Klaus couldn't quite pinpoint why he found himself stepping past Matt and into the Forbes' house. In truth, he couldn't pinpoint why he had stepped onto the porch, or the street, or even left the manor in the first place. It was a strange kind of compulsion pulling deep in his chest, but certainly eased with every step towards her that he took. What was clear was that it wasn't him, but his newly awakened wolf. They were still learning to co-exist, playing a constant game of tug-of-war to figure out who would have control for the moment.

It had been rough in the beginning. At first he thought that he was going mad, feeling two different emotions at once and never being quite as sure in his decisions. The witch said that it was his curse to bare, never truly feeling comfortable in his skin again - a punishment for upsetting the course of nature. Klaus had left her alive just long enough to exhaust her knowledge, before Mystic Falls had called him back. He'd find a better one just as soon as he had a spare minute.

He could hear her breathing through the thin wall to her bedroom, her rasping breath laboured even in her sleep. Klaus paused before pushing through the doorframe, taking silent steps so as not to wake her. Gazing down at her face, he didn't care whether or not she died. Not really.

Sure, she was pretty. Beautiful even, and very much his type. He could see it, even through her hollowed, sickened skin. It made him a little weary, just how attractive he found her even in this state. He'd lived one thousand years, and he'd had many a pretty girl decorate his bed before he'd removed their hearts. So why the incessant tug in his chest. His wolf wasn't speaking in a discernible language, just pulling him to her relentlessly. He peeled his jacket off, draped it on the seat of her vanity and moved closer.

"Caroline?" He breathed quietly, sitting on the side of her bed.

She stirred awake, eyes catching his immediately. At first she said nothing, just meeting his gaze with a steady and questioning view. She then murmured "Are you going to kill me?" Even in the dim, yellow light it was clear how pale she was. Drained of colour, and so different from how she'd looked just a few hours earlier when he'd seen her with Tyler. Klaus tilted his head. Not so much at her words, but at his physical reaction to them. As she spoke, he felt his chest tighten, heart rate speeding up when it had no business to.

She sounded weak, fragile even. He answered quickly, "On your birthday? You really think that low of me?"

"Yes." Caroline answered without hesitation. She met his gaze, and held it. How enticing. Fascinating even. Klaus tilted his head, working his mind around the spirit she held even on her deathbed. How rare it was to find one so young who wasn't afraid of him.

Ignoring her words, he reached over and pulled her bedsheets from her shoulder, careful not to skim the irritated skin. It was clear her fever was reaching a pitch, covering her forehead in a thin sweat even though her body shivered visibly beneath the sheets. Oblivious to the way she flinched away from the cool air, Klaus sighed and inspected the gory sight with a clinical eye. In comparison to the things he had seen and done, it was but an angry scratch. And yet Klaus felt dread looking at it - a deep and desperate pit at the bottom of his stomach which hadn't felt so cavernous since Mikael was put down. In Klaus' defence, he'd never seen a late-stage werewolf bite up close before.

"That looks bad." He felt himself saying. "My apologies, you're what's known as collateral damage. It's nothing personal." Tyler. Bloody Tyler. Klaus sniffed the air softly. He had definitely been here - in this room - but not recently. What a pity, to subject the girl to such a torture and have no payoff. The whole exercise was to punish Tyler, to show him just how inferior he was against the hybrid sire.

Caroline was watching him again. He could see how much effort it took to keep her eyes open, and yet she fought. Admirable. He couldn't help but think she'd make a wonderful foot soldier, with a spirit like that.

He looked away first, gaze dropping to the silver charm bracelet hanging around her wrist. A small heart charm with an engraved T sat, slightly scuffed and dulled by wear. His fingertips danced over it of their own accord. "I love birthdays."

She scoffed and let her eyes fall to her wrist too. "Yeah." She sighed. The pain in her wound was burning hot, already having spread through her upper arm and chest. It made her voice crack, and while she wished to cry and shift to find some relief, her muscles wouldn't move on command anymore. Most of all, she wanted her mom, or Matt, or anyone else, really. She didn't want to die alone with him. In the end though, it didn't really matter. She'd said everything which needed to be said. She could feel it coming soon. "Aren't you like, a billion or something?"

Klaus smirked, gaze travelling back to her face. He admired her, with her blonde curls and sharp cheekbones even this close to death. "You have to adjust your perception of time when you become a vampire, Caroline." He schooled. "Celebrate the fact that you are no longer bound by trivial human conventions."

"No." Her face changed. Hardened as she held his gaze. "I'm dying."

Klaus' stomach twisted sharply. How odd. He frowned, looking down at his own body. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, and yet he felt… something. He felt something other than anger and pride, something he hadn't felt in a long time. "And I could let you. Die. If that's what you want. If you really believe your existence has no meaning. I've thought about it myself, once or twice over the centuries, truth be told." He murmured, shifting closer. He could smell the subtle fragrance of her. Of the sheets she lay on, the clothes she wore and the room she'd come to live in. It was foreign to him, but not unwelcome, even with the smell of soured blood seeping from her wound. On the contrary it was addictive, and too faint for his liking. Klaus wanted to press his face a little closer, run it along her neck where it was the strongest, or maybe inhale on her pillows where it was long-standing. Her lips parted as he spoke, her brow furrowing deeper in reaction. Klaus experimented, leaning in a little closer and feeling his heart speed up double time. His mind couldn't rationalise, but just inches from her face Klaus realised that he didn't want her to die in front of him. Maybe not at all, actually. Even this close, almost nose to nose, the wolf in him was pushing harder than ever to gain some control. Klaus pressed it down to be dealt with later. "But I'll let you in on a little secret." He paused, feeling her breath fan out over his face. "There is a whole world, out there waiting for you. Great cities and art and music. Genuine beauty. And you can have all of it, you can have a thousand more birthdays." He watched as her eyes shone while he quietened the instinct to reach out and touch her, comfort her. Klaus didn't do that. Not for just anyone.

Caroline didn't say anything and Klaus ground his teeth together. His eyes flitted to her bite, ever growing. He almost felt guilty, but quickly shook the feelings away. She still didn't say a word. "All you have to do is ask." He added.

Lip shaking, it was clear that she was holding back tears. Trying her best, even under the circumstances, to stay composed. Caroline watched his features soften, eyes urging her for an answer, any answer. She thought of her less than perfect life, of all the things she had wanted before she was turned - a prom, graduation, college, marriage, kids and grandkids of her own. When she became a vampire, parts of the list became impossible. Now the promise of the other half was fading. "I don't wanna die."

Klaus let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. He reached out for her, curving a gentle hand around the back of her head. He was careful not to touch her wound, but still pulled her up, slotting himself against her back so that she could lean against him. He felt the burning hot fever of her skin even through his clothes. With the shift of fabric and the smallest whimper, her forehead came to fit under his chin. In any other circumstance, he'd have loathed this gentle embrace, but the sparks he felt touching her skin were exhilarating. Wild, even. He made a mental note to experiment more with werewolf bites, but with more disposable candidates. Klaus tugged his sleeve up, careful not to jolt her anymore than necessary. Exposing the bare skin of his forearm, he set it in front of her mouth and rested his cheek against her hair, breathing in the smell of her. After just a moment, he felt her blunt human teeth press against the skin of his wrist. A voice in his head was blunt and unwavering. His wolf had finally learned to talk - he wanted her to bite. Needed her to bite even. With every second that ticked by Klaus felt the electricity sizzling over his skin, the clawing of an internal battle getting more and more unbearable, so unlike anything he'd ever experienced before.

"There you go, sweetheart. Have at it." He encouraged, strained and husky but still stroking gently down blonde locks with his free arm. As if in slow motion, Klaus felt her fangs extend and rest against his skin. Yes yes yes yes yes yes.

Then she bit down. And the whole world went white.

When Klaus awoke he was first aware of the heat against his body. His chest to her back, hands interlinked, head cushioned by copious pillows. It took him a moment to piece things together, to ensure that he was awake and that last night was not a very vivid dream. His wolf roared deep inside him, and it took a great deal of self-restraint to mitigate the sound to a pleased grumble into the pillow. He tightened his arms around her frame, eyes flitting open to peer down on the now unblemished skin of her shoulder before squeezing closed. It's been a long time since he had a body in bed with him, too long, perhaps.

The feeling of her fangs sinking into his skin had been sheer, unadulterated and frankly, too-good-to-have-the-door-open bliss. The memory alone took his breath away, chest tightening with want and arousal.

Yet the morning sunlight was streaming in through unclosed curtains and so Klaus sighed, accepted his fate and opened his eyes to glance at her small frame still covered by bedsheets. Beyond the line of her shoulders, he could see the pearly white of scar tissue raised above the skin of his forearm. A new decoration, a claim and a mating mark healed delicately upon the skin of his wrist. He felt the draw. To pull her up against him, inhale her air and merge their bodies together. Of course he did. But he had known for a long time now what finding a mate would feel like, and he'd had a long time to strategise his response.

He knew that awakening his wolf would mean finding her, eventually. It was too common a part of the folklore to be false. Besides, he had seen it happen again and again hundreds of years ago, when he freely watched the werewolf colony. One day a wolf would find their match, and from there on out be inseparable under their deaths. He hadn't expected it to happen quite so fast after he'd turned, but Caroline was pretty, innocent and fiery, and entirely what the demons in him would find attractive. And best of all, she was already as immortal as he was.

For the first few hundred years he'd planned to kill his mate. A mate was a weakness and a distraction. Yet, throughout his years of experimenting, tearing apart and torturing soulmates, seeing just how much one could endure before the other passed or went mad from the torment, Klaus had somewhat warmed to the idea. Because if what he'd learned about their unwavering devotion to one another - even in the face of the greatest terrors on earth - was true, Klaus' soulmate would have that same devotion to him, and his cause. Now, shifting to gaze at her soft features, kissed by the steaks of sunlight escaping past the blinds, he knew he couldn't have hurt her, even if it had been his plan all along. This was his mate, of that he was sure. His wolf was yearning, but uncharacteristically pleased, pressing hard against his consciousness to be allowed free reign. He would not allow it, however. Not yet. Not until she understood.

Cradling the baby vampire in his arms, Klaus wondered how he hadn't guessed it yesterday. The thought hadn't crossed his mind until he'd been coming down from his euphoric high, regaining his vision and watching his bite mark heal quickly - even by hybrid standards - to scar his otherwise unmarred skin. He could feel her, in every sense of the word. Feel the electricity where their skin still touched, count her heartbeats as well as he could count his own and best of all, feel through every pore in his body that she was satiated and content, dreaming on another plain.

It made sense now. The pull to the house, to her room, to her. The incessant need to get her to bite him. And now, the incessant need to sink his teeth into her, merge their bodies and consummate their mating. But not yet. Minutes passed by as Klaus unwound his fingers from hers at a snail's pace, before extracting his arms from around her as well. He sat in her bed for a little while after that, listening to her steady breathing and watching the sun move across her skin. Yes, Caroline fit the bill. In her slumber she murmured at the loss, a grumpy pout on her lips. It made him soften, eyes drinking in as much as possible and committing it to memory, from the crumpled curls on her pillow to someone else's bracelet on her wrist. It bothered him greatly. Certainly enough to rectify the situation immediately even if it meant leaving before she awoke.

He slowly extracted himself from her bed, pulled his jacket back on and picked up her t-shirt for good measure, a flimsy thing from the laundry bin which was drenched in her scent. Pressing his nose against it was inevitable as he stood by the doorframe, his wolf roaring in delight and pressing a grin to his face. He wanted her. All of her. But Klaus had thought it through. He'd wait until she was every bit as desperate and yearning as he was. Wait until she gave herself to him willingly and unconditionally. And then they would rule over all.

And until then, he'd protect her with every fibre of his being. After all, the king had finally found his queen.