Their Raven

Chapter 37

Damon was lounging sideways on the velvet chaise in the sitting room, barefoot and flipping lazily through an old grimoire Bonnie had insisted he look at. His damp curls were still drying, the collar of Klaus's shirt dropping slightly to expose a bite mark on his shoulder — already healed, but visible enough.

Across the room, Bonnie sat at a wide oak table surrounded by open books and spelled candles, eyebrows furrowed in that familiar 'I'm going to fix this with witchcraft' look.

Kol was pacing by the window, arms crossed tight, glancing out every few seconds like the sun itself was personally offending him. Elijah stood with a glass of bourbon in hand, far too stif to be casual.

And Klaus? Klaus was reclining far too comfortably on the arm of Damon's chaise, elbow propped up behind Damon's shoulder, fingers tracing slow circles across the inside of Damon's wrist.

It was like watching a lion casually claim his mate.

And it was driving his brothers insane.

"So.." Bonnie finally said, closing one of the grimoires with a snap. "You're absolutely sure the mark appeared after you bit him?"

Klaus nodded once, lips tilted in a lazy smirk.

Damon yawned. "Glowed, too. Felt my magic explode." He gestured toward Klaus's bare chest, where the faint outline of the small red and gold phoenix shimmered in the sunlight. "Made that thing."

Bonnie got up and walked closer, peering at it.

"Phoenix. That's not in any of the Le Rouge bloodline sigils that I managed to find." She muttered. "But... magic like yours? Family magic? It can create things—bird things—without you meaning to."

She glanced between them, chewing on the edge of her thumb. "It's probably... a Le Rouge thing."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "That's your official magical diagnosis? 'A Le Rouge thing'?

Bonnie gave him a flat look. "You make a blood-forged bond with a hybrid under a crescent moon in a forest lit with ancestral magic and sex-fuelled Le Rouge chaos. Forgive me if I don't have a page number for that."

Kol scoffed.

"Is that what we're calling it now? 'Chaos'?" He snapped. "Seems more like branding. A nice little ownership stamp, right above his cold, unworthy heart."

Klaus's jaw flexed, but he said nothing.

Elijah set down his glass. "What bothers me," he said slowly, eyes locked on the phoenix symbol, "is that none of us know what it means. Not even you, Damon. You may have given the mark, but you don't understand it."

"I didn't mean give anything," Damon muttered. "It just... happened."

"Exactly," Elijah said, and his voice was calm but cold. "Which makes it dangerous. You two did something irreversible, something none of us have seen before, and you don't know the consequences."

Bonnie tilted her head. "There's one person who might."

Damon looked up sharply.

"My dad," he said quietly.

The room stilled.

"I don't know what this mark is. I don't know what it means. But I've felt his magic now. And if anyone would know what the hell this bond means... it'd be Matteo Le Rouge."

The silence stretched.

Kol turned away first, slamming his palm against the window frame. "Brilliant. So now he gets the magic, he gets the mark, he gets the first kiss—"

"Elijah kissed me first," Damon said under his breath.

Everyone turned.

Elijah blinked, then coughed, adjusting his cuffs. "That was... a moment. Not a—"

"A moment," Klaus repeated with a bitter laugh. "You've had hundreds of moments with him. Whispering secrets, long stares. We all saw them, brother"

"And what did you do, Niklaus?" Elijah asked coolly. "Wait until you were alone and take what we'd all been patiently waiting for?"

"You mean what he have willingly?" Klaus snapped.

Damon let his head fall back against the chaise, eyes rolling. "Jesus Christ. I'm not a necklace you all take turns wearing."

Kol growled. "You his, now. You don't even see it, but you've tied yourself to Klaus."

"No, I haven't," Damon shot back, sitting up. "I didn't ask for the bite. I didn't ask for the mark. I just... I needed him that night. That doesn't mean I chose one of you over the rest."

"But you did, didn't you?" Elijah asked quietly.

Damon stood. "I don't know! I care about all of you. God, can't you see how confused I am?" His voice broke lightly, his magic flaring faintly behind his eyes. "I didn't ask for this. Any of this."

Klaus stood too, but more slowly, stepping toward him.

"You're not alone in this, Damon."

"I feel like I am," Damon whispered. "I'm in a house with people who all want something from me. I'm falling for three brothers who might destroy each other over something I didn't mean to do. I don't know what this phoenix mark means. I don't know what my dad wants. I don't even know who I am anymore."

No one dared speak.

Bonnie steeped forward gently, and touched his arm. "Then we find out. Together."

Damon looked at her — his anchor, his best friend. Then at Stefan, who hadn't said a word since entering the room but whose eyes were filled with concern.

And then he looked at the three brothers — all beautiful, all broken, all looking at him like he was a star they couldn't reach anymore.

"I need air," Damon whispered. "Just—just a second."

He walked out of the room, bare feet soft against the marble floor, disappearing toward the gardens.

Kol's voice followed, bitter and sharp.

"You marked him, Nik."

Klaus didn't turn.

"No," he murmured. "He marked me."

And on his chest, the phoenix glowed once.

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Hello my darlings, I hope you like this chapter. Felt a bit rushed