Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Astrid's initial opinion on Stefan Salvatore was conflicted. On the outside, he appeared ever the gentleman, with a handsome, devilish smirk that mirrored her husband's, but beyond that, his emotionless, mahogany eyes were a window into his soul.
He was unfeeling, numb and calculating. His humanity was switched off, rendering him the psychopathic ripper of Monterey.
It had been a while since they'd come across a ripper- a true ripper.
Over her lengthy life of nine-hundred-years, Astrid had only come across a handful of rippers, each one more unnerving then the predecessor.
Rippers were sadistic vampires who enjoyed abusing, dispatching and mutilating their victims, most of them with their humanity's turned off.
They had a lack of control, an insatiable appetite that could never be quenched, a thirst for blood so bad, they ripped through towns and cities.
Of course, her husband would naturally be fascinated with someone as brutal and animalistic as a ripper, but this wasn't just any no-name ripper.
This was the ripper of Monterey, the infamous vampire who brought death and devastation to the city, paining the town crimson with the blood of his victims.
Astrid knew she was no saint, she no doubt had much more blood on her hands than Stefan, she'd been the demise of thousands upon thousands of innocent humans and supernatural creatures alike.
Her husband's body count was no doubt much vaster than her own. Nik had killed thousands for merely looking at his wife the wrong way- whether that was looking for too long with a lingering gaze, or with distaste and disrespect.
But like majority of their species, Astrid knew there was an unspoken line that was never to be crossed, one didn't physically harm a child, however, she knew Stefan had torn families apart in Monterey, ripping them limb from limb.
The crime scene had been horrific, a mass murder, mutilated bodies and rolling heads covering every street. Yet the man himself sat across from her in the booth, shoulders light as he grinned from ear to ear.
Rebekah didn't seem uneasy around Stefan, if anything she seemed to be enjoying Stefan's company a little too much for Astrid's liking...
The buxom blonde had draped her arm over his bicep, giggling lightly while looking like the cat who caught the canary. She was fluttering her lashes, hooked on every word that left Stefan's lips, piping up with the odd flirtatious, sharp-tongued comment.
Stefan didn't seem too opposed to the attention the pretty blonde was showering him in, smirking down as he continued to talk about his time in Monterey.
Much to Astrid's irritation, even Nik was snorting in amusement from Astrid's side, his arm draped just above her shoulder.
It wasn't like her husband to take interest in vampires as young as Stefan, but Nik had always been fascinated with rippers.
