Never Let Me Go

DG32173

Sarah: wow! My review count for this story jumped by twelve reviews in less than 24 hours since last chapter was posted! Another thirteen by the 48-hour mark! That makes this the most reviewed Vampire Diaries fanfic I have posted! I'm so glad everyone enjoyed! Here's the next chapter. But first, review replies! Also, sorry for the severe delay in updates. My muse for this story had all but dried up for the longest time halfway through the chapter.

REVIEW REPLIES

LittlePrince8 (formerly jairem): the Elena in this story is by no means a wimp. I didn't like how she was overrun with panic and fear upon finding out the brothers' secret in the show. And I figured that it has to be extremely hard for a vampire to get drunk and stay drunk because their bodies process the alcohol extremely fast. And if that's the case, then that trait should bleed over to humans who have vampire blood in their system. As for what Stefan feels for Elena, I have yet to figure that part out. As for what will happen when she wakes up, you'll find out this chapter.

stordec23: thanks!

kfulmer7: in regards to your review of chapter 4, what the site calls chapter 5, the mirror incident in that chapter probably won't be a one-time deal. In regards of chapter 5, what the site calls chapter 6, I don't like writing Katherine as a bitch even if she was one in the show. I was thinking of her comment in Season 2 finale, where she admitted to having once loved both brothers, when I was writing that chapter. As for chapter 6, what the site calls chapter 7, the story Elena shared with Damon was spur of the moment. My muse insisted that I write it so I wrote it. And in regards of the last chapter, Damon wasn't exactly being nice to Zack. He was really only being as civil as his impatience with most humans, including the human side of his family, allowed for. As for what will happen when she wakes up, well, you'll find out this chapter.

SuckerforDelena: yeah, Stefan was a moron but he was struggling with his psychotic inner vampire that rears its ugly head whenever he is exposed to the sight and scent of fresh-spilt human blood. And Elena's reaction to Damon's explanation will be revealed this chapter.

Dan: in reference to your review of chapter 1, the plot you laid out sounds interesting. If you have read the story Changes I posted recently, you will see what your plot eventually inspired me to write. Chapter 2's review made me grin. So glad you enjoyed it. As for chapter 3's review, I'm not planning on doing a whole lot with Stefan until later in the fanfic. These beginning chapters are centered around building up the bond between Elena and Damon.

Candy Momo: last chapter, Elena needed to get away from the way her life had suddenly gone to hell, for a little while at least. Drinking until she passed out was the best way for her to do it, in my opinion. Damon's explanation and Elena's reaction to it will be revealed this chapter.

shoppe69: so glad you have loved the story so far. I hope you continue to enjoy it. Here's the next chapter.

Smilefrown: thanks for pointing out my mistakes. I'll try to work on it. But this chapter will have a lot of talking from Damon as he explains everything he's kept hidden.

Smackahoe: Stefan was more intent on getting them separated than saying his peace.

John: I happen to have had a beta at the time. I tend to write long paragraphs, though I try not to.

XxX: I'll keep writing as long as I can.

Post Nazi: yes, chapter 6, what the site calls chapter 7, did have the 'Cliffhanger From Hell'. As for Elena's reaction, you'll find out this chapter.

rcardinals4: agreed, getting wasted is one way to cope. Usually not the brightest, though. Thankfully she had Damon's blood in her system.

Kahn: here's the next chapter.

ICharlie: if it weren't for my meds, I'd have done the same ;)

Damon for life: no, I have not seen the finale. I haven't seen most of Season Five and none of later seasons. But from what I hear, I just might want to strangle someone by the end of it.

Tearsforfears: that's awesome!

NIKKI SHADOW: what were you healing from that had you cooped up? And I'm so glad my story gave you something to look forward to amidst the boredom.

emmacat1234: I've been a devoted fan ever since Damon appeared in Stefan's room in Season 1 Episode 1, Pilot, with his line "Hello, brother." I was an instant Delena fan in that scene.

Canuck101: In response to your review of chapter 1, what the site calls chapter 2, I have never seen an episode where Damon willingly tells Elena a blatant lie to her face. In answer to your review of chapter 2, what the site calls chapter 3, I'm sorry that so much of that chapter was review replies. But I feel every review should be replied to. As for your review of chapter 3, what the site calls chapter 4, I was tempted to show Stefan's reaction to Elena's outfit but I felt it better to not have him see more than a glimpse of it. Thanks for the compliment you left in chapter 4, what the site calls chapter 5. And yeah, I couldn't have there being a tomb and having Damon using Elena. As for how Elena found out about Damon and Stefan's secret, well, it is a helluva way to let the cat out of the bag. Here's the update at long last.

Me: I always wondered how the series would have gone if it had taken this path, hence why I wrote this. Damon is always great. And yes, Stefan is a dick. Naughty Elena is awesome. As for your review of chapter 4, what the site calls chapter 5, yeah, he gave it all away without actually giving anything at all. I have truly enjoyed writing this fanfic and exploring another path the show could have gone. And yes, Damon can so easily handle Stefan on his Thumper-and-Bambi diet. As for your review of last chapter, you will see Elena's choice this chapter.

Superfreak: I'm glad you have enjoyed this story so much and that you think it just keeps getting better and better. And I agree, Stefan was an idiot last chapter and Elena should kick his ass. But at the moment, she's more afraid of him than anything.

Lady Mythology: I'm glad you think I write Damon's view on things well.

Peter: I've already got plans for what happens. It's just getting it down in proper wording that is difficult.

nallemorin: glad you enjoy my stories, sorry about the long delay in updates, my muse has been acting crazy and refusing to cooperate.

A girl: Damon's going to 'deal' with Stefan for what he did to Elena. You'll find out in the next chapter or two what Damon plans on doing in retribution. Glad you enjoy my stories.

Guest of Chapter 2: I live in the world of Delena fanatics, actually. Remember, in this story, Elena still remembers Damon from the night her parents died and has been daydreaming of him everyday since.

Emmy: I used 'helluva' as the slang for 'hell of a'. I'm not going to have Damon be all Proper English Speaker. That's Stefan's job. Damon is still the Bad Boy Persona, hence the slang. Damon and Elena, not to mention numerous other individuals, will be using quite a bit of slang. If it disturbs you, you really shouldn't read my stories.

Lord Jace: I agree that drawing out their secret would have become tedious and annoying pretty damn fast. Sorry if it felt rushed, but I didn't feel like drawing it out and I liked the idea of Stefan further damning himself in Elena's eyes by the actions he took.

Bruce: I haven't given up, I just haven't had much muse for it in a while, having been stuck in this chapter for a long time now.

Writer-Steph-94: some people say I have them a little OOC, you say they are in character. I guess it really depends on who's reading it and how they take it. Glad you enjoyed it.

Erin: I know this needs to be continued. Here's the update at long last.

sadie1900: (laughs) I hadn't meant the bedtime story to be foreshadowing, but it seems pretty close to what is happening in Elena's life. Glad you think the slight OOC in some characters is a good change because I'm going to keep developing their personalities along this line. Yes, I know Elena is always bursting with questions in the show. I'm sorry if I haven't been portraying that in a more noticeable fashion, but she does have his word that he will explain everything and her instincts are telling her he deserves all of her trust so she trusts that he will explain himself "when the time is right". Even if that time comes much sooner than he had intended.

delena1864: glad you enjoyed this fanfic so far. Here, at long last, is the next chapter.

MSAllySomereva: I have finally had the muse to finish this chapter at long last. Here's the update.

Namjoon: here, at long last, is the update. Sorry about the wait.

Guest of Chapters 1-8: the only reason I think you're the same person is because all the chapters were read and reviewed within a couple of days. Glad you enjoyed it so much. Here's the update at long last.

crzykittyfangirl: as you know, since your my newest beta-reader, I finally have muse again for this story. Part of the chapter was already written up off and on but it was only finished recently.

OlicityxSkyeWard: glad you have decided to put aside your issues with incomplete fanfics and give mine a chance. Here, at long last, is the continuation.

Guest 2 of Chapter 8: I wish you had left a name to differentiate yourself from other guest reviewers. Here, at long last, is more as you requested.

HoneySexy: this story and the Setting Things Right series are my personal favorites of my stories I have posted as well. Glad you enjoy them so much and I'm astonished at how many times you have reread this one in particular. That alone tells me how much you enjoy it. Here, at last, is the update.

Chapter 8

Explanations

Elena

I try desperately to cling to the comforting oblivion of sleep, but my traitorous body refuses to cooperate. I know that the waking world has just been turned on its ear for me, though I can't quite recall why or how. As I rapidly lose my grasp on the dream I was having, I'm startled to realize that I'm completely naked under covers that are a lot softer than the ones on my bed. At that realization, scenes flash behind my eyelids: Damon and I making love on one of the couches in the living room of the boarding house, Damon in the process of leaving me with a hickey; a ferocious snarl ripping through the intimacy just before he was ripped away from me and literally thrown across the room by his younger brother; Stefan's face transformed into a monstrous mask with his canines elongated into fangs; Damon's face briefly changing to the same mask as he told me that he and Stefan are vampires.

I lurch into a sitting position, snapping my eyes open with a gasp. I see Damon, dressed in a pair of jeans, watching me from a chair next to the hearth, which has a roaring fire crackling in it. I feel my chest heaving as I stare at him, searching for the least sign that my mind hadn't just made those images up. We watch each other silently for several long minutes, me in his bed and him in the chair.

Finally, he sighs. "I owe you an explanation," he tells me, running a hand through his hair. I feel my heart sink lower in my chest as I realize just by those words that it's true: he's a vampire. I had fallen in love with a vampire. Thankfully, he doesn't leave his chair. I don't know if I would be able to handle him getting any nearer to me right now. "I'm going to start at the beginning. This will take a while so, please, bear with me." He sighs again before beginning. "I was born June 28, 1840, as the first-born child of Trista and Giuseppe Salvatore. I took you to the old Salvatore estate today in an effort to share part of my past with you. The fall after I turned seven, Stefan had been born. Mother's pregnancy with him had been hard on her. Just hours before she went into labor, she made me promise to keep an eye on my younger sibling and watch out for them for the rest of our lives. I promised to watch over my younger sibling forever. Now that I think about it, I think she had known she would not survive bringing her second child into the world. For several years after she died, it was hard for me to hold true to my promise to take care of him. I resented him for taking my mother from me. But we inevitably became the closest of friends as well as brothers. Shortly after his seventeenth birthday in 1864, though, Katherine came into our lives and proceeded to quickly turn us against each other. Just a few weeks after she arrived in Mystic Falls, the cry went up to hunt down the vampires the townsfolk had discovered were in town. Stefan wanted to try to 'reason' with our father, who was spearheading the hunt for vampires. I knew damn well that Father would just find out what Katherine was if he did so and have her burned as well. So I begged him to promise me that he wouldn't say a word to our father about anything remotely regarding vampires. He made that promise and I trusted him to stick to his word. I should have known that he would let his blind faith in the world take over and attempt to 'reason' with our father anyways, despite his promise to me. He did just that. Father spiked his drink with vervain, an herb that is highly toxic to vampires." His jaw flexes briefly before he continues. "When Katherine went to be with him that night, she fed on him. The vervaine in his blood poisoned her and weakened her to the point that Father and other leaders of the town were able to capture her. I tried to stop them but Father held me back, saying that I would die, too, for being a sympathizer. I told him to let me die, then. But it was too late. So I made plans to lure the guards away from Katherine's jail cart. Stefan tagged along to try to make amends for his mistake. Our own father shot a musket ball through each of our hearts for trying to save her.

"That's where things got interesting," he says, closing his eyes. "We died on the road where we fell. But Katherine had not only been sleeping with both of us but had also shared her blood with both of us as she fed on us. Emily Bennett, a witch who owed Katherine a life debt, managed to get us to a burned-out hut on the edge of town. Katherine had her make each of us daylight rings to protect us from the sun." He holds up his right hand to show me the elaborate ring he's wearing. "The gem in this ring is called lapis lazuli. Witches can enchant jewelry made with this gem to protect vampires against the sun. Normally, we'd burn to ashes if we tried going out in the sunlight. This ring keeps me safe. My brother has one similar to it. Not very many vampires are on good enough terms with witches to be able to get one to enchant lapis lazuli jewelry to protect them from the sun. And due to their magical nature, witches can't be compelled. I woke up just a few hours later. I raced to old Fell's Church, where they had decided to burn the vampires. I had hoped to stop the burning, but I was too late. I arrived just in time to see them send the church up in flames. I told myself I wouldn't complete Transition."

"Transition?" I ask softly.

"There are several steps in the process of becoming a vampire," he explains. "First, a vampire has to a feed a human their blood. Then the human has to die while the vampire blood is still in their system. When the former human wakes up, they will be in the stage referred to as Transition. It's the only stage where a vampire can die without being killed. At this stage, you have two options. The first, the one that makes you fully a vampire, is to drink human blood. The second, the one that kills you permanently, is to just let your own human blood completely work itself out of your system without feeding on human blood. It takes about thirty-six to forty-eight hours for your leftover human blood to completely work itself out of your system in this stage, starting from the moment you wake up from death. As that time period passes and you go longer without feeding on human blood, the vampire that took up residence within you the moment you died with vampire blood in your systems becomes more and more desperate to feed on human blood. Your own self-control is rapidly eaten away. I had stayed away from town because I knew that if I went into town and someone so much as pricked their finger on a needle and a single drop of blood came out, I would lose all control and finish the Transition. Stefan woke up the day after our father killed us. He made his way back into town that night and ended up using our own father to complete his Transition, killing him in the process. He went insane after that. The next day, when I was on the brink of dying permanently, Stefan brought a girl back from town and used his fangs to rip open her neck in front of me. Then he shoved her at me. He didn't want to face eternity alone, no matter that it should have been my choice whether or not I completed the transition. I lost control at the sight and scent of the girl's blood. I drained her completely before I could get control of myself. I promised Stefan an eternity of misery for this second betrayal."

He falls silent for several long minutes, lost in his memories. "Damon?" I ask hesitantly.

He quickly returns to the present. "Anyways, it wasn't until that night when your parents were coming to pick you up that I finally found it in myself to forgive him. If things had happened differently in 1864, I wouldn't have met you," he continues, meeting my eyes. "But I stuck true to my promise to my mother over the decades and kept an eye out for him. I don't break the promises I make, not unless I'm given no other choice."

I look down at my hands in my lap. "Where is Stefan?" I ask softly.

"When I had the boarding house built, I had installed vampire holding cells in the basement. I have him locked up in one of them. The syringe you saw me plunge into his arm earlier was filled with a highly concentrated dose of vervain water. He's going to be out for several more hours. He might not even wake up until sometime tomorrow. I intend on giving him one helluva thrashing for what he did to you, but I'm going to have to wait for him to wake up first." He sighs. "Now, you know the secret I keep. There are people in this town who still know that vampires aren't just folklore. If you go telling anyone what I have told you or what you have seen today, things will go very badly for Stefan and I. We could even be killed for being vampires." I suck in a sharp breath at that. "I'm not going to force your hand in this, though. And know this, the jewelry I gave you yesterday has sprigs of dried vervain tucked into each piece. There are also several enchantments on the set, as well as the pendant I have that goes with the set. I won't go into detail about the enchantments right now because I'm sure you're already confused enough. Elena, it's up to you where we go from here," he tells me. "I'm not going to ask for an answer right now, but you need to think about whether you still want to be with me or not. I promise you, I will never hurt you. I will do everything in my Power to protect you. And if I ever can't protect you from something, I will make sure you are alright before getting vengeance. Only the fact that Stefan is my brother saved him from having his heart ripped out in retribution for hurting you like he did. Even so, I will not let it slide if he hurts you again." With those words, Damon rises gracefully from his chair. He disappears and I barely manage to gasp before he reappears at the foot of the bed and tosses my phone at me. "You should call Jenna. I sent her a text, posing as you, saying that you'll be here at the boarding house with me. I turned off your phone after that so you're bound to have a few missed calls and texts," he says. "I'll leave you here to think about what I said. If you want to talk or even if you get hungry, I'll be in the kitchen. Though, I advise that you put some clothes on before leaving my rooms. Zach's home from work and I doubt you'd want to give him an eyeful."

I frown. "If you're as ridiculously rich as you seem to be, why does Zach work?" I ask.

"You'll have to ask him. I don't go digging around in other people's heads unless I'm given no choice. For one thing, it's horribly rude and I was raised with better manners than that. Two, I'd really rather not use that particular Power because there are too many nasty-minded people out there. Now, I'll trust you not to drink the rest of my bourbon collection in my absence. You already drank half of it in your attempt to get away from reality. I'd like to be able to come back and see that what's left of it is still there later. If you'll excuse me, I'll be downstairs."

With that, he walks out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. I sigh, deciding that if I'm going to ever get this all sorted out, I need to get it all down in my journal and go from there. I push Damon's soft covers off of me and climb out of his luxurious bed. I make my way over to where I had dropped my backpack just outside the double doors leading to his bathroom. I dig out my journal and then fetch a pen from my purse, which is still on the bathroom counter.

Finally, I return to his bed and make myself comfortable. I don't bother getting dressed just yet. Damon assured me that Stefan is securely locked away where he can't get to me and I have this feeling that Zach never enters Damon's private rooms. Damon said he'd give me time to think and he'll meet me in the kitchen, so I'll have some privacy for this.

I sigh and flip my diary open to the first blank page. I put my pen to paper and begin to write.

Dear Diary,

Immediately after the last entry, Damon returned to my life. He made it clear that he had been watching me over the summer and helped me finally climb out of the grief and guilt I had fallen into when my parents died. Then he took me home and we made spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner. After dinner, things between Damon and I went rapidly out of control. I gave him my virginity last night.

Immediately after, he indicated that he had dark secrets and that if I chose to stay with him after he revealed them to me, he would make sure that I would never be able to leave him by 'making me like him' and making my life 'cursed'. He got dressed and left. I promised myself that I would redeem him even if my life had to become 'cursed' to do so. I had no idea what I was getting into. But there's still more that happened that I need to get down before I write about his big secret and how it had been revealed to me.

Anyways, this morning I got dressed in what my brother had referred to as an outfit that I'd wear to go to a club with Damon instead of going to school. I wore it to prove to Damon that he couldn't frighten me away. We flirted as he took me to school. I only lasted two classes. When I went to enter Mr. Tanner's class, he sent me straight to the principal's office. I was given a lecture about the school dress code and was told each and every violation I made. I managed to intercept before the principal called Jenna, saying I could get my own ride home. He permitted me to call Damon. He said he'll be waiting for me in the student parking lot by the time I got outside.

He was true to his word. He then took me to the old Salvatore estate and told me a good deal about the history of the place while taking me on a tour of the ruins. Then we came back to the boarding house. We went straight to his rooms so we could wash off the dust and dirt the ruins had left us covered in. We shared an amazing bubble bath and half a bottle of champagne. Then he took me on pretty much every conceivable surface in the boarding house. I was wrapped in a haze of passion and pleasure the likes of which I had never known. But our intimacy was spoiled when Stefan got back from school. Damon is actually Stefan's older brother. But anyways, Damon and I were going at it on one of the couches in the living room when this ferocious snarl ripped through our moment.

That's when things got crazy. Stefan yanked Damon off of me and literally threw him across the room. I took one look at Stefan's face and I was petrified with fear. His face had transformed into that of a monster! The whites of his eyes had dyed blood red, the veins around them turned black and popped up prominently, and don't forget that his canines had turned into fangs.

I looked over at Damon in time to see him carefully realign the broken bones in his arm. I could hear the bones knitting back together! Damon's face became the same kind of monster as Stefan's. Then Damon told me that they are both vampires! Vampires! My life had just turned into a horror story!

Things happened fast after that. Stefan crouched down, as if he was preparing to attack Damon. I instinctively lunged for him, desperate to protect Damon. Damon warned me not to, sounding horrified by the very notion that I'd try such a thing. He moved blindingly fast to grab me before I could even get off the couch then everything around us blurred as he got us back to where Stefan had thrown him. He told Stefan to leave.

Stefan didn't listen. Instead, he flashed forward, grabbed my arm, and jerked me away from Damon, breaking my arm in the process. He threw me into the couch Damon and I had just been on. One half of my broken bone pierced through my arm, cutting through muscle and flesh to poke jaggedly into the air. I didn't realize this until I felt dampness on my arm as I cradled it to me. That dampness was blood gushing from the wound. Suddenly, I realized that I didn't hear the sound of two vampires fighting anymore. I looked up to see Damon standing protectively in front of me while Stefan seemed to be having some sort of inner struggle. There was this crazed look in his eyes that had me shrinking away from him. It was a bad move, because the bone got jostled and ripped the wound even wider, allowing more blood to flow out.

Stefan lunged for me, his eyes having gone completely rabid. Damon intercepted him with a syringe full of a yellowish fluid, which he injected fully into Stefan's bicep. Stefan immediately collapsed. Damon then healed my broken arm by carefully realigning my bones and then feeding me his blood. At first, I struggled to keep from drinking it, but he pinned me in such a way that I had no options. And my struggles didn't last past the first mouthful. I can't believe how rich and sweet his blood tastes, nothing like the thick, coppery taste of my own blood.

As soon as my arm was healed so completely it was like I was never injured to begin with, Damon tried to pull his wrist away. I didn't want to stop drinking his blood, but he didn't give me much of a choice in the matter. Then he sent me back upstairs to wash off because I was covered in my own blood. It took a frightening amount of time for the shower water to run clear again instead of red.

I then proceeded to drink the rest of the bottle of champagne we had been sharing followed by about half the bourbon he had stowed away in his room. I somehow made it to his bed and passed out. I woke up a little while ago to find myself under the covers where I had passed out on top of the covers. Damon's doing. Damon was sitting in a chair near the fire he had built up in the hearth in his room. He then explained everything, making it clear that what he had shared with me today at the old Salvatore estate was actually his own past. After he explained everything and answered what few questions I could bring myself to ask, he said he'd trust me not to finish off the rest of his bourbon before leaving me to my thoughts.

And so I decided to write in you, Diary, hoping that by doing so, I'd be able to sort out all this confusion. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out as well as I had hoped. I'm still more confused than I have ever been in my life. But, more than anything, I just want to slap Damon. Why didn't he tell me yesterday what he is? Admittedly, I would have found it a little hard to believe, but he could have proven it to me without the trauma I had to go through this afternoon. He said he had a few things he wanted to do before revealing his secret to me. But, seriously, if you love someone, you don't keep something this big from them.

Though … he never actually came out and said anything about loving me. He's been thoroughly possessive of me, making it perfectly clear that he won't let anything get between us, but he never said those three not-so-little words. Then again, neither have I, though I know I love him. Oh, this is all so confusing! The only thing I can do is talk to Damon, lay it all on the line, get everything out in the open, and see what he says. If what we have is ever going to work, we have to be completely honest with each other from here on. No more hiding things from each other.

Well, there we have it, I guess. I still want to be with Damon. That's the only thing that matters right now. I just hope that I won't ever have to face Stefan alone. What I saw in his eyes when he lunged for me was in no way human. Nor was it sane. It was a completely rabid predator. And it terrifies me like nothing ever has. I don't want to think about what he could do to me if he got me alone. He doesn't have the control Damon exhibited. That much was made pretty damn apparent by the fact that Damon was actually defending me from him, despite all the blood gushing out of my arm. He didn't even seem affected by the fact that I was bleeding, other than being fully intent on healing my arm from what his brother did to me.

Well, now that I know what it is I want and what I'm going to do in order to make it work, there's nothing left but for me to check my voicemail and text messages before calling Jenna to ask permission to stay the night. Then I'll go downstairs and see what Damon's cooking for dinner. Admittedly, now that I know he's a vampire, knowing that he can eat human food is more than a little startling. Now that I've accepted that I'm going to stick with Damon, I'm feeling calmer. I know he'll stick to his promise to protect me with everything he has and to enact vengeance after making sure I'm okay if something does break past him and hurts me.

I end my entry there and turn my phone on to go through missed calls and text messages. There are a couple from Caroline, several from Bonnie, and one from Jenna. I check Jenna's text first, which I see is a reply to a text I never sent. That must be the text Damon was talking about.

Make sure you use precautions. We don't want you getting pregnant while still in school.

I frown as I realize that not once did Damon use a condom when we were going at it, not today nor last night. Does the fact that he had to die to become a vampire mean he doesn't need one? I feel a touch of disappointment at that thought. If I stay with him as everything in me drives me to, will that mean I can never have children of my own, children he had fathered?

I decide that the answers to those questions aren't important right now. I can ask them later. The most important questions right now, the ones I need answers to first of all, are the ones I wrote about in my diary. They are the most pressing at this moment.

Since I will not break Damon's trust in me, I simply text back: we will. As I realized last night, Jenna is by far the coolest legal guardian Jeremy and I could have gotten. She's not freaking out over the idea of me sleeping with Damon, not forbidding me from seeing him due to the obvious difference in our physical ages.

After that I skim through the messages from Bonnie and Caroline but determine that responding to them can wait. Then I check my voicemail, surprised that there's only one and it's from Bonnie.

"Elena, Caroline told me all about that guy who drove you to school this morning. Since you never returned to class after Tanner sent you to the principal's office for that outfit you wore today, I'm assuming you had to leave and he picked you up. Elena, something is not right about Stefan. I actually made physical contact with him today by accident and I got this crazy feeling that only lasted as long as I was in contact with him. I got the feeling of death. And Caroline says the guy your dating is his older brother. If that's true, then something's really not right about him either. I hope to see you at the party in the woods tonight so we can find a private place to talk. But I'm starting to think that maybe Grams isn't just a drunk old woman. I'm starting to think maybe, just maybe, what she's been telling me all these years about the Bennett line being full of witches just might be true. I mean, I've been getting strange visions and feelings a lot in recent weeks. All I know is I need a second opinion before I decide to fully believe her stories. And I hate to say it, what with you starting a new relationship and looking so happy again because of it, but I trust you with this more than Caroline. Please try to make it to the party tonight."

I sigh. Well, given what I had just learned about the Salvatore brothers a few hours ago, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Grams has been telling us the truth all these years. Maybe Damon would know the answer to that question as well.

I realize that Damon is going to stick to his word and wait for me in the boarding house kitchen, no matter how long I stay up here hoping he will decide to return to check on me. With another sigh, I get dressed again. But I pause when I realize my skirt is heavier than it should be. I check the pockets and pull out an ancient necklace. For a moment, I'm confused as to how that got there. But then it comes flooding back to me. I had taken it from that spooky room that had belonged to Katherine while Damon was showing me around the ruins of the old Salvatore plantation house. I shudder and quickly stuff it into the bottom of my backpack, beneath all my books. What had happened right after that, the appearance of Katherine in the cracked mirror of the old dresser it had been laying on before her transformation into a vampire then death by flames, still has me spooked, even more so than what had happened here at the boarding house with Stefan.

After that, I quickly shove the memory away and finish getting dressed. Then I make my way downstairs to find the kitchen. I pass Zach in the second floor hallway. He simply looks at me and sighs. "I'm sorry you got caught up in this," he says softly as I pass him.

I pause and turn towards him, but he's already entered one of the other rooms and closed the door behind him. Apparently Zach knows the truth about Stefan and Damon. Given that Zach is human and Stefan and Damon are both over a century and a half in age, he sure isn't their uncle. His true relationship to them will have to remain a mystery a little while longer because I have more important things to discuss with Damon first.

When I reach the first floor, I simply follow my nose to the kitchen to find Damon standing in front of the stove, stirring something in a frying pan. On the counter nearby is the fixings for some sort of salad. Before I can even speak, he acknowledges my presence. "I'm making us some dinner. Just a stir-fry and salad," he says.

"Can I help?" I offer.

He glances at me, searching my eyes briefly before nodding to the salad fixings. "You can chop the veggies for the salad," he replies. I walk over, pick up the knife that was lying with the salad fixings, and begin slicing and dicing the veggies Damon had laid out. We work together on the meal in silence. It's only when dinner's ready and we're seated at the dining room table with our plates before us that he finally speaks again. "I'm going to assume you've made up your mind about what you're going to do about the secrets that were revealed to you today," he says before he takes a bite of his stir-fry.

I nod and finish the bite of salad I had stuck in my mouth before he had spoken. Then I take a sip of the glass of sweet tea he had prepared me before speaking. "I still have a things I want to know, but I've made my decision," I reply softly. He watches me with hooded eyes, waiting for me to speak again. "I've decided that if this thing between us ever going to work out positively, there can't be any more secrets between us," I tell him.

His relief at my words is palpable. "I can agree to that," he says softly yet earnestly. "I did not like keeping the truth from you, but I wanted to better prepare you for it and find the perfect timing for sharing it with you. Stefan's actions this afternoon ruined my plans." I grimace at the reminder of what Stefan did to me. "Ask me anything. I'll answer truthfully," he tells me.

I look down at my food. "I now understand some of what you told me last night and today, but not all of it. You said that if I chose to stay with you, you would 'make me like you'. Now I understand that to mean that you will eventually want to turn me into a vampire as well. But what did you mean today when you said while taking my virginity last night, you 'marked' me?" I ask.

He sighs. "Going for the tough questions first, I see," he comments dryly. "I'll explain it as best I can, but I doubt you'll be able to understand it very well. Vampires, when taking a human to bed, can choose to place a supernatural mark on that human. It's always easiest to place that mark on a human who was a virgin prior to the marking, though it can be done with humans who are not virgins. Vampires can only place this supernatural mark on one very specific human in their entire existence, one specially chosen by the vampire for that mark. Unless the vampire tells the human about the mark, the human will not know about it unless and until they make the transition into vampirism. The mark is the invisible precursor to a permanent mark two vampires can place on each other if they had both chosen the other as their eternal mate."

"What do you mean by 'eternal mate'?" I ask.

He looks at me. "When I marked you last night as mine, a part of my supernatural essence became permanently bound to your spirit, only able to be sensed by other supernatural beings. When I chose to do that with you, it meant I will literally be unable to partner in any way with any other being for the rest of my existence. It also acts as a kind of protection for you, letting every supernatural being who comes across you know without a doubt that if they mess with you in any way I do not like, I will seek swift and extreme revenge upon them. Putting that mark on you has marked you in the senses of every supernatural creature that comes across you afterwards as the one I chose to spend eternity with. And very few creatures dare mess with one a vampire places that mark on, not even older and more powerful vampires. Because if anything happens to you that I cannot prevent, I will be forced by the mark to unleash full, uncontrollable fury upon the one who caused it to happen, however inadvertently. And if someone or something caused your death, even the temporary death of a human becoming a vampire, I will have no choice but to kill the one who caused it in a permanent fashion. The mark will force me to not stop seeking a way to do so until it is accomplished or I have reached my final death, whichever comes first. The only way you can die without retribution being sought will be if I were to turn you myself," he says.

I am silent for several minutes after he's done, mulling over his words while eating more of my dinner. Though he hasn't said those three not-so-little words, by what he told me his choice to 'mark' me means for him, I realize that he does, indeed, love me far more than I ever thought it possible to love another. It also explains why he had so viciously attacked Stefan this afternoon when Stefan broke my arm. He didn't have a choice. Stefan had caused me harm, so this 'mark' Damon had placed on me had forced him to seek vengeance.

Finally, I speak again. "What are you going to do about Stefan?" I ask warily.

He grimaces. "I have no choice. When he wakes up, I have to give him a severe thrashing for breaking your arm and then trying to attack you. The mark I gave you won't let me have any other options," he replies. "I just hope he never succeeds in sinking his fangs in you, particularly so if I'm not available to stop him. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to kill my brother."

I frown. He said that the mark would force him to kill someone only if they killed me. But if he'd have to kill Stefan if the younger Salvatore got his fangs into me … "Why would you have to kill him?" I ask.

He glances at me then away. "Stefan has never been able to handle even being around human blood without losing all control of himself, losing his sanity as well as his control," he says slowly. I can tell he is picking his words with great care. "He was never trained in the proper ways of being a vampire. In fact, the very nature of his transition had turned him into what vampires refer to as a 'Ripper'. That name was coined for just what they do to the humans they feed on in an effort to get every last drop of blood. It is only thanks to myself and a vampire friend of ours that he has survived past his second decade without either humans killing him or vampires taking him out to avoid his outing the rest of us. All other rippers in the history of vampires were killed off by one or the other well before they reached the start of their third decade as vampires. Lexi, a vampire we befriended when we were newborn vampires, and I have had plenty of arguments over the decades about how we should be dealing with Stefan's problem with human blood. But as she's more than twice the age I am now, even counting my human years, she always solved those arguments by giving me an ass-kicking to make me listen to my elders, though I believe her methods to be wrong."

"If he can't handle human blood, what does he drink?" I ask.

"Lexi had put him on what I call the Thumper-and-Bambi diet. He drinks animal blood. But he never lasts more than a decade or two on that revolting diet before something causes him to get the taste or even just the scent of fresh human blood. Whenever that happens, he's back in Ripper-mode. At which point, I usually find out about it first because I've kept tabs on his exact whereabouts since his birth as I promised our mother I would the day of his birth. Whenever I got news of a massive amount of 'extreme animal attacks', as humans have called his episodes, in the area he was last in, I tracked down Lexi, let her know Stefan was off the wagon again then made my way to his location to begin cleaning up his mess while Lexi dealt with him personally," he replies. "After all, I promised my mother I would take care of my younger sibling forever, and I don't break promises unless I have no other choice."

I think about his words as I finish my meal. Finally, while we're washing dishes, I ask him what I had planned on asking him this morning. "There's a party in the woods tonight because it's the first day of school. I was wondering if you'd go as my date? Besides, I have to meet my friend Bonnie there to talk about something with her," I say.

He grins. "I'd love to be your date," he replies.

I smile. "I'm also going to call Jenna and ask if I can have a sleepover with you tonight," I tell him.

His grin turns seductive and his eyes darken slightly with desire. "Excellent idea," he says huskily.

Sarah: I'm going to leave it here, considering how long the chapter is. Next chapter will contain what happens at the party. I hope everyone enjoys what I have written in this update that has been a long time coming. Please review and let me know what you think.a