Disclaimer: I only own my OCs

A/N: Another non-Friday update, a miracle! TBH I finished the chapter today and I wanted to treat you all as a way of saying thank you for sticking with me and the story! I'm hoping to get the next few chapters written a lot quicker but I make no promises! Before we get into this chapter, I just wanted to give you a warning for show levels of torture and gore, nothing too graphic but I wanted to give a warning! This chapter sets up the arc for the rest of the season, including a surprise twist that I have been looking forward to for a while!

XXX

I woke up to pain.

Like actual, horrible pain.

I forced my eyes open, blinking away the blurriness. It was light out now and I had absolutely no idea as to how long I had been out for. It had been at least a few hours since I was taken out, judging by how high the sun was in the sky. As I squinted up, trying to work out how long it had been since the sunrise, even though I had absolutely no idea how to work it out, I was being bothered by the niggling feeling that I was forgetting something. It was probably the pain distracting me. It swarmed my mind, making my thoughts feel as though they were wading through mud. I tried to think back as to how I had gotten hurt, because I was sure that I hadn't been shot or stabbed before everything went dark. And then it occurred to me, the realisation making me feel sick.

Oh my god, I had forgotten about the hunter.

I blinked rapidly, ignoring the pain in my neck and wrists, to look around the clearing. I had been tied to a tree on the edge of it. The rope burned, more than it should have done. And I had a really nasty feeling that the rope had been soaked in vervain. That would explain the burning sensation that I felt, the pain that just wouldn't fade. I had been lucky as a vampire, that practically all of vervain in town had been destroyed. Other than sipping at some when I was stuck in the cell, I hadn't touched it. So I had never experienced the pain that it brought. And fuck me, it was a lot of pain.

That pain didn't even take into account the roughness of the rope, which was a really weird thing to be thinking about. But just flexing my wrists had the roughness rubbing away my skin. It reminded me of the rope that Jules had used to torture me, all those months ago.

And the person responsible for all of that was crouched down in front of a campfire in the middle of the clearing. He looked like a normal guy, unlike Connor who looked like a badass. Nah, this mystery hunter guy looked as good looking as I remember, from before he snapped my neck. At least he didn't kill me. That was a positive, right?

Oh god, that wasn't positive. This wasn't going to be fun for me, was it? Ah fuck, I knew that I should never have wandered too far away from camp. And now a crazy hunter guy had abducted me and tied me up with vervain rope. I just had to hope that he wasn't a Hunter, like Connor and my brother were. It was possible. While I knew that he was a hunter, as he knew that I was a vampire and that tying me up with vervain was a good idea, there was nothing to suggest that he was a Hunter. Other than my shitty luck. Because it wouldn't surprise me if I managed to stumble across another of the Five. I mean, honestly, there were only Five of them at anyone time, it would just be unfair to have encounters with three of them.

"Ah good, you're awake," a very Scottish voice spoke. I glanced over at the hunter from where I had been looking around the clearing. I hadn't recognised where we were, but that didn't really mean anything. This entire island all looked the same, which was very annoying. But I thought that it was safe to assume that we weren't anywhere near my camp. This guy seemed too smart to set up camp near a group of vampires.

"I somehow get the feeling that that isn't good," I winced as the man stood up to approach me. He watched me with a considering gaze, glancing me up and down. I shifted slightly, wincing when the vervained rope dug into my skin. It was wrapped tightly around my neck, keeping me held closely to the tree. That meant that I couldn't try to wiggle free. My wrists were tied in front of me, with the rope connected to the rope around my neck. It was a very elaborate set up, one that I would have admired if it wasn't being used on me.

"It's good for me," the hunter shrugged, reaching forward to tug on the rope around my wrists. I hissed in pain as the rope burned my skin even more, its roughness scraping away my skin. "But probably not for you. I want answers, lass, and I want them now."

It was then that I noticed the tattoo on his skin. And I remembered seeing it last night. Guess I had forgotten about that. My mind probably blocked it out in an attempt to protect myself. Because the thought of it all just sucked. I had been tortured by one Hunter, the last thing that I needed was to be tortured by another one.

"I know absolutely nothing!" I immediately shot back as he continued to tug on the rope around my wrists. "Nope, no one tells me anything. I am absolutely useless and oblivious to everything, so why don't you let me go now? It would save the both of us a lot of bother. Because let's face it, torturing people is exhausting, so why not save yourself the energy, eh?"

Mr Hunter Guy gave me a look, clearly not believing me. Although, I would have judged him if he did believe. But it was worth a go. Because there was no way that I would be able to break free from these ropes. Unlike some of the older vampires that I knew, I hadn't been exposed to vervain like this. I hadn't had a chance to build up some tolerance to it, like Damon had. No, the annoying herb was doing its job in weakening me. And I was at the hunter's mercy.

Ah man, I was so fucked.

XXX

After spending a bit of time torturing me, Mr Hunter Man decided that I hadn't suffered enough pain to break me. So he decided to add so more vervained rope to my collection. This one, he tied around my waist. It had the added benefit of tying me further to the tree. Not that I was able to break free from the neck rope that was keeping me tied there. But hey, apparently, he just couldn't be too careful. Because I looked like so much of a threat. I mean, I knew that I was a vampire. But when I was tied up like this, with dried tears on my cheeks, I looked like I literally couldn't hurt a fly.

I huffed out little groans of pain, despite my attempts to keep them hidden. The vervain on the wet ropes had soaked through my jumper, giving me another area of pain. It was all getting a bit too much and it was very annoying. I honestly didn't know why he had add more rope. It was like he enjoyed my pain. The asshole. I still didn't know his name. And I wasn't in the mood to ask for it. As far as I was concerned, he was called asshole. That was the only name that he deserved.

My little noises must have been annoying the hunter, as he eventually rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder at me. He had been crouched over by his campfire, doing something that I couldn't see. But I could just sense that it wouldn't be good for me. He put down whatever it was to look at me, "Something botherin' you?"

"Um, you mean other than you?" I grit my teeth in a mockery of a smirk. Yeah, I know, I shouldn't have been pushing his buttons. But I was in pain and I was scared and I was angry. It was an ugly combination. And it was one that just didn't work for me. So, I became even more of a bitch than I normally was. "Cos not gonna lie, you are bothering me a lot. Like so much. It's not even funny at this point. The only thing bothering me more than your face are these ropes."

The man narrowed his eyes at me, "Do your loved ones from Mystic Falls think that you're funny, Alexa?"

"They think that I'm hilarious," I rolled my eyes before pausing and frowning. "Hang on a moment, how do you know my name? How do you know where I'm from? Ew, have you been spying on me? what is wrong with you?"

"Aye, I have," the hunter shrugged, looking completely unphased by my look of disgust at the thought of being spied on. "You, your boyfriend Damon, his brother Stefan, your twin Elena, your witch Bonnie. Do you need her to cast the spell written on your brother, Jeremy's, hunter's mark," he moved to stand in front of me, before pushing up his sleeve, "the one that looks exactly like this?"

"Well, that's all very creepy," I snorted, glancing away from the tattoo. It was identical to the one that my brother had. And I cursed. Honestly, did life just hate me? Why did I have to get abducted by one of the Five? On an island in the middle of fucking nowhere. Like he seriously. It just wasn't fair. "And I do not appreciate that creepiness. I've already had to deal with one creep, I can't deal with another. That would just be far too much for me."

"I've been killing vampires my entire life," he leant in closer, resting his hand above my head, forcing me to look up at him. Seeing him this far up close, I could see that he was a handsome man. And younger than I thought as well. "Still, this thing refused to reveal itself to me. That was, until three days ago, when it just magically completed for no apparent reason."

Ah fuck. That was when my siblings decided to murder an Original vampire. That meant that when Jer completed his mark, all other members of the Five would have had theirs completed as well. That was not good news. I didn't know how many of them would have thought to come here. But at least one of them did. And that meant that more could arrive. Which was just not good news. Dealing with one Hunter would be hard enough, especially since we couldn't kill them. Cos of that pesky Hunter's curse. The thought of juggling more of them was just nauseating.

"Really? Omg that is, like, just so insane! A tattoo that magically appeared? Now that is newsworthy," I had to bite my lip to stop myself from talking. I knew that my words were just going to get me into trouble. Well, even more trouble. But I just couldn't help myself. The pain was eroding away my self-control. And that meant I just couldn't hold back the random thoughts that popped into my mind. The brain to mouth filter just didn't exist.

"Ah, you're not taking me seriously," the hunter nodded before stepping away. He wandered back towards the fire, picking up a thin stick. The end had been sharpened to a point and I did not like the look of it. "I don't blame ya. You don't know me." With his stick in hand, he walked back over to me, pointing the stick at me. "So let me properly introduce myself." He held the stick against my stomach, just above the rope at my waist, and pressed. I had to bite my lip to hold in a cry of pain as the wood slowly impaled me. He knew exactly where to aim it to make it hurt. "My name is Galen Vaughn, and you'd better start talkin'."

I blamed the pain for my next words, that I just knew, deep down, would only lead to more pain, "Do you prefer Galen or Vaughn?"

XXX

Apparently, he would rather I just didn't call him by a name. Especially after I deliberately butchered his name. I mean, he kind of had it coming, since he stabbing me at the time that I repeated his name. So I decided to just call him Vaughn. Cos by giving him a name, I humanised him. And that meant, in theory, that I wouldn't be as scared of him. Of course, that was bullshit. But I was trying.

Galen Vaughn the Hunter kept asking me questions about my brother, about Bonnie and why we were on the island. In return, I just mouthing off. To be fair, I was in a lot of pain. And I wasn't really good with being sensible when I was in pain. Which was something that I knew very well, having been tortured several times before.

"Look, buddy," I coughed when Vaughn decided to stop stabbing me with his super long stick. And seriously, get your minds out of the gutter. "Haven't we established that I'm not going to tell you anything? So can you please just stop stabbing me? Even just for a little while? Just cos I have super healing doesn't mean that it doesn't still fucking hurt."

To his credit, Vaughn nodded and stepped back. He had a reluctant look of admiration on his face, "I have to admit, I am impressed, lass. You've lasted a lot longer than I thought you would."

"Why thank you," I breathed out, resting my head against the tree and closing my eyes. "It's just so nice to be admired for resisting torture. It really makes a girl feel special."

"Although, I do wish that you would stop talking."

That had me snorting, "You aren't the only one, mate."

"You will tell me what I want to know," the hunter smirked, walking back over to his campfire. He started packing up his backpack, giving me a good view of some of the weapons that he had. It was the usual amount of stakes and guns, but amongst them, there were some that I didn't recognise. There were hand grenades, but they looked weird. And then there were the weapons that I couldn't even begin to recognise. And none of that was a good sign. This guy was ready to fuck us all up. And I honestly didn't know if we stood a chance against him. We just about managed to get rid of Connor, and that was before we knew about the Hunter's curse. With all of these weapons Vaughn would be a lot harder to get rid of. Especially since we couldn't kill him.

While the hunter packed up his camp, I muttered, "That's what you think."

I watched as he kicked dirt over the fire, putting it out. A part of me hoped that he would just leave me tied up here. That way, I could scream and shout for help. With the amount of vampires in my group, someone was bound to hear me. Especially since I just knew that my boyfriend was searching for me. Elena was bound to feeling my pain from being tortured. And as much as I hated causing her pain, at least they knew that something was wrong. That I hadn't just stormed off and hadn't come back. There was a reason why I was no longer with them.

But I also knew that I wasn't that lucky. Vaughn had taken me for a reason. Whether it was just to have a hostage, in case the others came for him, or because he needed me, I just didn't know. But he would almost definitely take me with him when he left.

"That's what I know," Vaughn smirked at me over his shoulder. I mockingly repeated his words as the hunter shrugged on his backpack. It hadn't taken long for him to get ready to start moving. Where we were going to go, I had no idea. And I wasn't really in the mood to ask. I would find out at some point, and it wasn't like I knew the island. He could give me a destination and I would have absolutely no idea as to where that was.

The hunter didn't look impressed as he approached me, a knife in his hand. A part of me was scared that he would start stabbing me again, but the other part was curious. Judging from the knife, he was planning on cutting me lose. Which meant that he was going to take me with him. I could either try and escape after the ropes were cut, or I could play the good hostage and find out what Vaughn was up to. Of course, my options only worked if I was able to run away. The vervained ropes had sapped a lot of my strength. Strength that I couldn't afford to lose after being tortured.

There was one thing that I didn't consider, that Vaughn wouldn't use the knife to cut the ropes. Instead, he stabbed me in the chest with it. And a sharp pain accompanied it. It was beyond being stabbed; it was something more. And I had a nasty feeling that it had to do with my lung. As I was seriously struggling to breathe.

While I was busy gasping for air, trying to reach up to pull out the knife, Vaughn was untying the rope around my neck. His quick fingers made short work of the knot before moving onto the one around my waist. With the tree no longer supporting me, I staggered forward a step. The hunter was quick to catch me, pushing my front up against the tree. The ropes were tied again, digging into my waist and neck, before the rope around my wrists were attached to them both.

It was only when I had no chance of escaping, the vervain effectively doing its job, that the hunter pulled out the knife. I let out a loud gasp as I felt my skin knit back together. My vampire healing did its job, but it still fucking hurt. And I had a feeling that this was only the beginning of it all.

XXX

For the most part, the walk was silent. I didn't really want to talk to Vaughn and he was focused on where he was going. I was walking behind the hunter, being forcibly encouraged to walk to his pace by the rope that he had attached to mine. It was like I was on a fucking leash. I was very offended. Especially since it meant that I had no opportunity to run away. And I wasn't strong enough to break the ropes. The vervain was properly doing its job and weakening me. To be honest, I was surprised that I was still walking. The vervain in my bloodstream, courtesy of the rough rope rubbing away my skin, had me feeling slightly woozy. It wasn't enough to knock me out, but it was definitely affecting me.

I forced myself to keep quiet, staring out at the trees, but I just couldn't hold it in for long. I wanted to know where Vaughn was leading us. Just in case there was an opportunity for me to ditch his ass. I knew that there were others on this island, as proven by the guy that tried to kill my brother yesterday. What I didn't know was if the hunter was working with any of them. Because if he was, and if that was where he was taking us, then I was even more fucked than I thought I was. I was in no position to defend myself. And I didn't really want to die. I had fought so hard to live, I couldn't let fucking Vaughn be the one to finally take me out.

"Okay, you win," I sighed, rolling my eyes as I tried not to trip over. "Where are we going? Cos this is getting tedious."

I didn't really expect an answer. Vaughn was definitely the strong and serious type, who didn't really talk unless he had to. Well, that was the impression that I got. So I was surprised when he said, "At the wishing well lies an entrance to a crypt. In the crypt lies Silas. And with Silas lies the cure, which will allow me to kill Silas, and bring the mission of the Brotherhood of the Five to an end." He paused then, in both movement and words, to turn around to face me. He had a serious look on his face, "You're my leverage, Alexa; I use you to get your witch friend to open the passage to Silas' crypt for me."

"Is that why you kept me alive?" I frowned, taking a step back, keen to keep as much distance between me and the hunter as possible. Especially after that revelation. I was to be used as leverage? Even as a vampire, I just couldn't escape that. It was so annoying. I had to deal with that for so long. And this time, it wasn't even to use against my twin. It was to get my friend to do something that she was already going to do. Honestly, what a shitty situation. "To use me to get your own way? Dude, that's just rude. I do not appreciate being used as leverage. Like at all."

"You should appreciate it," Vaughn smirked at me, looking like he was enjoying my discomfort. "It's the only reason why I didn't kill you the moment that I found you."

"You didn't find me, you were stalking me," I rolled my eyes, ignoring the angry flash in Vaughn's expression. "Perv. Besides, you don't need to force Bonnie to open the passage. We actually want to get in there, but not for your precious Silas. All we want is the cure. You can keep the creepy dead guy in exchange."

The hunter scoffed and shook his head, "You really don't understand, do you?"

I raised an eyebrow, a look of blatant confusion on my face, which I pointed to, "Does this look like a face of understanding?"

"Silas is immortal," he enunciated clearly, speaking slowly, like I was an idiot. I did not appreciate that tone. And I made my feelings known by narrowing my eyes. "I have to cram the cure down his throat in order to kill him."

"And? We aren't going to stop you from doing that. In fact, I actively encourage it. So I don't really get what your issue is. We can still take some of it. Kinda need to, if I'm being honest. I have a pissed off bad guy in my living room that I need to get rid of."

I did debate whether it was worth saying that by giving me the cure, he could help get rid of the Original Hybrid. But I didn't want to give him too much information. Because it would inevitably come back to bite me on the ass. Nah, that nugget of information would remain in my brain for the time being.

Vaughn shook his head, looking frustrated, "I need to use the cure against Silas. You and your friends, you can't exactly have it, now, can you?"

"Dude, I am so confused," I tugged on the rope, wanting to cross my arms. But I couldn't. "We aren't saying use it on Silas. We're saying that we can also use it. Did your mom not teach you how to share?"

"Even if I wanted to, I couldnae."

"Well, why not?" I knew that my voice had reached that whining tone. But I couldn't help it. The stupid hunter wasn't speaking sense. He was going around in riddles and it was getting really annoying. It wasn't hard to speak clearly. But it was like this asshole just didn't want to. It was like he enjoyed annoying me. Which he probably did. It was how he got his jollies off until he could kill me. Or torture me again. Cos he enjoyed that far too much.

"So it is written," Vaughn spoke cryptically, pointing at his tattoo. "There is only one dose."

I froze.

One dose?

Ah man, we were so fucked.

XXX

I went silent after that.

There was only one dose of the cure. I really should have expected that. The notion of a cure to vampirism was always too good to be true. But I had allowed myself to believe that. That there was a way to get rid of Klaus without putting my loved ones in danger, that there was a way for Stefan to get the human life that he wanted, that Rebekah could get her dream life. But it just wasn't to be. We had been tricked.

And I knew who by. There was no way that Shane didn't know the truth about the cure. He knew everything about all of this. So of course he knew that there was only one dose. He probably wanted to use it on his boyfriend Silas, since he had such a hard-on for him.

The real question was, after I ripped off Silas' head, who got the cure? Assuming we got there first, of course. If Vaughn or Silas did, then they would use it on the dead dude down below. But if we got there first, if we managed to get the cure, then what would we do with it? I knew that Rebekah would want it for herself. And I didn't know if she could be convinced otherwise. My only desire was to shove it down Klaus' throat. Since my idiot family killed Kol, he was even more of a threat. We had to take him out. Nothing was more important than that. Not even pleasing my friends.

I must have been walking slower than Vaughn was able to tolerate, as he tugged on the rope. I let out a hiss as it pressed against my injured wrists, the vervain burning. I narrowed my eyes at the hunter as he tugged again. I was so tempted to slow down even more, but I wanted the pain to stop.

With a pained grumble, I increased my pace. Of course, that didn't stop my mind from spinning still. I just didn't know what to do. Nor did I know how to warn my loved ones. They had to be told. And I didn't know if there was a way of warning them. All of their information came from Shady Shane. And I knew for a fact that he wouldn't tell them the truth about the cure. He would want to keep that advantage to himself.

I also had to be careful as to who I told. I knew that if Rebekah found out, then she would rush to grab that cure for herself. She desperately desired a human life. A life where she could live as she pleased, have a family and just be free. And of course, she wouldn't want her brother to get the cure. Especially over her. No, I had to tell someone else. Anyone else. I trusted them to do the right thing, including Stefan. I knew that the younger Salvatore wanted to be human again, to escape the pain of vampirism that he felt, but I also knew that he wouldn't take the cure if it meant disadvantaging his loved ones. He would rather get rid of Klaus and remain a vampire, then hurt us all. And I respected him for that so much.

"Lass, if I have to tell you to hurry up one more time, you won't like what happens," Vaughn looked at me over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised and a grumpy look on his face. To reiterate his point, he tugged on the rope again. In my defence, I hadn't even realised that I had slowed down again. I just couldn't get out of my head. There were so many thoughts spinning around my mind, it was impossible to push through the noise.

"What are you going to do?" I muttered bitterly, clenching my fists. The movement had the rope pressing against deeper into my skin, but I didn't care. The pain helped me get out of my head for a moment. "Torture me again? Kill me? Do your worst, bro."

"You have no idea what my worst would be," the hunter smirked at me, walking closer. "I don't think that you can handle it."

"I can handle a lot more than you think I can," I rolled my eyes, pushing all the horrible thoughts spinning around my mind to the side. I could focus on them once the ass in front of me decided to keep walking to where it was that he wanted to go. "You are nothing compared to some of the things that I've faced."

"I highly doubt that. I won't go easy on you, just because you are a girl."

"What a gentleman. But I wouldn't expect you to. None of the more evil beings that I have encountered have gone easy on me. In fact, I would just judge you if you did. Now can you do me a favour, and just turn around and keep walking? I really am fed up with your face. And your voice. And just you in general."

That earned me a sharp tug on the ropes and I couldn't hold back the annoyed hiss. All the pain did was piss me off. I was just fed up with the whole situation. The island, the cure, the hunter. I just wanted it over with. Of course, I wasn't going to be that lucky. I wasn't going to be able to escape this for a little while yet.

But my words did have some positive impact. Vaughn must have realised that we still had to get this magical wishing well, that would lead us down to Silas and the cure. I didn't know how far away we were but he must have had a renewed sense of urgency.

Instead of letting me walk behind him again, the hunter grabbed my arm and pushed me forward. Apparently I was walking in front of him now. That was probably to stop me from dawdling again. Which was annoying, as I now had to walk at his pace. Ugh, this was not gonna be fun.

XXX

I was right, it wasn't fun.

Every time I slowed down even a little bit, Vaughn gave me a shove. And it just pissed me off. I was hungry and I was tired and I was fed up. The news about the cure had put me in a bad mood. And if it meant that I wanted to walk a bit slower, than he just had to deal with it. It wasn't like I was refusing to walk. The dumbass should be happy, I was being more cooperative than I should be, considering I was his hostage and leverage.

When the shoving got too much, I snapped, "Will you stop pushing me?"

"Or what?" Vaughn rolled his eyes, shoving me again. "You'll threaten me? You may be a vampire, but you're still a kid. You aren't really threatening, Alexa."

"I can be threatening when I want to be," I narrowed my eyes at him over my shoulder. "Just you wait, you'll find that out soon enough."

"I doubt that I will. You aren't exactly in the position to be hurting me."

"Maybe I'm just playing along," I scoffed, shaking my head. "I'm good at that. And then, I will rip you apart. I'm very capable of that. Just ask the people that have threatened my family. Oh wait, you can't. Cos I killed them." I paused then before sighing, "Although, thinking about it, I should probably be thanking you."

Vaughn was shocked by my sudden change of mood. He glanced over at me, eyebrow raised, as he relaxed his grip on the rope, "Why are you thanking me, lass?"

"You saved my siblings last night," I shrugged, trying not to think about the trouble that my idiots were getting into without me. Jeremy was being held hostage by a stranger and god knows what trouble my sister was getting into. Even though Damon was with her, I knew that she was capable of getting into trouble, especially with Rebekah around to drive her up the wall. Besides, my boyfriend was probably too busy worrying about me. "Which is something that I can respect."

"And how did I do that?"

"Do you have short-term memory loss?" I snorted, shaking my head. "You don't remember the archer dude? He was kind of unforgettable, considering that he was a big guy. If I wasn't a vampire, I wouldn't have stood a chance against him. Luckily, you saved the day with a hatchet before I could figure out a way to take him down."

"That wasn't me," the hunter shook his head. Uh, say what? If he didn't save them, then who did? Cos there aren't many people on this island. Or at least, I really hoped that there wasn't. The thought of more people running around when I wasn't able to protect my siblings wasn't a comforting one. I had no way of protecting them while I was being held hostage by the dumbass next to me.

"You're kidding right?" I stared up at Vaughn with wide eyes. He went to move on but my raised voice stopped him. "If it wasn't you, then who was it? It's not like there are a lot of people on this island. I mean, it's in the middle of nowhere. There's you and me and my friends and some local people. Who else could have saved my siblings?"

"I'm telling you, it wasnae me," the hunter shrugged, not looking as disturbed by this information as I was. Which was just rude. It was a disturbing piece of information. There was some crazy hatchet person running around this island, killing people and saving my siblings. Which was something that I should be thanking them for. But I just didn't know who it was or why they did it.

Before I could say anything else, Vaughn shoved me forward again. I took one step, walking into some bushes, before something on the floor caught my attention. There was a body laying amongst the bushes. It was a man, one that I didn't recognise. His throat was slit, his body covered in blood. He had a surprised look on his face and I knew that he wasn't expecting his death. Of course, I wasn't expecting his body. Like at all.

I clamped a hand over my mouth, muffling my scream. The sight of yet another dead body on this island was disturbing. I didn't even know who killed this one. Whether hatchet person had decided to expand into different weaponry, I didn't know. But either way, there was a dead body in front of me. And I did not appreciate it.

In a move that I didn't expect, Vaughn grabbed my shoulder and pulled me away from the body, closer to him. I guess he needed me alive. Since I wasn't really much use to him as leverage if I was dead. While I didn't like the guy, I was more than happy to huddle into him. After all, I was still tied up and the hunter had a shitload of weapons. And he was temporarily invested in my wellbeing.

"Would it be totally stupid if I asked if this was you?" I asked quietly as I glanced around the trees surrounding us. My fingers were curled into Vaughn's jacket, ready to push him in front of me if anyone came barrelling out of the trees. Because as bitchy as it sounded, I would rather him died than me. He was a threat to my loved ones. He wanted to manipulate Bonnie into doing what he wanted, and I was fed up with people trying to manipulate my witchy friend. If he didn't need me, he would have killed me. And I really didn't want to think as to what he would do to my boyfriend or Stefan if he encountered them.

"It definitely wasn't me, lass," the hunter sighed, shaking his head as he rested a hand on the gun at his hip. "I reckon that there really is someone else on this island."

"Yeah, no duh, what gave it away?"

XXX

Vaughn didn't appreciate my words, as he soon pushed me forward, encouraging me to keep moving. But I did notice that he kept closer to me than before. I wasn't going to complain about that, as the hunter had a lot of weapons. And I knew that he would keep me alive for the time being. So I was going to take advantage of his little arsenal and be a good little hostage by sticking close to him.

As I shuffled along, I flinched at every loud noise that I heard. While I knew that the guy's killer was long gone, as the body was quite cool to the touch, I was also ridiculously paranoid. I had watched far too many horror movies as a kid and my experiences over the past couple of years had only cemented that paranoia.

The hunter must have noticed my flinching, as he rolled his eyes, "Are you seriously scared right now? Perhaps you've forgotten, but you are a vampire."

"Hey!" I pouted in offence, my head spinning around when I heard a branch snap behind us. "Just cos I'm a vampire, doesn't mean that I can't get scared. I mean, I am only 18. And I'm all tied up. There isn't really a lot that I can do to defend myself. So I think I'm entitled to be a little bit jumpy."

"You haven't been a vampire for long, then," Vaughn frowned and, despite his best efforts, I could see a hint of curiosity in his gaze as he glanced over at me.

"Like a few months," I replied, nearly tripping over a tree root. I was so focussed on looking around, at making sure that no one was sneaking up on me, that I wasn't paying any attention to the floor. Which was dangerous as I was seriously likely to trip over something. And just because I could heal quickly, didn't mean that a broken ankle wouldn't hurt.

"You're a lot younger than I thought you were," the hunter muttered, looking away from me and into the trees.

"I thought you had been stalking us," I raised an eyebrow, wondering if I had an opportunity to get him on side. He did seem surprised by my age. And surely that meant that I could play the innocent card. I mean, while he knew that I was a vampire, he had also just learnt that I was a kid. And I could play innocent when I needed to. I was very good at that.

"Not for long enough to know your age," Vaughn shook his head. "I just knew that you were a vampire. And that you were a good way of getting the witch to do what I needed."

"You know, we would be much better as allies than enemies. If I help you complete your little crusade and get rid of Silas, would you be nicer to me? Cos I gotta say, you do seem like a decent guy. Brotherhood of the Five thing aside."

That earned me a suspicious frown, "What's your game, here? You were cursing me out, not that long ago. Why have you changed your tune, lass?"

"Maybe I just noticed something decent about you," I shrugged, glancing down at the ground. To be honest, I didn't really know what my plan was. I was just going with my instincts. And those instincts said to get Vaughn onside. Yeah he was a hunter, but we knew how to get around those pesky instincts. All I had to do, was get him to want to. He would be a good ally, one that would help me protect my family. They were vulnerable right now, especially Jenna, without Ric around. And I would do everything that I could to keep them safe. Including playing nice with Galen Vaughn. "I mean, you did try to protect me when we found that body. That was very gentlemanly of you."

"Despite being a vampire, you still look innocent," the hunter looked annoyed by that admission. But that information was useful to know. It was something that I could use to my advantage. I just had to be clever about it. But I couldn't take too long. I just knew, deep down, that if I didn't get through to the hunter by the time we reached the wishing well, that it would be hopeless. By that point, he would only be focused on his mission. And my words wouldn't get through to him. He would be too focused on doing what the mark commanded.

"That's sweet of you to say," I mumbled, trying not to be obvious about my intent. "You know, becoming a vampire didn't change my personality. Yeah, it heightened some of it. but I'm still who I was before. Besides, I was turned against my will. I didn't choose this. It just happened to me."

Was I stretching the truth? Yeah, I was. But I wasn't lying to him. And that's the main thing. He would probably be able to tell if I was. So I avoided that. Instead, I just stretched the truth slightly. I mean, I was right in that I didn't chose to turn at that moment in time. I just left out the part where I was going to eventually. At this point, I didn't really care. I just needed to get through to him. And I needed to do it soon.

"I don't know who you were before you turned, lass. I know nothing about you, other than what I have seen."

"Yeah, okay, fair point, bro. You didn't know me, but you know your instincts. Do they tell you that I was a bad person? That I was a monster? You have a good heart. You don't have to hate me just cos your mind is being manipulated by that tattoo. The same thing happened to my brother and we helped him work around it. We can do the same for you, if you want."

XXX

I kept silent after that. I knew that I shouldn't push too much, that I should let Vaughn think it over. I just had to hope that my words had touched something within him. That I had reached that human part behind the mark. It was my only hope. Otherwise he would have to die. And we would have to get creative with it. Because if we did it directly, then someone would have to deal with the Hunter's curse. Unless one of the humans did it. But I wasn't willing to put them in danger by letting them close to the hunter. Ugh, it was all very tedious. Because there was just so much to think about and consider.

In an attempt to play nice, I walked beside the hunter as we continued through the woods. And no, it wasn't partly because I was scared of the killer that was running around the island. That would just be ridiculous. I wasn't scared of them, of course not. I was able to take them out if I needed to. I just liked knowing that I wasn't alone out here. Because I would have no hope in finding my loved ones by myself. Everything around us looked the same. And even if I could find my way back to our camp, I highly doubted that they were still there. They were either out looking for Jeremy or for me. Or they were continuing their own search for the cure, to get there before others could.

It wasn't until Vaughn stopped that I stopped. He stared down at the tattoo on his arm and I followed his gaze. Only to see that damn tattoo slowly disappearing. It followed the trail up his arm, slowly fading away. I knew, deep down, why that was happening. But I almost didn't want to believe it. Because I didn't know if it was necessarily a good thing. While Bonnie was the only one that could cast the spell, that didn't mean that she was doing it voluntarily. I had no idea what had happened to my friends after I had been taken. I assumed that she was still with the others, but that was just an assumption. She could have been taken too, she could have wandered off, looking for Jeremy by herself. There were no guarantees that she was safe too. And that thought just killed me. Too many of my loved ones were in danger on this fucking island.

It wasn't until the hunter murmured, "Looks like your witchy friend is casting her spell," that I was forced to accept it. I tried to look for the positive part of that news. And thankfully, it didn't take me long. The fact that Bonnie was casting her spell was a good thing. Because it meant that my brother was alive. That he was fine. And that he was with her. Bon wouldn't let anything bad happen to Jeremy, not now that he was with her. And how did I know that? Well, I remember Shane saying something about the spell being contained in the tattoo. The fact that Bonnie was casting it meant that she was with my brother. And that was the best news that I had had all day.

"Does that mean that you're too late?" I frowned, looking at the blank skin. From the brief shiver that overcame Vaughn, I could only assume that the tattoo was completely gone. That must mean that Bonnie had finished her spell. What that actually meant, I didn't entirely know. But I knew that it wasn't necessarily a good thing for the hunter. Someone else was closer to the cure than he was. And those people were my friends. They would take the cure, not shove it down this Silas dude's throat. Which was what Vaughn wanted to do. He would have to fight them for the cure, assuming that they were close by. If they weren't, then he had to track them down. Either way, it put a pretty huge dent in his plans. I just had to hope that he didn't take it out on me.

"It just means that she's opened the way into Silas' crypt," he answered, starting to move forward again. I followed slowly, wondering if that was bad news for me. He just wanted me to use to get Bonnie to open that crypt. If my friend had already done that, did he still have a use to me? Or was he planning on killing me now? God, I hoped not. And, I couldn't believe that I was saying this, I actually hoped that he still needed to use me as leverage. Even if it was just to force his way into the crypt if the rest of my friends were there. It was my only hope. Unless my words had gotten into his head. But I didn't think that they had yet.

"So the cure part is still up for grabs. Oh yippee."

Vaughn ignored my muttered words, too busy staring around. I could tell that he was just confirming the way forward. That he hadn't accidentally gotten lost. Because that would just slow him down in his hunt for the cure. And he couldn't afford that, not now. To be honest, it was probably the only thing that saved me from a scolding look. And that was all that I would have gotten. Ever since my words earlier, he hadn't tried tugging me forward using the ropes. So while I still had the painful burn, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

"We're close by, it shouldn't be too much longer until we get there."

"Oh joy," I muttered, shaking my head. I really didn't have long to get Vaughn onto my side. And with the spell having been completed, the hunter was forcing me to pick up the pace. But I kept my grumbling to myself. I knew that I had to play nice, until I knew whether my earlier words had worked. So as much as the speedier walking annoyed me, I kept quiet. Because that was the safest and easiest option.

XXX

"Are you going to kill me now?"

Vaughn glanced back at me, having heard my quiet words. I couldn't help but let them out, despite my attempts. The thought had been spinning around my head and it just wouldn't go away. I had to know if I was going to die soon. If I had limited time left. Because if I didn't have long, then I had to push Vaughn onto my side. I couldn't be subtle any longer. I just had to go for it. Whether it worked or not, I just had to give it a go. If I was going to die, then I wanted to die knowing that I had done everything that I could to make him less of a threat. I owed my loved ones that.

"No, lass," he shook his head, his lips quirking up in a smirk. "You are still of use to me. The witch may have opened the way into the crypt, but your friends are still around. I'm going to need you to get past them."

Well, that mirrored my earlier thoughts. And even though I hated the thought of it, at least it was keeping me alive. I could take advantage of this until we reached the wishing well. Hopefully, by then, we would have encountered the others. Because while I did want to get Vaughn onside, I wasn't going to put anyone at risk to get that done. It would be an advantage but we had lasted this long since Ric died, we could last a bit longer without a more experienced hunter on our side. All we had to do was survive until I managed to bring Ric back to life.

"Well, that's something," I muttered, before raising my voice. "Will you kill me once you've taken out Silas?"

The hunter was silent for a moment and that piqued my curiosity. I was expecting him to immediately say that he would take me out. But that hesitation was a good sign. It meant that my words were getting to him, that they were ticking around his mind. Eventually he sighed out, "I don't know yet."

I took that as a victory and decided not to push further. Just in case I managed to annoy him into changing his mind. Because that was very likely. Instead, I asked, "What do you think you'll do? Post Brotherhood of the Five?"

Vaughn shook his head, "I don't know. I've been hunting vampires for so long, that I don't know what it feels like to have a normal life."

"This life does tend to suck you in," I nodded. "I don't remember what it's like anymore to not be involved in the supernatural. And it's really only been a couple of years. So I can completely sympathise." I paused before asking, "Do you not have family to go back to?"

"Not anymore."

"Aw, that's so sad. What happened to them? Or is that too personal a question? My bad, you can ignore that. It just… it sucks when you lose family."

"Have you lost a lot?"

"More than my fair share," I sighed, shaking my head. I was quite surprised by how this conversation had gone. It was like we were bonding. Which was just a bit of a mindfuck. All I expected was to get him on side enough that he didn't want to kill me and my loved ones. But we were actually having a nice conversation. It was weird. But I wasn't going to complain. It made things so much easier for me. "Two sets of parents, all my grandparents. My step-dad slash uncle. The only blood family that I have left is my aunt, twin and brother. Which is why I'll do anything to protect them."

I tried to keep the threat from my voice, but I knew that I wasn't completely successful. It wasn't my fault. I just tended to get far too overprotective when it came to my family. And I was right to. They had been through so much in such a short amount of time. Jenna was pregnant with Ric's baby; he was currently trapped in a pendant and virtually no one else knew. My brother was a supernatural hunter and my sister, well, she was just a trouble magnet. I was well within my right to get violent over keeping them safe.

"I can respect that," Vaughn nodded, leading me past a quarry. I glanced down into the water besides us before shaking my head. I had seen the entrance to a cave in the distance and I just knew that that was where the wishing well was. My guess was proved right when Vaughn changed direction slightly, leading us with confidence towards the entrance. It was smaller than I expected, more subtle. I don't know what I was expecting, to be honest. But it was more than what was in front of us.

"Nothing is more important than family," I muttered before we both went silent. The closer that we got to the entrance to the cave, the tenser things became. I just had to hope that I had done enough to endear myself to the hunter. Otherwise things would not go well. And I still didn't know how to take out Vaughn without suffering that damn hunter's curse again. But I would suffer it again if I needed to. I would do anything to protect my loved ones. Including go through that again. I had survived it once, even if it was fucking awful. I could survive it again if need be. I would do anything for my family.

But I had a feeling, deep down, that the moment that I entered that cave, that things would change. And I didn't think that that change would be for the good. No, this would change everything. I just didn't know how. But the feeling that reverberated around my body, burrowing deep into my bones, was not a nice one. And that fucking terrified me.

XXX

The wishing well wasn't really a well. It was more of a hole in the ground, with wooden beams surrounding it. They joined together into a point above the hole, almost providing a roof. All in all, it was very disappointing. And a bit of a let down. It was just plain boring. Nothing mystical or special looking about it. It was just a hole. And boring hole. A disappointing, boring hole.

Since I was the one who was given the honour of entering first, I was the one that noticed the ropes above the hole. It looked like rappelling gear and I knew that it belonged to whoever had gotten Bonnie and Jeremy down here. Some of it seemed familiar, like I had seen it before. But unless it belonged to creepy professor Shane, I highly doubted that I had seen it before. God, I hoped that it didn't belong to Shane. I had been secretly hoping that Damon had ripped his head off after I went missing. That would have been really satisfying. Even if I would have been gutted that I had missed it. But just knowing that he could no longer manipulate my loved ones would be enough for me.

"Sorry, bro," I shrugged, coming to a stop by the hole. "I don't think that you'll get to the cure first. Unless it's a maze down below, they would have gotten there first."

"That's a shame," Vaughn sighed, tugging lightly on the ropes. I bit my lip to keep in a pained hiss before turning around. The hunter was staring at me, a slight regretful look in his eyes as he rested a hand on the gun at his hip. "I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this. But I can't let you leave here."

"Aww come on," I whined, taking a step back. I didn't manage to get far before the length of the rope halted me. But I wasn't standing by the entrance to the caves below us anymore. Which meant that I didn't have to look down into the darkness below. "I thought that we had a bond. This is not cool."

"I know, lass," the hunter acknowledged with a nod. "But I will need to threaten the ones down there in order to get the cure back. And your brother is likely to be one of them. Which means that, hunters curse of not, you will kill me for daring to harm him. And I can't exactly carry out my mission if I'm dead."

"Yeah, okay, fair point," I conceded with a wince, even if I didn't want to give him the point there. "I won't be happy if you threaten my brother. But surely there is a way that we can work around this? I could persuade them to give up the cure? So no one needs to threaten anyone? There are so many better ways that this can go. Just… trust me to sort this out properly. No one needs to get hurt."

"I can't take the risk that they don't give it up," Vaughn did look truly regretful as he pulled out his gun. "For the record, Alexa, I am sorry to be doing this. I'll make it as quick and painless as possible."

"Ah man," I mumbled, tugging gently on the ropes around my wrists. I wasn't able to pull them off. The vervain was burning too much. And I just didn't have the strength, or the willingness, to get rid of the rope. Despite my superior strength, I didn't feel strong enough to break free. No, I had to use my words to get out of this. "Please don't do this. We can work something out. No one has to die here."

"I wish that I could believe you, but I know for a fact that your boyfriend will rip my head off for hurting you," the hunter aimed his gun at my chest. And I realised that my words wouldn't work. Vaughn had made up his mind. And nothing was going to change it. Even if he did apparently now have a fondness for me. Later on, I would be proud of the fact that I had managed to get a member of the Brotherhood of the Five to like me. But I couldn't focus on that now. I had to find a way to get out of this.

"You would be correct."

A new voice joining the conversation had me spinning around with a gasp. Vaughn quickly followed, aiming his gun at the entrance to the cave. And my heart relaxed in my chest at the sight in front of me. I was finally, truly safe.

Damon stood at the entrance, a dark look on his face as he glared at the hunter in front of me. Rebekah was at his side, eyebrow raised as she glanced between us all. I had the best possible rescue party. My badass boyfriend and an Original vampire who was desperate to be my friend again. I no longer had to worry about getting out of this alive. Damon would save me. He always saved me.

I must have visibly relaxed as Damon's gaze flickered over to me. His quick eyes took careful note of the vervain around my wrists and neck, the broken skin underneath the rope that was yet to heal, the fear and pain in my eyes. The sight had his eyes flashing angrily as he turned to glare at the hunter.

"I won't be making this quick or painless," he growled, stepping further into the cave, his hands clenched by his sides. "So I hope you've made peace with your maker. Because you'll be screaming for him soon enough."

"I made my peace with him a long time ago, Damon," Vaughn smirked, not looking the least bit scared as he gripped his gun with steady hands. And that offended me. My boyfriend was being very threatening. He should be scared. "So why don't we get this started?"

XXX

While Damon bared his teeth at the hunter, Rebekah slowly approached me. She kept an eye on Vaughn as she moved, but it seemed as though my boyfriend was taking up all of his attention. When she reached out to rip off the ropes, I whispered, "They're vervained."

The blonde glanced up, her eyes full of sympathy, as she nodded before continuing to reach out. She gritted her teeth, barely letting the pained grunt out, as she ripped off the ropes around my wrists. As I threw them to the side, she reached up and removed the ones around my neck before making quick work of the one around my waist. It felt like such a relief as I kicked them away, knocking them down the hole. That stupid well could suck on that, instead of blood, for a while.

As Damon stepped back, he glanced over his shoulder at us, "Are we gonna dance or are we gonna play?"

"You know that he can't hurt me, Damon," Rebekah rolled her eyes, nudging me behind her. "Unless he's got the white oak stake."

"Oh, he doesn't," Vaughn smirked, narrowing his eyes at the oldest vampire in the room. "But he's got other toys."

He pulled the trigger, hitting the Original three times. She glanced down at the bullet wounds in her chest before speeding forward. Rebekah grabbed the hunter by the throat, baring her fangs at him, while Damon stood in front of me, covering my body with his. But in a move that I didn't expect, Vaughn grabbed something from his pack on the ground, before sticking it in Rebekah's chest. From my brief glance, it looked like some kind of weird hand grenade, with wooden spikes sticking out of it. Rebekah looked down at it, a confused frown on her face, before the hunter held up the pin that he had pulled out. He dived to the side just before the grenade detonated. I was just about able to see the spikes sticking out of her back before her body fell to the side.

Damon pushed me back a step, quickly ordering me to stay out of it, before he sped forward too. My idiot decided that it would be a good idea to use his fists against the hunter. For once, I did as I was told and stayed out of it. I watched from the side-lines as Vaughn decided to cheat again. He dived to the side, grabbing a weird looking gun from his bag. He quickly aimed the gun at my boyfriend and fired. Some kind of weird lasso looking device shot out of the gun and wrapped around Damon's neck, forcing him back against the pole behind him. The rope thing must have also tied around the pole as Damon was unable to move. From the sizzling that I heard, I just knew that the rope was covered in vervain. My boyfriend let out a groan, before choking out, "Alexa, run!"

I didn't run.

Instead, I took a sept forward. But Vaughn didn't appreciate my movement. He grabbed a sawn-off from his bag and fired at me. I couldn't hold in the scream as my stomach erupted in pain. I fell to the ground, my stomach filled with wooden buckshot. Blood poured from my wounds as Vaughn pushed himself to his feet. He was just about to walk over to us when we heard a voice from outside.

It was the younger Salvatore brother, shouting our names. I was just about able to shout of his name in response, even though the movement had me gritting my teeth in pain. It hurt so fucking bad. Every time I moved, even a little, the wood scraped against my insides. I didn't think that any of it was near my heart. But it was so hard to tell.

Having heard the voice of yet another vampire, the hunter grabbed the rope leading down into the caves below us. He slid down the rope, disappearing from sight. I was able to hear him land at the bottom just before Stefan and my sister ran in.

The moment she saw me, my twin shouted my name, running over to me. She fell to her knees next to me, hands fluttering over my stomach. I coughed out weakly, "It's fine, Els. Nothing wrong with me."

"Alexa!" Ellie gave me a sharp look. "You're bleeding! You've been shot!"

"And I'll heal," I grunted as she started trying to pull out the buckshot. I could tell that she was trying to be gentle. But with the amount of buckshot that was in my body, being gentle just wasn't an option. "You need to go find Jeremy. He's down there somewhere and now the hunter is too. Please go help him. I'll join you soon."

"I won't leave you," my twin shook her head, a stubborn look on her face. "Not while you're hurt."

Before she could argue further, and before I could let on just how much pain I was in, someone else spoke up. Stefan, who had been trying to get rid of the rope around Damon's neck, spoke up, "Alexa's right. You need to go after Jeremy and Bonnie. You're the only one."

"What about you?" she shot back, narrowing her eyes. "I'm not going to leave my sister. Not while she is hurt like this."

"Look, we'll be right behind you," the younger vampire urged, as he paused in his efforts to get rid of the device pinning Damon to the pole. "It won't take me long to help these two. You need to go, now."

"Ellie, please," I whispered and it was my words that convinced her. While she didn't look happy, my twin stood up. With one final glance at me, she grabbed the rope and slid down into the cave. While I hated seeing her go, especially I couldn't protect her, I knew that someone needed to go protect Jeremy. Elena was a human; Vaughn wouldn't hurt her. He had morals, unlike Connor. He wouldn't hurt an innocent.

God, I really hoped that he wouldn't.

XXX

Despite his words, it took longer than expected for Stefan to free Damon from the rope. My boyfriend fell to the ground with a groan before immediately pushing himself to my side. I had been trying to pick buckshot out of my body, but I just couldn't do it. The pain was just too much and I wasn't strong enough to pull the pieces out of me. Even just the feel of my fingers against my skin had me gagging with pain. I think my mind was protecting me from most of it. Because I knew that I should be screaming in agony, with my skin not healing like it should due to the wood, but instead it was just a red haze.

Damon rested a hand on my cheek, worried eyes staring down at me, before Stefan urged, "Alright, come on. We have to catch up with them. We don't know who else is down there. And besides, I really don't think that Vaughn would have any issues with hurting any innocents that get in his way."

My boyfriend shook his head, not removing his gaze from mine. Despite the worry consuming those blue depths, I couldn't help but draw comfort from him. I knew that it was going to be okay, now that he was by my side. He would look after me now. And that was exactly what I needed. After the night and day that I had had, I needed someone to look after me. To make me feel better. Because there was no way that I could help myself right now. As much as I wanted to start pulling the buckshot from my body, I just wasn't strong enough. I couldn't even get a hold of a piece before the pain became too much.

"No," Damon was still slightly breathless from the rope, his neck still healing. The burns from the vervain had healed. It was the just the residual redness. I knew that it wouldn't take long for it to fade. But that didn't stop the sight of it, the sight of the pain in his eyes, clenching my heart in sympathy. I hated when my boyfriend got hurt like that. And the fact that he had gotten hurt while defending me made it even worse. Damon shouldn't have gotten hurt. "I just need a minute; I'll only slow you down. And I won't leave Alexa, not like this. I need to help her first."

When the younger Salvatore hesitated, staring down at my injured stomach. I knew that he wouldn't leave, not when I was looking like this. But he couldn't stay, he had to go help my sister. He was the only one that could do so. Rebekah was still technically dead from the stakes that were still stuck in her heart. I couldn't even move without nearly throwing up from the pain. And I knew that Damon wouldn't leave me, even after he had healed from his own injuries. No, Stefan was the only one. And I knew that he would protect my sister. He would keep her safe until I was capable of doing so.

"Stefan," I wheezed out, grabbing my boyfriend's offered hand and squeezing hard. "Please. You have to go. You need to save my sister for me. I can't help her, not like this. And I can't bear the thought of her being alone in those tunnels. Please help her."

Stefan hesitated for a moment, glancing back down at the hole behind him before looking at me. I could see his conflict. I knew that he didn't want to leave me like this, not when I looked so vulnerable and when I was in so much pain. But he had to go. He was the only one that could save my twin. I felt bad enough that I had sent her down there, to get Jeremy. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to her. I had promised to protect her, to keep her safe. But I was failing. I couldn't do that. Not right now. But I could get Stefan to do that for me. I trusted him with her. Despite everything that had happened over the past half a year, I trusted Stefan Salvatore with my sister.

"Hon, if you don't go, I swear to god, I will kick your ass when this shit is out of my body," I narrowed my eyes, doing my best to hide my pain as the mere act of speaking had the wood shifting inside of me. It honestly was one of the worst things that I had ever experienced. And considering I had died several times and had been tortured quite a few times, it was saying something. I never wanted to go through this again. Like ever. Vaughn was such an asshole for doing this to me. I thought that we were, if not friends, at least kind of buddies. But, since he had shot me with fucking wooden buckshot, apparently we weren't.

I don't know whether it was my words or Damon's glare, but Stefan quickly gave in. Albeit with a sigh and a shake of the head. He glanced down at me before looking at his brother, "Get Alexa healed and wake up Rebekah. Then come and find us as quickly as possible. I don't know who else is in those tunnels and we need to protect the others."

While my boyfriend nodded, I snorted, "The sooner that you find my siblings, the sooner that I can just rip this stuff out of me and join you." Of course, I immediately regretted it when I felt something scrape against one of my organs. It was only the bruising grip that I had on Damon's hand that stopped me from screaming.

Stefan muttered his agreement before turning around. At the edge of the hole, he hesitated again for a moment before sharply nodding his head. Without looking back, the younger Salvatore jumped into the darkness. And that when was I let out of the groan of pain that I had been valiantly fighting back.

Fucking buckshot.

Fucking Vaughn.

XXX

Gentle hands grabbed both of mine, and I opened my eyes again. I hadn't even realised that I had closed them. Damn, this pain really was getting to me. I stared up into Damon's eyes as he crouched down next to me. He was fully healed, which was a huge relief. It was one less thing for me to worry about. Of course, that wouldn't stop me from examining his neck the moment that I was healed. Because I had to be sure that he was okay. I wouldn't be able to truly convince myself until I had done that.

I would have done so right now, but even breathing hurt. The buckshot inside of me scraped against my organs with every movement. I was just lucky that the wood was also sticking out of me, otherwise I might have started to heal with it inside of me. And that was the last thing that I wanted.

"Hey, how are you doing?" my boyfriend asked softly as he gave my hands a gentle squeeze. His thumbs rubbed the backs of my hands and I tried to focus on that comforting feeling, instead of the pain that radiated across my entire body, across my entire mind.

"Awful," I groaned, not even trying to hide the pain that I was in. I knew that if I tried, he would call me out on my bullshit. But I was too tired to hide it. The pain was consuming me. It was never ending. "Can you just snap my neck while you take this shit out of me? Cos it was bad enough going in, I dread to think how it bad it will be coming out."

"Alexa," Damon gave me a stern look as he carefully placed my hands to the side. I immediately curled my hands into fists, resting them down by my hips.

Rolling my eyes, I muttered, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Bad thing to ask. I'm sorry."

"I know, I just don't like it when you talk about that," Damon sighed, carefully pealing back my top. Not even he could hide the wince at the look of my stomach. I hadn't seen just how bad it looked, and after seeing his expression, I was more than happy to go without seeing it. I knew that it was a mess, with the amount of buckshot that I could feel inside of me, it couldn't be anything else. But the thought of moving enough to see what it actually looked like just made me feel sick. "I'm so sorry, baby, but this is going to hurt. I'll try and do it as carefully and quickly as I can."

"S'cool babe," I let my eyes close again as I tried not to think about what was going to happen. "I know it will hurt. Just don't judge me for how I cope with it."

"I'll never judge you, Ally," my boyfriend was quick to reassure me, a comforting look in those silvery depths, before he looked back at my mess of a stomach. I couldn't help but breath in through my teeth as his fingers brushed against my blood-stained skin.

I had to give it to Damon, he kept to his word. He removed the buckshot with quick and careful movements, making sure not to cause me an unnecessary pain. If I wasn't almost biting through my tongue to stop myself from screaming, I would have thought that it was sweet. Instead, I just appreciated the fact that he managed to get all of it out of me quickly. In no time at all, Damon was throwing the last piece of buckshot over to the side.

"Thank god," I groaned as I felt my skin already start to knit back together. The pain was still there but it was slowly fading. I knew that it would take a bit of time for it to go completely, but it would take it getting better over anything. "That was fucking awful."

"As soon as I see that hunter again, I'm going to make him pay for this," my boyfriend muttered as he pulled me onto his lap. I rolled my eyes but let him. I knew that he would be incredibly overprotective after what happened. But I wasn't going to complain. What I went through was horrible. And the thought of being fussed over by Damon was a comforting one.

"Not if I get there first," I sighed, resting my cheek against his chest. My head was tucked under his chin and so I felt it when he bit into his wrist. The smell of his blood immediately got my attention. I couldn't take my eyes off of his wrist, off of the red liquid that dripped down his pale skin. "Day, what are you doing?"

"After that, you need blood," Damon answered, holding his bleeding wrist out in front of me. I could feel my face changing but I resisted the siren call of the delicious liquid in front of me. "When was the last time that you fed?"

I couldn't help but wince as I realised that it had been far too long. It was only because I had focused on the pain of the vervain ropes, and then being shot, that I hadn't noticed my growing hunger. But with the blood now in front of me, I could no longer pretend that it wasn't there. That it wasn't consuming my thoughts. Besides, I knew that it would help my body heal quicker. Afterall, blood heals. And damn did I need healing.

"Yeah, okay," I mumbled, reaching out to grab Damon's wrist. He had already healed but it barely a second for my fangs to reopen the wound. I couldn't stop my groan at the taste of his blood, my eyes fluttering closed as I drank deeply. I trusted my boyfriend to stop me when I drank enough. For now, I just enjoyed satiating the hunger that had been lurking beneath the pain.

XXX

Once I had drank enough of Damon's blood to reassure him that I was okay, he moved his wrist away from my mouth and instead wrapped his arm around me. He held me close, tucking my face into his neck, resting his cheek on the top of my head. I didn't mind. I was more than content to be held close to him. I knew, now, that everything would be okay. That I wouldn't get hurt anymore. Damon would look after me and that was exactly what I needed.

Of course, I hadn't forgotten the predicament of the rest of my family. My siblings were running around some creepy ass tunnels. The hunter who shot me and creepy professor Shane were also running around those tunnels. Well, I assumed that Shane was. since he liked to get involved in everything, it wouldn't surprise me if he was down there. The only protection that my loved ones had was Stefan and Bonnie. And I didn't even know if they were with them. It was officially a shitty situation.

As much as I wanted to go save them, to get them somewhere safe, I still wasn't strong enough. Yeah, my body had healed. But mentally? I wasn't ready to go into those tunnels. Hell, I wasn't ready to let go of my boyfriend. Just the thought of it had me curling in closer. Even though there wasn't even any room for me to get closer.

My movements must have been noticed as Damon frowned, "Ally, what's wrong?"

I bit my lip, debating whether I should tell him the thoughts that were spinning around my head. I knew that was nothing to be ashamed of. Of course I was going to be worried about my siblings. But that the fact that I put my own comfort ahead of them, the fact that I was being incredibly selfish, it made me ashamed. A good sister would have leapt down that hole the moment that she was healed. But instead, I clung onto Damon, selfishly seeking comfort.

"Do you think that Elena and Jeremy are okay?" I asked quietly, my voice barely above a whisper. My fingers curled into the fabric of his jumper as I asked the question. I didn't know if I really wanted an answer to it. But I couldn't hold it in any longer.

"They'll be fine, Ally," my boyfriend was quick to reassure me. His fingers curled into my hair, thumb rubbing the skin behind my ear. "Stefan is down there with them. He won't let anything bad happen to them."

"I just can't help but worry," I admitted softly, glancing at the edge of the hole. "I want to go help them but…"

"You don't feel strong enough yet," Damon nodded. "You shouldn't feel ashamed of that, Alexa. What you went through was traumatic and painful, and you shouldn't punish yourself for wanting comfort after that. Stefan can look after them until you feel ready to do so yourself. But if you feel really guilty, then we can go wake up Rebekah and send her down there to help."

I glanced over at the Original. She was still 'dead', the stakes impaling her heart still keeping her down. I didn't know if she would be able to wake up without them being taken out. Not that I would keep them in her. But Damon was right, she could help protect my siblings until I was ready to go down there.

When I nodded, my boyfriend carefully shifted us over to her body. How he managed to do so without removing me from his lap, I didn't know. But I wasn't going to complain. I was still doing my best barnacle impression and that wasn't going to end anytime soon. So with one hand on my back, keeping me pressed against him, Damon started pulling the small wooden stakes from Rebekah's body.

Each one let out a squelching sound when it was removed. And I couldn't stop myself from wincing each time. The noise was disgusting and it turned my stomach. I tried not to think about it and instead focused on the feel of Damon's hand on my back. But the noise was impossible to block out.

Once the final stake was removed, it didn't take long for Rebekah to return to the land of the living. She woke up with a cough, letting out a groan immediately after. When she glanced over at us, I quirked my lips in a pathetic attempt of a smile, "Hey Becks."

"You're still alive," she groaned again, rolling onto her back. The blonde let out a wince as she landed on her still healing back. But once she was settled, she was able to look back at us, hiding her pain.

"Yep," I sighed, grabbing Damon's offered hand. "Can't get rid of us."

"Where did the others go?" the Original asked, glancing down at my blood-soaked top. I knew that she wanted to know what had happened, since she was taken out pretty early in the fight. But I appreciated her not asking. Just the thought of it made me feel sick. And I was not ready to talk about it.

"Down into the tunnels," Damon answered for me. "The hunter fled down there when backup arrived. Stefan and Elena went to make sure that he didn't get the cure and to keep the other two safe."

"I'm not going to get that cure, am I?" the blonde sighed, looking honestly upset by the thought. I knew that she wanted the cure, but not this much. She looked so disappointed and upset that she wouldn't get to take it. It was quite shocking. And I felt bad for her. I knew that Rebekah rarely got what she wanted. She never got to live the life that she wanted and this cure represented making her own decision, it represented her getting what she wanted for once. For it to be ripped away like this, my heart went out to her.

XXX

Elena's POV

It didn't take me long to find Jeremy and Bonnie. I just followed the sounds of banging. The noise echoed through the tunnels, leading me to them. I skidded to a stop inside a small cavern, my heart pounding in my chest. But the moment that I saw that they were okay, my body relaxed.

Jeremy had spun around when I ran in, a large rock in his hand. But he lowered it when he saw that it was just me. Bonnie relaxed back against the wall, a relieved look on her face. I knew that the others would join me soon, which was why I felt comfortable in relaxing my guard.

I approached Jer, who was standing by the alter at the edge of the room. I placed a hand on his shoulder as I stared down at the body in front of us. It looked like it had been fossilised, with the body covered in vines and thorns. It was almost as though he had been tied down to the alter. A mask covered the face, and it was a bit of a menacing mask, leaving only the mouth and eyes covered. But the most interesting part was the box that was held in his hands. I just knew that that was where the cure was hidden. But with the way that the almost rock like fingers were clutched onto it, I knew that it wouldn't be easy to get it.

I glanced over my shoulder at Bonnie, as Jeremy resumed striking the fingers with the rock in his hand, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," my friend gave me a tired smile, before switching her worried gaze back to my brother with he cursed violently.

"Come on!" he snarled, his strikes getting fiercer. I couldn't help but wonder how long he had been down here. Shane hadn't been that forthcoming with answers when I passed him earlier. He had admitted that he was the one who had arranged for my brother to be abducted last night and that he had stolen Bonnie from us. It was because of that that I just left him there, ignoring his calls for help. His leg had been broken, but I didn't care. He had put my brother and friend in danger. And after seeing my sister bleeding heavily after being shot, I couldn't find it within myself to show him mercy.

"There's got to be a way to do this without raising him," Bon sighed, shaking her head as I looked up at Jeremy. The kid nodded but he didn't stop striking the rock. "We'll find a way-"

I spun around with a cry when Bonnie was suddenly cut off with a gasp. The sight in front of me had me dashing forward. It was only because of my quick reflexes that I caught Bonnie before she hit the ground. My hand touched her back and came away wet. The sight of her blood had me feeling sick and I glared up at the man in front of us. The who had dared to stab my friend.

The hunter, because it had to have been the hunter, didn't even glance down at us. Instead, his gaze was fixed upon my brother, his knife still in his hand as he shook his head, "Don't listen to the witch, body. We have to raise Silas and we have to do it now."

The moment that he saw the witch on the ground, my brother called out her name, running over. He crouched down beside us, resting a hesitant hand on Bonnie's cheek. I exchanged a worried glance with him, silently praying for our vampire friends to find us quickly. Bonnie needed healing and she needed healing now. I could feel her blood soaking my hand as I held her close.

Standing by the alter, the hunter sliced open his hand with the knife in his hand. Jer glared at him as he spat out, "What are you doing?"

"What you shoulda done already," the hunter didn't even bother glancing back at us as he replied, holding his hand above Silas' mouth. Blood dipped down from his wound, landing on the mouth part of the mask. "I'm gonna raise Silas. Then I'm gonna kill him."

I knew that we had to stop him. We couldn't raise Silas. And we couldn't let him use the cure. We had to get it. That cure was the only thing that would save us from Klaus' wrath. My brother glanced at me and I gave him a nod. He was the only one that could stop the hunter. I had to protect Bonnie while he did so. I had to keep her awake so that she could be healed when our vampire backup arrived.

Jeremy nodded back before pushing himself to his feet. He dashed forward, attempting to tackle the hunter from behind. But my brother was no match for the man. He threw him off easily, spinning around to catch Jeremy's punch. It was a quick fight, lasting barely a few hits before the hunter grabbed Jeremy in a chokehold.

"Leave him alone!" I shouted. As desperate as I was to go help my brother, I knew that I had to look after Bonnie. I had to trust that he was capable to getting out of this. Because I couldn't abandon my bleeding friend.

I was ignored as the hunter, his voice annoying calm, said, "You're a bit confused, Mr Gilbert. We're on the same team here."

I was right to trust my brother. He managed to jab the hunter in the side, forcing him to let go of him. Jeremy spun around, grabbing the hunter from behind as he shouted, "You stabbed my friend!"

I clutched Bonnie close, quietly urging her to stay awake as the two continued to fight. The hunter threw Jeremy to the side, shaking his head sharply, "I don't mess around with witches."

"You can't use the cure on Silas," Jeremy snapped back from where he was crouched on the floor. I could see him tensing his body, ready to jump forward again. I glanced around, looking for any kind of weapon that could help him. But there was nothing to be found.

"It's what it's meant for!" the hunter lost his cool for the first time, glaring down at my brother. Jeremy glared right back, rising to his feet, moving so that he was in front of us. The hunter watched him with amused eyes, bending down to pick the knife back up. "What else would you use it for? Your friends? Your sister? That Original Hybrid back home? Sorry, lad. It wasnae meant for that. Nothing personal."

Before he could use that knife on my brother, we were joined by the most unexpected person. My doppelganger sped into the room, knocking the hunter out with one hit before turning around to look at us. With a smirk on her face, Katherine rested a hand on her hip, "Hello, Gilberts."

XXX

Despite my need to look after Bonnie, I knew that I had to intervene. I whispered in her air, promising that I would be right back, before resting her against the wall behind us. I slowly stood up, aware of Katherine's gaze on me. I didn't know why she was here, but I knew that it wouldn't be good for us. That woman had always been a threat to my loved ones and I knew that this time wouldn't be any different. No, I had to protect my brother under the others arrived. And god, I hoped that they arrived soon.

"What do you want, Katherine?" I asked quietly, urging my brother behind me. The kid tried to fight my action but I didn't give him much of a choice as I stood in front of him. I had to protect him from the vampire. Katherine had killed him once already; I couldn't risk her doing it again. Yes, he still had the Gilbert ring, but I didn't know if it would work on him anymore. He was a Hunter, one of the Five, I didn't know if that counted as a supernatural being now.

"I want the cure," my doppelganger shrugged, glancing between me and Jeremy. "And I am not going to let you stop me."

"Good luck getting it," my brother glared at the vampire in front of us. "That rock can't be broken."

"Oh, don't worry about that, I have a plan," Katherine smirked before speeding forward. Before I was aware of her movements, my brother was lying on the floor. His eyes were closed, his cheek red from Katherine's blow. I cried out his name, going to crouch down to check on him, but before I could, a strong hand grabbed my arm.

I let out a cry as Katherine forced me over to Silas's body, ducking down to grab the hunter's knife on the way. I struggled the best that I could, but I was no match for the vampire's strength. All I could do was try to appeal to Katherine's humanity, to get her to show mercy. But there was none to the shown.

She sliced open my wrist with the knife, forcing over the mouth piece of the mask. The pain was overwhelming, especially when she squeezed my wrist, forcing my blood out faster. But it wasn't fast enough for her. Even though the fingers that were holding the box twitched slightly, Katherine let out a curse. I knew that she was very much aware of the fact that my sister and the Salvatores could arrive at any time. And they would kill her if they found her here, my brother unconscious and me bleeding. But I never imagined that she would do what she did.

Katherine rested her mouth on my neck, her fangs scraping against my skin, as she smirked, "I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

Before I could do more than gasp, her fangs pierced my neck. She wasn't looking to drink my blood. No, she just wanted to rip open my neck, letting my blood pour out. I couldn't hold back my scream as she forced me down against the mask. Tears dripped down my cheeks from the pain and I could feel my body weakening already.

But that wasn't the worst part.

A different hand landed on my head. One that felt like stone. Silas was awakening. But he wasn't stopping drinking. His hand held me in place as he greedily gulped down my blood. I was barely aware of Katherine grabbing the box and speeding away. No, all I could think of was the pain.

As I silently apologised to my family, for failing to protect my brother, for failing to get the cure for them, a second hand grabbed my head. And then everything went black.

XXX

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! And my little twist at the end ;) Thank you for the reviews, please keep them coming! I want to get to 550 by the end of the season, hopefully we can make it :) Gentle reminder that the poll is still on my profile page, I'm really interested to see if you feel like Jenna should have a girl or a boy :) I already have a boy name picked out so if you want a girl, I need to get thinking haha I will try to get the next chapter done quicker, but since I cried while watching the episode again, I make no guarantees! Until next time, my darlings, hope you enjoyed xoxo