If you recognize it, I don't own it! I own the OCs and an Android cell phone… sorry, Apple people.

Thank you guys so much for reading this! Please leave reviews, they feed the muse, lol

TW: Characters discuss the triggering events of the last chapter. ALSO, Elijah do be pissed at a certain werewolf pack.

ELIJAH

Elijah burned with fury. He had met his mate a week ago, and in that time she had been accosted by werewolves twice. She had been severely injured, he could tell from the smell of June's blood in her veins. Once she was awake he would feed her his own blood. While he knew realistically that June had only fed Miriam her blood to heal her, the smell of another vampire's blood in his mate made the creature inside him snarl in rage.

Miriam let out a sigh in her sleep. She was curled up in a ball under the covers. She was breathing low and easy, like a sleeping human should. Her scent was calm and relaxed. It had taken a lot to get her that way. Elijah had purred and recited poetry from memory while she had cried in his shoulder. An hour of tears later, she had finally fallen asleep.

Elijah decided to risk getting up. He had to talk to August and June. He also wanted to know what the doppelganger's friend was doing here.

He slipped out of the bed. Miriam nuzzled deeper into the covers, but didn't wake up. He didn't bother putting his shoes or suit jacket back on. Elijah went to the kitchen and found August, June, and Dr. Martin congregating around the table. A large pot of soup was bubbling on the stove, and his three employees had large bowls of it in front of them. August and Dr. Martin flinched when he walked in, but June remained stoic.

"What. Happened?" he endeavored to keep his tone even, but the anger he was feeling seeped through.

"We aren't sure," August admitted. "She and Caroline were kidnapped by a werewolf pack. We aren't sure why."

"Caroline might know," June spoke up.

"Go get her," Elijah ordered.

June sped away.

"August called me when they realized who had taken your mate," Dr. Martin said. "We joined up, formed a plan, and got her out. I held up your deal with Elena by saving her friends, who had gotten wrapped up in drama with the wolves."

June reappeared with a sleepy-looking Caroline. The young thing seemed apprehensive, as she should. Elijah didn't understand why Elena's friend was involved.

"Hello. Please sit." The words might have seemed like a request, but they were an order.

The young blond vampire sat down at the table. June set a bowl of soup and a blood bag in front of her. "Hi. June said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes," he slid into the seat across from her. "Tell me what happened tonight."

She looked to June, who nodded encouragingly. She took a deep breath, then began to talk. In small, childish words she told her side of the story. She spoke of how Miriam had tried to get her to a more populated part of town before they were ambushed. She told Elijah that Miriam had intervened when the werewolf was torturing her. She began to cry, but she talked through her tears.

It was clear to Elijah that the girl was traumatized from her recent ordeal. Miriam might have stopped her physical torture, but Caroline had been forced to endure watching her friend be beaten and almost raped in front of her. Though Miriam had tried to change events, Elijah was certain she had actually made it worse for the young vampire.

"'Lijah?" a sleepy voice from the kitchen doorway drew the attention of everyone. Miriam stood in the doorway, a blanket wrapped around her new pajamas. Her hair was a wild mess, and the sight made his heart ache. She rubbed at her eyes with one fist like a child before blinking and looking around at the kitchen's inhabitants.

He zoomed over to Miriam. "Fjársjóður fjársjóða, you should be sleeping."

"I smelled something cooking, and I got hungry," she said sheepishly. June immediately got to her feet and went to go get Miriam a bowl of the soup. Elijah led her to the table and sat down with her on his lap. He felt the heat from her cheeks as she blushed at the intimate act, but he was feeling too protective to let her be parted from him.

June set a heaping bowl of the delicious-smelling soup in front of Miriam, who dug in with gusto. Elijah noticed that with his mate now in the room the tension in the other vampires and witches went down. August and Dr. Martin resumed eating. Caroline started to work on the blood bag that June had given her. They all knew (or in the young vampire's case, sensed) that with Miriam on his lap there was no conceivable way he would be violent. He wouldn't risk his mate's health by starting a physical fight, not if he could help it.

After they had all finished eating, Elijah knew that he had to ask Miriam to explain the events that had just happened. Her knowledge would shed light on the entire thing. So, with great reluctance, he said, "Sætur einn, we have been discussing the events of the night. There are holes. Can you fill them in for us?"

Miriam took a shaky breath, then explained what she knew. "The pack, they were friends with Mason Lockwood. Damon killed Mason. Jules and her pack came looking for Mason and Tyler Lockwood, who they assumed, correctly, was a werewolf like his uncle. They thought that Stefan was holding Tyler captive, and took Caroline to force Stefan to exchange Tyler for Caroline. Tyler is going to tell them about the moonstone, so they're going to try to get it to break the curse of the sun and the moon," Elijah saw her smirk slightly at the werewolves' naivete, "and they will try to go after Damon tomorrow to get it, not knowing that you have it."

"Dogs aren't the smartest of creatures," Elijah noted blandly, but his eyes shone with mirth. June, the only other older vampire, chuckled. Elijah's theory was that vampires were more feline in nature, and this difference just added to the animosity between the two species. Cats and dogs were fated to always fight, with a few rare exceptions. Though probably only a small portion of the reason why Niklaus felt so different from his siblings, this theory that they had the nature of different creatures would explain a lot. Klaus was a hybrid, both feline and canine. He wanted a pack, like a dog, but he also wanted to be solitary and more loved over his siblings, like a cat. This warring nature, combined with the fact that he was biologically only their half-brother and their father's constant abuse, created the man Niklaus was today.

"What are we going to do from here?" Miriam asked. She pushed the finished bowl away from her and leaned back into Elijah's arms, the action subconscious. He wondered if she realized the trust she was placing in him by doing so.

"I need to go to the Historical Society Tea Party tomorrow to save face. You said that the werewolves attack Damon tomorrow. Do you want me to save him?"

"Yes," Miriam said grudgingly. "He hasn't done anything bad to me or you. He doesn't deserve death by werewolf."

Elijah did not fully agree. He was of the mindset that any slight against Miriam had to be taken out, permanently. He had heard Damon snap at her on the phone the second day they met, and he wasn't going to let that slide. Oh, he would let Damon live, but he wouldn't let the young vampire go without punishing him first.

"Uh, yeah, he has done something bad to you," Caroline said in a snarky, teenaged tone.

"Shh!" his mate urged.

Caroline realized her error, and quickly ducked her head.

"Miss Forbes, what did Damon do to Miriam?" Elijah asked.

"Nothing! He did nothing to me, Elijah. It's all in the past," Miriam insisted, turning in his lap to look him in the eye.

"Those were two contradictory statements," Elijah noted. "Miss Forbes, look at me."

The young vampire cautiously peeked up at him and was instantly caught in his compulsion.

"Tell me what Damon Salvatore did to Miriam."

"He fed from her. He also set fire to her apartment building."

"Why?" Elijah asked, ignoring Miriam's attempts at distracting him.

"She convinced him not to rape me while I was still human. He agreed, but he didn't like being told what to do, so he punished her by setting fire to her apartment and biting her."

"Thank you, Miss Forbes," the blond girl blinked rapidly as she was freed from his compulsion. Elijah set his stern gaze on Miriam. "Why did you not tell me?"

"None of my stuff burned in the fire, I only had to move because Damon killed my landlord. That's why I'm at the place I am now," Miriam admitted. "It's the only other place in town that I could afford. And him feeding from me hurt, but honestly, I'm getting used to being bit."

"'I'm getting used to being bit'?" he repeated, his anger rising.

Her eyes widened when she realized what she said. "It's nothing, Elijah. Please, just drop it."

He wasn't going to 'drop it', but he was going to cease his questions for that night. Despite June's blood in her system, Miriam was still tired from her ordeal. She and the young vampire needed to rest.

"I shall drop it for now," he promised. She narrowed her eyes at him. He nudged her to her feet. "Come. You and Miss Forbes need sleep."

Miriam grasped Caroline's hand before the girl could set off in the direction of her temporary room. "Stay with me?"

"Yes, of course," she smiled.

Elijah followed his mate and her friend back to the room. The two girls got in the bed and curled around each other like kittens. Based on their mutual behavior, Elijah could tell that they had a sibling bond. He didn't know if they had always had the bond, or if one had been formed out of the recent trauma they had both experienced. Either way, Miss Forbes had just become very dear to Miriam, and by extension, Elijah. He made sure they were comfortable before turning off the lights. He was almost to the door before he heard Miriam call his name.

"Elijah? Tell Dr. Martin that Bonnie and some of the others are planning on getting Luka to spill the plan about the ritual. Luka should stay clear of Bonnie for a while."

"Very well. What is your plan?"

"Caroline will return and tell them what they need to know. Luka doesn't have to get his mind invaded in the process."

She had a kind heart, his mate. "If you think that is best. Now, sleep, ástin mín."

The household was up early the next morning. Dr. Martin left in the middle of the night, but August and June stayed. August made a large breakfast, and the scent of food drew Miriam and Caroline from the bedroom. As they feasted on the bounty in front of them, Elijah and Miriam plotted.

"Caroline will tell Bonnie everything they should know about the ritual, including the fact that Elena doesn't necessarily have to die," Miriam said as she loaded her plate with fruit. Elijah noticed that she went for the healthiest option first. He wondered why, when there was a large stack of pancakes in front of her.

"Elena dies?!" exclaimed Caroline, who dropped a piece of bacon in shock.

"No, she doesn't. Not in the future that I know and not in this one," Miriam assured her. "But, we need to make Elena and Bonnie and the others aware that her death is an option in the ritual. She's facing a real danger, and she needs to know that."

"Fine," Caroline calmed.

"So werewolves attack Damon tonight, and they also attack Stefan and Elena at the lake house tonight. Stefan kills Brady, so we don't have to worry about that part."

"Brady… the werewolf who attacked you both?" Elijah asked.

Miriam nodded, her scent turning sour. "Yeah… but he will die tonight. Stefan kills him. So that's a moot point. Will you save Damon?"

The question was a distraction. He looked over at June, who nodded. She would capture Brady the werewolf while he pleased his mate by saving her… friend? Was she friends with Damon Salvatore? Regardless, he would please her by saving the unworthy vampire.

"Of course, dear one," he said, and she beamed at him. "Will you stay at your apartment today?"

"Yes," she sighed. "I need to call Baahir. I've been ducking his calls for the last week, and he's getting suspicious. He wants to visit."

"What are you trying to hide from him? Me?" Elijah asked, curious.

"No, though I do need to tell him about you. I'm hiding my living situation from him," she admitted. "He knows that I moved due to a fire, but he hasn't seen my new place. I'm certain that if he saw it he would convince me to move in with him and Philip."

"Why do you stay here if you have a brother willing to shelter you?"

"I want to be in Mystic Falls, at least for a couple more years. I want to use my knowledge to help you and your family, and I can't do that from several states away."

She spoke so sincerely that Elijah couldn't help but believe her. He had to admit, he privately thought she desired wealth or power when she had first approached him the day after her abduction with the doppelganger. No person- human, vampire, or werewolf- was that selfless. But as they shared dreams and these rare, in-person conversations, he realized that she was genuine in her motives. She truly wanted him and his family to mend their hurts. Her heart was so tender and kind. She willingly suffered horrible living and working conditions just so she could stay close and intervene if she had to. She had been beaten and nearly raped in an effort to prevent more harm to the young blond vampire.

Elijah was in awe of his mate, and hoped that her three other mates were too.

After breakfast, Elijah pulled Miriam into the bedroom she had shared with Caroline. His mate was confused, but followed him willingly. She sat on the bed while he somewhat nervously knelt in front of her.

"I want you.. No, I need you to do something from me," he said. She cocked her head, curls twitching. She nodded at him to continue. "Roughly a week ago, when Rose and her friend had you, I made you drink from me."

Miriam's eyes lit up in understanding. "Do you want me to do it again? Also, follow up question: why? I'm already healed."

"Yes, I want you to have my blood again. The purpose is purely a selfish, vampire quirk. You took June's blood to heal, so you smell vaguely like June. I… I want you to smell like me," he confessed.

Elijah looked away, not wanting to see the disgust in his mate's face. Past, non-vampiric lovers had rejected the archaic vampire instinct. Witches refused to take the blood of vampires, purely on principle; they believed themselves to be more evolved than vampires. Humans didn't fully comprehend the act. Their emotions, so dull and domesticated, did not allow them to perceive the primal significance of blood sharing.

Soft, warm hands touched his face, encouraging him to face his mate. She was smiling slightly, her eyes gentle.

"Elijah, and can see that this is important to you. I don't think I can fully grasp what it means to you, because I'm not a vampire, but I can tell that it does mean a lot," she reached down and grabbed his hands. She gave them a squeeze.

He was completely taken with her. If he wasn't careful, he would be admitting his everlasting love.

"Thank you," Elijah said, and rose to his feet. "Let's…"

He sat down on the bed as well, and pulled her to him until she was almost in his lap. He wrapped one arm around her body, securing her firmly to him. He brought his other arm to his mouth and bit his wrist. Quickly, so his blood wouldn't drip on the bed, he pushed his wrist into Miriam's mouth.

She latched on immediately. The sensation of a (potential) lover feeding from him was difficult to explain. Yes, it was erotic to him, but it was also a deeply personal, almost spiritual experience. The amount of trust he was giving her by letting her have access to his blood was equal to the amount of trust she gave him by sitting limp and pliant against him. The mutual trust was a heady feeling. As she began to suck at the wound he could feel his face vamp out. He desperately wanted to bury his fangs in her neck… but no. After the traumatic night she had, he wasn't going to spill any more of her blood. He compromised by pressing his face into her neck and took big, deep breaths of her scent. She was fertile soil after a rain shower. She was a bed of freshly planted flowers. She was sunshine contained in a human body.

She smelled divine.

Elijah bit his wrist three more times before the scent of June's blood left Miriam's system. Miriam smelled like him now, and it calmed the beast inside him. Him sharing blood with her also made the concept of leaving her for the day easier. He had things to do, people to threaten, pawns to move on the chess board, but he knew the entire time he would have been obsessing over returning to his mate's side, had he not just fed her his blood.

"Thank you, vorgyðja, for allowing me this gift," he gave her neck one last nuzzle before pulling away.

Miriam's eyes were dazed, her scent languid and relaxed. She blinked a couple of times before looking at him. "You don't need to thank me, but you're welcome all the same."

They smiled at each other, the moment soft and tender.

She was the one to break the moment by blushing and looking away. "Hey, um, weird question, but are there any non-pajama clothes I can change into before we head back into town?"

Elijah grinned. "I will procure clothing for you."

"That'd be appreciated."

Soon they were all dressed for the day and headed back to Mystic Falls. Caroline had to meet up with Bonnie, Elijah had to go to the Historical Society Tea Party, and June was headed up to the lake to scope it out. Miriam and August returned to their apartment building, and August had promised to keep Miriam in her apartment. Elijah was certain she would sleep most of the day, but he still wanted her to stay away from all the events happening that day.

With great regret, he said goodbye to his mate and headed to the tea party.

CAROLINE

"Ohmygod, are you okay?!" Bonnie and Elena rushed Caroline the instant the blond vampire exited the car that had stopped in front of her house. The three girls hugged as June and Miriam watched from the car.

"I'm fine, I promise!" smiling widely- she had been missed- Caroline hugged her friends tightly.

"By, Caroline! See you later," Miriam waved from the car.

"Bye!" Caroline pulled away from her friends to wave at the older woman as the car pulled away from and curb. The young vampire could feel a connection between her and Miriam, but she didn't really know what it meant. She would ask Stefan when she saw him again, because it was a weird feeling. Like, not gross weird, but warm weird. She couldn't explain it, but the closest example she could think of was a warm hug. Caroline knew that she could always find comfort with Miriam.

"Who were they?" Bonnie asked, eyeing the car as it drove away.

"It's a long story. Do you guys want to go get brunch? We can talk about it," Caroline suggested, her tone hopeful.

"I would, but I'm going to my family's lake house with Stefan," Elena said apologetically. Caroline noticed the packed bag at Elena's feet. "My uncle slash dad is in town, and with this whole curse thing, I just want to get away, you know?"

I was tortured last night. Caroline wanted to scream that sentence in Elena's face. She wanted to shake her friend, or make her feel the pain of a bullet piercing skin and muscle and organs. She wanted Elena to star into the cold eyes of the werewolf that enjoyed watching her cry. She wanted Elena to hear Miriam scream as she was held down and threatened with rape.

But Caroline couldn't do any of those things. Because Elena was being hunted, her parents were dead, her biological parents were coming out of the woodworks, she had two men fighting over her, and she was trying to keep poor Jenna in the dark about everything. Caroline would be the biggest bitch on earth if she tried to make the moment about her.

So instead of screaming in Elena's face, Caroline just said, "Oh. Okay. Have fun!"

Stefan pulled up in his car, and Elena grabbed her bag, waved at her friends, and hopped in. Instead of driving off, Stefan got out of the car and walked over to Caroline. She saw Elena frown.

"Are you alright? I know you called a couple of times last night and also this morning, but I just wanted to double check," he admitted. "You looked pretty hurt when we rescued you."

You didn't rescue me, Elijah's people did, Caroline thought. "I'm good," she smiled at Stefan, because regardless of his skewed perception of what had happened the night before, at least he was concerned about her. "Really. I'll tell you all about my night later, but you and Elena need to get going."

"Okay," he smiled at her, half-understanding and half-sad, and got back in his car.

Bonnie and Caroline watched them drive off in silence.

"She didn't mean to sound callus, you know," Bonnie defended her best friend. "She's just been through a lot."

And I haven't?! My dad left, my mom is always working, I always say the wrong thing, boys go for Elena, Damon compelled me to obey his every command, and, oh yeah, I died and became a vampire. And last night I was tortured and I really want my friends around me.

Caroline suppressed her feelings and just nodded tightly. "Do you want to go to the Grill?"

"Yeah, sure. Who were those women?" Bonnie asked as they headed towards her car.

"The scary blond was a vampire who works for Elijah. The other one was Miriam, Elijah's mate."

Bonnie tripped. "Mate?"

"Yeah, apparently it's a vampire thing," Caroline shrugged. Her only vampire guides were pretty lax with teaching her about her own race of people. She had asked June a couple of questions that morning when Elijah and Miriam disappeared into the bedroom for a little while and Miriam had come out with clean clothes and smelling like Elijah. June had been nice enough to give Caroline her phone number in case she had more questions, which she did.

"We've got a lot to talk about," Bonnie decided.

ELIJAH

The Historical Society Tea Party was just as dull as its name. Elijah had been unfortunate to be caught in conversation with an odious woman with extreme pride in her slave-owning five-times-great grandfather. She hadn't been put-off with his inattentiveness to the conversation; on the contrary, she tried to rope him into a debate on whether or not slavery had been economically good for the United States.

A servant came by with a pot of tea. She served the loud braggart, who didn't even thank the girl for pouring her tea or acknowledge her existence beyond thrusting her cup out for the girl to pour the tea. The girl had few similarities with Miriam; besides the dark skin and hair, the two women looked nothing alike. However, when Elijah looked at the girl, he couldn't help but see Miriam. Miriam had to clean houses for men and women who didn't see her as a person. She had been called every slur in the book and had to accept it, because name-calling was part of the job. Elijah knew Miriam couldn't speak out if she wanted to keep her job, just like the serving girl couldn't speak out. But Elijah could.

"Thank you very much, miss," he said to the servant as she poured him a new cup of tea. She blushed at the attention and ducked away. Elijah moved at a speed faster than any human could comprehend and stuck three hundred dollars into the girl's pocket. Then he faced the bragging woman and said, "Ma'am, I need to go greet our hostess, but I would like to say that I disagree with your stance morally and ethically. In fact, I do believe that if I had been alive during that time, I would have been an abolitionist. Excuse me."

As he walked away he heard her say, "He must be a communist."

Elijah approached Carol Lockwood and began to speak with her. She was a shallow woman, but she seemed genuinely interested in his interest in her town.

He heard when Damon Salvatore entered the house. He heard Jenna Sommers greet him and reintroduce him to her friend Andie Star. The hot-headed vampire blew both women off and approached Elijah and Carol.

Mrs. Lockwood saw him and smiled fondly. "Damon."

"Carol," Damon pecked her on the cheek.

"What a surprise. Elijah, I want you to meet Damon Salvatore. His family is one of Mystic Falls' founding families."

"Mm-hm," Damon stared at Elijah, arrogance in his gaze. "Such a pleasure to meet you."

If Damon Salvatore wanted to parrot niceties back and forth, well, then he met his match in Elijah. "No, pleasure's mine."

The two vampires shook hands.

CAROLINE

"Wait, repeat that again," Jeremy demanded.

Caroline sighed. She had explained her entire crazy night to Bonnie, who decided to focus not on the torture and trauma she had faced, but on Miriam, Elijah's mate. Bonnie had called Jeremy, who came and also wanted to know everything.

Caroline honestly didn't want to continue talking about mates, because it just made her think of her recent fight with Matt and they got to the Grill, Caroline spotted Matt. She tried to talk to him, but he was angry with her. He insinuated that she was cheating on him before storming off. She had turned around to see Tyler approaching her, and it had been the last thing she had wanted to deal with. He tried to talk to her, but she pulled a Matt and snubbed him. She had hissed "We are no longer friends, stay away from me". But he had been persistent. At one point he had knocked her bag to the floor, spilling everything. She had hastily cleaned it all up with his minimal help before storming out of the Grill… only to go back in a couple minutes later to meet up with Bonnie. Her life sucked.

"A mate. Like, soulmate. It's kinda romantic, honestly," she admitted.

"Do all vampires have them?" Bonnie asked.

"Is Stefan Elena's mate?" Jeremy wanted to know.

"I don't know, to both questions. I can ask June the first one, though."

"I don't like having another variable on the table," Bonnie muttered. "What's this new person's interests? Whose side is she on?"

"She is on her own side, and that side is saving us, all of us, even Damon," Caroline insisted, not wanting to hear a bad word against Miriam.

Bonnie didn't look convinced. "Tell me more about her."

ELIJAH

After trading manners back and forth like a tennis ball, Damon finally asked if he could talk to Elijah privately. Carol offered her late-husband's study for them to use.

Damon led the way and opened the door for Elijah. It was a mocking gesture, but Elijah ignored it. Damon closed the door behind them, blocking out the sounds of the party.

Fed up with the waiting game, Elijah finally said, "What can I do for you, Damon?"

"I was hoping we could have a word," Damon's eyes flashed.

Elijah believed he knew what the subject was going to be, but he tried to divert the conversation. "Where's Elena?"

"Safe with Stefan. They're laying low, you know, bit of a werewolf problem," Damon said it like it was a dirty secret.

"Oh, yeah, I heard about that," Elijah said absentmindedly.

"I'm sure you did, since it was your witches and vampire that saved the day."

"You are welcome," Elijah put as much dry wit into his words as possible.

Damon sat down on the desk. "Which brings me to my questions," he held up two fingers, "one, what are you doing here? And two, what are your intentions with Miriam?"

It was almost cute, his attempts to assert himself as the dominant one in the room. Elijah smiled slightly and said, "Why don't you just stay focused on keeping Elena safe. Leave Miriam and the rest to me."

Elijah turned to go, but Damon vamp-sped in front of him, blocking the exit.

"Not good enough," Damon declared.

This dominance was less cute. Elijah grabbed Damon by the throat and vamp-sped them both across the room. He slammed Damon into the wall, his grip firm on the younger vampire's throat. Damon tried to retaliate. He grabbed Elijah's throat, but the grip was feeble compared to Elijah's siblings- Niklaus, in particular- and it was rather easy for Elijah to peel the offending hand off his neck. It was also easy to crush the bones in the hand as he was doing so.

Elijah took extreme enjoyment in hearing the bones break and Damon groan.

"You young vampires, so arrogant," he dropped the shattered hand. "How dare you come in here and challenge me?"

"You can't kill me, man. It's not part of the deal," Damon sputtered. He was relying heavily on the fact that Elijah would honor the deal. At that moment, holding the throat of the vampire that brutally fed off his mate, Elijah was severely tempted to end his miserable existence right then and there.

Instead of killing Damon like he wanted to, Elijah just spat, "Silence," and grabbed two pencils that were casually lying on the desk. In one quick, fluid motion he stabbed Damon in the neck with the pencils.

Damon yelled in pain and frantically clutched at the pencils. Elijah dropped Damon, who fell against the desk. Desperately, Damon removed the pencils, leaving two puncture wounds that Elijah likened to a rather large version of a vampire bite.

Not wanting blood on the floor, Elijah whipped out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood off his hands. "I'm an Original. Show a little respect."

He dangled the handkerchief in front of Damon, who grabbed at it hastily, and placed it against his bleeding wound.

"That is what it felt like when you bit Miriam," Elijah growled. He knelt down next to Damon and grasped his head, forcing him to look the Original in the eye. "You have no leg to stand on when it comes to my relationship with her. I, for one, haven't killed her landlord, set fire to her apartment building, or forcefully fed on her. I also haven't been inside her current apartment building, like you have, or met her current landlord, like you have. What I have done is provide her with constant protection, and will be attempting to convince her to move somewhere else, which is what you should have done the moment you saw her living conditions. Let us get one thing clear: the moment you cease to be of use to me, you're dead. In fact, the moment you fall out of grace with Miriam, you are dead, for it is only by her edict alone that you remain still attached to your heart. So do as I say."

Elijah rose to his feet and marched to the door, pausing long enough to snap, "Keep Elena safe," at the still-prone Damon before breezing out the door and back into the party.

CAROLINE

Caroline was completely and totally done with her friends. Bonnie and Jeremy wanted to research vampire mates, so they had spent the entire day doing just that. The majorly sucky part was that witch-y books didn't really write about the love lives of vampires.

Caroline was sprawled out on her couch, not helping. Jeremy pointed out her unwillingness to even touch a book, but she didn't let him guilt her into reading.

"We've only got, like, an hour or two before my mom gets home," Caroline informed the others. She hoped her mom would be home soon, because she was so done

"You know, if you helped.." hinted Jeremy, for like the fifth time.

"No, I'm not going to help!" Caroline snapped, sitting up to glare at him. "Miriam is my friend. I don't want to find a way to use her against Elijah. She helped me when I was still human and she helped me last night. She even helped Luka!"

"Luka? Why did she help Luka?" Bonnie questioned.

"Because she can see the future," Caroline bragged. "She saw you torture Luka for information about the curse and Elena and she stopped it without hurting anybody."

"The curse? What about the curse, Caroline?" Bonnie asked firmly.

"She told me I could tell you. She knows everything about the curse," Caroline said, more hesitantly now. She had wanted to talk about how awesome Miriam was, not bring the topic back around to Elena.

"Does she know why Luka and his dad are working with Elijah? Witches never work with vampires," Bonnie said the word 'vampire' like it was something dirty.

"Miriam said they want to kill Klaus," Caroline said. Miriam had outlined the Martins' plans on the way back to Mystic Falls that morning. She had told Caroline what she had to pass on to Bonnie and the others.

"Why?"

"They think that Klaus has Luka's sister, Greta. They think that he's holding her captive to find a way to undo the curse without the doppelganger. If the Martins help Elijah kill Klaus, he's promised to get Luka's sister back."

"How do you kill Klaus?" Bonnie's eyes lit up. "How do you kill an Original vampire?"

"Apparently, after the sacrifice, Klaus will be vulnerable, easy to kill."

"After the sacrifice?" Jeremy caught her wording, like Miriam said they would.

"Yes, after. The sacrifice has to happen for Klaus to be vulnerable," Caroline clarified.

"What do you mean, 'after'?" Bonnie snapped.

"It still has to happen, Bonnie!" Caroline exclaimed.

"But Elena will be dead," Bonnie argued.

"Yes, she has to die, but Miriam found a way to keep her alive!" Caroline argued.

Bonnie shook her head. "We can't trust her. She's Elijah's mate, which makes her just as bad as a vampire. No, she was lying. Elena's going to die if we let the sacrifice happen."

Jeremy looked wrecked.

"That's not true at all!" Caroline wanted to shake some sense back into Bonnie. "Miriam wouldn't lie!"

"Don't be stupid, Caroline. Why would she want to save Elena?" Bonnie sneered. "No, we need to keep the sacrifice from happening if we want to save her."

Caroline looked at her two friends, and their adamant faces. They weren't going to change their minds on Miriam.

ELIJAH

Elijah was standing outside the Salvatore Boarding House, watching Damon and Alaric drink bourbon in the library. The two men were talking about Elijah, and Damon brought up Miriam. They began to talk about her connection to Elijah, before Alaric needed to go pick up Jenna.

Elijah watched as a group of five werewolves broke into the house, killed Alaric, and stabbed Damon with a syringe full of vervain. The werewolves dragged Alaric's body into the parlor room and left him lying on the floor. Their carelessness with a human that they had killed made Elijah even more angry at them than before. They did not know if Alaric had been compelled. Elijah knew he was not, but the werewolves did not know that. If he had been compelled, they would have just killed an innocent in their quest for the moonstone.

The werewolves propped Damon's body on a chair, and then attached a chain with spikes around his neck. The creativity was sickening, and spoke to a truly deviant mind. Jules, the only female of the group, called the werewolf who attached the collar to Damon 'Stevie', and commented to another member of her pack that she was proud of him for coming up with a new device to torture vampires with.

While Elijah did not appreciate the torture device, he didn't mind seeing Damon in it. He was still angry at the younger vampire for hurting his mate. He let the werewolves torture him for the moonstone's location. Both Elijah and Damon knew that Damon no longer had possession of the moonstone, Elijah did. The werewolves were barking up the wrong tree.

The female werewolf, Jules, was taking her turn with Damon.

"You know what the great thing about buckshot is? It scatters through the body. Maximum damage."

Damon looked up at her with feigned intrigue. Elijah had to admire his ability to be sarcastic even in the face of death.

Jules lifted the shotgun and pointed it at Damon. "Where's the moonstone?"

"Get over it, honey. You're never gonna get it," Damon boasted.

Elijah had seen enough. He had told Miriam that he wouldn't let Damon die, and he knew it was time to keep that promise.

"Are you looking for this?" he said from the doorway. He twirled the moonstone in his hand casually. The werewolves looked apprehensive as he walked down the stairs and placed the moonstone on an end table. He backed away and offered softly, "Go ahead. Take it."

The bravest of the wolves used his wolf speed to rush towards the moonstone, but Elijah was quicker. He plunged his hand into the wolf's chest and ripped his heart out. Two other wolves rushed him. It took no effort at all to plunge both his arms into their chests and rip out their hearts as well.

Jules, seeing that she was on the losing end of this battle, she wolf-sped out of the house. Elijah let her escape. He walked over to Stevie, the creator of the collar device. The spineless creature crouched down and pulled his jacket hood over his face. Elijah's sharp nose could smell urine.

He pulled the coward up from the ground. "What about you, Stevie? Hmn? Do you want to try to take the moonstone like your packmates? Or would you rather torture chained up victims?"

Stevie just shivered.

Elijah pulled out a syringe of wolfsbane and injected it into Stevie's neck. August had guaranteed that the concoction would work until Elijah could put Stevie into a secure cage. Once the wolf went limp Elijah dropped him to the floor. He turned to the still-chained Damon and began to remove the chains that strapped the younger vampire to the chair.

"Do you realize this is the third time I've saved your life now?"

"You obviously don't like me, so why?" Damon demanded.

"Miriam wants you alive," Elijah said simply. He turned around, grabbed the moonstone, the unconscious werewolf, and walked out of the house.

June sent him a text: Got him.

Elijah grinned.

He had a werewolf to torture.

AN: Hi, all!

You all had positive things to say about the last chapter, which I can't thank you enough for! I almost didn't put it in because I was nervous about writing about s*xual assault.

We're getting closer to Klaus entering the story! This chapter was congruent to 2x14, and Klaus appears in 2x17. Besides the fact that this is how the show went, I wanted to introduce Miriam slowly to her mates.

Some dialogue taken from the episode.

Elijah's pet names for Miriam:

Fjársjóður fjársjóða = treasure of treasures

Sætur einn = sweet one

ástin mín = my love

vorgyðja = spring goddess

All terms are Icelandic, and since I speak one and a half languages, I used Google translate (hopefully we can trust its translating skills, lol).