Damon tilted his head, his smirk returning as he casually folded his arms across his chest, his sharp eyes fixed on Jacob. "Alright, Jacob," he drawled, his tone light but probing, "what exactly are you doing here? Came all this way for a family reunion?"
Jacob's posture remained rigid, but his expression shifted subtly—a flicker of hesitation that quickly hardened into resolve. His jaw clenched, and his piercing gaze landed squarely on Damon. "I'm here for the doppelgänger," he said evenly, the words hanging in the air like a weight dropped into water.
Aurora's head snapped toward Jacob, her brows knitting into a deep frown. "The doppelgänger?" she repeated, her voice low and tense. "What are you talking about, Jacob?"
Damon's smirk faded immediately, replaced by a cautious edge. He didn't like the way Aurora frowned at Jacob's words, didn't like the silent tension that suddenly thickened the room. He narrowed his eyes at Jacob. "Alright, I'll bite—what doppelgänger?"
Jacob, unbothered by the rising tension, slipped his hand into his jacket and pulled out a photograph. He held it out without a word, his expression unreadable.
Damon hesitated for a moment before stepping forward, plucking the photo from Jacob's hand with a quick, sharp motion. His relaxed posture disappeared the moment his eyes landed on the image. The smirk he so often wore froze in place, then slowly melted away as his face went rigid. His hand gripped the photo tightly, his knuckles whitening as the color drained from his face.
The picture showed a young woman—long, dark brown hair cascading over her shoulders, soft, familiar features, and eyes that seemed to pierce through the paper. Damon's lips parted slightly, but no words came out. He stood rooted to the spot, his entire body tense, his sharp jawline now clenched tightly.
Sarah, oblivious to the emotional undercurrent, leaned closer, curiosity overriding her fear. She grabbed the photo from Damon's slack hand before he could stop her. "I know her!" she exclaimed, her wide eyes darting between the photo and the others in the room. "Her name's Elena. She's from Mystic Falls. Her parents died in a car accident a few months ago."
Aurora's frown deepened, her gaze snapping toward Jacob, her tone accusatory. "Jacob, what is this about? Why are you looking for her?"
Damon's voice cut through the air, cold and sharp as a blade. "Katherine," he muttered, his lips barely moving. He turned his head slowly toward Jacob, his expression dark, almost dangerous. "This is Katherine."
Jacob shook his head firmly, his tone as steady and immovable as a mountain. "No," he corrected. "That is not Katherine. That's Elena Gilbert, just as Sarah said. And she is off-limits."
Damon's laugh was sharp and humorless, his expression twisting into a mix of anger and disbelief. "Off-limits?" he repeated mockingly, stepping closer to Jacob, his movements slow and deliberate, like a predator sizing up its prey. "You don't get to tell me what's off-limits."
Jacob didn't flinch, his piercing gaze locking with Damon's. "She's a target of Klaus," he said, his tone calm but with an undercurrent of warning. "If you involve yourself, you'll be painting a bullseye on your back and everyone around you."
At the mention of Klaus, Aurora stiffened visibly, her hand gripping the edge of the nearest chair until her knuckles turned white. Her sharp intake of breath didn't go unnoticed by Damon, whose eyes flickered toward her briefly.
Damon scoffed, his lips curling into a bitter smirk as he took a step back. "Klaus," he spat, the name laced with disdain. "Well, that explains the doom and gloom."
Jacob remained silent, his expression unwavering, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes—something guarded, perhaps even regretful.
Damon's smirk disappeared completely as he straightened to his full height, his expression hardening. Without another word, he turned on his heel and blurred out of the room in a sudden rush of wind, the door slamming shut behind him with a force that made Sarah flinch.
Aurora stared after him, her lips pressed into a thin line as if she were holding back a dozen unspoken thoughts. She turned back to Jacob, her expression tight with both frustration and fear. "Jacob," she said, her voice low but trembling with intensity, "what aren't you telling me?"
Jacob's jaw tightened, and for the first time, a crack appeared in his calm façade. "It's not safe to tell you everything yet," he said quietly, his gaze shifting toward the floor. "But Elena is more important than you realize. And so is keeping her away from Klaus."
Aurora's frustration boiled over. She took a step closer, her fists clenched at her sides. "You can't keep me in the dark, Jacob. Not about this."
Jacob met her gaze, his expression softening slightly. "I'm trying to protect you, Aurora," he said, his voice almost pleading. "Please, trust me on this."
Aurora's resolve wavered, her shoulders sagging slightly as the weight of Jacob's words settled over her. But the tension in the room remained thick, unspoken questions hanging in the air like storm clouds.
Damon sped through the forest surrounding the boarding house, the wind whipping past him as his thoughts churned. His usually confident smirk was replaced by a tense scowl, his jaw clenched so tightly it ached. He came to a sudden stop near a clearing, his boots digging into the dirt as he pulled his phone from his pocket with a sharp flick of his wrist. His fingers hovered over the screen for a moment before he finally dialed Stefan's number.
The phone rang only twice before Stefan's voice came through, calm but laced with a hint of concern. "Damon?"
Damon paced in a tight circle, his movements restless, one hand pressed against his temple as if to ward off an impending headache. "Stefan," he began, his voice sharp and to the point. "There's a girl in Mystic Falls. She looks like Katherine. No—she is Katherine, except younger and... less homicidal."
There was a pause on the other end, and then Stefan sighed, the sound heavy with something Damon couldn't quite place—resignation, maybe. "I know," Stefan said finally, his tone quieter now, almost reflective.
Damon froze mid-step, his expression shifting from frustration to disbelief. His brows shot up as he held the phone closer to his ear. "You know?" he repeated incredulously. "You knew there's a Katherine clone running around, and you didn't think to mention it?"
Stefan's tone remained steady, though there was an edge of something sharper now—defensiveness, perhaps. "It's not that simple, Damon. Elena isn't Katherine. She's—"
Damon cut him off with a low, humorless laugh. "Oh, spare me the speech about how she's different, Stefan," he snapped, resuming his pacing. His free hand gestured wildly as if Stefan could see him. "What I want to know is why Jacob is here. He dropped her name like it was nothing. Care to explain that little detail?"
There was a long silence on the other end, one that made Damon's irritation spike. He stopped pacing again, his grip tightening on the phone until the plastic creaked. "Stefan," he barked, "don't tell me you're keeping more secrets."
Stefan's voice, when he finally spoke, was calm but heavy with a weariness that even Damon couldn't ignore. "Did Jacob say anything else?" he asked carefully. "Anything about... why he's in Mystic Falls?"
Damon frowned, his irritation giving way to curiosity. He tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as he tried to piece together Stefan's tone. "He said something about Elena being a target of Klaus," he admitted, his voice slower now, more measured. "And that she's off-limits. Which, by the way, isn't exactly reassuring."
Stefan let out another sigh, this one tinged with frustration. "So, he didn't mention me, then," he murmured, almost to himself.
Damon's brows furrowed, his lips pressing into a thin line as a cold realization began to creep over him. "Wait a minute," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Why would Jacob mention you? What does he have to do with you?"
Stefan's silence was answer enough.
Damon let out another sharp laugh, shaking his head as if trying to clear it. "You know what? I don't even want to know what all these are," he said, his voice laced with a mix of anger and amusement. "But let me tell you, Stefan—your kid's got quite the chip on his shoulder. He's already throwing around Klaus's name like it's a family tradition."
Stefan's voice hardened slightly. "Damon, listen to me—"
But Damon didn't let him finish. "No, you listen to me," he said, his tone icy now. "If Klaus is involved, this just got a whole lot worse. And your son waltzing in here with cryptic warnings isn't exactly helping."
He didn't wait for Stefan to respond. With a sharp jab of his thumb, Damon ended the call, his jaw tightening as he shoved the phone back into his pocket. He stood there for a moment, staring into the trees, his thoughts churning like a storm.
Finally, he let out a slow breath, his lips curling into a bitter smirk. "Well, this just keeps getting better," he muttered to himself before vamping away, leaving nothing but a faint rustle of leaves in his wake.