prologue

❧ ❧ ❧

  He was in panic. Werewolf bites could kill a vampire, according to the book Elena Gilbert had read. One bite could take anyone of those species out in one instant.

  And here Stefan was, in the middle of the woods, during a full moon. He wouldn't have been there if he hadn't been attempting to teach Caroline how to feed. There was nothing to do to change that, but he knew now that feeding lessons were over and they both had to go.

  Stefan searched the wide forest for her, keeping quiet in case of any wolves around. He used his speed to move around quickly, trying to find the blonde vampire. It didn't take long with the stench of blood filling the air and the obvious reason for it sticking out in his mind. He followed the scent to where Caroline stood.

  Her back was to him, but he could see the face of Matt Donovan who was slowly slipping out of consciousness. Caroline's mouth was buried deep in his neck, feeding away at his blood. If imminent danger wasn't near, he would handle it properly with a full lesson on the situation, but he couldn't.

  Stefan did the best he could, yanking her off of the blond boy within seconds. "Stop it!" He yelled out to her in a low whisper, pulling her back. Caroline didn't hear him in her hunger. She lunged forward again for another taste, but he stopped her once again. "Stop! Stop! Stop!" 

  His voice reached her finally, the veins disappearing around her eyes. Caroline glanced up at Stefan with confusion. Matt made a noise as he slid down the tree, gaining the attention of the newly turned vampire. She gasped, her eyes going wide.

  "Oh my god," she muttered. Stefan could see the tears begin to well up in her eyes as she realized what she had done. There was pity in his heart for her, but he could not console when they were in danger.

  "No, no, no, stop," he said when she attempted to help Matt. Stefan forced her to look at him, the blonde whipping around. "Listen to me. We need to get out of these woods, now," he ordered. "We need to leave."

  Caroline opened her mouth to question why, but she was cut off by branches snapping and leaves rusting loudly in the background. Stefan wished he could assume it was a deer or a rabbit. The heavy steps he could hear did not match those animals, though.

   "What was that?" Caroline questioned in a whisper. Her voice was shaking.

  Stefan glanced around quickly, looking for an escape. There was nothing in sight, but it lurked in the trees, waiting for the meal. It smelled the blood from Matt, Stefan knew. It planned for him to be his meal. He knew he couldn't let that happen.

  "Matt, stay down. Do not move," Stefan ordered Matt who wasn't even listening. He stayed there though, to weak to move. The male vampire took a careful step forward, grabbing a hold of Caroline's arm as he did so. He moved his gave towards her. "You and me, we're gonna run. It's going to follow us; we need to lead it away from Matt. You need to run as fast as you can. 

  Caroline wanted to speak, question everything, but Stefan shoved at her shoulder. 

  "Do you understand me?" He asked, trying to get her to run. "Go, go!"

    She didn't hesitate this time, darting off in another direction. Stefan followed close behind. He made sure to pay attention to the footsteps of the wolf, making sure it was following them. It kept close, but not attacking just yet.

  It corned them by the old Lockwood Cellar, causing Stefan to stop. Caroline stopped with him, her eyes full of fear.

  "Wait! What is it?!" Caroline asked worriedly.

  "It's a werewolf!" He revealed, yelled. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "He will try to kill us and he can!" 

  "What are you two doing?" A new voice entered the conversation as Tyler climbed out of the cellar. Stefan and Caroline looked over at him in shock, wondering themselves what he was doing. 

  Stefan moved up to him, questioning it himself, "What are you doing?" It was a mistake to allow the distraction as what it had cost.

  Caroline was tackled to the ground within an instant. The wolf snarled as it pounced through the air, landing on her. It sneered in her face, baring it's own sharp teeth to gnaw at her with. The blonde let out a scream. She tried to fight back, attempting to get it off of her. She was no match, though, leaving her helpless. 

  Stefan moved in to help quickly, going to pry off the wolf with his bare hands. It was dangerous, he knew, but he couldn't let Caroline die.

  It wasn't Stefan who pried the wolf off, though. It was another, a wolf much smaller, but carried much more power. It had russet fur, contrasting with the one who had attacked Caroline with its dark grey color. The russet wolf growled, staring the other straight in the eyes. It bared its teeth as a sign of warning. 

  The other wolf did not attempt to fight back at the warning. It ran off, leaving the russet wolf alone with a confused and shocked group. Caroline got up from the ground, moving back over to Stefan and shielding herself behind him. The wolf took a step towards them, its gold eyes seeming to narrow at the sight of them. 

  Stefan pushed Tyler back towards the cellar, telling him to hide. The Lockwood boy did not hesitate to run away and hid safely inside, allowing Stefan to handle the situation. He knew this wasn't a regular wolf. It was another much like the one Stefan assumed had to be Mason Lockwood. This time, though, there wasn't any hostile action towards them.

   "What is it doing?" Caroline whispered, watching it.

  "I don't know." 

  The sound of his voice seemed to startle the wolf, causing it to growl lowly. Stefan lashed back, flashing his fangs at the wolf.

  He didn't know what happened after that. There was a blinding flash of light the second after. The wolf howled out, it slowly transforming in to screams of pain as each second pass. Bones cracked and skin seemed to tear through the night. Caroline pulled Stefan closer at the sound, shielding her eyes.

  The white light faded soon enough. Caroline and Stefan both opened their eyes, glancing around in confusion. Their eyes landed on a small form right where the wolf had stood. A pale girl sat still, curled up in a ball on the forest floor. She was bare skinned, her hair a mess of leaves and grass.

  She slowly lifted her head, looking up at her own surroundings in wonder. Her lips parted in a gasp as her face formed with confusion. She glanced down at her hands, wiggling them around and staring at them if she had never seen a human hand before.

  "Stefan..." Caroline said lowly, wondering what was going on. The girl's head snapped up at her voice, her eyes landing on them. They glowed gold for a second, veins popping underneath her eyes and red bleeding in to her scleras.

  Stefan couldn't comprehend what had happened. The wolf, the light, and now a girl with glowing gold eyes and a face as if she were a vampire.

   "Who are you?" He asked lowly, seeing if the girl would answer.

  She opened her mouth to speak, a stutter coming out. It took her a moment to form words. "F-faye," she answered. 

  "What happened?"

  "I-"

  She couldn't answer any longer. The girl he know knew as Faye glanced down at her hands again. She didn't know anything, he could tell. She was just as lost as they were, maybe even more.

  Something tugged at his heart strings, telling him to help her. When she looked up, her eyes large and almost pleading with him, he had to. He took a step forward and held out his hand to the girl. Faye stared at it oddly for a moment. Finally, she placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead her to what he called "a safer place".

❧ ❧ ❧

A/N: A little revamped. Kind of rewrote it with more detail, but can't promise its any better.

EDITED: 12/30/17

- Karina