Clair de Lune - K.M.

c h a p t e r t h i r t y e i g h t

By the time the sun rises, all of the vampires that Klaus sent after us are gone. They spent most of the early morning unable to get inside the house but my guess is that when their skin started to burn, they ran back into the trees and wherever they came from.

"Sun's up," Jeremy says, peering out of the living room window while Elena works on cleaning up Matt's wound from the night before. "They're long gone."

I pour myself a celebratory drink and hand one to Damon as well while the girl glares angrily at both of us. She's been too worried about the vampires up until now but since they're gone I have a feeling we're going to hear just how unhappy with the two of us she is. 

"Seriously, what the hell were you thinking?" Elena says, standing and throwing the bloody rag to the side. "All I asked you to do was to teach him how to fight."

"He's not the best student in the world," Damon says.

"Wait," Jeremy joins in. "Now this is my fault?"

"Stop talking," Damon tells the boy before turning back to Elena. "Look, I know you're angry. But my way was the easiest, fastest, and safest way to complete his mark to get you the cure."

"I don't care about the cure, Damon," Elena says. "Not if it means putting the people I love in danger."

"Oh bullshit," I chime in, striding over and nudging Matt out of the way so I can sit next to him on the couch.

"Excuse me?"

"Elena, this doesn't only affect you. Everyone here is choosing to be. Kind of. Plus Klaus was right, this is the best solution. If you can't handle it then go away and let us take care of this."

"I'm sorry, this was Klaus' idea?" Elena asks, leveling her glare at Damon before glancing back at me.

"Yeah and it worked. You talk about people being in danger but no one would have been if Jeremy had just done what he was told," I say, holding my drink up towards the boy before taking a sip of the bourbon. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"He killed someone," Elena defends her brother. "These were innocent people."

"The mark grew, didn't it?" Damon asks.

Elena looks like she wants to respond but can't think of anything to say, instead letting out a loud sigh.

"Okay, look, we need a plan. There's a group of compelled vampires out there and as soon as the sun goes down, they're going to come after Matt. We need a way to protect him."

"I know," Damon assures her. "But there will be no problem because today big Jere, she-wolf, and I are going on a hunting expedition."

"I haven't agreed to that," I say, finishing up my drink and holding it out to Matt so he'll get me a refill. He rolls his eyes but reaches behind the couch to grab the bottle anyway.

"It's either that or go home and face your scary boyfriend, so you pick," Damon says. "Elena, he's always had to kill them. Now we have added incentive. You take the least most valuable player home and the three of us will finish this."

"I'm sorry, are you saying that I should leave him here with you?" Elena asks.

"Trust me," Damon promises. "I will keep him safe. Okay?"

He reaches out to put his hand on her shoulder and I turn in my seat to observe the two of them. I've seen a sire bond in action before but never one that developed from real feelings. The way they interact is interesting. Elena's trusting eyes trained on Damon's face and the way that her entire body relaxes when it comes in contact with his.