Your hands trembled as you scrolled through the contacts on your phone smearing blood across the screen. You glanced around again as you tried to figure out precisely where you were. Thankfully the dark made it easier to ignore the body at your feet.

The smart thing would be to call the sheriff. It was a clearcut case of self-defense after all. But you hadn't killed any ordinary man. No, he'd been a hybrid. The council didn't need any more ammunition against the town's supernatural citizens than they already had.

Damon or Stefan would come to your rescue, but it would just cause more trouble between them and the Mikaelsons. They'd assume Klaus sent the hybrid after you no matter what you said to the contrary.

Rebekah would complain and make you return the favor later.

Elijah was out of town.

Kol was...well, Kol.

No, there was only one person you could call right now, and truthfully, he was the one you wanted to see at the moment. You pressed his picture and leaned against the trunk of a tree as you waited for him to answer.

Niklaus answered, your name falling happily from his lips. "To what do I owe the pleasure, love?" He always flirted with you, not that it meant anything to him. Not as much as you wanted it to anyway.

Hearing his voice brought you out of your shock enough that you started to cry. Your breathing was uneven and you sucked in mouthfuls of air trying to get enough oxygen in your lungs to speak.

"What's wrong, sweetheart? Where are you?" His voice had taken on a panicked edge. "Are you hurt? Talk to me."

"I k-killed him," you managed to stutter out. Your free hand clutched your flannel closer to your chest, needing to make certain you were covered. Protected.

"Who did you kill?" His voice was soft and patient.

"I was on the way to your house. I needed to tell you...I still need to tell you but... I need you, Nik."

"Where are you, sweetheart?"

You closed your eyes and a flood of tears ran down your cheeks. "I don't know. My car. You'll see my car, I'm somewhere near there in the trees."

"Okay, listen to me. We're coming to find you right—"

You cut him off. "We? Who's with you? You can't trust the hybrids, Nik. Don't trust them." You sounded delirious and he probably thought you were insane but you couldn't risk him getting hurt because you hadn't delivered the message.

There was a stretch of silence during which you heard a car start. "All right, love. No hybrids. I promise. Everything's okay."

You heard the engine of a car somewhere nearby and jerked your head in the direction of the sound. "I hear a car." Your eyes moved back and forth trying to see anything in the dark which was impossible. The car stopped and you heard more than one door slam. You were so focused in that on that, you didn't hear the movement behind you.

A hand grasped your shoulder as someone said your name. You jumped, your heart stuttering in your chest as you screamed. You jerked away and fell to the ground in your haste. You scrambled away from the dark figure that kept saying your name with increasing degrees of urgency. Arms wrapped around your torso from behind causing you to scream again. You kicked and struggled to get away.

"It's me, love. It's me. I've got you. Calm down." Nik's lips brushed against your ear as he spoke and you stilled immediately.

You panted as you tried to catch your breath. As soon as he loosened his hold, you turned to throw your arms around his neck and buried your head against his chest.

His hands ran up and down your back in a comforting gesture as he held you against him. "I'm going to have Rebekah take you home while Kol and I take care of this."

You gripped onto him more tightly. "Please, Nik. I don't want to leave you."

He pressed a kiss against your temple before laying his head next to yours. "Okay, love."

"Brother, this is one of your pets," Kol said from a short distance away. He must have been the figure in the dark.

Niklaus stilled. "A hybrid?"

You nodded still not letting go of him.

"Is that why you called me, love, because it was one of my hybrids?" He spoke carefully as if the answer was important to him though you couldn't imagine why.

You shifted so you weren't pressed so tightly against him and your head was laying on his chest, tucked in against his neck. "No. I knew you'd fix it and take care of me. I needed you."

"Take her home, Nik. Kol and I will see to this," Rebekah's soft voice said.

He apparently didn't need to be told twice because he swept you up in his arms and ran through the woods to his house. Before you could blink, you were up the stairs and in his room. You'd seen it a couple of times before when you'd shared a drink with him in the privacy of his space. But you'd never been in the decadent bed he now sat you on top of.

He zipped around, snapping on lights. He disappeared into the bathroom then came back with a wet rag and knelt in front of you. Your eyes followed him, studied his movements, as he leaned forward and ran the rag over your face. You winced as he found the wound on your head.

His jaw was tight and you knew he was biting back his anger so he wouldn't scare you. "Want to tell me what happened, love?"

"Tyler is mad about you and Caroline. Him and that wolf he brought back with him have helped all your hybrids break their sire bond."

He looked up in surprise. "How do you know this?"

"Tyler called this afternoon and wanted to meet. When I got there, he told me what happened. They wanted me to lure you out somewhere so they could ambush you. I said no. Most of them just wanted to force me to help, but Tyler went Alpha on them and let me go. They threatened to kill me if I told you anything."

You'd started to tremble again and he made shushing noises as he took your hand in his and began to wipe the blood away. Your other hand still clutched tightly at your flannel.

"And you weren't afraid of their threat?"

You shook your head. "You wouldn't let them hurt me. I came straight here but one of them must have ran to get ahead of me. He jumped in front of the car. I swerved to miss him and wrecked."

Your eyes followed his movements as he continued to clean you up. He was being so gentle. So caring. He kept his eyes focused on his task instead of looking at you directly. It made it easier to tell him your story.

"I was dazed. He yanked me from the car and dragged me off into the trees. He, um...he was going to..." You sniffed and found yourself unable to finish the sentence. "Anyway, I fought back, the way you taught me. Then I killed him and called you."

He hummed but still didn't look at you. "Let me have your other hand, love."

You unwrapped it from the flannel and gave it to him but not before you'd shifted to hold the shirt closed with the now clean hand. This did not go unnoticed. Klaus cleaned away the blood then glanced up to meet your eyes as he moved both hands out to the side. He pushed your flannel back off your shoulders.

He hissed and his eyes grew dark as his jaw thrust forward. The shirt you'd worn under the flannel was in shreds. Shallow claw marks marred your skin and hand shaped bruises lined both arms. His hands hovered over you as if afraid to touch you. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths before locking his eyes with yours once more.

"Have I missed anything? Is there anything besides the cut on your head and the scratches and bruises? I need to know exactly what he did to you, love."

You tilted your head back to show your neck where he'd grabbed you. Klaus ran his fingers lightly over the top of the bruises there. You swallowed the lump in your throat. "My thighs are probably bruised as well."

Lightly he grasped your chin and brought your face back down to meet your eyes. "Did he..."

You shook your head. "No. I stopped him before he could do anything else."

He breathed out a sigh of relief and hooked a hand around the back of your neck. He pulled you forward to meet him as he leaned his forehead against yours, careful to avoid your wound. "I would like to give you some blood, love. I don't like seeing you hurt."

"All right, Klaus."

He pulled away, his eyes searching your face. He gave you one of those smirks that cause his dimple to flash. "I liked it better when you called me Nik."

You smiled. "Okay, Nik."

He was suddenly on his feet. After disappearing for a moment, he came back and tossed you one of his t-shirts. You gratefully removed the shreds of your clothing. You wanted to remove your bra as well and glanced up at him. "Um...could you?"

He got the hint and turned his back with a chuckle. Your bra joined the rest of the bloody clothes on the floor and you pulled on the t-shirt. It smelled like him and brought instant calm with it. "Okay," you said and he turned around with a smile.

You watched him as he moved around the bed. He stripped off his shirt before climbing up on the other side and you looked at him with wide eyes. "It had your blood on it, sweetheart. As much as I love the smell, and the taste when you aren't on vervain, I don't particularly relish wearing it." He flipped down the blankets as he leaned against the headboard and opened his arms for you.

Your cheeks heated and you crawled up until you were curled around his side, your head resting on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around you then bit into his other wrist and held it up to your mouth. You pressed your mouth to the wound and took three long drinks before pulling away. Almost immediately you could feel your wounds healing. You hadn't realized how much you were hurting until the little aches and pains from your fight started to disappear.

"Thank you, Nik." You nestled in, getting more comfortable and laid your left hand on his chest. Your right arm was wrapped around your belly with your hand laying on your side. Nik shifted the arm around you until he could lace his fingers with yours. His other hand laid on top of the one on his chest.

"You're welcome, love. Now, I think there are some things about tonight that we need to clarify." His fingers moved constantly while he spoke, rubbing against your skin. "First, you did not kill the hybrid. A stake to the heart incapacitates them for a time but you have to take the head or remove the heart completely to kill them."

You stiffened as a shaft of fear went through you with his words. Would the hybrid come after you again? Obviously sensing your worry, Nik kissed your head and pulled you more tightly against him. "You have nothing to fear. Kol and Rebekah will have deposited him in a cell in the basement by now. I will take care of him later."

You closed your eyes, took a deep breath and forced yourself to relax. That's why you'd called him, after all. You knew he would keep you safe.

"Second, there is no Caroline and I."

You chuckled. "I already know that. She doesn't want anything to do with you."

"You misunderstand, love. Caroline served a purpose, but it wasn't she that captured my attention."

You frowned. "But you bought her a dress and—"

"I bought you a dress as well, if you remember."

You stilled as your mind raced. He couldn't possibly be saying he liked you, could he?

"It is not Caroline who has a room in my home. It is not Caroline that spends time with me in my studio as I work. It is not Caroline that fills my every waking moment."

"Nik," you breathed, not quite knowing what else to say.

"Caroline was a distraction from you. If people thought I cared for her, it would be her they went after, not you. But I couldn't keep myself away from you. If your discussion with Tyler was any indication, I have been more translucent in my feelings concerning you than I hoped." He paused for a moment, pulling you tightly against him again. "Say something, please."

You smiled, though he couldn't see it as your face was turned away from his. "I don't think there's a reason for you to keep that room here for me anymore."

"What? Now listen, love, if you don't feel the same for me that's fine but there's no reason—"

You turned and placed your fingers against his lips. Your smile widened as confusion swamped his features. Leaning forward you stopped inches from his lips and kept your gaze locked on his eyes. "I simply meant, why waste a perfectly good guest room when there's plenty of room in your bed."

He smiled wide and you moved your fingers. As he captured your lips with his, you couldn't help but think it would be the first of many happy nights spent wrapped in the hybrid's arms.