Grayson sits against the trunk of a tree, her eyebrows drawn together as she gazes at the bloody wolf asleep at her feet. She glances up at Elijah with an angry look but doesn't give him the satisfaction of speaking, re-directing her gaze whenever he opens his mouth to talk.
"You're being ridiculous, Cordelia," Elijah muses, resting his hands in the pockets of his slacks.
Grayson hums to herself, glancing down at her nails with her eyebrows raised as if to say, am I? Her head snaps up whenever she hears the wolf standing to attention, it's eyes wide as it looks around. The wolf tilts its head to the side before leaning down and brushing against her. The Hunt girl springs up with a shriek, glaring at Klaus. "You're disgusting," she snaps. "I don't want any of that on me."
There's a short beat of silence as the wolf morphs into a man, Klaus smirking up at the two vampires in all his glory. Grayson scoffs and averts her gaze while Elijah tosses Klaus a pair of clothes.
"You've been busy," Elijah comments.
"That was amazing," Klaus breathes. "How long has it been?"
"Almost 2 days. Full moon came and went. You remained a wolf."
"I remember every single kill," he says as he finishes getting dressed.
"Yes, I've been cleaning up your little mess along the way."
"Just like old times, brother."
"You've had your fun," Elijah's voice firms up. "I believe we have a bargain."
"That's right. Now, what was it again?" The hybrid grins, amused. "Oh, yeah. Wait. I remember. That's it. You wish to be reunited with our family."
Elijah takes a threatening step forward, "You gave me your word, Niklaus."
"What kind of brother would break his bond? Even though you did try to kill me." He glances at Grayson, "both of you."
The Hunt girl stares at him, "what about it?"
"I could have," Elijah tells his brother, helping him slip on his jacket. "But I didn't."
"And now no one can," Klaus turns to face the man. "Not even you." Elijah stiffens and Klaus laughs, clapping his brother on the shoulder. "Relax, Elijah. All is forgiven."
"Where are they?"
"You need to lighten up. I'll bring you to them soon enough."
"Where are we going?" Grayson asks, following the two men as they trudge through the woods.
Klaus looks over his shoulder, "nowhere you should be concerned about, love. You'll forget about it soon enough."
••
Grayson knows before she steps into the apartment with Klaus and Elijah. She just knows that one of the Salvatore brothers have done something stupid, if not both of them. Her fists clench at her sides whenever she sees Katherine holding Stefan against the wall, as if she were presenting him to the newly made hybrid.
"Klaus," Katherine muses. "You're back. Look who decided to come for a visit."
"You just keep popping up, don't you?" He looks at Stefan.
Stefan shrugs off Katherine's hold, shuffling closer to Klaus with a stoic expression. "I need your help...For my brother."
"What's wrong with Damon?" Grayson blurts, her eyes widening the slightest bit. Stefan clenches his jaw, ignoring the girl's question in an attempt not to rile her up.
"Well, whatever it is, it's gonna have to wait a tick," Klaus says. "You see, I have an obligation to my brother that requires my immediate attention."
"You understand how important family is," Elijah nods at the Salvatore. "Or you wouldn't be here. My brother gave me his word that he would reunite me with my own."
"And so I shall," the hybrid says from behind Elijah. In a swift motion, he pulls a dagger from his jacket pocket and plunges it into Elijah's heart. He gives Grayson a blank look whenever she gasps, her mouth falling open at the graying original. "Don't fret, love. You're more used to this sight than you think. Don't interfere with the next part, Cordelia. Your friend's life depends on it." He smirks and grabs Stefan and shoves him into a wall, a hum escaping his lips. "Now, what am I gonna do with you?" He veveales a wooden dagger and drives it into Stefan's abdomen, angling it upward.
Grayson almost has half a mind to question where he's storing all of these weapons on him.
"Do you feel that?" Klaus taunts, "It's scraping against your heart. The slightest little movement and you're dead."
"He's just trying to help his brother," Katherine defends her former lover in a moment of bravery.
"The witches said you had a cure," Stefan grunts, clasping onto Klaus' shoulders whenever his legs nearly give out. "Make me a deal. Just give me the cure, and I'll do whatever you want."
"The cure?" Grayson mutters, her eyes frantic. "What's going on? What's wrong with Damon?"
"He was bitten," Katherine informs her, her voice emotionless. "If it isn't obvious."
Grayson's chest tightens, her voice dying in her throat. Her mind pleaded with her to do something, to bed Klaus to help, to run and find Damon; to just move, but she couldn't. Her muscles were frozen as she took in the words said to her, her stomach curling tightly with anxiety.
Klaus rips the stake from Stefan, leaving the vampire to collapse onto the floor. He moves over to the counter and pours himself a glass of blood, speaking with his back turned to the vampires. "Trouble is, I don't know if you'd be any good to me the way you are now. You are just shy of useless." He turns and crouched down in front of Stefan, his eyes patronizing. "I heard about this one vampire, crazy bloke, always on and off the wagon for decades. When he was off, he was magnificent. 1917, he went into Monterrey and wiped out an entire migrant village...a true ripper. Sound familiar?"
Grayson gazed at Stefan, her expression sympathetic.
"I haven't been that way in a very long time," Stefan croaks.
"Well, that's the vampire I can make a deal with. That is the kind of talent that I can use when I leave this town."
Stefan gets up from the floor and Klaus follows his action, standing from his crouched position.
"Katerina, come here," he demands. She shakily walks over to him and he grabs her arm roughly, sinking his fangs into her skin. Katherine shrieks and twists in his grip, tears glossing over her eyes as she looks at the bite. Klaus bites his own wrist and forces her to drink his blood, staring at Stefan as the wound on Katherine's arm slowly begins to heal. "You want your cure? There it is."
"Your blood is the cure," Stefan realizes.
"Gotta love Mother Nature." He claps his hand on Stefan's shoulder. "Now...let's talk, you and I."
•••
After being allowed to stay and listen in one the conversation, and no, she didn't throw a fit when Klaus tried to get her to move into the next room, Grayson sits on one of the counter stools with a glower. She watches with mild interest as the hybrid squeezes a blade tightly, letting his blood drain into a small vial. "There it is," Klaus says. "You want to save your brother? How 'bout a decade-long bender? I have big plans for you when we leave this town."
"I'm not like that anymore," Stefan refuses.
"Well, that's too bad," the hybrid frowns, his eyes dark. "You would have made a hell of a wingman." He grabs the vial and makes a show of pouring it down the sink, a small smirk gracing his lips.
Grayson shifts in her seat, looking at Stefan for a short second.
"Wait," the Salvatore slumps in defeat.
"Now that's more like it. I want you to join me for a drink." He tosses Stefan a blood bag at the end of the counter, his eyes intent as the former ripper slowly shuffles forward. "Finish it," he instructs whenever Stefan only takes a mere sip from it. "All of it. You do everything I say, and I save your brother. That's the deal."
"You're sick," Grayson spits.
"You act like you wouldn't be enjoying it too if you had those precious little memories back," Klaus taps the side of her head, his lips tugging upward. He grabs another blood bag and slides it to Stefan, his eyebrows. "Again."
Grayson looks down, tears stinging her eyes at the pain filled expression morphing onto Stefan's face. She and Stefan weren't the closest out of everyone in their small friend group, but she cared for him. She valued his life and his health, whether that be physical or mental; and she knew that Klaus was hellbent on ruining the boy.
"Cordelia, love," Klaus' voice sounds smug. "I'd recommend watching vigilantly. This is a learning moment."
Grayson looks up, her lips pursed as she aims her glassy eyes toward Stefan.
"Now, let's continue."
•••
Grayson grimaces whenever Stefan throws another blood bag to the side after finishing it, the empty bag adding to the heaps already on the floor.
"You're very cooperative," Klaus smirks.It's almost as if you're enjoying it." He tosses another blood bag to the boy.
"No more," Stefan groans. "Not until you give me the cure."
"Not until we make a deal. It's your choice, Stefan. You can either remain here living your life in Mystic Falls, or you can embrace what you truly are, leave town with me, and save your brother's life." He crouches down and picks up the blood bag, offering it to the younger vampire. Klaus grins wickedly whenever Stefan yanks it from him and begins drinking it vigorously. "That's the spirit."
He grabs the vial of blood next and stalks over to Katherine, his eyebrows arched. "Sweetheart," he begins to compel her. "Take this over to Damon and come right back."
"You want me to leave?" Katherine breathes.
Grayson's eyes widen and she lurches forward, a muffled sound escaping her lips whenever Klaus yanks her back and clamps a palm over her mouth.
"Yes," he replies. "And if I were you, I'd—" he pauses when Katherine disappears from the room, the vial of blood gone from his hand. "Hurry."
Grayson sinks her teeth into Klaus' hands, spinning on her heels and slapping him harshly, her eyebrows drawn together in anger. "You're a son of a bitch, you know that?" She spits. "I don't care what kind of past we have together, because I don't want to remember it! You mean nothing to me, and by hurting the people who do, you're accomplishing nothing."
Klaus grabs her wrist, squeezing harshly with a dry stare. "Are you quite finished, love? If so, I'd like to continue my game with Stefan."
Grayson rips her arm from his hold, turning her back on him. "When can I go see Damon?" She questions, her voice small.
"Oh, Cordelia," Klaus laughs mockingly. "You didn't actually think I'd let you go, did you?"
"What?"
"You'll be coming with Stefan and I," he circled around her, his lips in a wide smile. "Welcome to the rest of your eternity, love."
•••
not edited.