Spotlight on 2015 Releases: UNQUENCHABLE

Dear Person, Vampire, Shifter, or Whatever You Are,

First let me point out the obvious. You aren’t supposed to be in my room.

Since you are, you might as well read this:

Life has become chaotic and I don’t know where to turn. I’ve loved and lost so many people. I’m starting to understand how Elena feels. Well maybe not Elena. She has her own unusual way of dealing with death.

Stefan is off trying to find a witch who will bring Bonnie and Damon back from the Other Side. I’m starting to think it’s a hopeless cause.

Only it’s not.

Maybe that’s why I feel so guilty. Maybe that’s why I’m writing this down on paper so if I’m the next to go someone will see this and know where to turn. See, there’s one person—well, I’m not sure if person is the right word here but for the sake of all vampires we’ll call him that—and he may be able to help.

May is a little word with a big meaning where Klaus Mikaelson is concerned. If I didn’t fear letting my real feelings take hold here, maybe I’d just go ahead and call it as I see it.

Klaus can help.

If there’s one “person” who has always been able to save the day when no one else is able to turn things around, it’s Klaus.

See, he’s an original vampire. 

In case you’re reading this and don’t know what that means, pay attention. Klaus and his siblings were the first of their kind. All vampires are linked back to one of the original family members. Klaus is also a hybrid which means he is part vampire and part wolf. Oh and the best part—or worst if you happen to be his enemy—he can’t be killed.

Because of his immortal life, he’s the one person who can bring my friends home. Klaus once promised he would leave Mystic Falls and never return but he will break his promise for me. Not that he needs to break his promise at all. I’m not exactly in Mystic Falls.

Besides, all I need to do is ask and Klaus will be on his way. Unless…

What if he’s moved on? What if everything I believed about him turns out to be a lie? What if he’s found someone special, someone to love? What if he isn’t the one I will always be able to depend upon?

Even as I read over the questions above, I feel the truth. He cares for me in a way I can’t explain. Maybe I’m too young to understand his devotion. According to Stefan, I turn a blind eye to what everyone else can seemingly see. 

One call and he’ll be here.                                                                                     

Why am I so sure? Because Klaus cares for me. In fact, he loves me. Even my friends believe his love is true.

The Salvatore brothers often used me to exploit him. Whenever they needed something from Klaus or wanted someone to distract him, I was their go-to girl.

Now, here I am again. This time, Damon and Stefan aren’t here to guide me. Then again? I don’t need their help. I’ve dealt with Klaus on countless occasions.

I stare at my phone again. It’s right here beside me.

One call. That’s all it will take. 

And I have to make it.

Bonnie is counting on me.  Damon is depending on me, even though he would never admit it.

Poor Damon. He’s probably sitting on the Other Side right now telling Bonnie not to worry, certain Elena or Stefan will save the day. I wonder what he would say if he knew I was planning to turn to Klaus for help.

Well look at that why don’t you…guess my mind is made up.

I’m making the call. Then, I’ll brace for impact.

Caroline

Chapter One

In New Orleans, Klaus couldn’t shake the unsettling surges of angst. The unfamiliar feelings, a mix of disturbances and anticipation, had kept him awake for most of the night. He stood at the double terrace doors overlooking Bourbon Street and tried to pinpoint where the nagging torment had originated.

Below him, the weekend crowd stirred with an abundance of energy. The drunkards took to the street and the midnight hour approached. Debating on whether or not to join the party below, Klaus turned to acknowledge his buzzing phone. He hesitated for a moment but then reminded himself of one pertinent fact. When his veins burned and throbbed, it was generally a reliable sign of things to come, events he actually cared about.

He rushed across the room and snatched his phone, never bothering to look at the caller ID. “Yes?”

 “Klaus. It’s—”

“Caroline,” he breathed her name like a reckless lover might, but he quickly rebounded when Elijah quietly entered the room. “How nice of you to call. Let me guess, you broke a fingernail and it’s somehow my fault?”

She didn’t say anything right away but he heard her light breathing. He could almost picture her smile, the way her lips twitched as they often did when she tried to pretend he hadn’t amused her. As par for the course, he grinned at the image, too. What was it about Caroline that always made him smile?

When she didn’t respond right away, the overwhelming need to devil her a bit drove Klaus to add, “No? Then if this call isn’t related to cosmetic damage or perhaps a need for vintage clothing from the Mikaelson attic, it must certainly have something to do with that annoying breath of stale air.” He sighed in theatrical despair. “So tell me, love, what did the young Benedict Arnold do this time?”

That traitorous Tyler Lockwood had once been the very bane of his existence.

Caroline and Tyler had shared a romantic past. Still, Klaus had recently received the news of Tyler’s and Caroline’s seemingly permanent separation but celebration had turned into despair when she hadn’t reached out to him. Now, here she was on the other end of the phone and he couldn’t help but taunt her.

“This isn’t about Tyler,” Caroline said, a compelling note of seriousness to her voice. “I need your help.”

“But of course you do, love,” Klaus said, matching her tone and immediately blaming his sleepless nights on their undeniable if not seemingly fated connection. “And I’ve been right here awaiting your call.”

*****

At Whitmore College, Caroline clutched the phone with a trembling hand. How long had she waited to hear that raspy yearning in Klaus’s sophisticated voice? How many days, hours really, had passed since she’d felt his arms around her, his lips against her own? Pushing aside the warm and fuzzy feelings, she asked, “Will you help me or not?”

“You haven’t told me what you need, love.” The typical play had begun. Klaus apparently had a very difficult time maintaining any element of seriousness when he dealt with Caroline. More often than not, she found him positively annoying.

“You said you’ve been expecting to hear from me so you know why I’m calling.”

“I have my suspicions, yes, but for the sake of polite conversation, why don’t you tell me?”

“You want me to ask you to come home.”

“That is why you’re calling. Isn’t it, Caroline?”

She thinned her lips and paced. Why did he always do this? Why couldn’t things be simple with them? Why couldn’t they just be friends and leave the bantering to people like...well she couldn’t think of anyone. The more volatile couples had parted ways either by choice or by death.

Even Katherine, Elena’s doppelganger—only they weren’t anything alike—had finally met her demise. With the thought, a flash of memories burst inside her head. She couldn’t help but think of Katherine’s last days and how Klaus had returned from New Orleans to apparently witness her final breath.

Illicit memories danced in front of her mind’s eye. She and Klaus were in the forest behind the Salvatore home. Her back was against a tree. Klaus had just ripped open her shirt and…

“Caroline? Are you still with me, sweetheart?”

“Stop doing that,” she snapped.

“We’ve been on the phone less than a minute and you’re already blaming me for something else.”

“You know what you did. You’re in my head and I don’t have time for this.”

“If I’m in your head, it’s because you want me there. While I’m quite certain to find your thoughts excessively entertaining, I only take credit for things I can see.”

Caroline stopped pacing. Perhaps he was right. Maybe she couldn’t blame him for thoughts about their history. Wasn’t it normal for young women to daydream about past racy encounters?

“Caroline?”

Normal or not, the amusement in Klaus’s voice led her to believe he was behind her daytime fantasies. Not fantasies, she reasoned, but memories. 

“I need you here at Whitmore. Will you help me or not?”

“But you haven’t told me what you need.”

“Klaus, if anyone is ‘in the know’, it’s you.” And it irked her to the ends of the earth and back.

“I’m capable of a lot of things but—”

“You know what? Forget it. I’ll ask Enzo. I should’ve buzzed him in the first place.” Enzo was Damon’s friend or at least she thought they were friends. Then again, they’d probably tried to kill one another, too. Caroline had a challenge ahead of her. Damon had pissed off pretty much everyone he knew and he had killed most of their friends at least once. No one was jumping up and volunteering to bring him back from the Other Side.

“And is Enzo well connected, love?” Klaus’s voice jerked her away from her private thoughts.

“Hello? Enzo probably doesn’t have several hundred years’ worth of enemies trailing him.” 

“Former foes often make the best allies. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Is that a yes?”

“You suspected as much before you dialed my number.” 

Perhaps she should’ve stroked his impossible ego. She hadn’t punched in his number. Oh no. Klaus was on speed dial.

“Klaus?” She sucked in a deep breath. “This is really important. If you don’t have any new friends, do me a favor and start compelling everyone you meet on the street. We may need them.”

“Sounds serious.”

“It is.”

“Tell me something, Caroline,” he said, his thick accent driving her mad. When she dreamt of Klaus, she always imagined his hypnotic voice at her ear. “Are we friends?”

Caroline swallowed. Her mouth dried. She recalled so many memories all at once, a mix of good and bad.  Klaus was complicated. He confused her more than any man on the planet and yet she found herself inexplicably drawn to him. She even trusted him.

She trusted an original, a vampire others considered dangerous—no, deadly—and downright despicable. Shaking off the thought, she released a sigh of true relief. Klaus would soon be on his way and the thought of seeing him again left her skin covered in goosebumps.

“It’s a simple question actually. Are you my friend, Caroline? Can I trust you?”

“Yes, Klaus. You can trust me.”

“Very well then. It’s you and me against the world. We don’t need compulsion or friends. I’ll see you soon, love.”

“But I didn’t tell you what I wanted.”

“As always, you were right. I know why you called and understand what you need. You don’t have to ask. I’ll be there soon.”

Caroline disconnected the call and turned to find a brooding Elena.  She slammed the door behind her and zipped across the room with an enraged vampire’s speed. “What have you done, Caroline?”

“What I should’ve done a long time ago. I called Klaus.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Elena balled her fists as she stomped back and forth across the room. “How could you do this?”

She wasn’t surprised by Elena’s fury. When Klaus first came to Mystic Falls, he’d arrived there with an agenda. He had planned to kill Elena and while she had lived to tell about it, her aunt hadn’t been so lucky.

“Klaus is a monster!”

“And some would’ve said the same about Damon but you fell in love with him anyway.”

“I’m not discussing Damon with you.”

“Forgive me,” Caroline snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m so forgetful these days. You of all people should know how that is. When something is too uncomfortable, you pay Alaric a visit and he erases it from your memory.”

“Klaus is dangerous.”

Caroline wasn’t afraid of Klaus. “What would you have me do, Elena? Hmm? Sit and wait? We don’t have time. There are no guarantees the Other Side will be here later today or even tomorrow. Every minute we waste is a minute we used to let our friends down. Once Damon and Bonnie slip away from us, they’re gone forever.”

Elena stared at her blankly. Tension hung in the air but Elena finally conceded. “You’re right. We have to save Bonnie.”

“And we’ll save Damon.” Caroline would never understand some of Elena’s recent choices, but she hadn’t lost someone she loved more than she loved herself.  “You wanted your memories wiped clean but one of these days, you’ll realize what you’ve done. You’ll go to Alaric and ask him to reverse the compulsion. You’ll want to remember.”

“No.” Elena shook her head. “I’m happy Caroline. Sure I miss Bonnie and everyone we’ve lost, but I’m moving on. Damon isn’t in my future. I rarely see him in my past.”

“Well that’s your problem,” Caroline said.

Elena and Stefan had handled Damon’s death poorly. Stefan had left town. Elena had slipped into some sort of delusional fantasy world right after Damon died. When that didn’t work, she asked Alaric to make her forget.

“From what I remember of Damon, he wouldn’t have been eager to accept Klaus’s help.” Elena frowned. “And Bonnie? Have you forgotten how much Bonnie despised Klaus?”

“Give Klaus the benefit of the doubt. If he helps us, he can right his wrongs.”

“Vampires like Klaus can’t redeem themselves.”

Caroline didn’t believe that. Elena didn’t know the Klaus she knew. 

“What if Bonnie and Damon won’t take his help?”

“Oh come on, Elena! They’re trapped on the Other Side. They would take the devil’s hand if he shoved it right in front of them.”

“I hope you’re right because the devil’s hand is exactly what they’ll have if Klaus reaches out to them.” Elena’s expression softened.  “His help will come at a price, Caroline. You need to ask yourself if you’re ready to pay the devil’s dues because when Klaus is through with you, the debt you’ll owe will be far more than you’re prepared to pay.”  

The Vampire Diaries: UNQUENCHABLE (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Love Bites Back Trilogy Book 1)