"Alaric, why are you talking to me? You guys don't really like me anymore, remember?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"And how could anybody not like you, sweetheart?" He asks still smirking as he inches closer to her. Claire looks at him even more confused. "You're even more beautiful than in my dreams." He mutters pinching her chin lightly between his index finger and thumb.

"Klaus" She whispers in realization. She could feel the sparks flying through her nervous system at his touch. She could feel the light pull of the mating bond, it lighter than with Elijah seeing as he's in Alaric's body.

"Hello, sweetheart."

"Wha-What are you doing here?" Claire asks taking a step away from him. With him in Alaric body, the bond wasn't nearly as strong as it will be when he's in his own body. She was able to fight against it.

"I'm here for you, love" Klaus said taking a step closer to her, she continues to back away. "And I'm here for my doppelganger." He added with a shrug.

"How?" Claire asked frowning her eyebrows.

"Magic" Klaus whispers wiggling his fingers in the air. Claire rolls her eyes, he grins deeply. "Why are you walking away from me?" He asked not showing that he was hurt by her actions.

"How long have you been in Mystic Falls?" She asked. She stopped moving backwards and he inched closer to her.

"About a week." He said circling her slowly. She kept her eyes on him as much as she could without moving much. "More than enough time to see how... cozy you are with my brother, Elijah." He commented jealously.

"Why are you in Alaric's body?" She questions him. He shrugs shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I figured I'd get more information on what's going on if I can see everything first hand without giving away that I'm here." He tells her. "I don't want people to know I'm in town just yet."

"And what's stopping me from spreading the word?" Claire asked crossing her arms.

"You wouldn't sell your mate out" He said getting even closer to her.

"You have an awful lot of faith in someone you haven't met." Claire said. He smirks at at her.

"Or maybe I just know you wouldn't put your darling little Madelyn in danger" Klaus whispers to her. Claire's anger flares. She grab's Klaus by the shirt and shoves him into the janitors closet. "If you wanted to get freaky-" Before Klaus could finish Claire slams her fist into his jaw just like Elijah had taught her to produce maximum pain.

Klaus's head snaps to the side and he actually stumbles slightly. His hand shoots out to grab the wall to help stabilize himself. His other hand grabs his jaw, messaging it lightly. He looks at Claire impressed.

"Did you just threaten my daughter?" She growled glaring at him with complete fury.

"A child you had with another man" Klaus growls angrily. "Someone who isn't your mate" He spits. Claire nods before slamming her fist in his nose, breaking it instantly. He groans, instantly grabbing it as his nose began to bleed.

"I don't care who you think you are" Claire growls. "I don't care if we're soulmates. I don't care if you're pissed that I have a daughter. I don't give a single flying fuck" She growled shoving her pointer finger on his chest. "Threaten my daughter again and I will end you." She promises. "I will break this bond and I won't care what it does to me. I will destroy you and I will continue to get cozy with Elijah and never give you another thought." She growled.

Klaus averts his gaze feeling beyond hurt by her words but proud of her strength. He admired her love for her daughter, her protectiveness of Madelyn. This wasn't exactly how he thought their first meeting would go. He had hoped for something better and feared he had already screwed it up.

Claire gives Klaus another glare before going to leave the janitors closet. Klaus panics slightly and quickly leaps forward shoving the door closed. Claire spins towards him and he presses her against it.

"I'm sorry" He said instantly. "I won't hurt Madelyn. I won't go near her. I give you my word" He says sincerely staring deeply into her eyes.

"I don't trust you, Klaus" She tells him truthfully. "You're here to kill my best friend. Someone who I'm so pissed off at that I don't really consider her a friend anymore but I've known her my entire life, I still care about her. I care very little but I still care. And then you come up to me and almost instantly threaten the one person in this world I love most." Claire tells him.

"I shouldn't have threatened Madelyn. I give you my word, I will not harm her. I won't even get close to her until you trust me. As for Elena, there's nothing I can do. I need her to break my curse." Klaus mutters.

"Your curse?" Claire questions frowning her eyebrows. "You mean the moonstone curse?" Klaus smiles at her.

"Elijah hasn't told you everything yet has he?" Klaus's smile turns smug. "How about I buy you lunch, skip the rest of the day. I'll tell you everything." He tells her.

"Like how you dagger your siblings and drop them in the ocean?" Claire glares. Klaus sighs and takes a step back away from her. He looks at Claire for a moment.

"Lunch, I promise I will answer any question you ask." He said the smirk returning to his lips. "Spend the day with me, you won't regret it." Claire looks at him and sighs.

"Fine" Claire agrees. "But remember, you're Alaric and I'm a student." She reminds him. He grins walking back towards her.

"Scandalous" He mutters. She rolls her eyes and shoves his chest away from her. They leave the closet, glad that everyone had left to go home. Klaus places a gentle hand on her back, guiding her down the hall. He desperately wanted to grab her hand but knew she wouldn't let him but he needed some type of contact.

"Why don't you go clean the blood off your nose and I'll meet you outside, ok?" Claire grins patting his cheek before walking away. Klaus grins watching her leave.

"I am in trouble" He mutters to himself before going to clean his nose. Claire waits for Alaric outside. She contemplated calling Elijah to let him know Klaus was in town but decided against it. Her desire to talk to Klaus, to get to know him out weighed her want to help Elijah kill him. "Ready to go, sweetheart?" Klaus said coming up behind her.

"I know the perfect place" Claire said knowing they couldn't go to the Grill but they could go to the little diner that Hanna had taken her.

"Have I told you that you look beautiful?" Klaus said smiling at her.

"Why don't you start explaining things instead of trying to flatter me" Claire snipped. Klaus smirks and motions with his hands for her to continue. "What curse are you talking about?"

"What has Elijah told you about me?" Klaus wonders. "I'd hate to repeat what you already know." He gives her a wink but she just looks at him unamused.

"He told me about you being a hybrid and that you like to dagger your siblings a couple centuries at a time. I also know you dropped them in the ocean." Claire said.

"Is that a fact?" He asked tilting his head.

"Is it?" She questioned him. Klaus smirks.

"I am a hybrid. A bastard just like your daughter" Claire glares at him for bringing her up. He holds his hands up in surrender. "Won't say another word about her." He promises. "When my mother so graciously turned me and my siblings into vampires, I triggered my werewolf curse. My existence threw nature off balance and so mother bound my werewolf side so I couldn't access it. The only way to break the curse is to kill the doppelganger, Elena. Kill a vampire and a werewolf in a ritual during the full moon." Klaus explains.

"So you spent about a thousand years with part of yourself locked away?" Claire questioned. Klaus nods. "I can't imagine that" She muttered.

"It hasn't exactly been easy." He tells her. "But I am only a couple days from breaking it" He grins excitedly. Claire couldn't help but to grin back at him, his face lit up making her roll her eyes.

"What did you do to your siblings?" She asked him. He smirks and leans back in his chair.

"What do you mean, love?" He asked. Claire leans forward.

"I mean you better tell me what happened to them or I swear to God I'll tell everybody that you possessed Alaric's body and you're here to kill Elena." Claire snips.

"Temper, temper" Klaus comments. Claire glares at him feeling her patience wearing thin. "Relax, sweetheart, my siblings are safe. I didn't drop them in the ocean like I told Elijah. I simply told him that because I was angry with him. I never do that to my own siblings." Klaus reassures her.

"So, where are they?" Claire questions.

"Now that I can't tell you." He said with a shrug.

"And why not?" Claire snipped.

"Maybe because Elijah has had all this time with you alone and I want you to myself." Klaus said leaning over the table. "You're my mate too, darling, and I want you." He tells her seriously.

"I'm losing two very good friends because they kept my mate from me... Don't think you'll get any special treatment." Claire warns.

"Claire, I give you my word that I will undagger my siblings before the year is over." He tells her.

"That's 8 months, Klaus" Claire said.

"Smart girl" Klaus praises. Claire glares at him. "When I break my curse I'm going to take you with me to find werewolf packs. I will turn said werewolves into hybrids like myself. We'll spend some quality time together and then I'll give you my sibling." He bargains.

"I can't just leave with you." Claire tells him. Klaus frowns his eyebrows.

"Well, why not?" Klaus questions.

"1. I have school. 2. I would have to bring Madelyn and I'm not going to drag Madelyn on your little journey. It'll no doubt be dangerous and I refuse to put her in anymore danger than she already is here. Plus, she's nearing 5 months old, she needs stability. I can't just drag her around in unfamiliar places." Claire said.

"I'm not leaving you behind" Klaus growls.

"Well then I guess you're not going on your little werewolf trip because I'm not going" Claire snapped. 

"You're going if I have to throw you over my bleeding shoulder" Klaus growls.

"Do that and I'll make your life a living hell" Claire snapped. "I'm not leaving Madelyn. I'm not going with you. That's final." She growled. "And if you try to force me, if you take me away from my daughter, I'll break our bond." Klaus instantly leans back in his seat.

"You don't know how" Klaus says hoping it was a bluff.

"I come from a very powerful line of witches. I may not know how but they will. Madelyn is the most important person in my life. I am not leaving her and I'm not dragging her across the country, not even for you." She tells him. Klaus presses his lips together, clenching his jaw. "Klaus, I want you to break the curse. I won't tell anybody your here. Do what you have to, do what you want. When the curse breaks, go on your little journey but leave me and Madelyn out of it." Claire tells him.

"I just found you... after a thousand years of pain and torture, I finally found you." Klaus said feeling torn. Claire smiles at him softly.

"Klaus, I'm not going anywhere" She says reassuringly. "Do what you have to do. You've been waiting for this for centuries. Find your wolfs, make your hybrids and when you're done, I'll be here waiting for you."

"You'll wait for me?" Klaus asks.

"If you promise to undagger your siblings then yes, I will wait for you. When you return, we will have that quality time you want. I told you earlier that I don't trust you, I still don't. But not forcing me to leave Madelyn, not forcing me to take Madelyn, it's a start." She tells him. Klaus sighs his eyes staring into hers as he mulls over her words.

"Fine" Klaus nods. "My siblings will be undaggered before the end of the year. I will not force you to join me nor will I force anything with Madelyn. I will come back for you and when I do, you will be mine." He tells her sternly.

"You know, this whole soulmate thing will go a lot easier when you learnt hat I don't take demands very well." Claire smirks at him. "You're my soulmate, not my master. Remember that" Claire tells him standing up.

"We'll see, love." Klaus winks at her. Claire rolls her eyes at him. She walks away from the table. "I'll be seeing you very soon, sweetheart" Klaus calls out to her. Claire couldn't help but to smile but continued to leave.

*In case you're confused, this takes place about a day before The Last Dance*