A dream well dreamt / Completed /

Just another setback

The last two weeks moved quickly, filled with love and laughter. It was awesome spending my time with my mates and getting to know each and every one of them. Their likes, dislikes and hobbies. The way they saw the world around, being immortal and out of the pressure of the human condition. They were so much deeper than what was portrayed in the series. Here, they were real.

Today was the day Nik was finally going to be free from his curse. We were all excited and a little bit apprehensive. It wasn't that far fetched to expect some kind of trouble. Nik spent the entire day confirming and going over the spell with Greta time and again. Elijah kept the moonstone and patted his breast pocket every few minutes. Enzo checked on Damon every half an hour to make sure he was still there. He didn't need to worry really, I did put him to sleep because he was being a pain in my ass.

I, myself had spent the last few days chatting up Elena via text messages to make sure she remembers our meeting. I also kept in contact with Lockwood. He was expecting me for a meeting in the early evening to discuss my investment in the town. He did in fact kill Logan Fell on that party, but it was covered up quickly as an accident. I did meet with him last week to confirm his transition. He was really jumpy and was running a fever the entire time we spoke. I could see the wolf preparing his body for the shift. So he was good to go as well.

Now, if this was a nice romance series, everything would go according to plan. On the contrary, since it is a drama with plots and turns, we met with an unexpected setback mere hours before the ritual. Elena was not responding to my texts. In fact, she hasn't responded to any of my calls either since last night when she went out with her friends and boyfriend. I didn't want to contact any of the residents in Mystic falls, as I didn't want to leave any trace to other supernaturals to follow.

I took a few minutes to gather my stuff and I met with the others in the living room. The tension in there was roof high and filled with testosterone. I needed to go out and about, away from the toxicity.

- I am going to the Grill. It seems the most logical place to start and it is the most common place to hear gossip. If she is missing or something happened last night, there would be talk - I told everyone, picking up my jacket from the couch. - I want you to proceed like we planned and we will keep in touch.

- Make sure to find her, love - I could actually see steam coming from Nik's ears - I have spent a thousand years waiting for this moment. I will not let anything get in my way of getting this curse out.

- Don't worry darling, I will find her. - I told him - and if she is not in a condition to be used, I will use my own power to set you free.

- You can do that? - he asked half relieved and half agitated.

- I probably could, but I am not sure how successful I would be in giving you hybrids. It is the reason I am following the original way. Just to be on the safe side.

- Do you want me to come with you? - Elijah asked - It is not like I have some important business here, besides keeping an eye on an object. - he said with a smile and turned to Nik. - Here, you take it with you, and I will help Lyra with Elena and the mayor. She does have two tasks which only she can do at the moment.

- Sure - I said and gave a quick kiss to Nik and Enzo - Don't worry darlings, I will have them on time.

I was sure of it. After all, even if one had obstacles to overcome, there was always a way to do so. Me and Elijah took my car and drove to Mystic falls under a slight charm to avoid any police interference. This enabled us to drive as fast as we wanted without the normals finding out. Even if recorded, the video would come out blurred and unusable. You got to love magic, right?

It took us less than two hours to reach the Grill. The moment we stepped in we noticed the patrons being quieter and more nervous than usual. When the server came to us, I couldn't help but ask.

- What is going on? - I feigned a concerned look - Everyone seems sad and bothered.

- Oh, you must not be from around here - She told us, getting all chatty. One must appreciate a gossip girl - A local teenager , Elena Gilbert , was abducted last night, leaving a party. Everyone is looking for her.

- How do you know she was taken and not simply ran away from home? - I knew she wouldn't, but a stranger would not. And it also helped me gain more info.

- Oh, she was taken in front of her boyfriend by two men. They hit him pretty hard, but he saw their car. A dark blue sedan. - She seemed excited to share what she knew, so I continued reacting appropriately to her story to motivate her in sharing every detail available. - The sheriff found the car a few miles outside the town and there were two sets of tracks going into the woods. They think they carried her there. So now they are gathering a search and rescue at the town border. Everyone is going, even the grill is closing the kitchen and will continue serving only coffee, so the personnel could join in the search.

- I see - I nodded at her and looked pointedly at Elijah. The mayor would be there too. - Perhaps we could join as well?

- Sure, every person counts. Just go down the main road and you will see the set up point. They will give you directions. Do you want something to go?

- No, thank you - I smiled at her, while getting out of the booth - We better hurry to help find her.

- Today will be a short one, there are only two hours of daylight left. They will not search while dark, these woods are too dangerous for that. Most likely the search will be full force in the morning.

- I understand - I nodded and left the restaurant with Elijah on my tail. When in the car, I turned to him - We will find her and take care of the pests. I don't know if they did this because of us or something else, but if we manage to track them, we could use this as a way to finish our task. We find them, take her, do the ritual and bring her back in the morning.

- Let's go then - He nodded and called Nik to inform him of the situation.

Two hours later the search and rescue was rescheduled for the next day and check points were positioned on each road out of town. Which was totally ok with us, we wanted in, not out. Me and Elijah already had a pinpoint on the trio. It would take us only a few minutes to reach them. They were making camp near the ritual site. Talk about convince. Elena was in good condition, albeit a bit shaken, but they haven't really done anything to her for now. It was a bit suspicious to be honest. It was like they were waiting for something or someone.

Once the humans left for the night me and Elijah sped to the camp, but kept our distance and did not enter the clearance without knowing our facts. This could very well be a set up for us. So we waited and I searched for spells and the likes. It took me a few moments to determine the two were actual warewolves. It surprised me as I couldn't think of a reason for them to need Elena. Unless...

Unless they wanted to break the sun and moon curse and knew we were about to break Nik's today. There was a mole in our ranks. After this was over, I was finding that person and getting even. No one was going against Nik without retribution from my side.

I gave Elijah a nodd and we attacked. It took mere seconds to subdue the wolfs and get them all tied up. It was surprising and quite disappointing how easy it was to bring them down to be honest. Elena was sitting on the grass next to me, doe eyed and gaping like a fish. I wispered a spell to make her sleep and turned back to our captives.

- Well, what do we have here? - I asked with a mocking tone. Both of them looked at me with anxious eyes, obviously racking their small brains to come up with a logical answer. - The truth, if you please.