Clair de Lune - K.M.

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

"You want to what?" I ask incredulously, staring at Jeremy and Elena in front of me.

"Killing Kol solves everything," Elena explains. "He compelled Damon to kill Jeremy, that ends if he dies, and his entire sire line will go with him and expedite the process of revealing Jeremy's mark. Klaus won't have a reason to want to take Jeremy anymore."

"What about the problem of Klaus or any of the other originals tracking you down and murdering you for killing their brother?" I ask them.

"That's where you come in."

"No," I say instantly. "No way. Look, I know that I have a lot of influence over Klaus but you're talking about murdering his his family. I won't be able to protect you. Not to mention that I can't do this to him."

"Come on," Jeremy says, stepping forward. "I saw you, Stella. I saw how you acted with Klaus. You have him wrapped around your fingers. Plus I know you're angry with him and Kol for how they've treated you recently."

I glare at Jeremy, irritated that he's right. I hate that he saw me at my lowest over the past few days and I hate that he saw how weak Klaus makes me even more. But he's right, Klaus broke me. I'm tired of being broken. Maybe it's time to take things into my own hands and get even.

Plus, I am extremely pissed with Kol. I never really liked him much and after he smacked the shit out of me and snapped my neck half an hour later, I'll admit that killing him does have a nice ring to it. Not to mention it would ensure that Damon can't be a danger to Jeremy anymore.

A frustrated sigh escapes my lips and I run my hand along the back of my neck in stress.

"I can't be a part of this," I say eventually. "I can't be there when it happens. Klaus would never forgive me."

I make eye contact with Elena, hoping that she'll understand what I'm trying to say. Thankfully she does.

"That's okay," she says. "We won't ask you to do that. Just- we need you to distract Klaus whenever the time comes. And to not tell him about this."

"What if I don't agree?" I ask her. "What if I decide that I can't help you and tell Klaus about what you're planning?"

"Then he'll kill both of us without a second thought," Jeremy says.

"You realize that this is really fucking unfair, right?"

"We know, Stells," Elena says. "I'm sorry but this is our only option. You have to understand that."

"Of course I do," I say, a defeated sigh escaping my mouth. Elena is just doing what's best to protect her family, something I've never hesitated to do myself. "Okay look, I'll help you out. Kol is a dick and after what he did to me, if you think you need to kill him I won't stand in your way. But distracting Klaus is all I'll do. No matter how much I hate him right now, I still love him. I can't hurt him like that."

"Thank you," Elena says, reaching out to grab my hand. She squeezes it tightly and I do the same as I try not to think about what we just agreed on.

I've never claimed to be a good person. In fact, I know that I'm not. A good person wouldn't agree to help her friends kill her boyfriend's brother like I just did. Maybe if I wasn't so sad or resentful or so fucking angry that I feel like I'm going to explode all the time I would have made a different decision. Maybe if Klaus hadn't come after my family first I would have told them no. But he did. So here we are.

"I should go," I say, pulling away from Elena. "My mom hasn't seen me in days and I'm completely out of clothes."

"Do you need a ride?"