Selina looked up at him. "What?" she asked, woozy. "Say that again."

Aleksandr sighed. "Father knows that your werewolf relatives are still alive. That you still have family around here. He's going to kill them all tonight as a way to force our marriage unless you call them and tell them to get out of town now." He expected her to nod and drag him out of the room so they could go and alert her family together, but thats not what she did. Instead, she stayed in bed. "My head hurts," she said. "I don't really feel like going anywhere."

He was dumbstruck. "Selina, what are you saying? Do you understand the ramifications of what I'm telling you?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I understand perfectly. I'm drunk not deaf, jeez. You really need to relax, all right?"

Aleksandr took a sharp breath. "All right, fine. Since you don't seem to care, why should I?"

"Hey," Selina sat up. "It's not that I don't care. I do. I just think you're going about this in entirely the wrong way."

Aleksandr's eyebrow went up. "I see. And what, in your mind, would be the right way to handle this situation?"

She got out of bed unsteadily and began tottering out of the room. "Where are you going?" He got up to follow her.

"I need another drink," she said. "Or another bottle."

"What are you going to do about my father?" He asked. "Or have you finally come to your senses and decided to come with me to warn your family to get out?"

"See," Selina said, "I don't think I should have to warn my family to get out. We've been town management since the place was founded, and that was over a hundred years ago. Nothing's run us out. Not even when my Uncle Jacob killed those school girls. The townspeople wouldn't let him be buried in the cemetery after he was killed, but that didn't get us thrown out. Even my cousin George had his problems. But no one knew. We've done a very good job of keeping our little condition a secret all these years as well as making this town the best it can be so I see no reason why we should have to leave just because a pompus, self-important, narcissistic egoist like your father thinks he's better than us. And I'm going to make sure he knows that, right now."

"What?" Aleksandr's eyes widened and he grabbed hold of her waist before she tried to make it down the stairs. "You can't do that!"

She burst out laughing. "Awwww! Is somebody afraid of their daddy?"

"No," he said through his teeth. "I'm not afraid of my father. I'm afraid for you and what he will do to you if you try to defy him. He is extremely cruel with those who displease him."

"So are you," she said, swaying. "Or do you think I've forgotten how you locked me in my room for three days and starved me so I would kill my husband and you'd have no more competition? If you're trying to scare me, you're going to have to do better than that." She began walking down the stairs, surprisingly steady for someone who'd drunk as much as she had. Then, she went out to her car and sat at the wheel. Aleksandr took the seat beside her. She gave him a brief glance. "Why are you here?" She snapped. "I don't need you to come with me. I can do this on my own."

"I'm just coming so maybe I can convince Father not to kill you," he said. "You'll thank me for that."

"Yeah," she nodded. "You did me so much good over the years." She started the car and they began driving irratically around town, nearly getting arrested when they almost crashed near the police station. By the time they reached his parents' house, Selina was spoiling for a fight. When she strode inside, Aleksandr trailed behind her, trying his best to keep calm. When his father saw them, what on him would be considered a smile formed. "Hello," he said. "Here are my lovebirds now. Are we eager for tomorrow's festivities?"

"Actually," Selina said, squaring her shoulders. "That's what we came to talk to you about: There aren't going to be any festivities tomorrow because I'm not going through with your stupid wedding and you're just going to have to deal with the disappointment."

"What?" His pleasant expression immediately clouded over. He looked at Aleksandr. "What is she saying?" He snapped. "What is the meaning of this?"

Aleksandr shook his head. "Don't pay any attention to her, Father. She's drunk. She has no idea what she's saying." He took Selina around the waist and began trying to pull her out of the room. "Come along, dear," he said. "That's enough. We'll let you sleep off what you drank and everything will be better when we get married in the morning."

"No," Selina began struggling. "I told you, I'm not going to go through with it!" She broke free of him and strode over to his father again. "And I know you were planning to go after my family tonight so I'd go along with this stupid idea of yours and that was a big mistake. My family has run this town since it was founded, and that was over a hundred years ago. Nothing's run us out. Not even when my Uncle Jacob killed those school girls. The townspeople wouldn't let him be buried in the cemetery after he was killed, but that didn't get us thrown out either. Even my cousin George had his problems. But no one knew. We've done a very good job of keeping our condition a secret all these years, as well as making this town the best it can be, so I see no reason why we should have to worry about keeping ourselves safe just because a pompus, self-absorbed, narcissistic egoist like you thinks you're better than us."

The room lapsed into silence. Then, just as the father opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by the sound of light, trilling laughter. A second later, Elissavetta appeared. "See?" she said to her husband. "What did I tell you?" She came up behind Selina and glared at her husband. "What were you thinking"

"He was thinking of going after my family," Selina told her. "Just so I'd go along with his stupid plan."

Elissavetta frowned. "What plan?"

"Well," Selina said, "He told me that I'd have to marry one of his sons to prove my loyalty to the vampires and-"

"What in the world made him believe that you were loyal to the vampires?" Elissavetta asked.

"She told us she was," Aleksandr said. "Looked right at us and lied through her teeth. I was so moved by it that I even told her what Father was going to do ahead of time so she could let them know and give them a chance to get out before the slaughter. But I shouldn't have fallen for it. It isn't the first time she's fooled me."

Aleksandr's father looked at him for a long moment. "You're not the first man to be made a fool," he said. He shot his wife and Selina a scathing glance. "They're a duplicitous bunch. No better than animals." He then wretched Selina from Elissavetta's grip and threw her against the wall, pulling out a sword and running it around the base of Selina's throat, causing her to scream. "Any last words?" He whispered.

"Go to hell," she whispered.

Just as he was about to deliver the final blow, Elissavetta gave him a good hard slap, which made him drop the sword. He froze. "If you so much as lay a hand on her again, you will be very sorry," she told her husband. "Very, very sorry." Then, she took Selina by the hand and left Aleksandr and his father in the room to stare at one another.

"Are you all right?" Elissavetta asked Selina once they were clear of the room. She pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and began dabbing at Selina's neck.

"Yes," Selina said. Her voice was subdued. "Thank you."

Elissavetta nodded. "Now let's get you back to Niklaus before my husband gets anymore ideas into his head."

"I don't know why I did that," Selina said. "Decided to provoke him, I mean. My only excuse is that I'm never my best at night."

"Yes," Elissavetta nodded. "Because that's when you become a wolf, isn't it?"

"It's when my werewolf qualities manifest themselves, yes," Selina nodded. "Although actually transforming isn't so much of an issue anymore, thanks to that ritual your son had me do. Now I can transform at will and so can he."

"Interesting," Elissavetta said.

"Listen," Selina said. "About my family; would you make sure he doesn't try and get at them? I have no doubt he's going to try again."

Elissavetta nodded. "If I've kept Niklaus alive for this long, a few more to watch isn't any trouble."

"Maybe I should tell them to get out just in case," Selina said. "I mean, drunken bravado is one thing, but I don't know if I could deal with finding them all dead."

Elissavetta nodded. "Don't worry," she said. "If there's one thing about us, its that we take care of our own."

"Do you have any way to get in?" Elissavetta asked her when they reached Doctor Stensrund's. "The door seems to be locked."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. She gave the door three sharp raps and waited. A moment later, Alistair answered the door. "Hello," He said. "We've been worried about you."

"Thank you," Selina said, stepping inside and motioning for Elissavetta to follow her. "And just where has Klaus gone off to?"

"Still at his brother's, I believe," Alistair said. He eyed Elissavetta curiously.

"Oh," Selina said. "This is Klaus' mother, Elissavetta. Elissavetta, this is Alistair, Klaus' go to guy for all types of aid, magical and otherwise."

Elissavetta eyed him keenly. "You work for my son?" She asked.

Alistair nodded. "Of course. When Elijah took the dagger to him, it was me who brought him back."

Elissavetta turned on Selina quickly. "When did Elijah take the dagger to Alistair?"

Selina sighed. "It was right after the ritual," she said. "At that point, I was still in denial about my true purpose. If your husband had known me then, I would have been able to honestly say that I was allied with the vampires. After Klaus made me a hybrid, initially, I was angry, I will admit that. I felt tainted by what he had done. Elijah told me that we could do away with Klaus if he stabbed him with the white ash dagger just as Klaus was making his first transformation. "

Elissavetta looked at Alistair. "Is this what happened?"

"Yes," Alistair nodded.

Just then, the front door opened, causing them all to start. "Mother?" Klaus asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to bring Selina back to you," she said. "She was very nearly killed, Niklaus."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I went and confessed my true loyalities and it made him angry, so he tried to kill me."

"What did you tell him?" Klaus asked. His voice was hard.

"I told him that I was with the werewolves," Selina said. "Vampires mean nothing to me now."

"Is that so?" Klaus asked, pulling her to him.

"Yes," Selina nodded. "Only two things in the world have any meaning for me now. The werewolves and you."

"And with that being said," Elissavetta caught Klaus' eye. "Stay away from Elijah. I don't trust him. He's much too loyal to your father."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Klaus said. "Selina, is that a problem?"

"No," she shook her head. "It isn't."

Just as Elissavetta was about to leave, Selina said "based on what happened to me today, or nearly happened, wouldn't it be best to get your husband out of the way? He could turn out to be quite a nuisance if allowed to continue the way that he has."

Elissavetta smiled wickedly and pulled the dagger from her sleeve. "I thought you'd never ask," she said. "Take it. Katerina had it with her things. Now, which one of you wants to do the honors?"

Selina took the dagger, admiring its glint in the light. "I will." She said.

TThat night, Selina snuck back to Elissavetta's house. It was dark. She strode into the master bedroom, and creeped up close to the bed. When she was sure that Elissavetta's husband was in bed alone, she pulled the dagger from her pocket and held it beind her back. Then, she turned on the light. He sat up and opened his eyes. They narrowed when he saw her. "You," he breathed. "My wife the whore gives you a chance to escape and then you come crawling back. This is good. Now I can finish what I started."

"I didn't come here to fight, if that's what you think," she said. Keeping her knife behind her back, she unzipped her coat with one hand. It fell to the ground and he saw that she was wearing nothing underneath. Slowly, she boosted herself into bed with him. "You're wife had desires," she said quietly. "And what about you? Do you have desires?"

He breathed in sharply and pulled her to him. As she stripped his clothes away, she pulled the dagger out, running it through his torso. Immediately, he froze and she burst out laughing. "He says we're no worse than animals," she said to herself. "But I have yet to see a man pass up a chance with a willing and naked woman." She climbed off the bed, threw the sheets over his body and put her coat and shoes back on. As she shut off the lights, she took a deep breath. "The things I do to prove my loyalty," she whispered. Then she left the house and drove away.