Author's Note: This is the first chapter of a multi-chapter fic that I'm working on. It's pretty heavy on the angst and gets dark in some places. The Klaus in this story starts out more as a Season 2-esque version of the character. Please enjoy! x

Chapter One

Caroline Forbes had never professed to understand the workings of the male mind. But that didn't stop her from being baffled when she found herself well and truly dumped by the man who had promised her forever.

Damn Tyler Lockwood was the guy Caroline had pinned all her hopes and dreams on. They were supposed to get married, have a quaint little house with a white picket fence, and three adorable children.

Until he decided to end any chance of that ever happening.

Not to mention, Tyler had dragged her all the way to New York from her hometown in Virginia to let her down gently, as he so euphemistically called it. But she didn't want to be let down.

She just wanted him, she always had.

They'd dated since she was 17, going through college together, making plans for the future. She'd showered him with unwavering support when he decided to go to law school in New York, reassuring him that she'd wait for him.

And she would have, if he'd wanted her to. She was stupidly loyal like that.

Of course, when he'd asked her to fly out to see him, she'd been overjoyed and excited, hopping on a plane as soon as she could get a flight. He'd even arranged a fancy hotel suite for her paid for courtesy of his rich father's credit card.

For the first day of her visit he'd been as sweet as cherry pie, fawning over her, telling her she looked beautiful, taking her out for lunch. Unfortunately, it appeared as if lunch had just been an excuse to drop the bombshell.

He didn't want to be with her anymore. Six years swirled down the drain in a flash. Letting her temper flare, the blonde had stormed away, leaving a stunned Tyler behind, with only the red indentation of her handprint on his cheek to remember her by.

It should have been simple after that but unfortunately in Caroline's world nothing ever seemed to be easy. She hadn't carried any cash with her to get a cab, meaning that she'd ended up walking in circles trying to find an ATM, something that should have been straightforward in a city like New York, but apparently not.

And now to top it all off, she'd gone and gotten herself lost.

"Can't do long distance any more, my ass," she muttered to herself as she tried to get her bearings, the ache in her feet making her regret wearing those heels. The ache in her heart made her regret even coming to this city in the first place. "Stupid Tyler with his stupid promises and his stupid break up speeches."

All she'd ever wanted was a good guy who'd look at her like she hung the moon. Was that really too much to ask? She was starting to believe that men like that didn't exist, and if they did they were probably flawed beyond redemption in some other way.

But thoughts of her love life, or lack of it, could wait. Right now she needed to figure out exactly where she was and find her way back to her hotel.

Quickening her pace, as she feared it would probably be getting dark soon, she missed the small pothole in the sidewalk. Stumbling and barely steadying herself before she hit the ground, Caroline let out a groan. Her heel had gotten caught in the little hole and decided to snap off. Oh life was just getting better and better!

She idly wondered what the hell else could happen to make things even worse. Although at that point she wasn't sure that worse even existed anymore.

With a sigh she pulled off her mammoth heels and proceeded barefoot. She was a little concerned that she might catch plague or some equally horrific disease off of the streets but she was pretty much beyond caring and so she marched onward.

Her steps stilled as the sounds of a scuffle reached her ears. Logically she knew that she should run away in the other direction as fast as her legs would carry her. But what if someone was in trouble and needed her help?

Heading toward the muffled shouts she peered around the corner of a nearby alleyway only to see two men fighting. Or…they weren't really fighting as opposed to one of the guys was beating up the other. And from the looks of the blood that stained the ground, it was a pretty gruesome beating.

An auburn haired man, whose face she couldn't see clearly, had backed his opponent up against the brick of the wall. In a flash his arm was pressed into the dark skinned guy's neck, restraining him. His entire aura radiated danger from his tight black jeans to the leather jacket that swathed his slim form.

Caroline realized this was the kind of guy her mother had always warned her about, although as the daughter of a formerly cheated-on sheriff, she'd basically been warned about every member of the male species multiple times.

"I treated you like a brother!" the attacker said, a clear British twang to his voice, Caroline noted. "I was always there for you and you dare to repay me by siding with the one person I hate the most in the world!"

"Klaus, please! Don't do this, man!" the dark skinned man begged, his voice a hoarse choke.

The other man gave a half shrug and released him momentarily, giving Caroline a glimmer of hope. However, that hope evaporated when the poor guy was falling to his knees as his attacker swiped the butt of the gun across his temple. She winced as the crack reverberated in her ears, loud even from her position at the mouth of the alley.

She truly wanted to help but no matter how courageous she was, it would be suicide to go up against the man with the gun. She was just grateful they were so embroiled in the fight that they hadn't noticed her.

"Oh, Marcel, your pleas fall on deaf ears now. Maybe you should have considered the consequences before you betrayed me." The man, who she figured was called Klaus, took a step back and shook his head, glaring down at the cowering figure. "Did you enjoy betraying me? Did you think that it would give you a free pass with my sister if I was dead? Or was it revenge that I never valued you as a friend? Hmm?"

Clearly displeased with Marcel's resounding silence, Klaus' booted foot shot out, connecting with Marcel's ribs with a dull thud. The latter doubled over in pain, rivulets of blood bubbling over the plump curve of his lips and trickling down his chin. He braced shaky hands on the floor, knowing that he was done for.

It appeared that, whoever this Klaus guy was, he wasn't someone to screw with. He didn't exactly seem the forgiving type from what Caroline was witnessing.

In all honesty it wasn't something she wanted to continue to see. She wasn't an idiot, it was obvious how this would end for Marcel, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene. Her feet wouldn't seem to move either, keeping her rooted to the spot as she watched Klaus cock his gun and aim it at Marcel's head.

"Any last words?" Klaus sneered.

Marcel looked up, his chocolate eyes catching Klaus' and a bloody smirk touched his lips. "Just two," he bit out. "Fuck you!"

Klaus frowned, clearly expecting this guy to beg and plead again for his life to be spared but apparently he was going to die with dignity. Still, it seemingly didn't matter to Klaus. Either way Marcel would be dead. With chilling informality, Klaus pulled the trigger of what must have been a silenced gun, his bullet hitting his target square in the forehead.

Milliseconds later Marcel slumped to the ground, a pool of red seeping from his cadaver, coloring the ground an ugly shade of crimson.

Caroline didn't realize the cry of anguish that escaped from her mouth was even her own until a pair of stormy blue eyes snapped to lock with hers.

She felt a ball of fear set aflame in the pit of her stomach as Klaus' cold expression dissolved into a curious sneer. His gaze swept over her from head to toe and back again, drinking in her long pale legs, slender figure encased in a short billowy white dress, and her cascade of blonde curls before settling on her petrified face.

"Well, well, well," he said with a smirk, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on her as he hooked a thumb casually into the loop of his belt. "What do we have here?"