I'll never love again [1]

BAD MOON RISING

Nat, Stefan and Elena were sitting in the living room of the Boarding House when Ric arrived.

"Thanks for coming, Ric. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Bourbon? Bourbon in your coffee?" Damon asked him, leading him inside. Alaric shook his head before turning to the others.

"Elena and Nat mentioned you needed my help."

"Yeah, we were hoping you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family." Stefan told him.

The Lockwoods. It wasn't as pointless as Nat initially thought. With Caroline becoming a vampire and Katherine on the loose, they couldn't take any chances. Mason Lockwood wasn't human nor a vampire, and they needed to know now what he was. Alaric looks at them confused.

"Now, why would I know anything about the Lockwoods?"

"Well, you wouldn't." Ric just looked at Damon expectantly. "But your dead... not-dead vampire wife might."

"Isobel's research from when you guys were at Duke together." Nat explained.

"You said that she had spent years researching this town." Elena told him.

"Like that amazing vampire story." Damon smirked at Ric, to which he only rolled his eyes.

"Aside from vampires, what else?" Ric looked at them seriously and sighed.

"The lycanthrope."

"Wait, like werewolves?" Elena asked doubtful.

"No way, impossible, way too Lon Chaney." Damon said shaking his head. Nat wanted to agree with him, it sounded ridiculous really. Then again, up until a few months ago, so did vampires.

"Is it?" Stefan told his brother.

"I've been on this planet one hundred and sixty some odd years, never came across one. If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?"

"Why do you suspect the Lockwoods?" Ric asked furrowing his brows.

"Because vervain didn't affect the Mayor at Founder's Day but the Gilbert device did. And, it affected his son Tyler."

"And at the school carnival his uncle Mason exhibited inhuman behavior when he fought with one of the carnival's workers." Right. Stefan told her this morning before Ric got there all about Damon's compulsion and Mason's strength. Deep down, Nat knew the answer to Mason Lockwood's behavior. It was like she had met someone like him before. "It suggests it's some sort of supernatural entity."

"We were hoping that Isobel's research could help us figure out what it is." Elena told Ric, hoping he would help them. Ric nodded at the twins.

"Well, all her things are still at Duke. I mean, her office is still there. She's technically still missing."

"So, can we get access to it?" Alaric looked at them hesitantly, not knowing if it would help them. "Ric, we need to know what we are dealing with. If this wolfman thing is true, I've seen enough movies to know it's not good." Nat looked at him. "It means Mason Lockwood is a real-life Lon Chaney and that little Tyler punk may just very well be Lon Chaney junior, which mean Bela Lugosi, meaning me, is totally screwed." Nat only rolled her eyes at his comment. Ric agreed to help them and told them a bit about Isobel's research. After a while Nat stood up to get some water, Elena following her.

"Hey, you coming with us?" Elena asked her when they got to the kitchen.

"I think I'm gonna stay with Stefan to make sure Caroline is alright. She's upset because she's been blowing Matt off. What with her not being able to go out and all." Nat told her sister, to which she nodded in understanding. "But hey," she lowered her voice and opened the faucet, hoping Damon and Stefan wouldn't hear them talking. "could you maybe snoop around and see if you find out something about Kate-Katherine?"