Chapter Five: A Wolf at the Door

Bonnie was woken out of her sleep by a hard knock on the door. A glance at the clock told her it was far earlier than acceptable for company. She pulled herself out of bed, slipped on her robe and shuffled down the stairs to the door, wiping the sleep from her eyes. A frown pulled her brows together, as she looked through the peephole. What was he doing here so early? She opened the door, tugging her robe tighter around her.

"Matt?"

"Can I come in?" He asked somberly.

Without a second thought, she opened the door for him. "Of course. What's going on, is everything okay?"

"I don't know, Bon; why don't you tell me." He said, turning to face her once in the foyer. She recognized the determined look in his eyes, and knew that something was going on. "What did he do?"

"Who?"

"Damon, Bonnie! If he hurt someone-"

She cut him off defensively. "Damon didn't hurt anyone."

"Why are you covering for him? What is going on between you two lately?" he demanded. "He clouds your judgement, Bonnie. It's like you can't see straight around him."

"He's my friend."

"No, I'm your friend. But yet, it's him you always side with." He said, hurt.

Her shoulders dropped in resignation. He was right, but she knew that he would never understand the hold he had over her…how deep her feeling ran. "I'm sorry, but I promise you that Damon hasn't done anything wrong. His humanity is perfectly intact."

Matt reeled back. "How did you-"

"I want to tell you everything, I do, but I need you to trust me, okay?" She pleaded with him.

…

Matt paced the living room floor in front of Bonnie, where she sat on the couch, running his hands over his face. She had just run through everything from beginning to end and it was more than he could wrap his head around. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We wanted to! But Caroline was worried about what you and your task force would do to her."

Matt rounded on her heatedly. "She killed someone, Bonnie!"

"She's not herself! You know her. She's not evil, Matt she's in pain and she needs help. We're trying to turn her humanity back on but she's been fighting it every step of the way. Caroline's been working on something that might get through to her but…so far, we've gotten nowhere. And now we have Lilith to worry about on top of it all."

"Well, where do we even start?" He turned to her worriedly.

Bonnie hesitated. "Sam and Dean. I think Lilith is trying to draw hunters to Mystic Falls; to Hope. Maybe they know something we don't. I need you to feel them out for me, see if you can shake some info loose." She released a long sigh. "Dean's kind of avoiding me right now." She had briefly covered her history with Dean, leaving out some of the more heated moments, but enough for Matt to get the idea.

"Wait…does he know you're a witch?" He asked.

"No. And I'd like to keep it that way. At least for now. He's not really a fan, and if we stand any chance of getting through this, we need them on our side." Matt gave her an unconvinced look. "Please?"

He nodded reluctantly. "Fine. What are you gonna do?"

She stood. "Research. I found that hunter's trailer in the woods; I was able to grab a few things. Maybe it has the answer to whatever the hell we're up against."

…

Damon was bored. He was alone in this old foreclosure waiting for Ric to come relieve him of his babysitting duties. Caroline was off hunting down a miracle and Bonnie was getting some much-needed rest. He wondered when he became so responsible and reliable; whenever it was, it had everything to do with Bonnie. Without her, he'd probably be on the other side of the world by now drowning himself in whiskey bottles and pointless pussy while he waited for Elena to wake up. But their friendship, or whatever they had, kept Damon from venturing too far, kept him from disappointing her, kept him from being a loose cannon. He scoffed. It was quite an accomplishment; Elena and Stefan could barely keep him in check and yet, Bonnie was able to do it singlehandedly.

He was jarred out of his thoughts when he heard the clear sound of footfalls on the gravel. Finally! He shot to his feet to meet Ric, but when he pulled open the door, he was met with someone else.

"Hi…" The little girl pouted up at him. "I think I'm lost."

Damon cocked his head, blinking at the tiny blonde, no more than six years old in a pristinely white dress. They were a good ten miles from town; how the hell did she get out here? "Well, I'd say." He put on a tender tone; one he used on Stefan when he was close to her age. "You're a long way from home. Where are your parents?"

She shrugged, unbothered. "I don't have parents."

Great. He thought to himself, looking around for sign of anyone. "Well, how did you get all the way out here?"

"I'm looking for my friend. Hope Mikaelson; do you know her?" She asked blinking up at him innocently. "We were playing and then she went away."

Realization washed over him. "Oh, you must be one of Alaric's little super students, huh. Why don't I call him down to take you back to school, okay." He stated with a mixture of acerbity and inconvenience. He was already babysitting one brat, now he had another one to look after? He led her inside and whipped his phone out of his back pocket calling his friend. It rang and rang before finally getting to his voicemail. "Ric…" he drawled in annoyance. "First of all, you're late. Second…I've got some little girl here looking for Hope. One of your little rugrats, no doubt. Get here. Now." He stressed before hanging up. Forcing a grin, he turned back to the girl, who was standing with her hands behind her back and a smile on her face. "So…I'm Damon. What should I call you?"

Her smile turned sinister. "I'm Lilith, and you're in a lot of trouble." And with a blink of her eyes, they turned black.

…

The motel room was quiet. The only sounds were Sam typing away on his computer and Dean flipping the pages of Asa's journal. The mood was somber, knowing that a standard milk run was turning into something a lot more dangerous.

"Dean." Sam started getting his brother's attention, where he sat at the edge of the bed.

"Whatcha got?" He rumbled pushing to his feet to stand over Sam's shoulder.

"Well, it seems like this all stemmed from the Salvatore school, right? That's where the task force patrols, it's where we found Damon with that girl…" he glanced over to look at Dean. "So I hacked the school database and found the student attendance records and a name jumped out to me." He pointed to it, and Dean leaned in closer.

"Hope Mikaelson? Doesn't ring a bell." His mouth turned down in a frown. "Should it?"

"Mikaelson? The Originals? Tell me that's not a coincidence." Sam rationalized.

Dean paced the floor, flipping the worn journal in his hand as they put their thoughts together. "Okay…so then what's the connection?"

"Well it says here, she hasn't been to school in a few days. I think she's the girl we saw with Damon." Sam concluded frankly, letting his hand slap to his thigh.

His eyes narrowed as they began to formulate a scenario. "Makes sense. So then what was he doing with her? If she's a Mikaelson, she's gotta be a vampire, right?"

He shrugged. "I guess. I tried to gain access to her file but it's encrypted with magic."

"Great. Back to square one." Dean grumbled, snatching and sipping Sam's beer. He ignored the look of disapproval.

"Anything from Cas?" Sam asked hopefully.

The elder Winchester shook his head with clenched jaw. "Not a peep. I've been praying to him all day, and nothing. Think we're on our own with this one."

Sam leaned back in his chair running his hands over his face tiredly. "You'd think if Lilith was here breaking seals, he'd be all over it; I mean this is his thing, isn't it?" He couldn't help but be frustrated. They had been playing by Castiel's and the angels' rules, fighting their war and when they needed him, he was nowhere to be found.

"I don't know, Sam." Dean bit out equally frustrated. "But we'll have to go at it alone. Anything from the Sheriff?"

"Yeah. Said he's got a local source he's checking in with; he'll call tomorrow. What did you come up with?"

Dean raised the journal before dropping it on the table. "Not exactly light reading; the man knew a lot of big words. He was hunting something big; something no one's ever seen before, not even us."

Sam chuckled ironically. "Well now I'm intrigued."

"It's called a Tribrid. Part witch, part vampire, part werewolf." Dean shook his head in disbelief. "Basically indestructible. The only one in the whole wide world and it's right here in Mystic Falls." He drawled, emphasizing with a point to the surface of the table.

Sam sat forward abruptly. "Wait…the only one?"

"Yeah. A complete anomaly; I didn't even think it was possible."

"No it's impossible, I mean how would-" He paused and something in Sam clicked. "Wait…I think I've seen this before." He frantically worked on the laptop, clicking away as he pulled up what he was looking for. "There…there it is. An impossible beast." He breathed.

Dean hopped out of his seat to look over his brother's shoulder again. "Wait…what is this?"

"Well, when Cas told us about the different seals, I created a database to track them all." He pointed at the screen eagerly. "See, I made a searching engine so I can look up key words. It'll pull up anything with a related synopsis." He stated proudly.

Dean rolled his eyes. "You are such a nerd. How are you my brother?" he teased mercilessly.

Sam just laughed. "Yeah well, your nerd brother just found out what seal is next on Lilith's hit list so…you're welcome." He directed his attention back to the screen. "The massacre of six hunters by an impossible beast."

"That's one down."

"That we know of." Sam added.

Dean scoffed. "And we just walked right into her trap making it two more. We gotta find this Tribrid, Sam. And kill it before it gets us like it got Asa." He vowed with resolve.

"We will." He promised back.

Dean whipped out his phone. "I'm gonna call Bobby. Tell him to spread the word to other hunters to stay clear of Mystic Falls until this all blows over."

…

The first thing he felt was the incredible pain; one he was most familiar with. Usually when someone viciously snapped his neck. The next was the sound of someone calling his name, and slowly he woke, blinking.

"Damon!" Ric called out again, slapping his face to rouse him faster. "What the hell happened? Where's Hope?" He demanded frantically.

That caught his attention. "What? She's-" He sat up and looked over his shoulder to the room where he left her to see the door had been ripped from its hinges and there was nothing left in it but a broken chair and the witch resistant chains. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me." He snapped, jumping to his feet in anger. "That little bitch." He grumbled, feeling completely duped by the thing that was parading around like that little girl.

Ric looked him up and down, not used to seeing Damon so disheveled. "Did Hope do this to you?"

"No it was that little girl." He snapped back.

"You let a little girl work you over like this." He shot back in disbelief.

Damon pinned him with a glare. "It was Lilith. The one pulling Hope's strings. She came here for her."

"Wait, so the thing that wants to let Lucifer out of his cage is a child?"

"No. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't a kid." Ric was surprised to see worry in Damon's eyes. "Her eyes went black, Ric. I've never seen anything like it."

Ric swallowed nervously. "What do you think were dealing with?"

"The power she had…" He trailed off, meeting his friend's glance. "Something old." He grabbed his jacket and keys. "Call Bonnie; tell her to meet us at the school, we need a locator spell on Hope." He rushed out the door with Ric hot on his heels.

…

Bonnie angrily packed up her supplies from the desk in Alaric's office. She had done the locator spell, and was able to provide the general vicinity but something was blocking her from pin pointing it. "I can't believe you lost her." She uttered under her breath, knowing Damon could hear her loud and clear.

He glared at her heatedly. "I didn't lose her, Bonnie! I had my neck snapped by fucking Matilda, okay! Lilith is powerful. She was able to throw me across the room without barely lifting a finger! It wasn't even close to being a fair fight." He walked over, gently taking her hands in his. "That's why, when I go after her…I need you to stay here."

Bonnie stepped back incredulously. "No way. I'm coming with you."

He shook his head with a calm resolve. "Not a chance in hell. Bonnie…I don't always make the right choices, and so many of them have hurt you, so please…let me make one right choice that won't." He pleaded, closing in again and placing his hands on her shoulders.

She wished she was the type of person who could give into those soulful blue eyes and let him take care of her, but she wasn't. Hope was her responsibility. "I can't, Damon…" she whispered sadly. "I'm sorry."

He released a heavy sigh, his eyes closing. "I know." Damon conceded, before looking up at Ric who was walking up behind her. "I'm sorry too." Ric latched the witch shackles around her wrists and locked them easing her down into his chair while she attempted to wrestle herself free. "But this is the only way." He added uneasily.

"Damon!" She gaped at him in betrayal. "Don't you dare leave me here like this!" she turned to Alaric. "Ric…"

"I'm sorry, Bon but I'm with Damon on this one. It's not safe for you." He admitted sympathetically.

Damon crouched down to her level. "You can be mad at me if you have to; I'd understand. But I'm not letting you get hurt, not this time." He kissed her forehead as he stood again, walking to the door. "I'll see you when I get back."

Tears filled her eyes. "And if you don't?"

His lips quirked up in a weak but grateful smile, looking over his shoulder at her. "Then at least you'll be safe. Ric will be here if you need anything." He slipped out the door silently.

Bonnie's eyes slammed closed, unable to stop the tears as they streamed down her cheeks. Every time Damon ran off, she was terrified it would be the last time she ever saw him. It was just like him to force her into agreeance this way; my way or the highway was basically the Damon Salvatore motto. She shouldn't have been surprised, but the betrayal cut her deep.

She swung her eyes to her former mentor. "You're just gonna let him run off after Lilith when we have no idea what it is we're dealing with? He could get killed!" She snapped at him.

Alaric looked stressed. "You think I want this? But what else to do we got, Bonnie? Lilith has Hope and she's going to make her kill again if we don't stop her. But Damon wasn't going anywhere unless he knew you were safe."

She shifted to face him, staring at him pleadingly. "You can't let him do this alone. I know someone who can help Ric, but I need you to trust me."

The older man struggled with the decision for a few pressing moments before his shoulders dropped in resignation. "What did you have in mind?"

…

Dean had walked down to the nearby pub to get food and beer, while Sam continued his research on anything Asa had that could lead them to the tribrid. It had been a long night, and he was starting think they weren't getting anywhere, until his phone rang. "This is Sam."

"Sam, it's Sheriff Donovan. Look, my source came through; we have some information and we're hoping you could connect some dots for us."

He sat straight. "Yeah, what do you got?"

"Does the name Lilith ring a bell?"

Sam's face paled and he swallowed thickly. "It does."

"Well she's here. And we know where to find her, but we have no idea what we're up against. I mean, what kind of monster looks like a six-year-old child?"

Sam was already out of his seat grabbing the weapons bag. "She's a demon, the oldest demon and she can kill you with the snap of her fingers so whatever you do, stay away from her. My brother and I will handle it." He was ready with a pen and paper. "Where is she?"

"Meet me at the Salvatore school. I have a team assembled."

"We work better alone." He insisted.

Matt's tone was impatient. "Look this is my town, and there are people I care about at stake so we do it my way, understood?"

Sam's jaw clenched in frustration. "Fine. I'll be there in ten." He hung up, quickly calling his brother, only to find out that Dean had left his phone on the nightstand. "Damn it." He scrawled a note quickly and placed Dean's cell on top:

Got a lead on Lilith. Call me!

He grabbed the keys of the impala and ripped out of the parking lot.

…

Dean leaned against the bar, waiting for the food he ordered to go. It was a bit more of a dive than the Grill, and the patrons were a little rough around the edges, so he was surprised when a young woman slid into the bar stool beside him. She looked out of place here, yet completely at ease.

"Hey handsome." She flirty, looking him up and down.

"Hey." He answered in a clipped tone, averting his gaze.

"Man of few words?" she continued in a sensual manner.

He forced a smile. "No offense, sweetheart, I'm sure you're a catch, but uh…you're a bit young for my taste." The girl couldn't be more than seventeen.

She laughed, shaking her long blonde locks off her shoulders. "I'm not as young as I look."

"That's what they all say." The waitress placed the paper bag on the bar in front of him. "Have a good night."

He headed for the door, and her voice called back out to him. "Where's your brother, Dean? Aren't you two attached at the hip or something?" Her words made him stop in his tracks. "I was kind of hoping for the Winchester combo, but…I guess I'll settle for just you. Probably for the best anyways…daddy doesn't like it when I play with his toys." She smirked.

Dean's glare turned cold as he turned to face her. "Lilith…"

"Miss me?" she asked coyly.

…

AN: Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update. Work has been really busy and exhausting so it's been making it hard to focus on getting anything written down. I know there isn't any Bonnie/Dean in this chapter, but I am building to it so you can expect to see that in the next chapter.

I hope everyone likes where this is going. I have a few more ideas to tie into this story, so please stick around for the next chapter! Thanks everyone who has reviewed, it really means a lot to me, and they help me post faster.

Vanessa