How to Deal

Prologue

“Why do you have to go out on a night like this?”

“Because it’s my duty as a member of the council to protect the citizens of Mystic Falls and my family, Delilah.” Landon Fell said calmly to his wife for the millionth time. “I’ll be fine.”

Delilah frowned, pulling her black silk robe on and followed him into the walk-in closet. “Landon, how can you be sure of that? I thought when we had Dacia; you would forget this council nonsense and focus on us.” She shot back, folding her arms in front of her chest. “Dacia just started high school and putting your life at risk for this godforsaken town is wrong!”

Landon heaved a sigh and looked over his shoulder at his beautiful wife, seeing things much differently than she did. “If you grew up in Mystic Falls, you would understand why I can’t just walk away from the council. Our ancestors carved the pathway for us. There’s a lot of history and I can’t turn my back on that. I’m sorry, but the Fell Family will not submit to a bunch of bloodsucking demons. And when Dacia turns of age, I will be telling her all about the Fell Family legacy and start her training.” He rammed his shoulder into a specific part of the wall and smiled when a secret door flew open, dust flying everywhere.

“Her training?” Delilah blinked, watching as her husband disappeared into the secret room for a few minutes and decided to stay out of it. “What are you talking about? We never discussed any of this! I won’t have my daughter’s head filled with fairytales that scare her! You tried doing this to Dahna and it didn’t work because she simply doesn’t believe like her mother. Thank god she got out of this town when she had the chance to pursue an education.”

Dahna Fell was their oldest daughter that graduated from high school a few months ago and ended up receiving a 4 year scholarship to the University of Tennessee. She came home once a month to see her family and called a few times a week to check in, but other than that Dahna had her own life. Delilah was so proud of her while Landon wasn’t because he didn’t want her leaving Mystic Falls. When he told Dahna all about the secrets of the town and council, she laughed in his face and slapped him on the knee before walking away. Landon never fully forgave her and their relationship had been on the rocks ever since, which was 2 years ago since Dahna recently celebrated her 19^th birthday.

Rolling his eyes, Landon stepped out of the closet moments later with a few choice weapons specifically needed for his search. Wooden stakes, an axe, a few guns and a mace bottle full of a special herb called vervain. It temporarily weakened and immobilized the creatures he and the council had hunted for generations.

He didn’t want to think about Dahna’s betrayal to the family and had to keep his head in the game or else he would end up severely hurt or dead. The way she acted when he told her the secrets of their family was a definite blow and Landon wasn’t sure how to recover from it. Before marrying Delilah, Landon sat down with her and revealed everything regarding the council because she was part of it through marriage. Even though she didn’t approve of having these dangerous weapons in the house, Delilah agreed to marry him regardless and Landon still didn’t understand why to this day.

“She needs to be trained if she’s going to carry on the Fell Family tradition unlike Dahna. She’s next in line after we’re deceased, Delilah. Meredith is only part of it because she didn’t want to be left out and is very passionate about killing these monsters.” Landon explained, starting to strap on some of the wooden stakes to his holster and slipped his two guns on each side into it, making sure they were securely fastened.

“No.” Delilah shook her head defiantly, tears burning in her milk chocolate light brown eyes, not believing the words coming out of her husband’s mouth. “You’re not training her, end of discussion, Landon.”

“Yes I am.” Landon argued, not looking up at her as he finished fastening the rest of the weapons to his body, including the mace. “You can’t break tradition, Delilah. I know you’re not a believer, but our daughter will be. You agreed to all of this when you decided to marry me. Your exact words were ‘even though you’re crazy, I can’t help loving you, so yes let’s get married’. Do you remember that?”

Delilah pursed her lips tightly together and planted her hands on her hips, shaking her head. “That was different. Had I know you were going to try turning our DAUGHTERS,” She emphasized that word since Landon hardly acknowledged Dahna, which broke her heart. “Into Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I definitely would’ve reconsidered your proposal.” She retorted and turned on her heel, heading for the door. “Because I’ll be damned if you try to fill Dacia’s head with fairytale nonsense the way you tried with Dahna, when she needs to be focused on her studies for college and REAL LIFE. You may want to live in a fantasy world and believe that things like vampires exist, but I don’t and neither do our daughters. You cannot force that on her, it’s not right and I won’t allow it.”

“Have you lost your mind, woman?!” Landon exclaimed, fighting back the urge to throttle her with his bare hands and clenched his teeth tightly together. “You honestly believe that everything I’ve told you are just MYTHS and figments of people’s imaginations?? There’s PROOF they exist!! Back in 1864-”

Delilah cut him off immediately. “The Founding Family council gathered a bunch of vampires and burned them in the old Fell Church and left journals behind as proof that vampires do live among us. Blah, blah, freaking BLAH!!” She lost count how many times Landon told her that story and flat out refused to listen to it again. “Did it ever occur to you that the ancestors left those journals because they had nothing better to do? If you think about it, there really wasn’t much back in that time frame and that’s how most of the fairytales and fables that we read today were discovered. An example would be vampires, Landon. Vampires are a myth, they don’t exist and you need to wake up before you end up losing your family over this!”

Shocked, Landon stormed over to Delilah and grabbed her upper arm, whipping her around to face him just as tears slid down her face. “Delilah…”

“No Landon, I’m not kidding this time.” Delilah broke away from him and wiped her tears away, hating that once again they were fighting over the council. “You have a choice to make because I can’t do this anymore. I love you with all of my heart and soul, I truly do, but I can’t live like this. You’re getting up at all hours of the night because of superstitious nonsense your ancestors left behind over 1,000 years ago. You need to wake up and realize what’s really important in your life, what really matters. Because right now, your family needs you and you’re never there. Look at the relationship you have with Dahna, it’s in shambles. And why? Because you’re angry with her for rejecting the Fell tradition by becoming part of the council. Because she wanted a life for herself and didn’t want to be stuck in this godforsaken town for the rest of her life! Not to mention, you’ve missed countless functions with Dacia because you were too busy out there searching for things that go bump in the night.”

“So, what are you saying?”

Did she really have to spell it out for him? Apparently so. Delilah took both of his hands in hers and pressed them against his chest, more tears falling. “I’m saying that if you walk out that door tonight and leave us here alone again, then our marriage is over. I love you, but you obviously love the council more than me or you would’ve stopped long ago.” They’d been married for 16 solid years and had two beautiful daughters – Dahna and Dacia.

“So you’d really divorce me over this?” Landon stepped away and pulled his hands out of hers, feeling his heart smashing to pieces. “You knew all about this before you agreed to marry me. It’s not fair for you to just toss our marriage away just because you don’t like something I do! Dahna made her choice and LAUGHED in my face over something that’s extremely important to me! Damn it, I love you, Delilah!” He couldn’t believe this was happening, that the love of his life threw an ultimatum at him that involved the possible ending of their 16 year marriage.

“I love you too, but I can’t live like this anymore, Landon. Every time you walk out that door to do your hunting, I constantly worry about you. I’m so afraid that you’ll walk out that door and not come back one night.” They lived around dangerous woods that had deadly animals in them, especially after sundown, which is what Delilah was really concerned about. “You need to make things right with Dahna before it’s too late and you lose her forever. I know you love her no matter what she does, even if you don’t want to admit it.”

Landon cracked a small smile and closed the distance between them, cupping her face tenderly in his hand. “I’ll always come back home to you, Delilah. You don’t have to worry about that. We’re going to grow old together with grey hair and at least a football team worth of grandkids in our old rickety rocking chairs.” He was suddenly realizing just how much of a toll this was taking on his wife and felt extremely guilty, pressing his forehead against hers. “Alright, you win.”

“What?” Delilah whispered, pulling back enough to stare into his beautiful green eyes, smiling widely. “You mean…”

“After this last hunt, I’ll tell the council that I can no longer do them.” Landon laughed when his wife suddenly tackled him, both of them toppling to the floor and felt her kisses rain all over his face. “Since it means that much to you, baby doll, I’ll quit. And when Dahna comes home on break in a few weeks, I’ll square things with her too and get our relationship back on track. I don’t want to lose her, I love her just as much as I love you and Dacia.”

Delilah beamed with happiness and finally laid a passionate soul-searing kiss on his lips, not believing he was actually doing this for her. He was going to quit the council and focus on them, which is all Delilah ever wanted. She loved her husband, it hadn’t changed in the 20 years they knew each other. They were together for 4 years before Landon finally proposed, though Delilah hadn’t minded him taking that long to ask. The fact Landon was also going to rekindle his relationship with Dahna made Delilah’s heart soar to the heavens as well.

“I love you so much, Landon Maurice Fell.” Delilah stated proudly, squealing when he rolled them over to where he hovered over her and accepted another heart stopping kiss that left her breathless. “Are you sure you have to go? You can always tell them you quit tonight and stay in with me.” Her fingernail ran up and down the length of his t-shirt covered chest, an evil smirk on her lips. “I can make it worth your while.”

Landon chuckled, rubbing his nose gently against hers. “As tempting as that sounds, I can’t let them down, baby doll.” He stood up with her from the floor, nuzzling her neck lovingly as they both melted against each other. “Besides, I need to tell them tonight so they can get the paperwork started and whatnot.”

Sighing resignedly, Delilah nodded in understanding and slowly turned around until those emerald eyes locked on her again. “Alright, I understand since this is the last time.” That was the biggest weight lifted from her shoulders, though Delilah would still be up most of the night worrying over him like always. “Come home safe to me.”

“I will.” Landon promised, kissing her one last time and walked out the door, heading downstairs toward the garage.

Delilah ran over to the window and looked out as Landon pulled out of the driveway, both of them blowing kisses simultaneously. It was their special thing they always did, never leaving angry at each other. Delilah felt guilty for tossing that ultimatum at her husband, but didn’t regret it.

She meant what she said, he had to choose to either be with his family or the council. Landon couldn’t have both and he had chosen right, which Delilah was extremely thankful for. Deciding to keep her mind occupied until he returned, Delilah shut the bedroom light off and headed downstairs to her kitchen to bake something.

Before she knew it, 4 hours passed and there was still no sign of Landon anywhere. She had baked 3 dozen cookies and ran out of dough, so she moved onto baking brownies and a cake. No matter how much she baked, Delilah couldn’t shake this feeling that something wasn’t right. It was going on 4 AM and she knew Dacia would be getting up in two hours for school, hoping Landon was back by then to have breakfast with them.

After the brownies and cake were finished, Delilah started on breakfast that consisted of pancakes, bacon, eggs, hash browns and fresh fruit cut up in a large bowl. She was a master at cooking and did most of the functions the council had, which happened quite frequently. She set everything on the table on platters with lids over them so it remained fresh before starting to clean up her mess.

At exactly a quarter to 6, Delilah heard the phone ring and snapped her head up from the sink, quickly rushing over to answer it. “Hello?” When she didn’t get a response, Delilah swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “Landon?”

“Delilah…” A low voice sounded in the phone after what seemed like forever, followed by shuffling of some sort.

It was Luke, Landon’s younger brother and partner in crime when it came to hunting. “Luke, what’s going on?” Delilah demanded, looking up the stairs and heard the bathroom door shut, knowing Dacia was awake. “Where’s Landon?”

“Delilah, you need to get to the hospital. Landon is in bad shape and…”

Before Luke could finish, the line went dead and she was left standing there trembling from head to toe. What did he mean Landon was in bad shape?! Delilah dropped the phone and immediately rushed upstairs to the bedroom to change, tossing on a pair of jeans, long sleeved pink sweater and black boots. She flew out of the bedroom just as the bathroom door opened, stopping at the sight of a sleepy Dacia.

“Mom, what’s going on? Where are you going?” Dacia asked tiredly, having stayed up late studying for her big Biology test today.

“I have to run an errand for your father.” Delilah lied, deciding there was no point in worrying Dacia until she found out what exactly happened to Landon. “Breakfast is on the table and feel free to take some snacks with you to school. They’re in the kitchen wrapped in tinfoil. Are you getting a ride from Miranda again?”

Miranda Sommers-Gilbert was one of Delilah’s good friends and Elena Gilbert’s mother, who was Dacia’s best friend. They had practically been raised together and their friendship went back to when they were babies. Miranda had been the first person to welcome Delilah to Mystic Falls and befriended her. Jenna Sommers, Miranda’s younger sister, was a good friend of Dahna’s even though they had quite an age difference. It didn’t matter because Jenna was just as crazy and carefree as a teenager and they molded really well as friends. They were one of the sweetest families on the planet and Delilah was lucky to have her as a friend just as Dacia was lucky to have Elena and Dahna with Jenna.

“Yeah, Elena wants to go over notes again before our test today. Wish me luck.” She shot over her shoulder sarcastically, closing her bedroom door and began getting ready for school.

Delilah didn’t bother responding and flew down the stairs out to the garage, firing up her yellow sun fire, peeling out of there as fast as she could. She couldn’t help letting a few tears fall down her face and tried making phone calls on the way to the hospital, but nobody was answering. This definitely wasn’t good as Delilah punched on the gas harder, breaking speed limits throughout town, but she didn’t care. Her husband was in bad shape, according to his little brother, so Delilah had no time to waste and could only pray he was alive.

As soon as Delilah rushed through the emergency room doors, Luke approached her with a huge gauze bandage around his forehead and tears in his eyes. “Delilah…”

“Where is he?” Delilah cut him off, walking past him toward the nurse’s station and began crying when Luke stopped her. “Where is he, Luke?”

“Delilah, I-I’m so sorry…” Luke tried to keep his tears at bay, but it was impossible in this situation. “W-We were attacked…and…”

“WHERE HE IS?” Delilah screamed, trembling from head to toe and shook her head when Luke lowered his head, giving her the answer without having to say it. “No-NO!! No he can’t be!! WHERE’S LANDON?”

“He’s dead, Delilah.”

Chapter 1

“Dacia!!” Dahna Fell called upstairs to her younger sister while fastening a diamond bracelet around her wrist.

They were going to the Founder’s Day Ball, a tradition that Mystic Falls held over many generations. She didn’t want to go, but being part of the council made it her responsibility to make an appearance. Bailing wasn’t an option, especially since the council had secret meetings at these functions. It was mandatory, it didn’t matter if a member was deathly ill in the hospital, they couldn’t be missed.

Meredith and Luke would have her head on a platter if Dahna didn’t show up, so she had no choice except to go and decided to drag Dacia along for the fun. However, Dacia didn’t know about the council because of their mother, which Dahna was very grateful for. Dahna never thought she’d become part of the council, but all that changed the night their parents’ died.

Landon Fell was killed by a wild beast in the woods, one they were still trying to hunt down after 3 years. The council called the beasts vampires, but Dahna didn’t believe they existed, just like her mother. However, she kept her non-belief away from the council and did what they asked since only the men hunted.

Not a day went by that Dahna didn’t think of her parents and hoped they rested peacefully together. She would never forget receiving the phone call from her sobbing Uncle Luke informing her that both her mother and father had died. Delilah had died of a heart attack after hearing the news of her husband’s death and she couldn’t be resuscitated.

Dahna had to move back to Mystic Falls to care for her little sister, Dacia, or else she would’ve gone into the foster care system until the age of 18. As much as Dahna loved college, she couldn’t let that happen to Dacia and dropped everything to become her guardian. Thankfully, there was a college in the nearby town that Dahna went to twice a week and did most of her classes online, so she didn’t miss out on her education.

Staring in the full length mirror, Dahna smoothed her hands down the simple black strapless gown that was splashed with silver embroidery all over it. It clung to every curve of her body, her caramel colored hair swept up on top of her head in a ton of curls. She had it professionally done earlier that day at the local beauty salon free of charge since she was a council member. Her emerald green eyes were outlined with thin black eyeliner, making them pop and painted her lips with a peach colored gloss.

“If you’re not down here in 5 minutes, I’m leaving with you, kid!!” She smirked when Dacia shouted in reply, knowing her sister hated being called that.

Dacia growled and stuck her head out of the bedroom. “Chill your panties, MOM, I’ll be right down! I’m trying to get my heel straps buckled!” She called back with a smirk of her own because Dahna hated being called the M word.

Going back to fastening her heels, Dacia wondered why Dahna was so adamant about bringing her along to this stupid ball. It was pointless! She absolutely hated and LOATHED the Mystic Falls events and tried like hell to get out of them every time. All they ever amounted to was sucking the life out of her from how boring it was and being forced to dress up, which is something Dacia hated doing as well.

Half the time, when these functions were held at the Lockwood mansion, Dacia stayed outside sitting on a bench under a willow tree gaming on her cell phone. She had to do SOMETHING to occupy herself or else she would die of boredom. Dahna felt the same way, but for some odd reason she had to attend these functions and Dacia didn’t understand it. All Dahna ever said whenever Dacia questioned her about it was ‘she had to go’, so to save what was left of her sanity, Dacia stopped trying to understand her sister’s logic.

When their parents’ died, Dacia didn’t know what to do or think about it and only felt intense sadness. She used to be into all kinds of events for school like dance and cheerleading, but all that stopped when her world shattered. Dacia had been shocked when Dahna actually moved back to Mystic Falls and took guardianship instead of Luke or Meredith.

The fact her big sister stopped everything in her life just to take care of Dacia meant the world to her and they had grown very close over the past 3 years. Granted, it was weird at first having Dahna wash her clothes, cook her meals and greet her almost every day when she came home from school. There were nights that Dahna wasn’t home because she had to go to school in the next town over, which Dacia didn’t mind.

Staring in her own full length mirror, Dacia wore a beautiful violet spaghetti strapped A-line gown with matching heels and it went down just a quarter inch past her knees. It was simple, just the way Dacia liked it, and the closest she became to being dressed up formally. She’d left her ebony waist length hair down, curled at the ends for style.

Her milk chocolate brown eyes were outlined in thin black eyeliner with just a hint of violet eye shadow to accentuate her natural beauty. Giving herself a once over in the mirror one last time, Dacia was satisfied with her look and headed out the door, grabbing her black jacket since it was a chilly night. She just hoped they didn’t have to stay long because heels were not kind to her, not even a little.

“Alright old lady, we need to leave now if you don’t want to be late for the party.” Dacia suggested smugly, stopping at the sight of Dahna with her sleazy boyfriend, Max. “Oh, I didn’t know he was going…”

“Be nice, Dace.” Dahna softly chastised and smiled up at Max, her arm looped through his. “And old lady, really?” She was tempted to smack her sister upside the head, but refrained. “Hmph, I’ll show you old lady in a minute if you don’t get your ass out the door and in the car pronto.”

“Hello Dacia.” Max greeted with a grin and turned his beady baby blue eyes onto his girlfriend’s younger sister. “You look beautiful tonight.”

This was the exact reason why Dacia hated this guy and wondered what hole he crawled out of. Even though he was polite, there was something about him that just rubbed Dacia the wrong way. She couldn’t put her finger on it, maybe it was the way he undressed her with his eyes or the way he carried himself. Whatever it was, Dacia didn’t like it and wished her sister would send him packing already.

Dahna met Max during one of her night classes she couldn’t do online a few months back and they started dating instantly. She found him charming and friendly, though Dahna knew how Dacia really felt about him and couldn’t understand why. He was never rude to Dacia, not that she knew of and he was a perfect gentleman whenever they went out on dates. It bothered Dahna that her little sister loathed the guy she dated, but then again, Dacia wasn’t happy about a lot of things in her life.

“You ladies ready to go?” Max opened the screen door and gestured for them to walk out, winking at Dahna.

“Wait, he’s driving?” Dacia didn’t like that because she witnessed firsthand how big of a lush Max was when he had a few cocktails in him.

“Yeah why, is that a problem?” Dahna asked, quirking a brow and shut the front door locking it.

Dacia bit her tongue and simply shook her head, walking away heading toward the car. Why hadn’t she thought to bring her IPOD? Oh that’s right, it wouldn’t be appropriate. Oh well, at least she had her cell phone to game on and her best friend Elena to hang out with. However, Elena had a date that night with a new student named Stefan Salvatore, so Dacia would stay clear of them so they could enjoy their time together.

“What’s with her?” Max demanded, stopping Dahna from walking toward the car and pulled her into his arms. “I didn’t do anything to her and she’s treating me like trash. I don’t appreciate it, Dahna.”

Dahna sighed heavily, really not in the mood for this conversation and they were running late enough already. “I’ll talk to her about it. She doesn’t like you for some reason and I’ve told you that. The more friendly you try to be toward her, the more she’ll rebel. I know you mean well, Max, but my sister is very complex and does things her way.” She didn’t know what else could be said to make it clear to Max that Dacia didn’t want anything to do with him.

Max didn’t appreciate Dahna’s tone and grabbed her upper arm, squeezing harder than necessary. “I sincerely hope you do, sweetheart.” He pressed his nose against her cheek, giving her arm another tight squeeze and headed toward the car, slipping into the driver’s side.

Witnessing that whole exchange, Dacia liked Max even less and wished her sister would just drop him like a bad habit. That wasn’t the first time she saw Max abuse her sister –yes she called it abuse because his squeezes left bruises on her upper arms- and she knew it wouldn’t be the last. It made Dacia wonder just how far Max would have to go before Dahna finally dumped him, shivering involuntarily at the thought.

Dahna shrugged off Max and slid into the passenger seat, buckling up. She glanced in the rearview mirror and locked eyes with Dacia briefly, silently letting her know everything was fine. Her arm did throb a little from Max’s grip, which he did frequently when he wanted to get a point across. He never squeezed her that hard before and suddenly, it was almost as if the light bulb went off in Dahna’s head.

“What are you doing?” Max demanded, watching as she unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out of his car, raising a brow.

“Dacia, get out of the car.” Dahna ordered, smoothing her dress out and folded her arms in front of her chest, smiling sweetly at a perplexed Max.

Blinking, Dacia did as she was told; thankful the vehicle had 4 doors and walked over to stand beside her big sister. “Dahna…” She closed her mouth when Dahna held her hand up, wondering what was going on. Had Dahna come to her senses finally?

“Go to the car and start it up.” She tossed Dacia the keys, keeping her eyes locked on Max and waited until she was out of hearing distance before glaring spitefully at her boyfriend. “Let’s get one thing straight right now, Maxwell, I don’t put up with dickheads and that’s exactly what you are. A small puny dickhead that likes to try throwing his weight around with me and I’m done with it. You’ve put your hands on me for the last time because our relationship is over. So I’m going to the Founder’s Ball with my sister, ALONE and SINGLE, and you can take your abusive ass right off of my property. Because if you don’t, I will make sure you never touch another woman again. Do I make myself clear?”

Max couldn’t believe the words spewing out of her mouth as he jumped out of the car and stalked over to her, blue eyes blazing. “What the hell are you talking about, Dahna? You can’t dump me that easily, bitch!” He shouted, raising his hand to hit her and suddenly couldn’t feel his lower extremities anymore.

Dacia gaped as she watched Max fall to his knees, his entire body convulsing while her big sister held a small handheld Taser gun to his genitals. “Go sis!” She shouted out the window, waving her balled up first in the air in triumph.

Smirking, Dahna finally pulled the Taser gun away from Max and stepped back, not one blemish anywhere on her. “Now if you’ll excuse me, DICK, I have an event to attend and you have new balls to find. Toodaloo!” Waving 3 fingers mockingly at him, Dahna turned on her heel and headed to her own vehicle, tossing the handheld Taser gun in the air catching it while whistling.

“Can I just say about freaking time?” Dacia beamed proudly at her sister, already buckled up in the front seat and felt better now that Max wasn’t coming. “I knew you wouldn’t put up with this crap much longer.”

“I was waiting to see if he’d try something else and he did.” When Dacia raised a brow, Dahna regretted saying that aloud and waved her off dismissively. “The point is our relationship is over and he’s out of our lives forever.”

“Thank god, I hated him.” Dacia stated, folding her arms in front of her chest as they drove away from the house, heading to the Lockwood mansion. “Almost as much as I hate these stupid events.”

“Touché, Dace.” Dahna agreed wholeheartedly and sighed when her cell phone went off, flipping it open. “We’re on our way, Meredith. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”

Meredith sighed with relief. “Where are you guys? You were supposed to be here 20 minutes ago!” She hissed quietly, waving off Luke when he tapped his watch and rolled her eyes. “You’re not supposed to be late, Dahna.”

“Look, I had to take care of something and it took a little longer than I thought.” Dahna defended, stopping at a red light and rolled her eyes when Meredith started giving her the third degree over the phone.

“Oh really? What was so damn important that you have to be nearly a half an hour late to the Founder’s Ball huh? Why can’t you for ONCE be on time for anything, Dahna?” Meredith snapped, not appreciating her niece’s tone and tapped her heel on the floor impatiently.

Dahna could feel a headache coming on already and slammed her foot on the gas out of pure frustration, growling. “If you MUST know, I just had to break up with Max.” She informed Meredith with an ice cold voice, hoping her Aunt was happy. “There, happy now?”

Meredith frowned, worry and concern instantly filling her dark eyes. “Dahna, what happened?” Now she felt terrible for snapping at her niece and held her hand up in a one second gesture to Luke. “Why don’t you get here and tell me all about it, sweetie?”

“I’m on my way now. Talk to you in a few.” Dahna hung up before Meredith could utter another word and shut her cell phone off, tossing it in her purse.

Dacia kept quiet and simply stared out the window, knowing her sister was upset from that phone call. ‘Sometimes Meredith pushes her too far.’ She thought sadly, wishing there was something she could do to soothe her big sister since she sounded like she was about to cry.

For once, Dahna just wished she could have a night of peace and quiet without her family jammed down her throat besides Dacia.

Chapter 2

“There’s something I want to talk to you about before we arrive at the mansion, Dace.” They had to get off the subject of Max because all it did was upset both of them and that wouldn’t help matters.

“What is it?”

“I know you and Caroline Forbes haven’t seen eye to eye lately, but you have to try to be on your best behavior tonight.” Dahna said, pulling into the driveway that lead to the mansion, slowing down so they could have this conversation before going inside. “I know you’ve been fighting with her because of your friendship with Elena and I’m telling you that Elena won’t choose her over you. So there’s no reason for you to rip each other’s throats out over something that trivial.”

Rolling her eyes, Dacia didn’t appreciate her sister turning into mother hen mode and snorted. “I’m sorry sis, but Caroline Forbes is a whiny bitch and that’s putting it as nicely as I can. I’m not going to kiss her ass, not tonight or any night. She thinks just because she’s a cheerleader and on every freaking committee in this town that it automatically makes her the boss of everyone. There’s only one person who can boss me around and that’s you. Everyone else can kiss my ass. Just worry about the stupid ball and let me deal with her. As long as I don’t talk to her and she doesn’t talk to me, we’ll both be just fine.” She stared out the window and watched as the trees passed by, Dahna finding a parking spot a moment later. “Besides, I do just fine on my own. You’ve gotta realize I’ll probably never be friends with Caroline, no matter if Elena is.”

Signing resignedly, Dahna shook her head and didn’t know what else to say. “Dace, you and Caroline used to be best friends, so I don’t understand what happened to drive a wedge between the two of you this deep. Don’t forget, you were once on the cheerleading squad as well. Now you have this attitude that I don’t even recognize and I’m telling you right now: Fighting over a boy like Tyler Lockwood isn’t worth your friendship.” Dahna wasn’t blind or stupid, she knew exactly why her sister and Caroline weren’t friends and it was because of the mayor’s son. “Tyler Lockwood is a dick and he’s got both of you fighting over him for whatever reason. Let me tell you something, Dace, he’s going to wind up a washed up nobody with a 9-to-5 job struggling for the rest of his natural born life. He’ll go to the best schools and get the best education, sure, but he’ll flush it all down the toilet because he thinks with the wrong head. You need to stay away from him, Dace. I mean it; I don’t condone you having anything to do with that boy.”

“I don’t even talk to Tyler, Dahna.” Dacia said somewhat defensively, wondering who would put that into her sister’s head that she wanted anything to do with the jockstrap football player of the Mystic Falls High team. “For some reason, Caroline got it into her bleach blonde brain that Tyler broke up with her because he wants me now. Not that Tyler would ever be stupid enough to ask someone like me out.” Dacia’s self-esteem had flown right out the window after their parents’ died too, though it was slowly building back up. “And yes, I admit at one point, I WAS on the cheerleading squad until they all turned into a bunch of superficial bitches. That’s why Elena quit the squad too because Caroline acts like it’s some kind of crime that I started working at the grill. Like it’s suddenly beneath her for someone the same age as her to have a job and make money instead of sponging off their…guardians.” To this day, Dacia still had a hard time mentioning the word parents because she no longer had any and neither did Dahna. “Whatever, I don’t expect you to understand because you’re not even around during school when I’m getting the stink eye from cheerleader Barbie. Telling me I didn’t have enough pep, I didn’t make the cut – I couldn’t have had any more pep if I lit a firecracker and shoved it up my ass.”

Dahna couldn’t help laughing at her little sister’s spunk and cut the ignition of the car, reaching over to take her hand. “High school isn’t easy for anyone, Dace. I know that, I’m not stupid. I had to go through high school as the BIGGEST misfit with just a handful of friends. I was an outsider. I wasn’t on the cheerleading squad and it wasn’t because I couldn’t be either. I could’ve done any of those pathetic sports and events, but I chose NOT too because it wasn’t for me. I wanted to focus on my art and writing, which is why I’m now going for my Associate’s degree in journalism. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you, Dace, and you’re slowly but surely finding your own way. Mom and Dad tried pushing you to do so many things because they didn’t want you ‘missing out’ like I did. How do you think I felt when Mom would always gush over your abilities while I was busy drawing or writing in my room? It hurt, I’ll admit it, and only the people who cared most about me stuck by my side through it all. I know Caroline can be a little eccentric and run her mouth, I’m not deaf, but you have to be the bigger person, Dace. Let her think whatever she wants, say hurtful things and brush it off. I’m not going to lecture you about it anymore, but it pains me to see you two at odds.”

Caroline and Elena had gotten Dacia through the 5 stages of grief from their parents’ death, which Dahna was extremely grateful for. Dahna was only being truthful with her little sister and hoped Dacia didn’t resent her for speaking her mind. Dacia was more than just her little sister and the girl she had guardianship over, they were best friends.

Ever since their family tragedy, Dahna vowed to be there for Dacia through anything and everything, completely devoting herself. Max couldn’t stand that Dahna always put Dacia before their relationship, but Dahna let him know beforehand what kind of baggage she carried. Now she wanted to fix this problem between Caroline and her sister, but honestly, if they didn’t want to be friends anymore, than who was she to try pushing the issue?

“I’m always on your side, remember that, Dace.”

Dacia appreciated Dahna opening up to her like this because it just made their relationship closer. “It’s not a matter of high school being tough or you even being on my side. Your lectures I’m getting used to. Caroline changed a lot over the past year between our sophomore and junior year and it’s almost summer before our senior year. She’s gotten worse. Bonnie and Elena are the same, they never change. I know I changed too and I’m supposed to. I just see things differently than I used to and maybe it’s because of Mom and Dad’s death. I don’t know, but all I DO know is I can’t stand Caroline Forbes anymore. She’s judgmental and two-faced because she says things she shouldn’t behind others backs.” They really had to get inside and Dacia decided it was time to end this conversation for now. “Let’s just drop it for now before we end up spending the night in the car instead of going inside. I just want to do the same thing at this stupid party that I do at all of them, which is ignoring everyone and be left alone until it’s time leave.” Stepping out of the vehicle, Dacia shut the door and headed down the path that lead to the mansion, leaving Dahna trailing behind her.

Dahna frowned, not meaning to upset her little sister and knew it was because she brought up Caroline. She knew Dacia hated these events and, honestly, she did too, but they had to support the town. Their parents left behind a legacy that had to be fulfilled and Dahna would not leave until Landon’s murderer was caught. That was the main reason for her being in the council because she wanted to find her father’s murderer and bring some kind of justice to her family.

However, being part of a Founding Family came with a huge burden and responsibility, one that Dahna would not pass down to Dacia even after she stepped down as a member. Delilah did not want Dacia having any knowledge of the council and Dahna would make sure that never happened, no matter what she had to do to hide the truth. Dahna did not want this life for her little sister; she wanted Dacia to spread her wings and fly as high and far away as she could from Mystic Falls after graduation.

“Hey Dahna!” Elena greeted enthusiastically, already spotting Dacia right as she walked inside the mansion. “How’s it going?”

“As well as can be expected, Lena.” That was Dahna’s special nickname for Elena and smiled warmly, gesturing to her little sister. “Dacia, on the other hand, could use a friend to talk to, if you know what I mean.”

Elena winked, fully understanding and could tell something was bothering Dacia. “Don’t worry; I’ll get her out of her funk in no time.” She promised, spotting her date over Dahna’s shoulder and waved him over. “Oh there he is. Stefan!”

“Good, I know I can always count on you and, may I add, how stunning you look tonight.” Dahna laughed when Elena flushed just as they were joined by a rather tall boy that was at least 6 feet tall and had snazzy black suit on.

“There you are, I was looking everywhere for you.” Stefan said, kissing the back of Elena’s hand and turned his soft green eyes on the woman she was talking with. “Hello, I’m Stefan Salvatore.” He extended his hand, flashing a smile when the woman immediately took it without hesitation and gave it a gentle yet firm shake. “Elena, would you care to dance?”

Elena looked conflicted because she knew Dacia was upset about something, especially since she headed straight outside like always. “I umm…” She glanced back at Dahna and smiled when she just ushered her toward the dance floor. “I’d love to.”

“Great! Excuse us.” Stefan said politely, guiding Elena away with his hand on the small of her back and began twirling her around on the dance floor.

Dahna sighed gently and decided a drink was definitely in order, heading toward the first waiter she spotted with glasses full of champagne. She took two and downed the first one to take the edge off her nerves. The second she simply held and took small sips, greeting people only if they acknowledged her first. It was a typical ball and Dahna felt so out of place, tempted to join her little sister outside since they were both outsiders.

“There you are!”

Just the sound of Meredith’s voice made Dahna slam back her second glass of champagne, knowing she would need a third before this night ended. “I’ve been here for a little while now.” She stated, turning around to face her Aunt and braced herself for the lecturing.

“You look radiant tonight, niece.” Luke intervened, kissing Dahna’s cheek softly and shot a warning look directly at Meredith, warning her to leave Dahna alone.

“Yes, you do look beautiful. Now what the hell is going on with Max?” Meredith immediately jumped into it and folded her arms in front of her chest, noticing her niece was trying like hell to hide how upset she was. “What happened?”

“Oh you know the usual: Boy meets girl. Girl falls for boy. Boy becomes an abusive dick. Girl zaps him with a taser gun she carries in her purse.” Dahna’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she grabbed a third glass of champagne from another waiter that passed by, trying not to slam it back like the others. “He’s gone; can we change the subject please?”

Luke howled with laughter at how smarmy his niece sounded with her explanation and leaned against the wall, shaking her head. “I guess that taser gun did come in handy, eh?” He laughed harder when she nodded and pulled Dahna into his arms, hugging her. “You are definitely my blood to do something like that, kiddo.”

Dahna growled, shoving him away and rolled her eyes. “Don’t call me that and, yes, it did come in handy. He grabbed my arm and squeezed to the point where my fingers temporarily went numb.” She gestured to her upper arm and, sure enough, there was a deep bruise forming in the shape of fingers. “I told him it was over and to get off my property. He came toward me thinking he was going to strike me down and, instead, I struck HIM down.”

Frowning, Meredith examined the bruises more carefully and ran her fingertip across them to feel how bad it pulsated. “You need to put ice on this as soon as you get home. It’ll help with the swelling and I would pop two Ibuprofen too.” Meredith was a doctor at the local hospital, so she knew what she was talking about. “Does it hurt?”

“Meh, a little, but nothing I can’t handle, Mer.” Dahna assured her Aunt, who was sometimes overprotective of the girls and for good reason. “I’ll take the pills and ice it, now back off.”

“Is that all he did to you?” Meredith inquired, refusing to let the subject go and watched Dahna’s eyes advert to the floor instantly. “Damn him. I’ll kill him.”

Dahna immediately grabbed Meredith’s arm, stopping her from stalking away. “No you’re not. Listen to me, whatever he did is in the past and you can’t change it. I got out before he started hitting me.” Max’s form of abuse was sexually and Dahna shuddered at the memory of their final encounter together, immediately pushing it in the back of her mind. “Please promise me you won’t do something stupid and go after him. He could technically press charges against me for tasing him in the balls and I really don’t feel like ending up jail. Not to mention, Dacia is almost 18, so I just have a few months left as her guardian. Just leave me be, Auntie. Please.”

Meredith groaned, knowing Dahna had a point when it came to the guardianship because Dacia could still be taken out of the home for something like this. “Damn it, fine!” She growled, not happy with these sudden turn of events and huffed indignantly. “But if he touches you again…”

“He won’t. Now shut up because Sheriff Forbes is on her way over.” Dahna hissed, immediately plastering on a smile and took a deep breath before turning to face Caroline’s mother.

Chapter 3

“Dahna, you look beautiful this evening.” Elizabeth Forbes complimented, walking up in a simple grey dress, hardly any makeup on. “Do you mind if we talk alone for a minute?”

Both Meredith and Luke glanced at each other knowingly before looking back at the sheriff. “Sure, come on Luke, let’s go thank the mayor for a wonderful party.” Yanking him by the hand, they quickly disappeared into the crowd and gave their niece some privacy.

“What can I do for you, Sheriff Forbes?” Dahna asked cordially, swirling the light golden liquid around in her wine glass and tried to keep the smile on her face.

Elizabeth sighed, not close with the newer generation of Fell’s, but she had been close friends with Delilah and Landon. She dated Landon briefly in high school, but they decided their friendship was more important and they were better off as just friends. They were right because Elizabeth never saw two people more in love than Landon and Delilah, even though she was an outsider.

“I’m sure you’re aware of Caroline and Dacia’s recent feud and I just wanted to clear the air, so to speak, so there’s no hard feelings.” Elizabeth hated that she had to do this, but Caroline clearly wanted nothing to do with Dacia. “Do you have any idea why they’re no longer speaking?”

Dahna understood why Elizabeth wanted to talk and had a feeling she would be heavily intoxicated by the time this night ended. “Dacia told me it’s because of Tyler Lockwood. Apparently, he broke up with your daughter to be with my little sister. Dacia doesn’t think so, but I wouldn’t put it past that jockstrap to sow seeds of tension between them.” Snorting, Dahna set her empty champagne glass on the nearby table and popped an hors d’oeuvre in her mouth.

“I wouldn’t doubt it, I just wish there was something we could do for them. They were such good friends up until a few months ago when that Lockwood boy started dating my daughter.” Elizabeth sighed wearily, scrubbing a hand down her face and wished she could go home because she hated these events almost as much as Dahna. “Any ideas?”

“Not that I can think of at the moment, I’m afraid.” Dahna replied serenely, taking a shrimp next and suddenly felt hungry. “I have to say this and forgive me ahead of time if it’s ‘out of line’ since you’re the sheriff and all. It’s nice to see you in something besides your uniform, ma’am.”

Elizabeth smiled brightly, shrugging modestly. “Thanks, I figured it would be nice to actually dress up for a change to show people I’m a woman underneath my uniform. Caroline gets so embarrassed when I don’t come dressed up like everyone else.” She laughed softly, nodding when a waiter walked by with glasses of champagne and took one, affably including Dahna.

“Ah what the hell, not like I have somewhere to be tomorrow.” It was Sunday, which meant she got a day off of work and school – mostly. She still had homework to worry about, but Dahna didn’t want to think about that right now and started making a small appetizer plate.

“I normally don’t drink, but tonight definitely calls for it.” Elizabeth agreed, not looking forward to the council meeting they would attend after the party ended. “So how is Dacia holding up with everything? I know it’s been 3 years, but I do worry about you girls.”

“We’re okay for the most part and Dacia is getting better as the days go on. Some days are worse than others, but she’s strong and will get through it.” Dahna truly believed that, flashing a small smile and wondered where her little sister had gone, hoping she was alright.

“Well, hopefully they can work out their differences because no man is worth losing a friendship over.” Elizabeth said, adding her two cents and looked up when she noticed someone gesturing her over to talk with them. “Excuse me Dahna, I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Take your time.” Dahna murmured as she watched the sheriff walk away and turned back to her plate of hors d’oeuvres, hoping this party ended soon they could get on with the meeting.

“Well, well if it’s not my partner in crime.”

Turning around, Dahna’s night went from bad to good at the sight of her best friend, Jenna Sommers. “I was wondering if you were gonna show up since Elena’s here.” She replied, popping a shrimp in her mouth and embraced Jenna momentarily.

“Hey you know me, Aunt of the Year and all.” Jenna winked, tossing hors d’oeuvres of her own on a plate. “So how’ve you been?”

“Alright, I guess. Just trying to deal with a situation between Dacia and Caroline Forbes.” Dahna sighed in frustration, trying to nurse her 4^th glass of champagne since she felt a buzz coming on. “I have no idea what to do about it.”

“Well if it’s any consolation, you look stunning tonight.” Jenna complimented, nudging her friend and popped a broccoli in her mouth after dipping it in ranch sauce. “Then again, I’m sure you’ve heard that repeatedly tonight. So what’s going on with the girls?”

Taking a deep breath, Dahna told Jenna everything Dacia said, not leaving one detail out because she legitimately needed help with this. “And I’m thinking Tyler Lockwood did it on purpose to break their friendship up.” She finished, suddenly slamming her 4^th glass back and knew she’d be heading for the open bar soon for something stronger.

“Damn…” Jenna whistled lowly, frowning. “So, is she okay?”

“Dace would probably kill me if she heard me say this, but those girls are like two peas in a pod.” Dahna kept her voice low, a smirk curving her lips. “They remind me of how I used to be with this guy Sid I used to date in high school. That boy didn’t know his head from his ass crack.” She snorted, elbowing Jenna in the gut when she began laughing. “Don’t even start, I swear, I’m so glad he moved out of Mystic Falls because just being around him made me lose IQ points.” They both laughed harder and started walking away from the hors d’oeuvres before they ended up eating all of them.

Jenna snorted, sipping her champagne slowly. “Yes well, let me know when the ass crack comes back and tells you that, even though he does love you, he’s found someone else who ‘completes’ him. Then come talk to me about ass cracks.” Jenna mentioning Logan Fell, her ex-boyfriend and ex-love of her life left a bad taste in her mouth as she slammed back the rest of her champagne in one gulp. “Oh no, I’m not drinking alone tonight.” She grunted, tipping Dahna’s glass up when she tried taking a sip of it and forced her friend to drink as fast as she was. “Bottoms up, our girls can drive us home tonight.”

“Please! Dace doesn’t want to be in the same car with me right now. I really pissed her off and I feel bad about it. I’m just…I don’t want them making the same mistake we nearly did, you know?” Dahna leaned against the wall, taking another glass of champagne that Jenna procured and didn’t care if she ended up blitzed at this point. “She’s changed so much this year, Jen. I don’t even recognize her anymore. All of her carefree spirit and happiness has vanished.”

“D, did you ever consider the possibility that, because your father’s birthday is coming up, she might be upset about it?”

Dahna shut her eyes and drained her glass, grabbing another one instantly and decided a change of subject was definitely in order. “I wish they would hurry up with this meeting already so I can go home and soak in a hot bubble bath and escape reality for a few hours.”

Jenna snorted into her third glass of champagne, shaking her head. “Nice subtle subject change, bud.” She checked her watch, seeing it was a quarter to 9 and felt her eyes widen. “Damn, I really hate leaving you here to wallow in self-misery, but I have a date tonight. Call me tomorrow?”

Dahna smiled, not taking that remark to heart and nodded. “Definitely, go have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

“That would be nothing then, which isn’t happening. This girl needs some MUCH needed attention. See you later, D!” Hurrying away, Dahna was left there alone once again, wondering where Meredith and Luke had gone, heading down the hallway to find them.

~!~

Knowing Elena was on a date with her new boyfriend, Stefan Salvatore, Dacia decided to handle this function like all the others. They loved coming to these events and he looked as though he’d twirl her around the dance floor all night long if allowed. Caroline would annoy her new boyfriend, Matt Donovan, until he agreed to dance with her.

So she found a different bench to game on since a couple was playing a course of tonsil hockey on her usual one. Walking further down the huge property, Dacia finally found another bench that was smaller and near the pond way out in the back. It practically called to her to come sit down and Dacia couldn’t ignore the need of solitude as she lowered herself on the bench, immediately pulling her fully charged cell phone out.

Crossing one leg over the other at the knee, Dacia kicked her heels off and squished her toes in the cool grass, loving the feel of it. She smiled softly and started up her usual cell phone game, leaning back against the bench comfortably. It was called Burnout 3 and the object of the game was to crash a car into every vehicle around hers. The more damage she did, the more points she acquired and Dacia’s score was very high.

This party absolutely sucked! Tyler hated them to the point that it forced him to drink, which is why he currently had a silver flask in his hand full of Vodka. He took a long swig of it and stopped short at the sight of none other than Dacia Fell sitting on a nearby bench in his backyard, playing with her phone…again. He had no idea what she did on that thing, but every time he saw her, she was on it. What the hell could have her so intrigued and enthralled? He decided to be brave, thanks to the Vodka consumption, and headed over to her to find out.

“So, I think you have an addiction to your phone.” He commented, watching her slowly look up until those beautiful milk chocolate brown eyes met a dark abyss.

Rolling her eyes heavenward, Dacia knew her solitude had just been smashed to smithereens, thanks to Tyler Lockwood’s appearance. “It’s not an addiction, it’s called a cure for boredom.”

No matter how hard she tried, Dacia couldn’t help noticing how dashing and handsome Tyler looked in a suit. Though she preferred him in jeans and t-shirts because they looked practically painted on. Why was he suddenly talking to her? She wasn’t anything special.

Hell, even when she was on the cheerleading squad, he never gave her a second glance or said one word to her. Instead, he dated cheerleader Barbie and used her for sex. Caroline Forbes was a slut in every sense of the word and, since Tyler had dumped her, she had tried sinking her hooks into Matt Donovan. She failed miserably at it too, which made Dacia laugh because Matt spoke his mind and didn’t do everything Caroline wanted.

“What do you want Tyler?” Dacia demanded, irritated that he interrupted her game. “Shouldn’t you be at the party?” No doubt he was trying to get into someone’s pants and Dacia would let hell freeze over before it was hers.

“This is my house.” Tyler scoffed, plopping down right beside her on the bench and leaned over, watching as the small cars smashed against each other on the screen. “I hate these parties, they won’t miss me.” Dacia looked saddened, even though she tried hiding it, and Tyler suddenly wanted to wash it away. She wouldn’t give him the time of day though, especially after her fallout with Caroline. “You know it’s not your fault right?”

Chewing her bottom lip, Dacia didn’t know how to respond to that and knew what he referred to. Why did Tyler have to sit so close to her? Why did he have to smell so good? Why did she suddenly feel like a big puddle of goo melting into the bench? When he leaned over and watched her play the game, Dacia tried like hell not to breathe his scent in because it was pure intoxication. His cologne made her crazy and weak in the knees.

“What’s not my fault?” She retorted, snapping her eyes up to once again meet the dark abyss and immediately regretted it.

Smiling easily, Tyler leaned back against the beach leisurely and took another swig from his flask. “Your fallout with Caroline.” He watched her perfect lips purse tightly together while still chewing her bottom one and Tyler suddenly had the hunger to suck on it. Her warm milk chocolate eyes spread a warmth through his body that would eventually start a fire of massive proportions. “She thinks I broke up with her because of you and I didn’t. She was way too clingy, too whiny and, to be frank, couldn’t get it done in the bedroom. She couldn’t get my rocks off.” He was very blunt when tipsy, a sensual smirk curving his lips. “And she has a sandpaper vagina. I felt my dick chafe every time we had sex, it wasn’t the best feeling in the world.”

Dacia made a face and shoved Tyler in the shoulder as hard as she could, scoffing. “Gross Tyler! I don’t need to know about your sex life, or lack thereof, with my ex-best friend. It doesn’t matter what happened, what’s done is done.” Sighing, Dacia went back to playing her game, taking it off pause. “Besides, you have no one to blame for that except yourself. You’re the one who chose to ask her out. That’s what you get for thinking with your dick by assuming some hot cheerleader Barbie doll is always the answer to your pleasure.”

“Then what IS the answer to my pleasure, Dacia? Please enlighten me since you seem to know every damn thing else about me.” He snapped, no malice lacing his tone, only exhaustion.

Tyler didn’t want to fight with her, not tonight of all nights. It was nice sitting out here talking with Dacia without prying eyes and ears. It was something NORMAL, which his life was anything but lately.

“Stop playing that damn game and talk to me.”

Sighing resignedly, Dacia reluctantly obeyed his command and turned her game off, turning to fully face him. “I don’t have the foggiest idea what the answer to your pleasure is. I can’t even begin to get inside your head because I don’t know you, Tyler. All the years I’ve lived and grew up here with Elena, Caroline, Matt and Bonnie, this is the first time you’ve ever said more than 5 words to me.” She shook her head, wondering why she was having this conversation with Tyler Lockwood of all people. “Pleasure doesn’t come from your penis, it come from your heart. You find someone you can see yourself sharing all your deepest darkest secrets with. Someone who would accept anything that comes from your mouth and know you’d never lie to them and then you do something completely out of the ordinary…you let yourself fall in love. Love, true love will lead you to all the pleasure your body can handle, possibly more. Try that for once, I dare you.” Turning her eyes back to her phone, Dacia promptly turned it back on and started gaming again.

Chapter 4

Dacia was out of her mind if she thought for a second Tyler would ever ‘fall in love’. His parent’s marriage had taught him a few things. One: his mother was a gold digger. Two: His father was a womanizer, much like him, only Tyler didn’t force himself on women like his father did. So for Dacia to spew about how she wanted to fall in love completely turned him off and Tyler suddenly wished he hadn’t struck up a conversation with her.

“You dare me to find love. Let me ask you this: What if love doesn’t exist in the world?” He shot back, watching her head snap up and those beautiful milk chocolate brown eyes hardened instantly. “Seriously, what makes you think love exists in the world? Because let me tell you something, it doesn’t. There’s sex, having fun, hanging out, being friends, but there’s NO such thing as what you just said. I know that firsthand. You’re living in a fairytale world if you think for a second true love exists, Dacia.”

“My parents were truly in love. Hell, my mother died of a broken heart because of my father’s death. She couldn’t live without him, literally. True love does exist, but you won’t know it until it slaps you in the face.” Dacia argued and took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears from stinging the back of her eyes. “Like I said, you’ve never said more than 5 words to me, but even I know what true love feels like. Otherwise I’d still be a virgin. I know you don’t remember Mike Epps. He was the quarterback before Matt Donovan, a senior, when they were sophomores. He was my first true love. Then he went away to college and we grew apart. I still miss him every day. You’ll never know true love if you don’t open your heart and stop being a dick.”

Mike Epps? Was this girl seriously that deluded? “You really have no idea about him, do you? You think he actually loved you.” He began laughing outright, not caring how she felt about it and stood up, shaking his head. “Let me fill you in on some information you apparently missed, Dacia. Mike Epps was never in love with you. He screwed every cheerleader, including Caroline, behind your back. I beat the hell out of him one night because I caught him with Caroline and jacked him in his jaw. That’s why we’re not friends anymore. He knew if he stuck around here, I would’ve shredded him eventually. Your so-called ‘true love’ was a cheating dick, Dacia. So before you start preaching to me about true love and how it exists, make sure you got your facts straight.”

Looking down at her phone, Dacia saw a text from her sister telling her she was going to the grill with Jenna for a few drinks and wanted to make sure she had a ride home. Dacia already knew Elena would give her a lift and texted her sister back, letting her know she had her house keys so Dahna didn’t worry about her. She also added to have a good time, which is something her big sister desperately needed.

When Tyler mentioned Mike’s infidelity, Dacia’s head snapped up and she couldn’t believe the words flying out of his rotten mouth. She never knew about Mike sleeping around. She couldn’t believe Tyler just blurted something like that and was laughing about it! Frowning, the tears that she tried keeping at bay when talking about her parents suddenly slid down her face one by one and Dacia immediately stood up from the bench, needing to get away from him. Tyler’s cynical attitude and conceited tone was too much for her to handle at the moment and Dacia refused to listen to another word he said.

“Well now that you’ve so graciously given me the facts, a year LATER, I’ll be leaving now. Thanks by the way, even though I could’ve used this knowledge a while ago.” Turning, Dacia began stalking back toward the mansion and tried stopping her tears, but it wasn’t happening.

“Dacia, wait!!” Tyler shouted and groaned, jogging after her.

When she felt Tyler coming after her, Dacia suddenly felt an overwhelming anger flood her body as she whipped around and flung her cell phone as hard as she could, nailing him in the chest. “You and Caroline deserve each other. You’re both assholes.” Screw the cell phone, Dacia had a job and she could buy a new one and ran off as fast as she could with her heels, needing to find Elena.

She really wanted to go home now.

Tyler wasn’t letting her go that easily though and caught her with ease, wrapping his hand around her upper arm. “Just stop for a second! I’m sorry okay? You just really pissed me off with that comment about true love. I didn’t mean to be a dick to you.”

He felt like an ass for crassly blurting out the truth about Mike, which everyone in school had known about. When she began struggling against him demanding to be released, Tyler did the only thing he could think of. Yanking her full force into his rock hard frame, dark eyes burned into her cold milk chocolate orbs and his lips suddenly crashed against hers, their chests colliding. The kiss quickly turned passionate as Tyler’s hand slid up Dacia’s back to bury in her beautiful ebony tresses, every part of his body exploding into a raging forest fire. This was something he wanted to do for a while now and alcohol had given him the courage to finally take the plunge.

To say that Dacia was shocked and astounded would’ve been the understatement of the century. Did Tyler Lockwood just apologize for being a dick? He never apologize for anything, ever! What perplexed Dacia further was the kiss she currently experienced with him. What the hell? First he acted like a first class dick and now he was trying to cop a feel? Dacia wasn’t sure if she should be pissed and slug him in the nose or just leave so she could cry some more at home. Pulling away hastily, Dacia shoved his chest as hard as she could, her eyes still pure ice as she stumbled back with more tears flowing down her cheeks.

“I would be enjoying this so much more if you hadn’t basically implied I was stupid for believing in true love and your breath didn’t reek of alcohol.” She stated evenly, shaking slightly from the intensity of that kiss. “Go sleep it off so you can wake up in the morning and have no memory of tonight. You and I both know if you remember this, you’ll surely regret it.”

“FYI, it takes A LOT more than this flask of Vodka to get me drunk. Tipsy maybe, but I’ll remember everything I do tonight, including that kiss. What are you so afraid of, Dacia? That you’ll actually ENJOY kissing me when you know you shouldn’t?” Tyler pulled her right back into his arms, the smell of gardenias surrounding him and made his head swirl in a passion haze once again. “I can tell you enjoyed that, you know why? Because even as you stand there stopping me from kissing you, your swollen lips and flushed cheeks tell me something different. They tell me everything I need to know, everything you won’t tell me. So what’s stopping you? It’s not Caroline and you can toss Mike’s name at me all you want, but I know that’s not the reason either. You’re not leaving here until you give me ONE reason why we shouldn’t be doing this.”

Dacia swallowed hard, the intensity in his dark eyes overpowering her. “I never said I didn’t enjoy the kiss. I just said I would enjoy it more if you hadn’t been such a dick. That’s not how you win people over, Tyler.” He’d had the same intense dark eyes since they were in grade school together, which is how long her secret crush on him had lasted. Even then, he never spoke to her. “We are two completely different people. You want to get your rocks off and I want someone who isn’t going to treat me like a piece of meat.” She looked away from him, knowing that’s exactly what Mike had done to her during their entire relationship and that just drove the dagger further into her back. “You honestly want one good reason?” When Tyler nodded curtly, Dacia decided to give him one. “Because you never said more than 5 words to me until tonight and, even then, it was to let me know the man I was in love with over a year ago was a man whore. And also because I could stand here and tell you I’ve had a crush on you since we were in grade school, but all you’ve ever done is ignore me. What’s so special about me all of a sudden?”

“If you only knew, Dacia…” Tyler murmured huskily, running a finger down her cheek as his dark eyes once again penetrated her down to the depths of her soul, becoming lost in those emerald pools.

“Dace, there you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” Elena Gilbert’s voice said from behind, interrupting the heated moment between them and made Dacia jump away from Tyler instantly. She walked toward them and frowned at the sight of Tyler Lockwood standing only an inch, if that, away from her friend. “I’m sorry, did I…interrupt something?”

Of course she did, but Tyler wasn’t about to say that aloud and stepped away from Dacia reluctantly, opening his flask. “Not at all. We’ll talk later, Dacia.” He promised, refusing to call her anything else since he found the nickname ‘Dace’ tedious, preferring her full name. “Have a good night.”

“What was THAT about?” Elena demanded as soon as Tyler was out of earshot, frowning.

What the hell was going on in Mystic Falls tonight? Dacia chewed her bottom lip and walked toward the front of the mansion with Elena. “Would you believe me if I said I have no clue?” Tyler’s words kept replaying in her mind as she tried clearing the haze from her mind. For some reason, ever since Tyler kissed her, her head was in this passion haze that was slowly dispersing. She decided to come clean to Elena and told her everything that happened on their walk toward her friend’s vehicle, sounding more confused than ever.

“Wait a damn minute, do you mean Caroline screwed Mike while you guys were still together?!”

“According to Tyler, yes they did.” Dacia didn’t know what to believe anymore and shrugged. “I don’t know what to think or feel about it. I just want to go home. I guess Tyler and I can talk whenever.”

Elena nodded, both of them slipping into the car and pulled out of there, heading toward Dacia’s house. “What a jerk! I KNEW something wasn’t right about Mike. I can’t believe Caroline had sex with him KNOWING you two were dating and you loved him!!” Caroline Forbes was officially off Elena’s friend list. “You know what, we don’t need her, Dace. I quit the squad too because she was too snide and made rude comments about how I couldn’t keep up after my parents died. I almost punched her when she mentioned my Mom…” Elena took a deep breath to calm down, not wanting to get worked up. “Do you want me to stay with you tonight until Dahna gets home? We can veg out and watch some movies because Stefan is busy.”

As fun as that sounded, Dacia wasn’t in the mood for company and wanted to be alone tonight. “No thanks, I just want to go home. I’m tired and my head hurts from all the confusion tonight. Tyler turned my brain to mush when he kissed me. I need some recovery time and a shower. Not to mention, I’m going to have to go back to the Lockwood’s tomorrow. I got pissed and threw my cell phone at Tyler when I called him an asshole. I was going to buy a new one, but I really like that damn phone.”

“Don’t blame you there. You paid quite a bit for that phone too.” Elena pointed out, arriving at Dacia’s and pulled on the curb. “Everything will work out, just go get some rest and clear your head. Don’t worry about Tyler until tomorrow and call me when you get up. I’ll go over there with you, if you want.”

“I’ll let you know if I decide to go over there or not.” The two girls hugged briefly before Dacia stepped out, turning to look at Elena. “And for the record, Caroline has always been the heartless one of the group. She can rot in hell for all I care. Message me on my laptop and let me know you got home okay.” Elena agreed and drove off while Dacia headed inside for that much needed shower.

Once inside and up in her room, Dacia unzipped her dress, making sure to hang it up in the garment bag so it didn’t get ruined. She stuffed it in her closet and finished undressing while walking into the bathroom, starting her bath. Screw the shower, Dacia needed some relaxation and a bath was just the ticket, just like her older sister normally did. Slipping into the hot water, Dacia sighed as it enveloped her completely, turning all of her muscles and bones to complete mush.

After her body pruned from being in the bath so long, Dacia finished up and stepped out, wrapping a towel around her body. She brushed her hair and teeth before walking into her bedroom, pulling out a tank top and some cotton shorts. Slipping into bed, all Dacia could think about was Tyler Lockwood and knew sleep would evade her tonight because of that steamy kiss they shared.

~!~

Currently, Tyler had Dacia’s phone and figured out how to unlock it with little trouble. It wasn’t that hard considering she didn’t have a lock on her phone, just a simple swipe across the touchscreen. All he had to do was slide his finger across the screen and, viola, he had access to all her contacts and everything. He searched through it for a little while and finally found that stupid game she’d been playing. Deciding to see what all the hype was about, he pressed the button to get it started and took another swing of his flask. Within an hour, Tyler was completely hooked and laughing, immediately downloading it to his own phone.

After hours of playing the car wrecking game, Tyler had actually fallen asleep with Dacia’s phone on his chest, the game still going. His dreams were of her lips against his, his hands on her body with gardenias surrounding them as he made passionate love to her. Her soft supple skin against his mouth and hands, whispering to her exactly how he felt.

The truth was Tyler had been after Dacia for a long time, but Mike Epps had sunk his claws into her before he could make a move. Mike knew how Tyler felt about her and flaunted their relationship in his face. That was the only reason why Tyler decided to date Caroline, just so he could be closer to Dacia. As he dreamt of her, Tyler decided even in his subconscious that he would make Dacia his at any cost now that Mike Epps was officially out of the picture.

Chapter 5

“Dahna!” She turned in time to see the sheriff walking hastily toward her, noticing instantly she wasn’t alone. “There you are, the meeting is about to begin. Meredith and Luke are already upstairs.”

“Oh okay, that’s who I was looking for.” Dahna had wondered why she couldn’t find them, having looked all over the mansion and was heading outside when Elizabeth stopped her. “Lead the way then, sheriff.”

They both headed in the direction of the huge winding staircase and Dahna glanced over her shoulder, hoping Elena had talked to Dacia. She was worried for her little sister over this Caroline situation, especially when Dacia had already lost so much at a tender age. If she had to, Dahna would make sure that she had a discussion with Tyler Lockwood, and even Tyler’s mother and the mayor’s wife Carol, if it helped remedy the situation.

“Liz, a pleasure to see you as always.” A deep baritone voice complimented, breaking Dahna out of her thoughts.

Elizabeth looked up and smiled at one of her good friends, nodding. “Damon, when did you get back into town? I thought you’d be gone for at least another week.” She said, stepping into the room.

“I was going to, but decided to come back for the meeting.” Damon replied easily, stepping closer to both of them and finally locked his intense eyes on the caramel haired woman beside Elizabeth.

She was exquisite from the top of her curled hair to the tips of her freshly pedicured toes. Her black dress accentuated her curves and showed him she indeed had an incredible body beneath the material. It’d been a while since he went on the hunt for new prey and Damon could never recall spotting this delectable morsel at any of their council meetings before. Then again, Damon rarely came to them because he was usually busy with something more important or out of town. Damon was sure he lost his breath when she finally looked at him, feeling his eyes boring into her, with stunning emerald green eyes and gave her another once over before opening his mouth to speak.

“Hello, I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced.” He stepped forward and extended his hand, his eyes never leaving those emerald gems. “I’m Damon Salvatore and you are?”

“Hi.”

Salvatore…So Damon was part of the infamous Salvatore Founding Family. Zachary Salvatore had originally been the member for the Salvatore Family, but something happened to make him leave town. Nobody knew what either, he just took off one day and hadn’t returned since. As long as they kept acquiring vervain from the Salvatore’s, everything would be fine since that was their only source of it in town.

Damon must’ve been Zachary’s replacement in the council, much like her with Landon, which Elizabeth had mentioned a time or two during meetings, explaining his absence. Dahna didn’t mean to be rude, but ever since Jenna mentioned her father’s upcoming birthday, she just wasn’t in the mood to converse with anyone. Walking away from them so Elizabeth could talk to Damon privately, Dahna sat down in a nearby chair and crossed her ankles together.

Honestly, Dahna didn’t want to be part of the council because she didn’t believe in any of it. They actually believed vampires existed – what kind of brainwashing had been done to these poor people? There was no such things as vampires, they were merely myths and legends. Dahna didn’t care how much ‘proof’ the council had that was left behind by their ancestors, that didn’t mean the ‘beasts’ were vampires.

Of course, Dahna kept these thoughts to herself and just stayed quiet, regretting ever agreeing to taking over her father’s position. The will and determination to find her father’s murderer was all the motivation Dahna needed to join though. However, Mayor Lockwood was a problem because, ever since Dahna joined the council, he couldn’t keep his predatory eyes off of her. Carol really had to get a hold on her husband before Dahna did it for her and refused to meet his eyes, waiting for the meeting to start.

While Elizabeth ran her mouth about the latest victim in town, Damon’s eyes never left the caramel haired beauty and could tell she’d be quite the challenge. “Sounds good, Liz, keep me posted. Excuse me.”

Damon politely ended their conversation and headed over to where his prey sat alone, looking more vulnerable than ever. Everyone was meandering around the room, growing impatient since Mayor Lockwood hadn’t started yet. Closing his eyes briefly, Damon could smell her mouthwatering scent and inhaled silently, trying not to look like a pervert or stalker. Leaning down on the chair right beside the caramel haired beauty, Damon made sure his mouth was level with her ear before speaking, keeping his voice low.

“So, if you could sneak away tonight and ditch this boring meeting, where would you go?” He asked in the same low baritone, his question a legitimately conversation opener.

“At home in either a hot bath or my bed reading a book with a glass of wine.” She answered, deciding to humor him for the time being since there was nothing else to do. Dahna felt a shiver of dread trickle down her spine when Richard Lockwood suddenly approached them and braced herself for his flirtatious compliments.

“Looking lovely as always, Dahna.”

The way he said her name made Dahna want to jump in a scalding hot shower and scrub every inch of her body. She refused to lash out at him though and merely flashed a serene smile. “Thank you, Richie. Your WIFE looks lovely too.” She smirked when the mayor scowled and stood up, feeling Damon standing behind her.

Richard snorted, sipping a glass of brandy. “Still playing hard to get, I see.” He eyeballed Damon, wondering if they were together and could feel his blood boiling. “Hmm…”

“No.” Dahna’s eyes iced over, not appreciating his tone of voice. “I just refuse to screw around with a married man.” Her voice remained barely above a whisper, not wanting others to overhear this exchange. “Do send my thanks for the invitation tonight, won’t you?” If they weren’t having an actual meeting, she was leaving and headed for the door.

Completely intrigued with this woman named Dahna, –that name alone lit him on fire- Damon followed her, feeling a strength radiating from her pores. There was definitely something about her that made him want to talk to her further, get to know her better. Of course, the thought of snapping the mayor’s neck did cross his mind for those ill-mannered remarks. Every time that fool started drinking brandy, he got cocky, stupid and flirted with anything in a 50 mile radius. When the caramel haired beauty stopped walking, he slipped up behind her silently and could feel how angry she was.

“You look like you’re about as thrilled with this meeting as I am.” His voice dripped with pure sarcasm and an idea suddenly popped into his head. “What do you say we ditch the meeting before anyone notices, go downstairs and enjoy a glass of wine?” He suggested, trying to figure out how to calm her down because her heartbeat was extremely fast, along with her pulse.

“How about not and say we did?” Dahna remarked, not giving him a second glance and walked out of the room fully, heading right back downstairs to join what was left of the party.

Dacia was probably bored out of her mind and wanted to go home. Honestly, what had her father gotten her into with this ridiculous Founder’s council? Fingering the ruby charm around her neck, Dahna went in search of her little sister and hoped Damon Salvatore found some other woman to charm because she simply wasn’t interested.

Pursing his lips tightly together, Damon let her walk away reluctantly and went straight to the bar, ordering a scotch. Dahna was definitely a hellcat and had an attitude on her that stretched for several miles. He would have to remember to try and get her number later on, completely fascinated by the way she carried herself.

This wasn’t over, just the very beginning.

“Dahna, hold up!” Jenna called out, somewhat jogging in her dress up to her friend and managed not to spill a single drop of her champagne. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to come off as being insensitive. I know it’s especially hard this time of year for both you and Dace. How about we go somewhere to sit down, talk and just relax? We haven’t gotten together like this in weeks and it’s nice not having to worry about getting up for work in the morning.”

“I just want to get out of here and go home, Jenna. I’m sorry, it’s not you. I know Dace doesn’t want to be here either.” When Jenna flashed her big puppy dog hazel eyes pleadingly, Dahna could feel herself crumbling already. “Fine, but we’re going to the grill. I don’t wanna be at this party anymore.” Her voice dropped lower, putting her mouth to Jenna’s ear. “Richie hit on me again.”

Jenna fully understood why Dahna really wanted to leave and scowled, narrowing her eyes. “Do you want me to kick his ass?”

Dahna laughed softly. “Kicking the mayor’s ass for what? Making a pass at your best friend? Don’t think that would be a wise idea considering all the power he has, Jenny.”

Jenna growled, heading toward the front door with Dahna. “Don’t call me that. You know I hate it.” She looked up when Damon Salvatore approached both of them, along with Elizabeth, and Dahna started to wonder if maybe they had a fling going on. “Hey Damon, leaving the party early too?”

“We can’t leave until I let Dace know what’s going on and I know she has a ride home.”

Damon nodded, wrapping an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders. “Yeah, this party is a total bust, so we’re heading over to the grill for a few drinks. Aren’t these usually more fun? I come home from vacation a week early just to attend, only to be disappointed. Should’ve stayed gone longer.” He snorted, those intense eyes once again landing on the caramel haired beauty. “Where are you two lovely ladies off to? Perusing the streets of Mystic Falls looking for some real fun? Or just looking to have some drinks to forget about this colossal disappointing small town we all seem to be stuck in?”

Elizabeth didn’t look thrilled at all to be tagging along with Damon, but she did have a few things to discuss with him regarding the council. “You can join us if you want.” She offered, having a feeling that’s where Damon was headed with this conversation.

“A little of both.” Jenna admitted, glancing at Dahna, who hadn’t put her two cents in yet like usual. That was very interesting. “And I think that sounds like a wonderful idea, doesn’t it D?”

Dahna’s head snapped up from staring at her phone, having texted Dacia to let her know what was going on and stared a hole through Jenna. What the hell was she trying to do? “I thought you said it would be just the two of us catching up?” She said through clenched teeth, a tight smile on her face.

“Damon isn’t all that bad and, besides, he’ll buy us a couple rounds.” Jenna winked at him, watching him nod and beamed brightly. “Then that settles it, I’m not passing up free drinks, woman.”

“Damon is a dear friend of mine, Dahna. He’ll just stick around for a couple of drinks so we can discuss a few things while he’s been gone.” Elizabeth assured her softly, looking up at her friend and could clearly tell he liked Dahna Fell.

“Come on, Dahna, please?” Jenna flashed those pleading eyes at her again.

“Fine, fine whatever, I’ll meet you in the car.” Dahna conceded finally, feeling a headache coming on. “Apparently, Dace is getting a ride home with Elena.” She didn’t say a single word to Damon and headed out the front door, nodding to a few of the council members that still lingered on her way out.

Damon smirked, not the least bit put off by Dahna’s attitude. “You don’t have to join us if you two really want to be alone that badly.”

Jenna shook her head, the smile not leaving her face. “No, by all means, she needs to get to know you anyway. Her position on the council was handed to her when her father died. You’re a member, so you can help explain things a lot better than I can, since I’m not part of it.” Thankfully, Jenna added mentally. “Besides, once I get a few drinks in me, I’ll be a complete lush, watch.”

Damon didn’t respond and simply followed them out to the parking area.

“What the hell are you trying to do, Jenna?” Dahna fired off as soon as they pulled away from the Lockwood mansion, gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned ghostly white.

“What do you mean?”

Dahna knew she was playing the coy innocent act and it wasn’t working, not by a long shot. “What are you trying to pull with Damon Salvatore? I am not ready to date anyone yet. I just broke up with Max tonight or did you forget that?” She reached up to touch her upper arm, the bruising deeper and clearer since she hadn’t iced it right away. “I don’t want another man in my life after what he did, Jenna. I’m better off with just me and Dacia. Once she goes off to college, far away from here, I’m thinking about selling the house and getting out of Mystic Falls and never looking back.” She took a deep shaky breath because mentioning Max was a very fresh wound that would take a while to heal. “And the fact that my father’s birthday is less than a week away, and we still haven’t found the monster that killed him, makes me want to leave this place more.”

In his own electric blue 1969 Chevy Camaro Convertible, Damon could tell the two women were having a heated conversation and could only imagine what was being said. He was right behind them and turned the radio off, using his enhanced hearing to eavesdrop. Somehow, something told him Dahna wasn’t exactly thrilled with the invitation Elizabeth offered.

That was fine though, Damon would have a few drinks and take off since Dahna wasn’t interested. Granted, he loved stepping on people’s toes, but somehow he knew if he went near the caramel haired beauty tonight, he would end up with a wooden stake through his heart. Of course, he could always try playing the friend card and that made him smirk, not sure that would even work.

It wasn’t that Dahna didn’t think horridly of Damon because, honestly, she’d never met the man until tonight. He’d been out of town and missed a lot of the meetings, but Elizabeth had always informed him of everything he missed. Dahna hadn’t heard a whole lot about him, only that he ran a business that required him to leave Mystic Falls for weeks at a time. What kind of relationship would that be anyway if she got involved with him?

She was better off alone, especially after the abuse Max inflicted on her recently.

Chapter 6

“Dahna, I know you’re probably going to hate me for saying this, but…Max was a huge mistake. It’s been a really long time for you since you had an actual man in your life.” Jenna said, speaking her mind and folded her arms in front of her chest. “Why not just use Damon as a way to get some of your frustrations out? Hell, why do you think I finally took Alaric up on his offer to take me out on a date? Of course, Elena and Jeremy don’t know about it yet, they just think I’ve been working late hours at the college…and I do.” She smirked, both girls laughing in spite of the conversation topic.

“You are terrible, Jenna Sommers.” Dahna stopped at a red light, giggling. “I’m glad you finally let Mr. Saltzman take you out because he does seem like a nice guy. Way nicer than Logan.” Even though Logan was her uncle, Dahna did not care for him at all and was glad when he left town. “At least you’re getting your kicks while you’re still young enough to get them.”

“Oh in more ways than one, hon. My ex has NOTHING on him. That man is hung like a horse.”

Unbeknownst to both women, they were being overheard and couldn’t see the ear-splitting grin on Damon’s face. “Please use me to take your frustrations out, beautiful. I’m begging you.” He murmured to the silence of his car and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel thoughtfully.

Hmmm maybe a nice little sexual swapping was just what he needed. Now if he could just get his dirty thoughts under control because he really didn’t need to be walking into the grill with an erection. Pulling up to the grill, Damon cut the ignition and quickly made it to the door before the women, opening it like a gentleman. His aquamarine eyes instantly went to Dahna, admiring the dress she wore because it hugged her curves in all the right places. After they walked past him inside, his eyes zeroed in on her perfect rear and Damon had to pretend he was texting someone on his phone in order to rip his gaze away before he got caught.

“So, what is everyone having?”

Secretively, Dahna had given Damon several once overs and had to admit he was gorgeous from the top of his messy black hair to his beautiful aquamarine eyes and down to the black shiny dress shoes he wore. She’d never seen eyes like his before, they were hypnotic and definitely dangerous. Dahna ordered a Vodka cranberry while Jenna opted for a margarita and Damon had a double scotch. Elizabeth stuck with beer since she technically was on duty 24 hours a day.

“So, how’s the business going, Damon?” Elizabeth decided to start the conversation, breaking the silence that loomed over them.

Dahna sipped her drink while they started talking, listening in when Elizabeth started filling him in about the animal attacks that hit Mystic Falls recently and she couldn’t help snorting. “Bastards.” She hissed, suddenly downing the rest of her Vodka cranberry and requested another.

“They killed her father, Landon Fell. You remember him, right?” Elizabeth smiled sadly when Damon nodded, lowering her eyes. “She wants every last one of them dead just like the rest of the council.”

“And burned.”

“That too.”

Damon admired her fiery attitude and spirit, nodding in agreement with them. “I can see why you’d want them dead and burned.” He had to stifle a chuckle.

Both women would probably keel over from heart attacks if they knew he was the very thing they wanted dead. A vampire. Landon Fell…Damon knew the man well because he was the vampire that attacked and killed him, draining him completely. That was something Damon would never divulge to Dahna Fell, not unless he felt the need to reveal the truth.

Damon had no conscience, no sympathy, so he didn’t see the reason to ever do that, the thought of actually being sympathetic to humans laughable. He was almost half tempted to let his fangs drop and scare them both to death, but pushed that temptation away. Maybe later if he got bored enough. For now, he would behave and swallowed his scotch in 3 large gulps before flagging down the bartender, requesting another and turned his gaze back to the caramel haired beauty.

“I’m very sorry to hear about your father, Dahna. If there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know.” Wow, Damon could win an academy award for his flawless performance, biting back another smirk and looked completely serious when he said those words.

“Thank you.” Being as Damon was a council member, of course he knew about Landon’s death and everything that happened. Then something occurred to Dahna and she suddenly gave him her full undivided attention. “You’re a vampire hunter, of sorts, right?” She asked, watching him nod with another heart stopping smile and Dahna was thankful she currently sat or else her weak knees would’ve buckled. “Since we’re all a part of the council, I have a request for you.”

Elizabeth knew exactly what Dahna was about to ask and encouraged her with a smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. “He’s already looking into it. I asked him to do it shortly after Landon’s death. He’s been on the case for almost 3 years and nothing has popped up yet. But we’re still looking and we’ll keep the case open until we find the monster. It’s out there somewhere and we will kill it before it harms another member of this society.”

“I appreciate it.” Dahna finished off her second Vodka cranberry and asked for a third, the sudden thirst for alcohol too strong to ignore.

“It’s no problem really. Liz has been a great friend since we moved back into town, so when she asked I couldn’t decline. I’ve got a few leads that I’ve been following, but sadly, they aren’t nearly enough to find the monster yet.” Oh that’s it, lay it on THICK, Damon thought, raising his glass up to the ladies. “But I’ve constantly got new leads coming in. I assure you, once we do get him, Liz will be the first person I call.”

“Damon is one of the very best, so I know as a personal favor to me, he’s been working extra hard on this case. Hopefully soon, it’s all we can really wish for at this point.” Elizabeth said, nursing her second beer and could only hope they weren’t on Landon’s case much longer.

After a third and final drink, Dahna finally decided it was time to head home. Alaric Saltzman had already come and whisked Jenna away, saying he needed help grading papers for his students. He was Mystic Falls High School history teacher and Dahna knew he’d be having a private session with Jenna in his own way. Shaking her head, Dahna walked over to the cashier to pay for her drinks, when Damon stopped her by tossing his credit card on the table. She immediately snatched it up before the cashier could grab it and turned to face him, handing it back.

“You don’t have to do that, Mr. Salvatore. I can pay for my own.” She assured him softly, sliding her own card across the counter and sighed when Damon slammed his hand down on the counter, their eyes locking.

There was no way Damon was letting her pay for her own drinks, so there was no point in fighting him. “Just let me do this and stop being stubborn.” He ordered, once again handing over his card to the cashier and grabbed her hand gently but firmly when she went to snatch it again. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

Dahna sighed resigned, too drained to fight him on this and reluctantly stepped back. “Thank you.” She murmured and headed for the exit, a loud yawn escaping her.

“Anytime.” Damon quickly paid for the drinks and used his enhanced speed to catch up with her, his eyes once again glued to her amazing assets. “This was fun, we should all get together and do it again. I know Liz is a workaholic and needs this release at least once a month.” He stood by her car and waited while she unlocked it before opening it, once again being a perfect gentleman. “You sure you’re alright to drive? I can always take you home and then bring you back in the morning to get your car.” One thing about Damon was, although he was completely reckless when it came to finding his meals, he didn’t condone someone driving if they were too blitzed.

“I’m fine. Trust me, if Jenna and Elizabeth thought for a second I couldn’t drive home, she would’ve taken my keys away from me.” Dahna said, hiking her dress up a little so she could slip behind the wheel of her vehicle and buckled up, staring back at him. “It was nice to finally match the name with the face I’ve heard so much about at the meetings. Have a pleasant evening, Mr. Salvatore.”

Closing the door, Dahna started the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot, heading down the road toward home. She knew Dacia had made it home safely because Elena had sent her a quick text letting her know her little sister left her phone at the Lockwood mansion. Once Dahna made it home, she quickly changed out of her dress and slid into bed, falling asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow. Instead of her usual nightmares about her father’s death –they always became frequent the closer his birthday and death date came-, her dreams were filled with Damon Salvatore and his incredible eyes.

~!~

Damon smirked as he walked through the Salvatore mansion, sipping his scotch while looking over some paperwork in the study. He had to have paperwork to show Elizabeth he was doing the investigation, a hoax in other words. The plan was simple, but Damon had to find the perfect sacrificial lamb before carrying it out so she would leave him alone about Landon Fell’s death. It wouldn’t be easy, but then again, nothing ever was.

“What’s got you in such a good mood, brother?”

Damon looked up at his baby brother, Stefan, leaning against the doorway of the study with his arms folded in front of his chest. “Oh nothing, just going over some documents I found in Zach’s name. I also found a whole other list of people he was selling vervain too.” He tossed it on the desk and propped his feet up, leaning back against the leather chair.

Stefan looked skeptical and walked over to glance at the paperwork, his eyes quickly running over them. Damon was rarely in a good mood and, when he was, he was usually up to something. They were few and far between, never starting this early in the morning. Something was going on and Stefan had to get to the bottom of it before someone else ended up hurt because of his brother.

“What do you mean Zach sold other people vervain?” Stefan scowled, not liking the sound of that. “Were they from Mystic Falls or in the surrounding areas?”

Pursing his lips tightly together, Damon’s eyes continued running down the documents in front of him, arching a thick black brow. “I don’t know. It doesn’t give a direct address, just a longitude and latitude ordinance. Maybe it was a meeting spot to trade money and product. Or maybe it’s the location of a town, I’m not sure. I’m gonna go see Liz and have her pull up the ordinances. Then I might run and check it out.” He watched as Stefan nodded, spouting something about having lunch with Elena before leaving the study.

~!~

“You look like you slept well, Dahna.” Kara commented, one of her co-workers, and handed over some papers that had to be filled out for a deadline. “Mr. Cross wants those done as soon as possible.”

“Will do and yes I did.”

Dahna couldn’t remember the last time she slept this peacefully in a while, blaming it on the alcohol. She wasn’t a big drinker, so 3 Vodka cranberries along with some champagne really did her in. Then again, she hadn’t had a nightmare either, another first since her father’s birthday was that Saturday.

“I’ll have these done before lunch.”

“Good and, between us, whatever has that big smile on your face, I hope it stays.” Kara walked away and left her with that thought, heading off to give people other things to do.

Shrugging it off, Dahna went back to work and always finished her deadlines before the others in the office. A few hours later, Dahna felt her cell phone vibrate against her purse and took a 5 minute break to listen to her voicemail. Thankfully it wasn’t Dacia, but instead Sheriff Forbes telling her to get down to the station immediately. She knew exactly what that meant and hopped up from her seat, packing her things up.

“Dahna, what’s going on?” Kara blinked when the woman blazed past her, heading straight for Mr. Cross’s office. “Ohhhkay then…”

“Come in.” Mr. Cross called out, typing something on his computer and looked up when one of his most trusted employees walked in. “Dahna, what can I do for you?”

“I have to leave early today, sir.” Dahna cut right to the chase, her heart pounding vigorously against her chest and heaved a sigh. “Please, I know this is a busy week for us, but it has to do with my father’s death.”

Mr. Cross slowly pulled his glasses from his eyes, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Hmm, I see.” He knew all about the Fell tragedy and his heart did go out to the girls that lost their parents, but it was 3 years ago and he had a business to run. “Is there any way you can make up your time tonight? I can give you the keys to come in and get your work done.”

Dahna wasn’t surprised by that request and nodded, a tight smile curving her lips. “Of course, I can do that no problem. Dacia is almost 18 and she’s very independent. Thank you for working with me on this, Mr. Cross.” She really did appreciate it, thankful he was letting her make up her hours and lost work.

“No problem.” Mr. Cross pulled a set of keys out of his drawer and handed them over. “Do you know which ones to use?”

“Yes.” This wasn’t the first time Dahna had to do this and it probably wouldn’t be the last. “I really have to go, but I’ll clock in and out like last time so you don’t overpay me.”

Mr. Cross waved her off dismissively. “Get going and let me know what’s going on.” He watched as she practically bolted out of his office and hoped they finally found Landon Fell’s murderer.

Chapter 7

Milk chocolate brown eyes looked up at the Lockwood mansion hesitantly as Dacia chewed her bottom lip, not sure if this was a good idea. She really didn’t want to lose her phone, but at the same time, she was still confused by what transpired between her and Tyler the previous night. What was a woman to do? Sighing, Dacia bit the bullet and knocked on the double doors, waiting anxiously for someone to answer.

Carol recognized the girl instantly and softly smiled, gesturing her inside. “Dacia, is there something I can help you with, sweetheart?” She asked cordially, wearing her usual pencil skirt and silk buttoned up blouse, her hair done to perfection.

Dacia nodded and took a deep breath, returning the smile somewhat tensely. “I think I dropped my cell phone out back last night and I didn’t want to wonder on the property without asking permission first. Is it okay if I run back and check?”

The young Fell child was always so polite, it warmed Carol’s heart to no end and she was sure her son had feelings for this beautiful young girl. “Absolutely, you should know you don’t have to ask.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood, it won’t take long.”

Dacia followed Carol to doors that lead to the back of the house, jogging down the steps and waved back at Carol. She smoothed her jeans over her legs and tugged on her form fitting blue t-shirt while heading toward the bench in front of the pond that she occupied the previous night. Looking around, Dacia frowned when she didn’t spot her cell phone anywhere, pinpointing the exact spot where she chucked it at Tyler. It was nowhere to be found.

“Damn…” Someone must’ve found it and took it instead of turning it in. She was definitely going to get a new phone today and decided it would be the exact same one if they had it.

It was Sunday, which meant no school and Tyler had gotten home early from football practice, his mood lifting at the first sound of Dacia’s voice coming from downstairs. “Was that Dacia Fell?” He asked as soon as his mother turned to face him from the back doors.

“Yes, why?”

Tyler waved the cell phone at his mother with a boyish grin, dark eyes gleaming. “I found it last night and kept it for her so nobody would take it.” He lied smoothly. “She out back?”

“Yes.” Carol smirked and watched her son practically hop, skip and jump right down the stairs, heading straight for the backyard where Dacia currently was. “Kids…”

It didn’t take long for Tyler to spot the ebony haired girl that invaded his thoughts and dreams ever since they shared that heated kiss. Tyler sauntered over to her purposely and tapped her on the shoulder, laughing when she jumped nearly a foot in the air, squealing. He could seriously listen to her squeal all day and night long, though with different circumstances, preferably without clothing.

“Damn girl, you have a set of pipes on you!” He crowed, cleaning his ear out with his pinky and smirked at her scowl. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are when you do that? There’s no way you could ever look angry and actually mean it. It’s cute. What are you doing here anyway? Trying to find something you lost?”

Dacia couldn’t stop smiling even if her life depended on it, nudging his shoulder. “Jerk! You scared the hell out of me. And you know I’m trying to find my phone. I’m sorry I threw it at you last night. I shouldn’t have done that, I could’ve hurt you.”

He looked completely adorable in his jeans and t-shirt and had no clue how handsome he was when dressed down. She liked the suit look last night, but his black jeans and red t-shirt today were just absolute perfection. Blushing at his words, she rubbed her cheeks to try to get them to stop burning, knowing she was giving herself away.

Tyler smirked, admiring how her cheeks turned that delicious crimson red and was tempted to pick up where they left off the previous night, licking his lips hungrily. “Mmmhmm like you could hurt me.” He scoffed, pulling something out of his back pocket and waved it at her, pulling it away when she went to snatch it from him. “Hey, you didn’t say anything about getting your phone back, only that you were looking for it. Maybe I wanna keep it for a while. Could use it as a wager with you.” His dark eyes twinkled mischievously, groaning when she scowled again. “Woman, if you don’t stop looking at me like that, you’re going to be in deep trouble. “His voice had dropped several octaves to a low husky rumble that vibrated from deep in his chest.

A shiver shot through her body when his voice dropped down to that husky level that melted her insides. Dacia noticed his intense dark eyes locked onto her milk chocolate eyes again and, immediately, she began chewing on her bottom lip again. She couldn’t help laughing while reaching for her phone a few more times, but her height definitely put her at a disadvantage. Tyler holding it higher and higher didn’t help matters any either.

“Damn, did you have a growth spurt or something? I don’t remember you being this tall before. Or maybe I shrank.” It was possible; Dacia huffed and fixed her face with a glare, crossing her arms over her chest. “Wager? I’m mildly curious now. Deep trouble, I haven’t been in deep trouble since I threw my cousin’s pet turtle out of a 3 story window.”

“You mean little vicious turtle killer, what did the thing ever do to you? Last I knew, turtles were harmless.” Tyler playfully chastised, shoving her phone in his back pocket again to where she couldn’t be sneaky and try stealing it. “We’ll get back to the wager in a minute, walk with me and tell me what the hell a poor defenseless turtle did to deserve being tossed out a 3 story window.”

Dacia caught where Tyler placed her cell phone and was tempted to fishing for it so she could feel his beautiful rear in her hands. No…No that would be a very BAD idea. She sighed heavily and nodded, walking with him around the Lockwood property toward the pond. Honestly, she had nowhere else to be and didn’t mind spending time with Tyler, especially when he was this carefree and friendly.

“Well the damn thing lived. I know turtles can’t exactly fly, but they can survive falling into water.” She smiled widely, trying to flash an innocent smile at him that dripped pure evil. “I told my cousin repeatedly that day to keep his idiotic turtle away from the desk. I was working on a science project and he set that nasty little bugger down. It walked across my 3 page paper, which was handwritten and PEED all over it.” She made a face and ran her fingers through her hair, shuddering at the memory. “So I stood up, snatched it up by its shell and informed my cousin I was giving his turtle a FREE flying lesson.”

“I would’ve done the same thing.” Tyler said honestly, after he stopped roaring with laughter, and turned to face her, staring down into those beautiful milk chocolate eyes again. “The wager is simple: Go out on a date with me. One date.” He held his hand up before Dacia could say anything, a smile crossing his lips. “Just dinner and a movie or whatever you want. We can just hang out at your house or at mine and watch movies. I just want to spend some time with you alone and prove that I’m not the asshole you think I am. And for the record, I’m not sorry for telling you about Mike because you’ve been pining over that dick long enough and it’s time for you to finally be happy again.” With him, Tyler thought, if he had it his way.

“I was hurt at first when you told me and then, by the time I got home, I was stark raving pissed. I’m pretty sure I said every cuss word known to man and, if the devil was a real person, I would’ve made him blush at the words I used. But I’m over it. I haven’t seen or heard from Mike in a year, so I guess it doesn’t really bother me as much as I thought it would.” Dacia admitted openly, pushing up on her toes and kissed Tyler’s cheeks softly, tenderly. “Thanks for being honest with me, even though you shouldn’t have been the one to tell me that. Caroline should have after she screwed him.” If Dacia ever got her hands on Caroline Forbes, the little bitch was dead. “I would love to go on a date with you, but you’re going to have to take it up with my big sister and ask her permission first.”

Tyler openly groaned, expecting that and knew that was not going to be easy since he knew, for a fact, Dahna Fell loathed him. “That’s the only way isn’t it?” When Dacia nodded emphatically, Tyler pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled slowly. “Alright fine, but the sooner the better.”

Suddenly, Tyler cupped Dacia’s face in his strong warm hands, dark eyes once again boring into hers and covered her mouth with his, passionately kissing her. If he had to go through Dahna Fell in order to be with Dacia, he would do it in a heartbeat. Tyler had waited 3 long years to have her and nobody was going to stand in his way, not even her overprotective big sister.

“That’s something to remember me by until we can finally go on a date.” He murmured once the kiss broke, stepping away from her. “You need to get out of here before I end up ravaging you in my backyard and convincing you to toss that big sister stipulation out the window. Tell me when you want me to meet with Dahna and I will.”

Once again, that passion haze clouded Dacia’s mind from another mind-blowing kiss, courtesy of Tyler Lockwood and she had a hard time breathing. “You really need to stop doing that. My head gets all foggy when you kiss me.” Not even Mike’s kisses affected her brain the way Tyler’s did. She blushed at the thought. “I – uh – I need my phone. You know the reason why I was actually here. And if you want the date you’ve got to track my sister down yourself. I don’t keep tabs on her.” She felt like she had to do something to pay him back for the mind-blowing kiss and suddenly came up with the perfect notion. “One more thing…”

She pushed up on her toes and captured his lips this time, smirking against them. He couldn’t have all the fun initiating the kisses between them now, could he? Hell no! However, before the kiss got too intense, Dacia pulled back and waved her phone back at him, having snatched it while having him distracted.

“Hope to see you soon. Bye for now, Tyler.” Turning, Dacia ran off of the Lockwood property and left Tyler standing there looking completely astounded, laughing as she drove away heading home.

Tyler proceeded to jog back into the house for a much needed ice cold shower and knew he had to track down Dahna Fell immediately before he erupted in flames.

Once inside her car, Dacia pulled her cell phone out and immediately dialed Elena’s number, practically bouncing in her seat. “You’ll NEVER guess what just happened!” She squealed, unable to contain her excitement.

“Meet me at the grill and tell me all about it.” Elena said, wanting to hear this in person and had a feeling her friend had a very good visit with Tyler.

Dacia hadn’t brought Elena with because she decided she wanted to see how Tyler would treat her. She wanted to see if Tyler meant what he said the previous night about remembering the kiss. Tyler hadn’t disappointed her and gave her another heart-stopping lip lock, but now the question remained. Would he actually stand up to Dahna and ask her permission for a date?

Driving off, Dacia couldn’t stop the memories that flowed through her when it came to Tyler. She’d known him for years, they went to every school together and nearly had the same classes, but never had they had a conversation. He was always busy with Matt, who crushed on Elena for years, and they had actually tried dating.

They grew up next door together, so everyone thought they’d become high school sweethearts and eventually get married. But Elena wanted something completely different than Matt – adventure and danger. Matt wanted to settle down, get married and have children, which was one of the many reasons Elena ended their relationship.

Dacia wasn’t the settling kind either and wanted to explore the world, to make a career for herself, before diving into marriage. She definitely wasn’t kid-friendly either, though she handled other’s children alright when it came to family. Other than that, Dacia tried staying away from babies at all cost, they terrified her to no end.

“I wonder what Mom and Dad would say if they were alive.” She wondered aloud, listening to music and tried imagining them seeing her with Tyler Lockwood.

Her mother would try to end their relationship because she didn’t care for the Lockwood’s while her father would get his shotgun out. The thought amused Dacia and she found herself laughing while stopped at a red light. Now her big sister, on the other hand, was a complete different story. She was alive, unlike their parents, and did not condone her having anything to do with Tyler. That’s why she made the stipulation that Tyler had to ask Dahna’s permission because Dacia didn’t feel like being lectured again.

Her words still echoed in Dacia’s mind from the previous night and that alone made Dacia believe that there was no way for her to be with Tyler. Granted, she meant what she said regarding his reasoning for breaking up with Caroline. She honestly didn’t believe he did it just to be with her, but what if she was wrong? What if Tyler did end things with Caroline because of her?

“Karma is a bitch.”

Dacia smirked wickedly, pulling in front of the grill and cut the ignition, suddenly feeling elated about Tyler. So what if he did? Caroline had gone behind her back and had sex with Dacia’s supposed love, Mike Epps. She fully believed that karma did exist and Caroline had gotten what she deserved when Tyler told her to take a hike.

If she did end up dating Tyler, Dacia already planned on tossing it right in Caroline’s face by flaunting her relationship. It might’ve been a childish idea, but Dacia was full of vengeance and wanted to teach her ex-best friend a lesson she’d never forget. Of course, she would ask Tyler’s permission first before doing anything because she didn’t want him thinking she was just using him to get back at Caroline.

Whistling, Dacia practically skipped into the grill to meet Elena and tell her all the juicy details of her wonderful afternoon with Tyler, pushing Caroline in the far recesses of her mind.

Chapter 8

Rushing into the police station, Dahna went straight to Elizabeth’s office and knocked, trying to get her breathing under control. So many questions flew through her mind, but there was one that stood out above all the others. Did they find her father’s murderer? Did they finally capture the ‘beast’, whatever or whoever took his life too soon? Would Landon Fell finally get the justice he deserved and be able to finally rest in peace?

“Come in.” Elizabeth called out, Damon Salvatore standing beside her and looked up when Dahna walked in, finishing their conversation abruptly.

Damon had sat in Elizabeth’s office for the last hour and a half as they started going through the documents he found. More importantly, the ordinances on where exactly his secret stash of vervain was located. They both stared at each other looking like a couple of monkey’s doing a math problem, or at least Elizabeth was.

Damon had to find some kind of decoy to make the sheriff and Dahna believe he was still tracking down the vampire that killed her father. So he decided to use his deceased Uncle Zach’s documents to make it seem like that’s where the vampire was hiding out at. He still needed the ordinances to find it and then Damon could set out to find a vampire to kill. He needed proof that he caught the killer, but in the meantime, Damon planned on drawing it out with another plan of his.

“Are you sure?” When Damon nodded without hesitation, Elizabeth cursed and raked a hand through her short blonde hair, shutting her eyes momentarily. “Do you want to tell her or should I?”

Damon shook his head vehemently, deciding he’d let the sheriff handle this one. “You’ve known her your whole life practically, or her parents at least. You tell her. Besides, stuff like this always comes better from friends and people you know. I’m still a stranger to her.”

He had a point that Elizabeth couldn’t argue with and she nodded with great reluctance, turning to face a perplexed Dahna. “Damon thinks he might’ve found a lead to the monster that killed your father.” She placed a hand on Dahna’s shoulder, both of them taking a deep breath simultaneously. “He’s not a hundred percent sure though. And he’s also worried that it might be coming after you and Dacia next.” She explained softly, knowing this was a lot for Dahna to hear, but one thing Elizabeth never did was beat around the bush.

Dahna swallowed hard, seeing the apprehension in the sheriff’s eyes and frowned. “So…what happens now?” She was almost afraid to ask, her voice extremely cautious and shaky.

This was the part that Elizabeth did not want to tell Dahna, but they didn’t have another choice. “Damon wants you and Dacia to come stay with him and his brother, Stefan, at the Salvatore mansion.” It used to be a boarding house that all Salvatore family stayed at when they visited, but Damon made sure to put a stop to that. “You’ll be safe there and Damon can protect you if this monster tries coming after you.”

Blinking, Dahna’s jaw dropped in shock and she wondered if Elizabeth was serious. Maybe she didn’t hear the sheriff correctly and Dahna had to clean her ears out. “I’m sorry…what?” Looking back and forth between them, Dahna became aware quickly that she wasn’t hearing things and Elizabeth meant what she said.

Deciding damage control was in order; Damon cleared his throat and brought Dahna’s attention to him. “I know this is too much information all in one sitting. I was going through some old documents that my Uncle Zach had in the mansion and it gave me this lead. This monster isn’t just a normal monster; he’s an animal in every sense of the word.” Damon was dubbing himself the world’s greatest liar at this point and swallowed down a smirk. “He has all his information about you and Dacia from things he took from your father the night he killed him. He’s not stupid by any means. He’s actually quite intelligent and has been tracking both of your moves since your father died. I know this is going fast, but if I can get you two moved into the mansion, it will be better for both of you. You’ll each have your own rooms that have their own bathrooms and you won’t have to worry about anything. My baby bro and I are equally up to the task and we’ll protect you with everything we have.”

Dahna didn’t say anything for a few minutes and waited to see if Damon, Elizabeth or both of them told her this was one big colossal joke. “Elizabeth, I realize that I’m not the best council member, but if this is a trick or a joke…”

“No Dahna, this is not a trick or a joke.” Elizabeth cut her off, assuring her with somewhat cold eyes and scowled, stalking back to her desk to grab the papers Damon brought in earlier. She thrust them into Dahna’s hands and folded her arms in front of her chest, trying not to look smug. “This monster knew the entire Fell Family and tracked them for YEARS. This is what could be recovered that Damon found in Zachary Salvatore’s documents. Landon’s death was planned and carefully orchestrated. That’s why we never found the body.”

Landon’s body had completely disappeared, which is one of the reasons Delilah’s heart attack triggered because she would never see her husband again. Luke was the one who saw Landon’s death happen, but he’d been temporarily knocked out, thanks to a blow to the head. That was the only proof they had and it was enough considering Luke was a member of the council.

“God knows what this bloodsucking monster did with his body.” Shutting her eyes, Elizabeth had to take a deep breath and immediately stopped the tears from flooding her eyes. “This isn’t a trick or a joke; it’s about you and your little sister’s protection because I REFUSE to lose another person in this town. It’s not going to happen unless I’m dead first.”

Dahna simply looked down at the paperwork and flipped through the pages, one by one each Fell Family member plastered on the front of them with their picture and the word DECEASED in black bold lettering. Whoever this monster or person was, they had to be stopped before anymore Fell’s or Founding Family members ended up dead. If that meant staying at the old Salvatore mansion for protection, she would do it. It wasn’t just her life on the line anymore; she had Dacia to think about too.

Keeping his brooding expression crisp, Damon reached out to touch Dahna’s hand, watching as those beautiful emerald eyes locked on his. “I know this is a shock and I’m not a doctor, but may I suggest you sit down before you fall over?” His hand went to the small of her back as Damon backed her up slightly and lowered her into a chair in front of Elizabeth’s desk. Having her injured wouldn’t do him any good. “You decide what you want to do and I’ll help anyway I can. Honestly, I think moving you and your sister into the mansion is for the best right now. We’ve been hunting these demons for a long time and I know with our protection you won’t have anything to worry about. Stefan is still in high school and he’s dating Elena Gilbert, so he can keep an eye on Dacia while they’re in school.” Not to mention, Dacia and Elena were best friends, which Damon found out, thanks to Caroline Forbes big mouth. “Take a couple of days to think it over, but don’t take too long. I’d like to get you two moved in as soon as possible.”

Glancing at the clock, Dahna saw what time it was and made sure she had full feeling in her legs before standing up. “Dacia is going to be getting out of school in a few minutes, so I’m going to go meet her.” She normally got a ride from Elena, but Dahna had to have her input before she agreed to move into the Salvatore mansion. “I’ll talk to her about it and get back to you no later than tomorrow morning.”

“Try not to take too long, Dahna.” Elizabeth cautioned softly, walking over to open her office door. “Don’t worry, we will catch this monster if it’s the last thing I do as sheriff.”

‘Don’t hold your breath, Liz.’ Damon thought and stepped forward, taking Dahna’s hand, effectively stopping her from jetting out of there. “You don’t have my number.” He procured a card from his dress shirt pocket and slid it into her palm, closing her fingers around it. “Don’t take too long.”

Dahna’s stomach flipped when he did that and she felt completely breathless, her heart rate speeding up slightly. “I won’t. Thank you again, Mr. Salvatore. I’ll call you with my decision either way.”

Walking away, Dahna hurried out to her car and slid behind the wheel, tossing her purse in the backseat. Instead of starting the ignition and peeling out of there to go pick Dacia up, Dahna just sat there staring straight ahead, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. The information was a lot to digest and Dahna just needed a minute to herself to mull over it, blinking as a few tears slid down her cheeks.

What was she supposed to do? Turn down Damon’s generous offer to protect her and Dacia? Landon’s killer was still out there and he’d been targeting the Fell’s for what seemed like ages, according to the documents Elizabeth showed her. If they didn’t move into the Salvatore mansion, there was a very good chance Dacia could end up dead and Dahna refused to let that happen.

After sitting there for 10 minutes in complete silence, Dahna finally fired the ignition up and drove away from the police station, heading straight for Mystic Falls High School. She’d already sent Dacia a text message letting her know she’d be getting a ride home today from Dahna. The drive to the high school seemed like it took forever, when it was only a few minutes. She saw kids walking down the sidewalk and started looking for Dacia, finally finding her standing on the sidewalk with a trouble expression on her face.

Dacia sighed with relief at the sight of her big sister’s vehicle and suddenly became worried, wondering why Dahna picked her up. Even Elena said it was out of the ordinary considering Dahna normally worked until 5 PM every night, possibly longer. So Dahna picking her up from school didn’t happen often and, when it did, something had happened. Opening the passenger door, Dacia slipped inside and buckled up while Dahna drove off, chewing her bottom lip nervously.

“How was school?” Dahna decided easing Damon’s proposition into their conversation was a better way to go about doing this. “Did you learn a lot?”

“What is going on, Dahna?” Dacia knew all of her big sister’s diversion tactics and folded her arms in front of her chest, staring a hole through Dahna. “School was fine; now get to the reason behind why you picked me up today.”

Dahna sighed heavily, hating how well Dacia knew her and leaned back against the seat, driving past the street they lived on. “Hold that question until we get to the park.” It was the place Dahna brought Dacia when she had something important to talk to her about.

It was also the place Dahna told Dacia their parents were dead. “This can’t be good…” Dacia mumbled, lowering her eyes to her lap and tried not to start crying.

“It’s not bad, Dace.” Dahna assured her, though it wasn’t good either considering they would have to leave their childhood home for a while. “There’s no death involved.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s not bad news.” Dacia argued softly, glancing out the window and felt her stomach tighten when they arrived at the park, taking a deep breath.

Putting the car in park, Dahna stepped out of the car and waited for Dacia to do the same thing, guiding her over to their favorite spot under a willow tree. Woods surrounded the park that brought a breathtaking beauty to it and the equipment had been very well preserved. Both girls remembered coming here when they were younger with their parents, mostly their mother and they spun each other around on the merry-go-round for hours on end. Now, it was the spot where Dahna took Dacia for important talks or to tell her really bad news.

“Okay Dahna, we’re here. Now stop stalling and tell me what’s going on.” Dacia ordered, pulling her book bag from her shoulder and dropped it on the ground.

“Damn, pushy much?” Dahna growled and started pacing, chewing her thumbnail nervously to try to get her thoughts in order.

“Only when you’re beating around the bush.” Dacia hated when Dahna didn’t just come out and tell her what was going on. “The sooner you tell me, the sooner we can deal with it and move on.”

Dacia was definitely more mature than Dahna gave her credit for, even though she secretly loved Care Bears. It was a childhood love that she never fully let go of. “Fine, have it your way.” Dahna plopped down on the ground beside Dacia and began picking at the grass thoughtfully. “I had to leave work early to go to the police station because the sheriff called me in. To make a long story short, it’s about Dad’s death, Dace.”

“Did they find his killer?” Dahna had Dacia’s full attention now, her big milk chocolate eyes nearly shot open out of their sockets. “Is it over?”

“Not exactly…” Dahna sighed heavily, hating how she just extinguished the hope in her sister’s eyes and took Dacia’s hand in hers, squeezing it. “Damon Salvatore has been on Dad’s case for the past 3 years. I just found this out last night during the Lockwood’s party. He found some documents proving that whoever killed Dad has been after the Fell family for years, decades possibly. The sheriff is scared that whoever killed Dad is going to come after us next, Dace. So…” This was harder than Dahna thought it’d be and swallowed past the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. “Dace, we have to leave home for a while.”

Dacia immediately ripped her hand out of Dahna’s and scooted back, tears stinging her eyes. “W-What do you mean leave? I don’t want to go anywhere…Mystic Falls is my home!!” She snapped, shaking her head and stood up before Dahna could stop her, heading back to the car.

Groaning, Dahna scrambled to her feet and stopped Dacia, whipping her around to face her. “Before you get your panties in an uproar, listen to EVERYTHING I say first.” She ordered, releasing Dacia’s arm and tried ignoring the tears slipping down her cheeks. “We’re not leaving Mystic Falls. We’ll just have to leave our house for a while and go stay somewhere else. You won’t have to switch schools and I can still keep my job. We just can’t stay at the house right now because it’s not safe.”

“And where pray tell are we supposed to stay then?”

Dahna took a deep breath, once again grabbing Dacia’s hand. “The Salvatore mansion. Damon offered to protect us until whoever killed Dad is caught and gone out of our lives for good. We have to do this Dace because I refuse to lose anyone else in my family. I’m also going to ask Damon if Meredith and Luke can stay with us too because they’re in just as much danger as we are. So please just say yes and don’t fight me on this.”

Dacia could only stare at her big sister in shock and wondered if she was serious, completely floored by this turn of events.

Chapter 9

5 minutes passed before Dacia spoke again, breaking the silence between them.

“I just have one question.”

“What is it?” Dahna couldn’t believe how well her little sister took this news and breathed a huge sigh of silent relief. “Ask me anything, Dace.”

Chewing her bottom lip, Dacia tried getting her thoughts in order because she wasn’t sure how to word what she wanted to ask. “How come Damon Salvatore can’t stay at our house and protect us that way?” They had a few extra rooms that were never used and were covered in dust. “I mean, wouldn’t it be safer in a smaller place instead of one that has countless rooms and windows?”

Dacia definitely had a point, one that Dahna couldn’t argue against. “I suppose it would…” Sighing, Dahna had no idea what to do and stood up from the ground, dusting herself off. “Would you mind having him stay with us until Dad’s murderer is caught?”

“Of course not.” Dacia stood up as well, smiling. “I wouldn’t have suggested it if I had a problem with him staying at our house.”

Another good point, Dahna thought grudgingly, and suddenly a light bulb flickered on in her mind. “He can’t stay with us.” She frowned at Dacia, knowing this was something she did not want to hear. “Think about it for just a second, Dace. Damon told me that Dad’s murderer has been after the Fell’s for a long time. So that means we’ve more than likely been watched and he’s waited in the wings like a hawk ready to strike. It would look pretty suspicious if we suddenly had someone, especially a man like Damon Salvatore, staying with us, wouldn’t it?”

This was going to put a damper on Dacia’s dating life, especially when it came to Tyler Lockwood. “I guess.” She mumbled, not happy with this arrangement and knew they would end up going to Damon Salvatore’s mansion. “What about my schooling though? I can’t miss school; this is my senior year, Dahna.” Dacia was trying to think of something, anything, to prevent them from leaving their home to go under protective services and, so far, she was fighting a losing battle.

“I know that.” Dahna assured her softly, reaching over to take her hand. “Dacia, I would never let you miss out on your education, not even with Dad’s murderer potentially after us. Whoever this is won’t attack you while on school grounds, especially in daylight and around other students.” That much Dahna was sure of, at least she hoped anyway. “Just because we’re going under Damon Salvatore’s protection doesn’t mean our lives stop. We’ll continue as we have because any major changes will be noticed by others and we want to avoid that. I’ll keep going to work and you’ll continue with school. The only difference is, at the end of the day, instead of going to our home, we’ll be going to the mansion instead. Oh and we’ll have to discuss who will be picking you up from school and taking you to the mansion too.”

This was going to majorly suck, Dacia thought, wishing there was some way out of this. “We have to do this don’t we?” It was more of a statement than an actual question. “I know you won’t let me stay at the house by myself and I understand that, but I am NOT comfortable with staying at a stranger’s house for god knows how long, Dahna.”

“And you think I am?” Dahna scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You have no idea how much I DON’T want to do this, but if it means protecting you and keeping you safe, I’m willing to do anything, Dace. This is all about you; I don’t care what happens to me as long as you’re safe and sound.” Grabbing her shoulders, Dahna felt the tears sting her eyes and blinked them away, but knew they weren’t missed by her little sister. “You are all I have left from our family, Dacia. If I lose you, then I’ll completely fall apart like I nearly did when Mom and Dad died. I know Luke and Meredith are family, but nothing like we are. I’ll do what I can to make you as comfortable as possible with this situation, but you can’t fight me every step of the way either. We have to compromise and find a level we can both agree and live on.”

That last statement would soon be tested because Tyler already informed Dacia he was planning on paying Dahna a visit tomorrow. He was going to do it today, but Dacia asked him to hold off when she received the text from Dahna about this talk. She couldn’t believe Tyler was actually going to stand up to her big intimidating sister all so he could go on a date with her. It made Dacia wonder just how long Tyler wanted her and cursed the gods or whoever for sending Mike Epps into her life.

“Can I still hang out at Elena’s whenever I want?” Dacia asked promptly, hoping her friendships didn’t suffer all because of some murdering dick that the authorities couldn’t find.

Given the amount of loss the Gilbert family recently went through, Dahna couldn’t keep Dacia away even if she tried. “Of course, Elena needs as many friends in her life as possible right now. Besides, I know you’ll be safe over there and I’ll make sure Jenna keeps me posted.” Winking, amusement shined in Dahna’s emerald eyes as she nudged her little sister, letting her know that last bit was a joke.

“Hardy har-har.” Dacia nudged her back and smiled as Dahna’s arm wrapped around her, trying to comfort her the best way she could. “So, I take it when we go back home, we have to start packing?”

Dahna nodded sympathetically, not looking forward to it either. “I’ll help you if you help me.” If there was one thing on the planet Dahna couldn’t stand doing, it was packing. “Just bring what you need for the time being and we can always go back to the house frequently to grab more things and do drop-offs.” They’d have to in order to pass off that they hadn’t abandoned the house.

“Right.”

The sun began setting on the horizon as both girls fell into silence, swinging back and forth slowly, each in their own thoughts. A cold crisp wind flowed over both of them and both girls couldn’t help feeling the same chill overwhelm their bodies. Something was in the air. Change was coming and they didn’t know if it would be for the better or not.

“We should head home, it’s getting late and I’m sure you have homework that needs to get done.”

Not to mention Dahna had a load of laundry to get done and dinner to make before she headed back to the office to finish the rest of her work she promised to do. Hopping off the swing, Dahna draped an arm around Dacia’s shoulders, trying to comfort her as much as possible. This wasn’t easy for either of them, but hopefully Dahna made the right decision by taking Damon Salvatore on his offer to stay at the mansion.

“No homework tonight actually.” Dacia informed her sister once they were in the car and reached over to flip the heat on.

Dahna eyeballed Dacia skeptically, contemplating if she should believe that or not. “None whatsoever?” She pressed, putting the car in reverse and pulled away from the park.

“No, I finished it in study hall.” Dacia answered honestly and held her hand up, rolling her eyes. “Scout’s honor.”

Snorting, Dahna decided to drop the subject for now because Dacia had no reason to lie to her. “You were never a girl scout, but I believe you anyway.” Giving a quick wink, Dahna looked down when her cell phone began vibrating against her hip and pulled it off of her holder. Seeing the name ‘Elizabeth Forbes’ on the screen Dahna immediately answered it, holding her finger up in a one second gesture to Dacia. “Hey sheriff.”

Why was the sheriff calling her big sister, Dacia wondered, raising a brow and kept her mouth shut while trying to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“I know this may sound pushy, but have you made a decision yet regarding our problem?” Elizabeth asked, jotting a few notes down on her small notepad she carried with her. “Or do you need more time?”

“Actually, I just got done talking to Dacia about it and we’ve decided to do it.” Dahna flashed Dacia a reassuring smile and continued driving, keeping her focus on the road so they didn’t wreck. “We do have some stipulations though, which I’ll talk to Mr. Salvatore about when I call him tonight to give him my answer.”

Elizabeth breathed the biggest sigh of relief upon hearing that and knew Damon would take very good care of the Fell sisters. “You’ve made the right decision, Dahna. Your parents would be extremely proud of you.” She sincerely meant that, thankful she’d be able to sleep tonight with a peace of mind. “And I’m sure Damon will agree to anything you want as long as it doesn’t put your safety at risk.”

“Right.” Dahna could hope the sheriff was right and glanced over at Dacia, who was texting someone on her cell phone. “Believe me, I would never put my little sister’s safety at risk and, if I thought for a second these stipulations would, I wouldn’t bring them up.” She informed Elizabeth, flipping her turn signal on and turned to drive down the street they lived on. “Are we telling the council about this?”

“For now, no. The less they know the better. That means Meredith and Luke don’t know what’s going on either. If you want to tell them, be my guest, but make sure they keep it quiet when it comes to the council.” Elizabeth stated, not bothering to tell her that Damon insisted on it to make the search easier to execute.

“No, I’m leaving them out of this. It’s for their own good and Meredith has such a big mouth. There’s no way she’d be able to keep this quiet for long. But they do come over to the house frequently to check on us, so we’ll need to make at least one stop a day there just to make it look like we still reside there.” It would look very strange if it looked like the sisters didn’t live in their own home, only appearing for work and school. “Maybe Damon will have some ideas about that…”

“I’m sure he will.” Elizabeth said confidently, having every bit of faith and trust in Damon Salvatore. “Listen, I really need to go, but please make sure you call him as soon as you can to let him know your decision. You’re doing the right thing, Dahna.” She reiterated because it was the complete truth.

Nodding, Dahna tried not to let her emotions overwhelm her and cleared her throat. “I know, thank you for all your help, sheriff. We’ll be in touch.” Snapping her cell phone shut, Dahna clipped it back on her side and pulled into the driveway a few seconds later, cutting the ignition.

“Are we really doing the right thing?” Dacia had to ask, having heard only what her sister said and pieced everything together rather quickly, frowning thoughtfully. “We don’t have to do this, Dahna…”

“Yes we do.” Dahna pulled the key out and took a deep breath, looking over at her little sister with a soft smile. “I promised to do everything in my power to protect you and I’m not going back on my word. This is the right decision.”

No matter what Dacia said, she knew she couldn’t change Dahna’s mind at this point and decided to drop the subject. The person she’d been texting while Dahna talked to the sheriff was Tyler, informing him on what was going on. She didn’t go into details and only told him minimum information because she didn’t fully trust him.

All she said was a problem had occurred and it would potentially interfere with their date. With how high strung and stressed Dahna was about this situation, Dacia didn’t want anything else added to her plate, including Tyler Lockwood. Since Dacia would still be at school regularly and they would make daily stops at the house, she didn’t have a reason to tell Tyler the truth.

Tyler didn’t like the sound of this at all as he laid in his big king sized 4 poster bed, reading over Dacia’s latest text message. What the hell did she mean a problem had occurred? What could possibly have happened in the span of twelve hours? If this was Dacia’s way of trying to dissuade him from asking her sister’s permission, she was in for a colossal disappointment.

What do you mean a problem has come up? What kind of problem? He texted back, hating how vague she was being and raked a hand through his short dark hair, dark eyes narrowed. “If I have to go over there and talk to her tonight, I’ll do it.” He vowed, talking to the silence of the room and began pacing, waiting for her to respond.

He was so damn persistent, Dacia thought, trying not to look annoyed as she headed to her room to start packing. I can’t tell you what’s going on, it’s personal, Tyler. Just please don’t confront my sister right now because she has a lot on her plate and I don’t want to add to her stress. Can you do that for me? If he couldn’t, then he obviously didn’t care about her and Dacia would cut him off straightaway.

“Since when does she care so much about big sissy?” Tyler growled, not amused and felt hurt that Dacia was basically blowing him off, shaking his head. If you didn’t want to go out with me, all you had to do was say so, Dacia. I’m not playing these games. I won’t go near your sister or you again. Goodbye. Shutting his cell phone off, Tyler shoved in his pocket and stormed out of his bedroom, grabbing his keys on the way.

Dacia’s heart shattered when she read Tyler’s last text message and felt a tidal wave of different emotions crash over her. She did want to date him!! She did want to be with him!! This wasn’t her way of getting out of it and she didn’t play games like this!! Had Tyler completely lost his mind?

Gritting her teeth, Dacia didn’t bother responding to his asinine text and shut her phone off, tossing it on the bed. Instantly, tears slid down her face and all Dacia could do was sag on her bed until her head hit the pillow. Because of her father’s murderer, Dacia now had to pay the price by losing out on dating Tyler Lockwood.

She didn’t know if it was divine intervention or just an obstacle they had to get over, but whatever the reason, Dacia didn’t know how to overcome it. ‘It doesn’t matter anyway, he doesn’t want me anymore because he thinks I’m trying to make excuses to get out of dating him.’ She thought bitterly, wiping her tears away and closed her eyes, letting her tears soak into the pillow.

This was the last time she let a man hurt her, Dacia vowed, especially when it came to stupid pigheaded football jocks.

Chapter 10

When Dahna called Dacia downstairs to eat dinner and received no response, she decided to go make sure her little sister was alright. “Dace?” She called again, tapping her knuckles lightly against the bedroom door and frowned when it slowly creaked open.

The room was completely dark and Dahna flipped the light on to see better, stopping at the sight of Dacia sleeping in her bed. It wasn’t even past 6 and Dacia was already sleeping, which didn’t settle well with Dahna. Her little sister never went to bed this early, but then again, they did have a rather emotional conversation at the park earlier.

Deciding to just let her sleep, Dahna crept back out of the room silently, flipping the light off and headed downstairs to put Dacia’s dinner in the microwave. She had a quick bite to eat and scribbled a quick note to Dacia, letting her know she went back to work for a couple of hours in case she woke up before Dahna got home. Locking the front door, Dahna headed out through the two car garage and slipped into her car, pulling out of there a few seconds later.

On the way, Dahna decided now would be the best time to call Damon Salvatore and give him her answer along with the stipulations. She already had Damon’s card in hand and dialed his number, putting him on speakerphone so she could drive and talk at the same time. Once again, that nagging feeling in the back of her mind was telling her this was a mistake, but she ignored it.

Sipping his usual nightly scotch, Damon looked down when his cell phone went off and a smirk curved his sensual lips, electric eyes flashing. “Right on time.” He murmured, pressing the talk button and held the phone to his ear. “Hello?” That was a subtle greeting, he thought, draining the rest of his tumbler as soon as her sweet voice echoed in his ear.

“Mr. Salvatore, its Dahna Fell. I’m calling to talk to you about your proposition from earlier today. Is this a good time?” She asked cordially, sticking her Bluetooth in her ear that was automatically connected to her phone.

“Of course.” Damon assured her, that smirk only growing on his face by the second and filled his tumbler with some more scotch. “Have you made your decision?”

“I have and…” Dahna swallowed hard, wondering why it was suddenly so hard to talk to him, forcing herself to continue. “I talked with my sister and…” Damn it, she had to stop pausing and just get on with it already!! “We’ll do it.” She finished in a rush of words, immediately cursing herself for sounding like a babbling idiot.

Damon found this very amusing and stared into the fire, dangling the tumbler between his fingers between his legs and leaned back against the couch. “Breathe, Dahna.” He ordered softly, injecting a soothing tone in his voice. “I know this has to be hard for both of you, but you’re making the right decision. I promise, I’ll do everything in my power to catch this dick as soon as I can.” Not likely considering HE was said dick and that just made his smirk turn into a full-blown smile.

“I know you will, Mr. Salvatore.” Dahna breathed in and out a few times to calm her suddenly racing heartbeat.

“Please call me Damon.” He requested gently. “We’re going to be around each other a lot and I’m not a fan of formality. Unless you are?”

“N-No…” Dahna cleared her voice, gritting her teeth momentarily and took a deep breath. “No I’m not, Damon. We do have a few stipulations before agreeing to move into the mansion under your protection though.”

“Name them.” It didn’t matter what the stipulations were because Damon had Dahna right where he wanted her. He would agree to anything she said considering no REAL protection was needed. ‘She won’t know what hit her when I’m done with her.’ He vowed in thought, sipping his scotch.

Blinking, Dahna didn’t expect him to be so compliant, especially in his line of work, but it was very refreshing nonetheless. “Well for one, we don’t want to be cooped up in the mansion…”

Damon cut her off instantly. “You can still go to work and Dacia can still go to school. This nut job won’t attack you guys in broad daylight. He’s more of the kidnapping and sneaking into your house type, which is why it would be safe for you at the mansion. I have a state of the art security system that nobody can crack and you’ll be completely safe here, both of you.” He was having too much fun with this, hardly believing what a strong manipulator he was and he hadn’t even used compulsion!

“Dacia also wants to make sure that she can still go to Elena Gilbert’s whenever she wants to hang out. They’re best friends.” Dahna informed him softly, pulling into the parking lot of her work and cut the ignition. “Is that a problem?”

Now THAT Damon hadn’t known about and he mentally cursed his baby brother for taking an interest in Elena Gilbert of all people. Elena was around the mansion a lot and could be noisy when she wanted to be. He couldn’t turn back now though. Damon would figure out how to deal with Elena if she tried interfering in his master plan for Dahna Fell.

“Not at all. My baby bro will keep an eye on her though and report back to me if he notices anything fishy at school.” Damon figured that was safe to say and would put Dahna’s mind at ease, which is what he wanted.

He wanted her to be lead into a false sense of security.

Dahna smiled widely upon hearing that, feeling a sense of relief course through her. “Thank you for being so understanding about all of this, Damon. Most people in your line of work would be complete brutes and try to run our lives. It’s great knowing you’re not one of them.” She meant that, her words completely heartfelt.

“Trying to run your lives wouldn’t solve anything or make you comfortable being in my home, Dahna. Think of it as a mini vacation if you want, if that eases your mind any.” He stood up when the front door opened and knew Stefan was home, needing to talk to him about this situation. “Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?”

Chewing her bottom lip, Dahna mulled over everything they talked about and snapped her fingers, nodding. “Yes there is actually. My sister brought up a good point during our talk today. The sheriff wants to keep this away from the council, so we have to keep our family in the dark about what’s going on. Therefore, we’re going to need to make daily stops at the house to make it seem like we’re staying there. She said I could tell Meredith and Luke if I wanted to, but the less they know about this the better.” She basically reiterated what she told Elizabeth prior to this conversation. “So what can we do to keep that illusion alive?”

Dacia Fell wasn’t stupid, Damon silently commended her, and knew she would be a problem in his plans, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “What if you just go home like normal every day after work and Dacia does the same thing after school, only you sneak out at night to come here? On the weekends, if you’d like, we can stay at your house so it gives the illusion you’re living there.” It was a fair compromise and Damon wouldn’t mind being out of the mansion for a couple days out of the week.

Dahna gaped, not believing what Damon Salvatore just offered and felt her heart swell more at his words. “You would…do that for us?” She rubbed the back of her neck when he simply responded with the word ‘yes’ and closed her eyes, a blush creeping in her cheeks. “That’s…That’s very nice of you, Damon. Thank you so much for everything you’re doing for my family. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

‘Oh I’m sure I’ll think of something.’ Damon thought, a mischievous smile lighting up his face next that looked positively demonic with the firelight mixing with his pale complexion. “Think nothing of it, a friend of Liz’s is a friend of mine, Dahna. I’ll see you both tomorrow evening.” He quickly gave her the address and directions on how to get to the mansion before ending the call, laughing maniacally.

“What are you so chipper about, brother?” Stefan demanded, walking into the living room/parlor, holding Elena’s hand.

Elena did not like the sound of that laughter and immediately clutched Stefan’s hand, swallowing hard.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with, brother.” Damon responded, refusing to say a word with Elena Gilbert standing right there and walked toward them. “Though, we do need to talk because we’re having guests that will be staying with us starting tomorrow night.”

“Who?” Stefan raised a brow, wondering what diabolical scheme his big brother had up his sleeve this time. “Damon…”

“Stefan.” Damon mocked the warning tone, smiling widely. “I’m not telling you anything until SHE,” He paused, pointing at Elena. “Is out of the room and earshot.”

Elena blinked, wondering what Damon suddenly had against her. “Stefan, maybe I should go…” She sounded hesitant and little scared, rightfully so.

“No, it’s alright Elena, you don’t have to go.” Stefan assured her, his intense green eyes never leaving his brother for a second. “Whatever he has to say, he can say in front of you.”

That same ruthless smile crossed Damon’s face as he shook his head, contemplating if he should spill their secret to the beautiful Gilbert woman. “Stefan, there are some THINGS we need to discuss and I don’t think you really want her here for this conversation.” His tone alone told Stefan that he would tell Elena everything if she wasn’t sent home immediately. “Have a nice night, Elena.”

“I-I don’t understand…”

Stefan knew what Damon meant and mentally cursed, shutting his eyes briefly before turning to face her. “I’ll call you later on. I need to talk to my brother…alone.” There was no way Elena could find out their secret, not until he was ready to tell her, if that moment ever came.

“O-Okay…” Elena’s mind whirled with so many questions as she slowly backed away from both brothers, turning and headed right back out the front door, closing it behind her.

“Smart choice, brother.” Damon clapped Stefan on the back twice before heading to the bar to refill his tumbler, slipping his phone in his pocket. “I really didn’t want to drop the vamp bomb on her.”

“What is this about, Damon? What guests are we having?” Stefan demanded, not happy with being forced to send Elena home, but he had a feeling it was for the best right now.

Sipping his scotch, Damon didn’t move from his spot and suddenly looked at his brother completely grave. “The Fell sisters, Dahna and Dacia, are going to be staying with us for a while. That’s all you need to know.” He wasn’t surprised when Stefan suddenly flew over to stand nose to nose with him, almost anyway.

“What does THAT mean exactly? What do you want with the Fell sisters?” Stefan was full of questions tonight and narrowed his eyes when Damon merely smiled at him.

“That, my dear little brother, is for me to know and you to find out. They need protection from their father’s murderer and, out of the kindness of my heart, I offered my services.” Damon chortled, walking past Stefan out of the room and headed for the study, his favorite room in the mansion.

Stefan followed him, gritting his teeth. “You have no heart, brother.” He stated outright, grabbing Damon by the arm when his brother didn’t answer him and forcefully turned him until their eyes met. “Now what was the point in sending Elena home if you refuse to tell me what’s really going on?”

Damon shrugged him off, shoving him a few feet away and straightened his shirt collar. “Don’t touch me again or I will tear your throat out.” He promised in a deadly voice, though it sounded as though it was talking about the weather. “Dahna Fell and I have…history. I’m the big bad vampire that killed her precious Daddy because he was trying to kill me. I was in Mystic Falls way before you were and…let’s just say there’s unfinished business between me and the older Fell sister. I have the sheriff and everyone else thinking I’ve been investigating his murder for the past 3 years and they’ve believed every word I’ve said.” He sounded amused now, pouring himself a shot of bourbon this time.

“So what about those documents you found of Zach’s?” Stefan hadn’t forgotten about them, following Damon over to sit down on the couch.

“That I haven’t figured out yet, but I’m getting there. That’s one of the reasons I want the Fell’s to stay here because I plan on searching her house while they’re gone during the day. I have to get her to invite me in first, which will happen this weekend since I’ll be ‘protecting’ them Friday through Sunday and they’ll stay here Monday through Thursday.”

“But what will searching the Fell house do?” Stefan was confused, not understanding what his big brother was doing anymore. “Breaking and entering is beneath you, don’t you think, brother?”

Damon smirked, shrugging nonchalantly. “Not if I’m invited first and have a key.” He planned on making sure Dahna made him a set for emergencies, already having everything planned on how he wanted this to happen. “I’m not going to hurt her, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Not physically anyway, Damon added in thought, turning to stare into the flames. “Those documents I found of Zach’s lead to a destination outside of Mystic Falls, several hours away. Something tells me whatever he’s hiding at this place it has to do with Landon Fell and I intend to find out what it is before someone else finds it…like his precious daughter for instance.”

“What do you think it is?” Stefan asked quietly, resignedly, knowing whatever Damon wanted to do he would and nobody would be able to stop him.

“That’s the million dollar question. I’ll be making a trip to that place in the next couple of weeks after I’ve searched the Fell house for possible clues. Something is telling me that, since Zach worked close with the council before I snapped his neck,” How Damon relished in that memory, not one ounce of remorse in his voice. “These documents are linked to the Fell’s.”

Zachary and Landon had been close friends and that’s how Landon had gotten his hands on vervain, which he’d given each of his daughter’s in certain jewelry they always wore. Dahna’s was an ankle bracelet and Dacia’s was simple diamond studded earrings, both gifts from their father. Damon knew this because he’d been very close to the family back then before Landon figured out his secret. In turn, it lead to the hunt of Damon and Landon’s ultimate demise. The only good thing about it was the only person who knew who they were hunting was Landon, he hadn’t dropped Damon’s name to his brother, Luke.

“So, since Elena and Dacia are best friends, you want me to keep her in check I take it?” Stefan had finally figured out the reasoning behind Damon’s abrupt dismissal of Elena.

“Keep her in line or I’ll be forced to do it.” That was Stefan’s only warning and Damon sincerely hoped he took it to heart as he headed out of the study up to his bedroom.

If anyone tried getting in his way or interfering with his plan, they would end up dead, no questions asked.

Chapter 11

Packing sucked.

Dacia wished she had some kind of magic wand to wave so her packing could be finished in 3 seconds. Going through everything, trying to figure out what to bring and what to leave was very irritating. She had no idea how long they’d be gone, though they would make daily stops, so Dacia could always grab things every day when she came here. Still, she couldn’t bring a huge bag of stuff every single night or else she’d end up moving everything into the Salvatore mansion.

A knock on the door jolted Dacia out of her packing misery and she decided to take a break to answer it, knowing Dahna wasn’t home yet. She practically flew down the stairs and didn’t bother asking who it was, opening the door only to stare into the dark eyes of Tyler Lockwood. Throughout the day at school, Dacia did everything in her power to avoid him and couldn’t believe he had the audacity to come to her house.

She wanted nothing to do with him after the rude text messages he sent her. How could he think she was making excuses not to be with him? At first she was hurt, but now all Dacia felt was anger – irrevocable anger. After everything he said to her about Mike and then kissing her, Dacia suddenly couldn’t contain her emotions anymore and plowed her fist forward right into his nose. She smiled in sick satisfaction as a crack echoed on the porch and inside the house, shaking her hand since she’d put her full force into it.

Tyler roared out in pain, stumbling back on the porch holding his nose and could feel the blood pouring out of his nostrils. Damn she had one hell of a right hook! He let out another string of words that would’ve made even the tougher sailor, and possibly the devil himself, blush. They didn’t faze Dacia in the slightest though as she stood there cradling her right hand against her chest, trying to fight back tears of pain.

Blocking out his own pain, Tyler noticed what Dacia was doing and went to her side instantly, his dark eyes full of worry. “Let me see it.” He ordered gruffly, reaching out to inspect her injured hand and had a feeling it was either sprained or broken.

“Don’t touch me.” Dacia whispered harshly, taking a step away from him and blinked as a few tears slid down her cheeks from the pain radiating in her hand. “I don’t want you here, Tyler. You made it perfectly clear last night you didn’t want me. Just go away.”

Tyler groaned, hating her stubbornness and growled, his temper beginning to flare. “Damn it, Dacia, I came over here to say I’m sorry, only to get clocked in the face with your fist! Just let me look at your damn hand and stop being difficult.” He ordered, lowering his voice an octave since he just yelled.

Scoffing, Dacia rolled her eyes and went to walk back inside the house to slam the door in his face, but Tyler was too fast for her. “I don’t want your petty apology!” She tried maintaining her composure, not want Tyler to see her broken…that he’d broken her with his harsh text messages. “You told me exactly how you felt last night, saying if I didn’t want to go out with you, all I had to do was say so. Well guess what, douchebag? I DON’T!! I was stupid to think you were any different from Mike or any of the other jerks out there. You said you wouldn’t come near me again and, yet, here you are on my front porch trying to spew some half-ass apology. Just get out of here, Tyler. Oh and, for your information, I wasn’t playing games with you. That’s not who I am, but at least I now know how little you think of me. Now get the hell off my property before I break something else.”

“Dacia, you could break anything and everything on my body. It’s not going to stop me from making this right between us.” Tyler deserved everything Dacia just said to him and more after the way he treated her last night, but he honestly had no idea what was happening. “Put yourself in my shoes for a second before you slam that door in my face. You texted me and asked that I don’t confront your sister right now because of a personal reason. You didn’t want to add to her stress. Now I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a lame excuse to cancel the plans we had. It angered me, I’m not gonna lie. And it hurt more when I asked you what the problem was that came up and all you said was you couldn’t tell me because it was personal. I honestly thought you were trying to get out of going out with me, Dacia. I’m only human and I made a mistake.”

“So what made you change your pea-sized brain then?” Dacia spat, folding her arms in front of her chest and pursed her lips tightly together, trying not to let her anger shine through at his words. “Go ahead, enlighten me.”

Sighing, Tyler stopped himself from pinching the bridge of his nose and ignored the throbbing migraine starting to pound in his head. “Today at school. I saw how miserable you were and that you were avoiding me.” He took a step forward, hesitating for all obvious reasons. “I could tell you were in pain and it was because of me. I’m sorry for hurting you, Dacia. If I could take it back, I would in a heartbeat, but I can’t. All I can do is apologize to you and hope you give me another chance.” He explained, pouring his heart out to her and hoped she didn’t crush it with her tiny capable hands.

Dacia eyed him skeptically, wondering if she should believe what he just told her and wiped more tears away that fell. “Even though I can’t tell you what problem has come up?” She had to know, finally looking up into his heartbroken pain-filled dark eyes with her own teary bloodshot milk chocolate ones. “Because that hasn’t changed, Tyler.”

“I don’t care what the problem is; I’ll deal with it and wait as long as you need me too.” Tyler stated, reaching out to cup her face in his strong hand and pulled her out of the doorway against him, wiping another fallen tear from her cheek. “I’ve waited for you this long and I’m not going to stop now until you’re mine.”

“What if it’s not until I’m 18?” Dacia whispered, her heart breaking at the thought of making Tyler wait for her because she felt it wasn’t fair to him. “I mean…”

Pressing a finger to her lips, Tyler simply nodded and wished he could kiss her, but the blood streaming from his nose prevented that. “As long as it takes, I promise.” He vowed in a husky voice and pulled back to pull his shirt off, balling it up to hold it against his busted nose. “But if you do want to talk about what’s going on, you know I’m here for you, right?” He had to offer, hoping she didn’t get upset from his offer.

Dacia nodded, appreciating his heartfelt offer and grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together. “Come inside so I can clean you up before Dahna gets home.” Damon would be there soon as well to help them move most of their things, which both girls were extremely grateful for.

“You don’t-” Tyler immediately clamped his mouth shut when Dacia shot him a dark look over her shoulder and let her guide him inside.

~!~

As planned, when Dahna arrived home that evening, Damon was waiting for her on the porch steps in all his sensual glory. From the top of his shaggy black hair to the tips of his toes, which were currently covered in black boots, the man dripped sex. Dahna knew having a crush on her protector was wrong, but as long as she restrained herself, there was no harm in fantasizing about him.

Stepping out of the car, Dahna walked up to him and smiled when he looked up at her. “How long have you been waiting out here?” She asked softly, wondering if Dacia was home because they had to make this move fast and discreet.

“Only a few minutes.” Damon lied smoothly, pushing himself off the porch steps to stand. In truth, he’d been waiting over an hour and figured Dahna was running late because of her job. “I figured it’d be best to wait out here instead of making your little sister more uncomfortable than she probably already is.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Damon.” Dahna said, walking past him up the porch steps to the front door and opened it, looking over her shoulder to make sure he followed. “Now that I’m home, you can come inside out of the cold.”

‘Like taking candy from a baby.’ Damon thought, not believing how easy it was to be invited in. He didn’t have to do any coaxing; it was almost disappointing in a way since Damon’s kind enjoy the hunt. “Don’t mind if I do.” Stepping over the threshold inside the house, Damon smirked as he looked around the house, hearing Dacia upstairs with pounding music. “Very nice place you have here.” He figured a compliment would earn him brownie points with Dahna and flashed a small smile at her.

“Thank you, it was our parents.” Dahna informed him softly, taking her coat off and tossed it on the back of the couch. “Okay, I think I have everything packed up and ready to go. Can you grab these few duffel bags while I go upstairs to see if Dacia’s ready?”

“Of course.”

Damon nodded, reaching down to grab them and headed out the front door to his car. When he knew Dahna wasn’t watching and had gone upstairs, Damon flew to his car with his enhanced speed, tossing everything in the trunk. He flew back into the house to grab the rest of it, doing it in a matter of seconds, glad the neighbors weren’t home currently. With every step he took and every item placed in his trunk, Damon was one step closer to fulfilling his master plan and could already feel his blood light on fire at the thought.

Dahna tapped her knuckles against Dacia’s bedroom door and pushed it open because she knew the music drowned out her knocking. “Dace?” She called loudly, smiling when her little sister whipped around to face her and laughed. “Sorry!”

Dacia immediately turned the music down on her stereo and shook her head, pressing a hand to her racing heart. “Thanks for taking a few years off me, sis. Much appreciated.”

That just made Dahna laugh harder. “Hey, it’s not my fault you like to blast your music to where the neighbors can hear.” She retorted, folding her arms in front of her chest and observed the rather messy room. “Did a tornado come through here?”

“No, I just haven’t had time to clean up in a few days…” Dacia avoided looking at her sister and busied herself with packing. Tyler had taken up most of her packing time with his busted nose, courtesy of her bandaged hand. “Are you packed?”

Dahna nodded, frowning when she noticed the bandage wrapped around her sister’s hand and rushed over to grab it. “What the hell happened?” She demanded, looking at Dacia with worry-filled emerald eyes.

“I slammed my hand in my locker today at school.” Dacia lied, pulling her hand away since it hurt when Dahna grabbed it. “I’m fine, it’s just sprained.” She hoped, already having a doctor’s appointment to look at it the following day.

“You are so clumsy. It’s a miracle you’re not in a wheelchair right now.” Dahna remarked, hating seeing her little sister in pain. “Did you take something for it?”

“Yeah, some Ibuprofen to help with the swelling.”

“Good.” Dahna sighed, glancing around again. “I suppose you need help packing?”

Dacia cracked a smile, nodding. “That’s why I haven’t gotten a lot accomplished.” Man, she really hated lying to her sister, but Dacia couldn’t let her find out about Tyler, not yet anyway. “I’m almost done though, honest.”

“What all needs to be packed?” Dahna asked resignedly, hoping Damon didn’t mind waiting another hour because she had a feeling that’s how long it would take to pack Dacia up. “Just point me to a spot and I’ll get started.”

“Just start tossing my CD’s and IPOD in this bag.” Dacia loved her music and had well over 500 CD’s, which she’d loaded on her IPOD.

“You don’t need to bring all of those, Dace.” Dahna argued, shaking her head and grabbed the IPOD instead. “You’ve loaded this thing with all of it.”

“Fine, whatever.” Dacia rolled her eyes, pointing Dahna over to a pile of clothes while she finished packing some books and other things to keep her occupied.

Dacia hadn’t started on her clothes, which irritated Dahna to say the least. “You were supposed to do this last night.” She grunted, folding tops, jeans, a few skirts and dress pants since she wore them to school occasionally.

Sure enough, an hour had passed when the sisters finally emerged from upstairs to a patient looking Damon. He was a saint, Dahna immediately thought, flashing an apologetic smile as she handed over the bag to him. He merely smiled back, glancing over at the younger sister, Dacia, and eyeballed her hand, tilting his head.

“What happened there?” He asked, opening the front door for them like a gentleman.

“Slammed her hand into her locker.” Dahna informed him, knowing Dacia didn’t want to talk to him. “That’s why she wasn’t fully packed and I had to help her. Sorry for taking so long.”

“No problem.” Damon waved her off dismissively, shutting the door behind him and followed them down the porch steps. “Just follow me and I’ll guide you to the mansion.”

“Will do.” Dahna began walking toward her own car, Dacia already in the passenger seat, and suddenly stopped when a thought crossed her mind. “Damon?”

He turned to look at her, watching her jog over to him and couldn’t help admiring how her body moved, especially the top half. “Yes?”

“I forgot to give you these.” Dahna pulled a set of keys out of her pocket and handed them over without uncertainty, pure trust shining in her emerald eyes. “Since you’re going to be staying here on the weekends with us, you’re going to need your own set until this dick is caught.”

Staring down at the silver keys, Damon couldn’t believe how trusting this woman was with strangers and wondered if she had a few screws loose in her brain. “Point taken.” He agreed, shoving them in his pocket and placed a hand on her shoulder in a purely friendly way. “Everything is going to work out, Dahna. I promise.”

Dahna believed him wholeheartedly and placed a hand against his chest over his heart, smiling genuinely. “I believe you. Thanks again for everything you’re doing, Damon. You have no idea what it means to me and I’ll never be able to repay you. See you over there?” She grinned when he nodded and headed back to her vehicle, trying to get her cheeks to stop burning.

‘Oh you’ll be doing a little more than just thanking me, Dahna.’ Damon vowed, a smirk crossing his lips and slid into his electric blue Camaro, driving away from the house with Landon Fell’s daughters following suit.

The real fun was about to begin.

Chapter 12

“Stefan, what’s going on with your brother?” Elena asked, looking up from her history book they were studying together. “He really scared me the other day.”

Knowing this conversation was bound to happen; Stefan closed his book and leaned back against the headboard of Elena’s bed, folding his arms in front of his chest. “Damon has a lot on his mind and he had to talk to me about it. Nothing you need to worry about.” He tried sounding nonchalant about it, but in truth Stefan was worried about his brother’s intentions with the Fell sisters.

“Oh…” He was lying to her; Elena knew it and could feel it in her heart. “Well…what did he mean when he said there were THINGS that he had to discuss with you that I couldn’t know about?” Damon didn’t say those exact words, but it was close enough as Elena eyed Stefan suspiciously. “You can tell me, Stefan. I won’t judge.”

“Family business.” Stefan smiled easily, reaching over to take her hand as their fingers laced together. “Like I said, nothing you need to concern yourself with, Elena. Everything is fine, I promise.” He hoped, making a mental note to check on Damon once he left.

This whole situation with the Fell’s really had Stefan on edge, though he tried not showing it to Elena. His Uncle Zach hid something from him and Stefan didn’t like that, especially when they’d been so close before Damon killed him. The fact Damon had been in Mystic Falls before his arrival unnerved Stefan more. That meant his big brother had raised hell a lot longer than he thought, making him wonder what all Damon had done before Stefan moved back.

Stefan’s cell phone vibrated and he picked it up, seeing it was a message from the devil himself. Need to talk ASAP. Fell sisters are moved in. Remember to keep your mouth shut, baby bro. Stefan didn’t like the sound of that and hoped he could keep this secret from Elena, knowing how persistent she could be.

“Everything okay?” Elena had noticed his facial expression change as soon as he read a message on his phone, sighing. “Don’t tell me it’s your brother.”

“It’s my brother.” Stefan replied with a half-smile, leaning over to brush his lips against hers softly. “Gotta cut our studying short, but I can come over tonight if you want.”

Elena shook her head, flashing a smile of her own that did not touch her eyes. “Not tonight, I’m having my friend Dacia stay the night and it’s a girl’s only type thing. I’m sure you understand. She’s got some serious girl talk she needs to do and I’m guessing it has something to do with Tyler Lockwood.”

That name alone acquired Stefan’s full attention. “Tyler Lockwood? What about him?”

“She’s had a crush on him for the past few years, but she ended up going out with this guy named Mike Epps and he hurt her badly. Dacia didn’t think Tyler liked her the same way she did, so when Mike Epps asked her out, she immediately accepted and they ended up dating throughout high school. He graduated last year and, shortly after that, broke up with her because he was going away to college.” Elena explained, cleaning up the books and shoved them in her bag, knowing she’d ace the test they’d been studying for.

“So how do you know it’s about him?” Stefan asked, genuinely interested as he piled his own books on top of each other, his eyes never leaving her.

Elena smirked, shrugging insouciantly. “I caught them outside talking to each other at the Lockwood mansion during the Founder’s Day party. Dacia was really upset and told me everything. Tyler told her that Mike Epps cheated while they were together and it really tore Dacia up. I’ve never seen her so upset, not even when her parents died…” Frowning at the memory of her own parents’ death, Elena shut her eyes tightly and pushed the pain away. “Anyway, she hasn’t mentioned Tyler since that night, so I’m betting something else happened and she needs to talk about it.”

“So that’s why you and Caroline are no longer friends.” Stefan observed, wondering if Damon had anything to do with that happening. “I wondered why you two haven’t said two words to each other in school.”

Scoffing, Elena rolled her eyes and walked over to her vanity mirror, placing her bag on top of it and looked at her boyfriend through reflection. “If she never speaks to me again, it’ll be too soon. I confronted her about Mike Epps after Dacia told me about it and she tried denying it, but Caroline can’t lie to save her life. She’s a horrible liar and I saw right through her. She finally admitted to sleeping with him and tried justifying her actions because he ‘seduced’ her.” Shaking her head, Elena still couldn’t believe Caroline betrayed Dacia by having sex with her boyfriend. “What she did is unforgiveable.”

Stefan nodded, deciding it would be best to keep his opinions to himself regarding the situation, not wanting to upset Elena further. “Well whatever you do, you know I support you.” He said, placing a hand on her shoulder and immediately pulled his hand away, acting as if he’d just been scalded.

The air suddenly permeated with the mouthwatering scent of blood and Stefan could already feel his face morphing. His throat burned, feeling as though a hot poker was jammed down his throat, searing it. Because of his dark past, Stefan opted to feed from animals only, but that didn’t stop the thirst from developing whenever he smelled human blood.

“Elena…”

His voice sounded distant as Elena turned around, holding her bleeding finger to her chest with a tissue wrapped around it. “I’m okay, I just cut my finger on one of those stupid books.” Paper cuts hurt worse than actual cuts, Elena was sure of it as she pulled the tissue from her finger, her blood soaking it. “Stefan?” She frowned, blinking as he turned his back to her and looked down at her finger. “It’s just a little blood…”

Taking a few deep breaths, Stefan didn’t say anything and could feel the veins in his face slowly diminish, the sclera’s of his eyes returning to normal white instead of a blood red. They turned whenever he fed on blood, whether it be animal or human, but Stefan was on a strict animal only diet. Damon, on the other hand, fed on humans whenever he could and embraced the true nature of being a vampire.

“I’m fine.” He stated in a low voice, slowly turning back around to face her and could see the perplexed look in her brown eyes. “I have to go.”

“Does blood make you queasy or something?” Elena had to ask, wrapping her finger up in another tissue and followed him out of her bedroom door. “Stefan?”

“I’ll call you. Have a good night, Elena.” He said dismissively, practically flying down the stairs and out her front door.

“Stefan, wait!” Elena called, trying to catch up with him and ran out on her porch, looking from left to right. He was nowhere to be found.

~!~

Damon sat in the study, his favorite room in the entire mansion, sipping a tumbler of blood thoughtfully while staring into the fireplace. He was waiting for his baby brother to get home so they could have a discussion about Zach’s documents. New information had developed and it shook Damon up a little, which was incredibly hard to do. He didn’t move an inch when the front door slammed shut down the hallway or when Stefan entered the room, simply taking another sip of his beverage.

“That was fast.” He commented, sounding indifferent and placed the tumbler on the table beside him, slowly moving his eyes from the fireplace to Stefan. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” Stefan snapped, pacing a little to try to contain his bloodlust and knew he had to get his mind on something else besides the delicious smell of Elena’s blood. “What did you need to talk about?”

“The documents.” Damon answered, standing up and walked over to lean against the fireplace, pushing the pieces of wood around with a poker to stoke it more. “I reread them to make sure we weren’t missing anything and…there’s a page missing.”

That got Stefan’s mind off of Elena’s blood instantly, his green eyes narrowing. “What do you mean?” He demanded, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“Take a look for yourself.” Damon gestured to the pile of papers on the other table while he continued prodding the wood. “Page 14 is missing. There’s pages 1 through 13 and the next page you flip to is page 15. There is no 14 and I’m guessing whatever is on that missing page is going to give us the answers to whatever Zach kept hidden.”

“So how the hell do we find it?” Stefan questioned, looking up at his brother after verifying what Damon said, not believing this turn of events. “What if we can’t find it?”

“Oh we will.” Damon said confidently, walking over to take another long swallow of blood, smirking at Stefan wickedly. “I plan on doing the search of the Fell house tonight.”

Stefan snorted, knowing he would regret asking this next question. “How do you propose doing that?”

“Simple.” Damon grinned, pulling the keys out of his pocket that Dahna Fell very graciously handed over the previous night. “She did it of her own freewill, aren’t you proud of me? I didn’t have to use compulsion to get inside, that’s how much she trusts me. Foolish girl.” He grunted, finishing off the blood and walked over to the bar, needing something with a little kick as a chaser.

Stefan was stunned to see the shiny silver keys dangling from Damon’s hand and couldn’t believe the eldest Fell child would be trusting so easily. “Sheriff Forbes must’ve convinced her to trust you.” He concluded, walking over to pour himself a much needed drink. “So what happens when you do the raid and find nothing?” A gut instinct told Stefan that the missing page wasn’t in the Fell house unless it was hidden extremely well.

Knowing Landon Fell, it was in a place where nobody would think to look.

“Then I’ll go to the next step.” Damon remarked simply, shrugging. “One way or another, Stef, we have to find that missing page. So if I have to torture it out of Dahna, then so be it.” He didn’t mean that, however, Stefan thinking he would made Damon all warm and tingly inside.

“Even though there’s a huge possibility she doesn’t know anything?” Stefan shot back, not liking the sound of Damon torturing humans, especially the Fell’s. “You killed their father, isn’t that enough?”

“Not even close.” Damon winked, walking past Stefan and turned to face him. “I’ll do whatever it takes to find that missing page and what Uncle Zach kept from the council. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go greet Dahna.”

Just then, the front door to the mansion opened as Dahna stepped inside, closing it behind her. It still took her breath away, not believing how gigantic and beautiful it was. She took her scarf off around her neck since it’d been raining all day and pulled her boots off, not wanting to damage the floor with wet spots. Dahna pulled her coat off and draped it over her arm, swiping her boots and purse from the floor before heading down the hallway toward the staircase. Just as she arrived at the stairs, Damon descended them and Dahna couldn’t help smiling, starting to walk past him.

“What? No hello?” Damon joked, seeing her hands were full and reached out to take her coat, once again playing the gentleman card perfectly.

“Thanks, sorry.” Dahna blushed, trying to fight back the flush threatening to burn her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to be rude. Hello Damon.”

“Now that’s better.” Damon winked, walking back up the stairs slowly with her. “Rough day?”

“You could say that.” Dahna would just plead the fifth on that one, her body aching from head to toe. “I had to stand at the stupid Xerox machine all day making copies for my boss. It’s punishment for me leaving early the other day when I had to talk to Dacia about moving in here temporarily.”

Aquamarine eyes narrowed when Damon heard that, suddenly wanting to rip her boss’s heart through his chest. “That doesn’t seem fair considering you went back later that night to make up the work you missed.” He commented, remembering Dahna mentioning something about that once they arrived back at the mansion the previous night.

“I know, he’s a dick, but it’s a job and I can’t afford not to work.” Not like Damon Salvatore, the house was proof enough of that fact, though Dahna kept those thoughts to herself. “Anyway, enough about my complaining, Dacia is staying over at Elena Gilbert’s tonight. I hope you don’t mind, it was sort of last minute. She called me on my lunch break at work and asked. I didn’t have time to call you.”

Damon waved her off glibly, an easy smile sliding across his handsome face. “Not at all, Dahna. I already told you I’m not here to dictate your lives and I know she’ll be safe over at the Gilbert’s. My baby bro is crazy about Elena and wouldn’t let anything happen to her.” He stage whispered and enjoyed Dahna’s sweet laughter as it surrounded him.

“You’re definitely not the typical protector type.” Dahna observed, arriving at her bedroom and smiled when Damon opened the door for her, both of them stepping inside as she set her stuff down. “Thank you for helping me, Damon.” She turned to face him, emerald mixing with aquamarine and Dahna once again felt her knees grow weak, getting lost in his eyes.

Damon stepped forward, reaching out to run a finger gently down her soft cheek. “Anytime.” He rumbled in a low voice, standing so close their chests practically brushed together. “If you don’t need anything else, I’ll leave you be now.”

Watching as he turned to exit her room, Dahna suddenly had a thought and blurted it out, immediately cursing her fuzzy brain. “I want to cook for you tonight.” What the hell was Dahna thinking?!

Turning, Damon looked back at her with a huge smirk on his face, one thick black eyebrow lifting. “Come again?” He wanted to make sure he’d heard her right.

“Well…” Dahna swallowed hard, hesitating. “Since Dace is going to be gone for the night and…you’ve just been very nice and understanding about this situation. I just…want to pay you back somehow and…I’m not a bad cook. My mother was excellent, she taught me a few things.” Slowly moving toward him, Dahna’s emerald eyes once again captured him and she reached out to gently place a hand on his chest. “The least I can do is cook for you after everything you’ve done for us.”

Even after all these years, those eyes still captivated him in ways no other woman, not even Katherine Pierce, had and Damon hated it. He didn’t show it though. Damon could see how much this meant to Dahna and decided his plans to raid her house could wait another evening because he hadn’t had a home cooked meal in a while.

“If you insist.” He bowed, winking back at her and once again heard her mesmerizing laugh. “If you need help…”

“I’ll be fine. Thank you for letting me do this, Damon.” Leaning up, Dahna brushed her lips against his cheek quickly before practically flying out the door, heading downstairs to the kitchen.

Damon turned, watching her go and touched his cheek, closing his eyes to relish in the feeling momentarily. “Dahna...” He whispered, shaking himself out of the temporary haze his mind suddenly clouded with and followed her downstairs to see what she had in mind for dinner.

He already knew what he wanted for dessert and licked his lips hungrily.

Chapter 13

After some much needed studying and dinner, it was time to get down to the girl talk portion of the evening. Elena had everything set up in the living room, which included two cartons of ice cream, bags of chips, candy and other snack food. Jenna was staying the night at Alaric’s and Jeremy was out with his friends, so the girls had the house to themselves. Elena preferred it that way, not needing any prying ears or eavesdropping going on, especially since Dacia wanted to be discreet.

Dacia immediately went for the ice cream, wearing a cream colored tank top with black pajama pants and cream colored socks so her feet didn’t get cold. She’d showered after dinner while Elena got everything set up in the living room, though Dacia didn’t realize just how much Elena had bought for their girl’s night…until now. Elena had already showered after Stefan left earlier to go have the ‘family business’ talk with Damon, so she didn’t need another one. She decided not to mention anything about that to Dacia, not until Elena gathered more intelligence anyway.

Stefan’s reaction to Elena slicing her finger hadn’t left Elena’s mind either, not for a second. It was almost as if blood repulsed Stefan, which wouldn’t be completely out of the ordinary. Elena never thought of Stefan as someone who had a weakness though, but apparently he did and it was the red liquid that flowed through the human body. Sighing, Elena sat down on the couch next to Dacia, noting her friend was deep in thought and nudged her for attention.

“Sorry.” Dacia mumbled when she jumped, too deep in thought about Tyler Lockwood again. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble, Lena.”

“Yes I did.” Elena argued with a smile, handing Dacia a spoon and her own carton of ice cream while starting in on hers. “It’s been too long since we last did this, Dace.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Dacia took a bite of the peanut butter ice cream and grinned, her brown eyes twinkling since it was her favorite flavor. “Thanks Lena, I really needed this tonight.” Her life had been turned upside down in the span of a few days and Dacia couldn’t talk about half of it, which annoyed her to no end. “I swear to god, if there’s one more thing that goes wrong in my life, I’m gonna hit somebody.”

Elena blinked, taking her time to swallow her bite of double chocolate fudge ice cream and decided to choose her words carefully. “What’s been going on, Dacia?” She asked softly, trying to sound nonchalant even though her curiosity burned about Tyler Lockwood.

“Better question: What HASN’T gone wrong in my life lately? Seriously, I go to the Lockwood party, against my better judgment, only for Tyler freaking Lockwood, of all people, to tell me that, the first man I ever gave my heart too, cheated on me with one of my ex-best friends. Then he kisses me and makes my brain all foggy, only to insult me through a text message of all things! Then – THEN, oh it gets better than that! Then he shows up at my house and I end up plowing him in the nose with my fist!” Dacia held her bandaged hand up as proof of everything she just said, flexing it a little and winced before going back to eating her ice cream.

It took Elena several long minutes to digest all of that information, not believing what Tyler Lockwood did to Dacia. She didn’t need to know how he insulted Dacia through text message. The fact he did irked her and Elena suddenly wanted to break more bones in his body. Elena had to take several big bites of ice cream just to cool her steaming blood a little and didn’t care if she got a brain freeze from eating it too fast.

“And on top of all that, he still has to talk to my sister about us dating and I told him to hold off until things calmed down a little in our lives.”

Dacia knew Elena’s curiosity would eventually win out and she’d ask about what was going on. As much as she wanted to tell her best friend everything going on with her family, Dacia also couldn’t betray Dahna’s wishes. Her big sister had done and sacrificed a lot for her, so the least Dacia could do was keep the secret about staying at the Salvatore mansion for protection.

“Wait, why does Tyler need your sister’s permission to date you?” Elena asked, folding her arms in front of her chest, after setting her ice cream down, frowning. “You’re almost 18…”

“I know.” Dacia sighed, lowering her eyes to her lap and clasped her hands together. “Dahna doesn’t like Tyler at all. We had a talk about him the night of the Lockwood party and she made it clear she didn’t want me anywhere near Tyler. She thinks it’s Tyler’s fault Caroline and I aren’t friends anymore.”

“So she has no idea about what Mike did to you?” Elena watched as Dacia shook her head and fought back a groan, going right back to eating her ice cream.

“And she’s never going to find out.” Dacia eyeballed Elena, silently ordering her not to say a word to Dahna about Mike cheating on her with Caroline. “Anyway, I’m the one who told Tyler I couldn’t date him until he got my sister’s permission. I wanted to see if he’d actually go through with it and he’s going to…as soon as I give him the green light.”

That part confused Elena to no avail. “So what’s going on with your sister that’s so important you have to postpone Tyler from talking to her?” To Elena’s knowledge, Dahna’s life was relatively quiet, revolving around going to work and taking care of Dacia. Even though Dacia could take care of herself and would be 18 very soon, something she’d already pointed out earlier. “I mean, her job can’t be THAT stressful…”

“You have no idea what kind of stress my sister is under right now!” Dacia snapped, standing up from the couch abruptly and tossed her ice cream container on the table, stalking into the kitchen.

This was getting harder not to just tell Elena what was going on. She knew Elena wouldn’t talk to anyone about it, but Dacia couldn’t take that risk. When she made a promise to someone, Dacia did everything in her power to keep it, especially when it came to Dahna. Dacia felt she owed Dahna that much respect to keep what was going on secret until it was safe to come out with the truth. Then again, Elena was part of their family and Dacia considered her a sister…maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea if Elena knew everything.

Elena didn’t follow Dacia right away, wanting to give her time to cool down because she hadn’t expected that outburst. Dacia was usually the levelheaded one and had to calm Elena down several times throughout their friendship whenever they got in sticky situations. So this was definitely a role reversal, one that Elena wasn’t sure how to handle. She was tempted to call Stefan over because he seemed to be able to speak to people and get through to them in the most bizarre, yet effective, ways.

Chewing her bottom lip, Elena made a snap decision and pulled her cell phone out, sending him a quick text. ‘I hope Dacia doesn’t get mad at me for this.’ She thought, nodding when she received a text a few seconds later from Stefan, letting her know he was on his way over.

~!~

Stefan was in the study when he received a rather interesting text message from his girlfriend, requesting his presence. I need you, please come over. That was a very vague text, especially coming from Elena Gilbert and Stefan suddenly wondered if she was in trouble.

He could hear laughter coming from the kitchen and knew Damon was keeping Dahna Fell company while she cooked. Apparently, Damon’s plan to raid the Fell household was being put on hold for the evening after Dahna practically begged Damon to let her cook dinner for him. Hell, even Stefan wouldn’t pass up a home-cooked meal, though he maintained his distance and left them alone…for the most part.

“Damn it.” Stefan sighed, knowing he would have to leave the mansion and Dahna Fell completely alone with his manipulative big brother.

Neither thought settled well with him, though Stefan was more worried for the human woman that had no idea of Damon’s true intentions than their home. Damon would never destroy the mansion, that much Stefan knew, but he was afraid of leaving Dahna alone. What if Damon tried something while he was gone? What if, the second Stefan stepped out the front door and drove off, Damon decided to stop playing the nice guy act and resort to violence against Dahna?

On my way, be there in a few. Stefan texted back, not about to let his girlfriend down and had to put her first before anyone else, especially when it came to her safety.

He knew Elena wouldn’t request him to come over unless it was vital since she was supposed to be spending the night with Dahna’s little sister, Dacia. Cursing again, Stefan tossed his brown bomber jacket on and stalked out of the study, flying down the hallway toward the front door. He stopped short when another shriek of laughter echoed in his ears from the kitchen and decided to let big brother know he was leaving for a while. Laughter was a good sign and it made Stefan wonder just what Damon was doing to make Dahna laugh that hard.

No matter how hard she tried, Dahna couldn’t stop laughing at Damon, who currently had a photo album open on the counter while she sliced vegetables. She decided to make a dish called Chicken Primavera, one of her favorites and hoped Damon would enjoy it too. He’d just got done telling her a story about when he and Stefan were younger in grade school, all the hell they raised. It reminded her of how she and Dacia would take turns making their parents’ lives miserable when they were alive. Dahna would sneak out to be with Mike while Dacia covered for her with Jenna’s help.

“I can’t believe you actually did that!” Dahna crowed, shaking her head as she put the sliced carrots in the bowl and started on the broccoli. “I would never peg Stefan to do something like tip a cow on its side.”

Stefan heard that and immediately rushed into the kitchen with wide green eyes, eyebrows furrowed. “What exactly are you telling her, big brother?” He demanded, eyeballing the photo album and folded his arms in front of his chest, looking very shrewd. “Because let me set a few things straight, I’m not the one who went cow tripping and pissed Dad off, you did.”

“Oh come off it, little brother, we both know that’s a lie. I was too busy worrying about my studies while you wanted to gallivant all over the place and I had to cover for you.” Damon replied with a smirk, his blue eyes gleaming wickedly. “Going somewhere?”

“Yeah, Elena texted and asked me to come see her.” Stefan replied, watching as Dahna immediately stopped cutting, lovely worried emerald eyes locking with his. “She didn’t mention Dacia, if that’s what you’re wondering, Miss Fell.”

“Dahna, please.” She requested softly, setting the knife down on the counter and wiped her hands off on the apron currently tied around her waist. “What DID she say then? Because, last I knew, Dacia was staying the night with her.”

“She still is.” Stefan assured her, suddenly regretting blurting out where he was going. “I think Elena wants to talk to me about what happened between us earlier though. I won’t be long; I don’t want to take up too much of their time.”

Dahna seemed to believe him and stepped away, going back to cutting the broccoli. “Stefan, you would tell me if something was going on with Dacia, wouldn’t you?” She had to ask, not looking at him because she could feel his intense green eyes staring at her. “I mean, I know you’re only 17…” The stories Damon told her made Stefan seem much older than what he was, though Damon had said Stefan was just shy of thirteen during his rebellious phase.

Stefan nodded, lying through his teeth at the next words that came out of his mouth. “Yes, if I knew something, I would tell you Dahna. I honestly believe this has to do with what happened between me and Elena earlier.” Damn it, why did he have to say that twice? Now Damon was staring at him intensely and Stefan knew big brother wouldn’t let him leave without spilling his guts. “You have nothing to worry about when it comes to Dacia.” Stefan hoped, remembering what Elena told him earlier about Tyler Lockwood.

“I’ll walk you out, Stef.” Damon offered, already heading past him out of the kitchen and flashed an easy smile in Dahna’s way to assure her everything was fine. “I’ll be right back and tell you some more stories about our childhood, Dahna.”

“Looking forward to it.” Dahna murmured softly, watching the brothers walk out and decided to send Dacia a quick text to make sure she was alright.

“What the hell is going on?” Damon demanded as soon as they were out of earshot, standing near the front door. “You’re not leaving until you tell me what the hell happened between you and Elena earlier.”

“Fine, you wanna know so bad, I’ll tell you.” Stefan growled, shoving Damon a few feet away from him and tore a hand through his short dishwater blonde hair. “It wasn’t a big deal, but…she got a paper cut and started bleeding…in front of me…” He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the wooden door, still having the memory of Elena’s blood in his nostrils. “Her blood…I nearly lost control and attacked her, so I left abruptly and I know that’s what she wants to talk to me about. I’m not gonna tell her the truth, not yet…”

“When then?” Damon pressed, his thick black eyebrows furrowed and wasn’t sure if he approved of Stefan going to see Elena so soon after this incident. “Stefan, tread carefully about the decisions you make with Elena because she’ll more than likely laugh in your face if you just blurt out you’re a vampire.”

“I know that.” Stefan grunted, knowing Damon was right and felt sick to his stomach about going to see Elena. “She needs me though. What if she’s in trouble, Damon? I’m not risking it.” He looked down when his cell phone buzzed, another text from Elena asking if he was on his way. “Damn it, I have to go. Just…keep this between us, alright? And stop with the stories before you end up blurting the damn year it really happened in.”

“Relax brother; they’re just a few harmless stories that are making her laugh. Would you rather I torture her instead?” Damon shot back in a low voice, raising a brow when Stefan glared back at him in response. “That’s what I thought. Now go see your little morsel and, remember, not a word about them staying here.”

“I already promised, didn’t I?” Stefan growled, shoving Damon a little before stalking out the front door, slamming it shut behind him.

Damon smirked, knowing his little brother would keep his mouth shut and went back to join Dahna in the kitchen, hoping he could control himself now that they were completely alone.

Chapter 14

Stefan showing up was the last thing Dacia expected to happen during her overnight stay with Elena. She wasn’t upset about his visit, just curious and wondered why Elena would call him over. Dacia knew how much Elena liked Stefan and she supported their relationship 100%, but this was supposed to be a girl’s only night. So naturally, Dacia felt a little put out, but Elena assured her Stefan wouldn’t be there long.

“Just watch a movie and give me an hour with Stefan. I know I promised it would just be the two of us.” Elena felt horrible for doing this, but hopefully Dacia realized that it was the greater good.

“Okay, take your time.” Dacia simply replied with a small smile, leaning back against the couch with her carton of half eaten ice cream.

Pushing the guilt away for now, Elena grabbed Stefan’s hand and guided him out of the living room, through the kitchen down the hallway to the front door, deciding to go outside for this conversation. Stefan felt horrible that he’d interrupted Elena’s time with Dacia, suddenly wishing he ignored her text message. Honestly, the only reason Stefan decided to come in the first place was because he thought Elena was in danger. Now that he saw firsthand she was perfectly safe, Stefan wanted to leave and pretend he never showed up in the first place.

“So why did you call me over here?” Stefan demanded as soon as Elena shut the front door, pulling his hand out of hers and shoved both of them in the front pockets of his jeans.

Elena sighed heavily, hating how standoffish Stefan was being toward her and couldn’t understand the reason behind it. “Did I do something wrong?” She had to ask, putting the real reason for calling Stefan over to her house in the back of her mind. “Stefan, if we have issues than we need to work on them or they won’t go away. I don’t want our relationship ending because I did something stupid.”

Closing his eyes, Stefan walked over to lean against the porch ledge and clasped his hands together tightly, pressing his knuckles against his forehead. “It’s not you, Elena.” He assured in a soft low voice, hearing the hurt in her tone. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Then why are you being distant with me?” Elena pressed, reaching up to place a hand on his back and frowned at how tense he was. “Stefan…”

Letting out a soft growl, Stefan turned his intense green eyes on her and cupped her face in his hands, pressing his lips against hers. Every time Stefan kissed her, his entire body exploded into a forest fire and he could smell her delicious blood beneath the skin. He could hear her thudding heartbeat as the blood pumped fluidly through her body, feel her pulse quicken and every part of her melt against him.

“It’s definitely not you.” He whispered once the kiss broke, holding her tight against him as her face buried in his chest while his fingers ran through her hair lovingly. “Elena, there’s something about me that you don’t know and…until I feel comfortable telling you, I have to keep you in the dark.”

Elena pulled back, looking up at him with skeptical brown eyes. “What do you mean? I don’t want any secrets between us.” She reached up to caress his face tenderly with her hand, looking worried now. “You can tell me anything, Stefan.”

If only that were true, Stefan would tell her in a heartbeat, but their relationship was very new. “I’ll tell you in time, once we get to know each other a little better. I promise.” That was the best he could do, the only thing he could really offer and hoped it was enough for now.

“Just answer me one question then.” Elena pulled back, wrapping her arms around herself as the wind picked up, wishing she had pants on instead of baby blue cotton shorts with a matching spaghetti strapped tank top – her usual sleepwear. “Does it have to do with what happened earlier today?”

Stefan swallowed hard and looked away from her, clearing his throat a little awkwardly. “Yes.”

“Okay…” That definitely unnerved Elena to know that her little paper cut on her finger had to do with Stefan’s secret. “You have no idea how frustrating this is.”

Stefan chuckled, nodding in agreement and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head. “Don’t think about it right now. Just tell me why you called me over here.” They had to focus on something else, another subject, anything besides Stefan’s secret or else he’d end up spilling the truth. That definitely wouldn’t go over well with Damon.

“It’s Dacia. I want you to talk to her about this Tyler Lockwood situation. She lashed out at me earlier when we were talking because I said a snide comment about her sister, Dahna.” Elena felt ashamed for what she’d said, but honestly she couldn’t think of anything that would make Dacia postpone Tyler’s talk with Dahna…unless Dacia was trying to figure out a way to let Tyler down? “I didn’t mean to upset her and…there’s just something about you that reaches people. I can’t explain it, but I believe that if you talk to her about this situation, you can get through to her in ways I can’t.”

“So you called me over here because you want me to talk to your best friend, a girl I hardly know?” Had Elena lost her mind or was she screwing with him? Stefan could tell how serious she was just by the look in her beautiful brown eyes. “What makes you think I can get through to her if you can’t? What did you say about her sister anyway?”

“I just asked why she postponed Tyler from talking to her sister and said Dahna’s job couldn’t be THAT stressful. She told me that their lives had to calm down before Tyler can approach Dahna. Then she snapped out and said I have no idea what kind of stress her sister is under right now. Dacia is not the type to snap, it takes a lot to push her buttons, but right now she just seems on edge and I have no idea why.” Elena explained, sounding incredibly troubled about her best friend and hoped Stefan could do something to make Dacia open up a little. “I know it’s a long shot, but please talk to her, see if you can find out what’s going on.”

Stefan already knew what Dacia’s family issue was, but he couldn’t utter a word to Elena since he gave his word to his big brother. Rarely did Stefan break his word and he wasn’t sure if this situation was necessary to do so. Elena would keep prying and poking at Dacia until she finally did reveal the truth, so Stefan was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He had no idea what to do. Not only was he hiding something from Elena, but it seemed as though everyone that surrounded Elena’s life lately had secrets.

“Look, I don’t think Dacia is going to open up to me about what’s going on in her personal life, Elena.” Stefan stated, trying not to sound cynical, but at the same time it was fact. Even if Stefan didn’t already know what was going on with Dacia, there was a very big chance that Dacia would tell him to go to hell and mind his own business. “And you weren’t supposed to tell me about the Tyler situation either, so if I try talking to her about it, she’s going to know you blabbed.”

Groaning, Elena knew Stefan had a point and stomped her foot in frustration, hating that her boyfriend was right. “Damn, I didn’t think about that.” She grunted, looking back at the front door and knew she had to get back inside before Dacia left. “Okay alright, I was wrong to ask for your help with this. I guess whatever is bothering Dace will eventually come out, I just need to be patient.”

Stefan chuckled, thinking Elena was adorable whenever she became frustrated and pulled her back into his arms. “You have no idea how cute you are when you get all flustered and frustrated.” He kissed her softly, tenderly, trying to instill some kind of inner strength inside of her to face her best friend. “Everything will work out as it should. Just enjoy the night with her and don’t worry about what’s going on. When the time is right, she’ll tell you just as I will.”

“I know…” Elena sighed, enjoying being in his arms and looked up at him with those big chocolate brown eyes that melted him every time. “I wish you could trust me with the truth now, so I didn’t feel all this anxiety about what your secret is.”

Stefan could only nod, hating his big brother with each passing second and tried not to let his anger show. “Soon, I promise. Now get back inside and occupy your best friend. I’ll see you tomorrow at school.” He kissed her one final time before stepping back, heading down the porch steps toward his car.

Elena watched him leave and leaned against the porch ledge for a little while, just trying to wrap her mind around everything they talked about. So Stefan did have a secret he was keeping from her. At least he was honest about it and didn’t try to play dumb like 90% of the men in this world. She had to give him some kind of credit, but now Elena’s mind whirled with a thousand and one possibilities of what his secret could be. Something told her whatever it was, she wouldn’t like it and Elena could only hope that it didn’t completely destroy their budding relationship.

“Elena, are you okay?”

The sound of Dacia’s voice immediately told Elena that she’d been out there long after Stefan’s departure, her eyes shutting momentarily. “Yeah, sorry.” She flashed an apologetic smile and turned to face her best friend, heading toward the front door. “I was just thinking about a few things. Stefan left a while ago, in case you were wondering.”

Dacia waved her off dismissively, a genuine smile on her face. “Don’t worry about it. You two had to talk and I respect that.” She closed the front door and stepped out on the porch, having a blanket wrapped around her. “You wanna talk about it?”

“Nothing to really talk about.” Elena sighed, both of them moving to sit on the front porch steps and Dacia instantly offered some of the blanket so Elena didn’t freeze, both of them huddling up together. “I just…I don’t understand him sometimes, you know? I mean, he just flat out told me that he has a secret he’s been keeping from me and he can’t tell me about it yet. That makes me really nervous because I know I’m falling in love with him. I have the moment we bumped into each other at school and these feelings deep inside of me have exploded in such a short time. Now all I can think about is what could he possibly be hiding from me and it’s frustrating.”

Not saying anything at first, Dacia felt the twinge of guilt deep inside of her since she also had been keeping something from Elena. “Maybe he just doesn’t know how to tell you whatever it is he’s hiding. Stefan is a great guy, Lena. I’m sure whatever it is he’s hiding won’t be as bad as you think.” She said confidently, wrapping an arm around Elena’s shoulders to try comforting the best she could. “It certainly won’t be the bombshell like Tyler dropped on me about Mike, that’s for sure.”

“You honestly think everything will be okay with us?” Elena had to ask, all of her doubts about Stefan pouring out to the only other person, besides Jenna, that she trusted completely. “You don’t think it’s anything bad?”

“Honestly, no. Stefan just doesn’t seem like the type of guy to cheat or hurt a girl, not intentionally anyway. Something tells me it has to do with his big brother, Damon.” Dacia immediately regretted mentioning that name because Elena’s eyes widened and she could clearly see the curiosity burning in them. “At least, that’s my guess anyway.”

“You know about Damon?” Elena raised a slow eyebrow, pulling away to cross her arms in front of her chest. “Dacia Fell, what are you not telling me?”

“Nothing.” Dacia answered quickly, too quickly, and cursed her brain for being scrambled suddenly. “I mean, who doesn’t know about the infamous Salvatore brothers? Their family has been a part of this town for centuries, after all.” That sounded believable enough and Dacia secretively crossed her fingers and toes, hoping Elena bought the lame excuse.

“Right, but Stefan just recently moved here and Damon followed shortly after.” To Elena’s knowledge anyway, though she could’ve been wrong in assuming Stefan had come into town before Damon. “Unless I’m mistaken…”

“Yeah, I think you are because Damon has been doing some investigating for the sheriff for the past couple years.” Oh man, Dacia just made it worse and laughed nervously, looking away from a bewildered Elena. “It’s cold out here, let’s go inside and talk.”

Completely baffled, Elena stood up from the porch with Dacia as both girls headed inside the house, locking the door behind them. They went back into the living room and Elena turned on a movie while Dacia went to put the ice cream back in the freezer. Dacia took her time going back to the living room, trying to rack her mind on how she could get Elena to focus on something besides the Salvatore brothers…more importantly, Damon.

If she found out the truth about them staying at the mansion, Dacia would betray her sister’s trust and that could not happen. This was so messed up. All Dacia wanted to do was crawl in a hole and never come out again, feeling like she wanted to rip her hair out of her skull for opening her big mouth. Banging her head against the refrigerator a few times, Dacia finally couldn’t hold off joining Elena in the living room and took a deep breath, stopping when her cell suddenly buzzed.

Where are you? We need to talk, it’s important.

It was a text from Tyler Lockwood. Dacia had made it clear to him earlier that day she was spending the night with her best friend. Did he suddenly forget or have a sudden case of amnesia? Dacia was tempted to ignore him, but then thought back to how Elena had invited Stefan over for a quick chat during their supposed girl’s only night. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to invite Tyler over to find out what he wanted. It would also get Elena’s mind off of what Dacia revealed about the council too, hopefully.

I’m at Elena’s. Come over here if you want to talk.

Nodding, Dacia was satisfied with that response and headed back into the living room, letting Elena know what was happening.

Chapter 15

“That was possibly the best meal I’ve ever had and I’ve had a lot of meals in my day.” Damon complimented, dabbing his mouth with a napkin and leaned back against the chair, completely stuffed from a fantastic dinner. “I think I might explode.”

“Well don’t do that. I would hate to have your brother come home and explain to him that my cooking made you explode into a thousand pieces.” Dahna joked, sending a wink in his direction as she finished her glass of wine, which went wonderfully with the meal. “And besides,” She paused, standing and began clearing the table. “There’s still dessert.”

Damon groaned, that one word coming from Dahna’s mouth completely igniting the fire he tried to keep quenched throughout dinner. “I don’t think I could eat another bite.” He said truthfully, patting his stomach through the gray dress shirt he wore and took another sip of wine. “What did you make?”

“You’ll see.” Dahna replied, immediately stopping Damon when he stood to try to help clear the table. “Nope, you stay right where you are and relax. I can handle this.”

“Are you sure?” Damon could tell how exhausted Dahna was, especially after a long hard day at work and he honestly didn’t mind helping. “You cooked, I should clean up…”

Dahna smiled warmly and set down the pile of plates on the table before walking over to where he stood, emerald gems locking with aquamarine. “After everything you’ve done for me and my sister,” She paused, placing her hand against his chest and gently but firmly pushed, forcing him back into his seat with that same smile on her face. “This is the least I can do to begin paying you back for your hospitality. You’ve worked so hard on my father’s case and this is the only way I can show my undying appreciation for your hard work and determination. So please, let me clean up. It’s no trouble at all and, besides, I have to bring dessert out anyway.”

Even after 3 years of being away from her, Damon still couldn’t resist those beautiful emerald eyes. There was so much time they missed and this was his chance, the only solution, and nothing would stand in his way or he would destroy the obstacle. He reached up to run his fingers gently over hers against his chest, their eyes never leaving each other.

Would she remember him once Damon finally revealed the truth about their past? Would he be able to break through to the dark recesses of her mind where he knew all of those memories were locked tightly away? Damon could only hope and, if he couldn’t, then they would have to build new memories together.

“Take your time, Dahna.” Damon murmured softly, squeezing her hand when she began pulling it away from his chest and fought back the urge to keep it where it was. Her touch felt incredible, just like it always had and always would. “I’m looking forward to whatever it is.”

Flashing another radiant smile, Dahna managed to pull her gaze away from Damon and grabbed the plates, rushing into the kitchen. Her throat felt constricted and dry, like she was suddenly standing in the middle of a hot desert. Why did he have such a powerful effect on her? Dahna didn’t understand it and took her time gathering the dessert, which was a delicious 3 layer marble cake with white whipped frosting and strawberries on top.

It was one of her mother’s favorites and Dahna’s, so she hoped Damon enjoyed it too. Thankfully the dessert plates were already set out on the table as Dahna lifted the cake, carrying it back into the room where Damon sat waiting patiently. Christ, even sitting there looking lost in thought made Damon look sexy!! Dahna had officially lost her mind as she gave herself a quick mental shake and set the cake down on the table.

“Wow…” Damon blinked, not expecting such a masterpiece and suddenly remembered how much Dahna loved to cook for people. ‘Some things never change.’ He thought and watched as she sliced through the cake, giving him a small piece and set it in front of him.

“It’s been a while since I’ve cooked for someone other than my sister and I noticed you had all the ingredients for this cake, so I whipped it up while making dinner.” Dahna explained, once again locking emerald on aquamarine and didn’t release the plate fully because of how hypnotic the trance was.

“It looks delicious and I know it’ll taste even better.” Damon replied smoothly, gently but firmly pushing her hand off of the plate and smiled when Dahna finally broke eye contact with him.

‘What the hell is wrong with me?’ Dahna thought, berating herself for acting like this around the man who was going to protect her and Dacia. “I hope you enjoy it.” After slicing herself a small piece of the cake as well, Dahna took her seat, refilled her water glass and drained it in a few gulps, her breathing somewhat labored.

Damon noticed this, rarely missing anything and took a bite of the cake, his eyes instantly closing. Just as he remembered, it was mouthwatering and moist, melting in his mouth instantly. Dahna’s cooking had been one of the many reasons…Damon immediately stopped that train of thought as his eyes snapped open, not realizing his own breathing kicked up a notch.

All these memories and being in the same room, the same roof, alone with Dahna was making everything more intense. Every feeling, every emotion, every memory…it was all coming back tenfold and Damon was having a hard time maintaining control. All he wanted to do was grab Dahna and…Damon suddenly dove into the cake and ate with gusto, trying to get his mind off of the woman sitting beside him. Their hands were so close that all Damon had to do was reach over and they would touch.

Dahna barely finished half of her cake by the time Damon devoured his and stared at him completely baffled. “Umm do you want another piece?” She asked hesitantly, setting her fork down and stopped from reaching for the cake when Damon shook his head.

“As tempting as that sounds, I really can’t eat another bite.” Damon declined politely; his voice a little strained and stood up from the table, a glass of bourbon in hand. “Care to join me for a drink in the study?”

Would Dahna ever be able to deny this man anything? “Sure, just let me clean up…” Her head snapped up when Damon stopped her, his hand wrapped around her wrist gently and Dahna immediately looked away, pulling her wrist from his grasp.

“It can wait until later.” He rumbled, not bothered by Dahna’s reaction and instead wrapped an arm around her waist, guiding her out of the dining area toward the study.

“The cake…”

“Isn’t going anywhere.” Damon finished for her, flashing a charming smile as reassurance. “You worry too much.”

Dahna could feel her cheeks flame up and lowered her head a little, looking to the side as they continued down the long corridor. “This is so strange.” She commented once they were inside the study and Damon handed her a glass of bourbon, taking a sip of it.

“Why?”

Not answering him at first, Dahna ran her thumb around the rim of the glass thoughtfully and finally looked up at Damon when he sat down beside her. “Can I tell you something and you won’t laugh at me?”

“You can tell me anything, Dahna.”

She wasn’t sure about that, but Dahna decided to take a small leap of faith and took another sip of bourbon, trying to gather her thoughts. “I feel like…I’ve been here before. And not just temporarily moving in. When I first came here, I felt as though I’d been here before.” She started laughing, no humor in her tone and took a bigger drink of the bourbon. “Stupid huh?”

This somewhat troubled Damon to hear, though he was thankful Dahna had so gallantly come out with how she truly felt. “Maybe you have.” Damon knew he was treading on dangerous ground right now with that small statement, but he also didn’t want Dahna thinking she was insane because of the familiarity of the mansion.

“What do you mean?” Dahna looked back at him with confused emerald eyes, one eyebrow quirked.

“I mean exactly what I said.” Damon simply replied, swallowing down half of his bourbon without blinking and leaned forward until their noses practically touched. “What makes you think you haven’t been here before, Dahna? You grew up in Mystic Falls. You were born and raised here. This place has been around for hundreds of years and most consider it haunted. Maybe you and your friends came here when you were younger and you just don’t know it. Or hell, maybe your father even brought you here since he was part of the council.”

He made a lot of sense and Dahna suddenly felt like she was two inches tall, if that. “Yeah you’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. I mean, I would remember if I was here before.” The nervous laughter returned as Dahna swallowed it down with another sip of bourbon, hoping her cheeks stopped burning soon. “Forget I said anything.”

Damon chuckled, waving her off dismissively and stood to refill his glass. “There’s no need to be embarrassed, Dahna. It was a simple question, no harm done.” He swapped his glass for a bigger one, trying to remain indifferent with this conversation. “You could’ve also had a dream about being here. You know...déjà vu or something like that.”

“Do you believe in déjà vu, Damon?” Dahna asked, turning on the couch to face him curiously.

“Wholeheartedly.” Damon replied, walking away from the bar with his fresh glass of whiskey and took his place beside Dahna again. “Now it’s my turn to ask you a question.”

“What is it?” Dahna tried not to sound skeptical, but part of her couldn’t help it all things considered.

“The night your father died…”

“No.” Dahna stood up instantly, shaking her head and set her drink down, clearing her throat. “I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“I can’t talk about my father’s death.” It was too painful, even after 3 years. “It’s bad enough I have to talk about it whenever Dacia brings it up, which isn’t often, thankfully.”

With Dahna’s back facing him, Damon used his enhanced speed and flew up to stand right behind her, placing his hands on her hips. He could feel her shaking slightly and frowned, not meaning to upset her by bringing up Landon. Dahna’s pain and heartache crashed over him like a tidal wave, but Damon refused to let her brush him off. He had to know just how deep her hatred was for Landon’s killer – him.

“Dahna,” His mouth hovered over her ear and Damon closed his eyes briefly when she pressed her back against his chest, their bodies molding together perfectly. “You can’t keep what you feel bottled up inside or it will destroy you. I’m not Dacia; you don’t have to be strong with me. I can help you with this, if you let me.”

Staring straight ahead, Dahna didn’t know why she was allowing Damon Salvatore to touch and talk to her like this, but it felt…right. It was that annoying right feeling that had her completely perplexed and, truthfully, it terrified her. All she wanted to do was turn around and press her lips to his, to feel his body against hers, to beg him to screw her until they both couldn’t breathe. The amount of desire coursing through her body just from a mere touch had Dahna’s mind spiraling and it didn’t cease when Damon brought up her deceased father.

“Why do you care?” She asked, tears burning in her eyes and felt his hands gently running up and down her sides. “I don’t understand…”

“Because I know what it’s like to lose someone you love.” Damon murmured quietly, meaning what he said and didn’t step back when she turned to face him.

His dead heart broke into pieces at the sight of the waterfall streaming down her cheeks. Not able to resist, Damon cupped her face in his hands and wiped her tears away with his thumbs, pulling her closer to him. All he wanted to do was take her pain away, but Damon knew in order to do that he would have to make her remember everything. That simply wasn’t an option at the moment.

“Who did you lose?” Dahna asked softly, reaching up to hold Damon’s wrists and stared into those electric baby blues that made her heart do palpitations.

“A very special woman.” His finger ran down her cheek to her jawline and back up again to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “3 years ago.”

Dahna frowned, her heart breaking for him from the amount of pain in his eyes at the mention of this woman. “Around the time my father died?” She hated asking, but once again curiosity won out.

“The night he died, actually.” Damon admitted, clearing his throat gruffly and pulled away from her to grab his drink, taking a few deep breaths.

Dahna suddenly needed a drink herself and copied what he did, though she was more of a Vodka drinker. “Do you mind if I ask what happened?” Since he wanted to delve into her personal life, Dahna didn’t feel it was inappropriate to do the same to him.

“No, I don’t.” Damon walked over to stare out the window near the fireplace, swallowing down some bourbon. “She was exquisite, the most breathtaking woman I’ve ever met in my life.” Suddenly, an idea filled Damon’s mind and he decided to go through with it. Not only would he get the answers he wanted, but hopefully Dahna would open up to him about the night he killed Landon. “Tell you what,” He paused, turning his head to face her. “I’ll tell you all about her, if you tell me about the night your father died.”

“Why do you want to know so badly?” Dahna demanded, getting a little irritated and folded her arms in front of her chest, becoming defensive.

“Because you weren’t in Mystic Falls the night it happened.”

Dahna lowered her eyes to the floor, the shame and guilt filling her body from head to toe. “I know.” She whispered, heading up the few steps to the bar to see if Damon had any Vodka.

“So tell me, where were you the night he died?” Damon pressed, refusing to back off now that they were alone and his meddlesome baby brother couldn’t interfere.

Not answering for a few minutes, Dahna quickly spotted what she wanted and opened the new bottle of Vodka, pouring herself a healthy dose. “I was out of town at college. I left a few months prior to his death and went to college. It was my Dad’s idea actually.”

Of course it was, Damon thought, fighting back a snort as he drained his glass and could feel her standing behind him. “What college?” He pushed on, practically growling that last question out and kept his back to her.

“Lynchburg.”

Why hadn’t Damon searched the surrounding towns of Mystic Falls? That just angered him further because of his stupidity. “What did you go there for?”

“Damon…”

In lightning quick speed, Damon whipped around and grabbed Dahna by the arms, shoving her forcefully against the wall, but not hard enough to hurt her. His eyes blazed with barely contained fury, the flames taking over the beautiful aquamarine color they normally were. She left because of her precious Daddy and Damon suddenly wished that dick was alive just so he could rip his heart out of his chest all over again. Before Dahna could utter a word or sound, Damon’s lips crashed against hers, not able to maintain control any longer.

Chapter 16

Pacing on the front porch, Dacia was getting angrier with each minute that ticked by, wanting to ring Tyler’s neck. It was cold and here she was outside, waiting for him in just a robe and socks. If she caught a cold because he took his sweet time coming over, she was going to kill him. Gritting her teeth, Dacia looked down at her watch for the hundredth time and growled when yet another minute ticked by. That made it a full half an hour since Tyler sent her a text saying he had to talk to her about something important.

“This better be a life or death situation.” Dacia grunted, rubbing her arms trying to warm up and suddenly stopped when she felt a presence behind her.

“Hi Dace, it’s been a while.”

Dacia tilted her head, hardly believing who stood in front of her and folded her arms in front of her chest. “What the hell are you doing here, Caroline?” She demanded, wondering if her ex-best friend had a death wish or was just plain stupid coming here.

“I wanted to talk to you about a few things.” Caroline said simply, walking past her and fluffed her long blonde hair out over her shoulders with a sinister smile. “I heard you found out about me and Mike. I think we need to clear the air about that.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Caroline. I know what you did. You screwed my now ex-boyfriend behind my back, kept it a secret from me and made me find out from your ex-boyfriend. That’s pretty cut and dry, there is no gray area. You chose to be a whore and now you’re trying to rectify what you did. So do yourself a favor and just leave me the hell alone before I end up beating the hell out of you.” Dacia warned, barely containing her rage as she clenched her fists at her sides, brown eyes alight with fury.

“Ooo now we’re tossing accusations and threats out, eh?” Caroline cackled, placing her hands on her hips and snorted. “Let me ask you a question, Dace-”

“Dacia, you don’t have the right to call me Dace. Only my friends and family do.” Dacia cut her off instantly, maintaining her distance and decided to humor the whore. “What’s your damn question?”

“What makes you think Tyler is telling the truth?” Caroline asked, that same serene smile on her face that made Dacia want to haul off and knock her out. “I mean, think about this for just a second before you jump to conclusions about me. Tyler and I broke up because of you. He’s wanted you from day one, but he couldn’t have you because you were with Mike. As far as Mike and me sleeping together goes, I would never do that to you, Dacia. You were my best friend and the reason I stopped talking to you is because Tyler broke up with me to be with you. I loved him so much and I still do, but he doesn’t feel the same way and I sort of…it hurt me and I didn’t know if I could be your friend since you stole my boyfriend away from me. Tyler has been lying to you just so he can get into your pants and, me being the loving friend I always have been, decided you deserved to know the truth.”

Dacia could hardly believe the vicious words coming out of Caroline’s mouth and felt tears sting her eyes, so much hurt and anguish reflecting in her brown eyes. “Are you kidding me right now? Seriously? You seriously expect me to believe that crap that just spewed from your mouth?” Blinking, huge tears slid down her face as Dacia began pacing back and forth on the porch, doing everything in her power not to tackle this blonde slut. “There’s a reason why Tyler ended your relationship, Caroline, and it wasn’t because of me. It’s because he found out what a no good, lying, cheating scumbag you are. Because he realized he deserves ten times better than you and doesn’t want to contract any diseases you have from all the multiple men you’ve screwed behind his back, Mike included. You can rationalize this all you want, Caroline, but here’s a harsh fact. Ready? You’re not good enough for Tyler Lockwood and also think about this: It’s because of you that we’re talking and getting to know each other. It’s because of you that we might end up together and it’s your fault you lost him, nobody else’s. Delete my number too and don’t ever send me text messages pretending to be him again. That’s very tacky, childish and low, even for the likes of you.”

Her entire face turned beat red as Caroline gaped at Dacia, not believing what she just said. “HOW DARE YOU-!”

“How dare I what? Tell the truth? Pick you apart piece by piece and make you realize what a conniving heartless bitch you are?” The tears didn’t stop flowing as Dacia suddenly snapped and shoved Caroline as hard as she could, making the blonde fly down the porch steps landing on the lawn. “I have to tell you, when I found out that you screwed Mike, I didn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe that someone I used to share my deepest and darkest secrets with could ever betray me like that. You knew how much I loved Mike. You knew I wanted to marry him after high school and start a family. But you couldn’t stand to see me happy, could you? You had the perfect guy, the perfect relationship, and you threw it away for what? Because of stupid assumptions and a figment of your messed up imagination? Tyler LOVED you, Caroline. He loved you so much and you tossed him away like yesterday’s garbage just like Mike did to me. Only at least he had the courtesy and guts to tell you to your face the REAL reason why he ended your relationship. Mike never gave me that satisfaction and gave me this poor excuse that he wanted to date college women. Must’ve been nice to sleep with your best friend’s man, but I do have one question for you.”

“What?” Caroline snapped through gritted teeth, too distracted rubbing her sore knee since it hit hard on the grass.

“Did you enjoy my sloppy seconds?”

Gaping, Caroline could only blink in shock as Dacia turned and walked back up the porch steps inside the house, slamming the door behind her with authority. She managed to scramble to her feet and rushed back to her car in angry tears, not believing how this night turned out. All she wanted to do was try to convince Dacia that Tyler had lied about her and Mike sleeping together, but it was obvious he made her believe him.

Not that it wasn’t true because Caroline did sleep with Mike while he was with Dacia, but it was only due to the fact she found out Tyler wanted Dacia. Tyler hurt her, so she wanted to hurt him back and, in the process, lost both of her best friends she grew up with. Caroline had no idea how to fix this and suddenly shrieked, hitting the steering wheel several times as tears flowed down her cheeks. Because of Tyler Lockwood, her entire world was in shambles and Caroline had to figure out a way to pay him back for all the pain he caused her. She just needed time to think and strategize, her blue eyes icing over, flashing dangerously.

Meanwhile, Elena heard her front door slam shut and rushed out of the living room into the hallway, seeing a very shaken Dacia. “What the hell happened?” She demanded, pulling Dacia into her arms. “Are you okay?”

“No.” Dacia pulled away from Elena and kept her arms firmly wrapped around her, trying to calm down.

“What happened?” Elena tried again, stepping back with her hands held up defensively.

Dacia remained silent and didn’t say a single word, not moving an inch. She was afraid if she did she would completely lose it and break down, which is something Elena didn’t need to witness. When Elena asked if she wanted anything, all Dacia could do was hand over her cell phone, the name Tyler already on the front of the screen. Confused, Elena took the phone, deciding their girl’s night was shot to hell and dialed Tyler’s number, hoping he answered.

He did on the third ring. “What’s up baby?”

Elena rolled her eyes. “Tyler, it’s Elena. I have Dacia’s phone and…look, you need to get over to my house immediately. I don’t know what happened, but she’s not talking to me and she’s standing completely stiff in my hallway. I don’t know what to do. All she did was hand over her cell phone with your name on the caller ID.”

Tyler was up on his feet instantly; bolting out of bed and pulling his boxers on since he liked sleeping naked. “What happened, Elena?” He demanded, quickly pulling on jeans and fastening them before tossing a shirt over his shoulder.

“All I know is Dacia thought she received a text message from you over an hour ago stating you had something important you wanted to talk to her about. She wasn’t happy about it…”

“Why the hell would I text her? She told me that tonight was girl’s night with you and that she didn’t want to be bothered.” Tyler sounded annoyed, quickly pulling the shirt over his head. “I didn’t text her, so that means someone else did and pretended to be me.”

“That’s what I’m thinking too…” Elena glanced over at Dacia and frowned, worried about her friend. “I’m tempted to call her sister because now she’s silently crying…”

That was enough for Tyler to bolt out of his room and hopped down the hallway while pulling his shoes on, heading down the stairs at record speed. “I’m on my way. Don’t call anyone, Elena, you hear me? She wants to see me or else she would’ve had Dahna’s number on her phone when she handed it over. Just be patient, I’m getting in my car and I’ll be there in a few.”

Elena stared down at Dacia’s phone and sighed, setting it aside instead of calling Dahna like she probably should have. “Tyler is on his way over. How about we go sit down in the living room and wait for him?” She suggested softly, blinking when all Dacia did was walk right back outside on the front porch, leaving the front door wide open.

There was only one person Dacia wanted to talk to and that was Tyler Lockwood, her eyes remaining focused on the front of the house. If he did lie about Mike cheating on her with Caroline, he was going to lose his balls in seconds. Dacia did NOT like playing games and hoped Tyler wasn’t playing one with her because, if he was, she was going to ask Damon Salvatore to deal with him. Pulling on her own robe, Elena went out on the porch to wait with Dacia, not wanting her to be alone right now.

When a beautiful sleek black 1971 Buick GS pulled up on the curb, Dacia practically flew down the porch steps down the sidewalk. She was completely oblivious to Elena standing with her, her mind on only one goal. Tyler blinked when he was suddenly shoved in the chest by a very distraught looking Dacia, wondering what that was about.

“I want the truth from you and I want it NOW.” Dacia ordered angrily, shoving him again and blinked as a fresh waterfall of tears flooded her cheeks. “Did you lie to me about Mike just so you could get in my pants, huh? Was that your big master plan, Lockwood?”

Now Tyler was angry as his dark eyes darkened, though he didn’t dare shove Dacia back, not wanting to hurt her. “What the hell are you talking about, Dacia?” Who the hell put these doubts in her head suddenly? “I would never lie to you about something like that!”

“Then how did Caroline manage to text me from your phone?” Dacia pulled her phone out and handed it over, letting him read the simple text message from earlier that she thought was from Tyler. “Answer me that.”

“I have no idea, Dacia.” Tyler sounded exhausted and drained, having had a very long day at school. “I hope you don’t think that I’m in cahoots with Caroline because I’m not. Is that what this is all about? What the hell happened tonight?”

Sniffling, Dacia snatched her phone away from him and shoved it back in her robe pocket, wiping tears away. “After I received that text message, I waited outside for a half an hour after telling Elena you were stopping by to talk to me about something important. Only you didn’t show up, it was the cheating whore.”

“Caroline was here?” Elena blurted, not meaning to get involved and held her hands up when Tyler’s angry dark eyes landed on her. “Hey, I had NO idea she was here because Dace asked me to wait inside while you talked to her!”

“What did the whore say?” Tyler asked through gritted teeth, wanting to rip Caroline’s head off for coming near Dacia.

“She said that you lied about Mike and her having sex so you could get in my pants. That you broke up with her to be with me and you wanted me the whole time I was with Mike.” Dacia shivered, getting cold because she was crying and stepped back when Tyler tried pulling her into his arms, shaking her head. “She said she would do something like sleep with Mike and the reason she stopped being friends with me is because she found out you wanted me instead of her. She basically accused me of stealing you away from her!”

“And you BELIEVE her?!” Tyler was outraged by now and began pacing back and forth in front of Dacia, raking a trembling hand through his short black hair. “That is the BIGGEST load of horseshit I’ve ever heard in my LIFE!! She’s a lying bitch! I wouldn’t make up a lie about her and Mike just so I could be with you, Dacia! I’ve been completely honest and upfront with you about everything since we talked at the party!” Trying to get a grip on his temper, Tyler suddenly grabbed Dacia roughly by the arms and yanked her against him, forcing those chocolate eyes to lock with black onyx stones. “Don’t you see what she’s trying to do to us, baby? She’s trying to drive a wedge between us because she’s a conniving bitch. I told you how I felt. I told you that I wanted to be with you, but Mike beat me to the punch. I told you all you need to know, so why you would take that bitch’s word over mine is…”

Dacia pressed her finger to his lips, silencing him and instead cupped his face with her soft hands, softly kissing him. “I believe you, Tyler. You don’t have to say anymore.” She whispered once the kiss broke and gasped when he responded with a kiss of his own, only it was more passionate and fiery.

Smiling, Elena decided to give them some privacy and headed back inside the house, hoping that Dacia gave some thought to giving Tyler a chance at having a relationship.

Chapter 17

Her fingers delved in his thick short black hair the moment Damon captured her lips with his, every part of Dahna’s body filling with liquid fire as she melted against him. His outburst didn’t scare her because Dahna knew Damon would never hurt her, not intentionally anyway. The amount of fire and spark in this one kiss was enough to send her mind reeling, making her crave more.

No man had ever kissed her quite like this, Dahna thought, and once again that sense of familiarity washed over her. Why was she suddenly getting the feeling of déjà vu again? Dahna had never met Damon Salvatore until a few nights ago at the Lockwood mansion, to her knowledge, so why did this kiss feel conversant? And why did Dahna suddenly want Damon to take her upstairs to his room and have his way with her?

Her lips tasted the same, the sweetest nectar. Damon knew he let his emotions override his sense of sagacity, but none of that mattered right now. He didn’t regret kissing Dahna and never would, no matter the circumstances. The brutality of the kiss quickly turned to pure passion as Damon lifted Dahna with ease and groaned when her legs wrapped around his waist.

There was no point in fighting Damon when she wanted him as much as he wanted her. So when his tongue slid across her lips, silently asking for permission to taste her, Dahna couldn’t turn down the delicious offer. Dahna moaned deeper as soon as their tongues touched, sending shivers throughout her body as Damon searched every crevice of her mouth. The fact he tasted amazing did not surprise Dahna because a man of this caliber had to be a phenomenal kisser and an even more amazing lover, she safely assumed.

Pure ambrosia was Damon’s first thought as soon as he tasted her sweet saliva and tongue against his, so many memories flooding him at once. It was too much, he had to stop this before they went too far and his plan completely went up in smoke. Damon had to regain control of this situation fast and tightened his already shut eyes, very reluctantly breaking the kiss.

“Stop.” Damon ordered in a very gruff low voice, quickly setting a confused Dahna back on her feet and stepped away, his aquamarine eyes wide. “Dahna, we can’t…” Not yet, Damon added in thought, and could feel the rejection pouring forth from Dahna.

Dahna stood there for several long minutes trying to get her equilibrium back on track, her lips swollen from the intensity of Damon’s kiss. “Why not?” She finally spoke, her emerald green eyes darkened and clouded over in a forest green color that reminded Damon of the woods late at night surrounding them.

This was going to kill Damon to say, but he had no other choice and kept his eyes locked on her. “Because I’m your protector and it’s not right.” Man did that leave a bad taste in his mouth. “I’m supposed to be protecting you and your sister from your father’s killer, not shacking up with you. If I let myself fall in bed with you, Dahna…” This was harder than Damon thought as he took a step closer to her, cupping her face in his hand. “If I let myself get completely lost in you, in us, and lose my focus, it could be the very last thing I do.”

His words left her breathless, hurt and confused all at once, but she somehow figured out what Damon was doing through it all. “I understand…” She took his hand away from her face and stepped back on shaky legs, smiling serenely. “You’re scared.”

Damon couldn’t stop the derisive snort from escaping him. “Excuse me? I’m not scared of anything, Dahna.” He assured her somewhat smugly, starting to turn around to head back to the bar, but was stopped by Dahna’s hand on his arm.

“Don’t you dare stand there and lie to me, Damon Salvatore.” Dahna demanded, squaring her shoulders and refused to back down from any man, including him. “You’re scared to explore the obvious spark between us. Tell me you didn’t feel it.” She challenged suddenly, running her fingertips down his shirt covered chest to rest over his heart. “Tell me you don’t want me.”

Sighing, Damon wished Dahna wasn’t so stubborn and just walked away, but it was crystal clear her dignity had been disparaged. “Dahna, it was just a kiss that got out of hand and I apologize for it. I never should’ve kissed you, it was a mistake. We need to keep this relationship professional. I can’t get distracted while protecting you or else it could mean your life and Dacia’s. So just go upstairs, get some sleep and forget this ever happened.” He took her hand, kissed the top of it and walked out of the study, leaving her standing there mystified.

A mistake…Damon thought the kiss between them was a mistake? Dahna blinked as tears slid down her cheeks, thankful he’d already left the room because she refused to cry in front of him. That was fine. He brought her and Dacia into his home to protect them and didn’t want to mix business with pleasure. Dahna vowed to never be in the same room alone with Damon again if she could help it and, if she was, she would keep everything completely professional.

Storming out of the study, Dahna rushed upstairs to her room and closed the door harshly, flipping the lock on it. Suddenly feeling disgusting, she tore her clothes off and stomped into the bathroom, slamming the door shut to rid some of her bottled up anger. Dahna started the shower and made sure to put the sprays on cold, hoping that calmed her down a little so she could get at least a few hours of sleep.

Stepping under the sprays, Dahna closed her eyes and reflected on the last couple hours she spent with Damon. He’d been so charming and polite during dinner, but then as soon as they started talking about her father, Damon completely did a turnaround on her. She didn’t understand why Landon’s death affected him so much or why. Then Damon shoved her against the wall, as soon as she answered his question about what college she attended when her father died, and kissed her.

Feeling a headache coming on from all the thinking combined with cold water from the shower, Dahna decided to call it a night and stepped out, wrapping a towel around her body. She brushed her teeth and hair before heading out into her huge bedroom that suddenly felt like a prison. Slipping into some garments and a pale blue nightgown that went to her knees, Dahna climbed into bed and fell asleep before her head hit the pillow.

~!~

The bookstore was her favorite place to go because it was quiet and gave her a sense of peace from her hectic household. Once again, her father had tried talking to her about being a part of the stupid Founder’s council and Dahna didn’t want anything to do with it. She had her own life to live and wanted to get the hell out of Mystic Falls as soon as she graduated high school, a few months away.

Dahna had applied to several colleges out of state and she was waiting for letters of acceptance. Being a straight A student throughout school, Dahna wasn’t worried about being accepted since that’s what colleges looked for. Leaning back against her usual comfortable brown leather chair, Dahna curled up with a book by her favorite author and started reading, becoming lost in the story.

“Jack London, eh? Interesting.”

Slowly pulling the book down to uncover her face, Dahna suddenly lost her breath at the man standing before her and smiled. Starting with his black boot covered feet, he wore a pair of black jeans that looked painted on and a long sleeved black sweater that molded to his upper body and arms to perfection. The most amazing and intriguing thing about him, however, were his eyes. They were a unique shade of blue that reminded Dahna of two aquamarine stones. He also had shaggy cropped black hair that somewhat fell in his eyes and thick black eyebrows that made him positively devilish…in a good way.

“It’s a guilty pleasure of mine.” Dahna replied, hoping the man didn’t realize she’d just basically undressed him with her eyes. “What about you?”

“He’s one of my favorite authors of all time. Call of the Wild, ever read it?”

Even his voice was sexy; the man dripped pure sexuality from head to toe. “One of my favorites, but…” She trailed off, waving the current book in her hand. “White Fang beats it, hands down.”

The man snorted, rolling those beautiful aquamarine eyes and continued looking through the Jack London section of the bookstore. “Please! Call of the Wild has much more adventure and a better plot than White Fang ever thought.” He argued, flashing a smirk in her direction that nearly made her go weak in the knees.

“To each his or her own.” Dahna winked and went back to reading her book, glancing over when the man took the other leather seat beside her, a table sitting between them.

“So, what’s your name?” He decided to try sparking a conversation with her, which amused Dahna to no end.

“You first.”

Aquamarine eyes glittered under the dim lighting of the bookstore as the man set the book in his lap, flashing a heart stopping smile. “Fair enough.” He extended his hand politely. “My name is Damon. What’s yours?”

Normally, Dahna would’ve been skeptical of a man who only gave his first name, but for some reason she wasn’t with him and took his hand, shaking it gently. “Dahna.” The bolt of electricity that shot up her arm wasn’t missed by either of them as emerald green eyes met aquamarine, their hands still interlocked.

“Beautiful name.” Damon rumbled huskily, very reluctantly releasing her hand and loved the way her cheeks flushed.

“Thanks.” Dahna went back to reading her book and couldn’t focus, not when her interest was solely on Damon. “What other books by Jack London do you like?”

“His very first one called The Son of the Wolf. He was just starting out, but the plot was exceptional.” Damon replied, leaning back against the chair and propped his knuckle on his chin. “What about you?”

“It’s a toss-up between The Road and The Scarlet Plague.” Dahna shrugged nonchalantly, looking out the window and could tell the sun was starting to set. That meant she had to get home soon or else her parents would ground her until she was 50. “I hate cutting this short, but I really have to get going.”

Damon watched her stand up and shoved the Jack London book in her bag; having a feeling she frequented this place often. “Do you mind if I walk you home?” He asked, smiling when she raised an eyebrow over her shoulder at him. “Hey, it’s getting late and a beautiful woman like you shouldn’t be walking the streets of this town alone.”

“Why because of things that go bump in the night?” Dahna shot back jokingly, pulling her book bag over her shoulder.

“Of course, why else would I offer my services?” Damon noticed the book bag and blinked, wondering exactly how old Dahna was, deciding to ask. “How old are you?” He asked bluntly, watching as she slowly turned to fully face him.

“You do realize it’s rude to ask a woman her age, right?” She retorted with a smirk, letting Damon know his question didn’t bother her as amusement shined in her eyes. “But since you asked, I’ll humor you with an answer. I’m 18.”

Damon mentally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled a little easier, having replaced the Jack London book on the shelf he picked up. “Good because for a minute I thought you were in high school or something.” He gestured to her book bag, his aquamarine orbs practically glowing. “So how about that walk home?”

Dahna should’ve been honest with him when he assumed she went to school, but at the moment she decided to let him think what he wanted. “Sure, I guess it couldn’t hurt.” She finally said, smiling when he pushed open the door for her and walked out with him following suit.

That was the night that changed Dahna’s life forever.

~!~

While Dahna dreamt peacefully upstairs of the past she had no idea really existed, Damon had reentered the study and had a bottle of bourbon in front of him. He stood in front of the roaring fireplace with a glass of blood, his eyes full of intensity. Kissing Dahna had crossed so many lines and now Damon was mentally kicking himself repeatedly for doing it. Instead of taking a few steps forward, he’d just taken 20 back with that stupid stunt. How the hell was he going to fix this?

“Troubles, brother?”

“What do you want, Stefan?” Damon grunted, draining his glass of blood and didn’t move his eyes away from the fire. “I’m not in the mood tonight.”

Stefan could tell something happened and he would bet every cent he had it had to do with Dahna. “How was dinner?” He asked, deciding to start with that and walked over to the bar to pour himself a drink. “I saw the cake, looks delicious.”

“It was.” Damon said through gritted teeth, whipping around to storm over to where his half bag of blood sat on the coffee table. “Dinner was fine. I’m assuming your precious Elena is safe and sound since you’re here?”

Nodding, Stefan walked over to where Damon stood and smiled placidly. “She’s fine, just had to get some advice from me about something and no, I’m not telling you what it is. So what happened with Dahna? You didn’t hurt her, did you?” His green eyes narrowed at Damon and Stefan hoped he behaved himself while he was dealing with Elena.

“Be more specific.” Damon waved his refilled blood glass and flashed a wicked smirk at his brother, walking past him. “Because there are several ways to hurt a woman, not just physically.”

That was all Stefan had to hear as he slammed his drink on the table and grabbed Damon by the collar of his shirt, green eyes clouded with anger. “What the hell did you do to her?” He demanded, grunting when Damon shoved him off with ease and squared his shoulders. “DAMON!”

“Would you relax and lower your voice? We have a guest sleeping peacefully upstairs.” Damon chastised, not fazed by his little brother’s outburst and plopped down on the couch, crossing one leg over the other. “All you need to know is dinner went fine and then we had a small conversation afterwards. I didn’t hurt her...physically anyway. Mentioning her precious daddy definitely struck a nerve though.” There was no way in hell Damon was mentioning the kiss, deciding he would take that moment with him to the grave. “Poor thing; I ALMOST feel bad for killing him.”

“You’re sick.” Stefan growled, wanting to tear into Damon for making Dahna feel uncomfortable and feeling –what he only assumed anyway- a ton of grief. “You need to leave those girls alone unless you plan on telling me what your master plan is. They’ve been through enough, thanks to you.”

Standing, Damon shook his head and chortled, no humor in his tone. “That’s where you’re WRONG, little brother. Slowly, I will break her down until she is nothing but dust and then I MIGHT consider ending her misery. Don’t worry, I promise I won’t hurt her physically, but she’s going to wish I did after I’m finally done with her.” Leaving Stefan with that menacing thought, Damon walked out of the study and up to his room, shutting the door behind him.

Sometimes Damon had a little TOO much fun screwing with his little brother.

Chapter 18

For the next week, Dahna avoided Damon like the plague and stayed locked up in her room. She’d come to the mansion after work, make a quick bite to eat in the kitchen and head straight upstairs, even if Damon wasn’t there. No matter how hard she tried forgetting about the kiss, Dahna couldn’t and her dreams didn’t help matters either. In fact, ever since Damon kissed her, Dahna started dreaming about Damon in all kinds of scenarios.

The scariest part of it all was they felt more like memories than dreams, which had Dahna completely perplexed. She had a dream where they met at the local Mystic Falls bookstore downtown and he ended up walking her home. Then there was one where they met deep in the woods in secret because she couldn’t get caught by her deceased father and ended up making love on the ground. If that wasn’t baffling enough, a few nights after that erotic dream, Dahna had another one that still had her brain whirling.

Damon told her he was a vampire.

Of course, Dahna knew that wasn’t possible because he’d been searching for the vampire that killed her father for the past 3 years. Still, she couldn’t ignore the dreams after that and knew she had to talk to someone about this. Dacia was out of the question, there was no way Dahna would drag her little sister in her world of insanity. That and she didn’t want Dacia finding out about the kiss she shared with Damon.

Before she knew it, Friday night arrived and Dahna couldn’t wait to be able to sleep in her own bed. Damon would be staying at their place for the weekend, as agreed, so they would have to put aside their awkwardness for Dacia. She had to talk to Damon about what happened and make sure they were on the same page or else Dacia would figure out something happened.

Unlocking the door, Dahna went to step inside when the bag of groceries, she stopped to buy on the way home, split down the side. “Damn it!” She cursed, wishing one thing would go right for her today because it seemed like everything that could go wrong did.

“Need some help?”

That low husky voice sent shivers down Dahna’s back instantly as she took a deep breath before turning to face him, emerald meeting aquamarine. “No thanks, I got it.” Bending down, Dahna began piling all the groceries back in the split bag and tried holding it together the best she could.

Damon shook his head, knowing exactly how stubborn Dahna could be and she currently showed it. “Well I’m helping you anyway.” He grabbed the side of the bag while she put the rest of the groceries in it and lifted it with ease against his side.

“Thanks…” Dahna went to step inside the house when Damon’s hand shot out, stopping her by wrapping it around her upper arm. “Damon…”

He pressed a finger against his lips, trying not to find this amusing and walked inside ahead of her to ‘check’ things out. He had to play the part of the protector after all. Once Damon finished, he finally stepped back into the front doorway and waved his hand, gesturing Dahna inside.

“I had to make sure it was safe for you first.” He explained upon seeing her confused expression and smiled, stepping aside.

Dahna suddenly understood and nodded, smiling softly back at him. “Thank you.” She took the bag from him, their eyes locking once more briefly and headed into the kitchen to put the groceries away, suddenly halting. “Come with me, I need to talk to you.”

Damon wasn’t surprised, already knowing what she wanted to talk about and followed her into the kitchen as instructed. “What’s on your mind?” He asked, deciding to play dumb and couldn’t stop the smirk from curving his sensual lips when she shot him a knowing look. “What?”

“You know damn well what.” Dahna retorted, not believing he was actually trying to play dumb with her. “I’m more intelligent than that, Damon, so at least treat me like it. I want to talk about what happened between us the last time we were in a room together alone.”

Pretending to think about it for a few seconds, Damon finally snapped his fingers and the smirk on his face widened at her exasperation. “What is there to talk about, Dahna? I made a mistake by kissing you and you took it personally.” He shrugged nonchalantly, searching the kitchen to see if he would need to run out to the liquor store later.

It took a lot of resolve from Dahna not to snap on him for that arrogant comment, but she did it, instead smiling serenely while unpacking the groceries. “I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page about it. I don’t need Dacia finding out about what happened between us.” She reached up in the cabinet and slid a few cans of vegetables in it, her back facing him. “And you’re right, it was a mistake.”

Damon didn’t like hearing that and flew over to her since she wasn’t looking at him, his mouth right by her ear. “What do you think you’re trying to do, Dahna? Change my mind?” He could smell her mouthwatering scent and reached up to plant his hands on her hips. “Reverse psychology doesn’t work on me.”

“What makes you think I’m trying to do anything, Damon?” Dahna demanded, standing straight and could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, her breathing increasing a little. “I thought about what happened between us and came to the conclusion that you were right. I’m just telling you since we haven’t exactly spoken since that night.”

“What suddenly changed your mind?” Damon pressed, grabbing her arm and spun her around to face him, pressing her back against the cabinet. “What made you realize that I was right?” She was lying to him and Damon didn’t like it because he WANTED Dahna to feel rejected.

“You made sense about being our protector. I don’t want you getting sidetracked and making a mistake, especially when it comes to protecting my little sister.” Dahna squared her shoulders, keeping her emotions in check and pursed her lips tightly together when he just stared at her with unreadable aquamarine eyes. “So unless you didn’t mean what you said, I suggest you step away and let me fix dinner before she gets here.”

Snorting, Damon slowly ran his finger down her cheek, his eyes never leaving hers and heard her suck in a sharp breath. “Mmmhmm well played.” He commended, stepping away and gave them each some much needed space. “Don’t worry; we’re on the same page, Dahna.” Not for long because Damon was close to ending this protector charade just as soon as he found out what Landon Fell and his Uncle Zachary were hiding.

Dahna could tell Damon was about to walk out of the kitchen and chewed her bottom lip, wondering if she should mention the type of dreams she’d been having about him lately. “Damon, wait.” She suddenly blurted out, lowering her eyes when he stopped to look back at her and pushed off the cabinets to open the refrigerator.

“What is it now?” He tried keeping the growl out of his tone, but Damon was frustrated and wanted a few minutes to recollect himself. “Dahna, I don’t appreciate being toyed with, so if you’ve got something to say to me, say it.”

Why did he have to be so demanding and mean? This was hard for her, couldn’t he see that? Dahna was so confused and felt as though she was being twisted like a pretzel, not sure what to do. He would probably laugh her to hell and back if she told him, especially with how he currently acted. No, she definitely couldn’t tell Damon, deciding it would be best to give Jenna a call, needing to talk to someone who understood and wouldn’t judge her.

“Never mind.” Pulling some steaks out of the freezer to thaw, Dahna could feel how irritated Damon was and figured she’d better tell him Jenna was more than likely coming over for dinner. “My friend Jenna Sommers, Elena’s aunt, is going to be joining us tonight for dinner. Just thought I’d let you know.”

Something told Damon that’s not what Dahna wanted to say, but he didn’t feel like questioning her at the moment and nodded. “Is that all?” He demanded, folding his arms in front of his chest.

“Yeah, we’re having steaks tonight. I hope that’s okay.” She honestly didn’t care if it was because, if Damon was hungry enough, he’d eat whatever she cooked regardless if he approved or not.

Damon smirked, not able to hold back his response even if he wanted to. “Mmm I could always go for a nice juicy piece of meat. Try to make mine as rare as you can.” Sending a wink at her, Damon exited the kitchen and went outside on the porch for some much needed air.

Apparently, Damon wasn’t meant to have a minute to himself because, just as he stepped out of the front door, Dacia Fell pulled up in her red Honda Civic. It still made Damon wonder, even after 3 years, how Dahna and Dacia were related since they looked nothing alike. Dahna had beautiful emerald green eyes and caramel hair whereas Dacia had chocolate brown eyes and brown hair. Even with that ‘plain’ look, Dacia was still a very attractive girl and he was surprised that she didn’t have a current boyfriend.

Dacia hadn’t seen much of Damon Salvatore since he became their protector, which she was thankful for, but now she had to spend an entire weekend in the same house as him. “Hey Mr. Salvatore.” Dacia greeted as she bounded up the stairs, seeing he was irritated and chewed her bottom lip much like Dahna did whenever nerves set in. “Is my sister inside?”

“Call me Damon.” He requested softly, leaning on the porch ledge and flashed a tense smile at her. “She’s inside preparing dinner and waiting for you.”

Nodding, Dacia headed inside without preamble to find her big sister and set her book bag on the floor by the door. “Dahna?” She called, pushing open the kitchen door and grinned at the sight of her big sister hard at work peeling potatoes. “Am I interrupting something?”

Dahna stopped peeling and snapped her head up, beaming at her little sister. “Well hello there stranger.” She greeted, setting the potato peeler down on the table and walked over to hug Dacia tightly.

“Geez, you act as if we haven’t seen each other in years.” Dacia grunted, hugging Dahna back and patted her back, breaking the hug after a few minutes. “So what’s for dinner tonight? I’m starved.”

Tyler Lockwood was to blame for that considering he kidnapped Dacia halfway through her classes for an impromptu make out sessions under the bleachers. Dacia hoped Dahna didn’t find out about it and wasn’t too concerned since her sister never checked up on her schooling. Of course, if her teachers made a big stink about her missing class…they wouldn’t, not with Dacia being a straight A student and keeping up with her studies.

Dacia also knew she had to tell Dahna about Tyler soon before she found out her own way. The problem was Dacia knew how much Dahna loathed Tyler, so she had no clue how to tell Dahna what was going on without her sister blowing a gasket. She still stuck to her word about Tyler asking Dahna’s permission to date her though, even if she spent the last couple of hours alone with him. The things that man did to her body made Dacia blush at the thought, which is why she was trying her damnest not to think about it in front of Dahna.

“Well, you’ve been hiding out at Elena’s for the past week and I haven’t seen you.” Dahna pointed out, kissing the top of her head and walked back over to finish peeling potatoes. “So what’ve you been up to? How’s school?”

“Nothing much, just hanging out with Lena and school is fine. Just had an algebra quiz today that I thought was going to kick my ass, but I aced it.” Dacia announced proudly, walking over to sit at the table with her sister. “What about you? Any news from Damon about what’s going on?”

Dahna shook her head and sighed heavily, wishing there was new development so they could go back to their normal lives. “Not yet, but I’m sure something will pop up soon.” She had to stay positive for her little sister, not wanting her to worry about this situation, especially when graduation was just months away. “Nothing much else going on with me, but I’m sensing there’s something you want to talk to me about.”

Dacia raised a brow, hating how perceptive her sister could be and sighed, lowering her brown eyes. “Well…something did happen while I was staying with Elena…” She admitted quietly, trailing her words off and clasped her hands tightly in her lap.

Frowning, Dahna didn’t like the sound of this as she continued peeling and didn’t press Dacia for more information, letting her thoughts gather. “You can tell me anything, Dace; you should know that by now.” She figured saying that wouldn’t do any harm and smiled when Dacia slowly looked up at her with hesitant brown eyes. “It can’t be that bad, whatever it is.”

‘Oh you’d be surprised.’ Dacia thought, tearing a hand through her brown hair and took a deep breath, thankful Dahna wasn’t pushy like their mother had been. “Caroline decided to pay me a visit while I was at Elena’s last Friday night.”

Dahna blinked and stopped peeling instantly upon hearing that, raising a slow eyebrow. “What did she want? Did Elena invite her over?” She asked, folding her arms in front of her chest and leaned back against her chair.

“She just wanted to talk about why our friendship ended and-” Dacia stopped because she felt terrible for lying to Dahna and swore she never would. “You know what, screw it. Dahna, I’m sort of…seeing someone and I don’t quite know how to tell you who it is.”

Emerald green eyes suddenly narrowed as Dahna slowly stood up from the table, towering over her little sister and tapped her foot impatiently. “Dacia Margaret Fell, please tell me you didn’t!” There was no way her little sister could be THAT gullible to actually date someone like…HIM. “Please tell me you’re not seeing who I THINK you’re seeing…”

This was definitely a mistake and Dacia wished she’d never said anything, every part of her tensing. “It depends on who you think it is.” She remarked, standing up as well with narrowed brown eyes, planting her hands on her hips.

“You know exactly who I’m thinking of, Dacia. Don’t play dumb with me; you know I can’t stand that crap.” Dahna snapped, furrowing her eyebrows and sat right back down to continue peeling. “I can tell just by your body language and how resentful you are right now that I’m correct in my assumption. You don’t even have to say his name.”

Dacia groaned, hating that she was already on the outs with her big sister after they hadn’t seen each other in a week. “Dahna…”

“I don’t want to hear any more about it, Dacia.” She stated, scraping the freshly peeled potatoes in the bowl and stood up to go rinse them in the sink. “Go wash up, we’re having steak for dinner and I’m inviting Jenna, Elena and Damon’s brother, Stefan, over.”

Lowering her head, Dacia just fled out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her bedroom, finally letting the tears pour from her eyes down her cheeks. She didn’t want to cry in front of Dahna, not with everything else going on in their lives. The way her sister reacted at the thought of her dating Tyler Lockwood, even if his name wasn’t mentioned, broke her heart and Dacia had no idea what to do.

Did she break things off with Tyler to make Dahna happy or did she follow her heart and date him without Dahna’s consent?

Chapter 19

Jenna looked down at her ringing cell phone and smiled at the name flashing across the screen, immediately flipping it open. “And here I thought you disappeared off the face of the earth.” She said by way of greeting, stepping out of her car after a long day at work.

“Yeah, yeah I know I’ve been a bad friend and haven’t contacted you.” Dahna replied, smiling as she stirred the vegetables on the stove. “Let me make it up to you.”

“Depends on what you have in mind because I’m in a drinking mood tonight.” Jenna informed her, stepping through the front door and waved at Elena coming down the stairs. “So if your idea doesn’t involve a high volume of alcohol, count me out.”

“What a coincidence! So am I!” Dahna smirked when Jenna laughed, knowing she had her best friend in the palm of her hand. “Come over for a nice steak dinner, we can have a couple glasses of wine and then pop open some Vodka or whatever you want.”

That sounded heavenly, but Jenna couldn’t let Dahna get away with ignoring her for the past week and a half. “Hmm I do admit I’m intrigued…” She trailed off teasingly and opened the refrigerator to grab something to drink. “Though I think tonight calls for something more, if you catch my drift.”

Dahna knew exactly what Jenna was talking about and groaned, not sure if she could handle another night like that. “Not Long Island Iced Teas…”

Grinning evilly, Jenna laughed at the pure terror in her friend’s voice and nodded. “Yes, the vicious Long Islands we made a few months ago when you and Max had a fight. I think tonight calls for them again.” It was the only way Dahna would get her to come over for dinner, so the choice was entirely up to her. “Long Islands or nothing, my love.”

Thank god it was Friday or else Dahna would’ve gone to work the next day with one hellacious hangover. “You drive a hard bargain, you know that?” She grunted, not believing she was actually going to put herself through this misery again, but Dahna was desperate.

“I know.” Jenna laughed, sitting at the kitchen table staring out the window. “So what’s it gonna be?”

“Fine, you win.” Dahna caved, pulling out the head of lettuce that had to be chopped up for a Caesar salad. “Dinner is at 7, don’t be late and tell Elena she’s invited too. She can bring Stefan if she wants.” Maybe Elena could talk some sense into her little sister since Dahna obviously couldn’t get through to her. “Oh and Jeremy, can’t forget him.”

“I’ll let them know, I’m sure she won’t have a problem tagging along, but don’t count on Jeremy.” Jenna said, looking forward to making Long Islands with her best friend and shooting the breeze, something they hadn’t done since the Founder’s party at the Lockwood mansion. “See you at 7 and be ready to get your drink on!”

Dahna shook her head and hung up the phone, knowing she’d have to run out to the liquor store. Wiping her hands off, she headed out of the kitchen while the steaks marinated in her special sauce that gave them flavor and went on the hunt for Damon. Hopefully he would watch over dinner while she ran out quickly to get the alcohol they would need for the Long Islands. Her stomach turned just thinking about them, but Dahna would have to suffer since she really had to talk to Jenna about these dreams regarding Damon.

“Damon?” She called out, frowning when she didn’t get a response and suddenly felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck again.

“What do you need, Dahna?” He stood behind her again, having overheard the whole conversation with Jenna and had a feeling Dahna would be obliterated tonight, courtesy of Long Islands.

She jumped about a foot in the air and let out a squeal, whipping around to face an amused Damon. “You ass!” She smacked him on the arm as hard as she could, clutching her pounding heart through her shirt and shot him a glare. “What the hell is wrong with you? You can’t just sneak up on people like that!”

“Sorry.” Damon tried his best not to laugh, but it was inevitable, especially since her smack felt like a feather. “What did you need?”

“I need you to watch the dinner so I can run to the liquor store and grab a few things.” Dahna stated evenly, trying to calm down after being scared nearly half to death. “Do you think you can handle that or not?”

Damon snorted, rolling his eyes and hated how she spoke to him like he was a child. “Yeah I can handle it, but I was on my way to the liquor store since you have zero bourbon in the house. I can grab whatever you need, just give me a list.” He offered, trying to be civil towards her, even though all Damon really wanted to do was kiss the breath out of her and then give her a good spanking for striking him.

All in due time.

“Are you sure?”

“Don’t ask again and give me the list.” Damon ordered, not giving her a choice anymore and smirked when she rolled her eyes at him, following her into the kitchen.

Dahna grabbed a pad of paper and pen, trying to remember everything that was in Long Islands. Vodka, gin, rum, tequila, triple sec, lemons, sweet & sour mix and Coca Cola, though Dahna was more of a Pepsi person. She tapped her chin with the pen, rereading the ingredients she would need to make Long Islands with Jenna later that night. Just for the hell of it, Dahna added bottle of Sangria wine, her favorite, deciding a glass with dinner was in order.

“Okay, I think that’ll do it.” Ripping the paper off the pad, Dahna handed it over to Damon and watched as he surveyed the list, folding her arms in front of her chest. “Problem?”

“Having Long Islands tonight eh?” He couldn’t stop the comment from slipping out of his mouth, chuckling. “You sure you can handle them?”

“For your information, I’ve had them before, so yes I can handle them.” She wanted to call him a jackass, but Dahna held back for obvious reasons and walked over to pull her George Forman grill out of the cabinet. “Now get moving, Jenna will be here soon with the others.”

Even though Damon already knew the answer to this question, he was still asking just to keep up the protector charade. “Who else did you invite besides her?” Why she would invite little brother was beyond him, but Damon could handle it, suddenly getting an idea he’d have to run by Stefan.

“Elena and Stefan. Hope you don’t mind that I invited your brother, but he IS Elena’s boyfriend and I figured she’d want to bring him with.” Dahna should’ve asked Damon’s permission before inviting his 17 year old brother over to her house, but honestly didn’t see a problem with it.

“Yeah, I don’t mind that you invited Stef.” Of course not because Stefan could distract Dahna and the others while he searched the house for clues regarding the missing document, page 14. “I’m gonna head out to grab your ingredients, but first…” He suddenly pulled a gun out of his back pocket and slid it across the counter to Dahna, watching her emerald eyes widen. “For protection, just in case.”

“But…”

“You’ll be okay, it’s just a precaution.” Damon should’ve gotten an Oscar for the brilliant acting performance he currently displayed. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Nodding, Dahna could only swallow hard and stared down at the gun, hearing the garage door open. As soon as she knew Damon was gone, Dahna opened the top drawer of the counter and slid it inside with the pan holder, slamming it shut. What the hell was Damon thinking giving her a gun when Dahna didn’t know how to shoot? She’d never seen a gun let alone touched one because they absolutely terrified her, even the ones her father used to have that only held wooden bullets.

Pushing the gun in the back recesses of her mind for now, Dahna focused on finishing up dinner, wanting it to be done by the time company arrived. Just as she slapped the last steak on the George Forman grill, the doorbell went off and Dahna heard the unmistakable voice of her best friend. She smiled as Jenna, Elena and Stefan walked into the kitchen, waving at them with a pair of tongs as she flipped the last steak.

“Hey you guys, dinner is almost done.” Dahna greeted, walking over to hug Jenna and then Elena, simply flashing a warm smile at Stefan.

“Where’s Dace?” Elena asked, not spotting her best friend anywhere. “No wait, let me guess, she’s up in her room right?”

“Ding, ding, ding.” Dahna sighed, hating it when she got into an argument with her sister. “We had a disagreement earlier and she’s been up there ever since.”

“Over Tyler?” Elena wasn’t stupid and knew Dacia must’ve come clean about seeing him secretly.

Dahna nodded, tensing at the mention of that dick and had to take a deep breath as she closed the George Forman grill down on the steak to cook a little longer. “What do you know about them? What’s going on, Elena?” She demanded, folding her arms in front of her chest and could tell Jenna wasn’t happy with this turn of events either.

Sighing, Elena suddenly wished she hadn’t opened her big mouth because Dacia had confided in her about Tyler Lockwood. “They’ve been seeing each other for the past two weeks. It all started the night of the Founder’s party at the Lockwood mansion. They talked and…I don’t know…hit it off, I guess. And I know you think he broke up with Caroline to be with Dacia, but that’s not the case at all.”

“Then why did their friendship end?” Dahna had to ask, walking over to the refrigerator and pulled out her old bottle of Sangria wine that had enough for one glass, thankfully. She needed it with this current conversation topic. “I mean there has to be a reason…”

Elena wasn’t sure if she should tell Dahna about Mike cheating on Dacia with Caroline because it honestly wasn’t her place. “There is a reason, but with all due respect, I can’t tell you. Dacia has to be the one to do it and, before you jump to conclusions thinking its Tyler’s fault, it’s not.” Then Elena made a split decision to tell Dahna something else that Dacia more than likely didn’t mention. “Also, you need to know that Dacia told Tyler that she can’t date him until he came to you for permission. Granted, they’ve been spending a lot of time together, but they haven’t officially started dating because she doesn’t want to date someone you disapprove of.”

“She did?” Hearing that shocked Dahna because she didn’t think Dacia cared what she thought or felt. “Interesting...” Dacia wouldn’t date Tyler unless the little peon asked her big sister’s permission, eh? “Well, I hope he does come to talk to me because there are a few things we need to get straight if he’s getting my blessing to date my little sister.”

“Like what?”

Everyone turned around at the sound of Dacia’s voice and Elena instantly lowered her eyes, hoping she didn’t destroy her trust with Dacia. “Dace…”

“Elena, I think you’ve said enough. I want to talk to big sister alone for a minute, please.” Dacia requested, keeping her eyes locked on Dahna while everyone filed out of the kitchen, leaving the sisters alone. “So, what exactly do you have to get straight with Tyler? What did he ever do to you to make you hate him so much?”

“How about screwing every girl in sight?” Dahna remarked coolly, turning the George Forman grill off and flipping the last steak on the plate with the others. “How about the fact that, right after he breaks up with Caroline, you two stop being friends. What the hell is going on, Dacia, and I want the truth this time. You’ve been hiding the fact you’ve been hanging out with this boy ever since the Founder’s party. We’re not supposed to hide anything from each other.”

“Forget it.” Dacia growled, turning to storm out of the kitchen again and tensed when Dahna wrapped her hand around Dacia’s arm. “Let go of me. You don’t understand and you never will.”

“Then HELP me understand.” Dahna stated, turning Dacia around as their eyes locked, pure concern and worry on her face. “Tell me what’s going on, Dace. How do you know I won’t understand if you won’t tell me what the problem is?”

Tears instantly swelled in Dacia’s eyes as she looked away from Dahna, sniffling. “You really wanna know?” She wiped the few stray tears away that slid down the side of her face, trying to control her emotions.

Whatever was tearing her little sister up like this, Dahna wanted to know and if it had to do with Tyler Lockwood, she was going to kill him. “Come sit down with me.” She suggested softly, guiding Dacia over to the kitchen table and set her down before going to stir the vegetables and mashed potatoes. “Now what’s going on?”

Dacia knew she couldn’t hide the truth from her sister any longer and took a deep breath, knowing Dahna would probably blow a gasket after hearing this. “Fine, Tyler told me something about Caroline at the party and…I know you’re going to say that he’s lying about it, but he’s not.”

“So what did he tell you?”

Blinking, huge tears slid down Dacia’s face as she buried her head in her hands, the pain still very fresh from Mike’s betrayal. “Mike cheated on me, Dahna. He had sex with Caroline while we were together and other women. Caroline came over to Elena’s to try denying it, but I could tell she was lying through her teeth. She slept with my boyfriend and cheated on Tyler in the process. Tyler found out about it and ended things with her because Mike wasn’t the only guy she cheated on him with.” Reaching over to rip a few paper towels off the ring, Dacia wiped her tears away and blew her nose, finally looking up at Dahna. “Tyler’s not a bad guy. He admitted that he wanted to go out with me before Caroline, but Mike already did it by the time he got the courage up. Mike knew how he felt about me too, but I had no clue. I just…I made a mistake by dating Mike and now I’m trying to make up for it.”

“So why did he date Caroline if he wanted to be with you?” Dahna pressed, her voice soft and low, hating that her little sister was in so much raw pain.

“Since he couldn’t be with me, he figured there was no harm in dating Caroline and he genuinely liked her.” Dacia answered honestly, shrugging when Dahna narrowed her eyes. “He made a mistake. He’s only human just like I am.” Standing, Dacia tossed the paper towels in the garbage and locked red rimmed brown eyes with apprehensive emerald. “I love you, Dahna, and I don’t want to date someone you hate. I’m sorry I lied to you, I just didn’t know how to tell you without you blowing a gasket and taking half of Virginia with you.”

Laughing in spite of everything, Dahna pulled Dacia into her arms and kissed the top of her head, rubbing her back. “You can date whoever you want, Dace. But I do want to sit down and talk to Tyler because he needs to understand that, if he hurts you or cheats, I will break him in half. Fair deal?”

Dacia peeked up at her big sister and nodded, the biggest smile on her face. “Good because he’s coming over for dinner tonight.” She quickly kissed Dahna’s shocked face. “Thanks sissy, you’re the best!” Then Dacia exited the kitchen, rushing upstairs to get ready and send Tyler the ‘come over’ text.

Dahna could only stand there and couldn’t believe how conniving her little sister was, simply shaking her head. “Kids.” She muttered, walking over to turn the flame off on the stove and pulled her serving dishes out to put the food in.

If she got through tonight without maiming Tyler Lockwood, it would be a miracle as she slammed the rest of her wine back, wondering when Damon would return with her fresh bottle.

Chapter 20

“Knock, knock – is it okay to come in now?” Jenna asked, tapping her knuckle twice against the door and poked her head in with a smile.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Dahna apologized, finishing setting the table and finally took her apron off, hanging it up on the hook on the wall. “I need a drink.”

“Did you grab the stuff for the Long Islands?” Jenna asked, grinning when Dahna nodded and clapped her hands together excitedly. “Good, I’ll start making them after we eat. So what did you want to talk to me about?”

“I’ll wait until after dinner and the kids are out of earshot.” Dahna said, wanting to be completely alone with Jenna before she started explaining the dreams about Damon. “It’s nothing bad…I don’t think anyway.”

Raising a brow, a change of subject was in order as Jenna walked over and pushed Dahna toward the kitchen exit, smiling serenely. “Now that dinner is finished, go clean up and changed. I’ll take care of the rest and I don’t want any arguments from you.”

“But-” Dahna groaned when she was literally shoved through the door toward the stairs, scowling back at Jenna. “You suck! What’s wrong with what I’m wearing now?”

Snorting, Jenna folded her arms in front of her chest, not backing down. “Do you REALLY have to ask that?” When Dahna looked down at her clothes smeared with food, Jenna knew she won the battle, chortling. “I know and you love me anyway. No buts. Get upstairs now and get ready for dinner.” Winking, Jenna headed back into the kitchen, already dressed in a simple pair of black dress pants and a sleeveless magenta top that had a V-shaped neckline.

“Pushy little thing, isn’t she?”

Dahna jumped at the sound of Damon’s voice in her ear, for the second time that evening, and stayed right where she was. “You really need to stop doing that.” She gritted out, feeling his hot breath against her neck and ear. “And yes, Jenna can be very pushy when she wants to be.”

Damon smirked, noticing how Dahna very blatantly avoided eye contact with him and waved the bag of liquor in her face. “Such as forcing you to make Long Islands tonight?”

“No.” Dahna snatched the bag away from him and looked inside, seeing everything was there from her list. “Thank you…” Making the mistake of looking up, emerald locked with aquamarine for what seemed like the umpteenth time that evening and Dahna became breathless.

“You’re welcome.” Damon rumbled, reaching around her to grab the handle on the bag of liquor and lowered his face until his lips hovered over hers, maintaining eye contact.

“Dahna?”

Instantaneously, the moment was over as Dahna broke eye contact and lowered her gaze to the floor, clearing her throat. “Yeah?” She called out just as Dacia arrived at the top of the stairs.

“I was just wondering what the dress code was for tonight.” Dacia asked quickly, not catching on that her big sister just nearly kissed their protector and waved the phone eagerly. “Tyler wants to know…”

Blinking, Dahna tried clearing her foggy mind from the intense effect Damon had on her and nodded. “I’ll be right up, Dace. I just have to-”

Damon took the bag from her, flashing an easy smile. “I’ll take these to the kitchen with Jenna. Go on.” He placed his hand on the small of her back gently and nudged her toward the stairs.

Dahna sighed, heading upstairs to her little sister’s room and tapped her knuckles against the door. “You can wear whatever you want tonight, Dace. There’s no dress code.” That would’ve been easy to say, but Damon had literally pushed her upstairs and took off with her booze. “I need to go get ready though, did you need anything else?”

“I know you’re angry.” Dacia mumbled, loud enough for her sister to hear and plopped down on the bed, keeping her milk chocolate brown eyes lowered. “I didn’t mean to sneak Tyler on you like that, but…I know you don’t like him and didn’t know how to tell you how I felt.”

Heaving a sigh, Dahna knew she’d been hard on Dacia when it came to Tyler Lockwood, and for good reason, but she also trusted her sister’s judgment wholeheartedly. “Dace, you need to be careful, that’s all I’m saying. He has a very bad reputation in this town and has used girls countless times for his own gain. I don’t want that to happen to you. I’m only going by the gossip I’ve heard though and he does deserve a chance at a first impression.”

Dacia slowly looked up at her sister, a big smile spread on her face. “Really? You really mean that?” When Dahna nodded, Dacia couldn’t help tossing her arms around her neck, hugging Dahna tightly. “Thank you Dahna, thank you so much.” The amount of trust that Dahna had in Dacia really surprised her sometimes, like now, and she appreciated it considering she’d kept Tyler a secret.

“You’re welcome.” Dahna pulled out of the hug, staring into Dacia’s eyes and tapped her nose. “BUT I don’t want you keeping anything from me anymore. I don’t want any more secrets between us, Dace, do you understand? If I find out you’re hiding anything else, we’re going to have issues and I won’t trust you anymore. Deal?”

Dacia swallowed hard, staring down at Dahna’s extended hand and felt comfortable with that since she had nothing else to hide. “Deal.” Dacia slid her hand into Dahna’s, the wide smile still on her face and hugged her sister again.

Dahna left Dacia to get ready and headed to her own room, feeling better after their talk, mentally preparing for tonight’s dinner. Jenna, Elena, Stefan, Damon, Dacia, Tyler Lockwood and her all under one roof eating at the same table…this was definitely going to be awkward. Sifting through her closet, Dahna finally decided to wear a simple dark green strapless dress that went to her knees and hugged all the right curves. She quickly curled a few strands of her caramel hair and swept it up on top of her head with a clip, tendrils framing her face. Applying some black eyeliner and clear gloss with foundation, Dahna was ready for dinner and slipped some black pumps on her feet, heading downstairs.

Stefan had found his dear big brother and they were currently outside on the porch while the Fell sisters were getting ready upstairs. “So did you ransack their place or not?” Stefan asked bluntly, having sent Elena into the kitchen to help Jenna out with anything she needed.

“Yes and it’s clean.” Damon was irritated because he’d thoroughly searched the house from top to bottom, including creases in the walls. Nothing came up and that worried him where the missing page could be hidden now. “The Fell’s are very clever, Stefan, but I have all of eternity to search until I find that page. So just enjoy tonight and try not making a scene.”

Clapping his little brother on the back, Damon headed back inside just as Dahna descended the stairs and felt every part of his body ignite in flames. From the top of her beautiful head to the tips of her black pump covered toes, Dahna was quite a vision, especially in green. It brought out her emerald eyes that seemed to sparkle with every step she took. Green was officially Damon’s favorite color as he stepped forward, extending his hand with a soft smile.

“M’lady.” Damon rumbled, his aquamarine orbs boring into her very soul and felt the electricity between them as soon as her hand slipped into his. “You look stunning tonight, if it wasn’t obvious.”

“You don’t clean up so bad yourself.” Dahna replied softly, fully enjoying what Damon chose to wear for tonight’s dinner.

It was so simple, but damned if she didn’t want to drag him up to her room and do unspeakable things to his body. He wore a long sleeved dark blue buttoned up dress shirt with black slacks, the top 3 buttons undone and the collar was folded perfectly around his muscular neck. His unruly black hair had that sexy messed up look to it that made Dahna weak in the knees almost as much as his eyes did.

Damon smirked, feeling Dahna’s eyes slowly devouring him and pulled her aside to let Stefan through the kitchen door, pressing her into the wall. “You lied to me earlier.” He accused softly, running his finger down her cheek to her lips, but didn’t muss the gloss. “You don’t regret what happened between us because, if you did, you wouldn’t be undressing me with your eyes.”

“Neither would you.” Dahna shot back just as softly, her emerald eyes burning with so many different emotions at once. “So unless you’re taking back what you said earlier…”

Growling, Damon couldn’t believe the game she was playing with him, trying to get him to admit he didn’t regret nearly sleeping with her. “Stop screwing with me.” He ordered in a gruff tone, stepping back and gave her a chance to flee.

Dahna didn’t though and merely smiled, reaching up to caress his face tenderly. “Only if you stop doing it first.” Turning, she headed into the kitchen before Damon could stop her again, putting on a happy face for her guests.

Oh she was going to pay for this, Damon silently vowed, as he took several deep breaths to try controlling his raging arousal. Once he was sure it was under control, Damon started heading for the kitchen and stopped when the doorbell rang. Who the hell was here? Damon watched as an equally stunning Dacia Fell rushed down the stairs, wearing a black skirt with a shimmery gold and black halter top.

Her brown hair was teased at the ends that bounced with every step she took, looking soft to the touch. She had shimmery gold eye shadow on with black eyeliner and peach gloss, those diamond studs in her ears that she never took off full of vervain. Damon knew Dahna had her ankle bracelet on because, as he gave her a slow once over, he saw it shining with that horrific odor emanating from it. That would definitely have to go once he revealed to her who he really was.

Tyler stood on the other side of the door with sweaty palms, anxiously waiting for it to open. He nearly keeled over when it did because a beautiful angel stood before him with incredible milk chocolate eyes. Tyler’s mouth went completely dry, never seeing Dacia this beautiful, not even at the Founder’s Day ball. What he thought had been beauty that night was nothing compared to how she looked tonight as he took her extended hand, dark eyes never leaving her.

“I’m so glad you’re here.” Dacia murmured almost shyly, pulling him inside and had to catch her own breath at what he wore.

A simple white dress shirt with the top 3 buttons undone looked as though it was ready to burst from his muscular frame. Black slacks, shoes and a silver watch on his wrist completed the look, his black hair spiked up with gel. Dacia suddenly wanted to skip dinner and have some privacy with Tyler so she could finally give herself to him. But her deal with Dahna rang through her mind, reminding her of the tedious stipulation that Tyler had to ask Dahna’s permission to date her.

“Where else would I be, beautiful?” Tyler remarked with a smirk, pulling her into his arms as his hands seared her sides, pressing his forehead to hers. “I missed you.”

“Missed you more.” Dacia whispered, caressing his face with her hand and enjoyed being in his arms, letting the moment sweep them away. “I have a confession to make.”

“What?” Tyler raised a brow, already not liking where this conversation was headed. “What did you do, Dace?”

“I sort of…okay well I came clean about us…” Dacia bit her bottom lip, grabbing Tyler’s hand when he started for the front door. “Tyler, I had to! She was growing suspicious and…I hate lying to my sister the way I have. She said she doesn’t mind if I date you, but I still want you to ask her permission before we start dating.”

“How could you do this to me, Dacia?” Tyler demanded, raking a hand through his hair and didn’t care that he mussed it up. “Your sister HATES me with a capital H. You honestly think she’s going to let us date just because I asked her permission?”

“As a matter of fact, I would.” Came Dahna’s voice from the doorway of the kitchen, folding her arms in front of her chest. “Dace, go sit down for dinner. I want to speak with Tyler alone.”

Dacia cringed, not liking the sound of that and looked at Tyler desperately, hoping he did the right thing. “Okay.” She squeezed his hand one last time before releasing it, walking past her big sister and stopped, not going through the door right away. “Please be nice to him. I really like him.”

Dahna nodded, giving her a reassuring smile and waited until Dacia was in the kitchen before turning her full attention on Tyler. “So, you have a thing for my little sister, hmm?” She walked toward him, eyeing him somewhat shrewdly.

“It’s not what you think…”

“She told me everything, Tyler.” Dahna cut him off, stopping just a few feet from him because she wanted to look in his eyes while she spoke. “And I believe everything Dacia tells me, but sometimes she can stretch the truth a bit to make someone look good. So now, I’m going to ask you something and I want you to look me in the eye as you answer it. Do you understand me?”

Tyler nodded, fighting not to advert his gaze from Dahna. “Yes ma’am, ask away.”

Dahna liked that response and didn’t say anything for a minute, trying to decide how to ask this without offending him. “Did Mike Epps really cheat on my sister?” She finally asked, her tone blunt and completely serious.

“Yes.” Tyler answered without hesitation, a fire sparking within his dark eyes at the thought of that dick. “I will never hurt her the way he did, Dahna.”

There was no faltering, no hesitation and complete truth shined from his eyes, making Dahna believe his answer. “One last question: How do you really feel about Dacia and don’t lie to me.” If he wanted just sex, he wouldn’t be getting it from her little sister because Dahna refused to let it happen.

Tyler smiled genuinely, having expected that question instead of the Mike Epps one. “I’m falling for her. I know we’re only teenagers and most people would call it puppy love, but…I’ve NEVER felt this way about a girl the way I do her.” He said openly, not believing he was pouring his feelings out to Dacia’s big sister, but if that’s what it took to date Dacia, he’d do anything.

“Even Caroline?”

“Especially Caroline. I was an idiot for thinking I could be with someone so high maintenance and doesn’t care about anyone except themselves.” Tyler stated, clenching his fists at his sides at the thought of his ex-girlfriend. “I’m actually glad she cheated on me with Epps because now I can have a chance at real happiness with a real woman.”

Silence reigned between them that seemed to stretch on for miles and, finally, Dahna stepped forward and did something she never thought would happen. She hugged Tyler around the neck tightly, giving him a warning squeeze that silently told him, if he hurt Dacia in any way, she would track him down. Pulling back, Dahna stepped aside and extended her hand toward the kitchen door with a sweet smile.

“Let’s go eat.”

“What about your permission?” Tyler asked, needing to know before he stepped through that door toward Dacia.

“You have it, take care of her.” Dahna watched as Tyler practically ran through the kitchen door and laughed softly, following suit to join everyone else for dinner.

Chapter 21

Dinner went surprisingly well with everyone making pleasant conversation. Jenna already had the Long Islands made in a large pitcher, currently chilling in the refrigerator, and decided to start both of them out with a glass of wine. After the day and everything Dahna found out regarding Dacia, she definitely needed a drink or two. Damon purposely sat across from Dahna, so she kept sneaking glances at him when she thought he didn’t notice. Damon did the same thing, though he made sure Dahna didn’t catch him in the act.

Dacia and Tyler sat next to each other and Dahna could honestly say she’d never seen her little sister so happy. Her milk chocolate eyes sparkled with newfound life and happiness that Dahna hadn’t seen since their parents died 3 years ago. She had no idea what Tyler was telling her sister, but whatever it was, Dahna never wanted the look on Dacia’s face to disappear. It did her heart good that her sister was finally happy, now if only Dahna could find a good decent man instead of countless jerks.

Stefan kept giving his big brother looks across the table while Elena talked to Dacia about school, wondering what he had planned for Dahna Fell. He couldn’t let Damon hurt the poor woman and forced a smile when Elena grabbed his hand beneath the table. She sensed something was wrong with him, but Stefan assured her he was perfectly fine, noticing Dahna glancing at Damon every couple minutes. That just complicated everything further because, if Damon had inkling that Dahna developed feelings for him, he would use it against her in a heartbeat.

After dinner, Dahna began cleaning up everyone’s mess and sent the kids outside to let their stomachs settle. Dacia offered to help clean, but Dahna wanted her to spend as much time with Tyler as she could, letting her know she could handle it. Of course, Jenna helped clean up and rinsed the dishes that Damon handed her, also staying behind to assist. Something was going on with her best friend and Damon Salvatore, but Jenna couldn’t put her finger on it.

“I’ll be right back, Jeremy is calling.” Jenna announced, vacating the kitchen to answer her cell phone and left Dahna alone with Damon.

“This was a phenomenal meal, Dahna.” Damon said appreciatively, putting the last of the dishes on the counter for Jenna to rinse while Dahna wiped down the table.

“Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Dahna replied indifferently, remembering their earlier encounter and felt him right behind her, fighting back a smirk.

She looked so enticing and delicious bent over the table while her arm stroked back and forth wiping it down. The simple movement set Damon’s blood on fire once again, not understanding what this woman was doing to him. He knew damn well how much Dahna affected him because it was the same as before, only this time there was more intensity in his feelings. He could hear her heartbeat increase slightly, her pulse began racing along with how fast her blood pumped through her veins.

Leaning over to where his mouth hovered over her ear, Damon placed one hand on her waist, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine. “You missed a spot.” He said, purposely injecting a husky tone in his voice and smirked when Dahna involuntarily shivered.

Dahna had to regain some kind of control before she tossed the sponge away and forced Damon to take her on the kitchen table. “Where?” She breathed out, feeling his nose brush against the back of her neck as he shifted his hand to her other side, making her skin break out in goose bumps.

“There.” He pointed with his free hand and took her hand with the sponge, gliding it slowly over the spot he thought she missed.

Staring straight ahead, Dahna let Damon move her hand back and forth with the sponge, his touch sending electricity volts up her arm throughout her body. “Damon…” Her tone held pure want as her head slowly turned back until aquamarine met emerald green. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“Doing what?” Damon played dumb, raising a thick black eyebrow as the rest of her body turned, their chests pressed together. “I was just pointing out a spot you missed, Dahna.”

Shaking her head, Dahna didn’t believe him for a second and tossed the sponge over her shoulder, grabbing his face to pull his lips to hers. They were just as soft and pliant as the first time, only more addicting as Dahna felt him pull her closer. His arms wrapped around her waist while her hand slid up his upper chest, shoulder and finally up his neck to bury in his thick black hair, the kiss growing heated quickly. He wanted her, there was no mistake about it and Dahna proved it by forcing him to kiss her back with an equal amount of passion.

“You want me and you know it.” Dahna murmured against his mouth, nipping his bottom lip with her teeth and slowly fluttered her darkened forest green eyes open to meet smoldering dark blue. “Stop fighting it, Damon…”

Damon growled, knowing exactly what kind of game she was playing and gripped her upper arms tighter than necessary. “Why can’t you understand that sleeping together would be a VERY bad idea?” He rumbled, his voice dropped several octaves do to the toe-curling kiss they just shared. “Dahna…”

“Why can’t you just give into what you want? You have a woman standing in front of you, telling you she wants you and you’re not doing a damn thing about it!” Dahna accused, gritting her teeth when his grip tightened on her upper arms, but didn’t pull away as their eyes remained locked.

“I’m your protector…”

“I don’t care!” She kissed him again, this time more passionate and brutal than before, keeping her hand buried in his hair. “You can still protect us, sex won’t change that.”

If only she knew, Damon thought, as he let her kiss him again and had to pull back before he ended up blowing his whole plan. “I can’t.” He released her at once, pushing her away and started for the kitchen door, feeling the rejection radiating from every part of her heated body. “It’s not that I don’t want to…”

“You could if you wanted to, Damon.” Dahna shot back, her voice somewhat shaky and had to keep hold of the counter just in case her knees gave out. “You’re a coward and refuse to mix business with pleasure. That’s fine. This is the last time I’m offering myself to you, so if you don’t take it, then I’m done trying.” She was done with the games between them, shooting him a vicious glare as she gave him an ultimatum.

Snarling, Damon’s aquamarine eyes flashed as he suddenly stormed over to her, grabbing her upper arms in the same spot he’d squeezed earlier and had to fight the urge not to show her the past. To make her remember their previous time together before Landon screwed everything up by trying to kill him. She had no idea how much he wanted to rip the dress from her body and claim her in every way possible like he had back then, but it wasn’t the right time. If Damon revealed the truth too soon, he would destroy everything he’d built over the past few weeks and that couldn’t happen, not until he was positive she wouldn’t reject him once he lifted the compulsion.

“If you only knew, Dahna…” That’s all he said before Damon stopped himself, cupping her face and roughly kissed her, trying to show her through his actions how much he did want her. “Jenna’s coming, we’ll continue this later at a more appropriate time.” He growled against her lips, releasing her abruptly and stormed out of the kitchen past Jenna, going upstairs to his room for a much needed cold shower.

All Dahna could do was stand there touching her swollen lips and tried making sense of what Damon said. What did he mean by if she only knew? Dahna was more confused than ever, running a hand through her hair since she’d let it down after dinner and tried regaining feelings in her legs. Jenna walked in moments later and, judging by the flushed look on her friend’s face, she knew something happened with Damon.

“Are you okay?” Jenna asked hesitantly, heading straight for the refrigerator to pull out the pitcher of Long Islands and retrieved two glasses from the cabinet.

“No.” That was a truthful answer as Dahna walked over to Jenna, taking one of the glasses and took a long swig of the Long Island iced tea, closing her eyes. “I really need to talk, but not in here. Let’s go in the living room where it’s more comfortable.”

“Alright.”

“Bring the pitcher.”

Jenna smirked, saluting Dahna and did as she was told, following Dahna through the kitchen door to the living room and both sat down on the couch. Dahna took another drink and set it on the coffee table, kicking her heels off and leaned her head back against the couch, trying to make sense of everything. Knowing it would take time for Dahna to muster up the courage to tell her what was going on, Jenna simply sat there and waited patiently, sipping her Long Island slower than Dahna.

“I feel like I’m losing my mind.” Dahna finally spoke after a few minutes of silence, looking back up at Jenna with tears in her eyes. “I mean REALLY losing my mind.”

“Okay…why?” Jenna asked, providing the opening Dahna needed to spill whatever currently bothered her. “It’s okay Dahna, you can tell me anything you know that.”

“I know that.” Dahna nodded, taking Jenna’s offered hand and squeezed it, taking a few deep breaths to calm down. “I’ve been having dreams lately…and these aren’t ordinary dreams either. These are dreams that would make a psychiatrist admit me to a mental ward instantly. You know, give me one of those rooms with padded walls and I’d never see Dacia or anyone again.”

“Okay, now I’m confused. You’re gonna have to elaborate a little for me, honey.” Jenna pressed gently, not wanting to scare Dahna off and kicked her own heels off, feeling a lot more comfortable.

How the hell was Dahna supposed to tell Jenna about her dreams when she couldn’t make sense of them herself? What the hell was Jenna going to do for her besides being the good consoling best friend? Maybe this was one thing she didn’t have to tell anyone about since they were just dreams anyway. But the problem was they didn’t FEEL like dreams and that’s what scared Dahna the most.

“Damn it, fine alright, here goes nothing.” Dahna couldn’t keep this hidden from Jenna because eventually it would drive her insane if she kept it bottled up inside. “I’ve been having dreams about Damon.”

That wasn’t shocking considering the state Jenna found Dahna earlier in the kitchen and Damon stormed out looking like a pissed off bull. “So there IS something going on between you two!” She surmised, a smirk curving her lips as she took a longer swig of her Long Island. “So what’s the problem?”

Dahna launched into the explanation of what happened with Damon a week ago at the mansion. She’d made him dinner, they had a nice conversation and then had a drink in his study. It was the most fun she’d had with a man in a very long time, that she could remember, and the way Dahna spoke about Damon made Jenna fully believe she was in love with him. That was until Dahna told her about his rejection and what he said regarding not being able to sleep with her because he was their protector. She just wanted to kick him square in the nut sack until his balls lodged in his throat because even Jenna knew he was lying through his teeth.

“So ever since the kiss and his rejection, I’ve started having dreams about him and they are the STRANGEST dreams I’ve ever had. There’s one where I first meet him at the local bookstore downtown and I’m reading Jack London, which is my favorite author. He approaches me about it, we talk and then he walks me home. Then – THEN, if that’s not weird enough, the next dream I had was us meeting deep in the woods on the outskirts of town and we made love on the ground!! It felt real, Jenna, it felt so real that I woke up thinking I was covered in dry dirt and leaves. Only I was in my clean bed, alone, and Damon was nowhere to be found. These dreams feel like they’re memories, but that’s crazy right? I’ve never met the man in my life and now suddenly, I kiss him once and I’m having all these realistic dreams about him.” Dahna explained, finally stopping and gave Jenna a few minutes to process all of that information while sipping her drink, shaking slightly from the memory of the dreams.

Jenna stayed quiet for 5 minutes straight, mulling over everything Dahna just told her and finally came to a conclusion for her troubled friend. “What if you have met him before?” She knew it was a long shot, but it was the best logic she could come up with.

“What do you mean?”

“What if you and Damon met in a different life, a different time? Think about it, you know I’m a full believer in reincarnation and I’ve read about this kind of thing happening to people who are destined to be together. What if you two were together in a different lifetime and have found your way back to each other in this one?” Jenna questioned, hoping to give Dahna a sense of serenity with her wisdom.

Dahna stared at Jenna like she’d just grown an extra head, blinking and couldn’t believe the words coming out of her best friend’s mouth. “Seriously? This is not one of your romance novels come to life, Jenna! This is real and it’s happening to me! You’re seriously going to sit there and spew some crap about Damon and I being reincarnations and now we’ve found each other?” She didn’t know whether to cry, scream or laugh, not believing a word of it and shook her head. “No, no that stuff doesn’t happen because this is reality and the real world.”

“How do you know what’s real and what isn’t if you’re having a dreams or visions about a man you only met a few weeks ago? You have to consider the possibility that he’s your protector for a reason, Dahna.” Jenna reasoned, taking both of Dahna’s hands in hers and stared intently into troubled emerald eyes. “Listen to me, we don’t live in a realistic world. Mystic Falls has a stupid council that believes vampires exist because of past journals our ancestors left us! Don’t tell me about being in a realistic world because, as far as I’m concerned, we’re in a messed up world full of impossible things that become possible in the blink of an eye. If there are vampires and things that really do go bump in the night, then reincarnation is just as believable.”

Dahna couldn’t argue with Jenna’s logic, no matter how much she wanted to, because it all made sense. “Then what am I supposed to do? He keeps rejecting me and I’m ready to completely give up.” Tears rushed down Dahna’s face as she lowered her head, feeling like an idiot for throwing herself at Damon like a common whore. “What if we have found each other and have been reincarnated?”

Jenna sighed heavily, hugging Dahna tightly and stroked her hair, honestly not knowing how to answer that question. “Just wait and see what happens, that’s all you can really do, honey.”

Unbeknownst to the women, Damon sat at the top of the stairs and heard every word spoken, his eyes full of emotional intensity. Dahna was having dreams about their past? How the hell was that possible? Was the compulsion lifting because of the kiss?

Damon had never heard of anything like that happening before and it was troubling to say the least, deciding he had to talk Stefan immediately. If the compulsion was lifting, sooner or later, Dahna would remember everything when the wall in her mind finally crumbled and Damon’s plan would go up in smoke. Shaking his head, Damon stood up and flashed back to his room, pouring himself a healthy dose of bourbon, trying to figure out how to handle this newfound information.

Chapter 22

“DAMON!!”

Looking up from the stack of documents he currently sifted through, Damon had to wonder why his little brother was bellowing his name. “In the study, Stefan.” He said, going back to the documents and didn’t look up when Stefan stormed through the doorway. “What do you want little brother?”

Stefan slapped the latest newspaper on top of the documents, green eyes burning with rage. “I thought we had an understanding…” He trailed off, pursing his lips tightly together, folding his arms in front of his chest.

Damon glanced at it briefly, saw the words ‘Animal Attack’ in big bold letters and went back to the documents. “And?”

“And I thought you were sticking to straight blood bags until you figure out what the hell you’re doing with the Fell sisters!!” Stefan snapped, grabbing the newspaper that didn’t interest in brother in the slightest and tossed it into the fireplace. “Do you have ANY idea how hard it is keeping this secret from Elena? Now I have you to worry about going off and draining innocent people?”

Rolling his eyes, Damon took a sip of his tumbler full of bourbon and stood up, walking around the desk to face his brother. “Stefan, Stefan, Stefan…do you honestly believe I would do something that reckless when I’m closing on the missing page?” He demanded nonchalantly, swirling the liquid in his tumbler before draining the rest of it.

“Because we’re the only vampires in town, Damon.” Stefan remarked hotly, trying very hard to maintain his temper. “Elena is starting to ask questions and this is the last thing that needs to happen right now.”

“Let me ask you this: What makes you think we’re the only vampires in Mystic Falls?” Damon inquired, walking past Stefan to the mini bar, letting his little brother mull over that possibility.

Stefan slowly followed his brother’s movements, green eyes narrowing. “Well if there IS another vampire besides us in town, we need to find them and fast before my cover is blown with Elena. Not to mention yours with the Fell sisters and Sheriff Forbes.”

“Why are you so afraid to tell Elena who you really are?” Damon demanded, arching a thick black eyebrow when Stefan just stared at him incredulously. “Are you afraid she won’t love you the same way or reject you altogether?”

“Both.” Stefan answered frankly, deciding to turn the tables. “Why are you afraid to reveal the truth to Dahna?”

Damon outright laughed, wondering if Stefan was serious and shook his head. “I’m anything but scared, Stefan. I’m simply waiting for the right time to reveal who I really am to her. I can’t wait to see the horror on her face when I tell her I’m the one who killed her precious Daddy and enjoyed it.” The pure enjoyment in his voice sounded downright sinister and sent a shiver down Stefan’s back.

“Why are you so-”

“Demented, malicious, lethal, heartless?” Damon knew those were just a few choice words his little brother had in his pea-sized brain, smirking viciously. “Oh Stef, how you flatter me!”

“It’s not meant to be flattery.” Stefan shot back, wondering if Damon really had no heart left since vampirism had extinguished most of his feelings. “Why are you punishing the Fell sisters for something they had no control over?”

Damon snorted, slamming his second shot of bourbon back and placed the glass on the bar, flying over to get in his little brother’s face. “I told you, Dahna and I have history and it needs to come to a head before she ends up like her old man and does something stupid, like try to kill me.” How hard was that to understand, honestly? Granted it wasn’t the truth, but Damon had to keep Stefan in the dark or else he would screw everything up.

“You don’t know that though.” Stefan argued, watching helplessly as Damon went back to looking over the pile of documents. “Have you overheard some of the things Dahna says about the Founder’s Council? She hates them and doesn’t want to take her father’s place, but she’s the only one who can. She’s the only one who is qualified since Meredith and Luke are already part of it.” He walked over to Damon, lowering his head until their eyes met. “You’re hiding something from me. There’s more to the story when it comes to Dahna, isn’t there?”

“You really need to learn to relax and let the chips fall where they may, brother.” Damon refused to answer Stefan’s questions because, quite frankly, it was none of his business. “I told you I won’t hurt her physically, didn’t I? That should put you at ease because I could go back on my word, if I wanted to.”

“Then why won’t you tell me about your history with Dahna?” Stefan challenged, folding his arms in front of his chest. “Let’s do a little ‘brotherly’ bonding, Damon, and start with your past with the Fell’s. Because something tells me this is strictly personal and, whatever is on that missing page, has to do with you.”

Gritting his teeth, Damon was becoming increasingly irritated at a rapid rate, his eyes slowly darkening as the veins popped out on his face, his sclera’s turning blood red. “Did it ever occur to you that MAYBE it’s none of your damn business what my past with Dahna Fell is? No, of course not because you automatically assume I’m out to create chaos and do evil deeds!” He was angry now, having been pressed enough about this situation. “Now unless you want me to go drain a poor innocent girl because of how angry you’ve made me, I suggest you leave me alone.”

Sighing heavily, Stefan knew he’d crossed a line with Damon and didn’t mean to, his curiosity getting the best of him. “Damon, whatever your past is with Dahna, it’s not good to keep it bottled up. Look at me with Elena.” He let out a bitter snort, green eyes moving to stare into the fireplace. “I don’t even have the courage to tell her what I really am because I’m afraid she’ll reject me. You were right, brother.”

“She won’t reject you, Stefan.” Damon’s voice dropped several octaves, his anger slowly diminishing because of how pathetic his little brother looked at the moment. “She will be scared at first and you will think she is rejecting you, but then once she calms down, she’ll realize she wants to be with you regardless if you drink from poor Bambi.”

“You sound like you’ve had experience in this department…” Stefan trailed off, slowly turning his gaze on his brother and blinked several times, eyes narrowing slightly. “Wait a minute…”

“What?” Damon barked, already regretting giving Stefan advice when it came to telling Elena he was a vampire.

Stefan didn’t say anything at first, just simply walking over to where his brother stood and searched his stormy blue eyes, seeing for the first time just how much pain Damon was in. The pieces slowly came together in his mind and Stefan could only gape in shock, hardly believing he hadn’t noticed sooner. Of course! There was a history between Damon and Dahna, but it wasn’t the one Stefan had originally thought, feeling guilt start to consume him for all the horrible things regarding his brother.

“Wow, I never thought I’d see the day…”

“See what?” Damon growled, looking away from Stefan and flew over to the bar to grab another refill, putting space between them. “There’s nothing to see, Stefan…”

“Why do you insist on lying to me when I’ve figured out the truth?” Stefan demanded, squaring his shoulders and couldn’t believe how vulnerable his brother was at the moment. “You and Dahna…”

Damon looked up at him with pure heartache and anguish in his eyes, feeling his walls crumbling down that he’d put up the night he had to say goodbye to Dahna. “Yes.” He admitted finally, slamming his half tumbler of bourbon back and enjoyed the liquid burning down his esophagus. “It’s not easy to talk about.”

Stefan could only imagine what happened to make the look of sheer agony fill his big brother’s eyes because he honestly thought nothing would penetrate Damon’s tainted heart. “Tell me.” He urged in a softer tone, walking over to pour himself a drink as well as Damon, clapping him gently on the back. “I’ll make you a deal, you tell me what happened with Dahna and I’ll help you find the missing page.”

Damon scoffed, wondering if his little brother was delusional or just plain stupid to make such a ridiculous bargain. “You really want to know that badly?” Looking away from Stefan when he nodded, Damon decided to move to the couch, raking a hand through his disheveled black hair. “Fine, I don’t know how you’ll help me find the missing page, but I’ll tell you anyway so you’ll stop badgering me about her.”

Stefan took a seat beside Damon, waiting patiently for his brother to start the story about his past with Dahna. Whatever it was, Damon was in a lot of pain and that was foreign to Stefan because he was usually the more…humane one between them. He didn’t say a word and calmly sipped his bourbon, having sent a quick text to Elena saying he wouldn’t be able to take her out on their date that night.

“I was in Mystic Falls before you.” Damon admitted, deciding that was as good of an opener as any and didn’t look at Stefan, his eyes focused on the flames in the fireplace. “3 years ago, I came back here to scope the area out and see if the Founder’s Council still ran strong. It wasn’t as strong as it is now. I met Dahna at the local bookstore in town.” There was only one. “She had a Jack London book in her hand and…it was an instant connection, I’d never felt anything like it since…”

“Katherine.”

Damon nodded, no longer feeling the same stab of pain he once did whenever that name was mentioned. “Right. Before I go on with the tragic tale of Dahna Fell, there’s something else you need to know, Stefan.” He drained his tumbler, not setting it on the end table though because he wasn’t close to being finished drinking that evening. “I came back here for a reason, it wasn’t just a coincidence. I had a plan to do something…and I had to scope the area out to make sure nobody would stand in my way.”

“What was your plan?” Stefan was almost scared to ask, but there was no going back now and he had to know.

“Katherine is alive, Stefan.” Damon slowly looked over at his little brother with truthful cool blue eyes, nodding solemnly. “Emily saved her.”

Stefan stared at Damon like he’d grown a second head, not believing what he just heard. “W-What…How?! How the hell is Katherine still alive? You watched her burn alive in the old Fell church, Damon!” This was definitely a turn of events Stefan didn’t expect to come across, green eyes narrowing. “What the hell did you do?”

“I knew our father figured out Katherine’s secret and immediately went to Emily. Told her to name her price and I’d pay it, no questions asked. I loved her, Stefan, and would’ve done anything to protect her. So Emily told me about this spell she could do that would seal Katherine away in a tomb beneath the church. She had to use some kind of celestial event to cast the spell and make it happen, which ended being a comet passing through the sky the night the church was set on fire. Emily had an amber amulet that she used to seal Katherine and everyone in the church…and they’re still there after 145 years, sealed away waiting for someone to crack open the tomb to set them free.” Damon stood up from the couch to go refill his tumbler, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Stefan stayed where he was, not trusting himself to be close to Damon because he was afraid he might try to kill him. “So what stopped you from going through with this plan? I thought Katherine was your whole world?” He questioned through gritted teeth, almost to the point of gnashing them.

Damon could hear the resentment and anger in Stefan’s voice and ignored it, not blaming him for the way he felt. “Dahna Fell did.” He walked back over to take his place on the couch again, bringing the bottle of bourbon with him this time so he wouldn’t have to move again. “I met Dahna and…that was it. She took Katherine’s place as far as loving a woman and…we dated for 6 months secretively because of her father, Landon.” Damon tightened his hand around the tumbler, the memory of that human lighting his blood on fire in a very bad way. “2 months into our secret relationship, I told Dahna what I was and do you know what she said?”

Now Stefan understood why Damon had tried giving him advice earlier regarding Elena, shaking his head. “No.”

“Obviously.” Damon chuckled, remembering the night in the woods when he revealed what a true monster he was to Dahna. “She took my face in her hands and said it didn’t matter that I was a vampire...that she loved me completely for who I was and nothing would ever change that.” He had to look away from Stefan, his body full of barely contained emotion. “I made love to her that night in the woods for the first time and that’s where we met for the next 4 months.”

“You really did love her.” This was hard to believe considering how cold and cruel Damon had been when he first returned to Mystic Falls, or so he thought. Apparently, Damon had been around a lot longer than Stefan realized and that unnerved him. “So what happened that ended your relationship?”

“Landon had Dahna followed one night when she was meeting me in the woods, but she was stopped by being drugged by her father.” Damon gritted his teeth, standing up to walk over to the fireplace, breathing in and out slowly to remain calm. “He showed up instead of his lackeys and told me I had a choice: Either I forced Dahna to completely forget about me or…He would kill her. He said there was no way he’d let his daughter be with a monster or turn her into one. Dahna and I never discussed her becoming a vampire, not once, because we just enjoyed each other’s company to really care.”

“Christ…” Stefan whispered, lowering his head and felt horrible for his brother, finally understanding why Damon had killed Landon Fell. “You did it, didn’t you?” It wasn’t a question. “You compelled her to forget you to save her life.”

Feeling a single tear slip down his cheek, Damon looked over at his brother as their eyes locked, nodding. “Now you understand why I killed that dick and enjoyed every second of it. Now you know the truth about everything and my history with her.” He wiped the tear away angrily, hating showing emotion, especially to Stefan.

Slowly standing up from the couch, Stefan walked over to place his hand on Damon’s shoulder, frowning when he merely shrugged him off. “Damon, you’re going to make her remember, aren’t you? You’re going to lift the compulsion. Do you have any idea what will happen when you do that? What if she doesn’t forgive you for killing Landon? What if…”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take because I’d rather be staked a 1,000 times than let her live the rest of her life in a lie. So let me do it, brother, and let me do it on my OWN time. When the time is right, I’ll know it.” Walking out of the study, Damon flew outside to get some much needed air and slid in his Camaro, peeling away from the mansion.

Only when he knew he was completely alone did Damon let the tears pour down his face, releasing the built up emotion he’d kept buried for the past 3 years.

Chapter 23

Dahna ended up working late the same night Damon had his heart to heart with Stefan, so she wasn’t at the mansion. Dacia was out with Tyler on a double date with Elena and Stefan at Mystic Grill. It was Friday night, so Dahna didn’t expect her little sister home until after midnight, knowing Tyler would take care of her. Ever since they had their little chat at Dahna’s dinner gathering, she trusted him and knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to Dacia.

Inputting the final page of her work, Dahna hammered it out and saved her progress, ready to get the hell out of there. She’d been working since 6 AM and was ready for a stiff drink, hot bubble bath and bed in that order. Shutting her computer down, Dahna slipped into her black petty coat, buttoned it up and tossed her purse over her shoulder with keys in hand, heading out.

As soon as Dahna stepped out of the building, she froze at the sight of Damon Salvatore waiting for her in his beautiful electric blue 1967 Chevy Camaro. The car matched his eyes and Dahna felt her heart rate quicken because he looked incredible tonight. Not that he didn’t look incredible every day and night she saw him, but tonight there was something about him that made him more attractive.

“What are you doing here?” Dahna asked, turning around to lock up the building and revolved back around, jumping because she nearly collided with Damon. “Christ, you scared me!”

Damon stared down at her with hardened aquamarine eyes, the look penetrating Dahna to the depths of her soul. Pure intensity filled his eyes, every part of him tensed for all different reasons, ready to uncoil at any second. When Damon left the mansion, he had NO idea where he was going and wound up coming to Dahna’s work, remembering her text earlier she’d sent him about working late.

The look in his eyes scared Dahna as she took a step back from him, pure instinct taking over. “Damon? What’s wrong?” She questioned, her voice full of hesitation and wanted to reach out to touch him, but all he did was stand there staring at her with so many different emotions swirling through his eyes. “Please, if there’s anything I can do to help you…”

Throwing his hand up to silence her, Damon closed the distance between them, his intense gaze never leaving her for a second. He didn’t even blink. Damon hadn’t found the missing page to Uncle Zachary’s documents that linked possible hidden vervain to Landon and it was honestly the last thing on his mind. The woman standing before him that had no recollection of their time together 3 years ago was his top priority.

It was time to tell her the truth.

“Do you mean that?” He finally asked, breaking the uncomfortable tension and silence between them.

“Mean what?” Dahna was so confused, baffled by his random appearance at her work that it had her mind spinning.

“What you just said, do you mean it? Because there is something you can do to help me, Dahna.” Damon stated in a cryptic tone, running a hand through his already haphazard black hair and never took his eyes from her.

Dahna blinked, feeling a headache forming and reached up to rub her temples, wondering what she could possibly help Damon with. “If it’ll help, of course I mean it.” She replied, pulling a bottle of aspirin out of her purse and popped it open, swallowing two pills down to help with the headache. “What is it? What do you need me to do?”

Damon barked out a harsh laugh, turning his back on her to gather his thoughts, hoping this was the right thing to do. “I need you to trust me. I want to take you somewhere, just the two of us. I know Dacia is with Tyler and he won’t let anything happen to her.” He slowly turned to face her again, aquamarine orbs full of desperation. “So if you really want to help, then take a ride with me.”

“Damon, you’re scaring me…” Dahna didn’t like where this was going and watched as he extended a hand to her, swallowing hard. “W-Where are we going?” Ever since she started having those crazy dreams about him, Dahna didn’t trust Damon as much as she used to and knew it wasn’t fair to him, but she couldn’t help what her subconscious filled her head with when she slept.

Understanding her apprehension, Damon was coming on too strong, but he couldn’t keep this charade up anymore either. “I won’t hurt you, Dahna.” He assured her in a softer baritone, keeping his hand exactly where it was. “You can trust me. You’ll know the place when you see it.” That was a half-lie because she’d remember after he lifted the compulsion to make the memories of their time together surface.

What was Dahna supposed to do? This was the man she trusted with both her and Dacia’s life to make sure, whatever killed their father, didn’t end them as well. They were stupid dreams that were making Dahna paranoid and she had to ignore them because Damon would never hurt her. Taking a deep breath, Dahna slid her hand into Damon’s and let him guide her to the car, cracking a smile as he opened the passenger door for her.

Damon slid behind the wheel, fired up the Camaro and took off down the street, heading to the outskirts of Mystic Falls. If there was one place he could take Dahna to reveal the truth to her, it was their secret meeting spot in the woods. He glanced over at her and couldn’t help smiling as she rolled the window down, sticking her hand out the window to feel the night breeze. She always did that whenever they took drives together, saying she felt like her hand was flying.

Not knowing where Damon was taking her, Dahna had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that this wasn’t going to be pleasant. Damon had something to tell her, she could see it in his eyes, but something held him back. Whatever it was, hopefully the place Damon was taking her would give him the courage he needed to tell her what was on his mind. It was either that or Damon was going to kill her, the dream of him revealing to be a vampire suddenly flooding her mind.

‘Stop it, Dahna.’ She chastised mentally, shaking her right foot to make sure her ankle bracelet laced with vervain was secure.

Damon caught what she did and knew she was about to get a very rude awakening. Her whole world would be shattered, ripped to pieces and then mended if she still wanted to be with him. He had no idea how to tell Dahna about her father’s ultimatum and wasn’t sure she’d even believe him, but he had to try. After killing Landon, Damon knew Dahna needed time to adjust to raising her little sister, which is why he hadn’t immediately come back into her life.

Slowly, he inched his way in by working with Sheriff Forbes, getting in her good graces and making her believe he was tracking Landon’s killer. If this all played out the way Damon wanted, he would simply find the vampire that recently came into town, kill him and present the body to the sheriff as Landon’s killer. It was a win-win, as long as Dahna still wanted him once she found out he was the one that ended her father’s miserable life.

Pulling up to the spot Damon always parked whenever he used to meet Dahna in the woods, he cut the ignition and looked over at her, feeling the nervousness pouring from her in waves. “Come on, we’re here.” He stated, getting out and walked around to open the door for her, patiently waiting for her to exit the vehicle.

“Why are we in the woods?” Dahna demanded, forcing herself to step out and sighed when Damon merely extended his hand to her. “Damon, I don’t understand what’s going on…”

“You will.” He assured her softly, his voice a low baritone and waved his fingers beckoningly at her. “Come on Dahna, trust me.”

Heaving another exasperated sigh, Dahna took his hand once again and let him guide her into the woods, hoping she came back out alive. “This better be good for you to drag me all the way out here.” She stated, trying to inject warning into her tone, but all she felt was exhaustion and curiosity.

Damon smirked at her attitude, nodding. “Trust me, it is.” He kept walking, pushing overgrown branches out of the way as they trekked deeper into the woods, knowing the path by heart. “You used to love the woods, what happened?”

“Nothing, I still do love them, but not late at night like this.” Dahna replied, watching her step so she didn’t trip over anything and wondered how Damon was navigating through the woods without a flashlight. “Whoa!” Sure enough, Dahna didn’t see a huge branch sticking out of the ground and tripped over it, bracing herself for the fall.

In one lightning quick move, Damon caught Dahna before she could squeeze her eyes shut, her body twisting in mid-fall to land perfectly in his arms. One arm wrapped around her waist and the other supported the back of her head as Dahna looked into concerned aquamarine eyes. Her chest rose and fell rapidly because the fall had legitimately scared her. However, Dahna had no idea how Damon could’ve moved that fast to save her from bruising her face.

“H-How did you do that?” She stammered through heavy breathing, her hands braced against his muscular chest as her heart hammered against her own violently.

Damon smiled genuinely for the first time that night, brushing a strand of caramel hair from her face. “I’m a man of many mysteries, Dahna.” He simply replied and stood up cradling her in his arms, knowing that near fall had shaken her up a bit. “Can you walk or do you want me to carry you?”

Chewing her bottom lip, Dahna didn’t want to seem like a damsel in distress and decided it wouldn’t be right for Damon to carry her the rest of the way. “I can walk.” She murmured quietly, feeling her feet touch the ground moments later, though his arms stayed where they were. “I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?” Damon wanted to be absolutely sure she could walk without toppling over, having perfect vision – one of the many perks to vampirism. He was fully in his element at night with just the quarter moon being their only light to guide them to the destination.

“Yes, lead on.” Dahna waved him forward, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness as much as she could, but something told her if she tripped again, Damon would catch her. “What do you mean you’re a man of many mysteries?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Damon trekked on, refusing to say another word until he found the spot, knowing it was another half mile.

“You owe me a stiff drink after this, I hope you know that.” Dahna grumbled, her feet aching since she had two inch pumps on, glowering at Damon’s back and heard him chuckle in response. “Not funny, Salvatore.”

“I’ll give you a foot massage.” Damon offered, winking over his shoulder and pushed through a bushel of trees, keeping a hold of them so Dahna could step through, both of them stopping simultaneously.

Standing before them was a beautiful spring that had a small waterfall cascading from the rocks above, the moon shimmering on the water. Soft green grass surrounded the spring and, near the edge of it, looked to be a simple boulder sticking out of the ground. Damon watched the different emotions splay across Dahna’s face, trying to register what she was thinking, feeling and experiencing at the moment. This was their spot, the one place nobody knew about except him and, soon, she would remember it too.

“It’s so breathtaking…” Dahna breathed out, slowly moving toward the spring of her own accord, leaving Damon behind because she wanted to get closer.

“Indeed it is.” Damon inhaled the fresh air, the smell of the water from the waterfall and grass mixing together with Dahna’s mango scent intoxicating him. “What are you thinking about, Dahna? What do you feel?”

“I-I don’t know…” This place was so familiar, but for the life of her Dahna couldn’t recall ever being here. She would never be able to forget a place so beautiful and hidden, not in a million years. “What is this place, Damon?”

“Just a place I know of…” He replied nonchalantly, pausing, slowly following her down to the spring and folded his arms in front of his chest, watching as she stood on the edge to look down at the dark water. “That I once shared with someone very special to me.”

“Must’ve been someone incredibly special because this place is amazing.” Dahna commented truthfully, her jade eyes moving toward the huge boulder that stuck out amongst the beauty. “What’s this?”

“A rock.” Damon pointed out the obvious, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his tone and failed miserably, especially when Dahna shot him a glare.

“I know what it is, dick.” Dahna shot back, not amused with his smarmy attitude and moved her eyes back to the boulder, looking on top of it. “There’s something carved in it…”

DS & DF FOR ETERNITY

“DS and DF…” Dahna ran her fingertips over the initials carved in the stone, something in her mind prying at her, but it was no use. “DS is you, but who is DF?” She asked, slowly turning looking over at Damon as he stood beside her, also looking down at them. “It’s a woman, right?”

Damon chortled, rolling his eyes and shot her a playful glare. “Of course it is, I don’t swing the other way, woman.” He snorted, running his fingertips over the initials much the same way Dahna had until his touched hers.

“She’s the special someone you shared this paradise with.” It wasn’t a question as Dahna slowly looked up at him, feeling her breath hitch in her throat when the intensity ignited in Damon’s eyes again.

“Yes.” He answered, taking both of her hands in his, forcing to fully face him away from the boulder and kept their eyes locked. “Dahna…” He hesitated, feeling a lump the size of the boulder they stood in front of, but he had to be strong through this.

It was now or never.

“Dahna,” He paused, his tone a lot stronger and forceful, squeezing her hands slightly to keep her perfectly still as he felt the compulsion begin working its magic. “Open your mind and remember me. Remember us. Remember this place and everything that happened when you were 17. Come back to me now.”

A second later, an ear piercing scream echoed throughout the spot as Dahna’s mind completely opened to all her lost memories of Damon Salvatore.

Chapter 24

Dacia was having the time of her life with Tyler, both of them laughing and playing a round of pool while Elena and Stefan watched on. Dinner was delicious, which was simple cheeseburgers with fries because everyone wanted the double date to be comfortable. Elena wore a simple pair of skinny blue jeans with a long sleeved maroon top and a tan camisole beneath, her dark hair pooling down her back. Stefan had on a grey long sleeved shirt with dark blue jeans and had his arm wrapped around her waist, whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

Tyler had a short sleeved black t-shirt that looked ready to bust off of him and dark blue jeans, hugging all the right places. Dacia went with a simple long sleeved red V-shaped shirt that shimmered under the lights and black slacks, wanting to look somewhat nice on their date. Even though everyone else chose jeans, Dacia didn’t feel like an oddball and took pride in her attire for the evening. It WAS a date after all, double or not.

“Okay, I’m going to show you one more time and that’s it.” Tyler rumbled in Dacia’s ear, a smirk curving his lips because of the position they were in.

His masculine body stood behind her as Tyler pressed his chest to Dacia’s back, applying just enough pressure to grab the pool stick and covered her hands with his. Dacia giggled uncontrollably, loving how close Tyler was to her and wished they were alone right now so she could start a make out session. He was trying to show her how to hop a ball by hitting it at just the right spot and, for obvious reasons, Dacia’s concentration faltered.

-“I’m TRYING, but SOMEBODY who shall remain nameless is distracting me.” Dacia remarked, a smirk tilting her sheer glossy lips and suddenly jumped out of her skin because Tyler decided to pinch her ass cheek.

“Don’t get smart with me, baby.” Tyler growled, burying his face in the side of her neck and chuckled when she squealed, trying to get away from him.

Dacia didn’t take offense to the ass pinching because, quite frankly, she enjoyed it a little too much and wouldn’t mind if he pinched other parts of her body. “Are you going to show me the move or not?” She demanded, trying to sound stern, but one look in his dark eyes and Dacia turned to putty.

Tyler jutted his bottom lip out, giving the most adorable dark puppy dog eyes Dacia had ever seen and she couldn’t help laughing harder. “You think this is funny?” He asked, trying to sound saddened, but the amusement twinkling in his eyes gave him away.

“That’s it, I forfeit.”

Dacia tossed her pool stick down on the table, turned the rest of the way to face her boyfriend and brought his lips to hers, passionately kissing him. Her forfeiting in order to kiss him was hot and Tyler wanted her badly, but refused to push Dacia into something she wasn’t ready for. She had to make the move and tell him what she wanted because he wasn’t doing it, his reputation for using girls for sex plaguing him.

Elena and Stefan made exited, giving Dacia and Tyler privacy while they went to finish their own date.

Tyler groaned, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against his rock hard body, letting her feel exactly the kind of effect she had on him. No matter what the circumstances were, double date or not, it always resulted in both of them becoming completely lost in each other. Not caring about anything else except this beautiful woman in his arms, Tyler lifted her up with ease to sit on the pool table, standing between her beautiful thighs.

Their lips never left each other’s and Dacia loved how swift Tyler moved her wherever he pleased without any jolting. Her fingers delved in his thick black hair as their tongues dancing together, their hearts beating as one and Dacia couldn’t help thinking how perfect her life was now that they were dating. Tyler groaned at how soft and pliant her lips were, enjoying the strawberry flavored gloss that lit him on fire more.

Reluctantly pulling his mouth from hers, Tyler immediately trailed fire ridden kisses down her neck, across her collarbone and to the other side, his teeth nibbling on her lobe lightly. “What do you say we take this to my place where it’s more private?” He suggested in a husky rough voice, smirking as she did a full body shiver against him and had his answer, pulling away from her. “Come on beautiful.”

Smiling with slightly swollen lips, Dacia slid her hand into Tyler’s and let him guide her out of the room, heading toward the bar to pay the tab. She kept her fingers laced with his the whole time and didn’t react when he threw a hundred dollar bill on the bar counter, telling them to keep the change. Dacia didn’t care how much money Tyler had because that’s not why she wanted to be with him. Wrapping an arm around Dacia’s shoulder, they left the grill and headed toward his 1971 Buick GS, teasing her with little nips on her neck that made her giggle.

“Well, well doesn’t this look cozy.”

Both Tyler and Dacia froze in their tracks at the sight of Caroline Forbes leaning against Tyler’s hood, her arms folded in front of her chest. “What the hell are you doing here, Care?” He demanded, instinctively pushing Dacia behind him to protect her.

Caroline openly laughed, the sound pure bone chilling as she pushed off of Tyler’s precious vehicle and stepped toward them, her blue eyes iced over. “I’ll be the one making the demands, not you, Ty.” Snapping her fingers, Caroline’s lips slowly curved in an pure evil smirk, her long eyelashes fluttering at who stepped out of the shadows. “You know what to do.”

Tyler’s dark eyes widened at the sight of Matt, his longtime best friend, and immediately backed up when Matt started charging at him. “Whoa! Matt, wait a second, what the hell are you doing?” He demanded, hoping Dacia made a run for it because it looked as though his ex-girlfriend had some kind of control over him. “What the hell is wrong with him, Caroline?!”

That chilling laughter permeated the air once again as Caroline merely smiled at Tyler, shrugging. “What makes you think it’s me? Maybe Matt has finally realized just what a sucky friend you are, Tyler. Maybe he remembers all the nasty things you did with his mother, hmm?” Tyler had a onetime fling at one of his parent’s balls at the Lockwood mansion and ended up having a brief make out session with Matt’s mother, Kelly Donovan. “Maybe he’s tired of you using him to get the girls he wants.” Her cold eyes turned to Dacia, feeling the tick in her jaw tighten at the sight of her ex-best friend. “Isn’t that right, Dace?”

Dacia could barely breathe, noticing the difference in Caroline instantly and swallowed past the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, Caroline.” She jumped back when Caroline suddenly flew at her, their noses practically touching.

“I think you know damn well what I’m talking about and, if you’re not careful, I might just snap your pretty neck like a twig here and now. And don’t think for a SECOND I can’t do it, Dacia.” Caroline dared her to underestimate her newfound strength, her blue eyes outlined in black with clear gloss on her lips and her skin was pale white. “Care to test me?”

“No.” Dacia whispered, the realizing dawning on her on what happened to her ex-best friend and felt her knees turn to jelly, tears stinging her eyes. “Caroline…No…”

Snorting, Caroline shoved her gently to the ground, watching as Dacia’s rear hit the sidewalk with a soft thump. “Shut up and stay down there like the bitch you are.” She spat, turning her icy gaze on Tyler and Matt, who was trying to talk Matt down. “It won’t do any good, Tyler.”

“What do you mean?” Tyler demanded, ducking a blow from Matt as he continued backing away, not wanting to hurt his best friend. “What’s wrong with him?”

Caroline sighed out of boredom, studying her French manicured nails and rolled her eyes. “He’s compelled, idiot.” She decided to tell him the truth since there was no running and hiding from Matt. “And now you have to kill him before he kills you.”

Tyler’s eyes shot open, that confession breaking his concentration and felt Matt’s fist clock his jaw, sending him to the ground. “WHAT?!” He roared out, shoving Matt away and rubbed his jaw, glaring hatefully at his ex-girlfriend. “The only way he could be compelled is if…” The words died on his lips as Tyler stared at Caroline, studying her closer and felt sick to his stomach when reality slapped him in the face. “No way, you’re…”

“I was wondering how long it’d take you to figure it out.” Caroline said evenly, leaning against the building and was pleased that Dacia hadn’t moved an inch, completely frozen. “What’s the matter, little Dacey? Afraid of me now that I’m the very monster that killed your precious Daddy?”

Dacia’s head snapped up as fire erupted in her now darkened chocolate eyes, wanting to kill Caroline for that comment. “Don’t talk about my father like that.” She ordered in a deadly tone of voice, tempted to move from the sidewalk, but decided against it when Caroline raised a brow at her.

“Or what?” Caroline challenged, slowly moving toward her, each step making Dacia’s heart skip a beat. “What are you going to do to me? I’m dead, remember? And there’s no wooden stakes around to save you if I decide to rip your throat out and drain your body.”

“LEAVE HER ALONE!!” Tyler roared, trying to get past Matt, but it was impossible as his shoulder lodged right into Tyler’s stomach, causing him to drop to his knees instantly.

“NO, TYLER!!” Dacia shrieked, tears pouring down her cheeks as she watched Matt start kicking him repeatedly in the stomach. “LEAVE HIM ALONE!!”

Caroline knew if she let Matt kill Tyler, the person who made her into a vampire would end her existence before it began. “Matt stop.” She ordered, turning her full attention on the men for the moment and fluffed her blonde hair over her shoulders down her back. “Tyler, you have a choice here. Please don’t make me kill him only to send someone else after you.”

“Why are you doing this?” Tyler demanded, tears stinging his dark eyes as he stared up at his zombified best friend, wishing there was something he could do to snap him out of this. “Why do I have to kill him?”

“Oh sweetie, you don’t know?” Caroline almost sounded sympathetic as she slowly lowered herself beside Tyler, grabbing his jaw in an iron grip, blue eyes flashing. “You have to trigger your curse.”

Tyler stared at Caroline like she’d lost her mind, coughing out and had no idea what Caroline was talking about. “You’re nuts.” He growled, spitting blood out and stood up right in front of her slowly, squaring his shoulders. “There is no curse. Whoever told you that is out of their mind. Why did you do this to yourself, Caroline? There’s no going back, do you understand that? You can never be human again.”

“I’m aware of that, genius, thanks.” Caroline snorted, kicking him between the legs for that comment and stepped back, placing her hands on her hips. “I can’t believe you don’t know about your family’s curse. This is ironic indeed and I have to tell you, I’m enjoying every second of your torment. Serves you right after you broke my heart into pieces, all to be with my ex-best friend that I used to think of as a sister.”

“You never were a sister to me and now you’re just another bloodsucker.” Dacia snarled, meaning every word that came out of her mouth and hit the ground in a heap seconds later, courtesy of Caroline’s backhand across her face.

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH, BITCH!!” Caroline roared, rearing her foot back to kick Dacia in the stomach, only to be whipped around by Tyler, her neck snapping moments later.

Tyler had knocked Matt out with one punch, knowing he wouldn’t be out for long, but it gave him time to save Dacia. Always stronger than average, even when he was a little kid, Tyler’s temper had made his strength flare. He had no idea why and didn’t think about it…until now. Tossing Caroline’s lifeless body to the side, Tyler rushed to Dacia’s side and pulled her up, immediately checking her face tenderly to make sure her cheek wasn’t broken.

Dacia smiled at him in spite of the pain she was in, enjoying his warm touch against her cheek and went to stand up, only for her milk chocolate eyes to widen. “Tyler, WATCH OUT!!” She shrieked out, covering her eyes as his elbow instinctively flexed back, nailing whoever tried attacking him from behind in the nose.

The sickening crunch echoed around them as Tyler whipped around, his eyes widening at the sight of a girl from school named Sarah. Her nose looked like it was sucked into her face as blood poured from her mouth, her body crumbling to the ground in a heap. Tyler’s stomach churned as he dropped to his knees, everything happening in slow motion and started shaking her, trying to wake her up.

Dacia scrambled over beside Tyler, feeling how badly he was shaking and reached a hand over to check Sarah’s pulse on her neck, tears flowing when she felt nothing. “She’s dead.” She whispered, looking up at him incredulously and jumped back when Tyler began screaming, gripping his hair in his hands. “Tyler! Tyler, it’s okay…!”

“NO!! NO IT’S NOT OKAY!!” Tyler bellowed angrily, feeling the fire instantly spreading throughout his body as his body temperature skyrocketed, already feeling something stirring within him. “Dacia…” What the hell was happening to him and why did he suddenly feel as though he was boiling?

“Tyler…” Dacia felt helpless and watched as he tore his shirt off of his body, his muscles definitely more defined, his dark eyes glowing a deep amber as he stared back at her. “Oh god…”

Tyler could feel his teeth changing as well, expanding as his chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, his eyes still that amber gold. He looked down at his trembling hands and slowly moved his gaze over to an unconscious Caroline, wondering what he meant by his family curse. How did she know and he didn’t? His father had died a little while ago of a supposed heart attack, even though Tyler didn’t believe that for a second. His mother was hiding something from him and this was it, the family curse – it had to be.

“Get back to the Salvatore mansion as fast as you can, Dacia.” He ordered, his voice a low deep baritone as he walked over to lift Matt over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes, his amber eyes returning to their normal darkness. “I’ll take Matt home. Please don’t tell your sister anything that happened. I’ll be in touch once I figure out what’s going on.”

Before Dacia could get another word out, Tyler was gone as his vehicle plowed down the street at top speed, leaving her there with so many questions and zero answers. Dacia walked to her car, not stopping like Tyler said and drove back to the mansion, the whole time crying her eyes out. Once she arrived, Dacia went straight to her room and slammed the door shut, collapsing on the bed as tears poured from her eyes, her heart constricting painfully.

Her dilemma was simple: Did she break her promise to Dahna by keeping what happened to Tyler secret or did she trust her big sister enough to tell her the truth?

Chapter 25

All at once, Dahna’s mind flooded with hidden memories she didn’t know she had, making painful tears flow down her face. Her fingers gripped her head tightly, pulling her hair as she pressed her forehead to the cool grass, breathing incredibly heavy. All the dreams she’d been having about Damon recently actually happened and she was currently experiencing every single moment they spent together when she was 17. Dahna couldn’t move, her entire body trembling from head to toe as the pain slowly vanished, her heart pounding furiously against her chest.

The bookstore, their secret meetings in the woods at the very place they were currently at, the lovemaking, all the sweet words and promises…it was all there. The rock where they carved their initials in it because Damon had promised to marry Dahna as soon as she turned 18 and graduated from high school. He swore to take her far away from Mystic Falls so they could live together peacefully because she knew her family would never condone her being with a vampire.

Damon heard how fast it was and wanted to do something to help Dahna, but also knew there was nothing he could do. She’d had these memories taken from her and shoved into a tiny box in the back of her mind...because of him. Landon’s idle threat was no excuse for what Damon did to Dahna and he had nobody to blame except himself.

At the time, he felt desperate and didn’t want anything happening to Dahna, knowing Landon would’ve shed his own daughter’s blood if it meant that she loved a vampire. Now, the more Damon thought about it, the more he regretted his impulsivity by wiping her memories with his compulsion. Ever since meeting her at the bookstore downtown, Damon had been completely captivated by Dahna Fell and Katherine Pierce ceased to exist in his mind. She was the reason his obsession over the woman who made him and his brother vampires disappeared completely.

Slowly, Dahna pulled her forehead away from the grass and sat up, staring straight ahead with a tear-stained face, refusing to get to her feet. She was afraid if she tried standing too soon she’d topple over, still trembling from the after effects of the intense memories. The cool wind blew through her hair and across her face as her eyes closed, more tears falling as the stars glittered above them, the crescent shaped moon their only light.

“Damon.” Dahna whispered, the sound of recognition in her voice along with so much emotion that it made her thankful she was still on her knees.

“I’m here, Dahna.” He replied, walking over to crouch in front of her until concerned aquamarine eyes met bewildered emerald.

There were so many things Dahna wanted to say to him, but she had no idea where to start. “W-What the hell was that?” She decided not to beat around the bush, not reaching out to touch him and pulled back when he went to grab her hands, not wanting to be touched at the moment. “Answer me.”

Damon sighed heavily, expecting this type of reaction and sat back on his haunches, folding his arms in front of his chest. “I made you remember me.” He said it as simply and direct as he could, not removing his eyes from her. “Are you okay?”

“Do I LOOK like I’m okay?” She snapped back, narrowing her eyes at him and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to make sense of everything. “That was the dumbest thing you’ve ever asked me. Of course I’m not okay!! What the hell do you mean you made me remember you?”

“Precisely what I just said.” Damon brushed off her attitude because, honestly, she deserved to be angry with him for what he did. “I made you forget me with compulsion.”

Staring at him wide eyed, Dahna suddenly recalled their final night together at this specific spot and felt fresh tears burn her eyes. “My ankle bracelet…” She suddenly sat full on the grass and pulled her pant leg up, fingering the silver bracelet her father gave her with a small emerald charm dangling from it. “You asked me to take it off because you gave me this charm.” Her voice lowered, remembering that night vividly now that the compulsion was lifted. “Are you telling me you gave me the charm as a way to get the bracelet off so you could compel me to forget you?”

Damon looked away from her, the guilt written all over his face and closed his eyes briefly, remembering that night as well. “Yes.” He answered, refusing to lie to her again, especially after everything he’d already lied to her about. “Dahna…”

“No, don’t talk to me.” She stood to her feet instantly, not wanting to hear anymore and had to get as far away from Damon as possible. “I need to get out of here.”

Damon flew over to stand in front of her, slowly shaking his head and pulled something out of his back jean pocket. “That’s not the right one.” He extended his hand that had a black cloth in it, her REAL vervain laced bracelet wrapped in it. “I swapped your real ankle bracelet with a replica because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to lift your compulsion. I did it the night of your dinner, while you were showering.”

Dahna’s mouth fell open as she snatched the cloth from him and unfolded the cloth, tears sliding down her cheeks at the sight of her real ankle bracelet. “You son of a bitch!” She cried, clutching it to her chest and couldn’t believe how deceitful Damon was. “How could you do this to me?!”

“You think I enjoyed everything I’ve done to you, Dahna?” He shot back, trying to keep his temper in check because she was the victim here, not him. “You have no idea the kind of hell I’ve been through the past 3 years without you in my life. You think it was easy for me to make you forget me? You think I did it because I WANTED to? If you give me a chance to explain…”

“Explain what? Explain how you’ve lied to me and manipulated me for the past 3 years? Explain to me how you’ve pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes by making them believe you’ve been searching for my father’s murderer? Explain how you had no choice when you decided to wipe my memories of you, of US?” Dahna snapped, wanting to hurt him, but he was a vampire and damned near indestructible. “No, I think I’ve pretty much heard everything I need to, Damon. Now get the hell out of my way so I can go home.” She was cold, tired and emotionally exhausted, thanks to the man that had singlehandedly destroyed her.

“Goddamn it, will you just LISTEN TO ME?” Damon growled, grabbing her shoulders tightly in his hands and forced her to stare at him with cold unforgiving green eyes. “You’re not leaving here until you hear everything I have to say. You love me still, I know you do! And once you hear the REASON why I compelled you to forget me, maybe you’ll change your attitude toward me a little.”

“Don’t count on it.” Dahna stated, pursing her lips tightly together and had to look away from him, her heart breaking all over again every time she stared in those deep aquamarine eyes. “I don’t need to hear your explanation.”

“Yes you do.” Damon refused to back down, knowing if he chipped away at her long enough she would eventually stop fighting him. “I know you’re upset with me and you have every right to be. I didn’t expect you to just fall back into my arms, but you HAVE to know the complete truth. I’m not lying to you anymore and I only lied because you had no idea who I was. I had to wait for the right time before lifting your compulsion or else you would’ve freaked out.”

He could justify his actions all he wanted, but Dahna didn’t buy a single word that came out of his mouth. The fact was he lied to her, Dacia and the entire council for 3 years, though she didn’t have contact with him until recently. Then again, maybe she did and he compelled her to forget that too, Dahna didn’t know what to think or believe anymore at this point.

No matter how hard she tried, Dahna couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down her face as her chest constricted tightly, the emotions overwhelming her and it nearly made her knees buckle. Damon noticed her sway slightly and instantly wrapped an arm around her waist, forcing her to lean against him even though he knew she didn’t want to be touched right now. He also didn’t want her falling to the ground and getting hurt, so he would risk holding her so she stayed unscathed.

“H-How could you do this to me?” She whispered out painfully, doubling over as the pain washed over her once again and felt Damon’s grip tighten around her waist, her back pressed tightly against his chest.

Damon’s heart broke at her words as he buried his face in the side of her neck, breathing her in and tried calming her down the only way he knew how. “I didn’t want to.” He admitted in a low voice, feeling the anguish pouring from her body in intense waves that crashed over him, but Damon withstood it for her. “Dahna, if I could go back, I wouldn’t have done it. I would’ve told you the truth instead of trying to protect you by keeping you in the dark. I swear on my life and all that I am. I never meant to hurt you like this, but…I panicked at the time and didn’t want you ending up dead because of me.”

“W-What are you talking about?” Dahna stammered out since her crying turned to heart-wrenching sobs, barely able to breathe. “I-I wasn’t in d-danger…”

“Yes you were.” He whispered, his nose pressing against her temple gently as he continued holding her from behind. “Please, just let me tell you and then I’ll let you go home.” It would kill him to lose her again, but Dahna deserved to know the truth about her deceased Daddy dearest and they weren’t leaving here until that happened.

Dahna didn’t understand what he was talking about, her mind whirling already from the memories and tried breaking away from him, but Damon had a vise grip on her. “Then tell me.” She ordered through clenched teeth, hot tears stinging her already soaked cheeks. “Get it over with, Damon.”

Slowly turning her around to face him, Damon cupped her face in his hands and forced her eyes to lock with his, sucking in a sharp breath at the pain in her eyes. “Do you remember the night we carved our initials in the boulder here?” He gestured with his eyes to the rock briefly before locking eyes with her again and Dahna nodded, making him continue. “Dahna, you were followed here that night by one of the council members. I don’t know who it was, but…your father had his suspicions and had you followed because of the fight you had with him. Do you remember it?”

Dahna shut her eyes tightly as the memory of the night she fought with her father over becoming the next Fell to join the council. He wanted her to start attending meetings and familiarizing herself with everything, including how to defend herself against a vampire. Being in love with one, Dahna refused to do it and disobeyed her father, which in turn made him backhand her across the face. She showed up at the secret spot that she met Damon at every night with a bruised face, though she tried covering it up as much as she could with foundation.

“Yes.” She whispered, reaching up to touch her cheek as the memory slowly faded. “That’s why I begged you to take me away and you refused because you wanted me to finish school first. You wanted me to graduate and then promised to…take me away so we could get married and be together peacefully…”

What happened to that promise? What happened that would force Damon to compel her to forget him completely? Did he regret making that promise to her and figured the only way to break it was compelling her to forget their time together?

“Right, I didn’t want you to miss out on anything that life had to offer and graduating meant everything to you. I know you wanted to walk down that aisle and accept your diploma the same way your mother did.” He said quietly, having moved his hands from her face to her hips when Dahna reached up to touch her cheek. “I wanted to prove to you that I could wait for you and give you everything you wanted. You were young, Dahna, and if I would’ve known what the future held back then, I would’ve said screw it and taken you away from Mystic Falls. I would’ve listened to you instead of losing you for 3 years, and possibly forever.”

“What happened Damon?” Dahna demanded, needing that question answered more than anything at the moment. “I deserve to know why I lost you for 3 years. I need to know what happened that possessed you to actually compel me. You owe me that much after everything that’s happened.”

Damon nodded, agreeing with her and released her hips to grab her hands in both of his, taking a deep shaky breath. “Like I said, you were followed that night, thanks to your father. He had someone from the council follow you and report back to him what he saw. He knew about our plans to run away as soon as you graduated, he knew everything.”

Dahna lowered her eyes from Damon and shifted them, not believing what just came out of Damon’s mouth, somehow believing every word that he said. “Luke.” She whispered, feeling Damon grip her hands a little tighter and felt the anger swell inside of her again. “It had to be my Uncle Luke. He was the one who accompanied my father on his hunting trip a few nights after we made those plans…”

It all made sense now why Luke and Meredith were always checking up on her, making sure she was alright. They knew about her relationship with Damon, at least Luke did. She wasn’t sure about Meredith, but Dahna would find out and possibly send them to the hospital for their involvement with this.

“That was my suspicion too.” Damon hissed, wishing he would’ve killed Luke the same night he did Landon because it would’ve been killing two birds with one stone. “Anyway, after you left, your father paid me a visit here…” He still felt the place was tainted, even after killing Landon, and Damon had tried so many times destroying this place, but he couldn’t.

“What did he say?” Dahna was almost afraid to ask, but she had to know, her curiosity burning along with inner rage. “Tell me right now, Damon.”

At least her anger wasn’t fully directed at him anymore, which is what Damon hoped happened. “He gave me an ultimatum, Dahna.” He released her hands and turned his back to face her, raking a hand through his black hair irritably. “It was either ‘use my evil powers’ to make you forget or…he would kill you. He said there was no way a daughter of his would be with a bloodsucking demon, not as long as he was alive.” He stared up at the sky, knowing Landon was probably looking down at them right now and couldn’t stop the smirk flitting across his face. “That’s why he went on that hunt because he wanted to kill me. That’s why the very next night I asked you if you could ever hate me and you said no. You said no matter what despicable thing I did, you would love me forever.”

Dahna swallowed hard, every part of her body beginning to quake as her insides clenched violently again, feeling sick suddenly. “Damon…” Her throat closed up, breathing out harsher than before and Dahna could feel the tears starting up all over again as they flooded down her face. “You killed my father, didn’t you?”

Slowly turning around, Damon locked eyes with her and didn’t bother denying it, nodding. “Yes.”

Chapter 26

The entire drive home was made in silence as Dahna stared out the window, not saying a single word to Damon. He answered her question about killing her father and that was it, she remained silent. Damon apparently got tired of waiting for her to say or do something, so he guided her through the woods back to his car.

What the hell was he supposed to say to her? What could Damon say after openly admitting he killed Landon? Though now he had a new target and it was another family member that Dahna would have to live without. Luke was on borrowed time because, if he hadn’t followed and spied on Dahna that night, they would’ve been able to run off into the sunset together.

As much as Dahna wanted to forgive and forget, she couldn’t. Her father had lied and sent her away to college, after giving Damon the ultimatum that had her life on the line. What kind of father would do that to their child? Vampire or not, Damon wasn’t a monster and never once hurt her, his touch always gentle. From the moment they met, Dahna knew what she wanted and that was Damon Salvatore – all of him.

Now all Dahna could do was piece all the memories together in her mind and everything started making perfect sense. Her father forcing her to get her GED so she could go to college instead of graduating with her class like she always wanted. He convinced her that leaving Mystic Falls would be the best thing for her and, naturally, Dahna believed him because she trusted him. Within a week, Dahna had taken her GED, passed with flying colors and left Mystic Falls without a trace, heading to the neighboring town so she was still close to family and friends.

3 months into her college courses, Dahna received the call that changed her life forever and made her Dacia’s permanent guardian. She’d just turned 18 a week prior and now Dahna understood why Damon had waited to exact his revenge. It wasn’t the fact that Landon and Luke couldn’t hunt him down; he simply waited until she turned 18 so she could have the deed to the house. Her mother dying was pure coincidence, at least that’s what Dahna hoped as she glanced over at Damon, wondering if he killed her too.

“If you want to ask me something else, then do it.” Damon stated, feeling Dahna’s eyes on him while staring straight ahead and stopped at a red light.

Dahna looked away and down at her lap, her hands clasped together tightly, not sure how to ask him about her mother. “Is my father the only one you killed in my family tree?” She finally asked just as the light turned green, sucking in a sharp breath as anxiety filled her body, tears stinging her eyes. “Did you…kill my mother, Damon?”

Of course she would think that considering he murdered her father in cold blood, even if it was self-defense. “No. Your mother died in the hospital of a broken heart, literally…” He glanced over at her, seeing the tears sliding down her cheeks and couldn’t imagine the inner turmoil she currently felt. “Dahna…”

“Don’t.” She whispered painfully, remembering Meredith’s call about her mother collapsing shortly after finding out her father had been murdered. “I can’t…”

“I would never kill someone that didn’t deserve it and your mother didn’t.” Damon said quietly, trying to offer some kind of condolence because he did feel horrible about Delilah dying the same night as her wretched husband. “I never thought you’d have to take over being Dacia’s guardian and raise her. I chose to wait until you turned 18 before killing Landon because I wanted you to be free. He would’ve eventually forced you into the council and brainwashed you to hate…”

“You.” Dahna finally looked up with a tearstained face, just as Damon pulled into the driveway of her house, staring into his aquamarine eyes. “It would’ve worked too because you made me forget all about you. You chose to take away my love and feelings for you. I would’ve rather died than lose those feelings and that love, Damon. I would’ve died happily with you being the last person on my mind, but you took it all away to protect me.” Looking away from him, Dahna placed her hand on the door handle and felt torn completely in half.

“That’s just it, you would’ve been dead because of me and I couldn’t let that happen. You can hate me all you want, but at least now you know everything.” Damon refused to stop her from running away from him if that was her wish because at least she’d be doing it of her own volition and not anyone else’s. “Before you walk in that house and vow to never speak to me again, there is one more thing you need to know.”

Dahna didn’t like the sound of that and slowly turned her head until their eyes met again, swallowing hard at the intensity burning within his eyes. “Damon…”

“Two things actually.” He stepped out of the car and flew to the other side, opening the door so he could crouch down in front of her. It was late so nobody was up at the moment, which is why he loved the night so much and preferred it over day. “Do you remember my Uncle Zachary?”

“Yes.” Dahna nodded slowly. “What about him?”

“I killed him. He threatened to out me to the council and Liz if I didn’t leave Mystic Falls. I know you were lead to believe he was mauled by a bear in the mansion and that’s not true. I snapped his neck and then tore his throat out for threatening me.” Damon vowed to never lie to Dahna again or keep anything from her, so that’s why he was opening up. “I don’t regret killing him either. He deserved it.”

“That’s nice.” Dahna muttered, lowering her eyes from his and jumped slightly when Damon grabbed her hand, her eyes jumping right back up to meet his. “Damon…”

“That was the first thing; I told you there were two and it involves my Uncle Zach.” Damon reminded her, knowing she didn’t want to be touched, but he didn’t know if he’d ever get the opportunity to do it again and had to feel her skin against his one last time. “I recently found documents in his study at the mansion linking Landon and him together. They were apparently working to build a stash of vervain in a secret place so the town would never run out of it in case Zach was ever caught. There’s a missing page in the documents and I know Zach entrusted it with Landon. I need your help to find it so we can get to the stash before the council does and tries using it against me, my brother and all the vampires in Mystic Falls.”

Snorting, Dahna rolled her eyes and ripped her hand out of his grasp, shaking her head in disbelief. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. My father never told me any of his business with the council or Zachary because he didn’t trust me. I refused to join the council, Damon, so how the hell would I know about secret documents?” What sickened Dahna more was the fact she became part of the very group she fought tooth and nail not to have any involvement. “I’m tired and it’s late…”

“Dahna, this is important. This isn’t just about me, it’s my little brother too, who wants nothing more than a normal life here. If there’s anything you can do to help us with this, anything at all…” Damon hated begging, but he wasn’t above it when it came to Dahna Fell. “Please.”

“If I had to take a guess on who my father would leave that missing page with, if it still exists, I’d say Luke. He’s the only one who knew about us and everything. He knew about you compelling me…” The anger and resentment was clear in her voice as Dahna clenched her fists, not believing everything her family put her through. “If Meredith knew…”

“I honestly don’t think she did.” Damon assured her quietly, slowly standing up from his crouched position and pushed his own temper down when Dahna mentioned her uncle. “Luke is a start.” He growled, stepping away from his car so he didn’t damage it because that’s how angry he was over this situation. “There’s actually 3 things.”

“Damon, it’s late…” Dahna had stepped out of the car and wasn’t sure how much she could take hearing before completely breaking down. “I can’t take much more…”

Flying over to her, Damon cupped her face in his hands and forced her eyes to lock with his, wanting her to understand the next words that came out of his mouth. “I’m going to kill him, Dahna. I’m going to kill Luke for what he did to us; you have my word on that. I know he’s your family…”

“Do what you have to do. I’m going to bed. Good night, Damon.” Breaking away from him, Dahna was at her absolute limit and walked away from him up the stairs to the front door, her whole body shaking.

Damon watched her enter the house and knew it would take time, but eventually Dahna would come back to him. She loved him; he could see it in her eyes and body posture. Fighting it would eventually break her down until she finally came to him, begging and pleading to take the pain away. He would claim her in every way possible and never let her go again, already contemplating turning her into a vampire. Because after losing her for 3 years, Damon wasn’t sure if he could live with watching her grow old while he stayed his sexy 24 year old self for the rest of eternity.

“Sweet dreams, my Dahna.” He whispered, sliding into the Camaro and fired it up, heading back to the mansion to have a little heart to heart with his brother.

Luke Fell was officially living on borrowed time.

~!~

Luke sat in his place with a tumbler of bourbon in his hand, staring at the television blankly. He worked for the Mystic Falls police department, but the job was becoming tedious and a lot of questions were being raised regarding Landon’s death. Even after 3 years, Luke thought they would’ve died by now and the council would’ve focused on something else. Thanks to Sheriff Forbes, his brother would never be able to rest in peace properly until she stopped this investigation from happening.

He still had no idea who this investigator was, wishing he hadn’t missed the council’s last meeting at the Lockwood mansion, but...he had something else to take care of. It wasn’t easy by any means and Luke couldn’t believe he actually agreed to go along with this asinine idea of Landon’s. It was insane and stupid...reckless. If they were discovered…Luke shook his head and downed his tumbler, slamming the glass down on the table before refilling it.

Meredith had no idea what they’d done, what lengths Landon went to in order to keep Dahna away from Damon Salvatore. He hadn’t seen one trace of Damon since that night they tried to kill him. Luke still regretted not continuing the hunt, but…soon he would have his revenge for Landon and everything would be right in the world again. He just had to be patient a little longer and keep his dear sister in the dark, along with his precious nieces, not wanting them involved in the upcoming fight.

Damon Salvatore was living on borrowed time.

Luke wasn’t stupid, he knew that bloodsucker still resided in Mystic Falls, though he had no idea where. He only followed Dahna into the woods to their secret spot that night, never where Damon slept…if he slept at all. He’d heard rumors that Damon was still in town doing a job, but Luke couldn’t figure out what it was to save his life. Sheriff Forbes denied him to any records in the archives, so Luke had to go and break the law by looking them over anyway.

Nothing came up.

Not one trace of the Salvatore’s besides Zachary, who Landon had worked exclusively with. Luke still wondered what was so special and important about a piece of paper, which was safely locked away in his safe. He promised Landon he would protect it until his last dying breath, figuring nobody would come hunting for it. If Luke knew at that moment that Damon had not only lifted Dahna’s compulsion, to make her remember everything and told her about Zachary’s documents, he would’ve burned page 14 instantly.

But he didn’t.

Opening the safe, Luke decided to take a look at the page again and reached inside, only for a knock to sound at the front door. He quickly closed the safe back up, locking it securely and put the painting on the wall over it, before going to see who was visiting him this time of night. A big smile spread across his face as deep brown eyes met him instantly and he immediately pulled her against him, their lips connecting.

“Mmm someone missed me.” She purred seductively against his lips and let Luke pull her inside his house, immediately shuffling out of her jacket.

“Like I wouldn’t.” He growled, shoving her back against the door and sealed his lips to her neck, his hands running down her curvaceous sides. “Mmm baby…”

She pulled back, staring into his deep brown eyes and ran her fingertip down his nose to his lips, smiling sweetly. “I didn’t come here for a quickie, Luke.” She shoved him away, fluffing her long curly brown hair down her back and shoulders. “I came to tell you that it’s time.”

Luke raised a brow, eyes narrowing slightly. “What do you mean? I don’t understand…”

“What is there not to understand?” She retorted in that same sultry tone, walking past him to grab the bottle of bourbon and smirked when she felt his trepidation. “He’s waiting for you. I’ll drive.”

“But…”

“Look,” She whipped around to face him, arching a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “If you want to disappoint him, I’ll definitely send my best…”

“Where is he?” Luke demanded, his voice somewhat hoarse and couldn’t believe this was happening, glancing at the painting briefly.

She laughed, the sound sending chills throughout Luke’s body. “I told you I’ll drive. It’s not here, obviously. Oh and he wants you to bring what he gave you.” She had no idea what that meant and honestly didn’t care, already heading for the front door.

“He promised to never…”

“Things have changed, he’ll explain once we arrive.” She flew out the door to her car, a black mustang, and waited for him to join her with that same cold smile on her face.

Luke stumbled out of his house down the stairs and slid into the car, the fear welling up inside of him. “He is…alright?” He managed to ask, feeling a huge lump form in his throat. “Answer me, Kathy.”

Snorting, she proceeded to bash Luke’s face against the dashboard and lowered the seat back, pushing his unconscious body back to lay down. “It’s Katherine.” She slammed the car in drive and peeled away, heading out of Mystic Falls toward an unknown destination, knowing her Salvatore boys were about to get a very RUDE awakening.

Chapter 27

“What are you?”

Stefan currently had his own issues going on and ignored his cell phone when it vibrated against his pocket, green eyes locked on the deep brown orbs of his girlfriend. He tried telling her the truth about what he really was so many times, only to choke. How she managed to find out the truth was something he’d have to find out later, but right now he had to make a decision on what to do.

Lie or tell the truth.

“You know.”

“No, I don’t…” Elena hesitated, her breathing somewhat sporadic.

“Yes you do.” Stefan said, his voice remaining soft and low. “Or you wouldn’t be here.”

Elena shook her head, tears shining in her eyes. “It’s not possible…” She whispered, wondering if she was losing her mind as her eyes remained locked on him. “It CAN’T be.”

Stefan took a step forward, seeing fear enter Elena’s eyes for the first time and watched as she took a step back, hearing how fast her heartbeat was. “Everything you know, and every belief you have, is about to change. Are you ready for that?”

Elena pursed her lips together, trying to remain brave even though she wanted to bolt for her car. “What are you?” She demanded again, her voice a little stronger.

Stefan nodded, receiving his answer and couldn’t hide the truth any longer, not if he wanted a future with her. “I’m a vampire.” He admitted, his tone never changing and watched as she took another step back. “I won’t hurt you, Elena.”

“I-I have to go.” Elena stammered, turning and ran toward her car, skidding to a halt when Stefan suddenly appeared in front of her. “How did you do that?!”

“You have to listen to me, please!” Stefan pleaded, grabbing Elena by the upper arms, but that only made her panic more.

“Let me go!!” Elena cried out, breaking away from him and ran to her car, speeding out of there like her life depended on it. In this case, it did.

Slow clapping sounded behind Stefan as Damon shook his head, putting his hands together 3 times. “Bravo brother, well done. I couldn’t have chased away a girl better myself.”

Stefan suddenly flew over to Damon and punched him square in the jaw, green eyes flaming with rage. “Did you tell her?!” He exclaimed, not giving Damon a chance to respond and punched him again, letting some of his frustrations out. “DID YOU?!”

Damon let his little brother get exactly 3 hits in before stopping it, catching Stefan’s arm when he swung for a 4^th time. “No, I didn’t. What would I gain by doing that, Stefan?” He demanded irritably, licking the inside of his cheek and spat blood on the ground, shoving Stefan away a few feet. “Now hit me again and I’ll knock your head off your shoulders.”

“Then who the hell DID?” Stefan demanded in a growl, wanting to drain whoever decided to ruin his relationship with Elena. “She knows and I have no idea how she found out, Damon! This could ruin everything!”

Damon snorted, waving him off dismissively. “Stop whining like a little bitch, it’s annoying.” He ordered gruffly, aquamarine eyes narrowing as he headed toward the front door. “You’re not the only one with woman issues after all.”

That grabbed Stefan’s attention instantly as he followed Damon into the mansion. “What are you talking about? Last I checked, you’re single, Damon.” He pointed out, suddenly needing a drink and watched as Damon poured both a healthy dose of bourbon.

Damon grunted, downing half his tumbler and walked over to the fireplace, tossing some logs on it to get it roaring again. “You’re right, I am single, but…I did something incredibly stupid tonight and I can’t take it back.” He barked out a harsh laugh, finishing the rest of his tumbler and stared into the sparking flames, closing his eyes.

Stefan couldn’t recall the last time he saw his brother this vulnerable and had a feeling it had to do with the oldest Fell sister. “What happened?” He asked, walking over to stand on the other side of the fireplace, sipping his bourbon.

“I told her.” He whispered, not trusting his voice at the moment.

Stefan raised a brow and opened his mouth to ask his brother to elaborate, when it suddenly hit him what Damon just said. “What did you do?” He demanded, keeping his voice low and hoped Damon didn’t hurt the poor girl.

“I lifted her compulsion. I stole her vervain ankle bracelet, swapped it with another one and took her to the spot we used to meet secretly. I told her everything that happened with Landon, including the fact I murdered him. And now I’ve probably lost her forever just like you probably lost Elena.” Damon explained, adding that last insult to make himself feel better about the current situation.

“Did you ask her about the missing page to Uncle Zach’s documents?” Stefan asked, knowing that was Damon’s primary focus because of the hidden vervain stash.

Damon nodded, suddenly turning quiet and Stefan could feel the anger radiating from him. “What did she say?” He was almost afraid to ask, watching as the flames erupted in his brother’s eyes and knew someone would die very shortly. “She knows who has it, doesn’t she?”

Smirking, Damon shook his head and walked over to refill his tumbler, a smile of pure malice crossing his face. “Not exactly, but we both have a pretty good idea who does.” He didn’t know if telling Stefan his plans for Luke Fell was the right thing to do because of how righteous his baby brother could be.

“Are you going to tell me or not?” Stefan demanded, folding his arms in front of his chest and stared at Damon suspiciously. “Or do I even want to know?”

“That’s what I’m deciding right now, baby bro.” Damon replied, walking over to sit down on the couch and kicked his feet up, switching from bourbon to a much needed blood bag. “I don’t know if I can trust you. You’re not very pro-kill humans like I am…”

Stefan groaned, knowing he wouldn’t like where this conversation was headed and ran a hand through his hair. “Who do you plan on killing and why? If you don’t tell me, I’ll have to find a way to stop you, but if you do tell me and it’s a good enough reason, then I’ll let you do it.” He was giving Damon an ultimatum, really not wanting to fight with his big brother if it could be avoided.

Having a feeling Stefan would say something like that, Damon decided to tell him so he wouldn’t be a thorn in his side while he executed his next plan. “You couldn’t stop me if you wanted to, Stef, but I’ll tell you anyway. Turns out Landon Fell sent his dear baby brother that night to spy and follow Dahna to our secret spot. That’s how Landon found out about us. Luke Fell is going to die by my hand for what he put me and Dahna through. It’s because of him we couldn’t leave Mystic Falls and run off together, as originally planned. He forced me to erase her memories, to make her forget everything about us and now he’s going to pay. He also has Page 14.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Damon smirked, swirling the blood around in his tumbler before finishing it off. “Simple: He was the only one that Landon trusted enough to keep something that valuable. And it doesn’t matter if he has the page or not because, if he doesn’t have it, I’ll simply torture the truth out of him since I know Landon confided in him a lot and then kill him. It’s a win-win.”

For once, Stefan complied with everything his diabolical brother wanted to do and just agreed to do whatever he could to help find the missing page.

~!~

Meredith sighed, shutting her car off and looked up at the house that once held a happy family, her heart breaking every time she stepped inside. She missed her brother more than words could say, even after 3 years, along with her beautiful sister-in-law. Landon and Delilah were loved by all of Mystic Falls, especially Delilah since she always had a bake sale every Sunday for the different organizations in town.

Her baking skills was something Meredith missed most because Delilah was the best and could whip up anything without breaking a sweat. Holidays were a treat because Delilah would make a fifteen course meal with all the trimmings and that didn’t include desserts. For the past 3 years, Meredith was lucky she managed to gather half the family together for Thanksgiving and Christmas, the other half making excuses not to attend. It was too painful without Delilah and Landon gone, Meredith understood, but she would still try continuing the Fell traditions every year.

Stepping out, Meredith once again tried calling Dahna’s cell phone and frowned when it went straight to voicemail. She figured Dahna was at work and called there, only to be told Dahna had taken a leave of absence. Dahna NEVER missed work, not even when she was deathly sick, so Meredith could only imagine what happened that made her niece hole herself up in the house. She didn’t even do this when her parents died, so this worried Meredith greatly as she headed up the stairs to knock on the door.

After incessant phone calls, Dahna finally shut her cell phone completely off, wanting to be completely alone. She locked herself in her bedroom the night Damon dropped her off, curled up in a tight ball on her bed and hadn’t moved since. All she could do was cry her heart out, soaking several pillows with her tears and refused to eat, drink or shower. Her entire body wracked with uncontrollable sobs, her heart shredding every time she thought about what her father did to her.

Landon had not only taken away her decisions, but also her happiness and Dahna wasn’t sure she could ever forgive him. He was dead, resting peacefully and had left his daughter brokenhearted and in an obscene amount of pain. He’d gotten what he wanted and Dahna hated him for it, wishing he was still alive so she could give him a piece of her mind. The last time they had an actual conversation, Landon had been sugary sweet to her and now Dahna understood why – so she’d leave Mystic Falls to go to college.

It was the biggest betrayal and all at Dahna’s expense.

Damon wasn’t a saint either. He’d made the decision to take away her love and feelings for him, even if Landon had threatened her life. Dahna meant every word she said to Damon that night he lifted her compulsion. She still couldn’t believe he stole her ankle bracelet and swapped it with another one just so he could get the vervain-laced jewelry off of her. Even through that deception, Dahna hadn’t put the ankle bracelet back on because it reminded her too much of her deceitful conniving deceased father.

In her current state of mind, there was no way Dahna could go to work, which is why she called her boss and said she needed two weeks off. Seeing as how this was the first time Dahna had ever taken an extended vacation in the 3 years she’d been with the company, her boss didn’t mind all that much. Dahna didn’t care if he did or not, she simply needed time to herself to wrap her mind around everything the compulsion made her forget. Also, she had to make a decision whether or not to help Damon find this missing page that her father supposedly had, thanks to Zachary Salvatore, which lead to a possible secret stash of vervain the council could use against the vampires of Mystic Falls.

Hearing knocking on the front door, Dahna didn’t care who it was and remained curled up in her bed, refusing to budge. Her room was blanketed in pitch black darkness and that’s the way she liked it, her head pounding from all the crying she’d done. When the knocking kept going, Dahna felt her temper spike and knew it had to be either Meredith or Luke. Both had tried calling her several times, which is why she’d shut her cell phone off. Dacia was spending all of her time with Tyler at the Lockwood mansion and only came home at night, so Dahna rarely saw her.

“Dahna, I know you’re in there!! Answer the door right now before I find a way to bust it down!” Meredith demanded, pounding on it mercilessly with her fist and felt the panic creeping up inside of her. “Come on, Dahna!!”

Even upstairs, because the house was completely silent, Dahna could hear her Aunt’s voice echo through the front door. It wasn’t Luke and she had some questions for Meredith regarding her father, emerald eyes narrowing. Tossing the blankets off, Dahna had a surge of adrenaline rush through her as she slid from the bed and stumbled out the door, her legs feeling like jelly since she’d barely moved in a week. Her hair was haphazard, oily and had several knots throughout it since she hadn’t brushed in a week. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen, her face blistered with tear stains. She had a long sleeved nightgown on with sweat pants, the nightgown hanging off one shoulder.

When Dahna opened the door, Meredith gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, dark eyes widening. “Oh my god, Dahna?” She couldn’t believe the rough shape her niece was in and frowned, afraid to reach out to touch her. “What happened?”

Dahna couldn’t get a word out as tears stung her eyes and immediately scorched her cheeks for the millionth time, leaning in the door frame. “Life.” She rasped, her throat incredibly raw from how much sobbing and crying she’d done. “What are you doing here, Meredith?”

“I came to check on you. I’ve tried calling you several times and then called your work because I thought you were doing more overtime. What the hell happened? Why did you take an extended leave of absence from work?” The questions fired off one after the other and Meredith immediately regretting blurting them out, heaving a sigh. “I’m just glad you’re alive…”

Dahna refused to answer any questions until she questioned Meredith about her father, feeling her body begin to tremble. “I’m going to ask you a question and I want an honest answer. If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll never speak to you again.” She had to whisper, closing her eyes as more tears fell and could feel her knees giving out.

“Okay, ask away sweetie.” Meredith was an open book and never lied to anyone, her eyes shining with complete truth.

“I just found out something…something Dad did that was terrible…and I need to know if you were part of it.” Dahna said, once she could find her voice and coughed a little, not having the strength to reach up to wipe her tears away. “Did you know when I was 17 I dated an older man? Only, he wasn’t an older man, he was a vampire by the name of Damon Salvatore. Ring a bell?”

Meredith blanched, her eyes widening and immediately became alert. “Damon Salvatore is a vampire? Isn’t he working for the sheriff?” She demanded, wondering what the hell was going on and wished her niece would let her inside the house so they could talk more. “Dahna, did he…hurt you?”

Dahna began laughing, the sound completely heartbreaking and wrenching all in one. “No...How could the man I loved back then and I love now hurt me, Meredith? It doesn’t matter that he’s a vampire either. I’ve never been against vampires…at least I didn’t use to be…” She wasn’t making sense and decided to stop beating around the bush. “My question is: Did you know about Dad having my memory wiped by forcing my vampire boyfriend to compel me to forget everything we had?”

“N-No of course not!” Meredith didn’t understand what Dahna was talking about and the perplexity in her eyes was enough to make Dahna believe her. “Let’s just go inside and talk, sweetie. You look like you’re ready to keel over and I can make you something to eat.”

Nodding, Dahna stepped aside and let Meredith in, closing the door behind her as she let her Aunt guide her to the couch, the tears not stopping. “At least one person in our family isn’t deceitful.” She whispered after Meredith left the room and buried her head in her hands, suddenly wishing Damon was there with her at that moment.

Chapter 28

Dahna was wrong in her assumptions on where Dacia had been the past week.

Ever since the night their double date with Elena and Stefan turned to hell, Dacia hadn’t seen or heard a peep from Tyler. She knew he didn’t mean to kill Sarah and that was it was out of pure instinct since Sarah tried attacking him. Dacia felt responsible for her death because she’d been the one to warn Tyler, which called his elbow to flex back to nail the poor girl in the nose.

For the past week, Dacia attended school and left straight afterwards to go to her favorite park. She’d brought Tyler here a few times and told him stories about her childhood, how her and Dahna would chase each other for hours on end. Their mother would crochet scarfs, sweaters and other things for gifts and the local orphanage. That’s why whenever Dahna wanted to talk to Dacia about something important or they needed time away from everyone, this was the place they ventured.

Today was no different as she put the car in park and cut the ignition, pulling her books out to do her homework. Being top of her class was one of Dacia’s goals she wanted to hit, so she couldn’t let Tyler Lockwood distract her from achieving it. As much as she missed him, Dacia knew he would come to her when he was ready and refused to push him to talk about what happened.

One thing still baffled Dacia, which was Caroline’s transformation into a vampire. Dacia always had her doubts about vampires existing, even after her father was murdered, but it was hard to deny something that was right in front of her. If Caroline was a vampire and nobody noticed it, how many other people in her school had taken the road to immortality?

Another thing that troubled Dacia about that night was Caroline’s mention of Tyler’s family curse. What did Caroline mean? First she tried forcing Tyler to kill Matt, his best friend, and then Sarah came along trying to attack him. Had Caroline orchestrated Sarah to do that so Tyler would kill her accidentally and trigger this so-called family curse?

It made no sense, but at the same time…it did.

Dacia had nightmares about Tyler’s eyes glowing that eerie gold and couldn’t sleep without them popping up. For the first 3 days, Dacia tried putting herself in denial and claiming her eyes had gone haywire, making up every excuse in the book for what happened that night. But then the denial walls crashed down when she kept having flashbacks to Caroline and her pale complexion…the veins popping out on her cheeks and her sclera’s turning a deep red.

Shaking her head, Dacia pulled her eyes away from the book and closed it, leaning back as fresh tears slid down her cheeks. No matter what Dacia did to try distracting herself, she couldn’t help crying because she had no idea if she’d ever see Tyler again. Dacia was brought out of her depression when her cell phone went off, the song linking to her best friend, Elena Gilbert. She hadn’t talked to Elena in a week, not even in school, so Dacia figured Elena was tired of being ignored and wanted to talk.

“Hello?” She greeted in a low voice, wiping her tears away and tried to hide her sniffles.

Elena frowned, hearing how cloudy Dacia’s voice was and knew she’d been crying. “Dace, what’s wrong sweetie?” She asked worriedly, sitting in her bedroom on her bed with the door and window locked securely.

“Nothing, just a long day.” Dacia lied, not caring if Elena believed her or not, wiping the rest of her tears away. “What’s up?”

Elena didn’t buy that for a second, but decided not to press Dacia because she did have her own issues to contend with. “Are you busy tonight? I really need a girl talk and I have a feeling you do too. We can hang out at our houses or just go for a drive to talk, whatever you want to do.” Elena had gone an entire week without talking to Stefan and he hadn’t been in school, which didn’t surprise her. “Where are you right now?”

“My favorite place. You can come hang out and talk if you want.” Dacia said, knowing Elena would understand that vague response and took a sip of her bottled water.

“I’m on my way.” Elena ended the call, grabbed her keys and purse before rushing out of the house, not concerned with leaving Jenna a note.

20 minutes later, Elena pulled up beside Dacia’s vehicle and cut the ignition, a rumble of thunder echoing throughout the park. She barely made it inside of Dacia’s car before the rain began falling, sending up a silent thank you prayer to the heavens. Elena looked over at Dacia and noticed, for the first time, the rough shape she was in, wondering what could’ve happened.

“It’s pouring out there.” She commented, trying to ease the tension a little between them and frowned when Dacia just started crying all over again. “Oh sweetie, what happened? Talk to me, I’m here.”

“Y-You won’t believe me…” Dacia stammered out, gripping the steering wheel so tight, her knuckles were ghostly white, pressing her forehead against it.

After what Elena found out, whatever came out of Dacia’s mouth was believable at this point since vampires really did exist. “Try me.” She challenged, trying not to sound condescending, but at the same time Elena had spent a whole week attempting to wrap her mind around Stefan being a vampire. “What happened?”

Dacia took a deep shaky breath and spilled everything to Elena about what happened after they parted ways on their double date. Caroline being a vampire, her taunting Tyler about his family curse, Matt trying to kill Tyler and Caroline ordering Tyler to kill him, Sarah becoming involved and trying to attack Tyler, only to end up dead because of a lethal elbow to the nose, Tyler’s glowing yellow eyes…everything. She didn’t leave a single thing out that happened that night, crying through most of it and finally shut up when Elena just stared back at her dubiously.

“Told you.” She muttered, lowering her eyes to her lap and jumped when Elena suddenly grabbed her hands, forcing Dacia to look into her friend’s eyes again. “Elena…” Her friend had grown considerably pale and she was shaking so badly that her teeth began chattering. “Elena, are you okay?”

Caroline Forbes was a vampire? The same creature as Stefan? And Tyler had glowing yellow eyes with superhuman strength that ended up killing Sarah? Elena couldn’t stop shaking no matter how hard she tried, tears swelled in her eyes and wondered just what other monsters really existed.

“This is insane…” Elena finally whispered, squeezing Dacia’s hands a little and tried to calm down, but it was incredibly hard to do. “I can’t believe this…”

“Tell me about it.” Dacia mumbled, assuming Elena didn’t believe her and tried pulling away, but Elena refused to release her hands. “Just forget I said anything…”

“Stefan is a vampire, Dacia.” Elena blurted out, brown eyes widening as soon as the words left her mouth and released her friend’s hands instantly. “I didn’t mean to say it that way…”

Dacia blinked several times, wondering if she’d heard Elena correctly and knew she did just by the tears shining in her friend’s eyes. “Christ…” She gasped, feeling her heart pick up speed once again and turned to stare out the blurry windshield, thanks to the heavy rainfall. “What the hell is going on around Mystic Falls lately?”

Elena wasn’t sure if Dacia was questioning her or just asking in general. “I don’t know.” She answered anyway, lowering her eyes to her lap and clasped her hands tightly. “What are we supposed to do? What am I supposed to do about Stefan? And what the hell is Tyler supposed to be since he’s got glowing yellow eyes now? You said Caroline mentioned something about his family’s curse, right?”

Dacia nodded solemnly. “Yeah and I have no idea what kind of curse would cause Tyler’s eyes to erupt from dark brown to glowing yellow. It was freaky, Lena. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. The worst part is I tried asking Matt about it and he doesn’t remember a thing…”

Elena stayed quiet for a couple minutes, trying to go over their options on what to do about both Stefan and Tyler. “I say we go straight to the sources.” She finally said, looking over at a perplexed Dacia and cracked a small smile. “If we want answers, we need to direct our questions to them. I knew there was a reason I held back from sleeping with Stefan and this has to be it.”

“Because he’s a vampire.” Dacia supplied softly and watched Elena nod, suddenly agreeing with her. “You’re right, we do have to question them and I miss Tyler. You can deny it all you want, but I can tell you miss Stefan too. It doesn’t matter if they’re vampires or not, though something tells me Tyler is something…different.”

“Same here, vampires don’t have glowing yellow eyes.” At least, that’s what she assumed, but at this point anything was possible. “Why don’t you go visit Tyler and I’ll go to Stefan? Then we can convene back at my place tonight if things don’t go well with them and veg out on ice cream.”

“What if Tyler doesn’t want to talk to me though?” Dacia didn’t know how Tyler would react to her visit and could only hope he still wanted her. “I don’t want to pressure him to talk about this, especially since he did kill an innocent girl from school.” Sarah’s picture was splayed all over the lockers and walls at Mystic Falls High School today and every time Dacia passed one, her heart broke for the family’s loss.

“Then don’t talk about it.” Elena stated simply, patting Dacia’s shoulder gently. “Just go to him, he needs you right now. Stefan is a vampire and I still love him, so either something is seriously wrong with me or maybe I’m destined to be with him regardless. I won’t know until I talk to him though.”

Dacia knew Elena was right, no matter how much she tried denying it, and heaved a sigh. “Alright fine, I’ll go see him. I just hope he doesn’t reject me.” She reached over and hugged Elena, both girls embracing briefly. “Thanks for talking some sense into me and believing what happened. You have no idea what a relief it is.”

“Yeah well, I’m kinda going through the same thing with my boyfriend, so I have no choice except to believe you, Dace.” Elena replied, pulling back and tapped her nose gently with her finger. “Now get moving, your man is waiting on you and I have a feeling this storm isn’t going away anytime soon. Drive safe, text me when you get there.”

“I will, you too.”

Dacia waited until Elena got in her vehicle and pulled away before firing up her own ignition, taking another deep breath. She jumped slightly when a streak of lightning lit up the sky, hating thunderstorms and cranked her radio up to drown it out, pulling out of the park. There was a severe thunderstorm warning in effect for the area and Dacia was right smack in the middle of it, hoping she made it to Lockwood mansion unscathed. As long as she drove slow and took her time, Dacia would and had to put her patience to the test since it took a little while to get to the mansion.

Halfway there, Dacia’s cell phone went off and she stopped at a stop sign to answer it, flipping it open. “Hello?”

“Dace, where are you?” Dahna demanded, looking over at Meredith worriedly while sipping her tea.

“On my way to Tyler’s.” Dacia replied, her phone cutting out because of the bad storm. “Why?”

“And you’re talking on the phone while driving?!” Dahna exclaimed, wishing her little sister had a more sense than that and shook her head. “I want you home. You can go see Tyler tomorrow, this storm is bad and it’s gathering more strength.”

Dacia sighed, really not wanting to turn around since she was almost to Tyler’s and went through the stop sign, her windshield wipers flying back and forth rapidly. “I’m fine Dahna and I’m almost there anyway. It’d be senseless for me to turn around and be on the road longer in this storm.” She reasoned, taking a left and could see the mansion up ahead.

Dahna groaned, knowing she couldn’t argue that logic and finally gave in. “Fine, I want you to ask Mrs. Lockwood if you can stay the night there because this storm won’t be gone until late tonight. I don’t want you traveling at night right now, do you understand?” With vampires running all over Mystic Falls, Dahna refused to let her little sister become a meal. “I trust your judgment with Tyler and, if you have sex…”

“Dahna!!”

“If you have sex, make sure you use protection.” Dahna finished, acting as if Dacia didn’t just cut her off and smirked at Meredith, who was staying the night with her. “You have condoms right?”

“I’m getting off the phone now, bye Dahna!” Dacia’s cheeks were flaming red, not believing her big sister asked her such a personal question and tried getting her mind off of it.

Truth be told, Dacia and Tyler never slept together because they figured there was no hurry in doing it. They had heavy make out sessions and Dacia even let him go to second base by feeling her up under her shirt, but never below the belt. At least not yet. Dacia wasn’t a whore after all and made Mike wait 3 months before she finally slept with him, which was the biggest mistake of her life. Once she slept with Tyler, all the mystery would be gone and Dacia never wanted the feeling of exploration to end.

Arriving at the Lockwood mansion, Dacia cut the ignition to her car and looked in the rearview mirror, frowning at her appearance. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, her cheeks flushed and she looked like she hadn’t slept in a few days. Pulling out her makeup, Dacia quickly dabbed on some clear gloss and black eyeliner, trying to make herself look presentable for Tyler. Once she was happy with her how she looked, Dacia closed her purse up, grabbed her book bag and made a beeline for the front door, knocking on it as the rain poured gallons around her. Milk chocolate brown eyes locked with furious dark orbs as soon as the door opened and Dacia lost her breath at the sight of Tyler, feeling her entire body break out in goose bumps.

“Hello Tyler.” She greeted softly, swallowing hard when he just stared hardening at her and waited for him to say something – anything.

Instead, Tyler yanked Dacia by her upper arm against his muscular body and crushed his lips to hers.

Chapter 29

Damon heard the knock on the front door, wondering who was paying him a visit and flew from the study to answer it. “Well hello there.” He greeted with a charming smile, staring back at his baby brother’s girlfriend.

“Is Stefan here?” Elena asked, standing her ground and tried not to show any fear. “I need to talk to him.”

Nodding, he stepped aside to let her walk through the door and closed it, being a perfect gentleman. “Oh Stef-!” He couldn’t get his brother’s full name out before Stefan flew to where they stood. “Elena’s here.” He clapped Stefan on the shoulder and walked back to the study, hoping she didn’t turn out to be another Katherine Pierce.

Stefan shook his head, watching Damon walk away to give them privacy and finally turned hesitant green eyes on Elena. “Hi.” He couldn’t believe she stood in front of him, having convinced himself he would never see her again. “How are you?”

“Been better.” Elena replied truthfully, not understanding how she could have such deep raw feelings for a vampire. “You don’t look so good either.”

Smiling sadly, Stefan couldn’t deny the obvious and ran a hand through his normally well-groomed dishwater blonde hair, clearing his throat. “Been a rough week.” He grunted, so many different emotions coursing through him all at once. “What are you doing here, Elena?”

“I…wanted to talk to you.” Elena had to redeem that hesitation and stepped up to him, placing her hands on his upper arms. “I have some questions…”

“Will it change anything?” Stefan shot back in a soft voice, his eyes never pulling away from hers. “Or will you run away from me again?”

Tears filled her brown eyes as Elena reached up to cup his face in her hand, caressing his cheek with her thumb. “If I was going to run, I wouldn’t be here. I missed you…” She had to whisper that last part out, not trusting her voice and blinked as a few tears slid down her cheeks.

Stefan gently pressed his forehead to hers, letting out a huge breath of relief and wrapped one arm around her waist, pressing her against him as close as he could. “Come on.” He guided her into the living room, both of them sitting on the couch facing each other and Elena took his hands, needing to touch some part of him. “Ask away, I’m an open book.”

The first obvious question popped out of Elena’s mouth. “How old are you?”

Stefan smiled, this time more genuinely. “I was turned at the age of 17, but I’ve been a vampire for 145 years.”

Elena sucked in a sharp breath when she heard that, swallowing hard. “You’re ancient then.” She half-joked, attempting to ease the tension between them and cracked a smile when Stefan chuckled.

“Very.” He agreed, running his thumbs across the back of her hands, waiting for her next question.

“So how did you become…what you are?” Elena couldn’t say the word vampire, still in somewhat denial and hated how fierce her curiosity burned.

Stefan dreaded that question, but knew it was inevitable and decided to just be completely honest with her. “In 1864, my father had a young woman by the name of Katherine Pierce stay with us at our family home. Damon and I instantly fell in love with her and both wanted her badly. She flirted and toyed with both of us, had both of us in her bed and compelled us to do whatever she wanted.”

“Wait, compelled?” Elena hadn’t meant to cut him off, but that confused her a little. “What do you mean?”

“Compulsion is one of our many abilities along with super speed, strength, healing and immortality. It basically controls a person’s mind, plague one’s dreams and alter or completely erase memories. However, there’s a herb around here called vervain and that can prevent humans from being compelled.” Stefan explained truthfully, feeling like a monster the more he described his abilities, but he promised to be completely honest with her.

Elena lowered her eyes to their clasped hands, fighting back the jolt of fear that wanted to consume her. “Have you ever compelled me?” She asked softly, feeling Stefan release her right hand to reach up, lifting her chin until their eyes met.

“No and I never will, but that doesn’t mean others won’t try.” He slid his fingers from her chin down her neck along the thin silver chain she wore. “This isn’t just an ordinary necklace I gave you when we first met, Elena. This will protect you against all vampires because it prevents compulsion. As long as you keep it on, you’re safe.”

Instinctively, Elena reached up to grab the beautiful charm that had a tiny amethyst stone in it, clutching it around her hand. “How is that possible?”

“It’s laced with vervain.” Stefan replied, thankful she hadn’t taken it off even after running away from him. “Keep it with you always, no matter what happens between us.”

Elena nodded, hoping nothing happened between her and Stefan after this talk because she was irrevocably in love with him. “Tell me more about Katherine.” She urged, knowing there was a lot more to the story.

“The townsfolk were on a rampage because people were being killed by vampires, so they orchestrated what you know today as the Founder’s Council. They started rounding the vampires up and used vervain to find them by spiking beverages, especially liquor. Damon came to me with his worries for Katherine and I suggested talking to our father about it. I was convinced he would understand once everything was explained to him, but Damon wasn’t. He begged me not to go to father…and I did anyway.” Stefan regretted how much faith he had in Giuseppe, but at the time he trusted his father wholeheartedly. “I didn’t tell my father about Katherine, but I did unintentionally hint that I knew vampires were in the area by saying they might not be as bad as everyone made them out to be. I was trying to help Katherine, honestly. What I didn’t know is the drink my father offered me was laced with vervain, so as soon as I sipped it, the herb was in my system. Father assured me everything would be fine and sent me off because he had meetings with the other Founding members.”

“So Katherine couldn’t compel you anymore?” Elena wanted to make sure she understood everything and squeezed Stefan’s hand, giving him the courage he needed to continue.

“Later that night, Katherine came to visit me like she did every night and, when she fed on me, the vervain entered her body. She collapsed instantly and my father rushed into the room, ordering me to get the sheriff. Katherine was taken away with a contraption that muffled her mouth to the Old Fell Church to be burned alive with the other vampires. Another vampire by the name of Pearl was also taken along with others. Damon accused me of telling father, even though I was innocent, and decided to prove it to him by going after Katherine to try to save her.” Stefan swallowed hard, suddenly getting up and flying over to the mini bar, needing a stiff drink. “Sorry.” Even after 145 years, it was still difficult for Stefan to talk about the past, especially the next part.

“It’s okay, take your time.” Elena murmured, wanting to go to him, but Stefan needed a minute to compose himself and she respected that.

After two tumblers of bourbon, Stefan filled it a third time and finally rejoined Elena on the couch, looking down at the brown liquid thoughtfully. “Damon and I were killed the night we tried rescuing Katherine. Shot in cold blood…from our own father. What we didn’t know was Katherine had compelled both of us to drink her blood for weeks prior to that night and that’s how we became vampires.”

Elena narrowed her eyes a little, tilting her head and looked confused. “How is that possible though? You were shot…”

“That’s how you become a vampire.” Stefan looked up at her, sorrow and anguish in his green eyes. “You have to die with vampire blood in your system and then you’re brought back to life by the blood.”

“Oh.”

Stefan nodded, looking back down at his tumbler and downed half of it, the burning sensation a temporary reprieve from all the pain his past surfaced. “So when I woke up with Damon later that day, we were some place different in transition.” Before Elena questioned that, he went on to explain. “Being in transition means you’re turning into a vampire, but in order to complete it, you have to feed on human blood within 24 hours after you awaken. Or else you die. Both Damon and I agreed to die by not completing transition, but that all changed with another one of my stupid decisions.”

“What happened?” Elena couldn’t help asking, jumping slightly when a voice sounded behind them.

“Stefan fed on human blood…and then forced me to do it.” Damon answered from behind, his voice full of resentment and anger. “He paid Daddy a visit, claiming he was saying goodbye and, naturally, Giuseppe attacked. Stefan didn’t know his own strength, killed him and drained his blood, completing the transition.”

“T-That’s not how…”

“Oh don’t lie to her, baby bro. It doesn’t do you a bit of good.” Damon cut him off, having a tumbler of human blood from a blood bag and walked over to sit down opposite them on the other couch. “You said you’d tell her the truth, so tell her how selfish you really are. Tell her how you forced me to turn into a monster.”

Elena didn’t want Damon in the same room as them, wanting to hear the story from only Stefan and shot his older brother a brief glare. “Stefan, go on. I’m listening, I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” She encouraged, picking his face up with her hands and locked eyes with him again. “I’m right here and I’m not running away from you.”

Somehow, someway Elena Gilbert had this uncanny ability to reach Stefan in ways no other woman ever had, not even Katherine. “He’s right.” He whispered, tears filling his eyes as the guilt consumed him from what he did to his brother. “I did force him to join me…because I didn’t want to be alone. I wanted us to travel the world together and experience everything vampirism had to offer. So I brought him a woman from town, after visiting our father, and…I bit her neck, coaxing Damon with the smell of her blood. And it worked.”

“Yup, I drank her completely dry and felt the same euphoric power Stefan had, only it was anything but euphoric because I thought the love of my life had burned to death in the Old Fell Church.” Damon decided not to tell the fragile human girl about Katherine being alive inside the church with the other vampires because that wasn’t important at the moment.

“Damon…” Stefan warned, his voice turning low.

“What’s the matter, Stef? Afraid the truth might be too much for her?” Damon countered, raising a thick black eyebrow and watched as Elena’s hands slowly slipped from Stefan’s face. “Just tell her and be done with it.”

“Tell me what exactly?” Elena’s stomach twisted violently, looking back and forth between the brothers, almost afraid to know the truth.

The devious spark erupted in Damon’s eyes and Stefan caught it, both of them flying to meet halfway to each couch in the middle of the living room/parlor. “Don’t you dare.” Stefan ordered, noticing what Damon held in his hand and shook his head. “She’s not ready for that.”

“How do you know unless you take the leap, brother?” Damon provoked, waving what looked to be an old picture back and forth tauntingly. “Don’t make the same mistake I did. Keeping things from her will only put a strain in your relationship.”

Elena had enough of this and stood from the couch, storming over to both of them. “I’ll make the decision for both of you then.”

She snatched the picture from Damon and walked a few feet from both of them, suddenly freezing as she stared back at…herself. It was an old picture with the year 1864 on it and a woman that looked like Elena’s twin. Same hair with a different style, same eyes…everything. It was her…only it wasn’t. What the hell was going on here?

“Stefan…” Her voice held fear and confusion, slowly pulling her gaze from the picture to look at both brothers. “W-Why do I look like her? This isn’t me…” Then it clicked in her mind and Elena dropped to the picture to the floor, stumbling back as tears slid down her cheeks. “Oh god no…”

Stefan flew over to Elena, catching her before she hit the floor and glared up at his big brother, pressing his forehead against the side of her temple. “Elena…”

“That’s Katherine…That’s her isn’t it.” It wasn’t a question, just a simple fact and Elena felt sick to her stomach. “I-Is that why you’re with me? Because I look like the woman you lost that turned you into…” She couldn’t continue, wiping her tears away and buried her face in her hands.

“No, of course not!” Stefan exclaimed, pulling Elena’s hands away from her face and forced her eyes to meet his. “Listen to me, I’m not with you because of Katherine. I’m with you because I love you and I’m in love with you. I’ll admit right now, when I first saw you, I thought you were her. I followed you for months, watching you and making sure there was no possibility you were her. And you’re not. You and Katherine are completely different, it doesn’t matter that you look exactly alike. I was there the night your parents drove off Wickery Bridge with you inside of the car. I’m the one who pulled you out of the car because your Dad refused to be saved until you were first.”

Elena covered her mouth with her hand, the tears pouring harder now and it all started making sense about the accident that took her parents’ lives. “Y-You saved me? N-Nobody could figure out how I g-got out of the car! That was you?” When Stefan nodded, Elena began sobbing uncontrollably, burying her face in his bare chest and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, the sounds completely heart wrenching.

“I’m sorry…” He whispered into her hair, his own heart breaking. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t save them, Elena…”

Not saying anything, Elena sobbed against Stefan for an hour straight, trying to wrap her mind around everything she just found out. “So how it is possible that I look like her?” Elena whispered once she calmed down, bracing herself for whatever came out of Stefan’s mouth next.

Stefan sighed heavily, wishing he didn’t have to tell Elena this next piece of information, but at the same time she deserved to know the truth. “I did some digging around and looked at your records, your birth certificate more specifically, and…Elena, it says you were adopted.”

“Oh god…so that means…”

Stefan nodded solemnly, lowering his eyes from hers. “Whoever your birth mother is has Katherine’s bloodline and passed it onto you.”

Elena just stared back at him and could only ask one question repeatedly in her mind: Who was her biological mother?

Chapter 30

After eating a bowl of soup and a cup of warm honey tea her Aunt made her, Dahna flipped the weather channel on, noticing the bad storm on the radar heading straight for Mystic Falls. It was past 6 and Dacia wasn’t home yet, so Dahna decided to call her to find out where she was. This storm was lethal and, with everything else happening lately, Dahna did not want her sister driving on the road, especially at night.

Once Dahna embarrassed Dacia about condoms, -that got a giggle out of both Dahna and Meredith- she hung up the phone, tossing it on the coffee table. The laughter died as Meredith sat beside her and, all at once, Dahna came clean about everything that happened. She didn’t leave any details out, explaining to Meredith about Damon Salvatore posing as the sisters’ protector, only for it all to be one gigantic hoax. Then she got into what happened a week ago with Damon and how he’d lifted her compulsion to make her remember their time together.

Meredith sat and listened the entire time, not making a sound or saying a word because she didn’t want to scare her niece out of spilling what was bothering her. Though, when Dahna started talking badly about Landon and Luke, she fought the urge to defend them because they were her brothers. However, once Dahna explained everything regarding Landon’s ultimatum to Damon with her life on the line and Luke’s involvement, that urge turned rage directed at them, not her niece.

“I know you probably think I’m disgusting for being in love with a vampire, but that’s not how I saw things back then.” Dahna went on, lowering her eyes from Meredith and let the tears fall continuously. “It’s prejudice and that’s not who I am. The only reason I joined that stupid council is because of father’s memory and now…now I wish I’d never done it and just followed my gut. Even with the compulsion, I still hated everything the council stood for and I didn’t believe half the crap they spewed. Still don’t.”

Taking Dahna’s hand in hers, Meredith covered it with her other one and stared into her niece’s eyes, tears filling hers. “I have a confession to make.” She whispered softly, stroking the back of Dahna’s hand to try to remain calm. “I’m not the doctor everyone thinks I am. I mean, I’m good at my job, but…you know how much I hate seeing patients suffer when there’s nothing more we can do for them, right?”

Dahna nodded, wondering where this was going. “Meredith…”

“Just let me get this out.” Meredith pleaded, not stopping her administrations and sucked in a sharp breath, a few tears sliding down her cheeks. “I’m guilty as hell and I need to get this out. I need to tell someone what I’ve been doing before it completely eats me alive.”

Dahna chewed her bottom lip, feeling a little stronger now that she’d gotten some sustenance in her system and squeezed her Aunt’s hand. “Tell me.” She encouraged quietly, hoping Meredith trusted her enough to spill her secrets the way Dahna had.

“I’ve had contact with a vampire that comes into town every couple months and…I’ve siphoned their blood to use on my patients.” She lowered her head in shame, not able to see the disgust in her niece’s eyes. “I can’t stand watching people suffer, Dahna. I know it’s wrong and that I should stop. I know it’s against the law of nature and fate, which is why I don’t do it often. But when a patient tugs at my heartstrings, I cave and slip just a drop of vampire blood into their IV to heal them. I haven’t had one death on my record since I started working at the hospital and that’s why.”

All Dahna could do was sit there in shock while Meredith admitted to alternating life and death situations at her job, not knowing what to think or feel about it. “I won’t tell anyone.” She finally said, watching as Meredith’s head snapped up to meet her eyes and could tell that’s not the reaction her Aunt expected. “Hey, I’m not a saint either and have NO room to judge what you do.”

“So you…you’re not angry at me for using vampire blood?” Meredith questioned, watching her niece nod, and felt Dahna’s forehead with the back of her hand to make sure she wasn’t running a fever. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

Dahna giggled softly, pushing her Aunt’s hand away from her forehead and nodded again. “Why would I be angry at you for saving people? Granted, it’s illegal to do what you’re doing, but there are a lot of illegal things in this world. Look at how many people do drugs, drive drunk and smoke weed? You’re actually doing something good and decent, unlike others.” She patted Meredith’s hand reassuringly and reached for her tea, taking another sip of it.

Meredith sighed with great relief, needing to hear that from someone other than herself and reached over to gingerly hug Dahna. “Thank you, you have no idea how much your support means to me. And I don’t know what the hell my brothers were thinking back then, but I am having a conversation with Luke as soon as I can find him.”

That caught Dahna’s attention immediately. “What do you mean when you can find him? Where is he?” She demanded, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. It was hard to talk about the man who had singlehandedly been responsible for making her lose Damon for 3 years.

“I don’t know.” Meredith replied honestly, pulling her phone out to check it again and sighed when the bars didn’t show up because of the storm currently raging outside. “I talked to him a week ago and he…disappeared. Nobody has heard from him, not even the precinct. I talked to Liz about it and she told me if he’s missing another day without any contact, they’re going to send out a search party. I told her to hold off because Luke likes to disappear from time to time to go on fishing trips a few hours from here. But it’s been a week now and I’m starting to worry because I normally hear from him a few days after he leaves.”

A week ago…Dahna suddenly got a feeling in the pit of her stomach and remembered Damon’s words clear as day. I’m going to kill him, Dahna. I’m going to kill Luke for what he did to us; you have my word on that. Those words kept replaying repeatedly in her mind as Meredith went on about Luke’s disappearance and she wondered if telling Meredith was the wisest thing to do. Dahna did tell Damon to do what he had to do…and Luke did deserve to die for what he did to them.

Would it be a crime to take this one secret to the grave?

“Damn it…” Dahna cursed quietly, closing her eyes tightly shut.

“What is it?” Meredith asked, worry in her voice because Dahna was still in rough shape from being bedridden for a week. “Are you okay?”

“I think I know what happened to Luke…and you’re not gonna like it.” Dahna admitted, hating her conscience for making her feel guilty about possibly knowing her vampire love killed her uncle.

Meredith didn’t have to ask, already putting the pieces together and felt fresh tears burn her eyes. “Damon.” His name came out in a low tone, barely audible and Dahna could only nod. “How long until we find out if he’s dead?”

“I don’t know, honestly. Father was found after only a few hours, but that’s because he wasn’t alone in hunting Damon. Luke would’ve been completely alone and Damon was angry when he left here…” Dahna trailed off, not wanting to think about all the different ways Damon could’ve and probably killed Luke. “He’s gone, we might as well just plan the funeral and be done with it.”

As heartbroken as Meredith was, she couldn’t condone Luke’s actions against Dahna and didn’t blame Damon for killing him. Meredith was on Dahna’s side and supported her fully, especially after finding out the truth about her ruthless heartless brothers. Landon deserved to die and so did Luke for the crimes they committed against the Fell family. Vampire or not, Meredith could tell Dahna was completely in love with Damon and she wasn’t prejudice against things she didn’t understand.

“I’ll wait until his body is found and pretend that I don’t know anything.” Meredith waved Dahna’s shocked expression off dismissively and smiled sadly. “You need to call Damon and talk to him. You can’t keep yourself holed up in here and fight what you want. You two missed out on 3 years together because of the stupid council and my brothers. You deserve to be happy like everyone else, Dahna, so go find it. Go find your happiness.”

“Meredith…”

“Dahna, you can’t deny how you feel. I can see it in your eyes and all over your face, sweetheart.” She leaned over and cupped Dahna’s face in her hands, knowing she was terrified of this situation. “You were with him for 6 months and you even told me they were the happiest 6 months of your life. You lost 3 years and, even though Damon is the one who compelled you to forget everything, he did it to save your life. I know how Landon was and he would’ve killed you if it meant keeping you away from a vampire. Our father instilled it into him and Luke, but he couldn’t get through to me and even told me on his deathbed that I was an abomination in his eyes. So screw what everyone else thinks and at least talk to him before you lose him forever.”

Hot tears slid down her cheeks as Dahna covered Meredith’s hands with hers, her heart breaking at what her grandfather did. “Thank you for supporting me. You’re the only one who ever has besides Dace and Mom.” Hugging her Aunt tightly around the neck, Dahna blinked when Meredith pushed her away, raising a brow. “What?”

“You STINK.” Meredith emphasized the word and plugged her nose with her fingers, scooting away. “Get your butt upstairs and clean yourself up. There’s no way you can see Damon the way you look and smell right now. He’ll keel over.” She shoved Dahna toward the stairs and ignored her niece’s scowl. “Get moving before I toss you in the shower myself.”

“Whatever, I don’t smell THAT bad…” Dahna raised her arm to sniff her armpit and turned green, fighting back the urge to vomit. “Oh god…!”

She flew up the stairs like her ass suddenly caught on fire, hearing Meredith’s howls below and headed straight for her bedroom with the private bathroom. Shedding her dirty clothes, Dahna tossed them directly in the garbage because there’s no way she’d get the smell out of them. The hot water cascaded down her body as Dahna closed her eyes, letting it wash away all of the dirt and grime along with the day’s events. She could hear thunder rumbling above and knew the storm had gained strength, but that wouldn’t stop her from properly showering.

An hour later, Dahna stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body, tucking it between her breasts to hold it in place. She was somewhat surprised she hadn’t been struck by lightning since she’d been in the shower a long time. Walking over to the mirror, Dahna wiped the steam off of it with her hand and turned the water on, brushing her teeth before starting on her hair. Once it was completely brushed of all snarls and knots, Dahna finally stepped out of the shower into her bedroom, turning the corner heading to her closet. She froze at the sight of Damon standing in her window, staring out into the night sky and felt the breath leave her body at the sight of him.

“I haven’t heard from you and figured paying you a visit was in order.” Damon said, not looking in her direction as he watched the lightning streak across the sky, the bolts reflecting in his eyes. “Have a nice shower?”

Thankfully, while Dahna was in the shower, Meredith had done a sweep of her bedroom and cleaned everything up. “It was a shower.” She finally replied, congratulating herself for keeping her voice steady and walked over to her dresser, opening the drawer to pull some clothes out.

Damon smirked, flying over to stand directly behind her and reached over her shoulder to finger a pair of red lace panties, chuckling when she snatched them away. “You should wear those.” He said suggestively, gently running his fingertips over her shoulder blades feather lightly, smelling her mango body wash on her skin. “You smell delicious…”

“What are you doing here, Damon?” Dahna demanded, choosing a different pair of panties and bra to wear, closing the drawer before turning around to finally face him.

“You know why I’m here.” Damon’s voice fell a few octaves, his tone deeply husky and rough.

“The missing page?” Dahna shot back, brushing past him and set her clothes on the bed, picking up a pair of cotton white bikini panties, sliding them on beneath the towel.

Damon groaned from low in his throat when she did that, wishing she could know just how much watching that one movement turned him on. “That’s on my mind, yes, but that’s not the reason I’m here.” He purposefully walked over and turned her around by the upper arm, forcing guarded emerald eyes to meet smoldering aquamarine.

“Damon…”

He pressed a finger to her lips, shaking his head slowly. “Don’t push me away, Dahna. I know I made a mistake by compelling you and you have no idea the amount of hell I’ve been through the past 3 years without you. I had to do it though. I had to protect you from your father, don’t you understand that?” His forehead pressed against hers, their lips mere inches from each other’s. “I couldn’t let you die because of me.”

“I know.” Dahna whispered, blinking tears away because she was sick and tired of crying. “I just had to know the reason you came here before I let my guard down.”

Damon pulled back, staring down into her eyes questioningly. “What does that mean? You were testing me?”

“Something like that.” Dahna smiled, placing her hand on his chest like she used to do and loved the feeling of his muscles flexing beneath her touch. “I was on my way to see you after I showered and got dressed.”

Damon didn’t like the sound of that, frowning. “In this hellacious storm?” He shook his finger at her, slowly backing her up to the bed. “I don’t think so, that’s too much of a risk.”

“Some risks are worth taking.” Dahna retorted, feeling the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed and fell back on it with Damon on top of her, holding his weight up with his elbows. “Especially to be with the one you love.”

Damon didn’t waste another second and plundered her lips with his, having waited over a week to feel her body against his again.

Chapter 31

The last thing Damon expected to happen was Dahna falling into his arms and admitting she loved him. Granted, she didn’t directly say it, but Damon could definitely read between the lines. He honestly came here to check on her because he hadn’t heard a word in a week. The subject of the missing page was the furthest from his mind because he had to make sure Dahna was alright before convincing her to help him.

The second Damon’s mouth covered hers, intense desire and need flooded his entire body from head to toe. His right hand slid down her side while his other one caressed the side of her face and neck, neither of them in a rush. It’d been 3 long years since Damon touched Dahna this intimately and he’d be damned if he didn’t savor every second.

Very methodically, Damon’s tongue swiped across Dahna’s lips and pulled back when her mouth opened, giving him the invitation he needed. Damon didn’t want to take it yet and instead glided his mouth to the corner of hers down her neck, arriving at the spot just below her ear. Dahna shivered as her eyes drifted closed, relishing in the sensations that inundated her body from head to toe.

Damon smiled against her shiver, loving the reaction he received and continued his assault while reaching her for her towel, yanking it very gently. It didn’t take much for the towel to become undone and Damon’s fingers skimmed down Dahna’s right side gently, the other side of her still covered. Trepidation filled Dahna as her hand reached down, instinctively pulling the towel closed and felt Damon pull back to stare down in her apprehensive cloudy dark forest green eyes.

“What is it?” Damon asked, his voice harsh with passion and brushed his nose against hers, feeling her anxiety pour forth. “Dahna…”

“I’m scared, Damon…” She whimpered, wanting him more than anything and reached a shaky hand up to run down his shirt covered chest. “I-I’ve changed and gained some weight…” She was no longer the toothpick from high school, filling out along with the development of her breasts.

Damon chuckled softly, brushing his lips against hers tenderly. “You have nothing to hide from me. You’re more beautiful than you were when you were 17 because now you’re fully developed, grown up and have a gorgeous figure.” His voice became huskier as he spoke, his hand suddenly pushing hers away from the towel to expose her exquisite naked form. “Mmm look at those perfect breasts…” His finger moved over her left nipple, feeling it harden instantly against his touch. “Don’t hide from me, Dahna. Because I want to taste and feel every inch of you.”

His words left her completely breathless and Dahna couldn’t deny him even if her life depended on it. “The light.” She murmured, sucking her bottom lip in when Damon shook his head.

“No. I want to see your face when you surrender to me.”

Damon could be blunt when he wanted and this situation called for it, running the pad of his thumb across her bottom lip to make it release. Then he proceeded to take it in his mouth, suckling briefly before passionately kissing her, hovering over her trembling body. He knew it was due to her body screaming at her to be taken, since she hadn’t had sex in a while, remembering hearing something about an ex-boyfriend. It didn’t matter who Dahna had been with after him, Damon would erase all men from her mind by the time this night was over; he guaranteed it.

Her soft moans turned to whimpers of need as his lips left hers to once again travel down her jaw and neck, slowly tormenting her. Dahna was sure she’d explode if Damon didn’t pick the pace up of this dance, trying to control her body’s urges, but it was difficult. Hot fire ridden kisses trailed down her body and finally stopped when Damon arrived at her breasts, taking her right nipple in his mouth. Her body instinctively arched against his hot mouth and tongue, any thoughts of covering up vanishing.

Once Damon thoroughly teased her right breast, he moved to her left one, giving it the exact same treatment. He couldn’t leave one unattended because that’d be an absolute crime, not to mention a wasteful opportunity. Throaty deep moans poured out of Dahna’s mouth as she buried her fingers in Damon’s thick black hair, flushing with insurmountable heat. It felt like lava coursed through her veins, making her break out in a very thin perspiration.

Damon loved the smell of her skin and reluctantly pulled back, removing black leather jacket and short sleeved tight black shirt in one swift motion, tossing the clothes to the floor. Instantaneously, Dahna’s eyes darkened even more as her hands reached up to run down his chiseled muscular smooth chest, the muscles rippling beneath her fingertips. Suddenly, something within Dahna snapped as she sat up, brought Damon’s lips to hers, and guided him to lie on the bed beside her.

It was her turn to tease him a little.

Knowing he had to be gentle with her, Damon let Dahna turn the tables and cupped her face while she kissed him. She shifted, forcing him to roll on his back fully and pushed the towel away on the floor as her knee planted between his jean covered legs, hovering on him. Her lips left his, an evil smirk curving her lips as she pushed him to lie back, beginning her own exploration. Running her tongue down his strong jaw, Dahna smiled at the small tick in it and knew what she was doing had definitely lit Damon on fire.

Instead of going after his ears, her lips glided down from his jaw to his Adam’s apple, nibbling it feather lightly since it was a sensitive area of a man’s body. Vampire or not, Damon Salvatore was all man and nothing would change that, no matter what his diet consisted of. Damon groaned, caressing her arms and shoulders, any part of her body he could reach while she tortured him. It was such a sweet torture, the best he ever had and couldn’t believe they still clicked sexually after 3 years.

Dahna thought the same thing; thankful Damon had lifted her compulsion and remembered all the areas on his body that drove him closer to the edge of ecstasy. Pressing openmouthed kisses to his collarbone and upper chest, Dahna suckled each of his nipples and pectorals, loving the feeling of his fingers delving in her wet caramel tresses. Damon growled, not sure how much more of this he could take and tried maintaining control as her sweet mouth traveled down his chest to his 6 pack abs.

“No more.” He rumbled, using his super speed and flipped Dahna back on the bed with him on top, his jeans discarded.

They were completely naked, just the way Damon craved and couldn’t believe how voluptuous Dahna was. 3 years away from her had killed him, but damn if they weren’t worth it. She had definitely grown into a stunning woman with a killer body that any woman would kill to have. Gripping her hips, Damon flashed a devious smirk up at her and ran his hot tongue down the valley of her breasts and flat stomach, adoring the curves she developed. Before he made her his completely again and filled the void in both of their bodies, Damon was determined to taste her, wanting a reminder of her sweet essence.

“Damon…” Dahna moaned out in frustration when she realized what he was doing, her thighs trembling with anticipation as his mouth rested on her hips. “Oh god…”

“There’s no god here, baby, just the devil.” Damon assured her in a rough voice, his hot breath puffing across her skin and watched her for a moment, letting her calm down a little so he could rile her up all over again.

“P-Please…”

The sounds of her pleas to take her were pure music to his ears, the sweetest thing Damon had ever heard. He honestly thought he’d never hear that again, especially after being forced to wipe her memory of him in order to save her from her wretched father. That dick was dead and gone, never to bother or threaten her life again. Dahna was finally all his and he didn’t have to share her with anyone, not even her little sister, who was busy in the arms of Tyler Lockwood.

“Mine.” He growled possessively, feeling the veins flare up on his cheeks as his sclera’s turned blood red, his fangs sliding out when he arrived at her soft succulent thighs. “I want to taste you…”

“D-Do it…” Dahna knew what Damon wanted and trusted him, glad he remembered where she allowed him to drink from her. “Taste me, Damon…” Her voice was breathless and she closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for the pain this would cause.

Closing his eyes, Damon ran his tongue around her inner thigh and found his favorite vein, instantly sinking his fangs into her skin, groaning. Her sweet blood filled his mouth as Damon gripped her leg tighter, holding her hips down with his free forearm so she didn’t buck. He didn’t want his fangs sinking deep into her because that would only cause her further discomfort. This was supposed to be a pain and pleasure experience, which it would be as soon as Damon finished drinking his fill.

Dahna cried out softly and hissed, gripping Damon’s hair tighter in her fingers and fell back, knowing he wouldn’t drink that much. Damon pulled back after a few more mouthfuls, pulling back to nick his finger with one of his fangs and ran it across the two puncture wounds on her thigh, healing them instantly. He looked up at a panting Dahna and could tell she enjoyed that, one thing that hadn’t changed about her thankfully. Licking her blood off his lips, Damon gripped her hips again and this time guided her legs to drape over his muscular shoulders, making him stare at her beautiful soaking sex.

“W-What are you…OHHHH!!!” Dahna started to moan and ended up crying out as Damon’s tongue ran around her pulsating sex, her whole body quivering. “Damon!”

“The one and only.” He rumbled deeply and slowly ran his tongue up the length of her, his eyes nearly rolling in the back of his head as soon as he tasted her again. “Mmm just as I remember…”

Deciding to check to make sure she was ready for him, Damon inched his tongue inside of her, parting her lips expertly and found her swollen clit. He lapped at it a few times, ignoring her begging for the moment and could tell she was more than ready for anything he had to offer. Without preamble, Damon thrust his tongue deep inside of her receptive body, reaching every crevice that he possibly could.

His forearm never moved from her hips, not wanting her to buck against him, and felt how tense her thighs became, deciding to pull back before she released. As much as Damon wanted her to release in his mouth, he wanted her first time to be wrapped around his throbbing erection that currently pressed against her thigh, aching with need. Damon purposefully crawled up the length of Dahna until their eyes once again locked, his mouth covering hers so she could taste herself on his tongue, inching her thighs apart with his knee.

“W-What about you?” She mumbled breathlessly against his lips, caressing the back of his neck as her thighs parted instantly for him. “I-I didn’t…”

Damon pressed his finger to her lips, shaking his head. “Tonight is about you. We have plenty of time.” They would once Damon made her a vampire, which would be as soon as Luke was dead and buried. “I love you, Dahna.” There was no way Damon could take her without saying those words, running his fingertips down the side of her face.

Smiling, Dahna nodded and reached up with a trembling hand to caress his face, their noses brushing together. “I love you too, Damon.” There was no point trying to deny how she felt as Damon kissed her feverishly, their chests pressed together. “Now make love to me.”

Growling, Damon couldn’t turn that sweet order as he lifted her up with ease, her legs wrapping around his waist and felt his pulsating cock brush against her quaking pussy. Dahna’s arms looped around his neck to hold on for the ride she was about to get and Damon held her tight against him, their eyes never leaving each other. He was on his haunches, holding her up with pure strength and slowly began sliding inside of her, hissing out at her walls instantly wrapping around him.

“Christ…” He gritted out, not stopping for a second because he knew it would hurt Dahna further if he stopped now. “Oh Dahna…”

“Don’t stop…” Dahna’s voice quavered, barely containing the amount of ecstasy and passion flooding her body currently. “Ohhh…”

Once Damon slid halfway into her, he caressed the side of her face while holding her up with one arm, loving his super strength. Mentally counting to 3, Damon snapped his hips forward and sheathed himself completely inside of Dahna, watching her head lull back as a scream echoed from her mouth. It wasn’t a scream of pain though, just pure exhilaration and desire as her lips claimed Damon’s, beginning to move before he did. He wanted her to adjust to his size, but Dahna was impatient and didn’t want him to treat her like a porcelain doll.

Her hips rocked against him twice, giving Damon the message as he started thrusting in and out of her, keeping it slow. She was a human still and he couldn’t fully give his all into this bout or else he would end up killing her with his super strength and speed. Dahna’s nails ran down his shoulders and back, nibbling on his bottom lip and smiled as they both became breathless.

Before long, Damon’s control slipped and he started using his power, pounding into her relentlessly. That’s exactly what Dahna wanted, her mouth attaching to his ear suckling, begging him to go faster, harder, deeper and Damon definitely didn’t disappoint her. They stayed in that position as Damon’s arm tightened around her, feeling his release building and refused to let go until Dahna did. The sounds of flesh smacking flesh echoed off the bedroom walls as Dahna’s thighs tightened around Damon’s waist, trying to draw this out as long as she could, but her body could only take so much.

It’d been too long.

“D-Damon…!!” Dahna cried out harshly, feeling her walls cave in around him and dug her nails into his shoulder blades, knowing he wouldn’t mind since he’d heal if she drew blood. “Oh yes!!”

“Dahna!!” Damon growled out simultaneously with her, burying his hand in the back of her hair as their lips crushed together, his fangs sliding out as the desire overtook him. “MINE!!”

It felt like a volcano erupted inside of her as Damon came hard and fast, exploding intensely just as Dahna released, her juices soaking him completely. Both of them bodies tensed and trembled against each other with Damon hearing Dahna’s heart beating a furious tattoo against her chest. He buried his face in her neck, riding out their orgasms and finally slowed down until he went limp inside of her, both of them completely spent.

Dahna’s back hit the bed, feeling the delicious ache between her thighs as Damon slid out, collapsing on his stomach beside her. They both lay there for several minutes trying to catch their breath, more Dahna than Damon obviously. She turned her head to look at him, seeing him peek up at her through his haphazard black hair and reached over to brush some of it away so she could stare into his beautiful aquamarine eyes.

“You’re not leaving me tonight, right?” She asked, once her voice returned to normal and watched as Damon pushed himself up on his forearms to collapse halfway on top of her.

“I’m never leaving you again, Dahna.” He kissed her hand when she started caressing the side of his face, lacing their fingers together against his cheek. “Never again.”

“Good.” She whispered, accepting a soft kiss from him and felt him rest his head directly over her heart, running her fingers through his hair.

They fell asleep exactly like that, tangled in each other’s arms and refused to budge, not even as the powerful storm outside raged with fury.

Chapter 32

Tyler paced back and forth in front of his girlfriend, trying to gather his thoughts. He had something very important to talk to her about and was shocked that she’d shown up at his front door. Once the storm passed, Tyler had planned to go to her, but Dacia beat him to the punch by driving in nasty dangerous weather.

Dacia could only stare back at him, her lips still slightly swollen from his brutal passionate greeting kiss. Not that she was complaining because Dacia had missed his lips more than she cared to admit. Something was bothering Tyler though and Dacia wanted to know what caused the turmoil to erupt in those dark eyes.

Her gut told her it had to do with his eyes glowing gold.

“You’re going to think I’m insane.” Tyler muttered, more to himself than her and could feel the heat radiating in his body because of his agitation. “You’re gonna bolt out that door, I just know it…”

“You won’t know until you tell me.” Dacia countered softly, not able to stand his pacing anymore and stood from the bed, grabbing his hand to make him stop. “Let me be here for you, Tyler.”

“You won’t want to be near me if I tell you though, Dacia.” His hand shook in hers, pure terror in his eyes as he looked away from her, shutting his eyes tightly. “You should go…”

“No.” Dacia forcefully cupped his face in her hands, milk chocolate mixing with onyx. “I’m not running away from you and I’m not going to let you push me away either. I’m right here and nothing you say will make a damn difference! I’m a lot stronger than you give me credit for and I’d appreciate it if you could put just a little trust and faith in me.”

Her words caused a lump to form in Tyler’s throat, his heart swelling as his hands reached up to cover hers against his cheeks. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He whispered, not trusting his voice at the moment and was pulled forward as their foreheads connected.

“You won’t.” Dacia assured confidently, softly brushing her lips against his just to prove she meant what she said.

It wasn’t enough. “I can’t…” He pulled her hands away from his face and went to sidestep her, only for Dacia to block him. “Dacia, you need to leave.”

Gritting her teeth, Dacia felt a surge of anger flow through her and, before she could stop herself, her hands pushed against Tyler’s chest. He was caught off guard and stumbled back, landing on the bed and blinked when Dacia pounced on him, straddling his lap. Dacia proceeded to remove her burnt orange long sleeved top, along with the white camisole beneath, tossing both pieces of clothing to the floor.

Tyler felt his mouth go dry instantly at the sight of Dacia in a white lace bra, her breasts swelling against the material. Now that she had his attention, Dacia reached up and pulled the clip out of her hair, letting the ebony tresses cascade over her shoulders, tossing it over her shoulder. If this was the only way to make Tyler fully believe she trusted him and wouldn’t run away, then Dacia would gladly do it.

“Dacia…” He sighed when her finger pressed against his lips, silencing him, knowing this would be their first time having sex.

Taking his hand, Dacia slid it up her back until his fingers grasped the hook of her bra, soft lips replacing her finger. Tyler groaned from low in his throat, his body trembling against her as he fumbled with the clasp on her bra. Dacia moaned against his tongue as soon it touched hers, her hands massaging his muscular shoulders and arms, their breathing turning ragged.

Only when they needed air to breathe did the kiss break and Dacia didn’t waste a second, pulling her bra away to reveal her breasts for the first time. Her and Tyler had some intense make out sessions that resulted in him feeling her breasts, but never had he actually seen them. Dacia saw him open his mouth to speak and shook her head, slowly sliding off of his lap and unsnapped her jeans, keep eye contact with him.

Tyler snapped out of the daze he was in and immediately lowered to the floor on his knees, stopping her from removing them. He wanted to do it. Sliding his hands up the back of her jean covered thighs; Tyler gave her firm backside a squeeze, smirking when she shivered against him. His hands landed on her hips and hooked his fingers a little inside the waistband, pulling them down to reveal smooth legs and matching white lace panties.

Dacia felt her whole body flush as she stepped out of the jeans and watched as Tyler proceeded to remove her socks, tossing them on top of the building pile of clothing. Tyler ran his tongue up the length of her flat stomach, his hands sliding up to cup her voluptuous breasts and started rolling her nipples between his fingers. Her head lulled back at the incredible sensation Tyler created just by that simple administration.

Smirking, Tyler towered over her, his mouth plundering hers again and felt Dacia melt against him, their bare chests pressed together mind-blowing. Pulling away, Tyler deftly removed his own jeans before capturing her lips again, his hands gliding down her sides to hook in the waistband of her panties. Dacia smiled; glad he wasn’t fighting her off anymore and stepped out of them, leaving them both naked.

Eyeing him hungrily, Dacia pushed Tyler back to sit on the bed and straddled him again, laughing breathlessly. Was this really going to happen? Was Dacia ready to take this step with Tyler? Her answer was a simple yes as soon as his mouth feasted on hers again, his hands caressing her back, pressing her closer to him.

Relishing the feeling of her naked body against his, Tyler’s lips left hers to travel down her jaw, nibbling on the spot just below her ear. It drove her crazy whenever he did it. Dacia moaned, not disappointing him and slid her hand down his muscular torso between them, until her hand found his scorching erection. She loved the feeling of his tiny pubic hairs as she began stroking him experimentally, his cock hardening almost instantly.

Tyler hissed out as soon as she did that, receiving the message loud and clear what she wanted. There would be time for foreplay later on, but apparently his girlfriend wasn’t in the explorative mood. Tyler had no problem with that, his fingers once again tweaking and rolling her nipples, loving how her body reacted to anything he did.

Slipping his hand between them, much like Dacia did, Tyler began teasing her quivering clit, finding it with ease. Dacia bit back a cry and took his pulsating cock, running it up the length of her wet sex while he continued teasing her with his fingers. Tyler couldn’t believe how wet she was, knowing she was more than ready for him and splayed his large hand against the small of her back, removing his finger from her dripping sex.

Letting Dacia guide him inside of her, Tyler nearly lost it at the feeling of her tight walls wrapping around him in a vise grip. Moans spilled from Dacia’s mouth as she carefully and slowly lowered herself on Tyler’s thick length, gripping his muscular shoulders for leverage. She didn’t stop until he was fully sheathed inside of her, the sensation sending tingles from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

Tyler felt a new inferno engulf him, knowing Dacia was the only one who could put it out. He didn’t move though, waiting for her to become acclimated to his size, waiting for her to make the first move. Dacia pressed her forehead against his, the burning sensation within her walls slowly subsiding, taking longer since she hadn’t had sex in a while. Once it did though, Dacia experimentally rolled her hips against him and nodded, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of Tyler inside of her receptive body.

His mouth latched onto her right nipple as Dacia began moving, Tyler fighting back the urge to thrust his hips up to meet her. He didn’t want to hurt her. Though when her nails dug into his shoulders, Tyler couldn’t control his desire anymore and began meeting her every time she rolled her hips against him. She was beautiful from head to toe, every part of her, and Tyler vowed to claim Dacia in every way possible, starting with this impromptu sexual encounter.

“Oh just like that…” Dacia couldn’t keep quiet any more, arching her body against Tyler’s mouth teasing her breasts, and could only hold onto him for dear life.

“Like that, baby?” He growled, sliding his hot tongue up between the valley of her breasts and suddenly decided a switch in positions was in order.

Dacia gasped when Tyler lifted her as if she weighed nothing, turning her around in midair, and impaled her right back on his throbbing shaft, only this time her back faced him. A cry spilled from her lips as Tyler began thrusting in and out of her, making her feel everything ten times more with this position. His hands firmly gripped her hips as Tyler picked up the pace, the sound of her ass cheeks slapping against his thighs echoing off the walls around them.

Before long, Dacia felt as if she was on the ride of her life, bouncing on and off Tyler’s cock, her breasts leaping as well. Dacia’s nails dug into Tyler’s thighs as he wrapped one arm around her waist, keeping her from completely bucking off of him. With his free hand, Tyler slid it down her stomach and began rubbing her swollen sensitive bud, both of them coming closer to that fine razor edge.

The combination of his finger on her swollen bud along with his cock plummeting in and out of her was too much for Dacia to take. With a few more thrusts, Dacia finally began falling apart around Tyler, her walls wrapping him in a warm wet cocoon. Tyler growled, increasing the pace and finally sank his cock as deep inside of her as he could, exploding. The eruption felt more intense than a volcano, both of them bodies shaking and bellowing out each other’s name in their earthshattering release.

When Tyler felt himself grow limp inside of Dacia, he finally stopped moving his hips and accepted her body weight as she collapsed back against him. He chuckled, moving her ebony hair away from her sweaty face and kissed her cheek, holding her tight against him. Having sex was definitely not something Tyler had planned, but he wasn’t complaining either, burying his face in the crook of her neck while they both came down from their sexual high.

“How about a shower?” Tyler suggested in her ear, smiling when she nodded and stood up from the bed, scooping her up in his arms with ease.

Dacia blushed, her cheeks a deep crimson red as her head rested against his shoulder, thankful he hadn’t kicked her out. They washed each other thoroughly, taking their time because there really was no hurry and ended up making love in the shower. An hour, Dacia lay in Tyler’s bed completely naked and satisfied, running her finger along his muscular chest in slow circles with his arm wrapped around her.

Now was the time to ask him, Dacia thought, as she slowly looked up into his dark eyes, reaching up to run the pad of her thumb across his lips. “No more running and hiding from me, Tyler. I want you no matter what you are.” She meant that, stroking his cheek lovingly. “Now talk.”

Sighing heavily, Tyler nodded and shifted a little on the bed to face her, their fingers laced together pressed over his rapidly beating heart. “Caroline was right.” That girl’s name left a bad taste in his mouth, but Tyler kept his voice low as he spoke. “My family does have a curse and…it’s genetic.”

“Go on.” Dacia urged softly, squeezing his hand to reassure him she wasn’t going anywhere and swallowed her anger down at the mention of Caroline.

“I’m a werewolf, Dacia.” He whispered, finally admitting his horrible fate and felt tears sting the back of his eyes. “The night I killed Sarah…triggered it…”

Dacia blinked, not expecting to hear that because, as far as she knew, werewolves didn’t exist. “Tyler…”

“Don’t.” He shook his head, exhaling shakily. “In order to trigger the curse on my father’s side,” It wasn’t on his mother’s, thankfully. “You have to take a human life…and I did with Sarah. If she’d been a vampire or anything supernatural, it wouldn’t have triggered. But she wasn’t. That bitch compelled her to attack me for some reason and I’ve been trying to figure out what it is. I don’t even know how she knew about my family’s curse to begin with.”

“So…does that mean your father triggered his curse?” Dacia had to ask, fighting back tears of her own because she didn’t want Tyler thinking he repulsed her or that she was scared. Her heart broke for him because he had no idea about his family’s curse until it was too late. “Have you…talked to him about it?”

Tyler snorted, rolling his eyes and shook his head. “Briefly, and of course he tossed some crap at me about how I’m under too much stress with all the sports I play in school. Sports he forced me into!” His anger rose drastically and Tyler had to take a few deep breaths to calm down, closing his eyes when Dacia touched his face. “Anyway, I ended up calling my Uncle Mason, who lives in Florida, and asked him pointblank about the curse. He buckled, especially when I told him I killed someone. He then proceeded to tell me how he triggered his curse and explained to me what I had to do in order to prepare for my first transformation.”

“Which is?” Dacia didn’t want to know, but her curiosity won out all rational thought, feeling sick that her boyfriend had to go through a…transformation. “You mean…you actually have to become…?”

Tyler nodded grimly, looking down at their clasped hands. “The next full moon I have to be chained up in the old Lockwood cellar deep in the woods. It’s on my family’s land. I have to install fresh chains and then find an herb called Wolfsbane. It’s one of the only things that severely hurt a werewolf. I have to dilute it with water and…drink it…” He trembled a little, having come to terms with his fate a few days ago, but it still didn’t lessen his fear any.

Sitting up a little, Dacia lifted Tyler’s chin with her hand and forced his tear-filled eyes to meet hers. “We’ll get through this. I will get you through this, Tyler. You tell me what to do and I’ll do it, but please don’t ask me to stay away from you.” She kissed him, showing him through actions instead of words how much those words reigned true.

Pushing what the upcoming days would bring in the back of his mind, Tyler simply rolled to hover over Dacia, proceeding to make love to her for a third time that night.

Chapter 33

“Welcome home, brother.”

Luke had a migraine the size of Guatemala when he finally opened his eyes, not sure where he was. The musty smell told him instantly he wasn’t in the safety of his home in Mystic Falls anymore. He wasn’t in Mystic Falls, period. Blinking, Luke slowly reached up to gingerly feel his forehead, groaning at the large lump he sported. The last thing he remembered was having an impromptu visit from Katherine Pierce and being reluctant to go with her to see…his brother. His brown eyes snapped open fully as Luke sat upright in the uncomfortable lumpy bed and looked around, ignoring his throbbing head. What the hell was going on? Another memory flooded back to him about Katherine demanding him to bring page 14, the one thing he swore to protect until death, and reached into his jacket pocket.

It was gone.

“Relax.” A deep voice resonated around the dark room, making Luke’s head snap straight ahead with wide eyes.

“L-Landon?”

Luke heard boots thudding against the wooden floor gently and felt his heart nearly stop at the sight of his brother standing in the dim lighting. “In the flesh.” He flashed white teeth, a smirk curving his lips.

“M-My god…” Luke stammered, vacillating to his feet and never took his eyes off of Landon. “Y-You really are alive, aren’t you?”

Landon snorted, nodding and walked past Luke to flip the light on in the room, slowly turning back to face him. “There, we can see each other better now.” He extended his arms, black hair hanging somewhat in his face with cold acidic eyes. “What’s the matter, Luke? Not happy to see your brother?”

Luke felt a lump form in his throat and knew he had to be careful with how he responded to Landon, trying to fight back a shudder threatening to overtake his body. “It’s not that.” He murmured quietly, not moving an inch toward Landon and watched his brother’s arms fall. “I just can’t believe…”

“That I’m here? That I’m alive and well?” Landon finished, cutting him off and folded his arms in front of his chest, leaning against the wall. “Or does it bother you I’m one of them now.”

Luke lowered his gaze from Landon and shut his eyes, the obvious turmoil written all over his face. “I just…I never expected you of all people to-to…”

“To what?” Landon demanded, pushing off the wall interrupting his baby brother once more. “To do whatever it took to live? To carry out our ancestor’s goal once and for all?” He chuckled darkly, a second later flying over to where Luke stood and clapped him harshly on the shoulder. “You should be happy to see me again after all this time.”

“What are you talking about?” Then it dawned on Luke what Landon referred to, brown eyes narrowing instantly. “What’s on page 14, Landon? You obviously brought me here for a reason, so start talking.” When Landon agreed to become a bloodsucker, he agreed to never contact Luke unless it was an emergency. “Please tell me you have it…”

Landon rolled his eyes and flew over to the nearby table by the boarded up window, pouring himself a healthy dose of scotch. “Of course I do, you idiot. I’m not that stupid after all and it is mine. I figured you wouldn’t mind that I took it off your hands.” He noticed the lump on his brother’s forehead and knew it had to be Katherine’s doing, shaking his head. “Let me heal you first and then we’ll talk since I can literally hear how badly your head is pounding.”

Instantaneously, Luke became leery of his brother and felt sick at the sight of Landon chomping into his own wrist. “N-No, I’m fine…” He stumbled back, refusing to have a drop of vampire blood enter his system and gasped when Landon flew over to him a second later.

Landon made sure to keep Luke sedated long enough for the vervain in his system to disappear and wrapped his hand around his throat, holding his wrist up. “You will drink from me.” He became the compulsion, hoping he wouldn’t have to resort to doing this to Luke, but his brother could be incredibly stubborn when he wanted to be. “And you won’t remember doing it or me offering to heal you. Page 14 is the only thing that will be on your mind. Now drink.”

Mechanically, Luke grabbed Landon’s arm and closed his mouth over the fading wound of his brother’s wrist, gulping down the blood like a man dying of thirst. Landon pulled back when he felt Luke had an efficient amount of blood in his system and patted his cheek almost lovingly. He watched the lump shrink on Luke’s forehead until it was completely gone, smiling triumphantly and broke the compulsion. Blinking, Luke wasn’t sure what just happened and stared over at his brother, who flew across the room right after breaking the compulsion, not remembering a thing past page 14.

“Anyway, what’s page 14?” Luke asked, mentally shaking himself and didn’t realize just how long he’d been unconscious in this grubby shack Landon had them holed up in.

“All in due time, brother. I promise.” Landon winked, slamming his third glass of scotch and grabbed the bottle with his glass tumbler, gesturing toward the door. “Let’s head downstairs to talk. You look like you could use a drink and this bottle is nearly empty. Then I’ll tell you everything regarding page 14.”

Sighing resignedly, Luke followed Landon out the door and looked around, noticing they were on the second floor of the two story house he thought was a shack. It was very old, dust caking every surface, so Luke stuck his hands in his pockets since he didn’t care for germs too much. They headed down the rickety stairs and Luke looked around, wondering how long his brother had stayed here. Being a vampire, Landon could stay virtually anywhere he wanted. Then again, he’d taken this road for a specific reason. Luke hoped he finally got the answers to the questions he’d had for 3 long years.

“How long I was I out for?” Luke asked casually once they arrived in what looked to be a sitting room, a small fire crackling in the fireplace.

“A few days.” Landon answered indifferently, pouring Luke a tumbler of whiskey while he stuck with scotch, which helped with his cravings for blood. “Sorry about Katherine, she can be lethal when she wants to be. Said you called her Kathy.” He cringed, shaking his head. “Bad move, Luke. Now drink, you’ll feel better.”

Frowning, Luke looked down at the amber liquid distrustfully and knew if he didn’t drink it, Landon would get upset. “Thanks…” He muttered, saying a silent prayer and slammed it back, closing his eyes as the liquid burned down his esophagus. “Now tell me about page 14. What the hell is it?”

Landon refilled Luke’s tumbler as they both took a seat in separate chairs near the fire, his emerald eyes moving to stare into the small flames thoughtfully. “A weapon.” He finally admitted, taking his time with the scotch this time and sipped it slowly.

“A weapon?” Luke echoed, not understanding and raised a slow brow, setting his tumbler on the table in front of him. “What do you mean? I’ve looked at that damn thing at least 1,000 times since you gave it to me to protect and I don’t understand how it can be a weapon.”

“Because you don’t understand it.” Landon turned his eyes from the fire back to his brother, knowing he could trust Luke with information. He would never turn his back on family, vampire or not. “Page 14 is a design for a machine that I started building in secret with Zachary Salvatore. He designed it mostly and I gave him pointers on what to put into it. Before he died, he entrusted me with that page out of his notes and made me swear to protect it at all costs. The night I went after Damon Salvatore, I knew something was up. Zachary died before I could question him on what was going on and I’m almost positive Damon is the one who killed him.” He explained, keeping his voice low since he knew Katherine and another friend of his were upstairs resting.

Luke needed a strong drink after hearing that and downed the rest of his whiskey, standing to refill his tumbler. “So you’re telling me that, for 3 years, I’ve been holding onto a piece of paper that is a weapon of some kind? A weapon for what?” There was a vital piece of information he was missing.

“To eradicate the entire vampire race for good.”

The tumbler slipped from Luke’s hand as soon as he heard that, shock overtaking every part of his body. Landon flew over and caught it before the tumbler smashed into pieces on the floor. He didn’t feel like cleaning up a mess tonight. Luke’s heart skipped a beat at the massive change in his brother and took the tumbler with a shaky hand, at a complete loss for words right now.

“You were never good at holding your liquor.” Landon joked, flying back over to take his seat by the fireplace again and remained calm, acting as if nothing happened. “Sit and calm down, your heart is beating faster than a jack rabbits.”

“So that’s why you became a vampire? Because you wanted to build this…contraption that may or may not even work? You tossed everything away and made your own wife die of a heart attack because of your supposed death for a MACHINE?” Luke was angry, his voice lowering to a dangerous tone and felt tears sting his eyes.

Landon lowered his head and shut his eyes painfully, setting the tumbler down on the table so it didn’t smash in his hand. “I didn’t know that would happen. I thought she would…move on and find someone else that made her happy, that would give her what I couldn’t. She gave me an ultimatum that night, Luke.” He looked at his brother, turmoil and heartbreak swirling in his acidic eyes. “She wanted me to give up the Council and everything, to be a normal husband. Our family, the Fell’s, have never been normal and have always had our fates sealed by eradicating vampires. That’s always been our destiny and she wanted me to toss that away. So I gave her what she wanted and told her that I would quit. But she didn’t know about the fact I had vampire blood in my system that night. I never thought she’d have a heart attack, to this day the guilt still eats me alive because I killed her. I have nobody to blame except myself for her death.”

“She loved you so much.” Luke whispered, the memory of Delilah making his own heart clench violently with pain as his gaze moved away from Landon. “All she wanted was a normal husband and life with the family you two created. Do you have any idea what Dahna has been through and everything she’s had to sacrifice? She basically had to raise Dacia the rest of the way and get her through high school. She’ll be graduating this year and then Dahna can finally have her life back. Don’t you think that maybe, just MAYBE, everything you’ve done and put your family through has been a little SELFISH?”

Clenching his teeth, Landon stood up and tossed his half-filled tumbler into the fireplace, the flames instantly sparking with no found life for a second. “YOU DON’T THINK I KNOW THAT?” He practically roared, tearing fingers through his black hair. “YOU THINK I DID THIS FOR KICKS? I DID THIS FOR THE FELL FAMILY! I DID THIS TO SEE ZACHARY’S DREAM OUT!! I DID THIS FOR YOU, FOR THE GIRLS, FOR DELILAH, FOR EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER BEEN A VAMPIRE’S VICTIM!!”

Luke was on his feet as well, squaring his shoulders and folded his arms in front of his chest, brown eyes filled with barely contained rage. “Where did you get the vampire blood, Landon? Just who the hell turned you into a bloodsucker?” He demanded crossly, eyeballing his older brother he once looked up to growing up.

“That would be me.”

“Katherine, not now.” Landon ordered gruffly, knowing this wouldn’t be an easy conversation to have with his brother.

“I heard shouting and had to make sure you were alright.” Katherine stated, ignoring his order and flew over to where Landon stood, wrapping an arm around his waist while the other slid up his chest. “Relax.”

“Y-You…” Luke paled at the way Katherine affectionately caressed Landon and felt sick to his stomach, stumbling back. “You and her…?” How could Luke have sex with the same vampire that turned his brother into the very monster she was? “No…Did you…?”

“Cheat on his precious wife?” Katherine finished smarmily, a smirk curving her lips and rolled her eyes. “Of course he did. I wasn’t just going to hand my blood over to him willingly. He was a Fell after all.” She walked around Landon to stand on his other side, sliding her nails gently up the cotton of his t-shirt. “Don’t look so shocked, Luke. I gave way more to him than his wife ever could. I still remember taking this beautiful strong neck and snapping it like a twig right after we spent countless hours in bed together. And that wasn’t the only time we had sex either.”

“Katherine…”

“You CHEATED on Delilah with…with…a BLOODSUCKER?” Luke was beside himself, feeling as though his eyes might’ve fallen out of his skull and felt his jaw drop when Landon merely lowered his head. “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WTH YOU? DELILAH DIED BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT YOU DID!! SHE DIED THINKING YOU LOVED HER!! SHE-”

“Enough with the shouting.” Another voice sounded behind them and Luke had no time to react, the snap echoing off the walls a second later.

Landon cringed, watching his brother’s body crumple to the floor and heaved a sigh, shaking his head. “I tried warning him to keep it down.” He turned his head and captured Katherine’s mouth with his, cupping her face in his strong hands. “Thanks for calming me down, love. What’s she doing here though?” He looked over at the female vampire standing over Luke’s dead body.

“She’s my family, of sorts.” Katherine answered, stepping away from Landon and flew over to where her friend stood. “Isobel, meet Landon Fell. Landon, this is Isobel Flemming.” She introduced them, kicking Luke’s leg and fluffed her dark brown curls over her shoulders.

“That doesn’t explain why she’s here.” Landon pointed out, walking over to the mini bar to refill his tumbler with more scotch.

“We have a mutual interest and have decided to team up together.” Katherine said indifferently, taking the tumbler from Landon’s hand before he could slam the scotch down and did it instead. “She’s Elena Gilbert’s biological mother.”

“Your doppelganger?”

Katherine snorted, her upper lip curling at the mere thought of Elena Gilbert. “Yes, my doppelganger that currently has Stefan Salvatore wrapped around her annoyingly perfect finger. She’s lucky I don’t snap it off and shove it down her throat.” She slammed another shot, taking a deep breath. “She wants Elena out of Stefan’s life and is willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. And I, of course, want Stefan all to myself just like it was back in 1864.”

Landon could care less who Katherine wanted, having his own agenda and waved them both off. “Whatever you want, doesn’t bother me. Welcome aboard, Isobel. Drink?” He held up another tumbler filled with scotch and watched her fly over, snatching it out of his hand much like Katherine did. “I can see the family resemblance already.”

“That’s not all, handsome.”

Landon turned to stare at Katherine, raising a brow. “What else could there possibly be?” He saw the slight twinkle in her dark eyes and groaned, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Katherine, what did you do now?”

Katherine smirked, refilling her tumbler and slid her hand across Landon’s tight backside, winking over her shoulder at Isobel as she joined in the fun. “I forced Tyler Lockwood to trigger his werewolf curse with Caroline Lockwood’s help.” She kissed his neck while Isobel began running her hands down Landon’s chest. “She’s also going to be another one of our little helpers since she wants Tyler all to herself.” Conveniently, Katherine left out the part about Tyler’s girlfriend being Landon’s youngest daughter, wanting him focused on his own agenda while she had hers.

“Is that right?” Landon growled, landing on the couch with Katherine on one side and Isobel on the other, his eyes drifting closed as they both began pleasuring him in different ways.

“Do you have a problem with that, handsome?” Katherine purred, removing his pants and slid her hands up his muscled thighs, standing between his legs while Isobel nibbled on his earlobe.

“Not at all…” His eyes rolled in the back of his head as soon as he felt Katherine’s mouth engulf his throbbing erection whole, every other thought flying out the window.

Chapter 34

“We need to go talk to my brother and tell him everything.”

Damon glided his fingers up and down Dahna’s bare arm in a loving caress. She was curled up against his side with her head resting on his chest and her arm draped over his stomach. Dahna borrowed further into his side and draped her leg over his, both of them blissfully naked. The sun had just risen over the horizon and neither of them had gotten sleep, too busy making up for lost time by making love throughout the night. They took small breaks, but for the most part Damon remained buried to the hilt inside of Dahna’s gorgeous body. If they could stay like this forever, Dahna would be perfectly content with her life.

“Tell him what exactly?” Dahna looked up at him through sparkling emerald eyes, stroking his stomach with her soft fingers.

“I want to clear up everything and tell him about page 14. The more help we have with this, the faster we’ll be able to solve the problem and move on.”

Dahna felt tears swell in her eyes and lowered them to her lap, a wave of anguish crashing over her. “I-Is that why you came here last night? To sex me up and get your precious information about that stupid missing page?” She couldn’t keep the anger and pain out of her voice, a single tear slipping down her cheek.

Damon sat up as well and hooked a finger under Dahna’s chin, forcing watery emerald eyes to meet electrified aquamarine. “I told you last night that’s not the reason I came here. I didn’t use sex as a way to get information out of you, Dahna. I love you.” His forehead rested against hers, their eyes not leaving each other. “If all I wanted was information, you know there are other ways for me to get it without sex. I wanted to be with you, Dahna, plain and simple. And you know that.”

“T-This means a lot to you, doesn’t it?” Dahna whispered, not trusting her voice at the moment and felt Damon wipe her tears away with his thumbs. “I told you my Uncle Luke probably has it.” Then she remembered the conversation she had with Meredith the previous night and swallowed hard. “Damon…Luke is missing.”

Arching a thick black brow, Damon tilted his head slightly and wasn’t sure he heard her correctly. “Who told you this?” He demanded tensely, anger welling up inside of him at the thought of Luke Fell leaving town like a coward.

“My Aunt Meredith. And no, I’m confident she doesn’t know anything about the missing page.” Dahna replied, shifting to sit with her knees drawn up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

“Did you ask her?”

“No, but-”

“Then you don’t know for sure if she knows about it or not.” Damon cut her off and stood up from the bed, tearing a hand through his thick black hair. “Dahna, if that damn page ends up in the wrong hands, it could be the end for all vampires, including me and my brother. We have to go talk to Stefan about this. And we need to question Meredith.”

Dahna stood up with him, not bothering to cover herself up since Damon had seen her naked throughout the night. “And what about my Uncle Luke? We were under the assumption you killed him since you told me you were going to do it when you dropped me off a week ago.” She still couldn’t get those words out of her head.

“If I killed him, I would be gloating about it, Dahna.” Damon growled, sounding annoyed as he swiped his jeans from the floor, yanking them on and put his t-shirt on next. “Get dressed, we’re heading to the mansion.”

“Damon…”

Dahna sighed when he shot a stern expression her way and knew she had no choice, pulling out a pair of jeans with a long sleeved orange top. It might’ve been harsh, but Damon had to find out what his Uncle Zachary and Landon Fell planned before he snapped Zachary’s neck. He walked over and wrapped his arms around Dahna’s waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. No matter how long it took or what lengths he had to go to, Damon would prove his love to Dahna. Compulsion had been the only way to stop Landon from killing and taking Dahna away from him. Damon planned on turning her into a vampire, but only if Dahna asked. He would not push that decision on her and would love her even if she wanted to grow old and gray.

“I love you, beautiful.” He murmured gently in her ear, nuzzling her neck and felt her melt against him. “I swear after we find this damn page 14 and find out what’s on it, I’ll do anything you want. I have a lot to make up for and I know that, but you have to give me the chance to do it. I’ve been through as much pain as you have the past 3 years, possibly more because I had to live with the harsh reality of wiping your memories of me from your mind. I had to watch as the woman I love went on with her life and the fire slowly die out of her beautiful eyes.” Damon slowly turned her around to face him, brushing his lips against hers. “I had to watch you date other idiots and couldn’t touch you or hold you, make love to you – anything. I had to force myself to stay away from you, even after Landon died because of his conniving brother. They were like two peas in a pod and Luke would’ve killed you had I come back into your life too soon. And just so you know, I’ve never touched or looked at another woman since the night I had to let you go.”

At that moment, Dahna realized just how much pain and agony Damon had endured, shutting her eyes as she draped her arms around his neck. “Even though my memory was wiped clean, I never…” She trailed off and buried her fingers in his black hair, crushing his lips to hers in a soul searing kiss. “I never slept with any of the guys I went out with. I had no desire to do it and now I know why because I wasn’t meant to be with them. It was always you, Damon. Even through the compulsion, my love for you never changed or faltered and it’s almost like my brain was waiting for those memories to be released. And whatever is on that stupid page, it’s never going to change. I’ve always been yours and I forgive you for compelling me to forget, but don’t ever do it again. If my life is on the line, we’ll figure out another way, okay?”

“Agreed.” Damon kissed her again softly and pulled back, taking her hand as their fingers laced together. “Come on, time to go talk to baby bro.”

The drive over to the Salvatore mansion was made mostly in silence with Dahna staring out the window, a genuine smile on her face. She felt Damon squeeze her hand and looked over at him, her eternal stud. Eternal. Damon would always stay handsome with flawless pale skin and gorgeous aquamarine eyes. His hair would never change either, always having that muddled style to it that made him drip with sex appeal. Dahna was 21 and only growing older with each passing day, knowing eventually she would wither away due to old age. If she wanted to stay with Damon forever, the only way to do it was becoming the creature he was. A vampire. Did she want that? Did she want to rely on drinking human blood in order to survive and stay young forever? Dahna had a lot of thinking to do and turned her eyes to stare out the window again, wondering what it would be like to be a vampire.

15 minutes later, Damon pulled up to the Salvatore mansion and cut the ignition on his 1969 Chevy Camaro convertible, stepping out to fly over to open Dahna’s door. Dahna took his hand and let him guide her inside the mansion, both of them stopping in the doorway at the sound of squealing. What the hell? Dahna and Damon looked at each other simultaneously, both of them having a feeling who that squeal belonged to. They both headed down the hallway into the living room/parlor, staring at Stefan and Elena engrossed in a heated moment.

“Stefan, stop!” Elena giggled as he blew more raspberries against her neck, her legs wrapped around his waist and bit her bottom lip when his hand slid down to cup her jean covered sex. “Ohh…”

Damon really didn’t want to see his baby brother having sex and cleared his throat loudly, smirking as Stefan practically flew across the room away from Elena. “I see you two have made up. That’s great, but you really need to remember you’re not the only one who lives here, brother.” He walked over with Dahna and plopped down on the opposite couch, pulling her to sit across his lap.

“Damon…” Dahna scolded, folding her arms in front of her chest. “That wasn’t very nice.” It was amusing though, Dahna added in thought, turning emerald eyes on a red-faced Elena Gilbert. “Hey Elena.”

“Hi…” Elena muttered, completely mortified at being caught in a precarious position with Stefan and tried stopping her cheeks from flaming. “I-I didn’t know you two were together…”

Dahna nodded, wrapping an arm around Damon’s neck and rested her cheek on top of his head. “It’s a long story. Have you heard from Dace at all?” She asked, abruptly changing the subject.

“I saw her yesterday before the storm hit at the park.” Dahna would know which park Elena was talking about. “She needed some girl talk and then we went our separate ways. I think she might’ve went to see Tyler Lockwood though.”

“Hmm…that makes sense.” She pulled her cell phone out to send Dacia a quick text, asking her to come to the Salvatore mansion when she had a free minute. “I told her no more secrets between us.” She explained when Damon gave her a disapproving look. “I trust her with my life, she won’t say anything to anyone if I ask her not to, not even Tyler Lockwood. And be nice to him, he loves her and she loves him.”

Either Dahna didn’t know the full story about Tyler Lockwood or she really did accept him for what he was, tail and all. She giggled at that inner joke and looked up when Stefan finally joined her, elbowing him in the gut. Stefan grunted, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leaned back against the couch, kissing the top of her head. After he opened up to Elena about his past regarding Katherine and spilled all of his secrets to her, they felt closer than ever. Elena hadn’t left the mansion in a week besides to go to school and Jenna knew where she was, not minding her being here. Stefan couldn’t believe how open she was about his past and even about being adopted. She was extraordinary and Stefan was lucky to have her in his life.

“So what’s so important you had to interrupt us?” Stefan demanded, holding a tumbler of bourbon and sipped it, the fireplace roaring with crackling flames like always.

“Page 14.” Damon knew that one word and number would gain Stefan’s attention, his eyes moving to Dahna. “I lifted her compulsion and she remembers everything now.” He added as an afterthought, quickly explaining their sudden behavior. “Dahna has information that will help us find it, I think.”

“Can I look at the documents?” Dahna suddenly asked out of left field, her eyes focused on the flames almost in a trance of some kind.

Stefan frowned and nodded, standing up from the couch. “Sure, I’ll go get them.” He kissed Elena softly and flew out of the room upstairs, studying them ever since Damon came clean about everything that was going on. He flew back down not even a minute later, handing them over to Dahna. “Everything alright?”

Dahna didn’t answer him, taking the documents and slid off of Damon’s lap, sitting beside him on the couch. It was if something clicked in her mind at that moment, like a lock on a safe, and another rush of memories came flooding back to her. For 10 minutes straight, all she did was sit there with a blank expression on her face, not sifting through the paperwork like she should’ve. It was only when Damon slightly shook her shoulder did Dahna snap out of her small trip down memory lane. Blinking, tears slid down her cheeks and Dahna gasped, touching her cheek to feel them, a perplexed look on her face.

“I was 17 years old standing in my father’s study looking over paperwork on his desk. It was right after he forbid me to see Damon again or else there would be consequences. I didn’t know how he found out, but he did. So I was trying to find something to use against him to make him back off because I wanted to be with Damon.” Dahna explained, feeling Damon grab her hand as their fingers laced together on her lap. “I remember these documents vividly and I know what page you’re looking for. I actually planned on telling Damon about it the night he…”

“Compelled you.” Stefan finished quietly, holding Elena’s hand and knew he’d have to explain to her what Damon did to Dahna Fell later on. “Go on, Dahna, please.”

“Page 14 is a blueprint of a machine built to dispose of vampires once and for all. It has wooden stakes, vervain and is powered by magic.”

“A witch?” Damon questioned, listening intently to everything Dahna said and couldn’t help cringing when she mentioned the compulsion. “A machine powered by a witch?”

Dahna nodded, swallowing hard. “A powerful witch. The magic is bound by the moon, a celestial event and it was a spell cast by a Bennett witch.” Her emerald eyes suddenly locked with Elena. “Bonnie’s grandmother, Sheila. They made a deal with her, but I don’t think she had any idea what the machine was used for. I saw the check amount my father wrote out for her, it was a 6 digit sum. From my understanding, Bonnie’s grandmother fled Mystic Falls shortly after my parents death and nobody has seen her since. Zachary and my father were secretly building the machine prior to their death, but I don’t know if they ever finished it. This is more than just a stash of vervain, you guys. This could be catastrophic to the vampire race if that machine is done because the magic is bound to it.”

“Son of a bitch…” Damon growled, standing up from the couch and began pacing in front of the fireplace, not believing Zachary would betray them like this. “Can a witch break that spell that powers the machine?” He suddenly asked, directing the question at Dahna since she’d been the well of knowledge they had needed to crack this mystery.

“I don’t know. But it would have to be a very powerful witch, preferably a Bennett.” She hated saying that because of how close Elena and Bonnie Bennett were, but drastic times called for drastic measures. “First things first, we have to investigate my Uncle’s home and find Meredith. If she knows anything about this, we need to know. And we’re not leaving until Dacia gets here because she needs to be filled in on everything that’s going on.”

Damon nodded, snapping his fingers. “Fine it’s settled. Elena, call Bonnie and get her over here so we can explain to her what the hell is going on. Stefan and I will go to Luke’s house and investigate since he’s missing and there’s no way for me to rip his tongue out of his mouth right now. And you sit here and wait for your sister. Any questions, comments, concerns? No? Good. Let’s go Stefan.”

Stefan looked back at Elena, seein the apprehension in her eyes and squeezed her hand. “Nothing is going to happen to Bonnie, I promise.” He stated, standing up from the couch and followed Damon out to his car, leaving the women sitting there playing the waiting game.

Chapter 35

“So you think Luke has the missing page?” Stefan asked while Damon drove, both of them nervous after what Dahna revealed. “And do you think the Fell’s actually have a machine that could wipe the entire vampire race out?”

“I don’t know, brother.” Damon replied honestly, sucking down a blood bag to hone his strength because he had a feeling they had one hell of a fight on their hands on the horizon. “Dahna wouldn’t make something like that up though. I know her inside and out. Lifting her compulsion was the best thing I could’ve done because, not only does she remember us, but also what she discovered in her Daddy’s office. I just wish I would’ve heard her out before doing the compulsion.”

Stefan didn’t bother commenting on that because he knew Damon felt guilty enough about compelling Dahna. “I can’t believe our Uncle Zach was involved in this too.” He said thoughtfully, sounding somewhat hurt since he assumed Zachary never had a problem with vampires.

“You give that man far too much credit, brother.” Damon said bluntly, turning the corner Luke Fell lived on. “So you and Elena worked things out I take it?”

“Yes, I’m amazed she accepts me fully for who and what I am. She may be Katherine’s descendant, but they are nothing alike. She’s not cold-hearted and manipulative the way Katherine was.” Stefan explained, his voice carrying a touch of astonishment because of Elena’s reaction to everything.

“So she took the news of being adopted with a grain of salt?”

“Yeah, but now she wants to find her biological mother. That’s something I wanted to avoid. I have a feeling if she finds out who gave her up for adoption, it’ll cause her more pain.” Stefan had caused Elena enough pain and agony with his information regarding Katherine. “I told her I’d help her find out the truth. She already confronted Jenna about it and her Aunt was shocked she knew, so Elena’s parents told her.”

Damon remained quiet as they pulled up in front of Luke Fell’s house, parking on the street instead of the empty driveway, cutting the ignition. “If you need me to do anything, just ask.” He’d do what he could to help Stefan and Elena, especially since the human girl kept a smile on his brother’s face.

“What about you and Dahna? I take it you two have made things right?” Stefan turned the tables on Damon, folding his arms in front of his chest.

A smirk curved Damon’s lips as he got out of the car along with Stefan, both of them heading up the driveway. “What does it look like?” It took a week for Dahna to come around, but Damon had no doubt in his mind she would eventually. “Stop.” His aquamarine eyes narrowed at the yard sprinklers Luke had installed and leaned down in front of a very small puddle that was in a crack in the driveway.

“What is it?” Stefan squatted as well beside Damon and watched as his finger dipped into the water, burning his single finger instantly.

“Damn it!” Damon growled, pulling his hand back and shook it out, scowling at the sprinklers. “His entire water system is full of vervain. We’ll have to proceed with caution. What a slick dick.”

Stefan wasn’t surprised considering Luke was a member of the Founder’s Council. “Maybe we shouldn’t use the front door.” This house had to be full of traps for vampires if the sprinkler system was any indication.

Looking around, Damon made sure nobody was watching them flew over to the nearest window, using his speed to his advantage. “What an idiot.” He muttered, shaking his head and waved Stefan over, his little brother joining moments later. “It’s open. Come on, I think this is the safest way to enter.”

“What if the house has an alarm?” Stefan wondered aloud, not wanting to set it off because the police would be here in a flash. There was no way they’d be able to explain this to Liz. “We should check that first before going inside.”

“Only one way to find out.”

“Damon, don’t!”

A second later, the window slid up with Damon slipping through it and Stefan breathed a sigh of relief when no alarms went off. “You’re really trying to give me a heart attack.” He grumbled once inside the house, hearing his brother’s chuckle. “So where do you think the page would be?”

“He’s a Fell, so he would keep it somewhere locked up out of sight.” Damon surmised, taking his time walking through the house and entered what looked like a study.

Stefan went in the opposite direction, being just as cautious as his brother and entered the kitchen, immediately turning around since the page wouldn’t be there. He flew upstairs to search all the rooms and stopped at a picture with Dahna, Dacia and Luke. They were younger girls at the Mystic Falls yearly carnival and the girls had face paint on their cheeks. Luke was bent down between them with his arms around their waists and the girls rested their heads against his, all of them smiling brightly for the camera. Stefan’s heart went out to the Fell girls because they’d been through a lot, especially losing their parents back-to-back and now their only Uncle was missing.

“SON OF A BITCH!!”

Damon’s roar jolted Stefan out of his thoughts as he set the picture down on the nightstand and flew down the stairs to the study. “What the hell is going on?” His green eyes flew open at the sight of an empty open black safe embedded into the wall, the painting that hid it broken in half on the floor. “We’re too late…”

“We have to get back to the mansion immediately.” Damon stated, already heading for the window and slipped through it, both brothers driving off from Luke Fell’s house moments later.

~!~

When Dacia received the urgent text messages from her sister to come to the Salvatore mansion, she knew something was going on. She lay in bed with Tyler, his mouth pressing soft kisses to the side of her neck. They hadn’t left his bed for over a day and Dacia had no problem with it, but she couldn’t ignore Dahna either. Rolling over, Dacia stroked Tyler’s face tenderly with the back of her hand and softly kissed his lips, feeling his arms wrap tightly around her waist.

“I have to go see what my sister wants.” She said once the kiss broke, becoming lost in his dark pools of love and lust. “Want to come with me?”

Tyler smirked and slid his hand between their bodies until his fingers brushed against her sensitive clit, not able to get enough of her. “Always.” He growled, slipping two fingers inside of her and Dacia instantly bucked against him, moans spilling from her mouth.

“I-I meant…oh don’t stop…” Dacia breathed, their mouths crashing together as Tyler worked his fingers in and out of her body, kick starting her libido.

“I know what you meant.” Tyler assured her, his hot breath caking her ear and could feel her walls start to tighten around his fingers. “I’ll make you cum for me again and then we’ll leave to go see what your sister wants. Unless you don’t want me to finish what I just started?”

Dacia shot him a warning glare, her milk chocolate eyes darkening and could feel her nipples harden against his rock hard chest. “Stop and I’ll never cum for you again, Lockwood.” She practically growled, hearing him chuckle in response and felt his fingers slide out of her. “Tyler…”

“Relax baby, I won’t leave you hanging.” He promised huskily and moved to straddle her legs, keeping her laying on her side. “Stay right here and spread those beautiful thighs for me, Dace.”

Dacia obeyed and felt her eyes fly open as Tyler began pushing his cock between her wet folds, both of them groaning at the friction. This was definitely a new position they hadn’t tried yet. Once Tyler was fully inside of her, he didn’t wait for Dacia to adjust since she was more than ready and started thrusting in and out of her body. He leaned over her, running his fingers through her hair and bent his arm to rest against her back to hold her in place. She pushed back against Tyler with every thrust and felt his mouth seal to her neck and ear, sending tingles throughout her entire body.

“Goddamn Dacia, so tight…” Tyler groaned and suddenly pulled out to roll her over on her stomach, slipping right back where he belonged. “Lift that beautiful ass against me, but stay down.”

He was in full control of this since Dacia started the last round and Tyler wanted to give her something to remember him by in case Dahna went back on her blessing. Once again, Tyler continued his thrusting and let his upper body rest against her back, one arm hooking under her arm to place a hand over her throat and the other arm bent to rest against her forehead. He didn’t squeeze her throat, never wanting to hurt her and knew this position would have her cumming in waves in no time. If Dacia had a problem with it, she would stop him instantly, but so far her cries of ecstasy and demanding more told Tyler he was doing everything right. Dacia’s hand moved to rest over his on her throat while he continued powering in and out of her body, the sounds of flesh smacking flesh resonating all around them. This would be over faster than either of them liked, but due to their bodies being overstimulated from all the sex, neither were surprised.

“That was…incredible…” Dacia breathed out 20 minutes later, loving the feeling of Tyler’s body collapsing on top of her. She accepted his full body weight and slowly turned on her back, staring up into his beautiful dark eyes. “There’s something I need to tell you before we leave.”

Tyler raised a brow, wondering what was on his girlfriend’s mind and brushed his lips against hers. “What’s on your mind, baby?” He could see the determination in her eyes and rubbed his nose gently against hers.

Dacia’s body flooded with heat and felt her heartbeat speed up, chewing her bottom lip. “I love you, Tyler.” She didn’t pull her gaze away from him, knowing it was the first time she’d actually said the words. “Wolf and all.”

If Tyler was shocked at hearing her admit how she felt, he didn’t show it. “I love you too, Dace.” Tyler rumbled, nuzzling her neck and breathed her scent of gardenias in, tightening his arms around her. “I’ve loved you for a long time. I’m not just saying it because you did. You just beat me to the punch.”

They ended up making love to commemorate the moment, getting lost in each other the way they always did. A few hours later, they finally extracted themselves from each other long enough to dress and headed to the Salvatore mansion. Dacia sent a quick text to her sister letting her know she was on her way with Tyler, hoping they didn’t mind her boyfriend tagging along. Tyler pulled up 20 minutes later outside of the Salvatore mansion, not seeing Damon’s car anywhere and wondered where the vampire was. He cut the ignition and stepped out, walking around to open Dacia’s door for her and their fingers instantly laced together.

“No matter what your sister wants, don’t forget I love you.” He stated, softly kissing her lips and felt Dacia squeeze his hand.

“Nothing is going to change, no matter what Dahna has to say. Now come on.”

Dahna sat in the living room/parlor, bouncing her knee from nervousness and snapped her head up when the front door to the mansion opened. “Thank god.” She whispered, standing and went to greet her little sister at the door.

“What’s going on, Dahna?” Dacia asked once the embrace ended, staring into her sister’s troubled emerald eyes and released Tyler’s hand. “Sissy?”

“You’ll want to sit down for this.” Dahna advised, turning and walked back into the living room/parlor. Elena ran home quickly to check in with Jenna and Jeremy, giving the sisters the privacy they needed. “And no offense to you, Tyler, but I need to talk to my sister alone.”

Dacia felt her stomach tighten slightly at that request and knew this was serious, looking up at Tyler. “Why don’t you go grab us something to eat in town? It’ll give us a chance to have our talk and then I’ll fill you in when you get back.” She suggested, conceding to Dahna’s wish to speak to her privately.

Tyler looked between the Fell sisters and could sense whatever Dahna had to tell Dacia didn’t have to do with their current relationship. It still troubled him though. “Fine, I’ll be back and text you.” He dropped a quick kiss on Dacia’s mouth and walked out of the mansion, driving off moments later.

Once the sisters were seated in the living room/parlor in front of the roaring fireplace, Dahna retrieved two tumblers of bourbon for them. Her sister was underage, but this talk would require needing something to take the edge off of her nerves. With a heavy sigh, Dahna couldn’t delay any longer and sat down in front of Dacia, launching into the story between her and Damon Salvatore. First, the admittance of Damon not really being their protector had to be said, which somewhat ticked Dacia off. Dahna didn’t blame her, but assured Dacia that once she heard the entire story, she would understand why Damon lied to them.

“I doubt it.” Dacia grunted, leaning back against the couch and sipped her bourbon, already feeling her head spinning.

Slowly, Dahna explained her past with Damon dating back to when she was 17. Dacia was 14 and they didn’t have a lot in common. Dacia remembered her big sister being gone a lot during that time and now knew why. She’d been shacking up with Damon. Then Dahna dropped the bombshell that made Dacia’s eyes nearly pop out of her head. Damon Salvatore was a vampire. Dacia remembered her talk with Elena Gilbert when she revealed Stefan Salvatore was a vampire, but honestly didn’t think about Damon at the time. Now it all made sense.

“I knew about him being one.” Dacia admitted, launching into her own explanation to Dahna about her talk with Elena. “And since you’re being completely open and honest with me, there’s something I need to tell you. Tyler is a werewolf.”

Dahna blinked, not expecting to hear that and took a long swig of bourbon, both of them trying to wrap their minds around everything that was said. “Well as long as you don’t mind I’m dating a vampire, I won’t mind that you’re dating a werewolf.” She finally said, trying to add a hint of humor to her tone and failed. “There’s something else I need to tell you about Damon, Dace.”

“What else could there be?” Dacia asked, raising a brow and listened intently to what Dahna said.

It was a good 20 minutes before Dahna finished and Dacia just sat there, tears brimming on her eyelids. It couldn’t be true. Their beloved father had threatened to kill Dahna if she didn’t stop seeing Damon? And Luke was in on it? Damon had killed their father in order to protect Dahna? Dacia blinked as huge tears slid down her cheeks, every part of her body growing cold. The tumbler slipped from her hand as it smashed to the floor, shattering into pieces. Dahna tried comforting Dacia, her own tears falling, but it was no use.

“I-I need some air.” She stammered, standing from the couch and headed toward the doors that lead to the outside veranda, closing them behind her. “Daddy, Uncle Luke…how could you?” Dacia whispered heartbrokenly and dropped to her knees on the veranda, burying her hands in her hair as broken sobs rocked every part of her body’s foundation.

Nobody knew what was ahead for them, but whatever it was Dacia just knew blood would be shed and lives would be altered forever.

When though?

Chapter 36

When Dacia sent a text message to Tyler asking him to come back to the mansion, he knew something was wrong. He could feel it in every part of his body. Whatever Dahna talked with Dacia about, it upset and angered her greatly. He quickly paid for the food from the grill and headed back to the mansion as fast as he could, breaking speed limits. Tyler should’ve never left, but they hadn’t ate either and he figured Dacia was hungry, which is why she asked him to go grab some food. Pulling up to the mansion, Tyler hopped out of his car and headed for the front door, only to stop at the sound of sobbing.

“Dacia.” Tyler whispered, his enhanced hearing letting him hear her clearly from around the mansion and sprinted to get to her. “Dacia? Baby, what’s wrong?”

Dacia’s head snapped up as soon as she heard Tyler’s voice and cried harder, immediately running into his open arms. He barely had time to set the food down on the nearby bench and caught Dacia with ease, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist. Every part of her body trembled against him and her sobbing shattered his heart, a deep frown forming on his face. What the hell could’ve happened in the short amount of time he was gone? What had Dahna told her little sister to upset her this much? Sitting on the bench by the food, Tyler stroked her hair and back, trying to calm Dacia down the best way he could think of. If she didn’t calm down soon, hyperventilation would set in and Tyler refused to let that happen.

“Talk to me. What happened?” Tyler crooned soothingly and let his girlfriend continue crying, letting her emotions out. “I’m here for you, baby. Whatever you need, all you have to do is ask.”

It took Dacia a good half an hour to calm down as she slowly pulled away from Tyler, wiping tears away from her swollen bloodshot eyes. “Do you really wanna know?” She asked quietly, still trying to come to terms with what Dahna told her.

“Of course I do. I want to know everything, good and bad, about you and your family. I love you.” Tyler cupped her face gently in his scorching hands, staring deep in her milk chocolate orbs. “Tell me anything you want.”

Dacia knew she could trust Tyler with the truth and sniffled, taking a shaky breath. “My family are monsters.” She whispered, not wanting her voice to crack since she emotionally unstable still. “M-My Dad…the man I called my hero…hurt my sister in the worst way.”

She wasn’t making sense, but Tyler would give her all the time in the world to explain everything and kissed the top of her head. “Take your time, sweetheart. There’s no rush.”

Where did Dacia begin with this? “Our family has always hated vampires like yours, Elena’s…any of the Founding families. My sister never understood what they had against vampires and didn’t really believe they existed…until she met one when she was 17. I didn’t know about her having a relationship with one because she thought I’d tell our parents. And honestly, I don’t know if I would or not. Anyway, Dad found out about Dahna’s relationship, thanks to our Uncle Luke, and ordered her to stop seeing the vampire. Dahna didn’t listen, my sister was never one to take orders well. She kept seeing the vampire, so my father decided to pay her boyfriend a visit. H-He told…He said…” She couldn’t say it and lowered her head, burying her face in her hands as fresh tears fell freely down her cheeks.

“Breathe baby, it’s okay.” Tyler solaced, knowing there was more to the story because so far all it sounded like was their father was trying to protect Dahna.

“But it’s not okay. None of this is okay. What my father did to her isn’t okay!” Dacia suddenly stood from Tyler’s lap and began pacing, chewing her thumbnail to help her thought process. “There were other ways to handle it, but he took the easy way out. He took the coward’s way and that’s not who my father is. He was never a coward and I looked up to him…”

“Who was the vampire, Dacia?” Tyler had a feeling he already knew the answer, but didn’t want to assume anything when it came to Dahna Fell.

“Damon Salvatore.”

Tyler shut his eyes briefly, not really having a history with the Salvatore brothers besides Stefan since the man went to school with him. “What did he do?” He asked quietly, dark eyes filled with confusion.

Walking over, Dacia leaned against the ledge and closed her eyes, letting the cool breeze blow across her face to dry her tears. “He paid Damon a visit and told him that, if he didn’t leave Dahna and use his evil powers to erase her memory of him, he would…he would kill her.” She whispered that last part out, clutching the ledge tightly to the point where her knuckles turned ghostly white. “He threatened my sister’s life all to make Damon do what he wanted.”

That was low, Tyler thought, looking up at his heartbroken girlfriend, not knowing what to feel or what to think. He remembered Landon Fell and he was always a decent man, even helping out with the football team at the high school. Tyler had been a freshman when Landon decided to try coaching for a semester to see if he liked it and he was one of the best Tyler ever had. However, any man who threatened the life of his daughter was scum in Tyler’s eyes and he knew exactly how it felt to have a dickhead for a father.

“That’s messed up.” He said truthfully, slowly standing from the bench, but didn’t go near Dacia. Not yet anyway. “So did Damon do it?”

“Yes.” Dacia nodded, her heart going out to Dahna for all the pain her big sister had been through in such a short amount of time. “She was 17 and they’d been together for 6 months. She was turning 18 in a few months and graduating before then. All she wanted to do was disappear with Damon and live their lives together, to be happy. And our father couldn’t give her that. He compelled her to forget all about him. Can you imagine that happening? To MAKE the person you love most forget your existence in order to save their life? I can’t even…I don’t know how Damon did it honestly because I see the way he looks at my sister. There’s nothing but unconditional love in his eyes along with hers. I just can’t believe our father would actually threaten Dahna’s life all because he didn’t want her with a vampire. And I know my mother was against the whole hating vampires because she hadn’t been born and raised into the Founding families the way our father had. She was an outsider, which partially makes us the same thing. Maybe that’s why I don’t hate vampires like my father did and neither does Dahna.”

This really was a lot to digest and come to terms with. “So…I’m assuming Dahna knows everything now since I vaguely heard them talking inside the mansion.”

“Yeah, you should’ve heard the heartbreak in my sister’s voice. It killed me to hear all that anguish and pain that our father caused. And I don’t know what to do for her. And something tells me she didn’t finish the talk because I walked out on her. I told her I needed air and have been out here ever since.” Dacia felt Tyler’s arms wrap around her from behind and leaned back against his chest, soaking in his warmth for all it was worth. “There’s something else I told her, Tyler…”

“My wolf situation?” He took a shot in the dark and felt her tense, burying his face in her neck. “I don’t care if she knows. I trust your sister, Dace. And I want her to know everything about me. Did you tell her how it happened?”

Dacia shook her head, trying to calm down and slowly turned around until those dark eyes met hers. “I didn’t have a chance. She told me that as long as I don’t mind her dating a vampire, she doesn’t care that I’m with a werewolf. I don’t know if she was joking or not, but…that’s my sister for you.”

“I wasn’t.”

Both Dacia and Tyler turned around as soon as they heard Dahna’s voice, not surprised to see Damon standing beside her. “Dahna…”

“Don’t.” Dahna walked away from Damon over to her sister and pulled her into a tight embrace, holding the back of her head. “I’m so sorry for everything, Dace, but I had to tell you. I couldn’t let you keep mourning for a man neither of us knew.”

Dacia started crying again, tightening her arms around her sister’s waist and was relieved she wasn’t angry that Tyler had been filled in. “I-I’m so sorry it happened to you. To both of you.” She pulled back and looked over at Damon, questions swirling through her milk chocolate eyes. “I’m not mad at you for what you did, Damon. I know you did it to protect my sister and I can’t be mad about that. I just hope you make her happy for the rest of her life because she deserves it.”

“Don’t worry, I plan on it.” Damon assured the younger Fell girl, his intense aquamarine orbs landing on Tyler Lockwood. “If you hurt her, you will deal with me, wolf. We clear?”

Tyler snorted, folding his arms in front of his chest and nodded curtly. “Sure.” He would rip Damon Salvatore to shreds if the vampire ever came after him, but at least they had somewhat of an understanding.

“Good, now how about we head back inside and you can tell us how you became a wolf?” Damon suggested, mildly intrigued since he hadn’t seen a werewolf in the century and a half he’d been alive.

They were all about to head inside when Dacia’s cell phone went off simultaneously, both of them answering at the same time. “Stefan, what’s going on?” Dacia asked, wondering why Elena’s boyfriend was calling her and figured Elena had given him her number.

“W-Where’s Damon?” Stefan sounded out of breath and in pain, making Dacia put him on speaker phone instantly.

“Brother, where the hell are you?” When Damon arrived back, Elena had gone home for a few, so Stefan went to retrieve her and he hadn’t heard from either of them since. “Where are you?”

Stefan coughed out roughly and growled, shifting a little as leaves rustled beneath him. “D-Damon, help her…” He breathed out through clenched teeth. “E-Elena’s in trouble…”

Damon’s eyes narrowed and knew his brother must’ve been attacked. “Where?” He demanded, committing the location to memory and nodded. “I’m on my way to you. I’ll send Tyler and Dacia to look for Elena.”

“Be careful…it’s Caroline…” Stefan ended the call as he collapsed back into the leaves, managing to pull the wooden stake from his side, closing his eyes. It would take him longer to heal since he refused to consume human blood.

“What the hell is Caroline thinking?” Tyler growled, pacing and tore a hand through his short thick black hair, not arguing with Damon on what to do. “Dacia, come on. I’m not leaving you here alone, not with that psycho bitch on the loose.”

“Good idea. Come on Dahna, we have to find Stefan and fast. You two watch yourselves.”

Damon grabbed Dahna’s hand, knowing the explanation with how Tyler became a werewolf would have to wait until later. His little brother was in trouble and so was Elena Gilbert. Tyler did the same thing with Dacia, both of them rushing to their cars and taking off from the mansion with their women, going in opposite directions. Heading for the grill, Tyler had a feeling this was another trap by Caroline and squeezed Dacia’s hand, refusing to let anything happen to her. If he had to kill Caroline to protect her, Tyler would do it without thinking twice. They arrived at the grill in record time and Tyler hopped out of the car, instructing Dacia to stay close to him. They turned the corner to the grill, both having eyes peeled for any kind of sneak attack that might happen and passed by the stairs.

Then they heard a cough.

“Elena!” Dacia cried out, rushing down the stairs as fast as she could and saw her friend bleeding from the forehead in the far corner away from the grill’s back entrance door. “Tyler, I found her!”

“Is she alright?” Tyler demanded, right behind Dacia with his back turned to them, every hair on his body standing straight up. “Elena, can you hear us?”

Elena groaned a little, her head pounding fiercely from the blow she suffered and nodded. “Y-Yeah…Where am I?” She asked very softly, blinking back tears of pain.

“The grill. Stefan went to your house since you went to check in and now you’re here. Nobody has heard anything from either of you in a few hours.” Dacia hadn’t realized how much time passed being outside with Tyler explaining everything and slowly helped Elena to her feet. “We have to get her out of here. She could have a bad concussion.”

“Oh I don’t think you want to leave yet, sweet Dacia.”

Dacia felt her eyes narrow while holding onto Elena and heard Tyler growl out, his eyes turning that deep amber again. “What do you want, Caroline?” She demanded, hoping Tyler had a plan to get them out of here safely because Elena had lost quite a bit of blood.

Caroline sighed almost wistfully, studying her freshly manicured nails and shook her blonde head disapprovingly. “It’s a shame you STILL haven’t figured it out yet. I want him.” She pointed at Tyler, arching a brow. “He’s not human unlike you and we belong together. That’s why I triggered his curse, though he technically did it by killing Sarah.”

“SHUT UP!” Tyler roared, muscles rippling from his stance and clenched his fists tightly at his sides. “Shut your damn mouth, Caroline. I don’t want you, get it through that thick bleach blonde head of yours! I DON’T WANT YOU! I LOVE HER!!” He was trembling from head to toe, trying to reign his temper in, but ever since he triggered the curse, it didn’t take much to anger him. “Stay away from them, you bitch!”

“My sweet Tyler, it looks like I’ll have to do this the hard way.” Caroline suddenly flew directly at the girls and was pushed back, her body flying nailing the wall with a sickening thud.

“RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!” Tyler tossed his keys at Dacia and shoved them both toward the stairs, knowing he would have to hold Caroline off long enough for them to get back to the mansion safely.

“No, not without you!” Dacia cried out, shaking her head frantically and felt Elena’s body start slumping against her. “Tyler!”

“GO NOW! I’ll be fine, I promise! Get her back to the mansion now!” Tyler shouted, shoving a healed Caroline back against to make her body hit the wall for a second time, leaving dents. “GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, DACIA!”

Tears pouring down her cheeks, Dacia had no choice and hoped Tyler would be alright, trekking up the stairs with Elena toward her boyfriend’s car. They made it as Dacia pushed Elena in the backseat while she jumped behind the wheel, squealing tires taking off down the street toward the mansion. Glancing in the rearview mirror, Dacia watched as Caroline started running after the car only for Tyler to tackle her and immediately looked away, her heart breaking. She could only hope Elena was alright along with Stefan, pushing her foot down on the gas pedal harder.

“Tyler, please be okay…” She whispered brokenly, saying a silent prayer and tried focusing on helping her best friend like Tyler wanted.

Chapter 37

“Call Stefan again.” Damon tossed his cell phone over to Dahna while he drove, both of them heading toward the woods.

Dahna did as she was told, frowning when it went straight to voicemail. “His cell must’ve died.” She said quietly, hearing Damon curse and cringed, hoping they could find Stefan.

“Why would Caroline attack him?” Dahna had known Caroline for years and never thought she could hurt a fly much less a vampire. “Damon, what’s going on?”

“I have no idea.” That was the honest truth since he didn’t know Caroline Forbes well. “But it’s nothing good and we really need to find Stefan. He’ll be able to tell us more. And I have no idea where the hell he could be since I can’t contact him.” Frustrated etched Damon’s tone as he drove faster, using his vampire hearing.

Dahna suddenly had a thought. “Didn’t he say he was going to pick up Elena at her house?”

The 1969 Chevy Camaro lurched to a screeching halt, jolting Dahna a little as Damon did a U-turn, heading in a different direction. “I forgot about that. Thanks beautiful.” He stated, squeezing his hands on the steering wheel and hoped Caroline didn’t do any permanent damage or else he’d have to snap the pretty blonde’s neck with his bare hand.

“No problem, please calm down though.” Dahna pleaded, reaching for his hand and sighed when Damon kept both of them on the wheel. “Damon…”

“We have to find him, Dahna. I have to find my brother.” Desperation was setting in as he turned the corner on the street Elena Gilbert resided, pulling over moments later. “Come on, he’s gotta be around here somewhere.” There were woods not far away from the Gilbert residence, so Damon headed in that direction.

Dahna groaned, following him as fast as her human legs could carry her and knew Damon wanted to use his vampire speed to cover ground quicker. “Damon, I can just wait in the car if you want…” She suggested, noticing the sun had set on the horizon and gasped when Damon lifted her up in his arms with ease. “What are you doing?”

“I’m not leaving you alone.” That would be a fatal mistake on his part, especially with Luke Fell lurking in the shadows somewhere. “Close your eyes and don’t open them until you feel me stop.” He instructed, knowing she would feel sick to her stomach if she kept her eyes open while using his enhanced vampire speed.

Dahna complied, snuggling further against him and shut her eyes, immediately feeling the wind blow through her caramel hair. It felt as though she was on the fastest rollercoaster of her life and took a few deep breaths, hoping it ended soon. Dahna wasn’t fond of rollercoasters and never had been. Damon could hear how fast her heart rate accelerated and pushed it out of his mind, covering the woods as fast as he could. Then he suddenly stopped, hearing a groan in the distance and looked down at Dahna as her beautiful emerald eyes slowly fluttered open.

“He’s here.” He gently set her back on her feet and took her hand, their fingers lacing together like always. “Come on, he’s hurt. Stefan?” Damon called out, hearing the groan become clearer and headed in the direction of the sound. “Stefan, is that you?”

“Who the hell do you think it is?” Stefan grunted in response, coughing as another groan escaped him and looked up through hazy green eyes. He’d never been so glad to see his big brother in the century and a half they’d been alive. “Good, you found me. W-Where’s Elena?”

“Safe.” Dahna answered softly, squatting down to hold out her cell phone with a text message from Dacia. “They found her bleeding at the grill. She needs your help, Stefan. You have to heal her, the head wound is really bad and we can’t find Meredith anywhere.”

“Damn it…” Stefan’s heart broke at the thought of Elena being hurt and closed his eyes, leaning back against the tree. “T-There’s something stuck…in my back…” He wheezed, gritting his teeth and felt Damon roll him over on his stomach.

Damon could see the piece of wood sticking out of his brother’s back and it was in the perfect spot where he could barely reach it. He managed to remove some of it, but apparently the stick broke off and Stefan had a piece lodged in his back just below his shoulder blades. If Damon wasn’t careful, the wood would scrape against his brother’s heart and could kill him. His hand was too big, which meant Dahna would have to remove it since she had more room to work with.

“You have to remove it for him.” Damon stated, looking up at her and watched her emerald eyes nearly fall out of their sockets. “Dahna, I can’t get to it without killing him. You have to do this and there’s not much time. He’s losing a lot of blood…” He had a blood bag waiting for when his brother could fully heal, but first that piece of wood had to be removed from his back.

“A-Are you serious?” Dahna stammered and felt her mouth go dry when Damon nodded, nausea kicking into overdrive at Stefan’s groans of pain. “I-I can’t...”

“Yes you can.” Damon cupped her face in his hands and softly kissed her lips, trying to give her the courage she needed. “Please, my brother will die if you don’t help him.”

Talk about pressure, Dahna thought, her mind racing wildly since there was a good possibility she could kill Stefan with one wrong move. “I-I’ll try…” She whispered, seeing the relief cross Damon’s face and pulled away from him, scooting over on her knees beside Stefan. “What do I do?”

“Carefully and slowly put your hand in the gape in his back until you feel a piece of wood and dislodge it. If you can get it out enough, I’ll be able to grab it for you, but my hand is too big.” Damon instructed and pulled back a little to give Dahna room, moving to squat on his brother’s other side. “It’ll be over soon, brother. Just hang in there.”

“E-Elena…” Stefan muttered, closing his eyes and slumped on the ground, breathing in and out slowly.

Dahna was having a minor panic attack and had to take a few deep breaths to try calming down, tears sliding down her cheeks. She could do this. All she had to do was stick her hand in his back and pull the wooden piece out enough for Damon to grab. There wasn’t a lot of light left from the sunset, so Dahna had to work fast or else she’d be going in completely blind. Sucking in a deep breath, Dahna carefully slid her small hand in the gape in Stefan’s back and ignored his hissing, brushing against what she assumed were his lungs. There was no way she’d ever forget this, not as long as she lived, but Dahna couldn’t stop or else Stefan would die.

“I-I got it, I think…” Dahna muttered, inching her hand a little deeper and stopped, feeling a hard object brush against her fingers. “There it is.” Wrapping her hand around the piece of wood, Dahna cautiously began pulling it out until she was certain it was far enough to where Damon could reach without puncturing Stefan’s heart. “Okay, pull it out all the way.”

Damon nodded, moving beside Dahna and could see the wooden piece clearly, ripping it out with ease. Stefan gasped out, swallowing a yell of pain and dug his fingers into the ground, pressing his forehead against the ground. Slowly, his back began healing as Damon pulled out a blood bag he took from his car, handing it over to Stefan. Not surprised at all when Stefan refused.

“Human blood is the fastest way to heal you, brother.” Damon reasoned, helping Stefan stand up along with Dahna, each of them taking a side. “I won’t let you lose control like last time, but you’ve got to drink something other than Bambi.”

“Damon…” Dahna had wiped Stefan’s blood off on her jeans the best she could, looking at Stefan sympathetically. “If he doesn’t want to drink, don’t force him…”

“But he has to or he won’t be able to help Elena!” Damon growled, shoving the blood bag in Stefan’s hand after popping it open, letting the scent fill his brother’s nostrils. “Just drink it and stop being a wimp.”

Stefan shook his head, immediately dropping it to the ground and stumbled back, hissing in pain from his back. “I can’t…I’ll hurt her if I do, Damon.”

He never was good at controlling his bloodlust, which is why Stefan drank strictly from animals. Blood bags would only fuel his bloodlust and then he’d want to drink from the vein, which couldn’t happen. He was known as a ripper, an infamous nickname given to certain vampires who were sadistic and enjoyed abusing, dispatching and mutilating their victims. As long as Stefan stayed away from human blood at all costs, his ripper-self would stay dormant and that’s what he planned on doing, no matter how long it took for him to heal.

“We have to head back to the mansion. Elena needs help.” Dahna reminded both of them, refusing to let Dacia’s best friend die because of their petty squabbles. “Save it for later. We have to go.”

“Whatever.” Damon brushed past both of them and stormed back to his car, leaving Dahna behind to contend with helping Stefan.

“Don’t mind him. He becomes frustrated when I don’t do what he wants.” Stefan explained, not believing Damon just left Dahna behind with him and shook his head, both of them slowly making their way back to Damon’s car.

“I’ve noticed.”

A half an hour later, Damon pulled up to the mansion and opened his mouth to say something, but Stefan was gone. Damon didn’t have his hood up over the car, forgetting to do it when they left earlier and shook his head, rolling his eyes. He looked over at Dahna, who hadn’t said a word to him since they left the woods and reached for her hand, frowning when she pulled back. What the hell did he do to anger her? He could feel the hurt radiating from her body and watched helplessly as she stepped out of the car. Getting out as well, Damon flew around and blocked her against his car, confused aquamarine eyes boring into her.

“What’s wrong?” He asked quietly, reaching up to cup her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “Talk to me.”

“Fine, you were a dick back there to your brother and me. You left me alone with him because of your damn temper.” Dahna stated heatedly, lowering her eyes from his and folded her arms in front of her chest. “I know you were trying to help him, but that wasn’t the way to go about doing it, Damon. I don’t understand because I’m not a vampire, but I still respect his wishes not to consume human blood.”

Damon heaved a sigh and knew he’d upset her by storming off earlier, pressing his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t apologize often, but when it came to Dahna he’d been doing it an awful lot lately. “I didn’t mean to walk away from you earlier. I love you, Dahna, no matter what.” With everything happening around them and Luke Fell on the loose with a potentially dangerous machine that could wipe the entire vampire race off the planet, Damon had to ask her this before he lost his opportunity. “You’d understand if you were one of us.”

Dahna’s eyes grew wide as saucers as she looked back up at him, seeing how serious he was. “A-Are you…?”

“Yes.” Damon wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing closer to her as a gust of cold wind blew over them. “I love you and I want to spend the rest of my existence together. Become immortal with me. Live forever. I’ll show you what it means to live and get you out of Mystic Falls. We can travel the world together and do whatever we want. We can have it all, beautiful. You wanted to run away with me when you were 17 and I refused because of your schooling, but now there’s nothing holding you back. Dacia will be fine with Tyler and if you want me to change her into a vampire as well after she graduates high school, I’ll do it. Whatever you want. But please don’t make me watch you grow old and die. I can’t lose you again.”

Tears flooded down Dahna’s cheeks at Damon’s confession, her heart doing flip-flops in her chest. “I don’t want to lose you either.”

Honestly, Dahna had thought long and hard about the possibility of becoming a vampire to be with Damon forever. She knew Dacia would support whatever decision she made and she was the perfect age to be turned. 21, old enough to drink without having to always use compulsion and everything was legal to her. There were no restrictions. Damon was 24, so it made them 3 years apart in human age, but he was well over 100 years older in vampire time. The only question was: Did she want to become a vampire? Did she want to spend the rest of her days stuck at age 21 and drink human blood to survive? Was her love for Damon strong enough to change her way of life forever? Staring deep into his aquamarine eyes, Dahna knew what her answer was all along and softly kissed his lips, burying her fingers in his black hair.

“Make me a vampire, Damon.”

Beaming, Damon lifted Dahna up in his arms and spun her around in circles, passionately kissing her as her squeals filled the air.

Unbeknownst to both stargazed lovers, a pair of cold brown eyes had watched and overheard every word they said, a smirk curving her lips. So Damon wanted to turn the human girl into a vampire to be with her forever. That was interesting considering who Dahna Fell’s father was. Flicking her long curly brown hair over her shoulder, Katherine pulled her gaze away from Damon and Dahna long enough to pull her cell phone out, deciding it was time to fill Landon in on everything that was going on.

“What?” Landon growled, putting the call on speakerphone while keeping his grip on Isobel’s hips, driving in and out of her as hard, fast and deep as he could.

Katherine rolled her eyes, hearing their flesh smacking together along with Isobel’s moans and raised a brow. “So you’re having some fun without me, I see.” She commented in a sultry voice, sliding her tongue over the top of her upper lip.

“It’s never fully fun without you, Katherine, you know that...” Landon groaned, not stopping his thrusting for a second and buried his fingers in Isobel’s hair, ripping her up until her back slammed against his muscular chest. “Why are you calling?”

Katherine tapped her chin thoughtfully, contemplating if she should fill Landon in what she just found out or not. “I have some news about your beloved daughters I think you’d be most interested in. So finish with what you’re doing and call me back, handsome.” She hung up before he could respond, hearing growling and slipped her cell phone back in her pocket, flying away from the Salvatore mansion to find a human to rip apart.

Chapter 38

“Elena!” Stefan shouted, stumbling into the mansion with his face caked in sweat, heading straight for the living room/parlor.

Dacia’s head snapped up as soon as she heard Stefan’s voice, immediately standing up from the couch while Elena lay prone on the couch. “Stefan, help her.” She pleaded, scared for her best friend’s life and held a cloth soaked in blood, tears pouring down her face.

Stefan ignored the overwhelming scent of blood and closed his eyes, focusing on his love for Elena – nothing else. Then he walked over to where Elena lay and saw the huge gash across her forehead, his heart breaking all over again. He hadn’t been able to protect her and she’d been attacked by one of her childhood best friends, who was now a vampire. Her heartbeat was slow along with her pulse, so Stefan knew if he didn’t heal her with his blood, she would surely die. There would be no time to take her to the hospital. Dacia watched as the veins slowly formed under Stefan’s eyes on his cheeks, the sclera’s of his eyes nothing more than crimson red. He brought his wrist up to his mouth and ripped a gash in it, holding it to Elena’s mouth. Just a few drops would be enough to heal her.

“Come on Elena, drink for me…” Stefan pleaded softly, opening her mouth a little to let his blood enter her system and watched the gash start closing up on her forehead.

A few minutes passed until finally a soft groan escaped Elena’s lips, her brown eyes slowly fluttering open. “S-Stefan?” Relief coursed through her body at the sight of him and felt his forehead rest against hers, their hands clasped together on top of her chest.

“Thank god.” He breathed, cupping her face tenderly in his hand and couldn’t hold back, softly kissing her lips.

Dacia left the room as soon as she knew Elena was alright to give them some privacy and pulled her cell phone out, texting Tyler. She was worried about leaving him to contend with Caroline and wiped her tears away, hoping he was still alive. Damon and Dahna were outside talking, so she refused to interrupt them, feeling more alone than ever. All she wanted was to be in Tyler’s strong arms, the thought of never seeing him again making fresh tears sting her eyes. How could she leave him behind like that? If anything happened to him, it would be Dacia’s fault and she’d never forgive herself. When she tried calling him, it went straight to voicemail, making her fears for his safety heighten rapidly.

“I have to go find him.” She whispered, looking over her shoulder to make sure Stefan and Elena hadn’t followed, heading for the front door of the mansion.

“Dacia!”

Whipping around, Dacia stared back at a heavy breathing Tyler and felt intense relief crash over her. “Tyler…”

She didn’t hesitate and immediately ran down the hall, jumping into his arms as her legs wrapped around his waist, passionately kissing him. Tyler caught her with ease and kissed her back with just as much fire, pressing her against the nearest wall as they both became lost in each other. Dacia couldn’t stop the tears, caressing every part of him her tiny hands could reach and only broke the kiss when they both needed oxygen to breathe.

“Don’t cry, baby.” Tyler murmured, swiping the tears away from her cheeks with his warm lips. “I’m okay I promise.”

“I was so worried about you.” Dacia said in barely above a whisper, cupping his hot cheeks in her hands and kissed him again. “Don’t ever do that to me again. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

Guilt filled Tyler’s dark eyes as he finally realized how much turmoil he caused Dacia and tightened his arms around her. “I’m not going anywhere. That vampire bleach blonde whore won’t get the best of me ever, Dace. But I had to get you both out of there or she would’ve killed you. Do you understand?”

Dacia nodded, not liking the circumstances, but Tyler made a good point she couldn’t argue with. “What happened with her anyway?” She asked quietly, eyebrows furrowing together and saw the devious smirk cross his face. “What did you do, Lockwood?”

“I made her think I wanted her, drew her in and then snapped her neck.” Tyler replied nonchalantly, shrugging at Dacia’s wide eyes. “Don’t worry, no kissing or anything like that happened. She touched my chest and that’s as far as she got.” He wouldn’t lie to his girlfriend, especially when it came to Caroline Forbes and rubbed his nose against hers. “Is Elena alright then?”

“Never better.”

They both turned to see Elena and Stefan standing in the doorway of the living room/parlor, both looking back to normal as if they weren’t brutally attacked. Tyler set Dacia on her feet, letting her run over to Elena as the girls embraced tightly and nodded at Stefan. He was glad Caroline hadn’t finished off Stefan since Tyler never had an issue with him, not personally anyway. They had a healthy competition when it came to the football team at school, but Tyler had a feeling he’d be quitting because of his curse.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Dacia pulled back to rest her hands on Elena’s shoulders, staring into her best friend’s brown eyes. “What happened?”

“Let’s go sit down and wait for Damon and Dahna to arrive.” Stefan suggested, waving his cell phone at everyone. “They left, but they’re on their way back and then explanations can be made. In the meantime, who wants a drink?”

“Me definitely.” Tyler had smears of blood on his bare chest where Caroline had sliced him when her nails, shredding the shirt he had on. “And preferably a shower.”

“You’ve got time, help yourself.” Stefan offered cordially, handing over a tumbler of bourbon to Elena and poured Tyler one since Dacia declined.

Vampire residence or not, Tyler felt disgusting after dealing with Caroline and nodded, slamming the bourbon back as the liquid burned down his throat. “Will do and you’re coming with me.” He lifted Dacia up over his shoulder, smirking at her squeal and headed down the hallway up the stairs where he knew the bedrooms were located.

20 minutes later, Damon and Dahna walked inside the mansion, having left to go to their secret spot. That’s where Damon wanted to change her into a vampire, to make her his in every way possible. He’d already planned on how he wanted to do it and had slowly undressed Dahna, taking his time instead of just ripping them off. Dahna was more than ready, melting against him and gave full surrender to him, her neck still tingling from where his tongue and lips teased her supple skin. He’d guided her down on the soft grass, pleasuring her to help her forget about the process of becoming a vampire. It was a distraction technique and worked like a charm. Just as Damon was about to engulf her delicious sex and taste her, both of their cell phones began ringing. It was Stefan and Elena demanding both of them to get back to the mansion because they all had to sit down for a much needed discussion.

“We have all the time in the world, Damon.” Dahna tried consoling the love of her life the best she could, knowing he was extremely annoyed by the interruption.

“This better be good or I’m snapping my brother’s neck.” Damon growled, reluctantly letting Dahna get dressed as they left their secret spot, heading back to the mansion. Together, they entered the living room/parlor, seeing Stefan and Elena on one couch with Tyler and Dacia on another. “The study is a better place for this.” Damon kept his voice even, thankful his baby brother had made it in time to save Elena’s life.

Everyone filed out down the hallway toward the study, everyone taking their seats while Damon poured a much needed drink. Dahna accepted one as well, lacing her fingers with Damon and squeezed gently, silently telling him not to be upset about the interruption. When it was meant to happen, it would, but they really had a lot on their plate at the moment. Her becoming a vampire probably wasn’t the best idea until their Uncle Luke was found and they had the missing page in their grasp.

“So who wants to kick this off?”

“I will.” Elena spoke up, holding Stefan’s hand and cracked a small smile up at him, refusing to leave his side again.

“Fine, what happened tonight?” Damon demanded, cutting straight to the chase and sat down beside Dahna sipping his second tumbler of bourbon.

Elena took a deep breath and felt Stefan kiss the crown of her head, letting her know he was there for her no matter what. “I received a text message from Stefan asking me to come outside. He was at my house apparently. Only it wasn’t him, it was Caroline. I asked her what the hell was going on and all she said was she had no choice. The next thing I remember is waking up to Dacia calling my name and her checking on me. So Caroline must’ve knocked me out and took me to the grill before Stefan arrived at my house. I’m just glad Aunt Jenna didn’t come out or else she would’ve been hurt along with Jeremy.”

Stefan frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “So that’s why she attacked me.” He muttered loud enough for everyone to hear and felt acid fill his green eyes. “She texted me as well and said you were waiting for me in the woods. Said something happened to you. When I got there, it was just her and she staked me from behind, telling me the same thing you did. She had no choice.” He looked at Damon, both of them sharing the same thought.

“Why would she do that though? Why would she come after first Stefan and then Elena?” Dahna questioned, not understanding what their connection with Caroline was. “And how the hell did she take a vampire down?”

“Because she is one now, Dahna.” Dacia admitted softly, all eyes turning on her. “I’ve known for a while and things became hectic, so I didn’t have a chance to tell you. She’s the reason Tyler triggered his family’s wolf gene and turned him into a werewolf.” She looked up at Tyler, hoping it was alright that she came clean about this and watched him nod, urging her to continue silently.

Dahna blinked, her mouth falling open and tried wrapping her mind around what Dacia just said. “Obviously I don’t have the full story, so fill me in so this makes sense.” She requested, draining her tumbler in one large gulp and welcomed the burning sensation.

“Tyler took me out a few weeks ago and we had a confrontation with Caroline...”

Dacia spent the next 20 minutes explaining what happened with Caroline, Matt and the recently deceased Sarah. How Matt seemed to be in some kind of trance and attacked Tyler while Caroline watched on. Dacia described the way Caroline looked and acted, how she taunted Dacia to try attacking her. Then she confessed Matt had been compelled and, if Tyler didn’t want to die, he had to kill Matt first. Caroline had attacked Dacia, only for Tyler to snap her neck to stop her and then knocked out Matt with a single punch. Tyler buried his face in his hands when Dacia got to the part about him killing Sarah accidentally, tears swelling in his eyes.

“It was an accident, he didn’t mean to do it. She attacked him from behind and he reacted instinctively. His elbow flew back and…hit her in the face, killing her instantly.” Dacia massaged the back of Tyler’s neck the whole time she spoke, tears of her own falling. “We think Sarah was compelled along with Matt. He doesn’t remember anything, as far as I know.”

“Jesus…” Dahna whispered, seeing how much pain Tyler was in because he’d killed someone and immediately left Damon’s side to go to him. “Tyler, look at me.” She pulled his hands away from his face, seeing tears streaking his tanned cheeks.

“I’m a murderer…” Tyler whispered, staring back into Dahna’s kind emerald eyes and hoped she didn’t force him to stay away from Dacia. “I didn’t mean to…”

“I know, it’s okay.” Dahna wrapped her arms tightly around his head, letting his face bury in her neck and stroked his back while Dacia sobbed quietly along with Elena. Apparently, nobody knew what really happened to Sarah until now. “I’m so sorry you both had to go through that.” That had been the night Damon had lifted her compulsion after 3 long years, so there was no way Dahna could’ve protected her little sister and Tyler. “It’s not your fault, Tyler. You have to believe that, do you understand me? You’re not a murderer. You were protecting my sister and didn’t know it was Sarah attacking you from behind. We’ll figure all of this out.”

“We have to get a hold of Meredith. Maybe she knows something about Luke.” Stefan suggested, holding a crying Elena against him and vowed to make Caroline pay for causing all of them so much pain.

Pushing away from Dahna, Tyler stood up from the couch breathing heavily and could feel his temper rising. “I have to get out of here. I need some air.” Before anyone could stop him, Tyler rushed out of the study and mansion while Dahna let Dacia crumble against her, holding her sobbing sister against her tightly.

“Tyler…” Dacia wept uncontrollably, letting Dahna hold her and hoped she didn’t lose him over this.

~!~

Stepping through the door of her two story house, Meredith tossed her keys on the nearby table and pulled her heels off, tossing them to the side. She’d just finished a 36 hour shift at the hospital and was exhausted, having her phone shut off the whole time. Several surgeries back-to-back made it impossible for her to receive any phone calls, so she had no idea what was going on. Sighing heavily, Meredith walked into her kitchen to grab a bottle of wine along with a glass, filling it to the brim. It would help her sleep, which she desperately needed to do since her body felt like it would collapse at any second.

“Beautiful place.” Meredith didn’t have time to react or make a sound as her body slumped to the kitchen floor in a heap, her glass of wine shattering beside her. “This was way too easy.” Snorting, the attacker lifted Meredith’s body with ease and carted her into the living room, setting her on the couch since the pressure point would have her knocked out for a while.

“Did you do it?” Landon demanded, answering his cell phone on the first ring.

“Of course I did, handsome.” Katherine laughed softly, turning to look down at Meredith and rolled her eyes. “Sure you don’t want me to just kill her and be done with it?”

Landon growled, shaking his head. “Don’t harm a hair on her head, Katherine. She’s bait, now do what we talked about and I’ll see you soon.” Ending the call abruptly this time around, Landon turned to face his brother Luke and nodded. “It’s time to put the plan into action. Go to Mystic Falls, retrieve the girls along with Meredith and bring them back here. Isobel will accompany you since she also has an agenda. Remember sweetheart,” He paused, wrapping his hand around her slender throat and yanked her against him. “Don’t screw this up or I will kill you.”

“I won’t.” Isobel purred, brushing her lips against his and left the cabin with Luke in tow, both of them driving off moments later.

Watching them out the window, Landon pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and ran his fingers down it, closing his eyes. “Just a little longer.”

Chapter 39

“Damn it, I can’t get a hold of Meredith.”

Dahna was becoming very frustrated since she’d spent the past few hours trying to get a hold of her Aunt. Nothing. Her cell phone went straight to voicemail every single time, so she was either at the hospital working or sleeping. They would have to go over to her house and wake her up, as much as Dahna didn’t want to do it. Looking over at her calmer little sister on the couch, Dahna looked up when Tyler walked through the door of the study and nodded silently. Dacia looked up the same time her sister did and let Tyler come to her this time, hugging him tightly as soon as he sat down beside her.

“Sorry about that, baby. I just needed some air. I didn’t leave.” Tyler murmured in her ear, holding her close and felt her body give a slight tremble. “I didn’t mean to push you away.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. I understand.” Dacia murmured quietly, breathing him in and was glad he didn’t leave the mansion, slowly pulling back to stare in his dark eyes. “I love you.”

“Love you too, Dace.” Tyler kissed her just to seal that fact even more, rubbing his nose gently against hers. “So what happens now?”

Damon sipped his tumbler calmly, noticing how much Tyler meant to Dacia Fell, so he hoped the wolf never hurt her or else his heart would be ripped from his chest. “Dahna can’t get a hold of Meredith, so I say we all go over there and pay her a visit.” He glanced over at Stefan and Elena, knowing they were prepared for anything.

“Don’t even think you’re leaving us behind this time either.” Dahna stated, directing that at her boyfriend. “We have no idea what Caroline is capable of, especially if she nearly killed Stefan and Elena, two people she considers friends. We all have to stick together.”

Smirking, Damon flew over to where Dahna stood and pulled her against him, softly brushing his mouth against hers. “I wasn’t leaving you behind or anyone else. You’re not leaving my sight, beautiful.” He assured her, running a finger down her cheek to her chin. “Mind if I have a quick word with your sister?”

Dahna raised a brow, wondering what Damon wanted with Dacia and shook her head. “No, but if it’s about warning her away from the wolf boy…”

“It’s not.” Damon winked, walking away from Dahna over to Dacia and extended his hand, asking her gently to take a walk with him alone for a minute.

Tyler had no idea what Damon had up his sleeve, shooting Dahna a curious look and watched her shrug, his dark eyes turning in time to see Damon disappear out of the study with Dacia. Elena and Stefan started talking about going to Meredith’s again, deciding they had to proceed with caution. Stefan explained to them what he ran into with Damon while investigating Luke’s house. He wouldn’t put it past Meredith to do the same thing or her brother planting traps around her house behind her back. Tyler agreed, deciding he would go first since vervain didn’t hurt him and he was pretty much invincible to everything short of having his head chopped off or heart ripped out of his chest. Wolfsbane was the only herb that hurt him and he doubted the Fell’s had any of that lying around.

20 minutes later, everyone filed out of the mansion and piled into 3 separate cars with Tyler, Damon and Stefan driving. “What did you want with my sister?” Dahna asked, glancing over at her boyfriend and could see the twinkle in his aquamarine eyes.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with. I just wanted to make sure we had her blessing when I finally turn you into a vampire.” Damon replied, hoping Dahna didn’t mind that he had a heart-to-heart chat with her little sister. “I don’t want her to feel like she’s being left behind or forgotten.”

“Oh okay.” Dahna’s heart swelled at Damon’s thoughtfulness and reached for his hand, lacing their fingers together, falling more in love with him if that was possible. “Thank you for doing that.”

“No problem.”

They arrived on Meredith’s block 15 minutes later, each car parking on the side of the street instead of in the driveway. Damon wanted to tell Dahna to stay put, but there was no way she’d listen to him. So instead, he reached across her and pulled out a gun from his glove compartment, making sure it was loaded. Dahna swallowed hard when Damon handed it to her, staring at him wide eyed and didn’t take it, shaking her head.

“You need protection, Dahna. Now take the damn thing.” Damon ordered, shoving it into her hand and closed her fingers around the handle. “It’s loaded with wooden bullets in case Caroline is lurking around. Don’t hesitate to shoot her. Regular bullets won’t stop her, but wooden ones will, understand?” They weren’t going in there with the women completely unarmed. “You ready for this?”

“Meredith isn’t against vampires, Damon…” Dahna was confused why he gave her a weapon when they were just here to talk to her Aunt.

Damon sighed heavily and pointed through his windshield at Meredith Fell’s driveway. “Her car is here, which means she’s home and she’s not answering her phone. Look at the windows, there’s one light on, so if she was sleeping that would be turned off.” He was very observant and had learned to recognize signs of trouble.

Swallowing hard, Dahna felt a bubble of dread form in the pit of her stomach and suddenly remembered her Uncle Luke’s disappearance. “She’s not here then, that’s what you’re saying.” It wasn’t a question.

“It’s a possibility. So keep your guard up.” Damon cautioned, stepping out of the vehicle and flew around to stick beside Dahna, both of them heading over to meet up with Stefan, Elena, Tyler and Dacia.

Dacia had an arrow shooter gun while Elena had a few vervain darts and grenades, so each women was covered. “We’ll take the front while you take the side, Damon. Stefan, you take the back with Elena.” Tyler stated, holding a gun with wooden bullets even though he didn’t need it. One bite and Caroline would be dead within hours since a werewolf bite was deadly to a vampire. “Stay close to me, baby.”

Shrugging, Damon headed to the side and was cautious of the driveway, keeping Dahna right behind him while holding a wooden stake. He was old school, but also had vampire strength and speed on his side. Running his hand across the window, much like he had at the Fell’s, Damon managed to pop one open with ease and heard Dahna sigh with relief that no alarm had gone off. Carefully, he hoisted Dahna up first to slide through it and then quickly joined her, both of them remaining as quiet as they could. He could hear faint voices, but they were talking too softly for Damon to fully make out who it was. One thing was certain, it wasn’t Meredith unless she had a friend over. Pressing his finger to his lips, Damon carefully left the room with Dahna behind him and crept down the hallway, the voice becoming more familiar with each passing second. As soon as he rounded the corner, Damon’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets as he stared back at the one person he thought he’d never see again.

Katherine Pierce.

“Hello again, Damon. It’s been a long time.” Katherine greeted, standing there with her long curly brown hair draped over her shoulders and down her back. “I’ve been expecting you.”

“Yeah well, the feeling isn’t mutual.” Damon retorted swiftly, trying to hide his nerves considering he thought this woman was locked away inside a magical tomb deep in the woods. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. “How are you here, Katherine?”

Katherine flashed a smile, slowly turning around holding a pure silver dagger as she ran hers lightly over the blade. “That’s a story for later. Right now, we have some other business to take care of.” Her cold brown eyes landed on the woman standing behind Damon, aiming a gun at her with shaky hands. “You really need to get better company, Damon.”

“What the hell do you want with Dahna? Where’s Meredith?” Damon demanded, standing in front of Dahna now, hoping Stefan and Tyler arrived with backup any second. “You know what? Screw that, I don’t care what you want with Dahna. You’re not getting her.”

“Oh really?” Katherine cackled wickedly, shaking her head and rolled her eyes. “Come on Damon, don’t make this any harder than it has to be. She’s not yours and she never was. Just like I was never yours either.”

Gritting his teeth, Damon knew he would have to fight Katherine and took a step toward her, only to grunt when he was suddenly stung in the side with something sharp. “DAMON!” Dahna cried out, watching as another woman had entered the room and injected him with some kind of liquid, shaking her head. “NO!”

Isobel smirked, pulling the needle out of his side and tossed it to the side, dusting her hands off. “I figured you could use the assistance.” She said by way of explanation to Katherine.

“Not necessary, but thanks. Now then, enough with the dramatics. Drop the weapon or I’ll kill him right in front of you.” Katherine stated evenly, using her high heeled boot to push him over on his back. He was completely out cold. “Your choice, sweetheart.”

“There’s someone VERY special who wants to see you, but they didn’t specify how you should arrive.” Isobel piped in, stepping toward Dahna and blinked when she pulled the trigger on the gun, lodging a wooden bullet right in Isobel’s stomach.

“Idiot.” Katherine hissed, flying over to where she stood behind Dahna and smacked the gun out of her hand, applying a pressure point just like she did with Meredith.

“DAMON?” Stefan shouted, finally finding a way inside the house with Elena and rushed to where he heard the gunshot. “What the hell?”

Katherine felt her insides grow warm at the sight of Stefan Salvatore, a bright smile crossing her face as she stood up from Damon’s prone body. “My sweet Stefan.” She purred, heading toward him and froze at the sight of a woman that looked identical to her standing behind. “Let me guess, you must be Elena.”

Isobel’s head snapped up to land on her biological daughter, not believing the resemblance between her and Katherine. “My god, so it’s true…” She murmured, taking a step toward them and stopped when Stefan point a vervain dart at her.

“Take one more step and I’ll make sure you sleep for a century.” Stefan threatened, blocking Elena from any harm coming to her, but Katherine and Isobel also had a third partner in crime.

“That won’t be necessary.”

Luke snapped Stefan’s neck with ease and heard a scream emanate from both Elena and Dacia. He immediately grabbed Dacia’s upper arm, shoving her into the room to stand beside her sister, making Elena join them. Dacia couldn’t stop crying because Luke had snapped Tyler’s neck outside before they could even walk through the front door, hoping he’d be alright. She knew because of his wolf gene, that wouldn’t kill him, but it still didn’t make her any less worried for his safety.

“Well done, Luke.” Isobel nodded, her eyes never leaving her daughter as all 3 girls looked positively petrified at the moment. “Take them to him. We’ll take care of the nuisances here and meet up with you.” She stopped Elena from walking away and cupped her face with her hands, ignoring the way her daughter pulled away. “I’ll explain everything once we take care of business here, I promise. Just don’t make him hurt you.”

“Don’t touch me.” Elena hissed, pulling away from her as tears fell from her eyes and could tell just by the way the woman spoke to her she was her biological mother. “Don’t start pretending to be a mother now either.”

Isobel frowned, watching as Luke escorted all of the girls out of Meredith’s house and turned evil dark eyes on Stefan. “So, what do we do with them until they awaken?” She asked Katherine, seeing the evil glint in the woman’s eyes.

“We wait and then torture them, of course. Though leave Stefan alone, he will be spared since I’m in this for him in the first place. I don’t care about Damon or the wolf outside.” Katherine stated, heading to the front door and stopped short when Caroline Forbes tossed Tyler into the house passed her.

“Tyler isn’t to be touched either. I agreed to help you to get rid of Dacia so I could be with him. If anyone ends him, it will be me.” She didn’t care if Katherine and Isobel were older and smarter than her, Caroline wouldn’t let anything happen to her precious wolf. “I have vervain ropes out in my car. Go get some chairs from the kitchen and we can start tying them up.”

“I’ll help you.” Isobel offered, walking out with Caroline and contemplated if she should kill the little blonde bitch or not.

Shaking her head, Katherine turned around to start with Damon and raised a brow, not seeing him anywhere. “Damn it Isobel, I told you to make sure to tranquilize him good!” She growled, storming through the house and heard a door slam shut upstairs, brown eyes narrowing.

Damon wasn’t in the best shape right now considering he’d just been injected with a fair amount of vervain, but it hadn’t been enough to completely knock him out. He knew the girls were taken and Stefan’s neck had been snapped by Luke, who was apparently a vampire now as well. Isobel was also another person he didn’t expect to see since he turned her into a vampire, but apparently she was Elena’s biological mother. That had been a fact Damon hadn’t expected to hear either. Somehow, Katherine ended up escaping that tomb or was never in it to begin with. Whatever the case, Damon didn’t care and was ready to end her once and for all to wipe her rotten existence off the planet. Katherine said it herself – she didn’t care about Damon and only Stefan, so he’d make sure his little brother was protected from the psycho bitch that turned both of them back in 1864. At this point, he didn’t want an explanation and just wanted her dead, so they could go after Luke and the girls.

As soon as the door was kicked in, Damon didn’t hesitate and used all of his strength, driving the wooden stake into Katherine’s stomach. He loved the sound of her scream as she stumbled out of the door, tripping over her high heeled boots and glared up at him through sinister brown eyes. She’d been the one behind Caroline’s turn as well, Damon surmised, stalking her while she scooted away from him. Her pleas fell on deaf ears, brown eyes widening at the sounds of screams echoing from downstairs from both Isobel and Caroline.

“In your next lifetime, if you have one,” Damon smiled, plunging his hand into her chest cavity and wrapped his hand around her dead heart. “Make sure you think LONG and HARD before screwing with two brothers. Goodbye Katherine.” A second later, she desiccated in front of his eyes as he ripped her heart from her chest and crushed it in his hand until it was nothing more than a pile of ash.

“Damon!” Stefan coughed out, looking up the stairs and sighed with relief at the sight of his big brother trekking down the stairs with a bloody hand. “Katherine dead?”

“This time, yes.” He walked into the room, seeing Tyler was on his feet holding Caroline’s dismembered head by her blonde tresses. “Get a little angry did we?”

“She deserved it.” Tyler growled, looking down at the head and dropped it with a thump as it rolled across the floor. “The girls are gone. We have to go after them. Any idea where they might have gone?”

Stefan shook his head, looking down at his own handiwork as the stake stuck out of Isobel’s chest, her desiccated body lying prone. “No…” He sounded almost helpless, tearing a hand through his hair.

A light bulb suddenly clicked on in Damon’s head. “Let’s go, I know where they are, but we have to hurry.” He would have to thank Liz for the coordinates he found in his Uncle Zachary’s study at the mansion.

It was the one spot Damon hadn’t had a chance to search and somehow he knew that’s where the girls had been taken.

Chapter 40

When Dahna woke up in a rusty old looking warehouse, she had no recollection how she got there. The last thing she remembered was trying to make Uncle Luke swerve off the road in his car and everything was blank. Dacia and Elena had tried helping, but apparently it hadn’t been enough. Coughing from the surrounding dust, Dahna slowly opened her eyes and slowly looked around, not recognizing anything. Her eyes immediately landed on her baby sister and Elena, both of them lying prone on the dusty floor like she had, still unconscious.

“Dace…” Dahna coughed out, pushing herself up and slowly crawled over to her little sister, tears stinging the backs of her eyes. She was supposed to take care of Dacia and failed, the guilt consuming her. Where the hell were they? “Dacia, come on wake up. We gotta get out of here, sissy…”

Another groan sounded behind Dahna, making her head snap around and felt her eyes grow wide at the sight of her Aunt Meredith. “Dahna?” Meredith asked weakly, her wrists and ankles cuffed together so she couldn’t move, laying on the dirty floor.

“Meredith, thank god…” Dahna breathed, blinking as tears slid down her cheeks and winced at her suddenly pounding head, not realizing she sported a golf ball sized lump on her forehead. “Christ…”

“W-What are you doing here?” Meredith frowned, looking up at her niece and glanced past Dahna, spotting Dacia and Elena Gilbert. “You girls shouldn’t be…”

“It wasn’t our choice.” Dahna cut her off, trying to figure out a way to get the metal cuffs off of her wrists and ankles, but it was no use. “Where’s Uncle Luke? He said someone wanted to see us, but wouldn’t say who. Do you have any idea?”

Meredith swallowed hard, not sure if she should tell Dahna who had them all kidnapped and closed her eyes. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” She whispered finally, fresh tears sliding from the corners of her eyes down the sides of her face. “You have to get out of here, Dahna. Take the girls and get the hell out of here. I’m a lost cause.”

Dahna frowned, hating how her Aunt currently spoke and shook her head, tears of her own falling. “No we’re not leaving you behind, Meredith. You’re literally the only family we have left and I’m not leaving you here to rot. Now where the hell is the key to free you from these shackles? It has to be around here somewhere.” She pushed up on her feet and stumbled slightly, ignoring her throbbing head.

“Sissy…”

“Dace!” Dahna gasped, immediately rushing over to her little sister and cried harder, relief coursing through her at the sight of an awakened Dacia. “It’s okay, sissy. It’s gonna be just fine, I promise.” She cupped Dacia’s cheeks in her hands, pressing a kiss to her forehead and hugged her around the neck, cupping the back of her head lovingly. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Where are we?” Dacia asked sleepily, letting out a loud yawn and looked around while Dahna held her close, feeling her pull back a few seconds later.

“Some kind of warehouse from the looks of it.” Elena piped in, coughing as she rolled over on her back, staring up at the ceiling. “My head really hurts.”

That didn’t surprise Dahna. “Makes two of us. Can you stand, Elena?” She asked, leaving Dacia to go help Elena, pulling her up by the hand carefully. “We have to help Aunt Meredith and get out of here fast.”

“Now I don’t think you wanna do that, Dahna.” A deep male voice resonated behind them, making all the hairs on both Fell sisters necks stand straight up.

Dacia gasped, covering her mouth with her hand and felt a fresh waterfall of tears start sliding down her cheeks. “Oh my god…” She whimpered, not believing who stood only mere feet away from them and clutched Dahna’s arm. “I-It can’t be…”

How was this possible, Dahna thought, feeling Dacia shaking like a leaf against her. Reluctantly, she turned around and met emerald eyes that mirrored her own, swallowing incredibly hard. It was none other than their father, Landon Fell, in the flesh instead of 6 feet under like he should’ve been. The man who betrayed her in every possible way stood in front of her and all Dahna felt for him was pure hatred, loathing him with every fiber of her being.

“How are you alive?” Dahna demanded, keeping Dacia and Elena behind her, refusing to let anything happen to them.

Landon heaved a sigh, expecting the cold shoulder from his eldest daughter since they never got along, but Dacia’s reaction had surprised him. “Dacia, its Daddy, baby girl. Come to me.” His eyes locked with hers, trying to use his compulsion and frowned when it didn’t work.

“Don’t Dace, he’s not our father, not anymore.” Dahna had noticed their pieces of jewelry Landon specifically gave them were gone, so it was a good thing they’d consumed some vervain before being kidnapped. “She’s not going anywhere near you and neither am I, monster.”

“Oh you wound me, Dahna, truly. I’m not a monster. Well, I didn’t USE to be, but…people change.” Landon folded his arms in front of his chest. “Honestly, is this any way to greet the father you thought was dead?”

“You’re not our father. You’re a lowlife piece of shit vampire with a power trip.” Dahna couldn’t believe their father had actually become the very thing he loathed and despised, the word hypocrite instantly coming to mind. “So why don’t we cut to the chase and you tell us what the hell we’re doing here?” Damon was on his way, Dahna hoped anyway, knowing they would have to defend themselves if need-be against the man who used to be their father.

Landon’s emerald eyes turned acidic instantly as he flew over to Dahna, watching Dacia and Elena stumble back away from her to keep their distance. “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to, little girl?” He demanded, feeling his fingers itching to wrap around her slender throat and squeeze. “I gave you everything and this is how you thank me?”

“I refuse to thank a monster who threatens his daughter’s life because he doesn’t get what he wants.” Dahna spat viciously, tears burning her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing how much pain and agony he put her through by forcing Damon to wipe her memories of them when she was 17. “That’s right Daddy dearest, I know everything you did and that’s including forcing Damon to compel me to forget him. He lifted my compulsion already, so if you were thinking of trying to brainwash me to believe you’re the good guy, you’re too late.”

Raising his hand, Landon went to backhand Dahna for her smart mouth when Dacia flew between them, shaking her head. “Daddy, don’t!” She pleaded, blocking Dahna with teary milk chocolate eyes, holding her hands up. “Please don’t hurt her. We’re just confused by what’s going on. We didn’t expect to see you here.” Dahna had to keep her temper in check or else she’d end up dead, especially since their father was a vampire now.

“Landon…” Meredith coughed out, looking up at her brother while managing to push herself up to sit on her knees. “How did you survive that night? That’s what we really want to know. What happened?”

Those milk chocolate eyes of his precious Dacia was always Landon’s weakness and it hadn’t changed as a vampire either. “I suppose I owe you all an explanation.” He still had no idea why Elena Gilbert was here and then remembered Isobel wanted her, wondering why the women hadn’t contacted him yet. “Behind you is a machine Zachary Salvatore and I built together secretively. We didn’t tell the council for fear of infiltration and planned on telling them once it was finished being built. Unfortunately, your beloved bloodsucker killed his own Uncle by snapping his neck before we could finish the machine. Luckily, the machine didn’t need to be completed for the spell to be cast on it. Bonnie Bennett’s grandmother, Sheila, hates vampires almost as much as we do. So we paid her a large sum of money to perform a spell on the machine, so it wouldn’t need to be powered by electricity, just pure magic. She called on the full moon, a celestial event, to cast the spell and bound the magic to the machine. Only another celestial event with enough power could break the spell, but luckily not a lot of people know about the machine. And it’s recently been completed with your Uncle Luke’s help. With this machine, it will wipe out the entire vampire race and bring peace to the world once and for all. It was our dream and I refused to die until it became a reality. So yes, I asked a vampire to feed me their blood and then when Damon Salvatore killed me that night, the transition began.” His eyes lowered from his daughters and sister, shame coursing through him at the memory of his beloved wife. “I didn’t know Delilah would end up having a heart attack that night because of my death. I never meant for her to get hurt in any of this.”

“You do realize that by triggering this machine, you will wipe yourself out in the process as well, right?” Dahna asked, unable to hold her tongue any longer and slowly moved to stand beside Dacia while Elena stayed behind them.

“I’m willing to die once I know all the vampires are gone from this earth.” Landon stated, absolutely no fear in his acidic eyes. “And the cleansing begins tonight since I can only go out after the sun goes down.”

Dacia carefully moved her eyes from Landon to the window, seeing the sun peeking through the wood covering it and shared a look with Dahna. If they could get Landon outside in the sunlight, all of this would be over and the machine could be destroyed. They couldn’t let him on their plan though, deciding to leave Elena and Meredith out of it. Watching as Landon stepped over his shackled sister to rip the white sheet off the vampire death machine, the girls knew they didn’t have much time to put their plan into action.

If the guys were on their way, they had to hurry.

~!~

Luke stood outside of the warehouse since he had a daylight ring, a gift Isobel gave him. For some reason, she didn’t want Landon to have one and Luke had no problem with that. He secretly loathed his brother for forcing him into becoming the same monster he was. A snapping twig brought Luke out of his thoughts as his head snapped to the side, brown eyes narrowing and went to investigate what it was. Another snapping twig, Luke swallowed hard and headed back to the warehouse to warn his brother they had company. It wasn’t Katherine or Isobel either.

“Hello Luke.” Damon greeted as soon as the Fell turned around, his hand instantly plunging into the man’s chest cavity and locked eyes with him. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do this.”

“P-Please…” Luke gurgled, feeling his heart start to dislodge from the rest of his body and shook his head. “D-Don’t do this…”

Damon gritted his teeth angrily. “Give me one good reason why I should let you live.” The coordinates Liz gave him weeks back worked like a charm and Damon sent both Stefan and Tyler inside the warehouse to save the girls. “You’re the reason I had to compel Dahna to forget all about me. Because of your asinine brother’s measly threat to kill his own daughter. And you expect me to show you mercy after what you did? You’re the reason I nearly lost her.” His voice had dropped to a mere whisper, cold and deadly. “And now you pay the price for opening your mouth.”

The scream was swallowed as Damon ripped Luke’s heart out of his chest, watching the life die out of his eyes and crushed it much like he had Katherine’s. He already told Dahna he would kill Luke Fell and meant it, refusing to go back on his word. Screaming sounded from inside the warehouse and Damon could hear shouting, immediately rushing inside. He pressed his finger against his lips at the sight of Stefan and Tyler, all 3 of them cautiously advancing. It was Landon against all 3 of them along with the women, he was definitely outnumbered.

“Daddy, no!” Dacia sobbed out, standing perfectly still against a recovering Landon with his arm wrapped tightly around her neck.

“Don’t hurt her!! Take me instead!!” Dahna cried, dropping to her knees in front of Landon and could see the deadly intentions in his eyes. “Please, don’t take her away from me!”

They’d made their move while Landon was busy with the machine, trying to figure out how to start it up. Just as he was about to start it up, Dacia managed to climb up to the window and pulled the wood from it, a large stream of sunlight coating the entire room, burning a good portion of his body. Landon recovered though and immediately grabbed Dacia, threatening to kill her for her insolence. Elena sobbed, also on her knees begging for Dacia’s life to be spared and trembled when Landon screamed at her to shut up.

“You really need to learn to obey your elders in your next life, my precious Dacia.” Landon whispered in her ear, a sick smirk curving his lips and snapped her neck just as Damon, Tyler and Stefan rushed in.

“NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Dahna screamed in horror as her little sister’s body dropped to the dirty floor in a heap along with Meredith, everything happening in slow motion.

“DACIA, NO!!” Tyler roared angrily and immediately tackled Landon to the floor, his heart feeling as though it’d been ripped out of his chest. “YOU SON OF A BITCH!!”

He didn’t care what the consequences were and instantly bit into his neck, ripping his artery clear out as the werewolf venom began spreading throughout his body. Landon held the side of his neck, seeing the glowing amber eyes staring back at him and knew his dream would never come to fruition. Tyler wasn’t finished with him with just one bite though. He moved down Landon’s body, biting every part he could find to spread the venom quicker and watched his face grow pale white, sweat forming on his forehead. Within seconds, Landon had desiccated in front of him, the werewolf venom from all the bites eating him inside and out.

Scrambling over to her little sister, Dahna sobbed violently as she held Dacia against her tightly, rocking back and forth while Elena ran into Stefan’s arms. “Don’t touch me!!” She screamed when Damon went to place a hand on her shoulder, pressing kisses to Dacia’s forehead as her heart completely shattered in her chest.

Damon knew he couldn’t talk to Dahna right now, not when she was mourning over Dacia and broke the shackles off of Meredith’s wrists and ankles, helping her to her feet. Elena sobbed in Stefan’s arms while Meredith dropped to her knees next to Dahna, placing a hand on Dacia’s dead body. Tyler crawled over to Dahna’s other side, staring down at Dacia’s beautiful face and couldn’t believe he’d been too late to save her.

Epilogue

Slowly opening her eyes, Dahna stared up at the ceiling in the comfortable bed, sun streaming through the windows, but didn’t touch her. Another day was starting and she couldn’t just lay there like a bump on a log. Dahna slowly sat up in bed and stretched her arms in the air, closing her eyes as each muscle tightened to her liking before relaxing as she lowered them back to her sides. Before she could slip out of the bed, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist pulling her back down on the bed. Dahna squealed out in surprise, emerald meeting deep aquamarine eyes of only one man.

“What are you doing up?” Dahna asked softly, reaching up to stroke his face with the back of her hand. “I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

Damon shook his head, caressing her sides with his strong hands. “Not at all, beautiful. I woke up as soon as you shifted in bed, but you know that happens a lot.” He softly kissed her mouth, hovering over her beautiful body and felt her hands slide up his muscular arms.

Returning the kiss, Dahna deepened it a little as their tongues touched and rolled Damon over on his back, straddling his waist. “You’re going to make me late…” She mumbled against his skin, nibbling on his Adam’s apple and heard him groan out in satisfaction.

“Would that necessarily be a bad thing?” Damon retorted in a husky voice, rolling her back over as his mouth sealed to her neck, his hand sliding down her side to her slick wet sex. “I’m sure you can spare a few minutes…”

Dahna let a moan spill from her lips as his fingers probed her, melting further into the bed as he continued the stroking. “If I’m late, she’ll have my head and you know it.” She murmured quietly, smirking when Damon groaned in annoyance and reluctantly pulled away from her.

“Damn it, I forgot about that.” He grumbled with a sigh and shook his head, not wanting Dahna to leave his bed. “Fine, get moving before you’re late. I’m going back to bed so I don’t have to spend the day without you in my arms.”

Laughing softly, Dahna leaned over and brushed her lips against his, committing his face to memory. “I’ll be back tonight and then I’m all yours. But I have to take her. I promised.”

Slipping from the bed, Dahna padded toward the connecting bathroom and turned the shower sprays on, stepping under them with a soft sigh. She stepped out a half an hour later and pulled on a pair of skinny blue jeans she knew would drive Damon mad along with a burgundy halter top since it would be in the low 80’s today. Damon was nowhere to be found and Dahna figured he was downstairs either in the study or kitchen making breakfast. Smiling, she brushed her caramel hair and pulled it up to pile on top of her head, a few tendrils framing her face. Slipping her dark blue sandals on, Dahna took one last look in the mirror and headed out with purse, car keys and cell phone in hand, heading downstairs to kiss Damon goodbye.

“Drive safely and call me when you get there.” Damon instructed, running his finger down her cheek and softly kissed her, pulling her against him. “I love you, Dahna.”

“I know, I love you too. I’ll be back later tonight and then we can do whatever you want.” She tapped his nose with her finger, pecking his lips one final time and walked out of the kitchen, heading out of the mansion.

20 minutes later, Dahna pulled up to the house and beeped her horn, waiting patiently while applying some gloss to her lips. Not even 3 seconds later, the front door opened as Dahna stepped out of the car, staring back at her beautiful baby sister, Dacia, holding hands with Tyler Lockwood. It’d been a year since the whole fiasco with their father, Uncle Luke, Katherine, Isobel and Caroline Forbes happened. So many deaths and yet, none of them were missed. As long as she lived, Dahna would never forget the moment when Landon snapped her sister’s neck because she honestly thought Dacia was dead. For a little while there, she really thought she’d never hear Dacia’s sweet laughter or receive another one of her incredible hugs. Dahna had been in such disarray and heartbreak that Damon had to physically pull her away from Dacia, receiving a slap across the face for his troubles.

“How dare you take me away from her?!” Dahna shouted angrily, shoving Damon against the chest and couldn’t stop crying no matter how hard she tried. “S-She was my responsibility! Don’t you understand that? She’s dead because of ME! I killed her!”

Damon had to snap Dahna out of her hysterics somehow and did the only thing he could think of, slapping her across the face. It wasn’t hard, but enough of a blow to make her snap out of the deep seeded grief. Dahna just stared at him in shock holding the side of her face and felt his hands rest on her shoulders, those aquamarine eyes boring into her very soul. The next set of words that came out of his mouth made Dahna’s legs give out on her as she crumbled to the ground in a heap in front of him.

“Dacia’s not dead, Dahna.”

“W-What are you talking about?” Dahna stammered out, her voice incredibly shaky while trying to make sense of what Damon just said. “I-I saw him…snap her neck…How could she not be dead?”

He squatted down in front of her, seeing the perplexity and questions swirling through her beautiful eyes and sighed, caressing her face with his hand. “Because I made sure it didn’t happen.” Then Damon launched into the explanation of the reasoning behind him talking to Dacia before they all left to go to Meredith’s house. “I gave her a vile of my blood that was laced with vervain, in case someone tried compelling her. All she needed was a drop of my blood and vervain to protect her. She’s not dead. She’s going to come back to life as a vampire, but she’ll still be here.”

“A-And she…took it?” Dahna immediately tossed her arms around Damon’s neck, hugging him tightly against her and couldn’t believe what a wonderful man she had in her life. “Oh my god…” Then Dahna stood up and rushed back inside the warehouse, dropping to her knees not touching Dacia, waiting for her to wake up.

It took a few hours and luckily the sun had started setting on the horizon, so it was the perfect way for Dacia to finally come back to life. Dahna remembered the moment her eyes snapped open, a groan escaping her as she rubbed her neck and locked milk chocolate eyes on her big sister. She knew Dacia had to feed and immediately offered her wrist, with Damon’s supervision since Dacia had been a newly created vampire. Dacia took a few large swallows, after a little bit of hesitation and drank from her sister’s wrist, completing the transition. Tyler couldn’t believe his eyes and didn’t care that Dacia was a vampire, lifting her up spinning her around in circles. He was just glad she was alive and back in his arms, though he had to be careful not to nick her with his teeth from now on. It was really the only difference in their relationship.

“Shake a leg you two!” Dahna called out, snapping out of her thoughts and watched as Dacia held her hand up in a one minute gesture.

“I don’t want to leave you.” Dacia whispered heartbrokenly, holding Tyler’s face in her soft hands and felt his warm forehead press against hers. “I love you so much. Why can’t you come with me?”

“Because I have business to take care of.” Tyler had recently met up with someone who could help hone his skills as a werewolf, so he was leaving to go away for a little while. “I swear to you, as soon as I’m done training I’m all yours. But I have to go do this or else I might hurt someone.” Every full moon, he changed unwillingly into a wolf and when that happened, Tyler had zero control over what he did. “And you know I love you. Don’t ever forget that. Whitmore College will be lucky to have you.”

Dacia and Tyler had graduated, spent the summer together in each other’s arms talking about the future and she decided she wanted to go to college. It was now August and Dahna promised to drive her to the college to settle in. Tyler couldn’t go because he’d already promised his friend he would join his pack to help him be a better werewolf. They would have to part ways for a little while, but since they both were going to live forever, as long as Tyler kept turning every full moon, he would age very slowly while Dacia would stay the age 18 forever.

“Thank you for letting me do this.” She turned around just as Elena came walking out with bags in hand, Stefan behind her with a smile on his face.

“Almost ready to go, roomie?” Elena asked, nudging Dacia with a wink and felt Stefan wrap his arm around her waist, kissing the crown of her head.

Stefan wasn’t following the girls to Whitmore College, even though he’d graduated with the others, wanting them to enjoy their time together alone. He promised to call Elena every day and visit on the weekends since it was only a couple hours away from Mystic Falls. He was secure enough in their relationship he knew Elena wouldn’t fall into anyone else’s arms just like Tyler knew Dacia wouldn’t. They had become friends and often worked out together while Damon did his own thing, mostly spending his time with Dahna whenever she didn’t work.

“Whatever makes you happy, baby, that’s all I care about.” Tyler kissed Dacia passionately, pouring every ounce of feeling into it and only pulled back when he needed oxygen to breathe. “I love you, call me when you get there. I gotta get going.”

Dacia nodded, tears stinging her eyes and pressed her lips to his one final time. “I love you too.” She watched him take off across her yard down the sidewalk to his car parked on the street, driving off moments later. “This is going to suck.”

“Nah, you’ll see him again.” Elena assured her, draping an arm around her best friend’s shoulders and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Come on, we’re out of high school and it’s time to start the next chapter of our vampire lives.” Stefan had turned Elena into a vampire shortly after she graduated from high school, both of them wanting to spend the rest of eternity with each other.

“I know – I know, I’m going to miss him so much though.” Dacia mumbled, cracking a small smile when Elena rolled her eyes as they both headed to Dahna’s car. “Thanks again for doing this, sissy.”

“Not a problem.” Dahna immediately pulled Dacia into her arms, hugging her tightly since she knew her little sister was brokenhearted over parting ways with Tyler. “I know Mom would be very proud of you, just like I am. Now come on, we gotta hit the road and I refuse to bawl like a baby until AFTER I drop you off.”

“So I’ll see you in a couple weeks?” Stefan questioned, pulling Elena into his arms and softly kissed her, both of them smiling when it broke.

Elena nodded, placing a hand on his chest. “You better.” They kissed one final time before she finally slipped into the backseat, looking out the back window as Dahna pulled away from the house.

After dropping the girls off at Whitmore College and making Dacia promise at least a 100 times to keep in touch, Dahna reluctantly left them and headed back to Mystic Falls. So much had happened in the short span of a year, but it had all been peaceful and good. Nothing had gone wrong. The machine had been destroyed and tossed in the nearest river closest to the old warehouse, so nobody would ever find it. Damon, Stefan and Tyler dismantled it the best way they could, dumping pieces in different places of the river. Tears flooded down her cheeks as Dahna sighed, dabbing them away with a box of tissue she had brought with. She couldn’t believe Dacia was out of high school and going to college, especially since she had raised the girl since age 14. Time really did fly, but luckily none of them had to worry about it since they had immortality.

Dahna didn’t waste time in letting Damon make her a vampire, wanting to be with him forever. Once they had Dacia settled in and Damon showed her the ropes on being a vampire, including feeding on another human and compelling them to forget without hurting them, she was ready. He made sweet love to her, taking his time like always, fed her his blood mixed with some delicious wine and then snapped her neck, which is how she wanted him to kill her. It was a mutual agreement. She smiled at the memory of waking up in Damon’s bed with him holding her with tears running down his face. Stefan had procured a human for her, which was Matt Donovan and she took a few gulps from his wrist like Dacia had done with her. Once the transition was completed, Damon gave her several blood bags and then took her out for a night on the town, showing her the ways of being a vampire. Dahna loved every single second of it, but never got caught up in the bloodlust, at least not without Damon.

Pulling up to the mansion, Dahna cut the ignition of her car and stepped out, staring down at the beautiful emerald stone on her left ring finger Damon presented her with. He had a witch friend down in Atlanta, Georgia make her one weeks before they actually went through with it. It was set on a silver band and outlined with black diamonds. Looking up, Dahna could hear soft music playing from inside the mansion and flew to the front door, carefully pushing it open. She walked straight ahead and smiled at the sight of him sitting in the living room/parlor with a tumbler of bourbon in one hand and a single red rose in the other. Dahna took it and accepted a soft kiss from him that quickly turned passionate, both of them becoming completely lost in the moment.

Later that night, Dahna rested her head on Damon’s chest after their excessive lovemaking and looked up at him, brushing a strand of black hair from his forehead. “You know, I didn’t know how to deal with my feelings for you back when I was 17. I thought I made a mistake by wanting to be with a vampire and going against my family’s wishes. But I realized it didn’t matter if you were a vampire or not, I would’ve still fell in love with you, no matter what.”

Damon smiled back at her, running his finger across her lips while resting his head on his folded arm. “We learned how to deal with any obstacle that comes our way together. Now come here, I’m not done with you yet tonight, beautiful.” Capturing her mouth in a searing kiss, no other words were spoken between them as Dahna became lost in the passion only Damon could give.

Dahna also learned how to deal with anything that came their way and vowed to protect the ones she loved with her life as long as she existed on earth.

The End.