Chapter 24 : The Vervain Gift
The bracelet looked like a kindergartner made it.
I stared at my creation, spread out on the kitchen table, and tried to convince myself it was acceptable. Braided cord in blues and greens—Caroline's favorite colors, according to three weeks of careful observation. Small glass beads at intervals, chosen because they had hollow centers where I could hide dried vervain. The whole thing held together by knots I'd learned from YouTube videos at 2 AM.
It was clumsy. Imperfect. Obviously handmade.
She's either going to love it or think you've lost your mind.
I'd spent four days on this project. Three failed attempts sat in the trash, their cord too loose, their beads misaligned. This fourth version was the best I could manage—which wasn't saying much.
But the vervain was there. Tucked into the hollow beads, woven into the cord itself. If Caroline wore this, no vampire could compel her. The bracelet would burn them on contact, and the vervain would enter her system through skin absorption.
Protection disguised as romance.
I added the bracelet to the small bag I was bringing to her house, along with ingredients for lemonade. Phase two of the protection plan: vervain in something she'd drink voluntarily.
The drive to Caroline's was familiar now—I'd made it a dozen times over the past few weeks, for dates and movie nights and the comfortable domesticity of watching bad TV on her couch. Her mother still watched me with cop eyes, but the suspicion had faded to something like acceptance.
Caroline met me at the door, already in motion. "Thank God you're here. Mom's been asking questions about your 'intentions' all morning."
"Should I be worried?"
"She carries a gun." Caroline pulled me inside. "Be very worried."
We settled in the kitchen, and I started unpacking the lemonade supplies. Caroline watched with amusement as I measured ingredients, her chin propped on her hands.
"You're surprisingly domestic for a football player."
"Someone had to learn to cook." I kept my voice light. "My mom wasn't exactly reliable."
The words came out more honest than I'd intended. Caroline's expression softened.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"
"It's fine." I shrugged. "Ancient history."
The lemonade came together quickly. Fresh lemons, sugar, water—and a splash from the concentrated vervain bottle I'd hidden in my bag. The taste was masked by the sweetness, barely detectable unless you knew to look for it.
I poured two glasses and handed one to Caroline.
"To summer," I said.
"To summer." She clinked her glass against mine and drank.
No reaction. No grimace at the bitter taste. The vervain concentration was low enough to be undetectable but high enough to matter.
Phase two: complete.
Now for phase three.
"I have something for you."
Caroline's eyes lit up with the specific excitement of someone who loved gifts. "A present? It's not my birthday."
"It doesn't have to be your birthday." I pulled the bracelet from my bag, suddenly self-conscious about its obvious imperfections. "I made this. It's stupid, but..."
She stared at it.
For a long, horrible moment, I thought I'd miscalculated. That she'd laugh or politely accept it and never wear it. That my clumsy attempt at protection would join my other failures in the trash.
Then her eyes went wide.
"You MADE this? For me?"
"Like I said, it's stupid—"
"It's not stupid." She snatched the bracelet from my hands with an intensity that was almost frightening. "Matt, you made me jewelry. With your hands. This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me."
She slid it onto her wrist immediately. The colors looked better against her skin than they had on my kitchen table, the imperfections somehow charming rather than embarrassing.
"I'm never taking it off." She held her arm up, admiring the bracelet from different angles. "Literally never. I'm going to be buried wearing this."
You're going to be protected wearing this. That's the point.
But I just smiled. "I'm glad you like it."
"Like it? I love it." She pulled out her phone. "I'm taking pictures. Everyone needs to know my boyfriend is adorable."
I groaned as she positioned her wrist for the perfect shot, but the warmth in my chest wasn't embarrassment. It was satisfaction. Pride. The particular pleasure of a plan coming together.
The bracelet would protect her from compulsion. The vervain in her system would prevent mind control from the inside. When Damon Salvatore arrived in six weeks with his manipulation and his hunger, he'd find Caroline Forbes immune to his tricks.
She'd never know how close she came to being a victim.
That's the point. She stays innocent. She stays safe. She stays mine.
Caroline finished her photos—multiple angles, different filters—and finally put her phone away. The bracelet glinted on her wrist as she moved toward me.
"Thank you." Her voice was softer now, the performative excitement fading into something genuine. "For making this. For being... you."
"I just braided some cord."
"You paid attention." She kissed me, quick and sweet. "That's worth more than anything from a store."
We spent the afternoon on her couch, watching movies and not watching movies, her head on my shoulder and my arm around her waist. The bracelet pressed against my skin whenever she moved, a constant reminder of what I was protecting.
Sheriff Forbes came home at five, assessed the situation with professional thoroughness, and retreated to the kitchen without comment. Progress.
When I left at seven, Caroline walked me to the door.
"Same time Wednesday?"
"I'll be here."
She squeezed my hand—the one with the bracelet on it—and smiled. "Best boyfriend ever."
I drove home through the summer twilight, processing.
Caroline is protected. Damon can't compel her. The first line of defense is in place.
But it wasn't enough. Elena was still vulnerable. Bonnie was still vulnerable. Vicki was still spiraling toward a cliff I couldn't pull her back from.
Forty-three days until Stefan arrives.
The countdown continued. But I was making progress.
Tomorrow: more bracelets. Elena. Bonnie. Anyone else who might find themselves in Damon Salvatore's crosshairs.
The war was coming. But I was building an army of protected civilians, one vervain bracelet at a time.
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