𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆: 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫

...🌺...

𝑷𝑹𝑬𝑺𝑬𝑵𝑻, 𝑀𝑌𝑆𝑇𝐼𝐶 𝐹𝐴𝐿𝐿𝑆

𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟗

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞.

Not frantic. Just two firm raps. I opened the door and blinked at the uniform staring back at me.

"Sheriff?"

Liz, Caroline's mother, stood on the porch, jacket zipped, face tight with whatever she wasn't saying yet. Beside her, Logan Fell hovered like a dark stain, arms crossed, impatience practically radiating off him.

"I need you to come with us," Liz said.

I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossing automatically. "Why?"

Her gaze flicked to Logan before returning to mine. "The vampires are back. We need a Hastings witch."

My eyes dropped to Logan. His frown was deep enough to cut granite, which was typical coming from a Fell. The Fells never liked relying on witches—especially me.

"You want me to clean up the mess because my mother's not here," I said flatly.

Liz sighed, the kind that carried years of compromise in it. "We would've asked Celeste, but...you're what we have."

I grabbed my jacket and shut the door behind me until I heard the lock click.

"Lead the way."

...🌺...

We didn't speak as we walked to the cemetery. Logan kept sneaking glances at me like I was going to set him on fire with a look. I might've, if I'd been in a worse mood.

The air changed as we stepped past the iron gates—colder.

And then I smelled it—burnt flesh.

Logan gagged. "I've never smelled one this bad."

I ignored him and followed Liz deeper into the grounds. The scent got stronger, curling into my throat like smoke. The bodies were scattered along the tree line, covered in yellow tarps that didn't bother hiding the blackened edges of charred bone.

"It tried to cover its tracks," Liz said, crouching beside one of them. She peeled the tarp back.

Logan crouched next to her, squinting. "Are you sure?"

"You don't burn bodies unless you've got something to hide," Liz said. "No bullet casings. No blood spatter. Just ash and bone."

I stopped walking.

The whispers hit like a swarm—ragged voices clawing at the edge of my mind. 

Pain. 

Rage. 

Names repeated in screams.

A sharp breath lodged in my throat. I blinked hard, trying to shove them back, but they didn't let go.

So much pain.

Logan stood and dusted off his pants. "Do we know who they are?"

"Dental records might tell us," Liz said.

"Selene?"

Her voice broke through the noise. The whispers ebbed just long enough for me to find her face again.

"Hm?"

"Anything?" Liz asked.

I looked from her to Logan. "You're going to need a bigger gun."

Logan scoffed. "I've got the Gilbert watch."

I shook my head. "That won't stop this one."

"Why not?" he demanded.

"Because you wouldn't have asked me out here if you knew how to use it."

Liz straightened, eyes narrowing. "We're not dealing with just any vampire."

I just stared at them, waiting, wanting out of the cemetery. It was always the same every time I was here. The voices. The screams. I knew no one else could hear it and only saying that I could would have the entire town label me as the crazy girl.

"Then you're staying with us until we finish this," Logan said, stepping forward like that sealed it.

I cocked my head. "I'm only here because Liz asked. You don't get to order me around."

The wind stirred at my feet, wrapping around my legs like a threat. Logan paled.

"Don't push me," I said, voice steady. "You might find yourself missing a limb or two."

Liz held up a hand. "Selene—we'll call you if we need you."

I turned and walked out of the woods, the sound of brittle leaves crunching beneath my boots. I didn't look back.

...🌺...

By the time I got to my car, my hands had stopped trembling, but the voices still clung to the back of my mind. I pulled my phone out of my jacket pocket, eyes narrowing at the missed call from Elena.

I hit redial.

"Elena—"

"You knew," she snapped.

I blinked. "Knew what?"

"That Damon and Stefan are vampires."

I closed the car door. "It wasn't my place to tell,"

"All those feelings you had—was it because of them?" Elena said, voice raw.

"Yes," I admitted, the word sticking to my teeth. "Look, I'm heading to your house. Meet me there."

She went quiet on the other end.

"Fine." She sighed. I heard shuffling in the background, a door creaking.

"Oh—and Elena?" I paused. "Tell Stefan to come too."

"How?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes. "We grew up together, Elena. I know you went to him for answers."

"It's kind of freaky how well you know me."

I smirked, the edge of it bitter. "That's what best friends are for."

I hung up, started the engine, and stared at the cemetery in the rearview mirror until it disappeared behind me.

...🌺...

"Jer, are you okay?"

The door shut behind me with a soft thud, but the unease in my stomach had already arrived before I stepped into the Gilbert house. My boots clicked against the hardwood as I followed the echo of raised voices.

"I'm fine. I'm fine!" Jeremy's voice rang out, brittle and defensive.

Another voice cut through. "Damn, Vick."

I rounded the corner and froze in the living room's threshold.

Vicki Donovan stood in the middle of the foyer, hair plastered to her forehead with sweat, breathing fast and shallow like an animal cornered. Her eyes darted everywhere, wild and glassy. Matt hovered near her, looking two seconds from losing it himself.

Behind me, Elena stepped into the room. "What's going on?" she asked, her voice sharp with panic.

"She's really messed up," Matt said, backing away.

Stefan pushed forward, placing himself between Vicki and Elena. "Elena, back up," he told her.

I stepped in further, letting heat surge through me. My fingertips tingled, magic humming low and warning under my skin as I watched Vicki. Her hands trembled violently. 

"Vicki, look at me." Stefan said carefully, "You're gonna be fine. Everything's going to be fine." He turned to Matt and Jeremy while I stared at Vicki feeling all of my instincts go on alert. "Guys, take her up to the bed. Shut the blinds. She's gonna be ok." 

Matt hesitated for only a second before scooping his sister up like she weighed nothing. Jeremy followed close behind, still pale. I didn't miss the way he flinched when Vicki muttered something incoherent.

I rubbed my forehead, feeling the headache blooming behind my eyes. I knew that this wasn't a normal freak out. Or an addict going through withdrawals—at least not the kind that left you better on the other side. Because despite my coven hating me, they did teach me the signs. 

"You know what's wrong with her?" Elena asked.

Stefan hesitated. "Yeah."

I caught the edge in his tone, how carefully he measured the words. He wasn't sure how much to give away, or maybe he was afraid of how she'd take it.

I cleared my throat. "She's transitioning."

Elena looked at me like I'd just spoken in another language. "Transitioning to what?"

Stefan answered this time, voice soft. "A vampire."

The air went still.

The warmth drained from my fingertips. I let the magic fall away as I sank onto the couch.

The world outside the window was slowly losing light. My mom wasn't here. Which meant that the coven decided that they were above handling anything supernatural that didn't directly affect them. Like most witches, but my mom taught me what affected one person in the supernatural world would soon affect all of us. Which meant with my mom gone, I had a choice to make: 

Help Vicki transition...or let her die. 

"She has to feed on human blood," Stefan said, eyes not leaving Elena's.

Her voice cracked. "And if she doesn't?"

"She'll die."

No one spoke for a few seconds.

"She may only have a few hours."

Elena wrapped her arms around herself, pacing in short, frustrated loops. I looked out at the window and my brows furrowed at the sun going down. It wouldn't be long until Vicki had to make a choice—feed or die. Because if she didn't by the end of the night, then...Matt was going to lose his sister.

"She's upstairs with him right now," she reminded him, her voice getting tighter.

"It's ok," Stefan tried to soothe her. "She doesn't know what's happening yet."

Elena whirled on him. "So when is she gonna know?"

He didn't flinch. "Right now, she doesn't remember anything. A part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, the memories will start to come back, and then she'll know she has to make the choice."

I leaned back on the couch, one arm resting along the top just as Elena said, "The same choice he made." 

Elena didn't even look at Stefan.

I stood. "And we need to decide how we handle that, fast."

Before Stefan could answer, Matt's shout rang from upstairs. "Vick!"

We bolted for the door. Elena barely made it onto the porch before Vicki barreled past us, eyes wide and unfocused.

"Vicki!" Matt's voice followed her, frantic.

"She was fine," Jeremy gasped, appearing behind us. "And then she just...freaked out."

Matt brushed past us, chasing after her. "I'm gonna go look for her! Call me if you hear anything!"

I watched him disappear into the night, jaw tight. Elena looked shaken. Stefan stood still, eyes scanning the street.

This isn't good.

...🌺...

"Maybe we should check in with Matt," Jeremy said from the counter as I handed him plates from the table to put into the sink.

"He'll call when he finds her," I replied, not looking up.

I passed Elena a glass, catching the tension in her jaw.

Jeremy picked up Chinese takeout containers from the floor throwing them in the trash. "Well, what are we supposed to do, then?"

"We wait." Elena exhaled, helping me clear the table. "We're supposed to wait."

"I don't know what's wrong with her." Jeremy's voice cracked, raw around the edges.

I slid beside him and pulled him into a quick, one-armed hug. "I know, Jer. But we'll figure it out."

The doorbell rang, and we all went still.

Elena set the dishes back on the table and moved toward the door. I followed, already uneasy.

She opened it slowly.

"Damon?" I breathed, instinct locking my body still.

He smirked. "Hello, sunshine."

"Jeremy, go upstairs," Elena said quickly, already trying to push the door closed.

I didn't miss the flicker of hesitation on Jeremy's face—his eyes darting between Damon and me. I gave him a curt nod.

"Go, Jer." My voice was soft but firm.

He backed away, footsteps slow on the stairs.

Damon stepped closer, tilting his head. "You're afraid of me."

Elena reached for the door again, but he was already leaning against the frame like it belonged to him.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess," he said. "Stefan finally 'fessed up."

"Stay away from us," Elena snapped, standing straighter.

Damon raised his hands like that was unreasonable. "Hey, there's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for my Stefan. May I come in?"

I moved in front of Elena.

His grin widened. "Oh, wait—Of course I can. I've been invited."

He stepped inside before either of us could stop him, the door clicking shut behind him.

Elena grabbed my wrist and pulled us back into the living room. Damon followed slowly, never taking his eyes off me.

"We can cut to the chase, if you want," he said. "I'm not gonna kill either of you right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda. So...where's Stefan?"

Elena beat me to it. "He's out looking for Vicki."

Damon scoffed. "Don't look at me with those judgy little eyes. Girl's gonna thank me for what I did to her."

"You know that's not true," I said, arms crossing on instinct.

"Did you thank Katherine?" Elena asked, stepping forward.

That did it. Damon's expression twisted—not quite anger, but something close. A sharp edge buried in that charming smile.

"Mmm. Got the whole life story, huh?"

"I got enough."

"Oh, I doubt that." Damon mused, taking a threatening step towards us. 

I grabbed her arm, giving it a warning squeeze. "Don't, Elena." I turned toward him. "Go, Damon. Stefan's not here."

He paused for half a second and I could swear that I thought I saw something unreadable passed through his expression as his eyes flicked from me to her.

Then, with a shrug that was too casual, he turned toward the door. "Tell my brother I'm looking for him."

He opened the door halfway, then glanced back.

"Oh. Tip for later—be careful who you invite into the house."

He disappeared into the night, door clicking shut behind him.

I turned to Elena. "You okay?"

She nodded, but her face said otherwise. "I need to check on Jeremy."

I watched her bolt upstairs before stepping forward and pulling the door open again.

He was still there.

"Go away, Damon."

"Not until you talk to me."

I stepped out onto the porch, letting the door close behind me.

"You hurt Caroline," I said.

He looked down, then back up, slower this time. "I know."

"Then we have nothing to talk about." My voice shivered. "She's like a sister to me, and you hurt her."

"If I could take it back, I would, sunshine." His voice lacked its usual smugness. It was quiet, bare.

"But you can't," I reminded him.

Damon stepped forward, just close enough for his voice to lower. "I know. But I'm sorry."

The words felt foreign coming from his mouth. It took me a second to believe he meant them.

"And one day..." he said, gaze steady, "I hope you understand why I had to do it."

I looked at him, really looked—and I hated that some part of me still wanted to believe there was more to him than the bad decisions and the self-centerness that came off of him. But after hurting my friends...I just couldn't.

"Do us both a favor and leave me the hell alone," I said.

Then I turned and went back inside, closing the door with finality.

I rest my head on the back of the door and swallowed a lump in the back of my throat. Because for the life of me, I couldn't understand why, even though I knew what Damon was...why did it hurt walking away from him? 

He's a vampire, Selene.

...🌺...

𝐀/𝐍: I'M BACK!!!

The way real life has been kicking my ass lately and on top of that I literally have writer's block. But after watching some Damon edits on TikTok I was able to write this for you guys 😂. 

Not a lot of Damon and Selene moments in this chapter but if you remember from the original draft of this book, it took them a while to get together, so just be patient with me its kinda a slow burn like most of my books. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the update!!!

𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒: How are we feeling about the rewrite? Which season of TVD is your favorite? What are you looking forward to in the rest of this book?

-𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛𝑎 𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘