Chapter Text
A scream bubbles out of Caroline's throat. A scream of eighteen years worth of rage, frustration, and disappointment. A scream that causes a large gust of wind to blow through the forest. The current slowly calms as she attempts to settle her heavy breathing. Tears fell down her cheeks. Her hands shake at her sides. The ground rumbling beneath her feet, the remaining wildlife running for their lives but she can't find it in herself to care.
Why does everyone hate her? She hadn't done anything wrong. Not that she could remember. Ever since she was young and started to use her magic, everyone treated her differently. While everyone else got to practice as a group, Caroline had her own private classes separate from everyone else. Unlike everyone else, she wasn't allowed to make mistakes. Mistakes resulted in consequences. And she made a lot of mistakes. She was too strong. She had too much magic. So much that she couldn't control it. One sneeze and she could blow the roof off a building. She'd come pretty close more often than not.
And there were whispers as to why. She was cursed. She was lucky. The ancestors favored her for some reason. She had demon magic. But she suspects that several of the elders know exactly what her problem is. She's asked her mother about it several times but her mother always says that she'll tell her when the time is right. After a while, Caroline stopped asking.
The other kids always avoided her. They were afraid. 'What are we going to get into a fight, and you'll blow my head off?' The only kids that weren't terrified of her were Elena and Bonnie. Her only true friends. At least that's something her magic hasn't robbed her of. She used to have three friends but Tyler had disappeared junior year, and has never been seen since. Part of her thinks that her magic chased him away too.
She hears the sound of leaves rustling, and turns. No one would come looking for her. Not so soon. Bonnie and Elena are on a double date, and her mom should still be at work. And no one else would come looking for her. She sees something gray and white… and furry? - through the leaves. Then a wolf steps out so that she can see him. It's the biggest wolf she's ever seen. As big as a bear. She's plenty of wolves. The witches in her coven had made an alliance with the werewolves. An alliance that's still going strong three centuries later. Tyler had been a werewolf. But he never triggered his curse, so she never actually saw him as a wolf.
The wolf before her cocks his head to the side before running off. And Caroline stupidly follows after them. But she doesn't find a wolf, she finds a person. They're wearing jeans and a dark gray Henley. All of which hug his body in just the right way. He cocks his head to the side in a way that reminds her of the wolf she'd just seen. "Looking for something, love?"
"No. I just- I thought I saw something." She hates herself for stuttering. She doesn't have much experience when it comes to talking to hot guys. You know, when they aren't stumbling their way through a half-assed explanation for running away in fear.
"Like that wolf?" He smirks at her, playing with the necklace around his neck.
"Oh, you saw it too?"
"You could say that." His smirk deepens. Her heart starts pounding in her chest, and she brushes her hair out of her face. "What are you doing in the woods?"
"I could ask you the same question."
"You first."
"I just had to get away."
"Me too. My siblings were being insufferable. Even more so than usual." He rolls his eyes with the deepest sigh. She laughs, quickly covering her hand with her mouth. He narrows his eyes at her. "You're laughing at me."
"I'm sorry. I'm sure they can't be that bad. I always wanted a sibling or two. Maybe then I wouldn't feel so alone?"
"Well, I have six siblings. Each more annoying than the last. Though I'm only actually in contact with five of them. But that's still far too many."
"Caroline!" She heard her mother's voice. She came looking for her earlier than she thought. Caroline feels a gust of wind before the mystery person is gone. "Caroline!"
Caroline walks in the direction of her mother's voice, eventually finding her still in her sheriff's uniform. "Caroline, you had me worried sick."
"I'm sorry. I just went for a walk. I guess I lost track of time."
"Are you okay? Did anything happen?"
"No." She lies. At the look on her mother's face, she adds. "I saw a wolf. It was huge with gray and white fur. Then it disappeared and I ran into a guy."
Her mother's jaw clenches. "Let's get you home."
Caroline wakes up in her bed. Her mother is sitting on the edge of the bed with a cup of tea in her hands. She can tell that she's been crying. "Mom, what happened?"
"Drink this." Caroline sits up in bed, taking the mug out of her mother's hands. She takes a sip as her mother starts to stroke her hair. "There's something I've been hiding from you. I thought, we all thought, that you had more time."
Her mother becomes misty-eyed. Caroline pulls the mug away from her lips. "When you were born, the elders knew that there was something off about you."
"Well, my magic's been funky since I was a little girl." Her mother shakes her head.
"No. This was more than that. They did a spell and learned that you were mated to a vampire. But not just to any vampire. One of The Originals. Klaus, the hybrid to be specific. Your blood is cursed because of this. The elders had a plan. They would keep you safe and hidden from him. But the wolf you saw today. It was him."
Her mother reaches down, and grabs something off the floor. She presents her with a book. The book opens seemingly on its own to a page that shows a drawing of the same wolf she saw in the woods. And an accompanying photo of the same person. "He must have found you somehow."
"What do we do now?" Of course, her so-called mate is a hybrid that's like a billion years old. He had seemed harmless in the woods but that's probably just what he wants her to think.
"The elders have come up with several plans. All of which put your life at risk. So we're going to run away." Her mother says. Then hears a knock at the door downstairs. Her mother gets up from the bed, and walks out of the room. Once she's gone, Caroline's breathing quickens. Several objects in her room start to float wildly around the room.
She starts to hear shouting from downstairs, and she closes her eyes, seeing her mother downstairs talking to Grayson Gilbert. "You want to sit down and talk with them?"
"We haven't agreed to anything yet. But they have reached out and asked to have a discussion."
"And what do they want to discuss? What he plans to do with my daughter?"
Grayson's jaw clenches. "It's just a suggestion. What other options do we have?"
"Certainly not bargaining away my daughter's freedom. Now I would like it if you would leave my house."
The tension could practically be cut with a knife after that. And the tension only gets thicker as the days go by. Especially when her mother hears that the elders had that meeting with The Originals. Or least with Elijah. She doesn't know what happened in the meeting but it clearly must have been bad as the elders would have two more meetings after that. One without her mother, one with her mother. Though the outcome of both meetings appear to anger her mother equally.
Before Caroline has the chance to ask her about it, she finds out in another way. From the one person she had hoped never to see again. She had left to get away again. But decided to steer clear of the woods this time. Instead, she went to a place she had thought for certain that no one would find her. Her secret place. Not even her best friends knew about this place.
"Hello, love." She startles at the sound of his voice. A boulder goes flying at him, and he easily dodges it despite the suddenness of the attack. She gets to her feet, and hates the way her heart pounds in her chest at the sight of his dimpled smirk.
"What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk to you." He starts to step closer to her.
"Don't come near me. How did you even find me? This time and the last time."
"Well, the last time had been an accident. I'd turned into a wolf, and ran into you. My wolf picked up on the fact that my mate was nearby. When I turned back into a human, my suspicions were correct. I could… smell you." He closes his eyes, and sniffs, a grin on his face.
"And this time?" She asks. She still doesn't exactly believe him about the first time being an accident.
"I'm sure you've heard that my sister is a witch." She nods her head. She'd been told the story. At least a summarized version. She's sure the actual story is much more detailed. "She found you."
"But she would need something of mine."
"We're mates, love. My blood runs in you. And vice versa. She used me." He starts to step closer to her again.
"I said don't come near me!" He takes a step back, and convinces herself that the flash of hurt in his eyes is just her imagination. Or a trick. "So why are you here?"
"I told you. I want to talk to you. It's only fitting that the bride and groom get to know each other." Her eyes go wide as she realizes what he'd just said.
"The what?! We aren't getting married!"
"The deal was that we would get married to create an alliance between the vampires and the witches. Y-you didn't know?" She'll give it to him, he looks actually confused. She pushes past him.