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Some would say that Klaus’s obsession with witches was pathological.
Some people would add it to all of his other serious problems.
Most people who encountered Klaus were too afraid to worry about the witches. They were too busy trying to save their own lives.
***
Bonnie knew he was stalking her. He might be an original, but he was sloppy.
Most vampires were.
She came home from school and knew the minute she walked into her bedroom that Klaus had been there.
She’d cast a spell preventing him from entering her house, even if he glamored her dad into an invitation. But somehow he’d managed to enter her bedroom two weeks ago so she’d immediately sealed the room with magic that wouldn’t let him enter into the rest of the house. Creepily, he didn’t seem interested in trying to explore beyond that.
From what she could tell he was more than content to rifle through her drawers, touch all of her undergarments, and sometimes leave entire outfits that he liked lying on her bed, presumably as suggestions.
She was not surprised that they were always very short and tight dresses that she hid from her dad in the back of her closet.
Today didn’t seem any different. Well except for the fact that Klaus seemed to have brought her a gift and left that on her bed instead.
She was trying to figure out how to get rid of it without actually touching it when her dad knocked on her door frame.
“What do you have there,” he asked looking around her at the white box covered in a red bow.
“Um, no idea,” she said as she moved to block her dad’s view of the package
He smiled genially. “Ok, ok, you don’t have to tell me.”
Bonnie exhaled slowly and smiled.
“Is it from Jeremy?”
“Bye dad,” she replied and reached for the door to close it slowly in his face.
“Dinner’ll be ready at 6, hon,” he said through the door. She could hear his soft chuckle as he presumably turned to head back downstairs to the kitchen.
She stared at the door wishing, not for the first time that she could tell him about her life. She wondered what it would be like to be able to confide in him. To tell him that Grams hadn’t been a crazy drunk, but a witch. And Bonnie was too. But she knew better. Besides the fact that her dad would take her straight to her mom’s old shrink thinking she’d caught the family crazy, telling him would only put him in even more danger just like it had everyone else.
She wanted to keep her dad safe. No scratch that. She needed to keep him safe for as long as she could.
“It won’t work you know.”
She turned around quickly letting out a high pitched scream, a curse on the tip of her tongue.
Klaus was standing just inside her bedroom window. It was still closed. The hair on her arms stood on end that either he’d been in her room the whole time and she hadn’t sensed him or he’d somehow managed to open her window, enter her room, and close the window again, all without her knowing. Both thoughts were equally terrifying.
“What are you doing here? Why do you keep coming here?” Her voice was strong and didn’t hint at the rapid beating of her heart. But he was a vampire and could probably hear the heavy pumping of blood in her veins. She tried to focus on slowing her pulse.
“Why do you think I’m here?”
He was moving slowly around the bed towards her. Of all the vampires she’d encountered over the past three years Klaus reminded her most of a cat, making it difficult to ever forget what an animal he was.
“Would I have asked if I knew?”
He reached out a hand to lazily trace along a side of the box, his finger grazing the satin of the bow, a small smile on his lips.
“I haven’t quite figured you out yet. It’s so very difficult with you Bennett witches.”
Her back steeled at his words. “How many-” Her voice was high pitched and a little squeaky. She stopped and started again. “How many Bennett witches have you known,” she asked in her regular voice.
“All of them,” Klaus said simply.
He was no more than a foot from her. Bonnie wasn’t sure how she would get herself out of this situation. And more importantly she didn’t know how she would do it and still keep her father safe.
“Do you have plans this evening,” he said in a soft voice pulling her mind from her escape plans.
She nodded minutely. “I’m meeting Elena and Caroline after dinner,” she said slowly, trying to buy herself more time.
“Oh the doppleganger and the infant,” he said in an icy tone. “Where is your phone Bonnie?”
Her nose scrunched in confusion. “In my bag,” she said instinctively clutching at the strap across her chest.
“Take it out,” he directed. “Slowly.”
When she had her phone clutched in her hand he reached for it. She had to force herself not to throw it at him in an effort not to touch his skin. He ran an index finger up her thumb and across her wrist.
She tried not to shiver and refused to consider if it was fear or attraction she felt.
“Let’s see what we have here,” he said brightly.
“What are you doing,” she said in a panicky voice.
“Looking through your texts. Lots of messages from the young Gilbert.” He looked up to catch her gaze. “Unanswered I see. I will never understand what you saw in someone as ordinary as him. You Bennett witches are fairly predictable in that respect aren’t you?”
She pressed her lips together and glared at him, refusing to acknowledge his dig at her father. Grams had said something similar to that once though, and she was once again angry and heartbroken that she wasn’t here to explain what she’d meant. The loneliness that washed over her suddenly was all too familiar these days.
“I’m sorry darling but I’m going to have to cancel girl’s night,” Klaus said tapping away at her keyboard.
“What are you doing,” she said in a controlled voice.
“Just sending a message to your little friends. You’re so sorry you can’t make it tonight but your dad’s being so lame and wants you to stay in. Old people... Blah blah blah, you’re bored already.”
“They’ll know I didn’t send that,” Bonnie said.
He pressed one last button and then looked up at her with unrestrained pity in his eyes. “Now dear, I think we both know that’s not true.”
She kept her gaze clear and refused to let him see that she wasn’t sure if he was wrong.
“But don’t you worry about them dear.” He closed the distance between them quickly.
His fingertips ran across her jaw bone softly. His breath was hot on her face. She held her breath trying to prepare herself for whatever was coming, trying to decide which spell would cause the least amount of damage to her room, wondering if she could cast a spell to muffle sound.
She was just parting her lips, not sure which spell would come out, when he bent down and covered her mouth with his own.
His tongue crept out to lick the crease of her lips, but never entered her mouth. He was probably sure that she would try and bite it off if he did. Rightly so.
She didn’t kiss him back. If he noticed, he didn’t care. Vampires never did.
When he pulled back she tried to move, but he pulled her closer, pressing her body against his. She swallowed as the bulge in his pants poked her stomach.
“I have some arrangements to make. I’ll be back in two hours. Put on the dress in the box with the gold strappy sandals.”
She wasn’t sure what to think. She wondered if two hours was enough time to figure out how to fix the hole in her shield. Or maybe she should just leave with her dad. Where could they get to in two hours that he couldn’t find them?
“Nowhere,” he said softly.
She made eye contact with him and knew he was telling the truth.
“Wear the perfume in the purple bottle.”
He was by the window in an instant. He looked back at her for a long moment, that smile back on his lips. And then the window was open and he was gone.
***
The Bennetts weren’t just any witches. Only a fool would imagine they were.
Klaus had not been a stupid man and the millennia had only made his mind sharper.
Whatever he was doing with Bonnie would either kill her, and nearly kill him, or he’d have her. There was no middle ground. A Bennett witch did not suffer a vampire for long.
The Salvatores were deluding themselves if they thought otherwise.