Mystic Falls II

The Salvatore house stood eerily quiet when Sheriff Forbes and her deputies arrived. The moment Elena opened the door, Liz gave a curt nod to her officers.

"Elena Gilbert, you're under arrest."

"What?!" Elena's eyes widened in shock. "For what?"

"For conspiring with vampires and endangering the town."

Two officers stepped forward, grabbing Elena by the arms. She struggled. "Liz, this is insane! You know I'm not—"

"I don't have a choice," Liz said tightly.

As they pulled Elena toward the door, a noise echoed from inside the house—a low, guttural growl.

Sheriff Forbes' breath caught as Damon Salvatore stepped out of the shadows.

Something was wrong.

His eyes were wild, his body tense. He had been locked away by Stefan, starving, his control slipping. The hunger burned through him, and now, with his house in chaos, his instincts took over.

"Let her go," Damon said, voice dangerously calm.

The deputies instinctively raised their weapons, but Liz hesitated.

Damon took a step forward.

"Damon," Elena pleaded, "don't—"

Chaos erupted.

Damon moved in a blur, knocking one deputy aside like a ragdoll. Liz panicked, drawing her gun and aiming at Damon.

She fired.

But she wasn't fast enough.

Damon moved at vampiric speed, dodging—

And then the sound of the bullet hitting flesh rang out.

Elena screamed.

Jeremy staggered backward, his eyes wide with shock as blood bloomed across his chest.

"No!" Caroline rushed to his side as he collapsed, his body stilling unnaturally fast.

Sheriff Forbes lowered her gun in horror. "Oh my God… Jeremy…"

Damon stood frozen, the bloodlust in his eyes replaced by something else—guilt. He had seen countless people die, but this was different.

Caroline's hands trembled as she bit into her wrist, pressing it to Jeremy's lips. "Come on, Jeremy. Drink."

Nothing.

Elena dropped to her knees beside him. "Jeremy, please—"

Still nothing.

Caroline choked back a sob, pulling her wrist away. "He's already dead."

The room spun around Elena as the words sank in. She reached for her brother, shaking him desperately.

"No. No, no, no, he can't—"

But he wasn't coming back.

Not this time.

_____________________

Bonnie arrived minutes later, her heart pounding as she pushed past the gathering crowd. The moment she saw Jeremy's lifeless body, her breath caught in her throat.

"No," she whispered. "Not him."

Elena's tear-streaked face turned toward her. "You can fix this," she said desperately. "Bonnie, please."

Bonnie's throat tightened. 

"Bonnie," Caroline whispered. "He's gone."

"No," Bonnie said firmly, determination hardening her voice. "I can bring him back. The witch house, we have to get him to the witch house."

Caroline and Bonnie took Jermey's body.

In the Witch House, she knelt beside Jeremy, placing her hands over his chest.

Power surged through her, her connection to the spirits buzzing in the air around her. She began chanting in a language from time unknown, her voice shaking the very foundation of the house.

Wind whipped around them, the candles flickering violently.

A presence made itself known.

The spirits were angry.

A cold, suffocating energy pressed against Bonnie's chest, trying to push her away. She clenched her teeth and forced herself to push back.

"Bonnie!" Caroline shouted, sensing something was wrong.

"I can do this!" Bonnie snapped.

Then, just as she felt herself losing control, another voice joined hers.

Leon.

He stepped forward, his presence commanding, his hands raised as his own spell wove into hers.

Behind him, the witches of the Delgallo coven appeared, moving into the room, forming a powerful circle. Their collective energy pulsed as they pushed against the spirits, demanding compliance.

Bonnie felt the balance shift. The spirits relented.

A burst of energy rushed from her hands, slamming into Jeremy's chest. His body convulsed.

And then—

A gasp.

Jeremy's eyes snapped open, his breath ragged as he coughed violently.

Elena sobbed in relief, pulling him into her arms.

Bonnie, shaking and weak, collapsed backward into Leon's waiting grasp.

"It's done," Leon murmured.

But as Bonnie looked into his knowing gaze, she understood.

There would be consequences. And they would come sooner than anyone expected. But Leon was willing to face them. Now that Klaus had broken the 'balance' a flood was coming and he was ready to change things to his liking, putting his transmigrator soul to full use.

_____________________

The town square was eerily empty, the shadows of streetlamps flickering over the cobblestones as Elena ran, her breath ragged, her pulse hammering in her ears. She had barely managed to break free from the chaos at the Salvatore Boarding House, and now, she was desperate to find Damon before it was too late.

She spotted him near the clock tower, his figure swaying, his shirt torn and bloodstained. His skin was pale, feverish, his veins darkening from the werewolf bite. He was unraveling—his mind fraying under the weight of both the venom and his guilt.

"Damon," she called out cautiously, stepping toward him.

His head snapped up at the sound of her voice, and for a moment, something flickered in his fevered gaze—recognition?

But then his expression shifted.

"Katherine," he murmured, his lips curling into something between a sneer and a smile.

Elena's stomach dropped.

"No, Damon, it's me. It's Elena."

He staggered forward, reaching out, his touch surprisingly gentle as his fingers brushed over her cheek. But then his grip tightened, his breath hot against her skin.

"You always came back," he whispered, his voice slipping between past and present. "You always came back to me, no matter what."

Elena tensed. "Damon, listen to me. It's not Katherine."

But he wasn't listening.

Faster than she could react, his arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. His lips brushed against the pulse in her neck, his breath shaky.

Then—pain.

A sharp, burning sensation tore through her as his fangs pierced her skin.

She gasped, her body going rigid as the dizziness hit her like a wave. But even through the pain, she forced herself to stay present.

"Damon," she choked out. "It's me."

Something about the way she said it—her voice cracking with desperation—cut through the madness.

Damon suddenly jolted back, his eyes widening in horror as he realized what he had done.

"Elena?" His voice trembled.

He released her so quickly that she nearly collapsed. Blood trickled down her neck, but she barely noticed. All she saw was the raw agony in Damon's expression.

"No," he muttered, shaking his head violently. "No, no, no, I—"

Elena swallowed hard, her own breath uneven. "It's okay."

But it wasn't okay.

Damon stumbled backward, gripping his head as flashes of memory overtook him.

________________

Flashback: 1864

A candlelit room. Heavy drapes casting golden shadows.

Damon sat on the edge of the bed, his shirt unbuttoned, his chest heaving. Katherine was behind him, her fingers tracing over his skin.

"You don't have to be afraid, Damon," she whispered.

He turned to her, his dark eyes burning with something dangerously close to devotion.

"I'm not afraid," he murmured. "I want this."

Katherine smiled, a slow, seductive curve of her lips. "Are you sure?"

He nodded.

Without another word, she leaned in, her fangs glinting in the candlelight before sinking into his neck.

Damon shuddered, his hands fisting in the sheets. But he never pulled away. He never fought her.

Because he had never been compelled.

He had given himself to her willingly.

Present Day – A Love Confessed

Damon jolted from the memory, his breath ragged as the weight of it crashed over him.

He had chosen Katherine.

Just as, now, Elena was choosing to stay by his side.

The realization burned through him as his legs gave out, and he crumpled to the ground.

Back at the Salvatore Boarding House, Elena sat beside him, her fingers lightly tracing his burning skin as he lay on his bed, fevered and weak. The werewolf venom was spreading, his body growing colder.

"You would have liked me in 1864," Damon rasped, his voice hoarse, the fight draining out of him.

Elena's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "I like you now," she whispered. "Just the way you are."

A ghost of a smile touched his lips.

Then, slowly, carefully, Elena leaned down and pressed her lips against his.

It was soft, aching, filled with all the words neither of them had dared to say before.

For a moment, Damon forgot about the pain.

For a moment, it was just them.

Katherine appears and clears her throat audibly. Elena backs away startled, and again she finds another layer to herself, seen by others before her. And by the smirk on Katherine's face, Elena knew she had been expecting it.

"It..." she was going to reason but shook her head.

 Katherine force fed it to Damon. She then turned to leave. But before she did, she paused, glancing at Elena.

Her expression was unreadable, but then she said, softly, "It's okay to love them both. I know I did."

Elena sighed.

"But," Katherine continued, her lips curving into something almost wistful, "this is why I'll have Leon. You're tied to them in ways I never could be."

And with that, she was gone.

Elena smirked as she thought 'the devil isn't meant for everyone.'

_______________

The grand dining hall of a mansion estate was dimly lit, the flickering candlelight casting long shadows over the polished wooden table. A feast fit for royalty lay untouched between them—fine crystal goblets brimming with aged blood-wine, succulent meats that neither guest had any real intention of eating. This was not a meal for indulgence. This was a meeting of power.

At one end of the table sat Klaus Mikaelson, the Original Hybrid, his expression unreadable as he swirled the blood in his goblet. Across from him, Leon Delgallo, a man whose reputation was steeped in mystery, leaned back in his chair, his piercing gaze locked onto Klaus with an air of quiet confidence.

Klaus set his glass down with deliberate ease, the sound of crystal against wood echoing in the stillness. "I must say, Leon, you have quite the way of orchestrating things from the shadows." He smirked. "It's almost admirable."

Leon returned the smirk but said nothing, waiting. He was patient. Klaus, however, thrived on theatrics.

"This place…" said Klaus.

"Very suitable." Leon added.

"Mmm, I got it for the night from the owners. You wanted to talk alliances," Klaus continued, voice smooth as silk. "Let's talk. What, exactly, do you propose?"

Leon straightened slightly, his fingers tapping idly against the edge of the table. "I am not your enemy, Klaus. I never have been. But Mystic Falls is changing. Supernatural forces are colliding, and old rules no longer apply. The balance must shift."

Klaus quirked a brow, intrigued. "Go on."

Leon leaned forward. "You and your hybrids will have full access to Mystic Falls. Open invitation. No resistance."

Klaus chuckled, shaking his head. "You expect me to believe that the your coven and vampires of this town will simply welcome me with open arms?"

"I expect you to understand that this is bigger than you," Leon countered. "Or me. Two covens—yours and mine—protecting each other in a world that is rapidly changing. You need power. I need knowledge. And we both need a stable foundation to grow."

Klaus tilted his head, considering. "And what do you want in return?"

Leon's lips curled into a knowing smile. "Esther's grimoires. All of them."

At that, Klaus laughed—a genuine, amused sound. "Ambitious," he mused. "But tell me, what does a man like you want with my dear mother's magic?"

Leon's expression remained unreadable. "That is my business."

For a moment, the air between them was thick with tension. But then Klaus's amusement faded, and his gaze darkened with something more dangerous.

"Do you trust me, Leon?"

Leon smiled. "No."

Klaus chuckled again, shaking his head. "Smart man." He exhaled, tapping his fingers against the goblet before giving a casual nod. "Very well. You may have the grimoires. And what of my adversaries?"

"Will be handled. When you return, your land will be ready to be sown with seeds of your choosing." said Leon, "But, the council is an annoyance. My lady tells me that they have gone full throttle with this anti-vampire force. I need them discontinued.".

"I'll wish you luck," Klaus said, raising his glass.

"And I you," Leon replied, clinking his goblet against Klaus's before taking a sip.

With that, the deal was sealed. Two predators acknowledging one another, neither fully trusting, yet both understanding that, for now, their interests were aligned.