Caroline, Bonnie, and Matt stood around Elena's kitchen a couple of hours later with Damon and Alaric. Jeremy had not yet returned home. They explained what happened at the school with Klaus.
"What you mean Klaus took Elena? You just let him?" Damon asked in disbelief.
Caroline glared at him. "Yeah, because we had the power to stop an Original hybrid from doing whatever the hell he wants."
"Why would Klaus take Elena? She's useless to him now. If anything, I would expect him to kill her for surviving," Alaric said.
"He's probably using her to keep Stefan in line," Damon said.
"It's more likely it's the opposite," Caroline said.
"Apparently, Elena's a hybrid," Bonnie said bitterly as she glared at Caroline. She really resented being kept in the dark about that.
"What? No, she's not. She's a vampire," Damon said.
Caroline shook her head. "She's a vampire and a werewolf. We found out not long after she turned."
"And kept it to yourselves," Bonnie said irritably.
Caroline sighed. "Yes, because the more people who knew, the more likely it was that Klaus would find out."
"He found out anyway," she argued.
"None of us could anticipate what happened tonight," Caroline said.
"No, this is crazy. She can't be a hybrid. She doesn't have the gene," Damon said.
"We think it was the ritual that caused it. I don't know. Maybe the spell combined with Klaus' DNA when he bit her caused it. All I know for sure is that she is definitely a hybrid. She shifted the first full moon with Tyler and her eyes turn yellow instead of black when she's super angry or hungry," Caroline explained.
"What does Klaus want with her? What, is it some sort of kinship thing?" Alaric asked.
Caroline shook her head sadly. "Elena said that Elijah told her that Klaus wants his own army. He wants hybrids like him who will fight for him. He's going to try to turn her into him."
"Like what he's doing to Stefan," Damon realized. Klaus had forced Stefan into ripper mode. He was killing every human in his path. He would do that to Elena if he could.
"He's already started. She said he made her kill one of our classmates when he found out about her," Matt said.
Alaric sighed sadly. "That's the second person she's killed. The first one left her a wreck for weeks."
"Wait, you knew she killed someone to transition? Did she tell everyone but me?" Bonnie asked angrily.
"Everyone but you were understanding. Everyone but you supported her without judgment. She didn't want you to know because she knew you would only judge her. She didn't need that. She had enough guilt to last eternity. She didn't need you to add to it," Caroline said.
"Caroline, she killed someone. No, she killed two people now. She should feel guilty," Bonnie asked.
"Bonnie, she couldn't help it. She's fighting a hunger you can't begin to understand. Neither can I. She's doing the best she can. She killed a man the night she transitioned because she was new and didn't fully understand what was happening to her," Alaric said.
"Ric, how can you be okay with this? You're a vampire hunter," Bonnie said in disbelief.
"I'm not okay with it. No one is okay with it, particularly Elena, but I wasn't going to beat her up over it either. She did that enough to herself. The night she transitioned, she ran out of this house because she was so hungry that she was seconds from killing either me or Jeremy. That's why that man died because she was trying to protect us," Alaric said.
"Don't bother, Ric. Judgy is part of her personality. She doesn't know how to be anything else. Most witches don't," Damon said.
Bonnie glared at him. "It doesn't surprise me that you would defend this."
"Wake up, Bonnie! We're vampires. We feed off humans. It's not exactly an option," Damon said.
"You have options. There are ways for you to feed without hurting anyone. Stefan has controlled himself for centuries and he's a ripper," Bonnie said.
Damon laughed. "Are you kidding? Stefan goes on a binge every few decades, usually turning his humanity off in the process and killing hundreds of people. Stefan is probably the least controlled vampire there is."
Just then, Jeremy made it home. He walked into the kitchen and saw everyone looking extremely tense. "What's going on? Where's Elena?"
Caroline regarded Jeremy sadly. "Jeremy, I'm sorry. Elena's gone."
"What?" Jeremy asked in alarm.
Caroline told him everything that happened. She told him about Elena being a hybrid instead of a regular vampire, and everything that happened after Klaus showed up at school.
Jeremy barely registered everything that had been said. The only thing that he could focus on was that Klaus had taken his sister. "No! No, he couldn't have just taken her!"
"He did. He's not going to hurt her though. He needs her," Caroline said. That wasn't completely true. Whatever Klaus did was going to cause Elena pain, but she decided Jeremy didn't need to hear that truth. He was distraught enough as it was.
"No, he's not going to kill her, but he will hurt her," Jeremy said. He knew enough about Klaus to know that he was going to hurt his sister in one way or another. He would turn her into something she hated. She knew that. That was why she didn't tell anybody what she really was. "We have to help her. We have to get her away from him."
"We can't, Jeremy. She made me promise we wouldn't go after her. She's afraid of what Klaus will do to her loved ones if we try to rescue her."
"Oh, screw that! We're going after her. I didn't promise anything," Damon said. He wasn't leaving Elena with Klaus. They already had a plan to stop him. By 'they,' he meant him and Katherine. All they had to do was figure out how to raise Mikael. Mikael would kill Klaus and Elena and Stefan would be free.
Caroline smirked at him. "You can do whatever you want. Elena said if you end up getting yourself killed, it's your problem."
Damon scowled. Elena was apparently still not over the fact that he forced her to turn. The whole hybrid thing might have something to do with that. In his defense, how was he supposed to know that the ritual would turn her into a werewolf too. In any event, it saved her life. She needed to get over it already.
"So, we're not supposed to do anything?" Jeremy asked helplessly.
"For now. I hate it too, Jeremy, but it's what Elena wants. Life is going to suck enough for her. She has to know that you're safe. I hate it as much as you do," Caroline said with tears in her eyes.
Jeremy was on the verge of crying. He'd lost so much. How was he supposed to handle losing his sister too. It wasn't the same as losing his parents or Jenna, but she was still gone. Hell, maybe it was even worse than her dying. She would be in misery.
"Jeremy, it will be okay," Bonnie said.
"No, it won't," Jeremy said before bolting up and storming out of the room.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Elena woke up around dawn. She found herself in the passenger seat of Klaus' truck, unsurprisingly. That was where she'd fallen asleep. The others were riding in the back of the truck. Klaus had insisted she be the one to ride up front with him. He said it was so he could keep an eye on her. She was pretty sure it was just so he could torture her some more with his presence.
"Good morning, love. I hope you slept well," Klaus said when she noticed she'd woken up.
"Yeah, great. I'm stuck in a truck with the maniac that kidnapped me. That's a recipe for a good night's sleep," Elena said sarcastically.
Klaus chuckled. "Oh, I wouldn't call it kidnapping. After all, you belong to me. You can't kidnap what's yours."
Elena bit her lip. She refused to respond to his declaration of ownership of her. She was sure that was what he wanted. She wouldn't give it to him.
"Tell me something, love. Did you truly think you could hide from me forever? Did you think I wouldn't find out about you eventually?" Klaus asked.
Elena chose not to answer. She had no interest in playing into his whims.
"When I ask you a question, you will respond, Elena," Klaus said in a hard tone.
Elena turned and glared at him defiantly. "Or what? It's not like you're going to kill me. You need me, both to be a part of your sick little army and to help you make more."
Klaus laughed loudly. "Oh, I prefer you much better this way. You're no longer the meek little human, are you? That's good. I like your fight. But don't push me too far, sweetheart. There's plenty I can do to make you suffer without killing you. Perhaps I'll take it out on Stefan when you misbehave. I did say he was my leverage, didn't I? Answer my question."
Elena sighed. "First of all, I wasn't hiding. I was living my life. And, no, I think you'd never find out. You and I will both live for eternity, barring a run-in with a wooden stake for me. I knew you'd find out eventually, but I was going to try to avoid that as long as possible. I hoped I could at least make it through my human lifespan before it happened. I should've known better. I'd have no luck at all if not for bad."
"True enough, but I'd say luck is changing," Klaus said with a smirk.
"Your luck, maybe."
"Oh, but my luck is your luck, my dear. You and I are intertwined. We always have been and always will be. Why not leave town? You could've stayed off my radar considerably longer if you had. Of course, then I would've had to slaughter everyone you loved when I eventually found out, but you could've gotten away for a while," he said.
Elena snarled and glared at him. "I am not Katherine! I refuse to run and hide like a coward! I resigned myself to this moment happening one way or another, but I was not going to spend the time in between being chased by you." Caroline had actually proposed that she leave Mystic Falls once. She refused for that very reason. She wouldn't give Klaus the satisfaction of hunting her down. She wouldn't let him kill her family either, and he would've if he found out she ran from him. He'd just admitted that.
Klaus chuckled. "Good for you, love. I share your distaste for cowards. I would've had to punish you for that, as I did Katerina."
"As if you need a reason to kill the people I love," Elena said bitterly.
"Ah, yes, your lovely aunt," Klaus said.
Elena had to fight the urge to punch him for even mentioning Jenna. She wanted nothing more than to hurt him for that, but she knew it wouldn't work out for her.
"You can blame your friend, Damon for that. He interfered when I warned him that there would be consequences. Punishment needed to be administered. I would've used him if he hadn't been bitten," Klaus said.
Elena stared at him in disgust before looking away. Jenna was one thing she couldn't blame Damon for. If he hadn't interfered, Caroline and Tyler would've died. Either way, she would've had to grieve someone.
About an hour passed in silence, and Elena started to get hungry. Actually, she'd woken up a little hungry, but she was starting to get really hungry. However, if she told Klaus she needed to feed, he'd probably stop and make her feed on humans. She knew that would happen eventually, but he wanted to avoid it as much as possible.
Klaus watched as his hybrid began to get antsy. She began shifting in her seat every few minutes. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable. "What's the problem?"
"Nothing. I'm fine," Elena lied.
"You're not a good liar, are you?" Klaus asked before reaching for the cooler by Elena's feet. He took out two blood bags and put them on her lap. "Drink, and don't get used to it. You'll be feeding primarily from the vein from now on, but we have a long ride and I want to get there by nightfall."
Elena immediately started drinking from one of the bags. She didn't bother asking Klaus were they were going. It didn't matter. Wherever they were going, he would still be there, so it would be awful. She just drank her blood and stared out the window as they drove.