So I know it has been a really long time since I updated (like embarrassingly long). I have no excuses other than I've been busy. I have finished my postgraduate studies but it has been a very tough year for me and frankly I lost inspiration for a very long time. I'm hoping that my inspiration is back now and I continue to hope that you still enjoy reading my writing. Thank you for the support, you are all star readers! I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave me a review if you enjoyed it :)

Klaus swallowed hard as the silence stretched between him and the scowling girl on his bed. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Caroline or that he didn't know what he had to say to her, it was that he didn't know how to say it. How did you tell a nineteen-year-old girl and emotional baby vampire that she had a soulmate and that soulmate was a one thousand year old Hybrid?

He had thought about the concept many times over the years but he had never believed that there was a woman on the Earth that truly belonged to him. When he had experienced his very first full moon and realised what he really was, Klaus had longed to find his mate. He would replay the folk stories and myths told around the fires of the Old Settlement in Mystic Falls concerning eternal lovers and mating rituals over and over in his mind but he was too frightened of Mikael to journey to the neighbouring werewolf pack and look for his intended. And then his mother had stripped him of his true identity and his hope for an eternal love had died with it. He was certain that if such a girl existed for him their bond would have broken when his werewolf half had been made dormant and he would spend eternity alone for by the time the next doppelganger appeared his supposed one true love would be long dead.

And yet here he stood before her, his mate, his love. His Caroline. She was everything his long dead heart had pined for and more, so much more. He should have known, really. She had driven him to distraction from the moment they met so it shouldn't have been much of a surprise to realise the true nature of their relationship. But Klaus couldn't help but get caught up in the excitement of it all. It was still new to him, this relationship stuff and they were barely entering a courtship as it was. But to finally have proof that there was someone on this vastly over-populated planet that belonged exclusively to him was a heady feeling and he couldn't help but be in awe of that fact and of her.

Of Caroline.

But his mate's patience was quickly wearing thin and, just as he realised his staring was borderline creepy and making her more than a little uncomfortable, it finally broke.

"For God's sake, Klaus! Can you stop gaping at me?" Caroline huffed angrily. Her outburst caused a soft golden lock of her hair to blow away from her pretty pink lips as her eyes narrowed dangerously.

He'd never been more enchanted.

xoxoxo

Despite the fact that Caroline was so angry she could practically feel her body fighting the lines that wanted to form on her face from her deep scowl, she couldn't stop the immense feeling of relief and happiness that washed over her as Klaus entered the room. Her body felt lighter for simply being in his presence and she allowed herself to indulge in the feeling for a mere few seconds before she crashed back to reality. Her eyes that were trained on Klaus saw that he was looking at her as if he were a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. All of a sudden, her frustration came rushing back along with confusion, guilt and an odd sense of complete and utter awe.

The sensations were maddening.

A heartbeat passed as she tried and failed to gather her wits about her and finally her frustration burst from her mouth.

"For God's sake, Klaus! Can you stop gaping at me?" His intense staring was making her insides squirm in an oddly pleasant way.

Blinking at her outburst, Klaus finally stepped forward to speak.

"Caroline. How was your day? I trust you are well?" Klaus asked nervously.

Caroline folded her arms across her chest as she attempted to look calm and in control.

"Why don't we skip the polite questions aimed at charming me into a better mood and get down to business? I know you lied to me this morning and I am pretty angry about it but I'm more interested in finding out where you went instead of dealing with antiques. You're older and more experienced than I am so I know it has something to do with the weird connection between us that formed from our bloodsharing."

Klaus looked taken aback at how much she already knew about the bond. He had hoped he would be able to ease her into it by revealing it to her carefully.

"How much do you know, sweetheart?" He asked resignedly as he sat down in one of the armchairs of the suite indicating that she should take the one opposite. She sat down carefully finally allowing a small amount of worry to pinch her young features.

"Not a lot. Bonnie was the one that put me on to it. She started going on about auras and how she could tell I'd bloodshared with you because it was like your aura had seeped into mine or something. But it wasn't the bloodsharing I was worried about. She said that was okay but that we could have formed a blood bond? I have no idea what that is, Klaus, but I definitely have the side effects! I've been craving blood like mad and my emotions are all over the place!"

She was quickly working herself up into a frenzy of confusion and Klaus instantly placed his hands on hers to calm her. Her watery eyes captured his as he took a breath to begin explaining what had happened.

"I'm sorry to say but our bloodsharing did cause a blood bond to form which is why you have felt thirstier than usual, Caroline. Your emotions, though already heightened due to vampirism, have become more intense because of the bond as you are also feeling my emotions. Although, I'm sure you already figured that out, didn't you?"

She nodded and blushed under the intense look of pride he gave her. He did marvel at her independence and could tell she was probably full to the brim with questions.

"This morning, Kol and I went to see a witch about what transpired between the two of us last night. I was primarily concerned with the fact that our bites hadn't healed and how I could fix it. I was so focused on this that I didn't realise I was experiencing other effects until the witch we spoke to ordered me to focus on these. She explained that a blood bond had formed between us and that was the reason for the side effects and I realised you would have these too. Our bites would take a longer time to heal, we would be able to feel each other's emotions through the connections and our thirst for blood would increase. More specifically, our craving for each other would increase."

"So, everything we do will be affected by this? The blood bond clouds our judgement and manipulates our feelings?" Caroline questioned.

"In a way, yes. The witch said that the bond is a rare occurrence. Unfortunately, the fact that I am one of a kind has made me for susceptible to things like this and I suppose the fact that it was a first for both us encouraged it too. Although the bond is an anomaly, the witch also said that it could only manifest if the two connected had strong feelings for each other."

Klaus eyed Caroline then as she squirmed in her seat to avoid his penetrating gaze. Eventually, she gave in and sighed exasperatedly.

"Well, obviously she is right. I know you have feelings for me and I'll admit I have feelings for you. Pretty strong ones at that." Caroline admitted.

His heart soared. To know it was one thing but to have her confirm it was another thing completely.

"But Klaus…I'm still trying to work those feelings out. Hell, we're trying to figure things out together. We're not even in a proper relationship and we have no idea what we are doing after the summer. A blood bond is the last thing we need especially if it's going to influence everything we do. Too much pressure to push us together could ruin our sanity and any potential relationship between us."

"Well, that actually brings me to another thing the witch revealed."

"Oh, god. What more can there possibly be?" Caroline cried.

"I talked briefly about some of the factors that caused this bond to form but there is another thing that may have influenced it. Unlike the blood bond, this cannot be broken."

"So, we can break the blood bond? And that will make the confusing emotions and insatiable thirst go away?"

"Yes," Klaus said hesitantly, "but it is meant to be a difficult process."

Caroline waved her hand impatiently.

"Doesn't matter. It needs to be broken otherwise we could unleash hell on some unsuspecting tourists! As long as we can fix this, everything will be fine, right?" Caroline asked in need of reassurance.

"Well, yes but there is the remaining factor that can't be broken."

"Okay, well let's hear it!"

Klaus paused before speaking.

"One of the other factors that influenced our bond to form is something that cannot be broken, Caroline. It will never go away and I'm not sure what the consequences of that might be yet."

"Okay…" Caroline was eager for him to proceed.

"Caroline, love, we're soulmates." Klaus finished in a rush.

Caroline blinked for a few seconds as she tried to process what he was telling her.

"What? Seriously?!"

Xoxoxo

"So, Caroline and Klaus are soulmates who have formed a blood-bond that you now want me to break with the assistance of one of your old flames? Furthermore, you want me to put my best friend through absolute agony in order to break knowing that she'll be stuck with him anyway?" Bonnie asked exasperatedly.

"That is the long and short of it, yes." Kol stated.

Bonnie exhaled one long breath as she sat back against the pillows of their bed. She sat in silence for a minute as she processed what she had been told then took another deep breath.

"Okay." She said.

"Okay?" Kol questioned looking rather taken aback.

"Yes. Okay. I'll do it."

Something flashed in Kol's eyes as she said that but it was gone too fast for her to decipher what it might mean.

"You realise that this ritual has probably never been done before and we don't know what the consequences might be?" Kol warned her in a lowly voice.

Bonnie simply shrugged.

"Not to brag, Mikaelson, but I'm a witch that comes from a very powerful magical line. I've performed spells and rituals that have been incredibly high risk and survived. I was powerful enough to take down your brother. I think I can handle an unlinking spell."

Kol's gaze hardened but she wasn't sure why.

"Fine. As long as you know the risks. You should rest for a few hours before we leave." And with that Kol stalked out of the room leaving a hurt and confused Bonnie in his wake.

Xoxoxo

Caroline was still reeling with shock by the time evening rolled around. Klaus had explained things in excruciating detail and left her to mull over the information by herself yet she still felt like she was barely keep her head afloat of everything that had happened and was going to happen. Now that they were on their way to meet the witch, her mind seemed to spin even faster than before and a sickening sense of foreboding and dread filled her body.

It didn't help that the car was full of a silence so thick with tension you could cut it with a knife. Klaus was driving steadily towards their destination and although he appeared to be calm and collected, his eyes kept flickering to the rear-view mirror to anxiously connect with Caroline's who was sitting in the back seat next to Bonnie. These shared glances only served to make Caroline's stomach churn faster.

To top off the obvious tension, there seemed to be a slight rift between the other two lovers in the car and Caroline often found her mind flicking to what might have happened between Bonnie and Kol to keep her mind off of her current situation. Kol was astutely staring out the passenger window with a hard gaze watching as dusty terrain whizzed by them. He was quite clearly ignoring Bonnie who was staring at him with a perplexed and hurt expression. She obviously didn't know what was going on either then, Caroline thought.

As it was clear that she wasn't able to figure out what was going with Bonnie and Kol, Caroline's thoughts turned once again to the shocking revelations Klaus had given her and the swiftly approaching magical 'fix' for it.

If she was honest with herself, Caroline wasn't unhappy with certain parts of this turn of events. As a little girl, she had often dreamed about being swept off her feet by a dashing young man and strongly believed that love lasts forever. She had often caught herself wishing that soulmates existed so that she would be safe in the knowledge that there was someone out there for her and that she would never be alone. This was a recurring thought for much of her teen years when her father had abandoned her and she was stuck microwaving a sad lasagne for one because her mother was at work…again. However, as she grew older and the supernatural became prevalent in her life this silly idealistic notion was pushed aside. Caroline believed that her life was something of a horror story not something that dreams are made of.

Therefore, finding out that there was indeed someone who was made perfectly for her was incredible and she couldn't help but be in awe of it. However, what she wasn't prepared for (though, thinking about it now, she really should have been considering the walking catastrophe that was her life) was the fact that Klaus was her mate. Yes, the Original Hybrid that had terrorised the town was meant to be her one and only. She could only imagine what Damon would say.

She felt bad thinking that this was a bad thing but what else could she think? She had just been coming round to the idea of a fledgling relationship with Klaus and then suddenly he was meant to be the only person she would ever end up with. The prospect was daunting and made her feel claustrophobic, as if she was being forced into something she wasn't ready for. That alone made her feel awful for how was she supposed to explain this to Klaus who looked at her like she was the only thing tethering him to the Earth?

That's why they needed to go through with this ritual. The blood-bond was accidental and unwanted but they could change it. Once it was broken, they would all be able to think more clearly about what was going to happen next. She knew it would be stupid to make any life-altering decisions whilst under the influence of this magical bullshit which was why it was essential the blood-bond was broken but she would be lying if she wasn't apprehensive about it.

They didn't know the consequences so what if they got seriously hurt? What if breaking the bond would render her emotionless forever? What if they didn't break it correctly and something terrible happened to them? What about the mate bond, would that break too? Did she want it to? All if these thoughts swirled endlessly in her head and the pit in her stomach grew. Sensing her emotions, though luckily not her thoughts, Klaus raised his eyebrows and smiled reassuringly to try and make her more at ease. She smiled tentatively back.

"We're here." Kol announced stiffly.

The smiles dropped from their faces.

Xoxoxo

"Welcome, welcome to my home!" The witch, Georgina, cried enthusiastically. She was very different to when Klaus had met her earlier although he suspected it was because she was meeting a powerful sister witch and the enigma that was his mate.

"Please, follow me. We'll be doing the spell in the garden so that we can draw power from the Earth herself." Georgina gushed. Bonnie followed her confidently with a scowling Kol trailing behind swiftly followed by two twitchy mates.

The two witches were chatting amicably as they descended the steps into the beautiful garden Georgina owned. The soft moonlight illuminated various colourful plants and ornaments. The sound of wind-chimes sang through the breeze and fireflies swarmed the sky. It was a truly beautiful evening.

"It really is such a pleasure to meet you, Bonnie. I've never known a Bennett witch so this is a real privilege. Thank you so much for coming to assist me."

"It's no problem. I'd do anything to help my friends and it's important that we witches help each other out from time to time as there are so few of us left." Bonnie stated gracefully.

Georgina flushed, pleased before turning to the rest of the group. She ignored the unrelenting black gaze that Kol fixed on her.

"Okay, so the ritual isn't exactly complicated. We will need a blood sacrifice from both of you because we are breaking the blood bond between you. This involves cleansing you of the bond which is found in your blood. You'll both swallow a potion that will ensure you fall asleep for the ritual and will remain asleep afterwards for the necessary healing to work. I'm afraid to say that you'll be in pain whilst you're asleep but when you wake up you shouldn't remember any of it. With me so far?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good. Bonnie and I will combine our strength and draw power from nature in order to do the spell. Fortunately, we only need to chant once over their combined blood and then we have to connect to each other before channelling our power into them."

"How do we do that?" Bonnie asked and Georgina grimaced.

"We'll have to cut our palms and link hands to mix our blood together which will connect our energies. Then we'll make our way to Klaus and Caroline and place our other hand on their bodies. We'll channel the power of the spell cast through our energy and the power of nature, pushing it into their bodies through our hands. Once that's done, the rest will follow easily. We'll be able to feel once the power of the spell has left us and gone into them. That's our cue to step away and let the spell run its course."

"How long will it take?" Caroline asked and Georgina smiled reassuringly.

"Not too long, hopefully. I'm not sure how long it will take to cleanse the both of you but it shouldn't take more than an hour."

Caroline nodded.

"So, once you have cast the energy into their bodies, the spell will run by itself cleansing them of the bond?" Kol asked.

"Yes. Bonnie and I will cast the spell which will allow us to access the power needed to cleanse them of the bond. Once this in their bodies, the energy will do what it is meant to do without need for interference. We'll monitor them obviously."

Another tense silence seemed to descend on the group as they processed what was about to happen.

"Is everyone happy to proceed? It isn't too late to back out. You could learn to live with the bond with help from herbs and spells." Georgina said.

"But we would need to do that for the rest of our lives?" Klaus asked and the witch nodded in reply.

"That's no life to live, Klaus. It needs to be broken." Caroline implored.

The two shared a look of understanding between them. No matter the consequences, this needed to be done. A blood bond was dangerous not only to them but to others around them too. If it continued to escalate as it was now, they would run the risk of exposing vampires all over the world which could start a terrible war.

Klaus nodded his ascent to Caroline and was relieved to see her smile.

"So, are we ready?" The red-headed witch asked.

"Yeah." Caroline softly replied, slipping her hand into Klaus's for reassurance.

"Then let's get started!"