Bella was happy with how Kol’s demeanor had changed over the course of only a month. Sure, he still had his bad days of not wanting to do anything, and Isaac usually gave him a few hours before scraping him away from the bar, because if there was one thing that Kol could do like no other was to drink and, on a very bad day, he drank all the liquor the bar held.
Isaac made things fun for Kol, and even took him on days out with Jeremy. Or the three of them would play video games together. In turn, Bella spent more time with Caroline and Myriam, and Rebekah once came over too, only for a swift visit because she had a run in with Matt and those two had a complicated history. Of course, that sparked Matt to come by for a sheriff’s visit while Isaac and Kol had been out to get supplies.
It was a beautiful sunny day and Bella was sitting outside on the porch drinking a nice glass of cold lemonade when a cab stopped in front of the entrance and two people nearly jumped out of it and made a run for the entrance of the Bed and Breakfast. “Excuse me,” Bella called out to them. “We’re fully booked! Did you make a reservation?”
“Ah, no… we’re looking for Bella Swan?” the very attractive dark haired man asked. His blue eyes were amazing and his face had this gorgeous bone structure. He could very well be a GQ model for all Bella knew.
Bella got to her feet and nodded as she took her glass of lemonade. “Follow me,” she smiled as she lead the man and woman to her office. Peter had gotten into the habit of having his contacts referring people who needed help to Bella. Sometimes Isaac, just to make sure that they wouldn’t get caught by the hunters.
Still, it was a risk that Bella reluctantly took, because these people could very well be hunters and always had their protectees walk through a barrier of protective spells of the witches to see if her new guests were genuine. If they weren’t, one of the barriers would hold them.
She was once again relieved that she didn’t have to fight or call for the resident vampires to help out. Bella showed them to a little seating area in her office and sat down in her chair as she observed them for a moment. “I’m Bella Swan and I can get you the help you need. Are you in need of medical assistance?”
“No, thank you,” the woman spoke. She had brown hair cut in a very high bob and it kinda looked ridiculous. “It’s strange to see this place, when this was still the Mystic Grill we often went there for something to eat.”
“Oh, so you’re from Mystic Falls then?”
“We used to be. We still have friends here but we moved away after my brother died and started a new life,” the man explained. “My name is Damon Salvatore, this is my wife Elena.”
Bella was surprised then. “Elena as in Jeremy’s sister and Salvatore as in the school? Does Jeremy know you’re in trouble?”
“He was the one who told us to come here, actually,” Elena replied. “We’ve been running from hunters for a few weeks now. We’ve tried reasoning with them, especially since we’re humans now but they won’t listen. We just need a place to stay until they stop following us.”
Bella had heard the tale of the vampire cure and on who was involved, she had never expected to ever meet these two as Jeremy had made it clear that they had no intention of returning. “Well, sorry to tell you but unless all hunters are dead, you won’t be safe on your own. They will keep coming for you so yeah, Jeremy sending you here was a good call on his part.”
“But why? We’re no longer vampires and—” Elena said panicked. “I kinda loved our new life!”
Bella smiled then. “Well, it started in Beacon Hills but it spread out to the entire world when a bunch of seers and banshees catalogued every supernatural being in about 2013, 2014. And every city with supernatural beings in it thought it was just limited to them, but it wasn’t. With the rise of the hunters taking revenge on the supernatural and didn’t discriminate while doing so, all the pages were collected and now they have this huge repository of names to hunt down.”
“That doesn’t make sense. I took the cure in 2013 and was in a medically induced coma by some lunatic for years,” Elena scowled. “How am I on that list?”
Damon gently caressed Elena’s arm. “Because you were a vampire in 2013, babe,” he smiled at her. “I don’t like this knowledge any more than you do, but it makes sense. Their information is outdated. So, now what? Are you going to teach us how to shoot guns and whatnot?”
Bella let out a chuckle and shook her head. “Your case is pretty special, really, because we’re helping other supernaturals but you’re human. Will you be comfortable living with other supernaturals and build a community somewhere?”
“We went away from Mystic Falls to avoid all the supernatural. We still have our friends here, but…”
“It’ll be in the next state,” Bella smiled at them. “Or, I know that someone’s working on creating a human sanctuary here in Mystic Falls. A gated community, protected with witches spells. The mayor has signed off on the project, supporting it. Especially since myself and Isaac will keep an eye on the proceedings. You won’t be safe elsewhere as long as you’re being hunted.”
“This is not what I imagined…” Elena said as she looked at Damon with tears in her eyes. “They’re making us move back!”
“I know of another group of people who helps the supernatural only, but that’s in a town in California where I just know you won’t be safe,” Bella said kindly. “And I’m not making you do anything. You came to us for help, I’m merely giving you the options that I have for you. But you know what? You don’t have to decide now. I’ll show you to where you’ll be staying and you two can talk things out. And if you’d like, I can send Jer or one of your friends over to help you decide?”
Bella decided to give the two a suite downstairs meant for families instead of having to sleep in the dormitory and showed them the shared kitchen downstairs too. She then left them alone and sighed as she sat back down on the porch with her lemonade before shooting Jeremy a message that his sister and her husband had arrived safely and that a head’s up would be nice next time. Jeremy responded that she’d better warn Kol and tell him to stay away from the now fragile former vampires.
Sighing, Bella got to her feet again and made her way to the kitchen where Isaac and Kol were making some people in the restaurant. “Hey, Kol, got a moment?”
“Of course, darling,” Kol smiled widely.
“Jeremy told me to inform you about two guests that have arrived for our protection,” she said hesitantly. “Since their… transformation is something of recent years, their former supernatural status ended up on the list that the hunters are working with.”
Kol blinked then and Bella could almost see the cogs working in his head. “I don’t have a clue who you’re talking about.”
“Damon and Elena Salvatore.”
“Excellent!” Kol grinned as he rubbed his hands together in glee. “With him now being human, it means he’s food now!”
“No, they came to us for help, and we’re going to do just that. Whatever you have against Damon, you need to put it to rest.”
“Oh, like I did with young Gilbert? Who, by the way, killed me?”
“Yes,” Bella said easily as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re an ancient vampire, stop holding onto grudges. What did that guy do to you anyway?”
“I’ve encountered him and his brother numerous times over the last two centuries and they always can’t leave well enough alone,” Kol sneered. “Always sticking his nose in things that are none of his business, same with his brother. Look where it got them both. One dead, who left Caroline a widow and one a stupid human. Because of the cure.” He then sighed as he tried to find another reason. “I don’t know, darling, maybe because I’m petty?”
“Grudge. You don’t know what he’s been up to since he’s became a human again. He’s under our protection, so no beating him up or snacking on him.”
“And what if he beats me?”
“You laugh and walk away. Then hit something in the garden or something, but not him.”
“But… it’s going to be so easy now!”
Bella smiled then as she ruffled his hair. “Exactly, where’s the challenge in that?”
Kol turned to Isaac and sighed. “You do know that your missus is a big party pooper, right?”
Isaac shrugged. “I’m with Bella on this. Whatever your history with Damon and Elena may be, they’re now breakable and they’re in need of help from the hunters. We wouldn’t be any better if we’d allow you to kill him or something.”
Kol narrowed his eyes on Isaac before doing the same on Bella. “Fine. I’ll try to be civil when I go downstairs for a blood bag.”
Isaac had a thought then. “You know… another reason for not biting either of them… Their blood is the cure to vampirism, right? You’d turn into a human yourself!”
“Which might also be the reason why the hunters want them. To spread the cure around and make sure that the vampires die out,” Bella nodded. Why hadn’t she thought about this?
“You’re right! We need to move the blood bags somewhere else! And they need to stay away from the food! And me!”
“Relax,” Bella laughed. “Everything will be fine.”
“Not if Damon finds out I’m here! He’ll poison the blood, I swear to you! Human or not, he still hates me! I’m going to move the blood bags now.” Kol then sped out of the kitchen and headed straight downstairs to get his and Myriam’s bags and put them in one of the empty fridges in the kitchen.
“No. Absolutely not, get those bags out of my kitchen!” Isaac said angrily.
“No! At least they’ll be safe here until those annoying gits get out of here!”
Isaac sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine, but you’re going to put a lock on it. Go get the hardware and install that lock, and keep the fridge clean.” This wasn’t just anxiety or unprovoked paranoia, in this case, the two Salvatores could very well be the end of Kol’s, and Myriam’s, vampirism. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to keep those two inside the B&B. “We need to inform Myriam about those two and perhaps talk to Peter about this because I doubt it’d be a good thing for them to go to the farm.”
“You know,” Kol said as he was making the lock on the fridge. “We could simply kill them. It would take a lot of anxiety away from vampires who love their life. Don’t get me wrong, I loved being a witch and would gladly be one again, but who’s to say that this cure won’t cure me from that, either? Killing them is easier.”
“We don’t kill people!” Bella exclaimed. “But I see your point. Those two needs to be kept far away from vampires… and hunters. Maybe we should send them to Derek because he doesn’t have vampires around to worry about because even if Damon and Bella should settle here in Mystic Falls as part of Myriam’s project with Rebekah and Freya… I don’t see that end well.”
Kol sighed. “Another solution that’s… humane, is to put them under a sleeping spell. Permanently. Put them in coffins, hide them for eternity. On the farm where no one can find them.”
“Is that even possible?” Isaac asked surprised by the fact that Kol thought of something non-violent.
The vampire nodded then as he finished the lock and cleaned up the mess he made. “My sister Freya is strong enough to do such a spell,” he then turned to see the surprised looks on the faces of his friends. “What? It’s the best solution, isn’t it? I’m not allowed to kill them, but they are a danger to my kind. But you should have remembered their condition, Bella Swan, and turned them away.”
“If we’d turn people away who need our help based on their condition or difficulties, nobody would be getting saving and that’s including yourself,” she countered as she stole a piece of bell pepper from Isaac’s chopping board. “We need to discuss this with Jeremy, Caroline and Alaric. Maybe even Myriam, too.”
“Speaking of Myriam…” Kol smirked as he looked at Isaac. “Can I please be excused for perhaps five minutes? I want to show her our new guests in the basement.”
“Oh, this is not going to end well, is it?” Isaac shook his head laughing. “Go.”
Kol found Myriam in the laundry room and he knocked on the doorpost with a big smile on his face. “Do you have a minute, darling?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Come,” Kol looped his arm through hers and pulled her towards the downstairs stairs. “I moved our blood, by the way,” he said as he held up a key. “It’s in the kitchen.”
“Idiot. It was fine here.”
“No, it was not,” Kol shook his head. “Too close to our new guests.”
“What, they have aids or something? That won’t hurt us nor does it automatically travel through air into our blood bags, you know.”
“Oh no, darling, don’t you worry about that…” he smiled with a big grin on his face before knocking on the door of one of the suites. Kol smirked when the door opened and revealed Damon. “Hello darling.”
“Oh hell no!” Damon exclaimed, which caused Elena to join him at the door. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Cochon!” Myriam blurted angrily at Kol. “Êtes-vous stupides! Comment osez-vous m’amener près de ces deux-là! Ils transportent le remède! Vampire Aids!” She let go of Kol and hit him over the head before narrowing her eyes on Damon and Elena. “You stay away from me!” She then rushed upstairs to find Bella, who was with Isaac still in the kitchen. “Incroyable! Vous avez deux vampires qui travaillent pour vous et vous décidez de prendre ces deux-là? Êtes-vous rendu fou?!”
Bella blinked at her friend. Whatever language the vampire was speaking, it sounded like word vomit to her. “Myriam, English!”
“Allez vous faire foutre! Je peux parler français comme bon me semble!”
“Calme toi, Myriam,” Isaac spoke calmly and in fluent French but a slight American accent. “Nous essayons déjà de trouver des moyens pour les garder en sécurité et vous deux hors de danger. Imaginez seulement que les chasseurs leur mettent la main dessus ? Ils attaqueraient probablement toute la population de vampires.”
“Très bien, mais d’ici là je vais rester chez Caroline.”
“What was that all about?” Bella asked him, as she was still trying to process her friend’s behaviour.
“Uh, she thinks it’s a very bad idea that Damon and Elena are in the same building as she is, and I told her that we’re already talking about ways to make sure that she and Kol wouldn’t get hurt,” Isaac replied as he ran a hand through his hair. “She is very pissed, though.”
“Alright, call Jeremy so we can talk to him about that solution Kol came up with, and then, if he agrees, we’ll have to call Freya. I’d rather do this sooner than later because anxious vampires are shitty.”
“Well, they have a right to be anxious, don’t they? One drop of Damon or Elena’s blood and they turn human.”
“Yeah,” Bella nodded as she let out a breath.
Isaac pulled Bella into his arms and hugged her tightly as he kissed the top of her head. “We’ll never refuse anyone who needs our help, you did great. It just sucks that we now are housing the two people hunters would love to get their blood from and vampires want to stay clear off. Kol will remain anxious around them until we fix this.”
“His solution is the best.”
“Yes, and now all we need to do is convince Jeremy,” he sighed as he didn’t let go of Bella but used his free arm to call Jeremy. “Hey, could you come over?”
“Has my sister arrived yet?”
“Yes, and that’s what we need to talk about first before you can go and see them. Come over. Now.”
It was quiet for a moment before Isaac heard Jeremy sigh. “On my way.”
Isaac put his phone away and kissed Bella’s lips. “You’d better find Kol and hope he hasn’t done anything stupid while I continue with this. Send him my way if you find him?”
“Yep,” Bella nodded as she briefly returned Isaac’s kiss before leaving the kitchen.
Kol came back to help him in the kitchen and used his speed to make up for lost time and for more time so that they could talk to Jeremy in peace without having to worry about the food prepping.
“So… Myriam’s unhappy,” Jeremy said as he sat down at the table with Bella, Isaac and Kol. “What about you, Kol?”
“I’m not allowed to kill them,” he pouted.
“Jer, we understand that Damon and Bella need our help,” Bella said carefully. “And that she’s your sister. However, she and Damon are very dangerous to the vampire community so we can’t really send them off to Peter and Jasper. We can’t have them here and wait for Myriam’s project to get off the ground in Mystic Falls, either, because of the obvious reasons.”
“Damon and Kol never liked each other, always bickering and fighting,” Jeremy said with a nod. “And I understand they won’t be able to live peacefully here in Mystic Falls either, seeing as their blood may be valuable to the hunters and they could draw them back here.”
“Or taint the food supply,” Kol muttered.
“We could send them to Beacon Hills, but, then my brother likely has to deal with an increase of hunter activity and things could get messy and Damon and Elena could be taken or killed,” Bella added. “She’s your family, Jeremy, so we are thinking of ways to help her and Damon but… there’s no other way than what Kol suggested.”
“Oh, this oughta be good,” Jeremy said as he looked at his friend. “Please, do tell.”
“I’m not allowed to kill them, we can’t put them anywhere safe while they’re alive… but my sister Freya is a powerful witch and she could put Elena and Damon under a sleeping spell and we’d…”
“Put them in coffins and bring them somewhere safe?” Jeremy blinked. “Are you insane? That’s what your family did to you!”
“No, I was daggered. I dessicated and was daggered so I couldn’t move, but I was aware all the bloody time. Every bump in the road. Every drop of water dripping on my coffin. Every shake wiggled the dagger just a bit, causing me even more agony,” Kol was clearly still hurt by the actions of his family. “No, what I’m proposing for your insufferable sister and her even more insufferable husband is to put them under completely. Humanely. Preferably without their knowledge because they’ll refuse. And then put them in a box or whatever and bring them to the farm to be protected. That way, your sister is still here, and safe, but out of harm’s way for herself, and for the vampires.”
Jeremy was quiet for a moment as he tried to process the information before letting out a deep breath. “Okay. Elena and I haven’t been close lately anyway, she doesn’t like it that I’m still busying myself with the supernatural community, but like you said, she’s my sister and I don’t want her dead. So… yeah. Go ahead and do that. How many days will I be able to spend with her until Freya comes?”
“Freya and I will have to work on the spell together, to make sure she doesn’t miss anything. Would be inconvenient if they’d age or decomposed while under, wouldn’t it? A couple of days, maybe. But they need to stay away from everything food or drink related here in this building because otherwise I will kill at least one of them.”
“Are you sure about this, Jer?” Bella asked worried. “Because if not, we could always try to find—”
“Their blood can cure vampires. The hunters would want their hands on their blood and wipe out the entire population. As it so happens, some of my best friends are vampires. No, this plan is good, then at least I know she’s safe,” Jeremy then let out a snort. “It’s not like she usually gave me a choice when it came to my safety.”
“Great, I’ll shoot Freya a message while we walk back to the kitchen to cook our butts off,” Kol grinned as he got to his feet and took his phone. “Isaac, are you coming?”
The next day, most of their paying guests left for home and it was once again a beautiful day to relax and let most of the comings and goings being handled by the staff that they had hired, even with Myriam not available, Bella had all the faith in housekeeping to clean the rooms. While Kol and Isaac were out to get supplies in Richmond – Isaac still not being allowed to drive their new van, which was no longer a food truck but a normal sized van, Bella allowed Jeremy to take Elena and Damon out on the back porch facing the back garden. In the sun, but out of sight.
Only for Bella to double check if neither of them left their blood somewhere when they were outside. Satisfied after her check, she fetched herself a cold drink and grabbed one of the books she’d been reading and sat down on the front porch, looking out over the square. The major was really doing a lot to polish up the square and the surrounding houses. A new supermarket had opened, the cinema was back on its feet and with the funding back for the local emergency services, more people were out and about, feeling safer than they had ever felt for a very long time.
“Hey, Bella, how’s it going?”
“Sheriff,” she greeted Matt as she looked up from her book. “You’re looking fine today!”
He let out a chuckle and leaned against one of the pillars of the porch. “Thanks.”
“Anything I can do for you? You still haven’t had lunch here, we see a lot of your colleagues, but not you.”
“Always busy, you know that. Even in a quiet town like this, there’s always something to do,” Matt shrugged, his blue eyes sparkling in curiosity. “Is Isaac around?”
“Ah, no, he and his sous-chef are getting supplies, why?”
“Okay, good,” he said as he quickly sat down next to Bella with a serious look on his face. “Look, it took me a while to validate the information but I need to warn you about him. He’s not who he says he is.”
“I’m… pretty sure that he is, though, why are you thinking he’s not?” She put down her book as she looked at him.
Matt then got a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it and handed it to her. On it was part of the Argent family tree. There was Allison Argent, Chris Argent and Gerard Argent. Gerard was the demented one. Gerard had a sister called Marjorie and she had a daughter, Julie, and a son called Peter, who had a daughter, Vicky, and a son, Matt, with Kelly Donovan. “My grandmother married a Maxwell, and my mom gave me and Vicky her last name because my dad left when mom was pregnant with me. Back in the late 1700’s, my ancestor Ethan Maxwell helped save this town from some supernatural shenanigans, and as you well know, the Argents are quite a big deal, too.”
“Ah, a match made in heaven then,” Bella said as she handed Matt the paper back. “So, what’s this about Isaac not being who he says he is?”
“Isaac is not an Argent, Bella. Not unless Chris and Kate Argent had another brother. Or if Kate had a son, but she was the youngest so she could never have been a mother to Isaac.”
Well this sucked. “Chris Argent adopted Isaac after his father was murdered, his mother died years before that, so yeah, he may not be on that family tree of yours, but for all intents and purposes, Isaac is an Argent. Maybe not by blood, but he’s still one of them,” she took a sip of her drink then and got her phone out. “Would you like me to call Chris to validate the story?”
“Bella…”
“Matt, I think it’s nice that you’re looking out for me, but you’re seeing things. Isaac’s one of those innocent little puppies that won’t hurt a fly. He’s a great cook and his behaviour isn’t out of the ordinary,” she smiled kindly at him as she saw the van pull up and drive around the back.
“The Argents don’t adopt, Bella. Like ever. They live with a strict code and they value their blood family very much so. Chris Argent is deemed the black sheep of the family because he’s changed his ways and veered off the path. It’s bad news,” he said slowly. “Besides, aren’t the bad guys always the guys you least expect them to be?”
She thought for a moment, hopefully appearing to soak in every word Matt had said, but instead was trying to look for words to let him down gently. “Do you live by the rules the Argents have set way back in the old days or are you living your own life, like Chris is doing? Because technically, you’re only… what? A quarter Argent?”
“That’s not the point. I’m not in contact with anyone of that side of the family because my dad cut it off when he left us and them for a change of life. Chris Argent is bad news, so if Isaac has anything to do with him, you’d better make sure he gets out of town and away from you.”
“You don’t have anything to worry about,” she smiled at him. “Hey, come, I need to show you something, you’ll like it.” Bella got to her feet and waited for Matt to do the same before walking over the porch towards the back. “Hey guys, look what I found!” She said cheerfully.
“Matt!” Elena squealed with delight and flung herself at him, hugging him tightly. With Matt now distracted, Bella quickly walked into the kitchen where Isaac was putting things away.
“We have a problem,” Bella said as she looked at him. “The sheriff knows you’re not a real Argent, and even when I said you were adopted, he kept on pushing that you were bad news.”
“How the hell does he know?” Isaac said as he scratched his head.
“Grandfather Argent had a sister. Matt’s a cousin, apparently. So yeah, he’s familiar with the name and the family tree.”
“Problem?” Kol piped up as he walked in with a crate of fresh vegetables.
“Matt.”
“Oh, goodie! We’ll kidnap him, make sure the vervain is out of his system and compel him. Or, you know, I could kill him.”
“Kol!”
“The first one is a better option, fine, fine,” Kol sighed, dismissing the other thought with a wave of his hand. “Where is he now?”
“Reuniting with Elena and Damon on the back porch,” Bella replied before looking at Isaac. “But, before we do anything, can you call Chris and ask him about his aunt? I mean, Matt came with a decent story but we need to validate that story before we act upon our own paranoia.”
“Of course,” Isaac nodded as he took out his phone and dialled Argent’s number. He hadn’t spoken to him in quite some time, so he wondered if he’d even pick up the phone.
“Hey Isaac! How’s life?”
“Very well, Chris, thank you, how are you?”
“Things have been running a lot smoother with Derek in charge, so I’m a happy camper. What can I do for you?”
“What can you tell me about your aunt?”
“Aunt?”
“Aunt Marjorie?” Bella piped up.
“Oh, hey Bella! I’m sorry but I don’t have an aunt Marjorie. Gerard was an only child, why are you asking?”
“Someone knows I’m not a real Argent.”
“Then it’s highly likely that that person is a hunter. Proceed with caution, Isaac. If the hunters have found you…”
“He’s a local, he’s been in Mystic Falls all his life.”
“Again, if someone knows our family tree, it’s likely that they are a hunter, and not of the good kind. Be careful.”
“Yep, got it, thanks,” Isaac said as he ran after Kol because the vampire had bolted towards the porch. Bella followed shortly after.
“Oh, hell no!” Matt exclaimed loudly upon the sight of Kol, who had him now pinned against the wall. “Let go of me!”
“No, you slimy little git!” Kol said venomously.
“Kol, let him go, there’s no harming the guests,” Isaac kindly said, but with a little force behind his words so that Kol would stop hurting Matt, even though Isaac really wanted to punch the guy himself.
“Do you have any idea who this is?” Matt questioned Isaac and Bella once Kol had released him but stuck to his side anyway, his eyes locked onto him.
“Yeah, my sous-chef,” Isaac said lightly.
“He’s a vampire! An Original vampire at that!”
“He’s my sous-chef,” Isaac said again. “And he’s under our protection,” he added as he walked over to Matt himself and eyed him curiously. “Chris Argent doesn’t have an Aunt Marjorie, Gerard Argent was an only child. Are you playing with us, sheriff?” He pushed against Matt so he was against the wall again, and he wasn’t removing his hand from him.
“You can’t compel me,” Matt said as he looked at Kol.
“I figured, darling,” Kol smiled widely. “But not to worry, I can be patient.”
“Mattie?” Elena asked with a little voice. “What are they on about?”
“I’m a hunter, Elena. I joined the hunters so that I could kill supernatural beings like Kol and bring you and Damon into the fold, because with your blood… well, we can poison the food supply,” Matt sighed. “I thought Bella and Isaac were too stupid to realize this, but I guess I underestimated them. Caroline and Ric don’t know.”
Isaac growled lowly at Matt. “I should kill you.”
“No!” Elena squeaked. “He’s my friend!”
“Who just openly admitted to wanting to kill some of your friends like Caroline, and want to use you for your blood!” Kol responded before realizing something. “Of course, that’s nothing new to you, is it, Gilbert? People wanting your blood because you’re special.”
“The cure is not in me, it’s in Damon,” Elena huffed.
“You’re a doctor! You should know better!”
“What the hell are you talking about, Kol?”
“Taking blood from you with a syringe doesn’t mean the cure is out of your system, Elena! It’s mixed with your own, and now it’s also mixed with Damon’s. Unless you’re drained completely, you two are a danger to us all,” Kol countered angrily. “Magic or not. It’s a foreign substance inside of you and you can’t get rid of it unless you’re fully drained or your body rejects it. Basic biology.”
“But Katherine…”
“She died because she was an old bat and her body probably didn’t like the change much,” Kol snapped before looking back at Matt. “Did you tell your hunter buddies about all of this?”
“I’m not saying anything,” Matt barked out a laugh. “I guess you’ll have to wait and see.”
Bella scowled then as she quickly approached Matt and Isaac and plunged a syringe into Matt’s neck, squeezing it until the fluid was all out and Matt passed out. “There. That should keep him asleep for a few hours. How long until vervain passes out of his system so you can interrogate him?” She asked Kol.
“Could be days. Who knows? Freya might show up before that and maybe she’ll like to have some fun with his mind.”
“Well then, we’d better keep him somewhere safe and strip him off his electronics so he can’t contact anyone,” Bella said as a matter of factly and looked at her boys with a smile on her face. “He can have one of the suites, but you’d better tie him up properly so he can’t escape.”
“You’re so hot,” Isaac said breathlessly and kissed her eagerly as Kol picked up Matt as if he weighed nothing.
“Down boy,” Bella grinned before looking at Elena and Damon. “You two, back downstairs, you’ve been out for a very long time and when there’s one hunter, there might be another. Don’t want you to bleed all over my house,” she said as she pointed at the door. “Go.” She then turned to Jeremy. “You’re not going to tell Caroline about this. Nor Alaric, got it? Not until we know more.”
“Got it, boss,” Jeremy smirked.
She then tossed him the keys to Matt’s truck that she had lifted from him as she plunged the syringe into his neck. “Take his truck, find gps locators or anything that could be hacked or tell others where he is, drive around, maybe take the truck to Richmond or something before you destroy the trackers, come back and put the truck in the garage, please.”
“On it, boss,” Jeremy said as he ran around the B&B to find Matt’s truck.
It was strange to tell people what to do, but she strangely liked it. Especially because they were agreeing with her. Bella then turned back to Isaac, who was still looking at her with so much admiration on his face. “What?” she let out a giggle. Oh, he was horny alright.
“You… me… upstairs?” He asked suggestively, wagging his eyebrows.
“Don’t you need to start cooking soon?” Bella laughed as she put her arms around him and looked up to him. “Or, you know, to further unpack the van?”
“Quickie?”
She kissed him and ruffled his hair. “Tonight.”
~o.O.o~
Matt had come to somewhere late during the night, but he wasn’t talking and Bella wasn’t going to push. And after making sure Matt really couldn’t go anywhere, she went back to bed.
It was great seeing Freya again, and she was more than happy to have her way with Matt until the vervain would be out of his system. There were a few potions she could try, and a few spells if he still resisted. She didn’t know Matt, but she knew that he must have been the most resilient human out there after what Mystic Falls had been through over the last two decades. It was surprising that he was still even human.
Freya told them about how Klaus had received a phone call a few days ago from his girlfriend, ranting and ranting in French and something about Vampire Aids, but Freya perceived Matt as a bigger threat right now than two humans with special blood, even if it upset her brother and sister-in-law. They’d just had to stay away from the two.
Bella suggested sending their guests home, but Freya cast a silencing spell around the room so that the paying guests wouldn’t be disturbed from Matt’s screams and that life could go on as well as possible. And it did, but Myriam was still not setting a foot at the Bed and Breakfast. Not until Elena and Damon were dealt with.
Late in the evening, Freya had forced all the vervain out of Matt’s system and Kol rubbed his hands together in glee. “We kill hunters, don’t we? Can I do that after we get information out of him?”
“What if he has the cure in his body?” Bella questioned. “No offense, but who’s to say that Elena and Damon never shared it with Matt, to protect him?”
“Can I then compel him to take his own bloody life?”
Bella sighed. “First things first, okay? Then we might consult Peter and Jasper on how to proceed with him, especially since he’s the town’s sheriff and people know him… it’s harder to get rid of someone with roots in the community.”
Kol sighed dramatically and entered the room followed by Bella and Isaac. “Hi Matt,” Kol smirked as he walked towards him. Matt was restrained with a bunch of ropes and his own handcuffs and they made it all very unpleasant for him to sit or breathe. Which was good. “You’re going to answer all the questions these two have for you, and you’re going to answer them truthfully. Have I made myself clear?”
“I hate you, man.”
“Does it work?” Isaac asked carefully.
“Of course it works, you idiot,” Matt spat.
Isaac then let out a chuckle as he looked at Kol. “Well you did say he had to answer every question we had,” he said before looking back at Matt. “What exactly do you know about us?”
“You’re werewolves and you opened a B&B here in Mystic Falls but I suspect you’re also helping other supernaturals to hide from the hunters. Either that, or you kill them because some of your guests never come out of the building.”
“We never told you we were werewolves, how do you know?”
“Followed you out when you went after those werewolves in the forest a while back,” Matt shrugged. “You’re working with vampires different than the Original kind. You’re not an Argent. I’m not sure who you are, but you’re not an Argent. I did find a Charlie Swan in Forks, Washington, who could confirm that Bella was indeed, his daughter, but there’s no Bella Swan on the hunter list, so she must be a recent turn. Perhaps by you.”
Isaac let out a snort. “Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps you’re giving me far too much credit. Do you even know about our kind of werewolves?”
“Don’t need to. All I need to know is that you’re supernatural and you need to be purged from this Earth. Wherever you go, you’re leaving a trail of bodies, human casualties. The fact that you’re actively helping supernaturals to run from the hunters makes you a bigger danger than you already were.”
“But Matt, Bella and I have been nothing but kind to the people living in Mystic Falls. Thanks to us, Mystic Falls will be rebuilt and more people will come to live here, eventually, in time. What have we, personally, ever done to you?”
“You? Nothing. My experience with Kol? He’s hurt me every single time we’ve encountered each other. He crushed my hand, threw a bottle into my shoulder. And for what? Because I wasn’t good enough for his sister. I’ve been possessed by a Traveler spirit. I’ve died several times. I’ve seen my friends turn into vampires, hybrids. I’ve seen so much death all because of the supernatural, even lost my own mother and sister to it. I was almost killed twice when my ex-girlfriends turned into vampires. My friends got hurt because of the supernatural. Mystic Falls had to be cleared of humans when the heretics came to town, they nearly destroyed this city. Same with the whole Cade thing. The freaking devil himself came here and we nearly lost this city,” Matt spewed as tears fell down his eyes. “So yeah, the world is a much safer place without you supernaturals in it, even if it means killing my friends. Killing Caroline.”
“You’re really willing to go after a bunch of kids?” Bella said shocked. “Kill them?”
“Better to kill them now than when they’re at full power, right?” Matt countered wryly. “So yeah, when Tamora Monroe came into Mystic Falls and told me her story and what she’d done, who she was working with and what the mission statement was, I was sold. It’s nothing like I haven’t done before, although this time I’m actually willing to kill people I know.”
“So, why haven’t you?” Isaac asked.
“Because my mission is to observe, investigate and report.”
“And can this town expect another invasion of the hunters any time soon?”
“When they don’t hear from me, yes.”
“How long is their response time?”
“Depends on where they are. Could be days. Weeks,” Matt shrugged. “And they’ll keep coming, even if you kill them all. They’ll all come to Mystic Falls.”
Bella sighed as she looked at Kol. “I’ve changed my mind about him getting killed,” she told him. “I want you to compel him. He needs to call in and tell them that nothing’s wrong here. That he’s stayed the night and investigated but he’s not found anything remotely supernatural. This is just another business ran by ordinary humans in search for a better life for themselves. The families he didn’t see leaving he checked up with, and they usually left at the crack of dawn or when he wasn’t watching, he contacted them and they’re all alive and well and loved the experience at this establishment. And while Argent may be a big name in the hunter community, Isaac’s name change doesn’t have anything to do with the Argents that are around. While Isaac was in France, he decided to get rid of his own name and use a French last name instead; Argent. For Argento, meaning Silver, which is of significance to his family. But, knowing that that name painted a target on his back, he may change it to something else.”
“Anything else, darling?” Kol smiled at her.
“Matt, do they really want to kill all the children at the school that your friends Caroline and Alaric are running?” Bella questioned him.
“Yes.”
“Then that school no longer exists, they’ve moved elsewhere.”
“Yeah, I can totally put a cloaking spell over them,” Freya nodded. “You know like in the Harry Potter movies they have whole houses hidden in a row of houses? I can do that for the school.”
“The school is almost connected to this place,” Isaac said. “If I’d ask Peter, they’d dig towards the school and then the children can be dropped off here and move through the tunnels. Parents night? Exactly the same. Or maybe some other location that won’t draw attention to us.”
“I think we can work with that, I mean… yeah,” Freya nodded. “But the school is important, we need to hide it. We’ll deal with the rest around it later. Compel him and send him on his way.”
“Oh, yeah, his truck! Jeremy’s not back with it yet.”
“Well fix that then,” Kol grinned as he made sure Matt looked at him. “Now, Mattie boy, you won’t remember any of this, but you will do as I tell you,” Kol said as he started to compel the sheriff.
