Alethea looked at all the teenagers splashing about in the water and drinking on the shore with a look of disinterest. She was never one to socialize with big groups, preferring the maximum of three people in her company, if not any at all. She also watched as Jasmine swam contently in the middle of the swimming hole as if she wasn't in any excruciating pain only over half an hour ago.

Alethea knew now that her friendship with Jasmine would never go back to the way it was, but maybe they could build another one and that was enough for her. Jasmine looked over to her and sent her a small smile causing Alethea to look away. She then heard Jasmine speaking to someone she wasn't familiar with.

"You made it. Wasn't sure you were going to."

"I decided it wouldn't be so bad to drop in. I'm glad I did, the water feels nice."

The sound of the water moving alerted Alethea to look up to see Jasmine wading out of the water with a teenage boy following after her with a smile as Jasmine continued to speak to him. Ah, that must be the Lockwood boy. Alethea smirked as they both grew closer to where she was.

"Thea, I want you to meet Tyler. His family owns the property."

Alethea smiled and extended her hand out, "it's a pleasure to meet you, Tyler. Jasmine has told me so much about you." She held in a chuckle when she saw Jasmine roll her eyes knowing that wasn't true.

Jasmine placed her hand on Tyler's shoulder and leaned in to whisper into his ear, "Thea also said she was dying to meet you. So, why don't I leave you two to get acquainted?" She didn't wait for a response as she walked away from them and toward a familiar voice she heard on the other side of the swimming hole.

Alethea and Tyler gaped at Jasmine's retreating back before turning to give each other awkward smiles.

----

Jasmine maneuvered herself through the groups of people, quickly making her way through the area. She was certain she heard his voice as clear as day. One of two voices she could easily distinguish in a crowd, Stefan Salvatore's.

"I get it, okay. You think I'm... you think I'm too serious. Is that it?"

"I mean I wasn't going to say it like that but..."

Stefan and Caroline shared in a laugh before they noticed movement to the side. Their eyes widened when they suddenly saw Jasmine, nearly half naked, leaning against the tree closest to them. An amused and sarcastic smirk settled on her lips as she watched the two vampires gather their thoughts.

"It's kind of ironic, isn't it? That you're giving lessons on Vampire 101 when your own resolve isn't your strong suit in the slightest." She crossed her arms across her chest and let out a sarcastic chuckle, "I see you're finding my replacement quite fast, Stefan. Though, I would have recommended someone who was less controlling."

Stefan took a hesitant step forward as his undead heart metaphorically sped up. It had been nearly two weeks since they last saw each other face to face. Immediate regret filled him as he recalled the reasoning for their distance. Caroline looked at their small exchange before silently retreating to leave them alone. Stefan stuffed his hands in his pockets before sheepishly looking at his best friend, "Jasmine... h-how are you?"

Jasmine shrugged, "same old, same old. Falling apart more regularly, but that isn't your concern anymore now, is it?"

"I actually wanted to apologize," sighed Stefan. "I k-know I said some nasty things to you, but I didn't mean them—well, I did mean some of it, but that's beside the point. Well, it is part of the point, but what I'm trying to say—"

"Good god, I could possibly die by the time he finishes that crappy apology. This is who you decide to associate with?"

Stefan turned around startled and saw a red headed vampire casually standing behind him. He then turned to face Jasmine with a questioning gaze. Jasmine sighed and gestured towards Alethea, "this is Alethea, she's here helping me with my little problem."

"I wouldn't say little." Alethea's laugh ended abruptly as she saw Jasmine's glare.

"I thought the reason you turned down Lexi's help was because no one could actually help you?"

Walking to stand next to Alethea, Jasmine rolled her eyes at Stefan's accusatory tone. Funny how he went from being apologetic to being hostile in mere seconds. "Alethea, here, has a special set of skills that make her more capable of helping me than Alexia could." Looking around, Jasmine furrowed her eyebrows, "where is Lexi? It would have made more sense for her to help Caroline out than you."

Stefan uncrossed his arms and stuffed them back into his pockets, "she left. Said the only reason she came and stayed was because of us and since I'm 'spending all my time with Elena' and you two had a falling out, she decided she had no more reason to stay."

Jasmine pondered the thought, suddenly saddened by her friend's unannounced departure. Before they continued their talk, Jasmine noticed Caroline and Matt not too far away. She smirked as she made her way over to them, followed by Alethea and Stefan. Jasmine waited until Matt left Caroline before announcing herself.

"Didn't Stefan teach you that compulsion is a big no-no in unnecessary situations? You seem to be more fun than I anticipated you'd be."

Caroline scoffed at Jasmine's enthusiastic tone before looking at Stefan, "she deserved it."

Stefan sighed, "Caroline, nobody deserves to have their mind messed with for shallow reasons."

Caroline let out a cry of exasperation, "you know, why is everyone sticking up for Aimee freaking Bradley?"

"Jealousy is not a good color on you, my friend." Alethea laughed out as she leaned her arm on Jasmine's shoulder, which was later roughly pushed off by the siphoner.

"Oh, so now I have magnified jealousy issues, too. That's great." Caroline rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms across her chest. The whole vampire training was tiring and she honestly just wanted to get back to her normal chaotic life.

Stefan shrugged his shoulders, "I told you this wasn't gonna be easy."

"Yeah, well, I might as well have stayed dead. My entire personality is killing me." They all let out an amused smile as Caroline realized what she said. She let her own smile show as she rolled her eyes at the three vampires in front of her, "oh, shut up."

----

When the night started winding down as Tyler was asking everyone to leave the swimming hole, Stefan approached Jasmine with an apologetic smile, "I really am sorry and I hope you can forgive me."

Jasmine exhaled loudly as she stared at him, "how could I not?" They both smiled and just stared at each other before Jasmine cleared her throat, "so, what's been going on?"

Stefan looked away and rolled his eyes, annoyed, "Damon is trying to figure out what the Lockwoods are. He went to Duke with Elena and Alaric to see if Isobel had any information in her research."

Jasmine laughed lightly, "you know, if you would have apologized sooner, you would have the answer by now."

"What do you mean?"

"The Lockwoods? They're werewolves. I'm pretty sure their entire bloodline carries the curse in their blood."

Stefan's eyes widened, "what? So, I coincidentally answered correctly when Damon first approached me on the matter. B-But I thought werewolves didn't exist?"

Jasmine scoffed, "we're not supposed to exist either, but here we are. Werewolves have been around for as long as I can remember, actually even more than my own lifetime. Though with the rivalry, not many are left."

"What rivalry?"

"The rivalry between vampires and werewolves. I believe it's been nearly a thousand years since a vampire killed an entire pack of werewolves for personal reasons—" noticing Stefan's questioning stare, Jasmine smirked, "the alpha had slept with his wife. Thus, beginning the thousand year feud between the species."

Stefan sat on a tree stump as he continued to ask questions about the existence of werewolves, "wait, are they able to transform whenever they want? Or do they need the full moon only?"

Jasmine stood in front of him and tilted her head to the side, quite unsure how to respond, "technically, no. It wouldn't be a curse if they could transform at will, so they're only able to do that during the full moon. Though from what I've heard, it's quite the painful transformation. There were rumors going around of a special stone that could help with that—controlling the transformation, but there's no solid proof yet. Also, there's a creature that is actually half—maybe we'll save that story for later."

Stefan motioned for her to sit beside him as he ignored his vibrating phone for the second time, "why haven't I seen any? You would think we would at least encounter one in our lifetimes."

"Like I said before, there aren't many around anymore and if they are, they're pretty good at hiding. The reason there's so little of them is because vampires hunted werewolves until they became nearly extinct."

"Why?"

"It's a werewolf instinct to hunt vampires and the vampires felt threatened, especially since our species found out that werewolf bites are actually fatal to us. So, they teamed up and killed as many werewolves as they could."

Stefan stared at the floor as his mind raced with all the new information. The Lockwoods were werewolves and if provoked could essentially kill them with a single bite. He looked at Jasmine as she watched the teenagers finally leaving the swimming hole, "so, Tyler and Mason—they can harm us."

Jasmine smiled at his sudden alert and still slightly confused expression. She placed her hand in his and squeezed his hand, hoping to reassure him that it was okay, "Mason, yes, if we make an enemy out of him, then there's a chance he might bite us when the moon is full. Tyler, while he carries the gene, is nothing more than a rampaging teenager. He's not a threat." Jasmine wouldn't admit it, but she was happy that they were on speaking terms again even if the only thing they were talking about were the Lockwoods.

"I thought you said the Lockwoods were werewolves, wouldn't that make Tyler one, too?"

"No, he carries the werewolf gene just like his father, who if you remember was not a werewolf. The werewolf gene is dormant in the host, only really giving the person slight strength and immense anger problems. They only turn into werewolves when they activate the curse."

Stefan stood up and rubbed his face with his hand, growing tired of the spinning in his head, "and how does one do that?"

"They have to kill someone."

There was a beat of silence as this fact settled in the air. No wonder it's called a curse—not being able to transform at will and to activate it, you have to kill someone? Stefan wasn't sure if he could breathe properly as he remembered that Mason was a threat, which meant they were all in danger with Mason walking around.

"How do you know so much?"

Jasmine smiled, "I befriended some werewolves in the Appalachians back in the 1600s. They gladly gave me a run through in history while they showed me hospitality."

Nerves wracking through him, Stefan looked around, paranoid and in search of Caroline, "did you see where Caroline and Matt went? I could have sworn they were near us a second ago."

Standing up, Jasmine brushed the dirt off of herself, "yeah, they headed into the woods for a make out session." As she was about to laugh, they both looked startled when they heard a series of screams and growls. "Don't tell me Mason Lockwood is out here."

"Yeah, well, I didn't think anything of it until you gave me a run through of him actually being a werewolf. We have to go find Caroline."

"You go find Caroline, I have to go find Alethea."

Stefan stopped frantically looking around to look at her, "Caroline is our friend and there's a werewolf running around. We have to find her first."

Throwing her cover up on, she scoffed at him, "Caroline is hardly a friend and Alethea is useful to me right now. If I lose her..."

Stefan didn't hear the rest of the sentence as she sped away in search of her red haired fri—acquaintance.

----

"Alethea, I swear to every deity in every universe, if you don't pick up your phone I will personally deliver you to our little furry friend." Jasmine groaned as she called Alethea for the tenth time.

Running a hand through her hair and trying to calm herself down, Jasmine stood still and listened to her surroundings. Her breathing calmed as she heard the small ripples in the swimming hole. She could hear Stefan calling out for Caroline alongside the sound of two people kissing a little way from where he is. She heard the moving and groans of a truck with a growling inside of it.

When she was going to lose hope, she hears several screams erupt through her ears. Not wasting a second, Jasmine sped towards the noise and widened her eyes at the scene before her. Caroline, Stefan, and Tyler stood a couple feet away, watching in horror as Mason, now in werewolf form, suddenly attacks Alethea.

"Hey wolfie!" the werewolf turns around and focuses on Jasmine. As he was about to pounce on her, Jasmine held out her hand, performing the aneurysm spell and causing the werewolf to drop to the floor and writhe in pain.

"Stop! What are you doing to him?!"

Jasmine released the werewolf from the spell before grabbing Alethea and speeding away.

----

Once they were back in the safety of Jasmine's home, Jasmine allowed herself to look over Alethea's wounds. The big noticeable gash on the side of her neck was bleeding profusely even as Alethea tried to cover it with a ripped part of her shirt.

"Wow, he really took a chunk out of you, huh? That's unfortunate."

Alethea rolled her eyes, but grabbed Jasmine's hand and pulled her forward, "well, what are you waiting for?"

Feeling her head beginning to buzz, Jasmine ripped her hand away from her grasp and roughly wiped the blood off her hand, "what are you talking about?"

"Come on, Jasmine, don't be so dense." Alethea's breathing began getting shallow as she attempted to reach for Jasmine again. "Werewolves were made from magic which means they're basically radiating it."

The veins under Jasmine's eyes protruded as she turned away from her old friend. She couldn't fathom why the sight of vampire blood was making her urges come out. Focusing on what Alethea said instead, Jasmine began wringing her hands together, "werewolves are magic. I can siphon magic—which means I can siphon the bite away. Of course, why didn't I know that?"

Holding her breath, Jasmine swiftly turned around and placed her hand on Alethea's neck and began siphoning the magic from the bite. Slowly but surely Alethea's breathing went back to normal and so did her damaged skin. Once it was completely done, Jasmine sped to the kitchen and tossed half a bottle of soap into her hands and began scrubbing her hands vigorously to get rid of the blood.

"Clean hands. Clean mind." Jasmine repeated to herself as she worked to getting herself clean. Without bothering to dry her hands, she sped to her room and ripped off her clothing. She threw it into the fireplace and grabbed herself a pair of clean clothes.

Alethea watched her with curiosity as she had never seen Jasmine in such a state. She always saw the siphoner as a, independent, confident, and overall badass person, but this Jasmine—she seemed...broken.

"I'm going to go check on Stefan. Feel free to make yourself at home." Jasmine didn't give her a chance to thank her as she sped out the door and towards the Salvatore Boarding House.

Alethea walked into the kitchen and sighed. Jasmine had made a mess in her haste and Alethea saw it as her job to clean up to make Jasmine more at ease. She wasn't sure of what to make of it—everything that's happening to Jasmine. The prophecy seemed to have come from nowhere and the blood lust... it seemed to just be escalating, even with the altered memories. She hoped Jasmine would see sense and stop the lessons all together, but hope was a fickle thing when it came to the siphoner. She knew Jasmine would not stop until the threat was gone and she herself was the threat currently.

----

Knocking on the door, Jasmine felt out of place since she was used to just barging in and acting as if it was her home. Now there was a sort of awkwardness with her being so close to it. She didn't wait long as Stefan opened the door on her third knock. He gave her a small smile before greeting her.

"Jasmine, hi."

"I just wanted to stop by and make sure you weren't, y'know, werewolf dinner. I'm sorry I skipped out on you—"

Stefan raised his hand to stop her, "don't worry about it. Mason actually ran off after you released him from the spell."

Jasmine smiled a bit and nodded her head, not knowing what else to do. It was weird. Two people who were constantly joined at the hip... now treat each other like strangers. Looking for a topic to discuss before she departed, she exhaled loudly, "hey, are you doing anything tomorrow? Maybe we can grab something to eat at the Mystic Grill and just... talk?"

Stefan tilted his head downwards and shook his head lightly, "I'm glad you could forgive me, but I honestly don't think you should come around for a while."

Confused, Jasmine crossed her arms across her chest, "what do you mean? I thought we were moving past our little feud—"

"You're still a danger to Elena, Jasmine, and she doesn't need that right now. Not with Katherine lurking about."

Not believing what she was hearing, Jasmine scoffed and pondered, "Elena... she went to Duke to find out about the Lockwoods—which might have been a dead end, so you all needed a back up plan." She rolled her eyes as she finally pieced it all together, "and who do you know that happens to have a vast knowledge on the supernatural? So, that apology... it was all fake. You were just using me."

"I'm sorry, but we needed—"

"Save it." Jasmine sneered as she turned abruptly, leaving Stefan to sigh heavily and close the door.

Swimming in her own emotions of anger and sadness, Jasmine felt the throbbing pain come back. She groaned as the pain doubled in mere seconds causing her to drop to the floor instantly. Her vision blurred as her head hit the asphalt and she closed her eyes surrendering to the darkness.

A hundred feet away a blonde witch smiled as he watched as he caused his enemy collapse, "sweet dreams, Jasmine."