His [Elijah Mikaelson]

Three

Elijah didn't know what he'd expected walking into the new hire's classroom, but it wasn't the beautiful submissive right in front of him.

It was pretty standard for him at first; he walked into the classroom and dismissed the students with no introduction. He'd comforted many a panicked sub in his time and was prepared for things to go as they have before.

He thought he knew what he was getting into, until he saw her.

She was sitting in her desk chair, curled with her chest towards her lower body. Her physical appearance looked like a photograph from those books to help you identify distressed submissives.

The sight tugged at Elijah's chest in a way he'd never experienced.

As he drew closer, he took notice of her eyes—large and hazel—staring right at him. They were beautiful, and he found his gaze was locked on her as well. Even as he removed his suit jacket, his eyes never dropped from hers.

Her face was soft and young, largely dominated by cheeks that were full like a child's. Elijah was sure it made for a smile of pure sunshine.

When he spotted the tear tracks running down those lovely cheeks, something in his soul activated. He cursed himself for not getting there sooner, cursed Mr. Salvatore for not coming to him the second he noticed something wrong.

It was unfounded, but the sight of this upset sub triggered his primal dominant instincts. He usually prided himself on his control, but she threw it out the window. A door had been blown open the second he saw her.

Boring his eyes even deeper into hers, he crouched down in front of her. It would probably be more comfortable to kneel, but his dominant-self was at the surface and would not let him.

"Hello, I'm Elijah. Can you tell me your name?"

He hoped his words didn't sound as breathless as he felt. He was so close to her and her atmosphere was intoxicating.

Observing her body language, it became clear to Elijah that the young submissive wasn't able to speak. He could read the fear on her face as she came to the same realization; she was afraid he would be upset with her. Elijah rushed to dispel the thought.

"That's alright. We can work with just head nods and shakes. I'm perfectly happy with that."

Her face warmed at his reassurance, which in turn warmed something in him as well. He would praise her every day until she knew how magnificent she was.

Where the hell did that come from?

"Mr. Salvatore came to me for help, because he believed you would benefit from the assistance of a dominant; was he correct?"

The young sub nodded her head.

"I am a marked dominant, myself. Is it alright if I help you? Would you like that?"

He desperately wanted to comfort her, but he needed her permission before giving in to his natural desires.

She nodded again, a bit more forcefully than last time.

Now that he had her consent, Elijah allowed his dominant instincts to guide him.

His first move was to gently cup her face and meet their eyes. His touch was soft, but his hands were immovable. He could see all her emotions clearly; she could not hide from him.

"You will keep your eyes on me, Lovely."

Elijah observed her body language carefully as he spoke the last word, testing how she'd react to the pet name.

There was no change in her.

"No, that is not it. Something else then, Precious Girl?"

There was a flicker in her eyes when he addressed her that way. Some part of her enjoyed him calling her that, but probably not when she was distressed.