The One That Got Away

Full Summary: Kol was wicked. He liked to kill; he liked to savor the warm blood spilling down his throat after he tore into his victims. Allowing one to survive had never really been an option: death was the thrill, the finale. However, when Elijah intervenes, one gets away. It starts a whole new game, with much higher stakes. Kol/OC

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.

A/N: Hey guys! So this stuck in my head for the longest time, and I had to write it out. This was originally intended to be a oneshot, but it turned into something else, I think. You'll just have to let me know if it's worth continuing or not. I left several elements for a plot open-ended, should I continue. Enjoy! (And this is my first OC that's 100% normal!)

One

"I can't believe it," Kol said, his face set in a pinch of annoyance. "You've actually gone soft for a human. My God, he's just a boy, Rebekah. Are you so thirsty for attention that you'll take it from the likes of him? A mere peasant?"

Rebekah's hands were planted on her hips, and she scowled at her brother's rant. Ambient music drifted up from the ballroom to the balcony where they stood squared off with one another. Guests milled about outside the French doors; one or two spared a curious glance in the siblings' direction, but otherwise paid them no mind. To them, it appeared that a heated discussion was taking place, not a dispute over the interruption of premeditated murder.

"Oh, shut it," she spat, eyes narrowing. "One of us has to think—if you'd have killed him here, Mother would have your head! And not to mention mine!"

He scoffed. "As if that's why you backed out. He shows you the smallest pinch of kindness and you're weak for him. How pathetic."

"Kol," Rebekah growled, her features darkening into a look of loathing. "Say one more thing, and I swear I'll rip out your tongue."

Flippantly, Kol gave her a smirk. "My dear sister: she'll open her legs for any boy who happens to lend her a garment; she's so terribly desperate—"

He broke off in laughter as Rebekah lunged at him; he swiftly sidestepped her, and she surged past him until her hands came to rest upon the railing instead of curling around his throat, chest huffing with her incensed breath. Rounding on him once more, Rebekah made to lash out at him when Finn pushed through the doors, his expression hard, his shoulders pulled taut. Finn said nothing, for he didn't need to. Of all the siblings, he would be most willing to snitch on them to their mother, and his cold look said he would do just that if they didn't give up their antics.

The interruption irked Kol, who despised the broodiness each of his elder brothers seemed to possess, the incessant seriousness taken of every situation, the lack of appreciation of what they were gifted with. Most of all, he loathed Klaus, but Finn came in close second these days. Before shoving past his brother, Kol spared one last taunting look at Rebekah, who seemed to barely restrain her fury.

Amicable chatter floated through the air, beleaguering Kol. The night had begun soundly, as he didn't mind the fawning gazes that trailed in his wake, thrown shyly from the female partygoers. But the stares hardly provided him with actual entertainment; no, Rebekah had deprived him of that upon capriciously changing her mind about the human boy's fate. How terribly he missed the feel of a pulse throbbing under his fingertips, slowly fading as he drained its owner's life; that beautiful crimson liquid, the invigorating power of deciding another's doom. Since waking to this time, he had been forced to consume the revolting substance his brothers associated as blood: cold, coagulated red liquid from a bag. The mere thought repulsed him. Who would ever demean themselves to such lifeless fruit? It was like eating the shell of the corpse itself. He certainly did not condone things with expiration dates. Had he not been under the constant vexing watch from either Finn or Elijah, he would have drained the entire town dry by now, his hunger was so insatiable.

Kol paused on the staircase, halfway down to the first floor. He could feel the prickling of his fangs urging him to feed, the desire hitting him with such a force, he was certain he couldn't avoid the impetus. Finn had already returned to the guests, and was now crossing the room below Kol, busy pleasing their mother's every whim. Elijah had been deep into his brooding as usual; something had obviously plagued his eldest brother's mind for days now, but Kol had hardly cared to ask. Whatever dramas Elijah engaged in was his own crisis to deal with. By listening in the conversations around him, Kol found Klaus attempting to sway the resolute mind of a woman, Caroline. He knew Rebekah would turn a blind eye, so long as she wasn't the target of consequence.

It seemed he finally had his window of opportunity to feed properly.

Kol was quick to mask his face in a look of boredom, even as a sinister sort of giddiness elated him, being able to hunt once more. He sauntered through throngs of people until the French doors leading to the gardens were before him. Though the night had a biting chill to it, couples strolled on the grounds, arm in arm, seemingly giving one another distance for their own privacy. Perfect.

The frosty air had no affect on him whatsoever; vampires were more susceptible to heat than cold. With soundless footsteps, he trod forward onto a pathway headed down slope, to where he knew quite a spectacle of a fountain was located among the dense shrubbery. The mansion and the grounds were no less than lavish; Niklaus had many deterrents, but his taste was impeccable. Kol hardly paid his surroundings any mind. His attention was snared elsewhere.

The presence of couples dwindled down as he continued forward, through the maze of flora. Taking two as his victims tonight, those that were lovers, thrilled him; if his way was had, he'd feed until the hunger that seared his fangs mitigated into nothing more than a dulled satisfaction. He had no care for the consequence, only the ever present reminder of time—such little time he had, with his more craven siblings distracted so briefly.

A soft, trilling laugh met his ears from just a small distance ahead, at the fountain. His pace hastened at the wet throbbing of her heartbeat.

"So you're glad you came, then?" she directed her question to another, whose heartbeat Kol could hear in her general direction. He barely heard her words. If her throat was as soft as her voice, he would revel in sinking his teeth into her flesh, drawing out her life-force. Blood rushed forth into his eyes at the thought as gorged veins rose beneath his skin. His fangs slid down and pressed into his bottom lip; the stinging pain didn't even register, he was so enraptured in his impending kill.

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, she seems sweet."

Kol stopped in place, rocking forward on his feet. The accompanying voice belonged to none other than Matt, the lowly peasant his sister fancied. The insignificant boy that he had first intended to kill. Kol was at the fountain, now, a good ten feet away, hidden in the tresses of a shadow. He paused a moment, listening intently, calculating their every move.

"A vampire? Sweet?" The girl, a dark-haired little bird, laughed again. Her profile was to Kol; she wore a pale lavender dress, accentuating her fair skin. From this distance, he could see the pulse at her throat; his bloodlust urged him to bite her now, but forethought held him back a moment longer. "That seems a little unlikely. Then again, there's Caroline."

Matt openly cringed. "Right. Caroline."

"Oh—Matt," she frowned, contrite. "I'm sorry. Back to the topic," she hastened, "do you really see yourself dating her? Rebekah, I mean."

Shrugging, Matt trailed his eyes over the fountain before them, his expression conflicting. "I don't know," he sighed. When his eyes returned to the girl, he poked her in the ribs playfully with a boyish grin, eliciting a squeal of delight from her. "Why? You jealous, Alex?"

"No!" she giggled, swatting his hand away. "I'm just looking out for you. That's why you brought me, right?"

"Right," Matt agreed, his hands tucked into his pockets as he swayed back and forth on his feet, his pale blonde hair awash in moonlight. "But…" he gave her a smile, leaning towards the pathway to the mansion eagerly.

The girl waved a hand, her smile never faltering. "Oh, go on ahead. Spend time with your vampire girlfriend. I'm just gonna stay out here a little longer."

"You sure you'll be all right? Want my jacket?" He proffered his garment, as he had for Rebekah, but the girl shook her head as she rubbed at her arms.

"I'll only be a few minutes. Besides, you need to look dashing," she grinned, ushering him off.

He paused before stepping away, frowning. "Your brother is gonna kill me if I leave you out here, you know."

Rolling her eyes, she laughed. "Then don't tell him, silly. I'll be right in. Promise."

Matt, reassured, left without further protest, an airy smile on his lips; he spared a few glances back at the little bird before he disappeared.

Kol's lips curved into a wicked grin. Maybe the peasant boy was off limits, but his dear little friend wasn't. Who better to victimize than her?

A more perfect opportunity couldn't have presented itself. She stood alone, now, gazing above at the stars shimmering against the velvet black sky. Kol stepped out of the shadows, his countenance once more humanlike and handsome.

"Matt, I told you to—oh," she stopped short upon seeing Kol, surprised, but otherwise unsuspecting. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else." She squinted her eyes, studying him perplexedly before a darling little blush blossomed on her cheeks, and she glanced away bashfully. "Did I see you during the toast? (I saw you during the toast, didn't I?)"

Kol smiled. He could examine her face fully now; she was not the prettiest girl at the gala by far, but there was a certain charm to her, a certain luminosity and innocence that made her much more mouthwatering, pretty.

"Indeed, you did," he said smoothly, taking her warm hand and brushing his lips on it, lingering a moment as he inhaled the scent of her sweet blood. She blushed deeper. "Kol Mikaelson. And who might you be, little bird?"

She blinked, her chartreuse green eyes vivid in the moonlight; she pulled her hand back, though not unkindly. "Alex," she stammered her name, momentarily disarmed. Her wits amassed once more, and she relaxed. "Alex Heart."

"How apt," he commented amusedly, raising an elegant eyebrow. An impish look overtook his features. "Were you stargazing, Miss Heart? I'm afraid there's not much else to appreciate out here. Except myself, of course."

She gave him a shy smile, but otherwise wasn't overly charmed. "I know it's probably rude to leave the ball—I just needed some fresh air," she made a haphazard attempt to assuage whatever horrific thoughts he might be thinking of her. She had relaxed considerably, but she was still tense. It occurred to her that he was a vampire—an Original vampire, the ones Matt always criticized—so he may be more likely to be offended. However, the crinkle at his eyes and the way in which he looked at her said otherwise.

"As did I," he said, the smile still playing at his lips. "It gets a bit stuffy in there, wouldn't you agree? The company can become quite… lifeless." He smirked to himself.

Alex raised her eyebrows, ignorant of his last remark. "You're bored?"

Kol laughed. It surprised himself marginally, to hear the sound escape him after so long. But the truly horrified look on this naïve girl's face mustered the reaction. How little experience she had in the world; how little she would have before she died. "Isn't that why you're out here?" he countered lightly, taking a calculating step backwards as his eyes remained trained on her.

"No," she said with certainty before hesitating. "Well, yes. But the party isn't boring. It's…" her eyes trailed over the twinkling lights that adorned even the shrubberies, like a child gazing upon a magic trick. "Enchanting. Much better than all the Lockwood parties." She looked back to him, almost timidly, realizing her company once more. A God-knows-how -many year old vampire would doubtfully feel the same as she would about such a trivial thing; surely he'd had his fair amount of experience regarding magnificent galas.

Kol couldn't help but gaze raptly at his victim, her creamy skin, the way she trembled under his stare. Under normal circumstances, he would enjoy her fear. But he could lose his meal should a word of protest pass her lips. She looked away from him at last, rubbing her arms and staring with uncertainty at the ground, the blush still augmenting her cheeks. Kol shrugged his jacket from his shoulders and draped it over her, earning himself a grateful look and a now fully unwound prey. She thanked him graciously.

He took a moment to study the stars, letting her consider him just the same. It never hurt, having an admirer; or really, to admire something before death.

"So you were stargazing, were you?" he asked, feigning interest. She smiled fondly at the sky above them, giving him a view of her precious throat. His hunger flared inside him, but he wasn't finished playing with her. He despised Elijah and Finn for their watchfulness; if not for that, he could wholly enjoy this.

Gracefully, he stepped up behind her, turning her fully the other direction. She tensed at his touch, his proximity, but didn't dare stray. He seemed to be a gentleman, after all.

"Have you ever heard the tale of Andromeda?" he asked absently, brushing her long dark hair to one side, exposing her throat further. Her heartbeat quickened, a delicious sound.

"No," she breathed, bordering terror and the smallest, guiltiest pinch of excitement as his breath tickled her neck.

Kol pointed ahead of them, to a string of constellations. "In those stars, there," he said, watching as she inclined her head to just the right angle. He heart continued to spike, and he couldn't restrain his thirst any longer, he couldn't enjoy the game when his fangs ached for flesh and blood.

Blood stained his eyes once more as his fangs slid forth, swift and keen. His hands grasped her hips, holding her close. A gasp escaped her lips. She was twisting her head to look at him, but his mouth was already on her throat, his fangs pressing into her soft, sweet skin before puncturing it.

Alex writhed in his arms, horrified by the turn in events. Screams fell dead in her throat, as she was too shocked to make a sound. Kol held her tightly pressed to his body, his hold unrelenting. Her hot blood flowed into his mouth, relieving his aching need for something living, something fresh. He nearly moaned at the euphoric sensation, his eyelids fluttering; he had been dead, tucked away inside a box for a century without a drop of blood, and this was the sweetest fruit he ever tasted. His grip tightened on her, and there was no question in whether he would drain her dry or not—never did he leave a survivor. Death was the finale, for he could feel the moment when the very life slipped away from them, slipped through his fingers like water and wind.

A meager second passed before Kol was hit solidly, torn away from his pretty little prey and pinned to the ground. Elijah stared down at him icily, his mouth a pressing line.

"Brother," Kol greeted blithely; blood was smeared across his chin, staining his lips red. Angry he was at the interruption—twice in one night, now—but his eldest brother's fury more than satisfied him. "You need only ask to share."

Elijah's looked hardened. He curled his fingers around Kol's throat, effortlessly picked him off the ground and set him on his feet. He didn't release his grip. The look in Elijah's eyes was more than coldness—Kol spotted the ever-present disappointment Elijah carried whenever in his company. He smirked.

"Go clean yourself up," Elijah said at last, releasing Kol with a slight distasteful shove. His eyes landed on the small girl cowering several feet away from them, a hand pressed to the wound on her neck, her eyes wide and terrified. "Before you make a mess of things any further."

"I'm not quite finished yet." Kol's tone was edged with razors, his eyes narrowing. "In fact, Miss Heart and I were only getting started." Alex backed up absently, still in shock; their words barely registered with her.

"Do not dispute me, Kol," Elijah gritted.

Kol stepped up to Elijah, meeting his brother's cool stare with one of his one. "Do not make me out to be like you, Elijah. I embrace what I am, and having Mother back does not change that."

Footsteps reached the vampires' ears, quick and concerned. Kol's smug smile returned.

Matt appeared, walking purposely towards Alex, his face awash with relief. "Alex, there you are. You said you'd only be a minute—"Upon noticing the vampires' presence, he stopped dead in his tracks. Confusion crossed his features as he looked from one to the other, taking in Kol's blood stained face with dawning horror. "What's going on?" He looked back to Alex, catching sight of wet blood sticking to her fingers where she grasped her neck. Instantly, he was by her side, pulling her hand back to examine the wound. His face contorted in anger; two large puncture marks drizzled with crimson, trickling down into the black collar of a tailcoat she held close to her body, like a shield. "Alex, what happened?"

"I—he—"she stammered, her bottom lip trembling. She bit it to hold back any tears as reality crashed in front of her. She shook her head, holding fast onto Matt.

Matt could put it together. He rounded on Kol and Elijah, holding Alex protectively behind him. "You bit her," he accused Kol, a heavy undercurrent of fury in his tone, laced with disbelief. "What the hell is wrong with you? What the hell, man?"

Kol's eyes twinkled with amusement. Elijah pushed him back, a deep frown on his lips. Volunteering his own blood would simply agitate the boy more, he knew. But she was a friend of the Salvatores; the situation was salvageable if she could be healed promptly. "You should take her back inside," he advised gravely, brow furrowed.

Matt was incensed, but he knew better to quarrel with a vampire. Two vampires. Pulling Alex back towards the mansion, he gave Kol one last scorching stare. "Don't ever come near her again," he spat.

Kol stared after her retreating figure, his smugness subsiding as agitation burned within him. He licked his lips, still covered in her sweet, piquant blood, a weighty reminder of his hunger. No one escaped him. He would have her yet. It was his game to commence, and he never lost. He never let them get away.

Matt pulled Alex inside, slipping through the mingling circles of people cautiously. He had a grip on her waist, nearly dragging her as she continued to emerge from stupor and her condition continued to exacerbate. Across the room, he caught sight of Elena and the Salvatores. That wasn't an option, at the moment. After everything he'd done to protect Alex from the supernatural, they'd still gotten hold of her. He'd be damned if he asked for the Salvatore brothers' help.

Mostly, he was keeping an eye out for Alex's brother. Luck had at least granted them the tailcoat swathed over her shoulders, beneficially concealing her neck wound. He successfully maneuvered her through gaudily decorated hallways until reaching an empty study without any sighting of him. After shutting the door behind him, he ushered her to sit on a couch and kneeled before her. Once more, he pulled her hand from the bite mark, growing angry all over when he pictured the loathing Original leeching her blood.

Alex caught sight of herself in a mirror across the room and whimpered. She looked sickly white, her blood starkly contrasting with her skin; a creature extracted from a horror movie. Her stomach churned.

"Alex," Matt said soothingly, tucking her hair behind her ears, holding her gaze. "It's okay. You're okay now."

She nodded as a tear slipped down her cheek. Quickly, she wiped it away, making an effort to slow her breathing. "How bad?" she asked after a few moments.

She didn't need to elaborate. He ran his finger gently around the puncture marks; it came back coated in blood. "Not so bad," he assured her.

"That's exactly what I'd tell you," she joked half-heartedly, even as tears glimmered in her eyes. She managed a small, contrite smile, breaking his heart further. He put her in this position, and she was trying to comfort him, as she bled more profusely than before.

Matt hastened to the desk across the room, rummaging through its contents for something to staunch the blood, and Alex watched him all the while. The drawers were utterly empty, almost unnervingly devoid of a single item or tool. With contempt, he slammed one shut and swiveled around to push through a door companioned to this room. He didn't have to look far. Upon a coffee table rested a hand towel, folded with a staged appearance, as if it had placed there for his convenience. Matt had no doubt it had been, but he didn't care to consider it further.

After snatching it up and returning, he replaced Alex's hand with it. Now he had to figure out how to get her out of here and to a doctor. An ambulance was out of the question; she would protest to no end, and her brother would certainly discover it. As much as he would love to make a scene for the Originals to deal with, he wasn't going to put Alex in that position again.

Meredith Fell came to mind instantly. More and more often, she and Rick met up at the Grille. She could be discrete. Now he just had to carry Alex out to the truck; considering her blood loss, she probably wouldn't be steady on her feet.

"Matt," Alex spoke up upon seeing the contemplative look on his face, looking rueful herself, "you've already done so much. I can handle it from here."

He looked at her incredulously. "I'm not leaving you, okay? Don't be ridiculous. I'm gonna take you to Doctor Fell. Do you think you can stand?"

Alex frowned a moment, prepared to argue her bearing, but Matt wasn't easily swayed to simply let things go. Giving a nod, she braced herself to stand. He wrapped an arm around her waist to aid her when the door heaved open.

Rebekah stopped in the doorway, her countenance frozen in a look of surprise, taking in Matt and Alex's intimate position, before twisting into spite. Her eyes lasered into Matt's, who looked like he'd forgotten all about his date.

"Rebekah," he managed, his mind tugging him in separate ways: tend to his best friend or placate the vampire. The former ensnared him, and his momentary shock abated. "Is there a quick way out of here we can take to my car?"

His absorption in the girl in his arms was like wind to ashes, further incensing the blonde Original. The sharp smell of blood embalmed the air. "Do I look like a guide to you?" she snarled, cocking her hip. "God, are all men deceitful pigs, or is it just the men in this town? You'd think a millennia was enough for your kind to evolve into something decent!"

Matt blinked at her, taken aback by the sudden fit of rage. Alex, though sluggish in her current predicament, looked between the two blondes dubiously before stopping on Matt, murmuring, "Is this the same sweet vampire you were talking about earlier?"

Rebekah's fury was slightly placated by this comment; a look of marvel superimposed upon her furrowed brow. "You said that?"

"Yes," Matt stammered, confounded, as he always was, by the fickle change in mood. Women. "But Alex won't stop bleeding, and she needs to see a doctor, Rebekah. I have to get her out of here."

Rebekah's eyes narrowed upon refocusing on Alex, then dropped to her neck where she knew the girl's blood had been freshly spilled. The blood was potent. "You were bit." It was a statement rather than a question, an indifferent sentence.

"By your brother," Matt said, his jaw clenching, but he remained controlled. "Kol."

The vampire's hostility recoiled from this realization. She hid her unease, though it came through in her voice. "Kol did this? When?"

"Like, five minutes ago," Alex said tiredly.

"Will you help me?" Matt implored of Rebekah, adjusting his hold on Alex. "She needs help now."

"My blood should do the trick," Rebekah said casually, approaching the human girl. "A sip's all it takes."

Matt unconsciously took a small step back, shielding Alex protectively. "No," he said. "No vampire blood. She needs a doctor."

"But—"Rebekah began to protest.

"Rebekah," he stressed her name, "Is there a quick way out?"

She fell into silence before nodding, gesturing at the door leading to the room in which the towel had been placed. "Through there. There's a side entrance. I'll show you." She strode to the door and just barely opened it when voices came through from the other side, falling on startled ears.

"I told you, James, the situation is being handled," Mayor Lockwood said, sounding agitated. Rebekah stopped, leaving the door open a gap. Both Matt and Alex's ears perked up upon hearing Alex's brother's name.

"How can you say that?" James refuted heatedly. "I don't think you even know what the situation is. The entire Council's in the dark."

"I know more than you think," the mayor said in a controlled tone. "The Council doesn't need to concern itself with this when we already have a serial killer on the loose. Sheriff Forbes has her hands full, and unless there's anything you can do about that, I suggest you leave well enough alone."

Alex had edged up to the door beside Rebekah, bracing herself on the doorjamb. Through the open crack, she could see her brother, who had been facing a window, round on the mayor, his nostrils flaring. "I have my sister to look after. I'm not gonna leave this alone when it could threaten her, or anyone in this town for that matter. It's bad enough you're welcoming these vampires when we're supposed to be fighting them. You even let Damon Salvatore remain on the Council, like he's not the very monster we're supposed to destroy! But at least I know where I stand with that. Whatever you're hiding is bound to endanger someone, Carol."

Mayor Lockwood looked ruffled by his words, apprehension clearly etched on her face. Then she pushed back her shoulders and gave James a cool look. "This is neither the time nor place to have this discussion, James. We're through for the night." Leaving him with that, she marched to another door on the far left, slipping back out to the party. James stared at the closed door a moment, his dark eyes slit into a scathing look. A moment later, he, too, returned to the party, oblivious to his eavesdroppers.

Had Alex not already been exceedingly lacking in blood, the color would have drained from her face at the silence that ensued. It was bad enough that her brother was a Council member, but now she had to worry over him partaking in a perilous investigation regarding the mayor's secret affairs. And whatever the mayor deemed necessary to keep secret could only be terrible, especially given the current circumstances. She would normally feel guilty for her actions—eavesdropping on a private conversation—but her worry prevailed.

"Alex…" Matt said, giving her a reluctant look. His voice said all she needed to know—whatever James was up to worried him, too, but it wasn't a subject that deserved their attention at the moment. His eyes fell to her neck, where blood began to crust on the tailcoat's collar. "We should go."

They followed Rebekah out a side entrance, where they found themselves weaving through cars that made up the vast makeshift parking lot until they reached Matt's beat-up truck. By this time, Alex's eyelids began to droop as her mind urged her to sleep; Matt had to lift her into the passenger seat himself and buckle her in. He uttered a fervent goodbye to Rebekah, who stood off to the side with a desultory look, watching him drive away, a silent protest on her lips.

"Alex," Matt said in alarm, shaking her awake. "Alex, keep your eyes open." He broke the speed limit, rocketing down each street until he reached the Gilbert house and parked behind another, unfamiliar car. The previous day, he'd overheard Alaric and Meredith discussing their plans over lunch, and knew that the pair would be here.

In a flash, he was out of his seat and Alex was cradled in his arms, her head lolling back like a ragdoll. He pounded a fist on the door until Alaric opened it, startled. He stared down at Alex uncomprehendingly before looking up.

"Matt—"

"Where's Doctor Fell?" Matt asked, pushing inside the house. His eyes perused the living room wildly, bright and avid. Meredith emerged from the kitchen, taking cautious steps towards the frenetic high school boy as she absorbed the scene before her. Matt quickly intimated what had happened with Kol after resting Alex upon the couch, leaving her to Meredith's devices. Alex was stirring, in a transient realm between wakefulness and dreams.

"Rick, there's a medical bag out in my car," Meredith instructed calmly. Her composed demeanor instilled itself in Matt, who finally sat and took a well-deserved breath. "She's lost a lot of blood, but she'll be fine. Bites aren't usually that bad. How long ago did you say this was?"

"Only fifteen minutes," Matt said, pulling at a loose thread in the hem of his jacket.

Meredith nodded expectantly and iterated a piece of information regarding why the wound was still bleeding: Kol had struck an artery, however minimally. Alaric returned with a black bag in hand, passing it to her. She unzipped it and pulled out a syringe filled with crimson, hovering over the vein in Alex's arm. Matt grabbed her wrist just before Meredith plunged it in.

"Stop!" he said. "No vampire blood. Don't you remember what happened to Caroline's dad?"

Meredith pursed her lips. "Alex is safe here. That's not gonna happen again."

"Because I won't let it happen. No vampire blood. Can't you just stop the bleeding?"

"The vampire blood would speed up the healing process," Meredith explained. "If I don't use it, then I'll need to start her on an IV."

"She won't go to the hospital," Matt said. "It'll only make things worse. She's deathly afraid of all that stuff." After maintaining his case for a minute longer, Matt eventually got Meredith to agree to no hospital; she started an IV there in the Gilbert living room and bandaged Alex's neck wound.

An hour passed before Meredith cleared them to leave. Matt was driving home with Alex tucked in the small backseat when her phone rang from her clutch, playing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Taking his eyes off the road momentarily, he dug through the small bag before retrieving it. The caller ID read James.

"James," Matt answered, trying his best to sound collected. "I was just about to call you."

"Is Alex with you?" James questioned immediately, worry carried in his voice. "I've looked all over for her, but she isn't here anymore. I was gonna take her home."

"She's with me. She was tired and said she wanted to crash at my place, since you have an early day tomorrow. Didn't want to bother you."

James was relieved. "Okay… just get her back tomorrow in one piece, all right?" He paused, letting out a shaky breath. "It's been a crazy night."

In the rearview mirror, Matt watched Alex writhe in her sleep. "Tell me about it."

The rest of the night plagued her with dreams of a dark-haired vampire pressing his lips to her throat, scraping his teeth against her skin, causing the pleasure-pain sensation to torment her overwhelmingly, leaving one name resonating in her mind:

Kol.

So what did you guys think? Is it worth continuing? Let me know!