CHAPTER THIRTEEN | DADDY ISSUES

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RILEY HAD STEFAN HAD DECIDED TO SPEND THEIR MORNING GRABBING COFFEE. Honestly, Riley wanted a day with Stefan without all of the supernatural dramas. And, she missed her best friend. Though, their coffee date was swiftly interrupted by a frantic text from Caroline explaining that Tyler knew everything. So, they headed straight over to her house in an attempt to find out just exactly what everything entailed.

"What's wrong?" Stefan shrugged the minute that he and Riley wandered into Caroline's house, who swiftly shut the door behind them once they entered.

"Tyler knows about you and Damon. He knows that Damon killed Mason," Caroline's eyes shifted to Riley. "He doesn't know you were involved though. I didn't say a word, I swear."

"It's that woman, Jules." Stefan exasperatedly sighed out once he glanced between the two females. "She had a run-in with Damon."

With the feeling of guilt running through her veins, Riley cleared her throat and glanced at Caroline. "Uh. How did Tyler take the news, exactly?"

"He was so upset. The look on his face. He was so betrayed." Then, she fearfully looked at Stefan. "You're not gonna tell Damon, are you?"

"No. He already wants to kill him. He thinks all werewolves should die." Stefan stated just as Caroline was about to protest the fact. "And, he's not wrong to think that, Caroline. I mean, what if Tyler tries to retaliate? He has every right to. He could get himself killed."

"Well, we're not gonna let that happen. We have to get to him and reason with him before he does something stupid. You have to talk to him. Just try to explain. You know, you always know the right things to say, okay?" Caroline's eyes fluttered between the two of them ."He and I— we're friends."

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At Caroline's request, Stefan and Riley headed to the Lockwood's in an attempt to reason with Tyler before he did something stupid which would have ended with Damon killing him. As they stepped inside the study, Tyler's eyes fearfully widened. He attempted to run out of the room, but Stefan sped in the way. "Tyler. No. No, we're here to talk. I promise."

Tyler eyed up the Salvatore, then toward the Evans girl who stood behind him. "Then, why did you break in?"

"Would you have let me in otherwise?" Stefan immediately countered.

"Tyler?" Carol Lockwood suddenly yelled for her son, which caused him to attempt to flee the room once more. Stefan grabbed him, and pinned him to the wall, and told him to be quiet. "Tyler? I'm leaving for the memorial." Carol glanced into the office, just before she left but Riley managed to move out of sight.

Once Carol left, Stefan finally released Tyler from his grip. "Maybe we're getting off on the wrong foot here."

"What happened to Mason?"

"Look, we get that you think you know stuff. But, there's a lot that we need to discuss, okay?" Riley told the boy, just as he attempted to run out of the exit. "Stop, okay. Just stop running. Sit down and listen, or I'll knock your ass out and we can try again when you regain consciousness."

Reluctantly, Tyler nodded and found his way to the seat behind the desk. "Are you one of them, too?" He asked Riley with a concerned look. "A vampire."

"No. She's a witch." Stefan finished for the strawberry-blonde, who nodded slowly once she saw Tyler's eyes widen. "Look, about Caroline, no matter what her flaws are. When push comes to shove, you're gonna want that girl on your side. She's your friend. Stop being a dick to her."

"I thought that vampires hated werewolves." The Lockwood boy answered with a raised eyebrow.

"That's some sort of leftover idea from another time. It doesn't have to be that way anymore. We got to the same school, we have the same friends. We keep the same secrets. This can work, Tyler. I mean it's your home, it's my home, too. I want this to work."

Tyler's phone began to buzz on the desk and before they knew it, Tyler had lunged toward it and pressed the answer button. "Help, help! He screamed into the receiver just before Stefan snatched the phone from him.

"Whose number was that, hm?" Stefan asked just as he eyed up the call logs. It was a number without a contact assigned. Then, he tossed the phone back onto the desk. "Damn, it Tyler. I'm trying to save your life. Can't you see that?"

"You want to be friends? Great. We're friends. Will you two go now?"

"No, we're not leaving until you stop this whole alpha-male routine. Yeah, we get it, you're a werewolf, but damn." Riley shook her head in disbelief. "All Stefan is trying to do is make sure that nobody ends dead. That you can all live side by side."

Riley's phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw that it was Caroline that was calling. "Hey, Care. Are you alright?"

"That depends. How badly do you wanna keep her alive?" A feminine voice taunted down the end of the line.

With widened eyes, Riley placed the phone on loudspeaker just as Stefan furrowed his brows. "Uh. Who the hell is this?"

"Ask your boyfriend. Now, where's Tyler?" She asked once more.

"Jules." Stefan breathed out whilst Tylers shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Where's Caroline?"

"You made a mistake, Stefan. I'm gonna give you a chance to fix it."

"Where is she?" As Stefan continued to protest against Jules, Riley bit her nails anxiously.

"Right here. Want proof? He needs proof." After a few moments, there was the sound of a gunshot followed by Caroline's horrific scream which echoed through the speakerphone.

"Oh, my God." The witch gasped once her hand clasped over her mouth.

Stefan's jaw clenched. "Hurt her again, and you're dead."

"I hurt her again, and she's dead. Bring Tyler to me, the clearing by Wickery Falls. You have twenty minutes until she dies."

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They reached the clearing at Wickery Falls, and Jules stepped into view from just outside a trailer. "Where the hell is she you psychotic little bitch?" Riley spat as she, Stefan, and Tyler walked slowly over to the werewolf with crossed arms.

"Locked up tight."

"Let her go, and I'll release Tyler," Stefan readjusted as his grip on Tyler, though it still remained firm enough so that he couldn't escape. "It doesn't have to get any messier than it already has."

Riley nodded in agreement with her best friend, then turned her attention back to the werewolf that stood opposite them. "We're not your enemy, Jules."

"It's a little late to be waving a white flag, don't you think?" The woman scoffed in disbelief.

"You need to leave town. No one else has to get hurt."

Jules shook her head whilst her eyes flickered from the Lockwood boy, then back to Stefan. "I'm not leaving without Tyler."

"Tyler can make his own choices, right after you release Caroline," Riley told the woman, though her face remained hard and unchanged. "Or, perhaps I could try and turn your insides out? I heard sometimes that spell goes wrong. But, it could be fun to try, right?"

"Oh, Riley. You're sexy when you're mad." Damon seductively purred as he wandered through the clearing and toward Stefan and Riley. "Oh, look. My brother, the peacemaker. Since Stefan got here before me, I'm gonna let him try it his way before I resort to my way, which is a little bloodier. So, give us Caroline."

"Let go of Tyler." Jules protested again.

"Give us Caroline." Damon's voice was slightly more stern than before. "Without a full moon, it's not an even fight and you know it. We will take you."

"I'm not so sure about that, tough guy." Jules whistled and as the sound vibrated through the trees, dozens of more people appeared beside her. Suddenly, there were outmatched. "Let's try this again. Give us Tyler."

Damon's head turned in the direction of the Lockwood boy. "You heard her. Go. Get over there."

Once Tyler sauntered over to Jules, another of the wolves behind her glanced between Stefan, Damon, and Riley. "Which one of you killed Mason?"

"Uh— that'd be me." Damon sarcastically pointed to himself with a smirk on his face.

"Boys. Make sure that one suffers."

Damon glanced back to Stefan and Riley, who both looked incredibly anxious at the amount of werewolf that had now surrounded them. "We can take them." He boldly told the pair.

"Damon, I'm really not sure about that." Riley cleared her throat and rubbed her hands together.

"Well, then—" Damon sped in front of Jules just as she quickly jumped out of the way. Stefan was immediately attacked by three werewolves whilst two headed straight for Riley.

"So, as I was saying earlier." Riley thrush her hands forward and both of the werewolves that were headed for her dropped to the floor, clutching their heads. Eventually, due to the pain, they passed out on the ground in front of her.

"Riley! Get Caroline." Stefan yelled out toward the witch, who immediately nodded and started to sprint toward the trailer. However, before Riley managed to make it anywhere near the large trailer situated in the middle of the forest, she was hit around the head and rendered unconscious.

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The strawberry-blonde's eyes slowly fluttered open as she began to take in her location. She was at the Salvatore house, in a bedroom. However, the bedroom didn't appear to be her own— it was Damon's. "Where am I?" The witch blinked just as Damon rushed to her bed side.

"Hey. It's okay. Don't try and move. Just relax." Damon coaxed her gently with a relieved smile as he brushed her hair from her face.

"Damon? I don't understand. What happened— the last thing I remember is running toward that trailer, and then nothing." Riley breathed. Her voice was groggy, considering she had quite literally just woken back up.

"One of those damn wolves knocked you out. But, don't worry, I thanked him by handing him his heart." The Salvatore vampire smirked back to him.

"But how did we—"

"—Elijah made good on his deal with Elena about keeping everybody she loved safe. One of his witches saved the day." Damon explained as the girl slowly nodded. "Now, you. Take it easy, you took quite a bump to the head."

"Damon, I'm fine." Riley glared at him as he returned the same look. "Stop it, okay? I'm fine."

There was silence, nothing but silence as Damon continued to admire every one of her features. The way her eyes drifted from his after so long of constant eye contact. The way she bit her lip cautiously when she was trying not to smile or laugh at something he did because she knew it probably wasn't good to laugh at. Everything about her was flawless and he enjoyed taking a moment to admire what he had. Any man would.

Damon snapped himself out of his inner thoughts and slowly nodded toward the strawberry-blonde witch. "I'm glad you're okay, Riley."

"Thank you for getting me out of there." The witch thankfully smiled back to Damon.

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