Grace - Elijah Mikaelson -

Chapter 23

"Yes, we are. Good work, Gracie. Now find us a good motel while I make my speech."

She chocked down a snarky comment before she exited into the woods surrounding them. But before she could even reach the tree line, she was suddenly shoved to the ground by one of the hybrids. His fangs sunk into her neck with a deadly force and Grace screamed from the top of her lungs.

Klaus pushed him down from her and broke the hybrid's neck, before he quickly helped Grace to her feet. She was too shocked to even thank him. She touched her neck, only to hiss in pain and find her hands stained with her own blood. He had bitten her. A lethal bite for a vampire.

"That looks like a nasty bite."

With a expression full of mixed emotions, Klaus stared into Grace's troubled eyes.

...

An hour later Grace and Klaus sat on the bed of a nice motel. He had one finger under her chin and looked at her wound. The first symptoms already kicked in. After the wound had reopened, Grace felt so oddly cold. She hadn't felt cold since she died, so it was so strange to feel this kind of weakness again.

Her hands were shaking and the pain and itching coming from the wound was nearly unbearable. As the bite was on her neck, it was very close to her heart, which meant that the process would be quite quick.

It felt like hours until Klaus bit into his wrist and held it out for Grace to feed on. She gasped when she saw the fresh blood and immediately lunged forward. It promised her relief and it did exactly that. At first it felt like it was burning through her veins, but then it settled on the wound and she felt how it closed. The feeling of coldness and the pain were gone and she led out a relived breath, looking at Klaus thankfully.

"Have you really thought that I would let you die of a werewolf bite, Grace."

She shook her head and stood up, walking to a mirror to inspect her now again smooth, healed skin.

"Took you long enough. When it comes to you, everything is possible."

Klaus chuckled, enjoying her sarcasm. Not many people had the guts to talk to him like that. He tilted his head and looked the brunette beauty up and down. His brother was a lucky man. She was exquisite. Never before had Klaus looked at her like that.

A shiver ran down Grace's spine when she noticed him staring at her.

"Good for you that you have such a helpful and selfless friend."

Klaus stood up and came closer to the younger vampire. When she turned around to face him, he was surprisingly close. He looked down to her, his eyes had this certain mischievous spark in them, but there was also something new: vulnerability. He really wanted her to be his friend, she meant something to him. Maybe he even cared about her.

"We aren't friends, Nik."

She had picked this nickname up from Rebekah, Grace thought it suited him better. It sounded nicer, it let her deep buried fear of him disappear.

"What are we then, Grace?"

He placed his hands on her slim shoulders and Grace tensed, looking at him confused. Where was he getting at? But then she recognized this look. She had seen it often in men's eyes.

Klaus was about to kiss her.

His head lowered before she could answer anything, it was more of a rhetorical question. It was a decision out of the moment, but still Klaus wanted to test a theory.

The least he expected was that she would slap him right across the face. But that was exactly what she did. It probably hurt her more than him when her palm connected with his stubbled cheek. A loud, smacking sound went off.