What? A new story when I haven't even finished my last one? I know, I'm terrible, but I've had this new story rattling around in my brain for a few weeks now and, while it will be a slow update, I thought I'd test out the first chapter to see if this is a story with legs or if there's already way too many 'Caroline is a wolf' stories out there! I tried to give a new twist to it but i'm not sure if I've succeeded.

It was an awareness that first crept up her spine, causing her to awake with a shiver. Caroline's eyes moved to the clock, it was midnight, had she really slept that long? She knew she'd been dosed with a lot of vervein but that was ridiculous. Her mind went back to how Damon and Matt had rescued her earlier. Her gratefulness to Matt came easily; for Damon…less so.

Caroline couldn't shake off the feeling of unease and she eyed her phone. No messages lit up her screen and she didn't dare call Stefan or Bonnie, just in case she unintentionally gave the game away at the ritual. Her stomach lurched and coiled in on itself and Caroline rested a hand fearfully on the curve of her belly. She didn't get stomach cramps. Could it be a side effect of the vervein?

And that was when the pain barrelled into her, scalding her skin like she'd stepped into the sun without her ring. The small part of her mind, that wasn't writhing in agony wondered fuzzily if Klaus had marked her somehow; was it possible she was still going to die tonight, except in her bed instead of a ritual circle?

Her spine warped and shattered, and Caroline screamed as the cartilage fused into a new curve. She half scrabbled, half fell out of her bed, her eyes widening in horror as she watched her fingers claw, yellow blonde fur slipping out of her pores as if it had a right to belong there. For a moment, her mind refused to believe her eyes. She was a vampire, vampires don't turn into wolves!

She heard the front door click downstairs and instantly recognised her mother's gait as she entered the house. An image flashed into her mind, straight out of a horror film. Her, crazed and in wolf form, tearing into her mother before she had time to defend herself.

She had to get out of here.

Caroline tried to get to her feet, but they gave out under her as pain ripped through her haunches. Muscles and bone bunched and warped under her now sleekly furred skin and Caroline struggled against screaming aloud as her face seemed to pull against herself. For a moment, her eyes to dimmed, before brightening into greyed sharpness and. her ears twitched forward. She could hear her mother, cautious now, creeping up the stairs, she could not let this confrontation happen.

Ignoring the pain, Caroline hurtled herself at her bedroom window, splintering it into a shower of glass. She landed on the lawn on four paws, fully transformed, and let out a howl of protest as a bullet skimmed her skin. She looked up to see her mother glaring down at her over the barrel of her regulation firearm. All things considered, she couldn't blame her. It's not every day you come home to find a werewolf trashing your daughter's bedroom.

Another bullet dug a groove into lawn beside her, and Caroline skittered on her paws as she spun and ran for cover. The woods beckoned and Caroline let her gait lengthen as she became a blurred shadow in the night.

It was another wolf, Klaus was sure of it. Not a hybrid, of course, he was the only one of his kind, but surely a werewolf - maybe that Lockwood kid that he was originally going to use for the ritual. Well, perhaps he could still be of some use. Klaus would bestow on him the honour of being his first sired hybrid.

Klaus tilted his head, his ears flicking forward. The paws were light but hesitant, definitely a young werewolf unsure of his new form. Of course he was in the same boat, but he had the advantage of age and hybrid strength. If Klaus could make him submit now, his work would be easier when the pup retook human form in the morning. Make him bow and accept him as his alpha, and he might not even have to turn him by force. Klaus's tongue lolled out in excitement, giving his wolf features an amused cast. The chase was on.

He pounced into the deep pools of shadow and followed the soft beat of the werewolf's paws as they dove deeper into the wilder parts of the wood. He could hear the werewolf's breath now, although he was not catching up as quickly ashe originally envisaged. Klaus, as a hybrid, had a singular advantage over a werewolf - he retained his human acumen; but a werewolf that was quick on his feet might still give him some sport.

They were heading for the river that sped away from the foot of the falls, and once again felt his respect for the wolf rise. He was trying to confuse his trail. Klaus redoubled his efforts to catch up and pounced just as the wolf tensed to leap into the water. They tussled in the leaves, snarling and rolling, and Klaus slowly realised two things as the smaller, sleeker wolf attempted to bite into his ruff despite being obviously overpowered. The wolf was a female...and a hybrid.

Dawn left a warm dapple of light filtering through the tree growth, and the first scent that filled Caroline's hazy mind as that of deer blood. She groaned, rolling onto her back, and didn't tense until a shadow blocked the warmth of the sun.

"If I'd known he woul'd have company, I'd have brought a wider array of clothing," a dry voice said, and Caroline scrambled to her feet as she recognised the figure, Elijah Mikaelson, as he shrugged off his jacket She looked at him warily as he offered it to her, and Caroline realised, with a shrivelling sense of embarrassment, that she was naked.

"Oh come now, Elijah, you know how these things happen," said a too cheerful voice and Caroline turned slowly to see a unfairly fresh looking pretty boy zip up a pair of jeans. Klaus Mikaelson, she presumed. Why were all the evil ones so ridiculously hot? She eyed the steaming carcass a few feet away, Had they hunted together last light? This was too weird.

"What did you do to me?" she asked slowly.

Klaus Mikaelson's eyebrows shot up. "I didn't do anything to you, love. It was mutually beneficial evening. Don't you remember?"

It all came rushing back; the chase to the river, the tussle in the undergrowth, the wary detente as they circled each other, and then the deer that had happened upon them. The hunt had been amazing. She shivered at at the memory, for reasons she didn't want to analyse too closely. Klaus's grin grew wider, and Caroline heard Elijah sigh.

"That's not what I meant," Caroline muttered, trying to regain her equilibrium as she huddled into the jacket. "Yesterday I was a vampire and today I am a hybrid. That doesn't just happen. You and your witchy ritual did something to me."

His head cocked, his eyes examining her intently. "Interesting," he said. He threw a look at his brother, who shrugged.

"It would take an almost unprecedented array of events but it's possible. Someone with an untriggered werewolf gene could technically be turned and then not enter the hybrid state after their first kill because of the curse..but, from what I've heard, such vampires are usually killed when discovered for fear of weakening the curse.

"Wait - untriggered werewolf?" Caroline laughed. "Please, I think I'd have noticed it if either of my parents were werewolves."

"The gene can skip generations," Klaus said. "And let's face it love, the founding families are so interbred it's a miracle more of you aren't turning on the full moon." Caroline opened her mouth to protest before remembering her paternal grandmother was a Lockwood and then shut it again.

"It's not all bad, love," Klaus said. "You'll never need to wear a daylight ring again, for instance."

Caroline looked down at her bare finger. "Will I have to change again on the next full moon?" she asked.

Klaus beamed. "You can change whenever you want, Caroline. Not even the moon can force you." Well thank god for small mercies, she supposed. She lifted her chin and turned to Elijah.

"Thank you for the use of your jacket," she said. "I'll return it once I've retrieved a change of clothing." She wrinkled her nose. "Dry cleaned of course."

A smiled twitched at his lips. "Of course"

"Do you have an address I can deliver it to?" she asked.

The two brothers exchanged a look. "I'll come to you," Elijah eventually said.

"And I'll be along too," Klaus said, with a smug smile. "After all, we have to discuss our evolving relationship."

Caroline's eyes narrowed. "You and I do not have a relationship." .

"We share territory," he drawled. "So I beg to differ. Only one of us has what it takes to be Alpha, but I'm intrigued by the idea of you being my Beta. You're scrappy."

Caroline let out a huff of outrage. "In your dreams," she yelled as she streaked away. The echo of his laughter following her to the highway. She didn't pause for breath until she reached the safety of her porch.