The Beginning | Damon Salvatore #1

Chapter 9

Days went by of Alex avoiding and dodging Dean's persistence about knowing where she was. The founder's party was tonight and she knew she'd have to say something eventually. His texts had calmed and she knew it was time to call him. She just had to tell Damon before she did because she knew he'd throw a fit if he found out she told this mystery, vampire-killing hunter where the woman he "loved" was.

She lingered outside the library, peeking around the corner to see if he was in there. He was. Perched next to the fireplace with another drink in his hand, glaring into the flames like they'd done something to him. They were his enemy.

"Alex," he stated, eyes not leaving the flickering flames. She nearly jumped.

"Hey," she said, almost a whisper, as she brought her whole body inside the large room. His body turned around with only a glance at her and began pouring more of what she'd learned to be bourbon into the crystal glass that seemed to be cemented to his hand.

"I know you're mad at me, but I need to talk to you," she said. His back stiffened as she watched him. She had gotten closer, close enough to touch now. He turned around and looked down at her, a signal to continue.

"When I was passed out or whatever after the Bonnie thing, Gabriel told me something that I haven't told you," Alex said, earning a raising of Damon's chin and a deep, unnecessary breath from his chest. He looked back into her eyes.

"First, I need to call Dean and tell him where I am, but only because of what Gabriel said," she said, waiting for a moment before continuing. Damon shot her an annoyed glance as she went on. "I have some kind of 'mission' to fulfill apparently and if I believe, he said I would understand it more clearly. I don't really know yet, but I can tell you what he said if you'll listen," she said, pleading in her look, making him soften above her. He sighed and moved his hand over to the side and set his drink down on the table.

"I'm not mad at you, Alex. I just don't get how you could want to save someone who has done nothing but hurt you," he said, shrugging. She nodded and looked around before sitting on the couch. He mimicked her, but he sat across from her, next to his drink.

"Apparently, killing Elias is not an option. Instead, he told me that all Elias really wants is to be human again and live the life he was supposed to live, but he doesn't know how and I'm supposed to figure it out through the Good Book," Alex said, bluntly, only partly lying.

"Who cares if he wants to be human," Damon said, scoffing and shaking his head. His hand found his drink again and nearly shoved it in his face, draining it and setting back down. "This man killed your family and made you run for however long, and God just wants you to do some research to know how to cure him?"

He continued to shake his head as Alex sighed, picking at the cuticles of her nails; some of them had bled the night before from the picking, but it was dried now. She remembered Stefan's immediate response as he knocked on the door and asked if she was okay because he smelled the blood.

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but I don't really have a choice, do I? If I don't figure it out, I'm just gonna have more years of 'grab and drain' with him and more restless nights with no peace about what my life is meant for," she said, her voice getting a little louder than she meant it. Damon shook his head.

"It isn't fair that you should have to do this after everything he's done to you," he said, his voice low and cool.

"Why does it matter? You hardly know me," she whispered, feeling a tear sting her eye and her face become flushed. Damon's eyes were suddenly harsh and angry again.

"I know enough," he said before getting up and walking away from her. He had a point, but she knew what she had to do and if she could do this, she would have greater satisfaction than just waiting to die or running for the rest of her life. She could finally have more powerful allies and people she could trust, not that Elias would ever be one of those people, but Damon and Stefan and Elena could be and she didn't want to mess it up.

When Alex was alone, she decided to finally pick up the phone and call Dean. Her heart pounded because she knew as soon as she told Dean where she was, he would hang up and come kill all of these vampires. She couldn't let that happen according to Gabriel.

It rang once and he picked up.

"Alex," he said with a frantic tone. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, Dean. I'm fine," she said. She knew that Damon would be listening in on her conversation with Dean; she was counting on it.

"Where are you?" He asked. She flinched at his harsh voice.

"Before I tell you that, you have to listen to me," she said. Before he could say anything, she kept going. "A demon was here in one of the girls in town. I knew it was there when she shook my hand, but after I exorcised it, I passed out." There was silence on the other end, so she continued.

"When I passed out, I woke up somewhere and a man came to me. He said his name was Gabriel and that he was an angel," she said. Dean cut her off.

"An angel?" He asked.

"He said my powers that Elias always tried to bleed out of me would be discovered through faith in God's Word and that the only reason Elias wanted to know what my powers were was so he could be human again. I don't really know what that means, but we can't kill him," she said, trying to get out as much as she could so that he couldn't stop her and yell for her to get out of her mind and back into the real world because this was her real world now.

"Alex, that doesn't make any sense," he grumbled. "He ripped your whole life apart and now you want to do something nice for him?"

"You're not the only one who's said that today," she said, rubbing her temple.

"Speaking of that, I'm coming to get you out of there," he said.

"No, Dean. You can't hurt these vampires. If you do, what Gabriel told me to do will have been for nothing. At least, that's what he said," Alex responded. Her heart was beating loudly; she was scared Dean would ruin everything.

"Why the hell would I listen to an angel that has never made an appearance until now?" Dean asked. She heard a thump and knew he was in the car and had hit the steering wheel. She realized the low grumble of the Impala was in the background.

"Because I'm asking you to, Dean. Please," she nearly choked on the last word, her chest tightening.

"Why do you want to keep them alive?"

She was taken aback by his question, but she had to think for a moment. She wasn't sure what her feelings were, but she knew she cared enough about these people to not want them dead.

"They're my friends," she said finally. "Promise me, Dean, that you won't hurt them. They've helped me when they could've killed me and they've been kind to me when I wasn't. Promise me, Dean." There was a pause as the rumbling of the Impala's engine rolled over; he was stopped somewhere. She could almost hear the faint sound of music playing.

"Okay, I promise," he said. "Now where are you?" She took a deep breath and said a quick prayer for the lives of Stefan, Elena, and mostly Damon as she told him.

"I'm in Mystic Falls, Virginia," she said. Her heart raced as she waited for an answer, but all she heard was a click and then nothing.