"Oh, but Caroline, I love him," Caroline mocks under her breath as she trudges through the forest. "Yeah, Elena, of course you love him! You're sired to him for over a month and turn human. Of course you love him and not Stefan, the good brother. I mean... Seriously?"

Caroline kicks a rock, sending it bouncing forcefully into the darkness ahead of her. She hears it hit something soft and a low growl reaches her ears.

She stops instantly, slowly raising her head to look forwards. There's nothing there, but she can hear it hidden in the black shadows. Her eyes flick up and she frowns. It's not a full moon. Nowhere near, in fact. It must be-

"Tyler?" She breathes as the black wolf stalks out into the white light of the moon. She shrinks, feeling helpless. She looks around discreetly and hears the falls to her left. She flashes into a run, but he's close. Too close.

Adrenaline pushes through her, making her run faster than she thought possible. Her head is throbbing from the speed and she's pretty sure she broke her hand when she grabbed a tree trunk to turn towards the sound of water.

She screams and drops to the ground, hands out in front of her to stop her smashing her face on the ground. She can feel his teeth sinking into the flesh of her leg and she kicks back with her free hand. She screams as the fangs drag down her leg before releasing her.

She stumbles back to her feet and makes it to the edge of the falls, looking down at the water below. She turns back and sees Tyler preparing for another attack. She takes a deep breath, feeling herself stumbling backwards dizzily. Her head spins, but then she's falling.

Tyler howls in victory, his prey falling to its death. Caroline holds her breath, preparing for impact. She slams into the water, her back cracking out-of-place for a moment with the force, and begins sinking down.

Her arms weakly move in attempt to get back out of the water, but with her legs already burning she doesn't reach that high before she tires out. She closes her eyes and releases her last breath, knowing that she'll die of the bite soon.

as she gives up on hope, there's a splash above her. She doesn't have enough energy to find the source, so she assumes that a rock or something fell in. That is, until something grabs the back of her collar and pulls her up from the water.

Her body is limp, and she lets them drag her out, the water rushing past her as they pull her at an unnatural speed. Her head falls back when they break the surface and she coughs out the water from her lungs, along with a bit of blood, and splutters as they continue to pull her by her top.

Why aren't they pulling me normally? She thinks, slowly opening her eyes. Her head falls to the right and her eyes widen considerably. There's a wolf's arse next to her, kicking its big wolfy legs. It's damp syrup coloured coat glistens in the moonlight and she tries to figure out who it is.

She feels hard ground underneath her now and she looks around. She's at the bottom of the falls, but she can't remember why anymore. Her leg begins to burn again and she definitely remembers now. she wimpers, pulling herself up and pushing herself back so she leans against a thick tree trunk.

Oh my God, this hurts so much! At least it's easier than last time. Why is it always me?

The wolf wimpers back, walking around her and scanning the surrounding area. She watches it, confused, until it's dark blue eyes meet her drifting baby blue one. He walks over, nuzzling the crook of her neck with his snout and she lets out a quiet laugh.

Of course it's him. Who else would it be, Caroline?

"Klaus, stop it," she mumbles, pushing him away with little effort. He hops back, looking at her surprised and she smiles at him. "Yes, I know it's you, dumbass," she whispers. He growls back and she rolls her eyes. "Always so proud," she smirks, watching him as he holds his head high and walks to her leg.

He begins sniffing her wound and he growls at it, turning to look up at the top of the falls. She follows his murderous eyes and sees a silhouette - no, not a shadow - a black wolf, just standing at the edge of the cliff and looking at them.

What the hell is Klaus doing? She thinks. He's a damn wolf. He should be killing me, not trying to save me... Shouldn't he?

Caroline coughs again, bringing wolf-Klaus' attention back to her. "I'm fine," she lies, resting her head back against the tree. "I'm just tired, that's all," she tells him. He makes a noise, that she thinks is the wolf equivalent of a scoff, and he walks behind the trees.

Where's he going now? Whats he doing? I don't want to be alone. I want him to stay...

"Oh, bye then," she mutters, closing her eyes. He barks at her and she reluctantly looks over at him. He tilts his head and she swears that he raises invisible eyebrows at her. She sighs and nods. "Okay, no sleep, I get it," she mumbles. He nods and walks back behind the trees.

She hears cracking bones and she realises he's changing back. Panic runs through her and her eyes shoot open. "You better be wearing something, Klaus," she warns, only to hear him chuckle and loudly zip up his jeans. "Yes, love," he replies, walking out in jeans and boots and holding his shirt.

Why did he bring the necklaces? Did he know they turn me on, or what? And that stubble. Damn, I'm losing the ability to stop. I hope I'm not saying this out loud...

She can't help but stare at him. His taut muscle catch the moonlight, water still clinging to him. She swallows and awkwardly looks away, feeling a blush rising to her cheeks. She turns back when he steps closer, kneeling beside her.

Come on, love, he thinks. Why is always you? Why do you do this to me? Why can't I just leave you alone so you can live out a mistake with my mutt? ... Because I'm in love with you, that's why... Bloody hell, sweetheart...

"Come on, love," he whispers, looking to her eyes as he puts his arm behind her back. She lets him move her on to his lap and his eyes flick to her leg. He winces, pained at the reminder that he, too, could hurt his Caroline if he lost control. He feels his control slipping when ever he's near her, but not like this. He feels his emotional control slipping, his walls crumbling and there's a desire to let her in. But, he is not weak. He doesn't let her. Well, he probably would eventually, but something always breaks them apart.

I should just grab you and pull you out of this town... Now would be a good time to do it. While you're unconscious and in my arms. While you trust me... Or maybe not... Don't want to lose that now, do I? He debates with himself in his mind.

Heal me, she pleads in her mind. Just... Take me away. I hate it here. Please, just pick me up and walk. Rome, Paris, Tokyo. Hell, I'll go anywhere! Just... Take me away, please.

He puts his wrist to her lips and hisses when she bites down into his flesh. He strokes her hair gently, feeling her cold lips heating up against his skin as she drinks from him. His heart tightens and he feels his fangs desperate to push out of his gums to drink from her. He closes his eyes and breathes slowly, trying to keep his mind from thoughts that would make their current positioning suddenly very awkward, what with her being on his lap and everything.

God, she's going to be the death of me, he thinks with a barely audible sigh.

She pulls his wrist away and blushes, having taken more than she actually needed. But, she couldn't help it. Once, she started, there was something inside her that just made her want nothing more than to have him bite her back and drink from her, too. She kept drinking to see if he did it. She pushed the thoughts away and tried to calm her flushed self down, hoping he didn't smell her arousal or whatever, since he's a wolf...

God, he's going to be the death of me, she thinks with an audible moan of displeasure at not having more to drink. He smirks down at her pouting face as it regains colour and her leg begins to heal.

She blinks her eyes open and looks up at him, she opens her mouth thank him but he stops her, pressing his finger to her lips and shaking his head. She smiles up at him and they stare at one another with unspoken words running through their minds until she finally falls asleep.

"You were right, Caroline," he whispers against her temple. "I do love you," he admits so quietly that even he had trouble hearing it. He quickly pulls his shirt on before scooping her up. "Lets get you home, eh, love?" He whispers, walking out of the forest with his sleeping beauty cradled in his arms and a black wolf watching from far away.

AN: CHECK OUT MY STORY PHASES FOR A CONTINUATION. SET A LITTLE WHILE AFTER THIS ^