeating myself as I dug my hands into the walls of the tunnel. The rock bit into my hands, cutting into them with the strength that I was using to hold on. The tiny sparks of pain helped me to keep control. For now. "Get out of these tunnels! Just keep running and don't look back! Kol compelled me to kill you, I'm fighting it the best that I can, but I don't know how much longer I can hold on for!"
While I didn't get a verbal reply, I did hear his footsteps echoing through the tunnels. I could only hope that he was running away from me, that he was listening to my words. While he was a clever kid, I knew that he was too loyal for his own good. He would try and help me fight this, even if it meant putting his life in danger. And I couldn't let that happen. I would never forgive myself if something happened to my brother. But if I was the one to hurt him, that would destroy me. I had sworn to protect this kid and I couldn't be the one to hurt him.
When I heard his footsteps pause, I groaned in frustration, throwing myself against the wall again as I tried to stay in control. As I tried to continue fighting the compulsion. And to do that, I needed to know that he was getting away, "Jeremy! Keep running! Hiding won't help you; I'll be able to track you down!" When I failed to hear him start walking again, I cursed, "For fuck's sake, Jeremy! Start running! I need you to run if I'm going to fight this!"
This time I heard footsteps, but they were slower, more hesitant. And I just knew that the little idiot was planning something. That he was going to try and stop me, and save me from the compulsion. But there was nothing that he could do. Not until Kol was daggered. And God, someone needed to do that soon. Which was no something that I thought that I would say, but the sooner Klaus daggered his brother, the better. And I knew that he would, he needed Jeremy to stay alive. And the only way to do that was to either kill me, which I would accept if there was no other option, or to put his brother on a timeout. Which was something that the Original Hybrid was more than capable of doing. I just wished that he would hurry up and get it done. He didn't normally waste so much time when he wanted to get rid of a sibling. But no, the one time I needed him to actually do something, he fucking dilly-dallies. The dick.
I could feel myself losing control again, as my body failed to listen to me when I tried to through myself into a wall again. I felt so powerless, as my body failed to listen to my mind. I knew that I didn't want to do this, but my body was following the compulsion. I hated feeling like this, like I had no control. I was completely helpless and it was terrifying. Because the consequences of losing control were horrific. But fighting was hard. It took every ounce of effort and it was exhausting. I needed someone to find us soon. To find my brother and get him to safety. To take me out if needed. I would die for that kid. And I would die to protect him, especially from myself.
I could feel my phone buzzing in my pocket, but I couldn't answer it. All of my focus had to be on fighting the compulsion. I didn't have the energy to do that and speak to someone. Even if they could help me. No, I had to ignore the call, for Jeremy's sake. My only job was to fight, to stay strong. And I would ignore everything and anything until I no longer had to do that. Until someone saved my brother from me.
XXX
I continued to fight, to throw myself against walls and dig my heels in, until a familiar smell hit my nose. Blood. There was blood. And I knew that there was only one person in these tunnels. That blood could only belong to my brother. Whether he had managed to hurt himself while running or if he had deliberately hurt himself, I didn't know. But I did know that he was an absolute idiot. He knew that the blood would bring me straight to him. And yet, he was now bleeding.
"Jeremy," I growled, smashing my head into the wall to break my nose, so that I wouldn't smell the blood anymore. Until it healed, I should be able to fight the compulsion. Even if it was screaming louder due to the blood. The need to hunt that had been compelled into me was on overdrive. Because that's what vampires did. They hunted when they smelt blood. And now I could smell blood. The absolute fucking idiot was bleeding and I could smell and it was making it absolutely impossible to fight and I swear I was going to fucking kill that kid when I was back in control. "What the fuck, Jer? Why are you bleeding? Forget stealth, Jer, you need to run. Now!"
I could feel my nose healing and once again, the smell of his blood was overwhelming me. But this time, I wasn't able to fight it. I sped through the tunnels, using my vampire speed, following the scent of his blood, until I came across one of the caverns. I couldn't see my brother, but I could sense him. I could smell his blood. I knew that he was nearby. And I knew that he was planning something stupid. Like the absolute idiot that he was. I swear, once this compulsion was gone, I was going to absolutely throttle him. He was putting his life at risk, instead of listening to me. Just wait, I was going to tell Elena and Jenna about this. And they would help me beat some sense into the moron's head. Because someone needed to. What if it was someone else? Someone that wouldn't fight the compulsion? Then what would he do? Would he be this stupid then? I just didn't know. And I couldn't take the risk of him doing something this idiotic again in the future.
The kid's jacket was on the floor. Why it was on the floor, I didn't know. And I didn't want to know. Because I knew that the reason would only make me angry. Because it was probably to do with a reckless plan that would lead to him getting hurt. I went to crouch down, to pick it up, when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I spun around, just as Jeremy tried to grab me. I could feel my face changing, the sight of my prey and the smell of his blood overwhelming all control. I bared my teeth at him, the fear in his eyes sending daggers to my heart. And that was enough for me to regain control.
I spied a gun in the back of his jeans and grabbed it, before shoving the kid back. I knew that it had wooden bullets in it. That was the only ammo that the kid used. And while it wouldn't kill me, I knew that it would slow me down. So with a grunt, I aimed the gun at my leg and fired. The sound of the gunshot echoed through the tunnels, and I saw my brother wince at the loud noise. The pain helped me gain more control, and I dug my thumb into the wound, increasing the pain.
While my mind was clear, I looked up at Jeremy. He was by the entrance to the room, a hesitant look on his face as he stared at me. I knew what he was thinking. He didn't like to see me in pain like this. But it was the only way that I could fight. And I would hurt myself a thousand times over if it meant saving my brother.
"Jeremy, you need to run," I forced out through gritted teeth as I tried not to smell. I knew that I would be able to detect the scent of his blood, even over the smell of my own. And I didn't know what would happen if I did. Would shooting myself even stop me again? Or would my body ignore the pain? There were too many unknowns, too many questions, and I didn't like that. I had to be certain that I wouldn't attack Jeremy. And there was one thing that I could do to guarantee that. Even if it was a horrible thing to do. "You can't fight me; you must know that. So you need to run. I'll give you as much time as I can. The others are looking for you. Get out of the tunnels and get to them. And…" I paused to shoot myself in the leg again, as I felt the compulsion try to take over, "Please forgive me. I never want to do this, to try to hurt you. I'm so sorry, Jer. Just know that this isn't me."
When my brother opened his mouth to argue, I shook my head, ordering him to run again. But the kid was too stubborn. And I realised that I would have to go through with my plan, whether he witnessed it or not. I didn't want him to, I didn't want him to see what I was about to do. I knew that it would haunt him. But if it saved his life, then I didn't care. I could help through nightmares. I couldn't help him if he was dead.
So I held the gun under my chin and closed my eyes, using the few remaining moments of control to pull the trigger. The last thing that I heard before everything went black was the sound of my brother screaming my name. And I prayed that he would forgive me for putting him through all of this.
XXX
I woke up alone. Thank god. Jeremy must have taken the hint and ran. Which was such a relief. Because now I had more time to fight this. Even as I dug the bullets out of my head and leg, I had time to fight. Oh, I knew that the compulsion would get me to chase him again. I had already accepted that fact. But I hoped, god I hoped, that in the time that I was technically dead, someone had found my brother.
As I stood up, I looked around for the gun. But it was gone. Jeremy must have grabbed it before he left. Which was some clever thinking from the kid. It gave him something to protect himself with, if the others hadn't found him yet. But I hoped that they had. They needed to have. It was the only guaranteed way to save my brother.
The cavern that I was in was apparently close to the exit, as I soon found myself exiting into the woods. It was still dark out, so I hadn't been unconscious for long. The moon illuminated the woods around me, giving me a clear view of the woods. I couldn't see my brother, which was a positive. But that didn't mean that he had been saved. As there was no one else around. I knew that they would have left someone here, to grab me and take me somewhere safe. I had a sinking feeling as I realised that no one was here yet. That Jeremy was still in danger.
I forced myself to use my human speed as I walked through the woods. The silence was deafening, it was like the natural sounds of the trees had stopped. There was no wildlife to hear. It was like the world had taken a deep breath and was waiting to let it out. I could hear every breath that I took, I could hear my footsteps on the ground. And it was all getting too much. Because I knew that it wouldn't be good from here. Something would break the hush and it wouldn't end well for anyone.
And I was right.
Ahead of me, through the trees, I heard someone fall to the floor. And I could smell blood. I instantly knew who this blood belonged to. It was my brother's. Of course it was my brother's. I mean, after this shitty day, whose else would it be?
I was so taken by surprise, that I didn't have time to fight the compulsion. I found myself speeding through the trees until I came to a stop in front of my brother. Jeremy was laying on the ground, cradling his ankle. He jolted in surprise as I appeared in front of him, before he grabbed the gun. With shaking hands, he aimed it at me. But I could tell that he wouldn't pull the trigger. No matter how much of a risk I was to him, the fool wouldn't shoot me. On a different day, I would find it adorable. But today? Nope, it was idiotic.
But luckily for him, we were now in the woods. Which meant that there were a lot of things that I could use to stop myself. Including some nice thick branches on the floor. I bent down to grab one, making sure that it was nice and sharp. As my brother whispered my name, I took a deep breath before sending it straight into my stomach. I let out a yell, which was quickly echoed by Jeremy, at the pain. I forced the wood deep into me, until it burst through my back, severing my spine. My legs gave out and I leant against the tree next to me.
Jeremy scrambled to his feet, limping over to me. My brother crouched down next to me, hands reaching out for me. But I shook my head, motioning for him to move away. While the pain was overwhelming, and the fact that the branch was still in me meant that I wasn't healing, I didn't know if his proximity would do anything to energise the compulsion. So it was safer if he stayed away. Not that the little dumbass was listening to me when I said that.
Fortunately, help quickly arrived. And about fucking time too. The Salvatore brothers appeared next to us. Stefan quickly grabbed Jeremy, moving him away from me, while Damon crouched down next to me. He reached out to cup my face, his gorgeous eyes filled with worry. I knew that I looked a mess. Blood stained my face and there was a fucking branch sticking out of me. But all I could do was whispered, "Get Jeremy to safety."
Damon nodded before turning to look at his brother, "Take Jeremy home. I'll take Alexa back to the Boarding House."
"You'll be able to keep her there?" Stefan retorted; eyebrow raised. Even with the pain radiating through my body, I could tell that there was something different about him. There was a bitchy edge to his voice and I knew that it spelt trouble. But for now, I was content to ignore it.
"Yes," my boyfriend ground out as he carefully placed one hand on the branch. "Now go!"
The younger brother nodded before grabbing Jeremy and disappearing from view. Now that my brother was gone, safe with someone, I was able to fully give into the pain. A low groan escaped my lips without permission, as I screwed my eyes shut. I knew that this would hurt, but I didn't think that it would hurt this much. Not that it was a bad thing. It gave the others time to get here, to get Jeremy away from me.
"Ally," Damon whispered, encouraging me to look at him. He wiped away a traitorous tear before both hands grabbed the branch. "This is going to hurt."
And he was right. It did hurt. I couldn't hold back the scream as he pulled the branch out of me. Damon quickly through it to the side before scooping me up into his arms. Even though my injury was quickly healing, I had still lost a lost of blood. And because of that, I was weak enough that I needed carrying back to the Boarding House.
XXX
I must have fallen unconscious on the way home as I woke up in the cell in the Boarding House basement. I coughed as I looked around, rolling my eyes at the sight of it. I honestly never thought that I would end up in here. But it made sense. I could be locked in here, to protect Jeremy, until we put Kol in a painful time out.
I didn't realise that I was on the camp bed that we had put in here for Ric until Damon crouched down next to me. He gently brushed the hair from my face, a guilty look in his eyes as he looked down at me. My hand twitched as I went to grab him, but I found that I didn't have the energy to move it. As I glared down my body, Damon sighed, "I'm sorry, baby. I couldn't give you any blood. Kol's compulsion is still in effect and until we find a way to break it, you're still a danger to Jeremy."
Damn, that explained the weakness. The blood that I had lost hadn't been restored. And I had lost a lost of blood. I remember the feeling of it soaking my clothes. The clothes that had been replaced, courtesy of my boyfriend. But I guess, it meant that I couldn't get out of here and go after Jeremy again. Because this was the only way to keep me weak. The vervain was all gone and we didn't have any way of getting more. Not right now, anyway. So if it meant that I had to be starved down here, then I would take it. I just had to make sure that Damon didn't feel guilty over it. Because I knew that this would be killing him. He would have wanted to heal me, to make sure that I was okay. But now he couldn't.
I nodded, my eyes closing again, "'s cool, Day. I get it. If it means keeping Jeremy safe, then I don't care. I'll stay down here. Just… don't let me be alone?"
I hated how vulnerable my voice sounded, but I couldn't help it. Being locked in here was something that I had feared, back when I was still human. When my evil side had the potential of taking over. And it was something that I thought that I had escaped. But now, I was stuck in here for the immediate future. We didn't know how long it would take for someone to dagger Kol. And I highly doubted that he would remove the compulsion himself. So I was stuck in here. And I honestly didn't know if would be able to cope if I was all alone.
"Hey," my boyfriend immediately moved, settling on the camp bed, my head on his lap as he gently ran his fingers through my hair. "I promise you; you will not be alone down here. I will spend as much time as I can with you. I'll only go to feed myself."
"Thank you," I managed a weak smile. "How is Jeremy? He isn't hurt, is he? I tried so hard to fight the compulsion, to keep him safe."
"He's fine," Damon continued running his fingers through my hair. "He has a few cuts and bruises, but no permanent damage. But he wanted me to tell you that he doesn't blame you for this and he can't wait to see you again."
"God, I'm so glad that he's okay," I breathed out, feeling my body relax at the reassurance. "I was so worried that I was going to hurt him, no matter how hard I tried to fight it."
"He told me what you did, that you shot yourself so that he could get away. He wasn't happy about that and neither am I."
"I couldn't think of anything else that would stop me," I winced, looking away from the unhappy look on my boyfriend's face. "All I knew was that I had to protect Jeremy. Besides, I healed perfectly fine. No damage was done. Except, perhaps, to my brother's mental wellbeing. Damn, now I feel guilty about it again."
"I think you should be more worried about what Elena will do to you, when she is allowed down here. She practically hit the roof when she found out."
"Double damn. Maybe I should be glad to be hidden down here for a while. It will give her time to cool off."
"I doubt that," Damon smirked, as he pulled out my phone. He reached to the side, placing it down on the little table. "She insisted on daily phone calls. So prepare to be berated tomorrow. I managed to save you from it today."
"My hero," I rolled my eyes. "Just try to stop looking so gleeful over me being told off by my twin. It kind of ruins the heroic look."
"Maybe if more than one of us tells you off for shooting yourself in the head, you'll think twice about doing it in the future."
"Hey, if it saves my brother's life again in the future, then I will keep doing it. But, I promise to look harder for better options before I do it. Is that better?"
"It will do," Damon rolled his eyes before moving to lay down next to me. He wrapped his arms around me and I snugged into his chest. Oh, I knew that I could feed from him, get my strength back. But for the first time in a while, I was able to properly fight Kol's compulsion. And I was more than content to hide in this cell with Damon until it was broken. I just had to hope that the others protect my brother. As I knew that the Original would try again. He seemed to have some kind of obsession with stopping us finding the cure. I didn't know why, but I did know that it put my brother in danger. And I couldn't protect him.
That was the most painful part about this. I knew that Jeremy wasn't safe, but I couldn't do anything about. Because I was also a threat to him, because of the compulsion. I just had to hope that the others looked after him. Which, bizarrely, also included Klaus, who needed Jeremy to find the cure. Hopefully, with all of them combined, my brother would be safe. Because if anything happened to him, I don't know what I would do.
XXX
A/N: Thank you for the reviews, my darlings, please keep them coming! :) I haven't had much time to do any writing recently, so I have no chapters left in my backup! And until the football season starts again in August, I don't know how much time I will get to write, so my question is: would you rather I didn't update until August? Or just update as and when I get a chapter finished? I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and my little twist, until next time xoxo
