When he walked in he was shirtless and his hair was a mess. He came through to where we were and stole the spoon out of my hand, taking some of the rocky road as he leaned against the counter next to me. 'So what were you girls talking about?' He asked and we looked at each other before answering simultaneously.

'Boys.' He glanced betweens us suspiciously before shrugging and taking another bite of rocky road. 'Your hair is a mess.' I continued before reaching out and running my hands through it, restoring it to its proper style. I looked over at Bekah and she grinned at me, with a pointed look and I reached over to hit her in the arm.

'You two are acting strange.' Nik said, waving the spoon he held between the two of us. 'What's going on here?'

'Absolutely nothing.' Bekah said. 'And for heaven's sake why aren't you wearing a shirt?' She glanced at me raising an eyebrow.

'What? It doesn't bother me. We're werewolves, Bex. We all get used to seeing each other naked very fast, otherwise it can be really awkward.' I shrug. 'We aren't really shy about our bodies.'

'Exactly. We have been on many wolf runs together, it's nothing she hasn't seen before.' Nik defends.

'Yes but why?' She repeated.

He just shrugged. 'I didn't feel like putting it back on. I'm running a little hot at the moment, not entirely sure why.' He explained.

'It happens after we change back from being a wolf. Haven't you noticed before?' I question and he shakes his head. 'Hmm. Maybe it's different for hybrids then. But werewolves run at a higher temperature than humans anyway, it just gets even higher after a full moon, or in our case, a wolf run.' I explained before I took my spoon back and continued to eat the ice cream.

'Good to know.' He glanced around the kitchen and I pointed to the drawer that contained spoons. He found one and then returned to the ice cream. 'You know, I've never been the biggest fan of ice cream but this is really good.' He adds after taking another bite.

'Yeah, Rocky Road is the best. Also good for cooling down after a run, if you are not in the mood for a cold shower.' I added. 'I'm ready to go whenever you are, just so you know.' I tell him, shooting a glance to Bekah who nodded and slid from her position on the counter.

'Stefan and I will keep your doppelskank safe, and figure out what the scooby gang are doing with this whole Mikael thing.' Bekah tells Nik. 'Stay safe brother, and look out for my new sister will you.' She kisses his cheek and waves at me before heading out of the house.

'You two seem thick as thieves.' Nik comments with a smile. 'I don't know whether to be glad or terrified.' I grin at him.

'While I'd like to say that you should just be happy, reality is you should probably be a little terrified too.' He chuckles and it makes me smile before it begins to fade. 'What am I going to do if Markus finds me? I don't know if I can face him.' My voice is quiet as I speak.

'We will stop him, Little Wolf. Together.' He replies as he moves so that he is standing right in front of me. 'If, when the time comes, you can't face him, though I have no doubt that you can, then I will face him for you. I'm quite sure that Bekah and Lijah will be more than happy to assist.' He continues, a fierce expression in his eyes.

'My guardian wolf, huh?' I smile at him, before wrapping my arms around him and hugging him. 'Thank you Nik.' I breathed in his scent, letting the feeling of safety I'd begun to associate with him wash over me.

'Anything for you Little Wolf.' He murmured, pressing a light kiss to my head before moving away again. 'Well I suppose I should put on a shirt and we should get going, grab anything you need and then we'll hit the road.' He tells me, placing his hands on my hips and lifting me down from the counter effortlessly. I nod and spin on my heel, speeding up the stairs and grabbing a few things- like some more clothes and another sketchpad, throwing them into a bag and racing back downstairs to find Nik waiting patiently at the door for me. I lock the door behind us, hiding the key again and then we make our way towards the car.

'So.' I start when we are headed out of Mystic Falls once more. 'Where are we headed to now?'