Chapter Seven: The Calm Before

Tara fought through the thick, dark fog in her mind as she tried to surface back into consciousness. It was a failed attempt though. Her body, whatever was done to it, refused to let her awaken. She must have been lying on the ground for how sore she felt her breasts were. An unwelcome rumbling in her stomach made her turn her head in an attempt to not drown in the contents of what was resurfacing.

She barely registered panic coursing through her veins as she tried to fight off the fog that seemed to get thicker and denser the more she tried. Lycans, like vampires, didn't get sick. Yes, they did eat normal food like humans but if it didn't taste right then she didn't finish it. The acid in her stomach would digest what little she did ate and it never came back up.

Lycans couldn't get STD's, couldn't get the cold or flu. The only thing they did get was moonfever, which was what happened when a lycan went feral. The wolf completely took over. Tara shook her thought train back on its tracks as she tried to decipher what was wrong with her but came up blank. Instead, she used her worry filled emotions to strengthen her will and push forward.

Still nothing happened.

Feeling desperate, she let the wolf have control. Some internal instinct told her that her she-wolf knew what needed to be done so she let it. Tara felt the tingling sensation that said she was in the process of turning. In the background, she heard movement but didn't second guess her decision. If people were around then they could be dealt with but she needed to get free.

Needed to get to her mate.

Needed to tell him.

Elijah POV

Driving down the road back to town never felt so long and tedious. He felt he needed to get back to Tara now because something was wrong. Elijah didn't know what it was but he wasn't going to ignore his paranoia.

"I'm surprised none of the cops that we've passed have tried to stop you." Niklaus mumbled from the passenger side.

"They knew they wouldn't have stood a chance."

"You take the term 'lead foot' to a new level, brother." He chastised.

"I'm not slowing down until we get to Tara." Elijah said sternly, he wasn't in a playful mood.

"What's wrong?" Niklaus frowned.

"I don't know yet."

As if on cue, his cell phone started to ring. He wasn't very technological but he had bought himself one for Tara's sake. Fishing it out of his suit pocket, he hadn't bothered to see who was calling before he hit the green button to accept his call.

"Hello?" Elijah asked into the receiver.

"Is this Elijah?" Asked a man's voice from the other end and Elijah frowned.

He didn't have a whole lot of people he trusted with his number, just the important ones that he knew.

"How did you get this number?" Elijah asked as he glanced at his brother in confusion.

"This is my sis-" He paused before continuing. "This is Tara's phone that I'm using."

Elijah couldn't control the growl that escaped his throat and had to school his features to remain calm. Niklaus was frozen into his seat, listening to every word.

"Easy. My name's Alaric Saltzman and Tara is just a friend of mine and Damon's."

"Where is she?" Elijah asked.

"I don't know. That's why I called. She left it behind in her car that was discovered wrapped around a tree."

Elijah felt his blood run cold. He knew she could take care of herself but seeing as she was in a wreck meant that she hadn't seen it coming. She would have been able to avoid it with her reflexes otherwise. Now she was injured and most likely incapacitated with wolvesbane. Only her abductor knew what was happening to her.

"How long ago was this?" Niklaus asked.

"Twenty-four hours ago. Enough time has passed to issue a missing person's case."

"You called in the authorities?" Niklaus asked in disbelief.

Silence followed along with a snort of laughter that didn't belong to this Alaric person. Must be Damon.

"I was talking about the two of you. We're just a vampire and a newly learned ly-"

Alaric stopped talking as if something had distracted him, Elijah glanced at Niklaus who wore an equal expression of concern. Something was up.

"Hey, Ric. Hey! You're still on the phone." Damon was saying.

"Shh." Alaric hushed.

Elijah strained his hearing but considering he was on the other side of the call made it impossible. He couldn't hear what Alaric was hearing and it was driving him mad.

Alaric POV

Handing the phone over to Damon was the smartest decision he had made all day in concerns for Tara. They had left her alone for all of twenty freaking minutes to get take out before returning home and finding her gone. The only scent being the werewolf that had been stalking her.

Alaric's body stiffened as he heard the faint sound again in the distance. Some part of his mind scratched at his skull, telling him he knew what this meant. Telling him he knew who was talking and could decipher the language of wolf.

"Ric?" Damon asked cautiously. "What's going on?"

He didn't respond, just stretched out his mind, digging through long forgotten memories but coming up blank. In the background, he heard Damon talking into the phone, telling Elijah where to find them before closing the phone and coming to stand beside Alaric.

Damon swiftly deposited the phone into the front pocket of Ric's jeans before stepping into his line of sight.

"Again, what's wrong, big, bad wolf?" He asked.

"I'm not sure..." Ric trailed off as his increasingly sensitive ears picked up another sound.

"Okay. Let me rephrase that. What are you focusing so hard on?"

"Howling." He replied.

"Howling?" Damon asked doubtfully. "Wouldn't I be able to hear it?"

Alaric frowned, Damon did have a point and he felt he also knew how to answer this as well but no information came forward to reveal itself. Damon continued to stare in that way of his before sighing and putting both hands on Ric's shoulders and pulling their faces inches apart.

"Tell me what's got your attention."

"You now!"

His response was automatic yet completely uncalled for. He hadn't meant to voice how much Damon's presence was throwing off his concentration but hopefully he wouldn't take his words for what they really were.

"I had to get your attention somehow." Damon shrugged. "Now, what had your mind before I did?"

"The howling." Alaric said sarcastically. They had already been over this.

"That I can't hear." Damon stated. "Why was it important?"

"Because I know what she's saying." Alaric mumbled as he returned to his thoughts.

"It's a she?" Damon asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yes." Ric confirmed. "It's Tara."

"What is she saying?"

Alaric dug deeper into his thoughts. He knew within the deepest part of himself what she was saying. A wave of dizziness overwhelmed him and his body lurched forward but Damon caught him easily. Another howl from Tara and it felt like a flood gate had opened. His knees gave way as the emotions of their childhood surfaced. Every memory brought on a different emotion but it was all happening so fast.

"Easy, Ric." Damon told him. "What's going on?"

He opened his mouth to respond but closed it quickly when he tasted bile on his tongue. Another wave hit and he gripped Damon's jacket sleeve as pain wracked his body. Alaric's breathing was ragged and coming in gasps as sweat trickled down his neck and face.

"What's happening?" Elijah asked as he entered the clearing.

"Don't know but we need to get to Tara!" Damon instructed. "Follow the howling."

"What howling are you talking about?"

Damon cursed before telling him to give him a moment. Alaric felt a feather soft sensation touch his thoughts and considering he was too weak and that he knew it was Damon, he let him. Unfortunately, that meant Damon was receiving everything Alaric was.

"It's to the-" Damon paused. "Southeast. Head southeast."

Ric flinched when a specific memory hit. Blood was everywhere as bodies of his pack littered the floor. A whimper escaped his throat followed by an intense growl when seeing the killer. It was the same scene that had haunted his dreams since meeting Tara but he didn't regret anything, it was his right to know. Not that it made his emotions any easier to handle.

"Dammit, Ric!" Damon cursed as he managed to slip from his mind.

Images still tormented him and another growl ripped from him as claws tore through Damon's skin, scraping the bone of his arm.

Elijah POV

He stopped a mile from the location the dark haired vampire had instructed for him to go. Curiously, he was wondering what was happening to the other man on the ground. He hadn't been able to see what he looked like but familiarity radiated from him. Tossing it aside he focused his senses onto the trailer that had Tara's scent wafting through the air.

Barking, growling, and cursing could be heard from inside so Elijah guessed Tara was fighting them.

"Lucky girl." Niklaus mumbled.

"You envy my mate?" Elijah asked curiously.

It had never occurred to him to ask why his brother trekked all that way to retrieve Tara for him, much less wonder where all his pent up anger went. He seemed to genuinely care about Tara and that was a wonder in an of itself.

"I envy who she is." Niklaus specified. "She has a tragic beginning that rivals ours yet her power is contagious and never ending."

"That's not all is it?" Elijah could tell something else was on his mind.

"Not the time to worry about me, brother. I need to save my future sister-in-law."

He nodded his head in agreement but he wasn't letting it go that easily. Something was seriously going on with his brother and he was going to find out what it was. But suddenly, it seemed that their attempt at being the heroes was shattered along with the trailer's windows as a wolf burst from it. She had blood dripping from her muzzle as she raced from her captors.

"Follow her." Growled Niklaus. "I'll deal with these brutes."

Elijah took off into the fading light and darkening of the woods. Tara was too fast to follow by his eyesight alone so he used his scent. He found her pacing under a rock cliff and abruptly stopped when she saw him. Elijah smiled sweetly and was on the ground laughing when she tackled him and started licking his face.

Tara smothered him with licks and nibbles before finally calming down enough to relax. She draped her body over his and he let out an 'oomph', her nose instinctively finding its way to press into his neck to take in his scent.

"Rough day, huh?" Elijah asked as he gingerly ran his hands in her fur.

She snuffed in response and moved to settle in closer. Her warm body crushed his but he didn't mind, he had missed her. Snuggling closer, he felt it when she shifted back. Tara's naked body, even with his clothes as a barrier, didn't stop his natural response as he felt himself go hard.

"I missed you." Tara mumbled against his neck and he shivered.

Still...something didn't feel right. Something was off. His body stiffened when he caught her scent. It was her natural smelling scent but his wasn't in it like it should be. They were mated; she had marked him so where was his scent to identify that? His rage started to build until he saw red but it turned to the darkest shade when he felt Tara's tears soaking his collar.

"What happened?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"Nothing." Tara shook her head vigorously, her teeth equally as grated. "He tried so hard but I wouldn't let him. I fought with everything I had."

The darker red that filled his vision lessened but the anger was still there.

"He had two other women." Tara informed. "One was a vampire and one...one was a witch?"

"You seem unsure." Elijah noticed.

"She didn't smell like magic that comes from a witch." She stated and shook her head. "But she definitely wasn't human, vampire, werewolf, or lycan."

"Do you know what he wanted from you or the others?"

"She might not know but I've found a more satisfying way for you to find out." Niklaus said.

Elijah had time to sit up and drape his suit jacket over Tara's naked flesh before his brother came into view. Tears still gently flowed down her face but he couldn't wipe them away, not until this fool was dead.

It's an update guys! =) I hope you enjoyed it!

Love ya, NataliaMikaelson