The Unknown Variable

Chapter 10

I do apologize for the long wait for an update. Since I last posted I have lost a beloved family member and a beloved pet. So I do apologize for not updating sooner. Saying this I will try to update more frequently but can not make any promises given the shift in my family's lives currently.
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His legs ached as he collapsed on the forest floor in his new werewolf form. Running had been the smart move, he was sure of it. Kl-Dad had abandoned him and then kept him prisoner once he decided he wanted him again.

The pain that had encompassed him emotionally was unlike anything he had felt in nearly a hundred years. Last time he had felt like this, his wife and child had nearly been burnt alive for being ‘witches’. It had been nothing short of a miracle that he had gotten them away when he had.

Damon’s back ached at the memory of the consequences that had fallen upon him when he had returned from getting them to safety.

The lashes had been painful, so painful that he had struggled to move for a week after receiving them. His only consolation had been that Julia and Nicola had made it safely to the vineyard his grandfather had left him.

Resentment bubbled in his throat as his mind wandered back to his Dad. If he had been there, Julia and Nicola wouldn’t have had to be secreted away to Italy in the dead of night. They wouldn’t have had to live their lives without him and he wouldn’t have had to watch from a distance as they…forgot about him.

Tears pricked his eyes as emotions threatened to overwhelm him completely. His throat tightened and his stomach churned painfully as he remember the last time he had seen his beautiful Julia, as she lay in bed dying from consumption at the tender age of 65.

Damon had felt fortunate to have been able to watch her from a distance until the day she took her last breath.

He swallowed thickly around the knot that had begun to form in his throat and forced the images of his wifes death to the edges of his mind. Pushing himself up on all four legs, Damon shook out his fur and continued toward Richmond.

There were a couple of vampires who owed him some favors and he’d be damned if he didn’t cash those in to take care of Augustine. Their deaths had been a long time coming and he refused to let them continue to breath a second longer than necessary.

He’d not only get revenge for himself but, also avenge the death of Enzo, the closest and best friend he had ever had. For his death, Damon would ensure the Augustine group would burn in a fiery pit of hell. He would not rest until they were screaming, begging for mercy and when they were inches from death, he would heal them and begin all over again.

Of that, Damon promised, for there was no mercy for those who harmed the ones he loved. Damon held his head high as he pushed his aching limbs to begin running towards Richmond. This would all be over soon, he would ensure it.

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Light blinded him as he regained consciousness, his skin itching and irritated from the feeling of branches and stones digging into his flesh. His mind felt foggy, making it seemingly impossible to organize his thoughts and reorient himself. One thought however, stood at the forefront.

Damon. His boy. He was alive, safe in the cabin with Maddox, and, and….Klaus had to get back to him. Klaus had to make Damon understand the reasons behind him leaving without him.

Pushing himself into an upright position, he shook the last of the fog from his mind as he zeroed in on his singular focus. Something soft and light hit his back as he made to stand up from where he had found himself.