BLOODLINE
xl. the right path

THE GILBERT FAMILY lake house had always been a refuge for Erin. A home away from home. An escape from the hectic life of being a Founding Family member in Mystic Falls.

There were expectations when they stayed within its walls. They were free to spend time with each other in solitude with marathon games of charades and Monopoly, taking a swim in the waters of the lake, or fishing on the wooden dock with her father. Erin had nothing but good memories of the place, and she wanted to keep it that way.

So when Bonnie suggested they invite Elena to help Jeremy begin to grow passive in her presence, Erin was a little apprehensive. Her Hunter brother wanted nothing more than to kill her vampire sister, and they would be under the same roof together. A roof that once shielded her family from the summer storms.

Erin just didn't want anything to go wrong. She didn't want the place to be tainted by her brother trying to murder their sister. But what choice did they have? Jeremy couldn't live his life trying to kill Elena at every chance. They would never be together again, and she couldn't deal with that. She couldn't.

Besides, Erin, Bonnie, and Damon were more than capable of separating the two if something happened.

Erin rested in one of the rocking chairs on the front porch, watching Jeremy chop wood across the yard. She hardly kept her eyes off him since they arrived, making sure he remained in his right frame of mind.

After all, they hadn't been back to the lake house since Jenna forced them to go shortly after their parents died. Erin didn't know how the trip would affect his already fractured mindset, and the last thing she wanted to do was make it worse.

But so far, Jeremy seemed fine. At least, fine enough for a seventeen year old hellbent in killing vampires.

Erin drew in a breath and looked to the girl at her side. "Are you sure this is gonna work?" she questioned.

Bonnie turned from where she occupied another rocking chair and replied, "Shane has been using hypnosis to help me use magic again. Even after our first session, it worked. I'm sure it'll work for Jeremy."

Erin sighed, spotting movement down the gravel driveway. Damon's blue car rolled toward the home. "I hope you're right." Her attention shifted to Jeremy, who paused in his chopping. His stare fell to the vehicle as it came to a stop. She noticed his body grew rigid as he stepped away from the split wood with his grip tight on his axe.

Here they go.

Erin shot up from her chair and hurried to where her brother stared heatedly toward Damon's stopped car. She slowed her pace as she approached his side. "Jer," she voiced lowly to not spook him.

Jeremy kept his gaze on the vehicle, more so who sat inside. "They shouldn't be here," he stated in a monotone.

"They're here to help. It's okay," Erin reassured him and stepped forward to where his stare shifted to her. "You trust me, right?"

Jeremy glanced back toward Damon's car, but he nodded stiffly. "Yeah. Yeah, I trust you."

At that, Erin reached out and set her hands on the axe still in his tight grasp. She began to pull it away, while Jeremy hesitantly let his grip loosen. When the full weight of the axe fell into her palms, she turned and tossed the thing away from them.

Erin looked over toward Damon's car, spitting Elena in the passenger seat. She gave her a tight smile, before she turned and grabbed Jeremy's arm. "Let's go inside, Jer. Bonnie and Professor Shane are waiting for us," she reminded him.

When Elena and Bonnie suggested including Professor Shane in their plan to help Jeremy, Erin couldn't very well decline his help. Over the past few weeks, he managed to bring magic back into Bonnie's life. A feat that seemed impossible after the spirits turned on her. But, he did. And if he could do that, maybe he could help Jeremy.

They had to try.

Erin pulled Jeremy away from Damon's car and led him toward the lake house. Bonnie greeted them off the porch, while Shane exited the front door to usher them inside.

Once they entered, Bonnie and Shane began to arrange a few chairs around the living room. Ready to begin the first attempt at hypnosis.

"Okay, listen," Shane spoke as he leaned against one of the chairs. "We're ready to get started, but before we can do that, we need her..." he looked to where Elena approached the open front door ahead of Damon, "in here."

Erin turned to where Elena stopped at the invisible threshold, no longer able to step inside without an invitation. And to do that, either her or Jeremy needed to say the words aloud. But by the way Shane phrased it, he wanted Jeremy to do the deed. Her brother's first step in reprogramming his Hunter instincts.

With a look toward Elena, Erin conveyed just that. Her sister picked up on the nonverbal request and set her attention on their brother.

"This is your house now, Jer," Elena told him when their eyes met. "You have to invite me in."

Jeremy didn't move, and he didn't say a word. He only stared toward Elena.

Erin tensed.

"Go ahead, Jeremy," Shane called out. "Invite her in."

Jeremy remained silent for a long moment, before he said, "you can come in."

Elena immediately stepped across the threshold and entered the house. She moved toward Jeremy, giving him a small smile as she touched his arm.

Erin went to call out for her sister to stop, but Elena moved away quickly to place her bags into the long island counter that ran between the living room and the kitchen.

Before anyone could even blink, Jeremy rushed for Elena with a shard of wood in his hand. Bonnie screamed at him, but everything calmed as fast as it occurred.

Erin blinked when she noticed Elena behind their brother, holding one of his arms behind his back as her own rested across his chest. She held him in place, forcing Jeremy to fall still in her hold.

It seemed Elena didn't need their help after all.

__________

Candles were placed onto the side tables and any flat surface throughout the living room, flickering with flames as the mood shifted. A metronome sat on the coffee table, ticking back and forth to produce a steady rhythm. The perfect setting to put Jeremy into a needed hypnotic state.

Erin stood behind the cushioned chair that Bonnie claimed, watching Professor Shane secure Jeremy's wrists to the arms of his own chair. He already began the first session, having forced her brother to close his eyes and open his mind. Ready to allow the man to alter his subconscious.

Elena sat across from Jeremy, fidgeting in her seat as she listened to Shane explain the process. Erin did the same.

"All Jeremy feels when he sees a vampire is a burning desire to kill them, even if consciously he doesn't want to. As in your case," Shane glanced toward Elena, "it's his subconscious that's calling the shots."

"Persuasion helps reverse your subconscious thoughts," Bonnie added.

Shane nodded and moved to stand behind Jeremy, setting his hands into the boy's shoulders. "Think of it as kind of a conditioned response, right? See vampire, kill vampire. What I'm doing is creating kind of a middle step. It's like a detour, where his subconscious learns to recognize you as someone he loves. Someone he wants to protect." He spoke that last part closer to Jeremy, before he moved to sit closeby on the coffee table. "And that gives him a choice. He can choose to take the detour instead of the conditioned response." He looked at Elena and said, "okay. Talk to him. He'll listen."

Elena clasped her hands on her lap and shrugged. "I'm not sure what to say," she replied.

"You and Erin chose to do this here at your family's vacation house, right?" Shane voiced in return. "So, maybe just start by telling him why."

Elena hesitated, before her gaze drifted. Erin met her stare and nodded, encouraging her to go on. She needed to do this. She needed to try.

With a deep breath, Elena returned her attention to Jeremy and began, "every holiday, we came here. This place was family. And when mom and dad died, Jenna made us come here, and we thought it was an awful idea, but it was like they were here with us."

Erin gripped tightly onto the back of Bonnie's chosen chair as Jeremy's eyes opened.

"They would have wanted us to stick together, Jer," Elena told him. "To fight for each other, no matter what."

Jeremy simply stared at Elena. His expression flat and void of emotion.

Shane turned to him and questioned, "Jeremy, how do you feel about Elena right now?"

Jeremy's features didn't falter as he said in a cold tone, "she ruined our lives. She's not even my real sister. She's just the reason that everyone I've ever loved has died. She means nothing to me. I will kill her, even if that means I die myself."

Erin jumped when Shane tapped his knuckles on the coffee table, causing a loud knock to rip through the room.

Jeremy blinked at the sound, snapping back into himself. He glanced around them all and asked eagerly, "did it work?"

Erin didn't have the heart to tell him the truth.

__________

A chilled breeze blew across the lapping waves of Dunham Lake, forcing Erin to shove her hands deeper into the pocket of her hoodie. She sat on the end of the wooden dock, watching the sunlight glisten atop the dark water. The calm scene helped lessen the failure of Jeremy's first attempt at hypnosis.

Erin knew that it most likely wouldn't work on the first try, but it didn't make her feel any better. Especially not when her brother flat out told Elena he would kill her with his last dying breath.

They knew it was the Hunter aspect of him that said such awful things, but the sting of his words cut all the same.

"We'll try again," Erin voiced, looking at where Elena claimed the space at her side. "Hypnosis takes more than one try for some people. It's not a quick fix."

Elena sighed heavily with her gaze on the small waves of the lake. "I know. I just - I shouldn't have put so much hope into it. We're trying to reprogram Jeremy's brain. If it were that easy, Damon and I wouldn't be in the situation we're in," she replied.

Erin couldn't begin to understand what ran through her sister's mind. The one thing Elena thought had gone right since turning into a vampire had been the very thing that caused her so much difficulty. Her sire-bond to Damon made it so she couldn't feed on animals or drink from blood bags, nearly causing her to starve to the point of attacking anyone just to satisfy her thirst.

Not to mention, it might've had an influence over her feelings for Damon. Erin would never say as much out loud. Elena needed one good thing to come out of the terrible situation, no matter how much Caroline and Stefan hated it.

Come to think of it, Elena never did tell her what happened when Damon returned after their failed girls night.

"What did Damon have to say about that?" Erin questioned, capturing her sister's attention. "The sire-bond."

Elena shifted in the dock to face her, clutching the edges of the blanket draped around her shoulders. "He won't say anything," she answered with a huff. "I've tried to get him to talk about it, but he won't. Not a word since he and Stefan got back."

Erin's interest piqued. "You never did say where they went, and neither will Damon."

Elena pressed her lips together and seemed to hesitate, but she finally said, "he and Stefan went to New Orleans to find out more about the sire-bond. Apparently, it's happened to Damon before, so they went to a witch who could help."

Erin resisted the urge to scoff. So much for sire-bonds being rare.

"She told them that a sire-bond only forms when someone has feelings for the vampire who turned them - when they're still human," Elena continued.

There it was. The reason why. Erin had wondered ever since the possibility even surfaced as to why or how it ever occurred. The sire-bond between Klaus and the hybrids was easy to pinpoint. They were grateful to him for making it so they never had to turn on a full moon. That they never had to break every bone in their body ever again.

But with vampires, there was no such gratitude. Not that Erin's had ever experienced. No one she ever met wanted to become a vampire. She was sure there were a few out there, but that wasn't the case with Elena. So the correlation had been a possibility.

Romantic feelings before being turned into a vampire, now that was something they could confirm. Because Elena did like Damon when she was human, and those feelings only magnified when she became a vampire.

That also begged the question. How could a sire-bond of that origin be broken?

Erin's brows creased as she asked, "did they find out how to break it?"

Elena paused and released a long breath. "Yeah, uh, Damon has to - let me go."

Erin blinked. And now the strange tension between them made so much sense. The odd air that followed them from the moment they stepped out of Damon's car held a reason. A reason that neither one of them wanted to acknowledge.

To break the sire-bond, Damon had to leave Elena and possibly never see her again. Of course they didn't want that to happen.

But sadly, what other option did they have? Elena would never be able to know if any of her choices were of her own free will, or if they were influenced by Damon. And Erin knew he didn't want to lose the girl he loved, but she also knew Damon would never want that for Elena. A life where they always questioned whether a decision had been made because of them or the sire-bond.

It was only a matter of time before Damon chose to set Elena free, and Erin dreaded the fallout that wouod occur.

__________

As the sun inched closer to the horizon, there came a new development with their attempt to break through Jeremy's subconscious. Instead of using Elena to break through his Hunter instincts, Bonnie would step in and help coax his human side maintain control.

After all, Jeremy was still in love with Bonnie, despite him failing to voice it. Who better to push past his intrusive thoughts?

Erin remained on the dock with Elena, not quite ready to integrate back into the home. The early spring air would only stay for a little while longer before hotter weather returned. She wanted to savor it while she still could.

Before long, Professor Shane joined them, leaving Bonnie and Jeremy alone in the hopes that their connection could tear through the Hunter façade.

"It was good thinking, using Bonnie as Jeremy's emotional touch zone," Shane relayed as he stood closeby on the dock. "Damon is very intuitive." He raised a hand to gestures toward his head, before he looked toward Elena. "Yeah, Bonnie told me about your relationship with him. I don't mean to pry, obviously."

"It's complicated," Elena replied. Shane hummed. She then asked in a lighter tone, "any ideas how to hypnotize me out of it?"

Erin's lips pursed. If only it were that simple, then maybe they wouldn't have to deal with the aftermath.

"You know, in all my world travels, the one spell that I've never found is how to break somebody from loving too much. Trust me. I've looked."

Erin turned to Shane with furrowed brows. He did? Why would he do that?

Before she could even think to voice her thoughts, Shane spoke the answer for her, "my wife and son died. I was just - I was trying to figure out a way not to miss them."

Erin could understand that. Grief was a powerful thing. She would've done anything to be rid of the unbearable pain that followed any of her family's deaths.

Footsteps in the dock pulled Erin's attention. She spotted Damon headed toward them up the wooden planks with an axe held at his side. An annoyed sigh escaped her lips.

"If your hypno herbs work, we should be singing Kumbaya around the fire by dinner," Damon quipped as he came to a stop before the professor. His eyes narrowed. "So now, tell me why I'm not killing you?"

Erin rolled her eyes. "Damon, give it a rest."

"I'm serious," Damon replied, moving the axe to hold before his waist. His stare remained on the professor. "Why are you after the vampire cure?"

Despite Damon's threat and Elena's defensive stance, Shane stepped forward unbothered. "I didn't say I was looking for the cure, but I can tell you where to find it," he stated.

Damon's expression scrunched. "Klaus's sword will tell us where to find it."

Erin found it hard to keep up with all the necessary things needed to even attempt to find the cure for vampirism. One of those happened to be a sword that belonged to the original Brotherhood of the Five. It held a cipher that could decode the Hunter's Mark when completed. Klaus managed to get his hands on it, making them one step closer to the cure.

Shane nodded. "The sword will lead you there, sure, but so can I?"

Erin perked up at that. She snapped to the man and questioned, "how can you do that?"

Shane tore his stare from Damon and glanced at her and Elena. "'Cause I've been there before."

That certainly changed things.

__________

A thunk sounded throughout the room when Shane set a heavy object onto the coffee table within the raving room. He peeled away the rugged wrapping to reveal an eroded stone. The same stone from his occult exhibition.

"It's a rock," Damon voiced at the sight of it.

Shane knelt beside the table and sent him a flat look. "It's not just any rock," he countered.

Damon hummed, moving away to where a bottle of bourbon sat on the kitchen bar. He began to pour himself a glass. "So, is this that silly little wives' tale that you told the occult exhibit?"

Shane nodded and set his attention on Elena, the only person who hadn't heard the story. "Right, long story short: Once upon a time, there was a witch named Silas who loved a girl, who wanted to be with her forever, so he and his best friend, another witch, made an immortality spell, and then Silas' best friend witch got jealous and killed Silas' girl before he had a chance to make her immortal. Well, cursed to an eternity without his one true love, Silas finds a way to reverse the immortality spell, and then before he has the chance to take it, his former friend buries him underground, leaving him and the cure to rot."

"Qetsiyah," Erin supplied from where she sat on the couch. "That was the witch who turned on him, right?"

Shane nodded, again, looking her way. "Yes, exactly"

Elena's brows furrowed when the tale came to an end. "So, it's a cure for immortality?" she wondered aloud.

Shane turned back to her and began to explain, "human blood is the life force of an immortal. No more immortality, no more need to feed on blood. You dig up Silas, and you've got your cure."

Erin guessed that made sense. But before she could question more about the Silas portion of obtaining the cure, Shane grabbed a piece of paper and slid it across the table for them to see.

It was an image of the Hunter's Mark. The one drawn by Jeremy, meaning it was incomplete, but held enough information for Shane to explain its details. Which was what he proceeded to do.

"This is the mark of the Brotherhood of the Five," Shane told them as he pointed to the symbols set in the depiction of a hand. He moved higher on the drawn arm and said, "and up the arm, you have the murder of a girl by a witch." Erin would just have to take his word on that. "The symbol in the vines are your map, which obviously, you no longer need. When this mark is complete, it will contain the spell that we need to dig up Silas."

"And where's you say he was buried?" Damon questioned, coming to sit on the arm of the couch. "Oh, I forgot, you didn't."

Shane turned toward him and gave him a narrowed stare. "You've threatened to kill me, what - like, three times already this week."

Damon shrugged, not seeming to understand the problem. "Yeah."

Shane deadpanned. "The location is how I'm gonna survive your bad moods," he retorted.

Erin pressed her lips together and nodded. A smart decision.

"And what's in it for you?" Elena asked, eyes pointed and filled with skepticism. "If not the cure, then what?"

Shane grabbed the paper which held the Hunter's Mark and began to fold it up as he stood. "I'm in this for Silas, alright? Up until this point, he's only been a myth."

"So write a thesis," Damon shot back.

Shane quirked a brow toward him. "Would you rather be the guy who writes about Noah's Ark, or the one who sails it down the Hudson River?" he countered and moved around the couch, slapping the fold paper into the vampire's hand.

An awful comparison in Erin's mind. Not only was Noah's Ark one of the more implausible stories in the Bible, it would never have been able to survive thousands of years intact. He could've held more ground if he spoke of a dragon. That at least provided more evidence than a giant ship that supposedly held two of every animal on the planet.

"I'm not buying it," Damon voiced, trailing the man's form as he made a move to leave the room.

Neither did Erin. There had to be more than scientific curiosity. He wanted something from Silas. What? That was the important question.

"You don't have to buy anything," Shane exclaimed as he paused and turned their way. "You two just have to believe that I can fix your brother." He gestured to Erin and Elena when they looked at him. "And when his Hunter's Mark is complete, I'm gonna take you to the cure." He then stepped out of the room, leaving them to contemplate his words.

__________

The night droned on as Bonnie and Professor Shane continued to work with Jeremy, trying to suppress the urge to kill all vampires in his path. To distract herself, Erin started their dinner. Nothing fancy, simply a few frozen pizzas she popped into the oven.

Elena took the same route, but she decided to plunder through the forgotten closets in the home. Things that hadn't been touched in a long time.

Erin moved back into the living room to find her sister with a box in hand, moving to place it on the coffee table. A collection of Christmas decorations. They took to the lake house to celebrate every year since they were kids. But since their parents' deaths, they hadn't even put up a tree the last two years.

Elena looked up when she noticed her presence and said, "we should take these decorations home with us. We could use the holiday cheer."

Erin's brows furrowed, glancing between her and the cardboard box. "In March?"

Elena sighed, leaning up from where she set the thing on the table. "Better late than never," she replied.

"Look at you, suddenly poly optimist," Damon quipped from where he perched in the arm of the couch.

Elena nodded. "I think Shane's gonna get us through this. I trust him," she stated, causing Damon to roll his eyes. "But you clearly don't."

Erin didn't particularly trust the man either, but that relied more on the fact that she didn't know how very well. She wondered what Damon's reason was.

"Maybe because I think he blew up twelve people at the Young farm."

Erin blinked. Yeah, that would do it.

"What?" Elena questioned, but she didn't gain an answer. At least, not in the straightforward sense

"Little tip, Professor," Damon voiced without a turn of his head. "I heard you before you even took your first step."

Erin scanned the room until she spotted Shane in the open entryway that led to the staircase and second floor of the home.

The man leaned against the frame and retorted, "I see we're back to the false accusations part of our relationship."

"What's he talking about?" Elena questioned him in a pointed tone.

Erin's own mirrored hers as she said, "yeah, I'd like to know the same." Her stare narrowed.

Shane sighed and began, "Damon discovered that I was in contact with Pastor Young prior to the explosion at the Young farm." He pushed off the wall and walked toward them. "And the Pastor was severely depressed. He had lost his wife to cancer, and he sought me out for a little supernatural assistance. I tried to help, but he was too far gone. I just – I never expected that he would take eleven innocents with him."

Erin's brows creased and a knot of skepticism pooled in her chest. It sounded a little too coincidental. A man who knew anything and everything about the supernatural just so happened to be in contact with another who absolutely despised such things. Just before he blew himself and an entire group of people with the same mindset to pieces.

Maybe Damon had a right to be suspicious.

"Guys," Jeremy exclaimed as he hurried into the room, drawing all eyes to him.

Bonnie was right on his heels.

Damon shot up from his seat and moved closer to the boy.

Jeremy simply held a hand toward him and said, "it's okay. I think we've got this."

Bonnie moved further into the room, looking toward Elena. "Elena, don't move, okay? No matter what."

That didn't make Erin feel better at all.

"Jeremy," Shane called out to him as he stood by, "remember the detour. Choose the right path."

Erin stayed rooted in place, watching Jeremy step in Elena's direction with a piece of jagged wood in his hand. Her heart-rate spiked. She kept her stare on him as Damon made a move to intercept his path.

Jeremy met his gaze for a moment, before he glanced toward Bonnie. She gave him a small nod in return. He took a deep breath and raised the wood in his hand, holding it out toward Damon. When the vampire took in within his grasp, Jeremy looked toward Elena and headed for her.

Elena tensed as they stood less than a foot apart until Jeremy reached out and wrapped his arms around Elena. Her chest deflated at the sight as her sister hugged him back tightly in return.

They were okay. They were all going to be okay.

__________

The Christmas decorations became their new source of entertainment after their pizzas were devoured. With Jeremy's Hunter instincts suppressed and under control, they were finally able to relax without the fear of him lashing out and trying to kill Elena at every moment. And with nothing else to do, the collection of stray items were more than enough to hold their attention.

Erin knelt next to the coffee table as they began to drag out the various items inside the cardboard box. So far, they only found a few average ornaments. Nothing interesting. That was, until Jeremy pulled out one with a golden hue in the shape of a crown.

"Hey, check this out," Jeremy voiced and pulled their eyes to the object.

Erin smiled at the sight of it. "It's me," she exclaimed and reached out to take it from him. She looked down at the thin ornament to where her name stood out, having been engraved into the surface.

Bonnie chuckled, but she held some confusion. "What?"

Elena looked at her and said, "our parents had our own ornaments made with our names on them."

Erin held it up by the tiny hook and let it dangle from her finger for Bonnie to see. "Mine's a crown. I loved anything to do with princesses," she explained. "Elena's is a star. She was obsessed with memorizing every constellation when we were younger, and Jer has a fish for when he always tried to out-catch all of us whenever we came here."

Despite the joy that accompanied the memories, they also caused a pain of hurt to spread throughout her chest. Because while her childhood held some of the best moments of her life, it reminded her that her parents weren't there. That they would miss out on more memories and hopefully more happy times in their lives.

Erin forced the thoughts away and set the ornament onto the table.

Jeremy smiled and began to sift through the box. "I wonder if mine's still in here."

"Hey, lookout for mine, too," Elena told him, flipping through a photo album that had been left on the table.

Erin looked across the room, finding the space void of others. Shane had already left soon after he deemed Jeremy's hypnosis a success, leaving them to enjoy the rest of their night. Damon, on the other hand, should've been around somewhere.

Her gaze shifted across the sliding glass door that led to the deck. Erin easily spotted Damon through the glass, seeing him perched on the railing with a bottle of bourbon in his hands.

Throughout the day, Damon's behavior began to make her worry. His usual quips and sarcastic remarks were still present, but they were fewer than Erin associated with him. Not only that, his whole demeanor seemed to have dimmed. The knowledge of the sire-bond must've really taken its toll.

Erin felt horrible for him. For so long, Damon wanted to be with Elena. He knew he shouldn't have, but he did. And just when he thought she wanted him in return, something like a sire-bond made itself known. Now, he couldn't tell if their relationship was even real or a fabrication of a supernatural tie between them.

"I'll be right back," Erin told Bonnie and her siblings, before she stood from where she knelt and headed for the door.

Erin grabbed the handle and pulled the sliding glass open. She stepped out onto the deck to approach him. "You're missing all the fun," she voiced, moving to stand at his side.

Damon kept his arms propped onto his knees and replied, "I'm all funned out for the night."

Erin sighed, moving to lean against the railing. The dark waves of the lake continued to lap under the dock, even after the sun disappeared and the breeze lessened. Still, a chill cut through her clothes. She pulled her sleeves lowered past her fingertips and ignored it.

"I'm sorry about the sire-bond," Erin told him, hoping to convey just how truly awful she felt.

Damon released a huff. "She told you."

"Of course she did. We don't keep secrets from each other," Erin countered, turning to meet his placid gaze.

Damon pressed his lips together as he fiddled with the bottle in his hands. His eyes shifted back to the home, more so to where Elena remained with Jeremy and Bonnie. "Then you don't need to say what I know you want to," he said in return.

Erin turned to him with a raised brow. "How do you know what I want to say?" she questioned.

"I know you more than you think I do," Damon stated, before he returned his attention to her.

Erin couldn't help the frown that formed. "Then I guess I don't need to say it, but I will anyway. If you truly love her, you'll set her free."

Damon scoffed. "I really hate that saying," he grumbled and raised the bottle to take a long swig.

"You probably just never remembered the rest of it," Erin retorted as a light smile spread across her lips.

Damon lowered the bottle and gave her a full look. "Yeah, and what's that?"

Erin turned further away from the railing to face him as she said, "if they come back, it was meant to be."

__________

Come morning, the time came for a select few to depart from the lake house and return to their everyday lives. The rest would stay behind to help Jeremy train for when they continued to grow his Hunter's Mark, while also making sure his murderous subconscious remained suppressed.

Erin held her sister tightly between her arms, before she stepped back and let Elena say her goodbyes with Jeremy.

As expected, more so hoped, Damon invoked the sire-bond between himself and Elena to let her go. To set her free. To give her space to determine what she really wanted. What she could do now that she knew the truth, and was no longer oblivious to the control the invisible tie had over her mind.

Erin couldn't even imagine the heartbreak that flooded Damon as he forced the person he loved to leave him. The pain of knowing that he didn't have to push Elena away, but it was the best thing for her.

Jeremy walked Bonnie to her car, while Elena and Damon shared a few parting words. She didn't seem all too broken up over leaving, and Erin knew the sire-bond made that possible. If her sister had full control over her thoughts and actions, she would've fought tooth and nail to stay. But she didn't.

Erin couldn't tell if that made the situation better or worse.

Damon soon walked Elena to Bonnie's awaiting car, allowing her to give him a kiss as he opened the door, before he turned and strode back toward the house. He stopped next to Erin, remaining in place as they watched the car pull off down the driveway and disappear.

"You did the right thing," Erin told him.

Damon's lips pursed as he shook his head. "Doesn't feel like it," he replied and then pivoted on his heel to head back into the home.

Erin sighed, but she didn't go after him. Damon needed time almost as much as Elena, and she would give it to him. They both deserved that much.

<May 23, 2022>

Erin and Damon are the best! I love them!

I did a rough estimate, and we only have around nine chapters left of this book. Give or take one. And from this point on, it's full steam ahead. Get ready!

Don't forget to vote and comment.

- Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.