Disclaimer: I only own my OCs

A/N: What is this? An update? A miracle?! I'm so sorry for taking so long! It was a combination of writer's block (season 4 is hard to write :( ), getting covid and just not having a lot of time to write. I have made a start on the next chapter, so hopefully it won't be as long a wait as it was for this one! We have a mostly original chapter here, so I am a bit nervous about it, hopefully you like!

XXX

The night was difficult. All I could think about was how hungry I was. Oh, Damon tried to distract me from it, but there was only so much that he could do. We couldn't have sex, because I knew that I would want to drink from him during it. Because that just made sex even better. And I wasn't quite tired enough to fall asleep again. While I still felt weak from the lack of blood, I didn't feel as though I could just pass out to spend the time. Even though I desperately wished that I could. Because the thought of what I had nearly done, of what I could have done, haunted me. I nearly attacked my brother. If I had a little less self-control, then I would have. And that thought made me feel sick. I had sworn to protect my brother, and because of a bit of compulsion, I nearly killed him. I knew that I would never forgive myself for that. And a part of me didn't want Jeremy to forgive me for it either.

Luckily, my boyfriend must have sensed where my thoughts were going, as he sighed softly. Damon had been sitting on a stool next to me, running his fingers through my hair, but after he sighed, I saw him get up. I was gently rolled onto my side before my boyfriend settled down behind me. I immediately snuggled back into his warmth as he wrapped his arms around me. Damon's chin rested on the top of my head as he held me tight against him.

"Is there anything that I can do to get you to stop thinking?" my boyfriend murmured into my hair, his finger coming up to tap my forehead before returning to stroking my side.

"Putting me on a snapped neck induced timeout might work," I muttered before wincing when Damon sternly spoke my name. I knew that he still wasn't happy with my little stunt with the gun earlier in the evening. And I would definitely pay for it at some point. But for now, I would stop making comments like that. "Okay, I'll stop. It's just…" I trailed off, unable to force out the words. Unable to make them real.

"You feel as though you deserve it," Damon sighed, clutching me even tighter, not that there was even any room left between us. But I didn't care. I needed his strength. The memories of the past few hours were torturing me. I couldn't even take comfort in the fact that I hadn't actually hurt my brother, because I came so close to doing it. And I knew that it if the Salvatore brothers hadn't arrived when they had, I might have lost all the self-control that kept my brother alive.

"I know what you're going to say," I allowed my eyes to close, focusing only on Damon's touch and not the thoughts that swirled around my head. "It wasn't my fault; Kol had compelled me. But… I should have done more to fight that compulsion. I mean, Stefan fought Klaus' compulsion for Elena. Why couldn't I do the same for Jeremy?"

"You did fight it, Ally," my boyfriend shifted slightly to press a kiss to my temple, before pressing his head against mine. "You didn't hurt Jeremy, you even shot yourself in the head to stop yourself. That kid is alive because of how strong you are. And I will tell you that as many times as I need to."

"Stop saying nice things," I grumbled, rolling my eyes as I felt Damon huff out a laugh. "It makes it hard to mope."

"If it wasn't so late at night, I would get Jeremy to repeat what I said," Damon's hand drifted up my stomach, brushing the underside of my breast, causing my breath to hitch. "But since you seem to be listening, I'll wait until the morning to do that."

"Well, aren't you a decent person," I muttered, my breath hitching again half-way through my words as Damon's fingers brushed my breast again. I felt him smirk into my hair before his hand made its way under my top. He pushed my bra out of the way, thumb brushing against my nipple. I bit back a groan before whispering, "I thought we agreed no sex."

"If you want to stop, then I can stop," Damon murmured in my ear, rolling my nipple between his fingers. This time, I couldn't stop a moan and I pushed back into him, feeling his erection against my ass.

I shook my head, muttering, "Don't stop," as his fingers moved to my other nipple. He nibbled on the sensitive spot of my neck, fangs brushing against the skin, before he started sucking. And I just knew that if I was human, I would have the biggest hickey ever. As his hands switched between my breasts, firmly massaging them, rolling my nipples, Damon slotted his thigh between my legs. Desperately needing more, I ground down on his leg, the friction from my jeans giving me more of what I needed.

Damon muffled a groan against my skin as my movements had me brushing against his erection. His hand quickly moved from my boobs and down to my jeans. With confident movements, he unbuttoned my jeans, pushing them down to my knees, my panties quickly following. And before I could do more than moan out his name, Damon's quick fingers were pressing on my clit. I bit my lip to hide the noises that I was making, as sparks of pleasure shot through my body. I reached back, gripping tightly on Damon's shirt, as his fingers dipped down to press inside me. I muttered out a curse, my body shaking, as he quickly found that special spot, rubbing firmly against it. My eyes rolled back as the heel of his hand pressed firmly against my clit, grinding against it in time with his fingers. Damon was quickly driving me over the edge, my body shaking with the pleasure running through it. And once I reached the edge, I quickly fell over it, biting my lip to stop me from crying out his name.

While I basked in the afterglow, I felt Damon unbuttoning his own jeans, pushing them down to free his cock. And I immediately shifted my hips, giving him the angle to slowly slide inside me. Damon gripped my hips tightly, holding my legs together. And in that position, I could feel every single inch of him slide inside me. I titled my head back, giving Damon more access to my neck. Which he immediately started sucking and nibbling on, as he slowly pumped his hips back and forward. Every movement dragged against that special spot and my still fading orgasm was quickly coming back. With each slow thrust, I gasped out Damon's name. Pleasure coiled tightly in my stomach as one of Damon's hands returned to my nipples, the other moving to rub my clit in time with his thrusts. After that, it didn't take me long to cum again, eyes rolling back as I moaned out Damon's name.

He quickly followed, sinking his fangs into my neck, drinking just enough to get him through. And I relaxed back against him, my pleasantly buzzing as I focused only on what had just happened.

XXX

It wasn't until it was morning that Damon let me go. He had kept his arms around me, refusing to let me leave his side. And I didn't mind that at all. It was comforting and reassuring and everything that I needed. But when the time on his watch indicated that it was a new day, he sighed into my hair, murmuring, "I need to go check on what has been happening. You gonna be alright here?"

"I'll be fine," I muttered, grumbling slightly when Damon's movements jostled me. "Don't suppose you can bring me something to drink? I'll take anything right now."

"I'll see what I can do," my boyfriend chuckled lowly, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead before leaving the cell. I wrinkled my nose as he left, locking the door behind him. But I didn't say anything. It was for the best. While he was here, he could stop me if the compulsion reared its ugly head again. But if I was alone, then I only had my self-control to rely on. And at this moment in time, I didn't know how strong that was.

With a sigh, I turned onto my back, closing my eyes and resting my arm over them. This entire situation was fucked up. Not that that should surprise me. Everything in this town was fucked up. Just when you think that there would be peace, something else happens. It felt like it had been constant pain and drama for years. There were bright moments in that time, I mean, I wouldn't give up what I had with Damon for anything. And he really was the only one that kept me going at times, when things got too dark. But then the pain got overwhelming again. I mean, I had been compelled to kill my baby brother. That was one of the most fucked up things ever.

I let out a groan and grabbed the pillow, covering my face with it. I was tempted to try and smother myself with it, but I knew that it wouldn't do anything. And I would only get in trouble for trying. So instead, I focused on the faint smell of Damon that was left on the pillow. Until he got back from checking in with Stefan, that was all that I had to focus on. Because I really didn't want to give the thoughts in my head any more power.

I debated contacting my family, seeing how they were, seeing how traumatised my brother was. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew that they would tell me that it wasn't my fault, that I hadn't actually hurt him. And while I knew, deep down, that their words were true. I didn't want to listen to them. Because in a way, I needed that guilt. It would help me fight this compulsion, until someone could put a dagger in Kol. Which I really needed someone to do quickly. It was quite annoying really, normally Klaus didn't need an excuse to stick a dagger in his siblings. But nah, this time, he was longing it out. The little shit.

I was drawn from my thoughts by the sound of the door opening. I lifted the pillow enough to see who had decided to keep me company. Only to frown when Damon stepped inside, closing the door with a sense of urgency. I frowned and opened my mouth to ask what was up, but before I could, he quickly sped over and placed a finger on my lips. Damon pressed a bottle of water into my hand before murmuring in my ear, words barely audible, "Drink this. It won't be nice but trust me, it will be worth it in the long run."

I was unsure, but I trusted Damon. I knew that he wouldn't do anything to hurt me. Which was why I unscrewed the bottle and took a sip of water. Only to splutter and cough as it burned my throat. My boyfriend immediately pulled me into his chest, muffling my coughing before whispering, "I know it burns, baby, but you need to drink it. It'll protect you."

If he wanted me to drink vervain water, then I knew that something unpleasant was on its way. So, ignoring the burning in my mouth and throat, I nodded, lifting the bottle to my mouth. Damon gave me a relieved look, tingled with apology, resting his hands on my shoulders. He gave me a gentle squeeze as I took another sip of water. This time, despite the pain it caused, I managed to swallow it. Of course, that didn't stop me from gagging and screwing up my nose.

"That's my girl," Damon pressed a kiss to my forehead before resting his against mine. "I'm sorry you had to do that."

"It's fine," I sighed, closing my eyes. "I'm guessing that you had a good reason for asking me. And I will get that reason out of you later."

"As soon as it is safe to do so," my boyfriend promised, moving his hands from my shoulders to my face. "But for now, that will keep you safe."

"How did you manage to get some vervain?" I frowned, letting Damon pull me into his chest. I curled into him as he leant back against the wall.

"Bonnie's dad has taken to interfering with matters outside of his concern," my boyfriend scoffed, shaking his head. "He managed to get his hands on some vervain and put it into the water supply."

"Ugh, that's a bit of a drag," I screwed up my nose. "What are we supposed to do now? That means no showers and no feeding from people."

"Well luckily, I have some nice fancy water filters here, so you can still have your showers," I could feel him smirking as he ran his fingers through my hair. "As for feeding on people, I'm afraid that we can only munch on out of towners."

"Damn, does Bonnie know that her dad has been doing this?"

"If she doesn't by now, then I'm sure she will soon. She has already told him that she doesn't want him interfering in her life. So she won't be happy about this."

"Honestly, he spends so much time out of town and now he cares, when it is the least inconvenient time."

Damon just hummed in response, holding me close to him.

XXX

The reason for the vervain water arrived not long later.

I was forcing Damon to give me a footrub when Stefan's face appeared at the bars. He glanced down at me, eyes full of guilt before he looked at his brother, "How is it going down here?"

"Well," I answered before Damon could, propping my head up so that I could properly look at the older vampire. "I'm hungry and I'm bored. Now, unless someone does something about that, it's gonna get pretty unpleasant for anyone around me."

"Now that is a shame," a new face appeared next to Stefan's, and I let out a loud groan at Klaus' smirk. "Has Damon not been entertaining you, love?"

"Oh come on," I let my head slump back, not caring that I was sounding pitiful and pathetic. I felt Damon's hand tighten on my foot and I knew that he wasn't pleased with the Original's appearance. But he didn't seem surprised and that said everything. "Aren't I suffering enough? Why do you have to be here?"

"I'm here to babysit," the hybrid shrugged casually, opening the door to the cell. He generously ignored my muttered cursing, choosing to smirk at Damon. "After all, we can't let something else happen to her, now, can we?"

Why was Klaus here to babysit? Seriously, out of everyone on the planet, why did it have to be him? I would have chosen literally anyone else. But no, I got stuck with the most annoying asshole in the world. Damon was perfectly capable to looking after me. He had done a great job all night and he really was the only vampire that I trusted to keep me in check. There was no need for Klaus to be here.

"Fuck my life," I groaned, grabbing the pillow from under my head and covering my face with it. "This is how I die. A pissing contest between you two."

"I am perfectly capable of looking after Alexa," my boyfriend ground out, but he didn't make any moves to force the smirking asshole out. Which felt slightly suspicious. Because I knew that Klaus wouldn't be here if the brothers hadn't wanted it. Which meant that there was something else going on here. And it irked me that I didn't know what it was. Ugh, and I couldn't get answers out of Damon until Klaus had fucked off.

"Well, Kol has targeted the poor girl before, there's no guarantee that he won't try it again. Especially if he can't get into the Gilbert house," Klaus shrugged, taking a seat on the abandoned stool. I moved the pillow enough to give him a glare and, for once, the Original Hybrid took the hint and moved the stool away from me.

"Even I know that your brother won't try the same thing twice," I snorted into my pillow. I was almost tempted to try to smother myself again but I knew that I wouldn't get away with it. And I would only get told off. Ugh, this just keeps getting worse and worse. "So why don't you do everyone a favour and go crawl into a ditch?"

"You'll have to excuse her," Stefan rolled his eyes and I moved my pillow to give him a dirty look. "She just gets unpleasant when she's hungry."

"No more unpleasant than you're being right now," I narrowed my eyes at him. I knew that things were tense between us, thanks to Rebekah's little stunt at the school the other day. We had both said hurtful things to each other and we hadn't had the chance to clear the air. But to be fair, until he had apologised to my sister, I didn't want to clear the air with him. He had a lot of making up to do and until Ellie was happy, I wasn't going to give him anything. Not now. I had to have my twin's back in this and as much as I liked Stefan, I couldn't do anything to make things right. Not yet.

It took Damon giving my ankle a squeeze to get me to play nice. With an exaggerated sigh, he rolled his eyes, "These two are currently in a fight, thanks to your sister. So you might want to keep her away from here for a while."

"Now that's interesting," Klaus purred and he gave Stefan a look. One that reminded me so much of the looks that I gave my brother when I wanted to tease him. "Because I saw him trying to sneak out of Rebekah's bed this morning, which suggests to me that he no longer has an issue with my sister's little stunt at the school."

This had me ditching the pillow. I lifted myself up onto my elbows, staring at the younger Salvatore with a raised eyebrow, "Seriously? You slept with Rebekah? What is wrong with you?"

"Well, well," Damon murmured, giving Stefan a look of his own. One that promised an intense discussion at a later time. Oh to be a fly on the wall when that happened. It promised to be a good one, especially from the way that my boyfriend's grip on my foot tightened at the news. "Looks like my brother ripped a page out of my revenge-sex handbook."

Stefan clearly didn't like that, as he narrowed his eyes at his brother before glaring at the rest of us, "Well, why don't you two enjoy your little, uh, villain bonding time? And try not to drive Alexa to murder, it would really inconvenience everyone. I'll let you know when I get the dagger from Rebekah."

"Screw you, Stefan!" I shouted after the younger brother as he walked away. But as I did so, a thought played at the back of my mind. The dagger from Rebekah? Were they going to use that on Kol? Why wouldn't Klaus use his own daggers? Or were they going to dagger poor Rebekah again? Seriously, what was I missing? I hated being out of the loop like this. Thanks to fucking Kol and his fucking compulsion, I was completely useless to everyone. And I hated.

XXX

While Klaus and Damon stared daggers at each other, I reached over to the small table next to me. I grabbed my phone, finally making the call that I had been putting off all night. If Klaus hadn't arrived, I would still be putting it off. But I would rather deal with the guilt of seeing my brother than the asshole across the room. And besides, it would break the awkward silence that just swamped the room. It was horrible and I knew that if I didn't do something soon, I would break it in the worst way possible. So I took the sensible route and called my family.

Deciding that I wanted to see their faces, to make sure that they were actually okay, I video called my sister. While I waited for Elena to pick up, I glanced to the side. Only to see Klaus staring at me. I rolled my eyes and grumbled, "Stop staring at me. It's creepy."

"I'm just making sure that you're okay," the hybrid shrugged, not taking his eyes off of me. That must have annoyed the other vampire in the room, as Damon switched positions. He moved back up to my head, forcing me to rest it against his thigh. Not that I cared too much. It was nice being close to him like that and it made feel a little bit more protected, having him closer to my heart.

"She told you to stop," my boyfriend ground out, hand resting on the top of my head.

"You know, you can babysit from outside the cell," I turned my head slightly to shoot the asshole another glare. "So why don't you just fuck off?"

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, judging from the look on the hybrid's face, before he could retaliate, Ellie answered the call. Despite all of my guilt and misery, I could stop myself from smiling at the sight of my face. She looked just as happy to see me, a relieved smile on her face as she shouted out my name.

"Hey Els," I laughed as Damon's fingers gently started running through my hair. "How are you? How is everyone else?"

"We're good," my twin immediately replied, a softer smile on her face this time as she examined my face. "Jenna and Jeremy say hi."

Elena tilted the phone to the side and the faces of the rest of my family replaced hers. Jenna looked worried, a hand resting on her stomach. It was something that she did now, an unconscious gesture to protect the life growing inside of her. I felt so bad for worrying her, especially so soon after she got the good news of her baby's heart beating yesterday. My aunt deserved to enjoy that milestone for longer. And now she was consumed with worry for Jeremy and for me. For what I could do to him, because of the compulsion.

Jer was staring at me with an eyebrow raised. He looked like he was ready for a fight and I knew exactly what it would be about. Ever since the kid had woken up this morning, and before he went to bed last night, he had been messaging me, telling me that it wasn't my fault. And I had been unable to reply to them. Because, while I logically knew that he was right, I couldn't quite believe it. I just couldn't stop thinking that I should have been stronger, that I should have found a way to just not be compelled. I had put myself in a risky position and now my brother was paying the price for that.

"Hey guys," I smiled weakly, wincing at Jeremy's eyebrow got higher. "How's it going?"

"Are you going to keep ignoring my messages?" my brother asked before Jenna could even open her mouth.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, "What do you want me to say, Jer? 'Lol whoops, soz for almost killing you but hey, I'm glad you don't blame me?' I don't think that that would be appropriate."

"Obviously not that," the kid rolled his eyes in return. "But at least acknowledge that you know that I don't blame you."

"Fine," I shook my head. "I acknowledge that you don't blame me. But I still blame myself. And you aren't going to stop that anytime soon."

"That's what you think," Jer mumbled before the phone was turned away from him. Ellie's face filled the screen again.

"How are you doing?" my sister asked, eyes scanning my face the best that they could over a screen.

"Oh I'm just dandy," I sighed dramatically, turning my phone so that my twin could catch a glimpse of my unwelcome cellmate. "Look who I'm stuck with for now."

"Klaus? What is he doing there?"

"You mean other than driving me insane?" I snorted, ignoring the look that I got. "He's apparently helping Damon babysit me. Which is just ridiculous but now that he is here, he just won't go away."

"Who even told him that you were there?" my sister frowned and I just knew that she would rip into the person who let Klaus torment me. And while I knew that I should feel guilty for throwing Stefan into that, I just couldn't bring myself to care. Even if the plan was to keep Klaus busy for them to do whatever it was that they were doing, they could have found a better way. I was no longer in the distracting Klaus business.

"Stefan did."

Elena narrowed her eyes and I knew that Stefan would not enjoy their next meeting. Ah well, it was what he deserved to forcing me into this without even asking first. Now, I know you're thinking, why aren't you mad at Damon too? Well, my boyfriend had been with me all night. And when he did leave, it wasn't a long enough gap for him to properly be involved in planning. Nah, while he did have more of a heads up than I did, he wasn't involved in this. Because I knew for a fact that he wouldn't want me to be this close to the Original Hybrid, even if he was there with me.

XXX

I spoke with my family for a bit longer before we ended the call. It was nice, seeing their faces. And even if I did blame myself, it was a relief to see that they didn't. So once I had gotten over my guilt issues, it should all go back to normal. Well, as normal as it was in this family.

Unfortunately, after we said our goodbyes, there was nothing to distract me from the hybrid in the room. After hearing me cuss him out for the gazillionth time, Klaus had gotten up to lean against the wall. I could feel his eyes on me, but I stubbornly closed mine, refusing to look at him. Damon had a protective hand on my stomach while the other continued to run through my hair, gently easing out any tangles that he found.

"It must feel like such a betrayal," the dick sighed dramatically not long after the call ended. "Stefan sleeping with my sister. After everything that she did to you, one must wonder how he could do such a thing."

Ah fuck.

I really should have seen that coming. When Elena told me that Stefan had spent most of yesterday with the Original siter, Klaus' eyes had lit up. He had found the perfect thing to taunt me over. Especially after I had avoided telling my twin about his earlier revelation. I couldn't hurt her like that, even if she deserved to know. But… it also wasn't my secret to tell. Stefan should be the one to tell her. If the situations were reversed, I wouldn't spill her secret like that. Even if it did kill me to keep it from her.

"His time with you clearly drove him insane," I opened my eyes to glare at the hybrid. Did I hate myself for taking the bait and letting him taunt me? Yes. But in my defence, I was so fucking hungry, that I wasn't thinking straight. And I had always been the hangry type. Which meant that I really had no hope of not rising to his taunting, not at that moment in time.

"If anything drove him insane, it would be your sister's love, that relationship destroyed the both of him," there was a dark edge to Klaus' smirk, one that had Damon tightening his hold on me.

"Their relationship was fine until you came along," I growled, shifting slightly to get up. But my boyfriend held me down. I glanced up to see him give me a warning look. I knew that he was telling me to calm down, which was hilarious because he fought with Klaus just as much as I did. But considering it wasn't really safe for me to leave this cell, I couldn't storm off if I needed to. So with a reluctant sigh, I settled back down against his leg. Although I did give the Original one more glare.

"You know you're just making this worse," Damon switched his gaze from me to the hybrid. "Alexa needs to stay calm if she's going to be able to fight the compulsion. You being a dick isn't going to achieve that."

Klaus pointed at himself with a wide-eyed, innocent expression. Well, an attempt at innocence. That asshole couldn't look innocent, even if he actually was. He knew what he was doing. He wanted to wind me up. He got some kind of sick thrill out of it. With a casual shrug, Klaus shook his head, "I was just expressing my regret over the situation. I mean, who ever thought that it would be Stefan Salvatore who betrayed the twins like that? Such a terrible situation. Especially since they are currently fighting each other."

"You know that's your fault, right?" I spoke up, unable to stop myself. "Stefan would have accepted me as a vampire, even if it took a bit of time. But then you came along with your bullshit cure and that was the end of it. He thought that if he fixed this, then it would fix everything that he did while his humanity was off."

"Now that is a serious accusation, love," I hated the mischievous glint in his blue eyes. God, he really was a dick, wasn't he? "I had nothing to do with Stefan's obsession to cure you of this."

"Oh bullshit!" I scoffed, shaking my head. "We all know that you want me to cure me, so that I can continue on the bloodline. And you are not above manipulating Stefan into getting you that. Because you're too much of a weakling to do your own dirty work. And once I get Stefan out from under your cure covered claws, I'll make you regret that."

Klaus narrowed his eyes and stepped forward. But something on Damon's face must have made him reconsider doing something to hurt me, like he probably wanted, because he soon stepped back again. I was a bit surprised that the Original backed down so easily. But I guess Damon had proven himself capable of snapping Original necks and he had helped take Klaus down before. If the hybrid was distracted by me, then my boyfriend would have the opportunity to do some more neck snapping. Ugh, what a lovely thought. If anyone deserved to go on a snapped neck induced timeout, it was definitely the Original Hybrid.

"Well, why don't we ask Stefan what he thinks?" Klaus spoke softly, although there was still a dangerous hint to his voice.

"Considering he spent all of yesterday with Rebekah and then slept with her, I'm willing to bet that he is anti-Klaus right now. Which, you know, I have a lot of respect for since I am anti-Klaus 99% of the time."

"Tell me something that I don't know," the hybrid rolled his eyes and I had to fake a cough to hide my snort of amusement. At least he was aware of my feelings. That was something. I would say, maybe it would get him to change his attitude and actually do something good for once. But not even I was that naïve.

XXX

Damon's POV

I glanced down at Alexa's sleeping face and sighed, brushing some hair from her face. Her exhaustion and blood loss had caught up with her. Although it was probably a good thing. As it would give her some peace from Klaus for a while. The hybrid douche had taken far too much pleasure from tormenting her. And there was only so much that I could do to stop it. I knew that Stefan needed Klaus out of the way for whatever it was that he and Elena had planned. So I couldn't force him to leave. But that didn't mean that I had to stand by and watch as he tormented her. I was just lucky that my girl had taken my suggestion to sleep for a bit. And it did warm my heart, that she trusted me to watch over while she was so vulnerable. Even after all this time, it was a lovely surprised that she trusted me that much.

I continued running my fingers through Alexa's hair while she slept. I knew that it was comforting for her and I wouldn't deny her that, especially not now. After everything that she had been through over the past few days, I couldn't deny her anything. My girl deserved all the comfort that she could get right now.

I glanced up as Klaus walked past us again. The Original had been pacing around the cell ever since Alexa fell asleep. Something was clearly bothering him but I didn't care enough to ask what it was. After everything that he had done, he could suffer.

"You know," the hybrid spoke suddenly, breaking the silence. My gaze flickered up at him for a moment before it returned to Alexa. "None of this would be an issue if you'd have just done your job properly. I was perfectly willing to let you train Jeremy."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, "No, you weren't. Are you kidding? You got there day two. Do you know how hard it is to get these Xbox brains to focus?"

"And then," Klaus continued, ignoring what I had said. "When I turned a room full of barflies into vampires for him to slaughter, you let Kol kill them."

"Your brother problem, not mine, buddy."

"And whose bright idea was it to saddle Jeremy with a conscience, hmm?"

I rolled my eyes at that, unable to help myself. It was such a stupid question. Considering who his sister was, we were obviously going to protect both of the siblings by helping Jeremy find a work around. I glanced up at the Original, "Well, we wouldn't have him trying to stake Alexa in her sleep, now, could we? And there was no way that they would be content with being separated for the amount of time that it took Jeremy to complete his mark. It was the most sensible option."

"Ah, yes, for the love of Alexa," Klaus' eyes lit up and I knew that we were getting close to his little problem. What my girl had to do with it, I had no idea. But at least he wasn't moping around anymore. I had enough of that with Stefan, I couldn't deal with it with someone else. "How is it that she manages to overlook ever horrific thing that you've ever done? Is it wilful ignorance, or perhaps something more pathological?"

"Some people are just more capable of forgiveness than others," I shrugged, not wanting to play his game. "Bet you score about a negative 500 in that realm."

But the douche kept pushing. He took a seat on the stool and leant forward, a dangerous smile on his face, "Come on. There must be a secret. It can't just be because you love it each other? What is it? Compulsion? Manipulation?" When I stayed silent, his smile turned into a frown. "What is it that you say to her?"

Knowing that I couldn't get away with not answering him, I rolled my eyes before looking back down at Alexa's peaceful, sleeping face, "I'm honest. I don't hide what is in my past and I express regret over some of it. And she doesn't judge me for it. I can't change what I've done, all I can do is be better going forward." An idea struck me then and I looked back up, "Ah, I think I know what this is about. I think you murdered Carol Lockwood, and I think you're worried that Alexa's never going to forgive you. Well, I've got news for you, buddy, you're right. She won't forgive you for that. It was the final straw."

"You've done worse," the hybrid scoffed, shaking his head as he stood back up. He walked back over to the other side of the room and leant back against the wall. He knew that I was right. Klaus had continuously tormented Tyler and the rest of her loved ones. Killing Carol, someone that she had known her whole life, was the final straw for her. I knew that my girl wanted Klaus out of the picture, permanently. She no longer believed that Klaus was capable of being good and worth being her friend.

"Debatable," I countered, raising an eyebrow. "See, I don't mind being the bad guy, because someone has to fill that role and get things done. You do bad things for no reason. You do them to be a dick."

"Debatable," Klaus repeated, eyes narrowed. He definitely didn't like that. Well, the truth was known to hurt.

I just shrugged, "If you're gonna be bad, be bad with a purpose. Otherwise, you're just not worth forgiving."

With that said, I turned my gaze away from the hybrid and focused all of my attention on Alexa. I knew that she was close to waking up soon. It was the way that her nose twitched and the way that her forehead creased slightly as she fought to go back into her dreamland. Unfortunately, I didn't think that she would be able to this time. As much as I wanted her to avoid spending time with Klaus, she would wake up eventually.

XXX

Alexa's POV

When I finally returned to the land of awake, I kept my eyes closed. I knew that my head was still on Damon's lap, his fingers still running through my hair. But I didn't know if the unwelcome hybrid douche was still around. So, with my eyes still closed, I whispered, "Is he still here?"

"Unfortunately," Damon murmured back before the dick himself spoke up.

"Why, Alexa, it's almost as though you don't want me to be here."

"Gee, what gave you that impression," I muttered, scrunching up my nose in annoyance. Ugh, why did he have to be here still? Was he just annoying Damon while I was asleep? I had honestly hoped that he had fucked off while I had my nap. But nope, I was not that lucky.

Well, I knew that I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep so soon after waking up. And I wouldn't be able to avoid Klaus forever by keeping my eyes closed. He would just keep taunting me until I gave in. So, to save myself some pain, I opened my eyes and sat up. Although I did immediately curl into Damon's side. I was not going to leave his side. He was literally the only thing keeping me sane in that moment. His comforting presence helped me believe that I would get through this. And it helped me to kind of ignore the asshole in the room.

"Why are you still here?" I asked Klaus, narrowing my eyes at him as he smirked at me from across the room. "Don't you have a brother to dagger? Or do you suddenly have issues with hurting your siblings like that?"

"Maybe he's having performance issues," my boyfriend murmured into my hair and I couldn't stop my snort of laughter. I knew that the Original didn't appreciate Damon's words, from the way that I heard a low growl from across the room, but I didn't care at all. After everything that he had done, he deserved it.

"Wouldn't surprise me," I replied, shooting Klaus a smirk. "It would explain why he hasn't actually taken Kol out of the picture yet. I mean, it is a bit suspicious, considering just how much he wants to find the cure."

I knew that I had pressed one too many buttons when the Original narrowed his eyes at me, "Oh it must burn, knowing that you need me to help you right now. Just one day after you were begging me to help save Damon from Kol. It must hurt you, to be so reliant on me."

I scoffed, clenching my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I tried to hide just how much his words affected me. I wasn't feeling as strong as I normally was. Before, I would have just pushed his words aside. But this whole situation was affecting me and it was frustratingly easy to set me off.

"Oh please, you're just a convenient way of dealing with this. You aren't the only one capable to daggering an Original, hell Rebekah could do it if she wanted to and considering just how much she wants the cure, I'm sure that she would do it in a heartbeat," I shook my head. "And I couldn't deny you the chance to dagger one of your siblings, since it gives you so much pleasure."

"Then why don't you ask her to do it?"

"Why are you hiding down here instead of going off to do it yourself?" I shot back, settling back against Damon as he tried to calm me down. "Unless you're too scared… holy crap. Kol has the white oak stake, doesn't he? That's why are you aren't off daggering him yourself. You're scared of him."

"Scared? Of Kol?" Klaus scoffed and shook his head, although I did notice a tension in his body. "That would never happen. Perhaps I'm just enjoying this situation. And how much you are relying on me and my generosity right now."

Pfft, like I was going to believe that. Now that I realised it, it was so obvious. Kol must have made some kind of threat towards him. And considering just how crazy the younger Original was acting about this whole cure, I would believe any threat that he made. Apparently, Klaus thought the same if he was hiding down here with me and Damon.

"Well, how about you generously fuck off and let me relax for a bit without you looming over me," I rolled my eyes. "Because you are just stressing me out and that isn't good for anyone."

"Tell me, how much does it hurt, knowing that you are the biggest threat to your brother right now?" Klaus purred, his lighting up when I couldn't hide my flinch. Which really annoyed me. I didn't want to show any weakness in front of the hybrid. It was part of the reason why I wasn't showing just how hungry I was. I could feel it gnawing at my stomach and it was hard to ignore it. But I didn't want the douche to see that. I could let him see just how weak I was feeling.

"I would say that Kol was the bigger threat," Damon countered, his eyes narrowed. Yes, thank you, babe. He was right. Kol was a much bigger threat to Jeremy than I was. I didn't actually want to kill the kid and I was doing a decent job of fighting the compulsion.

"Kol won't kill Jeremy himself," the hybrid shrugged, looking he was enjoying this far too much. "He wouldn't want to suffer the Hunter's curse. Which was why he tried to use you two to do his dirty work. He'll just find someone else to kill the kid."

"Then why aren't you doing more to stop him?" I demanded, shifting slightly so that I was sitting forward. "If there is no Jeremy, then there is no cure. And if my brother gets hurt, then I will take it out on you and Kol. And you know I will."

XXX

Things were quiet after that. Well, other than Klaus many attempts to get in contact with Stefan. The younger Salvatore was apparently ignoring the hybrid's phone calls and messages. It was funny, cos normally Stefan was the one message spamming people. But nope, not this time. This time, he was the one doing the ignoring. And the fact that it was Klaus on the other end made it hilarious.

"Your brother's lack of communication is infuriating," the Original eventually ground out when he couldn't get in contact with Stefan. He had been staring down at his phone, almost like he was threatening it into giving him what he wanted. But when that failed, he tucked back into his pocket.

"It's one of his trademarks," Damon smirked, enjoying the hybrid's frustration. "Like his brooding and his hair."

"I don't understand what's taking so long," Klaus frowned after giving my boyfriend a glare for his words. "I mean, how hard is it to steal a dagger?"

"From a vampire who's been stabbed as many times as your sister, I'd say difficult," my boyfriend scoffed, glancing down at his phone as it flashed. He shot me a wink before disappearing from the room. And I knew exactly what that meant. It was time for me to finally get something to eat. Oh, it wouldn't be enough. Not nearly enough. But hey, it would be something. And it would hopefully ease the itch under my skin.

"Yeah, Rebekah has definitely hidden that somewhere extra secure," I nodded, my gaze fixed on the door, waiting for Damon to return. I knew that was normally quick when getting me more blood. But it wouldn't surprise me if he was messaging Stefan.

The moment my boyfriend returned, I sat up straight, eyes fixed on the little vial in his hand. Damon rolled his eyes at me but immediately passed over the vial. I wasted no time in downing the small amount of blood. I immediately felt better, even if it wasn't anywhere near enough. But god, it definitely helped. I passed the vial back to Damon before standing up. I stretched my body before starting to pace. I had been sitting down for far too long. And it felt nice to just stand up and stretch my body.

Damon took my place on the camp bed, watching as I slowly paced back and forth, making sure to keep as far away as I could from the hybrid on the other side of the cell. Moving actually gave me a chance to get my mind back into order. I knew that I had been giving Klaus far too many reactions and I was mad at myself for that. But hopefully that would stop now.

"You know, I'm a bit disappointed," Klaus spoke up and I rolled my eyes. God, couldn't he just shut up for a bit? He didn't need to speak all the time. I was still of the opinion that he didn't even need to be down here. But I knew that I wouldn't win that battle. "You're a lot calmer than I was expecting, Alexa. Considering the fact that you are stuck in here."

"It's not like I'm going to try and break out," I scoffed, shaking my head as I deliberately avoided his gaze. "I am compelled to kill my brother, courtesy of your asshole one. So as much as I want to run away from you and your ugly face, I will stay here and deal with it."

"I wonder how your family felt about that," the Original sighed dramatically, shaking his head as in wonder. "Your inability to properly overcome Kol's compulsion, even though it meant saving your darling younger brother."

"Now you're just chatting shit," I paused to turn around and glare at him. "I fought that so hard. I didn't hurt Jeremy, he got away safe and sound. I managed to get people to help him. Hell, I shot myself in the fucking head so that he could run away from me. So why don't you get your facts straight before accusing me of failing of overcoming that fucking compulsion."

I immediately felt a comforting presence behind me as Damon whispered in my ear, "Ally, breathe."

He wrapped an arm around my waist and tugged me against his body. I let him curl me around him, resting my head against his chest. But that didn't stop me from glaring daggers at the Original douche. His worked irked me more than they should have. I knew that had fought the compulsion, that I had done everything that I could to keep my brother safe. And he was safe. I was locked up here to make sure that that happened.

"Ah, but you are still controlled by it," Klaus pushed, clearly enjoying getting under my skin like that. And I didn't have it in me to hide my reactions. Not on this topic. And damn that really annoyed me. "When I compelled Stefan to feed off of Elena, he fought it so hard. He actually managed to resist it. He did that for the girl he loved, but you can't do that for your brother."

"You're so full of bullshit," I snapped, only Damon's strong grip stopping me from doing something stupid. "He may have resisted it for a while, but who knows if he wouldn't have given in after a while. And besides, that was a totally different situation. So why don't you just shut the fuck up and go away?"

Klaus didn't go away. I almost thought that he would walk over but I think Damon's presence stopped him. He knew that my boyfriend would try something if he came closer. And he probably didn't want to deal with that. I was almost disappointed. While I knew that I stood no chance in a fight with the Original Hybrid, I was just itching for the opportunity to punch him in the face. It would definitely make me feel a lot better. But unfortunately, I didn't think that it would happen.

XXX

The tension was broken by the ringing of Klaus' phone. He shot me a glare for my words before answering the call. I wondered who it was that was calling, because I really didn't think that it would be Stefan. I immediately got my answer when Klaus rolled his eyes, "Well, if it isn't hay homicidal maniac."

Kol didn't mince his words; he didn't try to play nice. He immediately spat, "Did you know that your darling blood bag and her brother are trying to kill me?"

I froze the second that I heard his words. That couldn't be right. They wouldn't try to do something so stupid and reckless, would they? Oh what am I saying, of course they would. They're fucking idiots and they would something idiotic like this while I was unable to stop them. Honestly, I was going to kill them when I got out of this.

"What?" Klaus froze where he stood, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Don't pretend like you're not in on it," the younger Original laughed mockingly, an ugly edge to his voice. "Your obsession to find the cure clearly trumps any sibling loyalty that you once felt."

This was not good. This was not good at all. If Kol was right, which he kind of has to be. He wouldn't just make up my siblings trying to kill him, then Klaus would be vicious in his revenge. He wouldn't take this threat to his family laying down. Even if he didn't particularly like his brother right now, he wouldn't let anyone hurt him. And that put my family in even more danger.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the hybrid shook his head, but his cold gaze was fixed on us. If it wasn't for the compulsion still lurking in my head, I definitely would have ran. But I couldn't put Jeremy in even more danger. Besides, Klaus definitely could have caught us before we got far. He was just so much quicker than we were.

"I'm going to rip off Jeremy's arm and kill Elena just for sport," Kol's voice was dangerous and I knew that he was serious in his threat. But I just didn't know how to help my siblings. If I got there, would the compulsion take over? Would Jeremy be in even more danger? "Then I'm coming for you."

With that said, the younger Original hung up the call. The moment that he did so, Klaus shot forward. He grabbed Damon by the neck and pushed him against the wall. It all happened so fast that it took me a moment to realise what had happened. When I did, I immediately let out a shout and grabbed Klaus' arm. The hybrid paused in his glaring at Damon to grab my own neck and force me against the wall.

Content that I would no longer interfere, Klaus growled, "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know," my boyfriend wheezed out, looking far too calm. Whereas I was panicking. An angry Klaus was not a good one. And with his brother in danger as well as his only lead to the cure, I didn't know just how far the hybrid would go.

"What are Stefan and Elena planning?" the Original pushed, tightening his grip on the both of us. I could feel his body practically vibrating with rage. This wouldn't end well for anyone. And that scared the hell out of me.

"I don't know," Damon repeated, eyes glancing over at me. I knew that he wasn't happy that I was being threatened too. But at least the hybrid wasn't focusing on me right now. He probably knew that I knew nothing. It was obvious from my call with my family earlier. And by the fact that Damon would have kept me out of any plan to keep me safe. Especially since I just would have worried. Because there was nothing that I could do to help in this plan. And I hated it. Just wait until I get out. I definitely wouldn't hold back in expressing my worry. "I've been down here with Alexa since yesterday. I've barely left her side. Stefan won't talk to anyone in this cell right now. So take from that what you will."

Klaus didn't like that answer. He narrowed his eyes and forced Damon to meet his gaze. It was obvious that he was going to compel him and normally that would have worried me. But then I remembered what I had drank earlier. If he had given me vervain water, then my boyfriend definitely would have had some himself.

"Tell me what you know," the hybrid ordered, voice sharp. Personally, I would have just left us and gone to help my brother. But I guess the longer that he was with us, the less Originals my siblings had to deal with. And that could only benefit them.

"I don't know anything about a plan," Damon repeated his earlier answer, putting on a good display of being compelled. If I didn't know about the vervain, then I would have actually thought that he was being compelled.

The Original cursed in disgust before ordering, "Stay here until I return." He turned to me, repeating the order. I used all of my acting skills, pushing my worry to the back of my mind, and repeated his order. He must have believed us, or he was too much in a hurry to leave, because he didn't even acknowledge it.

Klaus let go of our necks and disappeared from the room. The moment I was free, Damon pulled me into his arms. I clung onto him, coughing lightly as I was suddenly able to breathe again. I could feel my boyfriend doing the same, even if he wouldn't acknowledge it. But at least we were both safe now, with Klaus gone. Although that just reminded me of the situation that my siblings were in. And I felt scared all over again.

XXX

"Damon," I whispered in my vampire's chest after we had both gotten our breath back. "Please tell me that Kol was lying when he said that Elena and Jeremy were trying to kill him."

Damon stayed silent. And that was when I knew that it was true. That my idiot siblings were actually trying to kill an Original vampire. I had no idea if anyone else was helping them. I knew that Stefan was getting a dagger from Rebekah. No idea about Caroline or Tyler or Bonnie. But I had the feeling that it was just the two idiots doing this on their own. They were too stubborn and wouldn't want anyone else to get hurt because of their plan. Honestly, I was going to fucking kill them later.

"How bad is it?" I sighed, closing my eyes and praying for patience. I would like to think that Damon wouldn't let the idiots put themselves in actual danger to kill Kol. But I also knew that my boyfriend wanted the Original dead for what he did to me. And so he would probably be on board with any plan to take him out.

"Not as bad as you are thinking," Damon gently eased me down onto the camp bed, moving to cup my face. "Well, as long as things have gone to plan."

"Which they probably haven't," I rolled my eyes, tapping my fingers on my knees. "Because let's face it, Day, our plans never go to plan."

"They do sometimes," my boyfriend protested weakly before stopping when I gave him a look. "Okay, fine. More often than not, they end up being changed at the last second. But hey, we're all still alive, aren't we?" he paused before wincing, "For the most part."

"Nothing that you are saying is reassuring me right now," I scoffed, shaking my head. "So just tell me what the plan was supposed to be. And I'll point out all of the things that could have gone wrong."

I knew that Damon was worried by how calm I was acting. And I was surprising myself with my calmness. But I knew that freaking the fuck out wouldn't help anyone right now. And I had the feeling that both of the Salvatore's were involved in planning this. I knew that Damon would advocate for the safety of my siblings. And Stefan, despite his recent issues, wouldn't want them to get hurt either. I just had to trust them. And then freak out later.

"While Stefan distracted Rebekah and attempted to get the dagger that she had, and while we kept Klaus busy down here, Elena invited Kol into your home. She was to keep him busy long enough for Bonnie to get there. With her help, Jeremy would use the white oak stake that Kol had stolen from Klaus on him."

I nodded, running that through my brain. It made sense, in a way. Kol would be kind of vulnerable on his own. And Jeremy was stronger than your average human now. And Bonnie was just scary powerful, thanks to her new brand of magic. Together, they did have a chance of taking out Kol. But I still didn't like it. It was dangerous and reckless. They could have just daggered him. Nah, there was more to this. I just had to work out what.

"There's more to this, isn't there, than just taking out a threat," I spoke softly, still puzzling over it. "There was a much easier way to get rid of Kol. So, what are they up to?"

"If Jeremy kills Kol," Damon sighed, taking my hands in his, thumbs gently stroking the back of my hand. "Then his bloodline and will die. And the deaths of all those vampires will complete his Hunter's Mark."

"Of course," I closed my eyes in disbelief. I mean, it was smart on one level. Jeremy just had to face one very dangerous and powerful vampire to complete his mark, instead of taking on god knows how many. And his humanity would be safer if he didn't need to take so many lives over such a long period of time. But it was also incredibly dangerous and stupid and reckless. Taking on Kol was a dangerous thing to do. He was powerful and strong and he wouldn't hesitate to play dirty. Plus, killing Kol would only enrage his siblings. And, there was no guarantee that the rules of the mark would work like that. Jer would only be killing those vampires indirectly. Would the magic of the mark accept that? That doesn't even take into account what Klaus would do. He might not like Kol, but he would raise hell if his brother got hurt, let alone killed. Fuck, he would be even more dangerous.

Ah fuck, this was such a messed up situation. And I had no idea how to help.

"Have you heard anything? From any of them?" I asked, opening my eyes again and staring up at Damon with an anxious expression. I knew that he had checked his phone while getting me some blood. It wasn't that long ago, not really. He had to have heard something.

"No," my boyfriend shook his head, a regretful look on his face. "And after what Kol said…"

"Things have definitely gone to hell," I finished, the words making me feel sick. Honestly, I leave them alone for one day. One fucking day. And look what happens. They decide to take on an Original vampire. I was almost tempted to lock them up in this cell. It would serve them right. The only bright light, and I meant the only one, was that it would get rid of the compulsion. But even then, it wasn't worth it. I would rather it take a few days and my siblings not be in danger, than get rid of it now. I was dealing with it, I had someone to make sure that I didn't get out of the cell. And I could call my family. There were ways around the compulsion. But no, my siblings were impatient little shits and couldn't wait to get rid of it. It was sweet, but annoying.

XXX

"You need to go help them." Damon glanced up at my words, already shaking his head. But I held up my hand. "Will they have vampire back up?"

"No, they won't," he sighed, after spending a couple of seconds thinking. I knew that he wanted to pretend that they did, to protect me from the truth. But I also knew that he didn't want to lie to me. Not about something so important. "Depending on how quickly Stefan got the dagger, he might have gone to go help. But from what I've heard, he hasn't had much luck in getting it from her. other than him, the only support that they have is Bonnie."

Fuck, not good. Don't get me wrong, I loved Bon and I knew that she was incredibly powerful. But was that enough against an Original? Would her lack of supernatural speed put her in danger? Damn, now I had someone else to worry about. At least Jenna wasn't there… I hope.

"And while I love her and she is crazy powerful, she might not be enough. Not against an Original vampire that is determined to kill my brother. I'd feel a lot happier if they have more people there to help them," I shook my head as I spoke, my mind spinning with all the possibilities of what could be happening back at my family home. There were just so many of them. I had absolutely no idea as to what was happening and that was just killing me. I wanted to be there to help them. It was one of the reasons why I wanted to turn, to protect them. But I couldn't. I was potentially a threat to them. And I couldn't add the danger that they were in. "I'd be a lot happier knowing that you were there to help him. I would go myself if I could. But I don't know if the compulsion would take over. I can't put them at risk, Day. Please."

I could tell that Damon didn't want to leave me here alone. Hell, I didn't want him to leave me here alone. There was a chance that Klaus would come back, to find leverage against my family or just to find a way to get revenge. And I wouldn't have a hope in hell of defending myself. There was an even worse possibility. That the compulsion would win over again. And I would go hunt down my brother. I hoped that it wouldn't happen. I was feeling pretty strong right now and felt as though I could fight it. Or at least, resist the urge to bolt from the house until someone came back.

But I couldn't let those thoughts out. I needed Damon to think that I was strong, that I would be fine, so that he would go save my family for me. In that moment in time, I wasn't important. My brother and my sister were. They were the ones in danger. I wasn't.

My boyfriend closed his eyes and cursed for a moment before cupping my face. He opened his eyes and stared down at me, his gaze intense, "I'm going to leave the cell unlocked, just in case you need to make a quick getaway. If anything happens, and I mean anything, then I want you to call me. I don't care how long I've been gone; you call me. I'll let Stefan and Caroline know that you're here alone, just in case they can come and help you. But I need you to promise me that you'll be sensible and look after yourself. I can't let you get hurt, Alexa."

"Hey," I reached up to grab his wrists, desperate to reassure him that it would be fine. I had to get him to believe that. He wouldn't help me save my family if he thought that I would be in danger. "I'll be fine. No one is going to come bother me down here, I promise. You're the one heading into danger, courtesy of my idiot siblings. I should be making you promise that you'll be safe."

"I'll be safe, Ally," Damon dutifully promised, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"And I promise that I'll be safe too," I promised in return. With my promise made, there was nothing to stop Damon from leaving. And I knew that he hated that. But he couldn't leave my family to get hurt, especially after I had begged him to go save them. So, with one final kiss, filled with a desperation that had my eyes fluttering shut, my boyfriend disappeared from the cell.

I kept my eyes closed for a few more seconds after he left, as I tried to convince myself that he would be fine. Because he had to be fine. I couldn't lose Damon. Just like I couldn't lose my brother or my sister. I relied on him more that I cared to admit. And the thought of losing him made me feel sick.

But so did the thought that I was sending him into danger. I knew that Kol wouldn't hesitate to kill any of my loved ones. He was desperate to stop us from finding the cure, for whatever reason. And he would rip apart my loved ones if it meant getting his way. I hated that I was sending Damon into that. But he was the only one that I trusted to save my family. And I had to trust that he would be save. Damon was clever, he knew how to look after himself. Plus, he had taken Kol out before. He knew his weaknesses. God, I just hoped that it would be enough.

No. It had to be enough. Anything else wasn't an option. He would be fine and he would help them take out Kol, even if it was a stupid idea. And then they would come back here, where I could hug my brother without having to worry about the compulsion, and it would all be fine. Well, until the remainder of the Original family came to slaughter us all. Damn, we might need to all go into hiding.

XXX

Once I had managed to get myself into a position where I no longer felt like screaming at the unfairness of it all, I pulled out my phone. While I had assumed that Jenna wasn't involved in this, because as insane as my siblings were, they wouldn't have let our pregnant aunt anywhere near this situation. But that didn't stop me from worrying over her. I had to hear it from her mouth that she was safe. I knew that that would be the only thing to reassure me.

It didn't take long for my aunt to answer the phone, "Alexa? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Jenna," I was quick to answer her as I started pacing back and forth across the cell. "I'm not the stupid one right now. Please tell me that you're okay, that you're somewhere safe."

"I'm at Andie's," Jenna reassured me and I felt my heart relax slightly. She would be safe at Andie's. No vampires had been invited in and, as far as I was aware, none of the Original family actually knew how Andie was, let alone where she lived. The only one who might know Andie would be Elijah. But he had been out of town for ages.

"Oh thank god," I sighed, shaking my head. "At least you're being sensible. Did you have any idea what those two idiots were up to?"

"No, they were quite vague on the details," my aunt replied, but I could hear the annoyance in her voice. "They just said that I wouldn't approve of the plan and that I should pack a bag for the next couple of nights."

I probably shouldn't have been surprised that they didn't tell Jenna. We all knew that our aunt would forbid them from doing something so dangerous. A part of me wondered what excuse they had given her, but I quickly pushed that thought away. It wasn't important. No, the important question was: did I tell Jenna and risk stressing out my pregnant aunt? Or did I let her remain in blissful ignorance? I honestly didn't know what to do. Because I didn't want to worry Jenna, not while she was pregnant. But at the same time, she deserved to know what my idiot siblings were up to.

"Hmm, so the question is, do I get the idiots in trouble now? Or do I force them to tell you the truth once it is all over?" I shook my head as I mused out loud.

"Alexa, I want to know what they are up to. Especially if they will be in danger."

"Damn," I muttered. "I really should have known that you would want to know. Okay, if I tell you, can you promise me that you won't stress or worry yourself over this?"

"Alexa," Jenna sighed and I interrupted her with a sharp noise.

"I'm not telling you until you promise me, Jenna. I won't put you or the baby at risk. And as much as I am mad at the other two, I'm glad that they didn't either."

"Fine," my aunt conceded. "I promise that I won't stress or worry."

"Thanks, Auntie J. So, before I tell you, I want you to know that I wasn't involved in the planning of any of this, otherwise it just wouldn't have happened. All my knowledge comes from Damon. As you can probably imagine, I was not happy when I found out. And I swear, once I get my hands on them, they will realise just how not happy I was." It took Jenna speaking my name to get me to stop rambling on about how I was going to punish my idiot siblings. "Right, sorry. So the two geniuses that I apparently call my siblings decided that it would be a swell idea to kill Kol." At Jenna's sharp intake of breath, I snorted, "That's right. I don't know all the details but apparently Elena was going to invite Kol into the house to distract him. Bonnie would arrive and use her super new magic to help subdue him enough for Jeremy to kill him with the white oak stake. Apparently it was common knowledge that he had pinched it from Klaus. I only found out when Kol called Klaus, who was busy tormenting me here, to tell him what was happening."

I waited in silence for my aunt to react to my words. I knew that it was a lot to take in, which was why I gave her all the time that she needed. To be fair, it did also help me. Saying it all out loud made me stress all over again. I couldn't believe that they had been stupid enough to plan this. Well, actually, I could kind of believe it. I just couldn't believe that they had actually gone ahead and done it. And they had hid their plan from the two people that would actually call them out on it. I knew that neither of the Salvatore brothers would put much effort into stopping them. Stefan wanted the cure and Damon wanted revenge for what Kol had done to me.

"Jenna, you okay over there?" I asked, once she had been silent for far too long.

"I can't believe that they are actually taking on an Original vampire," Jenna whispered down the phone and I winced.

"I know, and I'm so sorry that you had to find out this way. On one level, I get why they didn't tell you, but you need to know. Their actions are putting you in danger too."

"You aren't allowed to kill them when you see them, Alexa. I get first dibs on any familial murder."

"Eh, that's fair enough. But you're the only person who is allowed to get their hits in before I do. I mean, they are so fucking stupid. Sorry for the language. I am no longer the reckless one. Nope, they get that honour now."

Jenna hummed in agreement, but I could sense the worry coming from her. So to distract her, I started encouraging her to think of different ways of punishing my siblings. And I had to say, it worked like a treat.

XXX

I knew the exact moment that Kol's compulsion disappeared. The little thoughts that were lingering in the back of my head, the ones encouraging me to go after my brother and rip his throat out were gone. Instead, there was only peace. I was so surprised, that I paused in the middle of pacing. While I knew what their plan was, I never actually expected them to be able to take down Kol.

I even had to close my eyes and concentrate, to make sure that the compulsion was gone. But it definitely was. I was free from it. I was no longer a threat to my brother. And, I could finally fucking feed. I didn't have to starve any more. Ugh that was such an amazing feeling. So, the first thing that I did was speed out of the cell and head towards the contraband filled fridge.

I scoffed down the first three blood bags, my hunger getting the best of me. Even though it had barely been a couple of days, I was starving. I knew it was because I was overly hungry for a vampire and that had made it worse. But I didn't want to think about that. Although I did make a mental note to ask Damon to be with me the next few times I fed on someone. Just in case I lost control. I didn't want to kill anyone else, not because of my hunger.

The next few I sipped at slowly. While I was no longer starving, I wanted to feel full before I confronted my siblings. I knew that if I was the slightest bit hungry, I wouldn't be able to effectively control my emotions. And while I knew that I wouldn't put any of them in danger, I also couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't try locking them up in the Salvatore cell.

The moment the others arrived back at the Boarding House; I had a visitor in the basement. Damon appeared in front of me, a worried look on his face. Up in the parlour, Bonnie and Elena were discussing something to do with Klaus. But I tuned them out. I had the feeling that I just didn't want to know how the Original Hybrid had gotten himself involved in their plan.

"Feeling better?" my boyfriend asked as he crouched down in front of me. I had a small pile of empty bloodbags next to me, while I sipped on one more. My hunger was finally satiated and I felt a lot more in control than I did before.

"Lots," I sighed, placing the empty bloodbag to the side. I shifted onto my knees and leant forward for a hug. Damon immediately opened his arms and pulled me in close, tucking my head under his chin. "How bad was it?"

"It wasn't good," Damon winced and I tightened my grip on him. "But Jeremy took down Kol. We just had the small hitch of Klaus watching it happen."

"Fuck," I muttered, closing my eyes. "How much time do we have before he rips us all apart?"

"Bonnie spelled him into your living room, but I don't know how long that will last. How do you feel about going upstairs to see everyone?"

"Not great, but I have to confront the two idiots eventually," I sighed, letting Damon pull me to my feet, but he still kept an arm wrapped around me. "At least with my hunger happy, I don't feel like ripping off any body parts."

"That's a positive," my boyfriend murmured into my hair, but he couldn't quite hide his amusement at my violent mutterings.

As we got closer to the parlour, I heard my brother sigh, "It didn't work."

"It took time for Finn's line to die off, remember?" Bonnie tried to reassure him, sounding as though she needed to believe it too. "It'll work."

"What if it doesn't?" Jer countered, sounding a bit stressed. And I could understand why. He had killed an entire line of vampires. If the mark wasn't completed, all that death would have been for nothing.

"Where's that Gilbert optimism?" Damon announced our presence with a smirk as he led me over to the second sofa. I stood behind it, narrowing my eyes at my siblings. They had the decency to wince and look away.

"I am Not Happy with you two," I used my best pointy finger on them, sharpening my glare. "And once it is all over, I will make you aware of just how Not Happy I am. Understand?"

The idiots exchanged glances and nodded. It wasn't enough to satisfy my anger, but before I could continue, the front door opened. Stefan walked in, carrying a hunk of rock. One that seemed vaguely familiar. He closed the door behind him before glancing around the room, "Looks like I didn't miss much. Got the Silas headstone."

Ah yes, of course. That was why the rock looked familiar. Shane had shown it to us before. Wonder how Stef got his hands on it.

"We're just waiting for Jeremy's mark to grow," my twin told the younger Salvatore as he placed the stone down on the coffee table. "Klaus is trapped in our living room." After she said that, my sister winced at the scoff that I couldn't hold in.

"Temporarily," our witchy friend sighed, shaking her head. "I drew on the new moon to bind the spell. We've got three days to find that cure, four, max."

"If we don't, we might as well look up Katherine Pierce and see fi she wants some company in hiding, cos he will come after us," Jeremy's blasé attitude annoyed me. But I did understand it, even if I didn't like it. Klaus was known for his vengeance. If we didn't find that cure and shove it down his throat, we would be dead before the summer.

"We'll find it," Elena nodded sharply, looking as though she refused to believe otherwise. "Now that we've got Rebekah taken care of, all we need is Professor Shane and then we'll have everything that we need."

"Yeah, I didn't, uh, I didn't dagger her," Stefan refused to look at my sister as he spoke. And I couldn't blame him. He knew what her mind would jump to and she wouldn't be wrong to think that.

"Shocker," I muttered as my twin stared at him.

"What? Why not?"

"I didn't need to," the younger Salvatore shrugged, still not looking at her. "She's on our side."

"On our side?" Ellie scoffed, standing up to properly face her ex. "Did you really just say that?"

"Yeah, she handed over the headstone," Stefan finally looked her in the eye. "I mean, she wants to find his cure more than any of us."

"Why would you possibly think that we could trust her?" my sister sounded offended and I knew that this wouldn't end well. Whatever reasons Stefan had; Elena wouldn't agree with them. Not after what happened at the school.

"Let me guess," Damon smirked, and I rolled my eyes at him. I knew that he wasn't happy with his brother right now, and he would use any opportunity to wind him up. Honestly, they weren't even properly fighting. He just didn't like Stefan's attitude towards everything vampire Alexa related. "She pledged her allegiance to you while you were naked in the sack?"

Everyone went silent. Even me, even though I already knew about that little scandal. Ellie looked shocked and hurt, while Bonnie and Jeremy looked surprised. I knew that no one expected Stefan to sleep with the Original sister. Even if he and Ellie were having issues, that was just so unlike Stefan to do.

"I bet you were just dying to get that out, weren't you, Damon?" Stefan glared at his brother and I shook my head.

"It would have come out eventually, Stefan," I pointed out, getting a glare of my own. "At least this way, it wasn't Rebekah who told everyone. These things don't remain secret for long."

Fortunately, before anyone else could say anything, my brother let out a shout. He grabbed his shirt, ripping it off as he stared down at his arm. And for the first time, I could see his mark. It was growing rapidly, drawings forming on his arm and moving up his shoulder to his upper chest.

"It's happening," Jer gasped, breathing heavily. At Elena's gasp, he glanced up to see all of us staring at him with wide eyes. "You can see it?"

Ellie nodded as Damon tightened his grip on me, muttering, "Here we go."

XXX

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, my darlings :) they really helped with the writer's block! Please keep them coming :) I hope you enjoyed the chapter, with all the Dalexa and Klalexa interactions. I promise that the next update won't take this long! Until next time xoxo