First of all, some answers to your questions: yes, Drusilla and her brothers are werewolves but they are direct descendants of one of the first werewolves which make them kind of like royalties. They are stronger and faster than humans, that's why they find it hard to believe that a human can kill one of them, which Kol was able to do mainly because he happened to be lucky. Btw, if you want to see what I imagine Drusilla to look like, there's a link on my profile page.

And about marking the intimate scenes, I'm going to do that for now on and add marking on the previous chapters as soon as I have time.

This chapter is a little longer; I hope you enjoy it :)

Chapter 21

Kol hadn't closed his eyes at all when the first sunrays hit his face. He could still feel the adrenaline pumping through his body. Ending someone's life was never something that should be taken lightly but in this case he felt no guilt or remorse. In fact, he would kill that bastard all over again if he would have a chance, except this time he wouldn't grant that worthless scum so easy death.

Kol looked at Sonja whose head was resting on his chest. It had taken him hours to calm her down enough in order to get her to sleep. The other side of her face was swollen and he had honestly thought that she would never stop crying. Esther had tried her best to comfort her while Kol and his brothers had searched the premises in case there would be more intruders. They hadn't found anyone but Niklaus seemed to be missing. Mikael certainly hadn't been pleased by this and Esther had been worried about her son's safety. Kol had assured to his mother that Niklaus was fine; he was probably in the tavern.

Actually Kol had suspected that his brother was somewhere getting some more scratches on his face but that hadn't been something he had wished to share with his mother. Kol had been meaning to find out who this Niklaus' mysterious lover was but he has had more important things in his mind lately, most of them concerning the woman who was resting in his tight embrace. The thought that someone had hurt his sweet wife made him beyond furious.

He looked at her, wanting to study her every feature. Her long brown hair was wrapped around his arm, her hand resting on his stomach. Gently he touched the unharmed side of her face and inhaled her scent. She looked peaceful now, sweet and innocent. He wanted nothing more than stay there forever, feeling her warm body next to his but unfortunately that wasn't possible. He sighed before moving away from her as carefully as he could; the last thing he wanted was to startle her. Thankfully she didn't wake up. He placed a blanket on her and kissed her forehead before heading out. Apparently Niklaus had returned.

"Where have you been, boy?" Mikael asked angrily. "You think you can just sneak out like that, do you? Answer me!"

"Forgive me, father", Niklaus murmured. "I was…in the tavern."

Mikael looked at him coldly.

"Is that so? Well, you know where you are going to be today, boy? Working. You will chop every single wood Elijah and Finn has logged, you will feed the horses and clean the stables, you will…"

"No."

It was suddenly very quiet. Esther stopped her chores and looked at her son with terror. Rebekah took a step towards her brother and looked at her father pleadingly. Mikael was staring at Niklaus who tried to look calm but Kol could tell how nervous he was. Finn and Elijah weren't here. That could be a problem.

"What did you say to me?" Mikael asked icily.

Niklaus swallowed, looking more and more nervous. Kol stepped between them.

"I think this has been a long night for all of us", he said as calmly as he could.

"Yes", Esther added quickly. "Mikael…"

"Is there something you wish to say to me, boy?" Mikael asked ignoring Kol and Esther.

Niklaus pressed his lips together and shook his head.

"Good. Now get to work."

Niklaus turned around and walked out leaving behind an uncomfortable silence. Esther cleared her throat.

"How is your wife?"

"She is resting", Kol replied and hesitated a moment before continuing. "The body…has it been…"

"Yes", Mikael said. "Everything is in order; Elijah is on his way to see Waldhar. Everyone in the village must be warned in case there are more of those thugs sneaking around here."

"Yes, I agree", Kol replied before heading outside in order to get some fresh air. After taking few steps away from the house, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to go and check on Sonja.

"Kol?"

He opened his eyes and saw his little brother standing in front of him.

"Is Sonja alright?" Henrik asked tensely.

"I believe that she will be."

Henrik nodded.

"Thank you for saving her."

Kol bit his lip reminding himself to be sensitive.

"Of course. Listen, Henrik, I know things have been…complicated, but I intent to be a good husband, the kind that she deserves. I would never hurt her."

Henrik didn't seem convinced.

"She deserves a husband who loves her and respects her. And does not sleep with other women."

Something about his brother's serious tone made Kol speechless. For the first time he started to see Henrik as something else than his baby brother. Henrik was starting to become a man and by the sound of it, a much wiser man than he himself had ever been.

"I am not going to lie to you", Kol said when he finally found his voice again. "I do not know her well enough yet to be able to truthfully say that I love her but I care about her and respect her. I will do everything I can to make her happy, including abandoning the company of other women."

When he said those words he knew that he meant it. He couldn't imagine wanting any other woman like he wanted her. The realization actually surprised him. Henrik was looking at him closely. Kol couldn't tell what his little brother was thinking.

"Give me your word", Henrik demanded.

"I give you my word", Kol replied without hesitation. "I will be a good husband to her."

Henrik was quiet, keeping his face free from emotions. Kol hesitated before continuing.

"Is everything alright between you and me, little brother?"

"Not yet but hopefully we are getting there", Henrik replied.

Kol nodded and tapped his brother's shoulder. He knew that he couldn't ask more from him at the moment. Although he had been with Sonja only for a short while, he could already understand why Henrik cared about her so much. She truly was something special. When he got back to their temporarily bedroom, he saw Rebekah who was sitting on the bed with Sonja. There was a breakfast plate on the bedside table. Sonja was leaning against the wall, her arms wrapped around her legs.

"How are you feeling?" Kol asked.

"I…I am fine", she muttered.

"Try to eat something", Rebekah said gently and touched her shoulder before standing up. Kol waited until his sister left before sitting onto the bed. Sonja seemed uncomfortable.

"I overslept…" she murmured. "I should…"

"You should rest", Kol interrupted her determinedly.

She looked at him cautiously.

"I really am fine. I…Are you…fine?"

Kol was surprised.

"Me? Why wouldn't I be?"

Sonja bit her bottom lip.

"What you did…what you had to do because of me…I am so sorry."

Kol moved closer to her and gently touched her chin.

"It was not your fault and I certainly do not feel bad for that scum. You are safe now, that is all that matters to me."

"Thank you", Sonja said quietly.

Kol smiled and kissed her softly.

"Everything is alright, we can leave all of this behind us now", he said.

She leaned her head on his shoulder and he cradled her across his lap like he had done last night in order to comfort her. He buried his fingers in her soft hair, while rocking her soothingly. In that moment he believed that everything would be alright. That bastard was dead, Sonja was safe and everything was as it should be. He even had hope to being able to fix things with Henrik. The thought made him smile. What could possibly go wrong now?

Elijah looked at the river waiting anxiously for Tatia's arrival. His horse nickered, sounding almost impatient. Perhaps the animal was sensing his feeling, although he wasn't sure was that even possible. Absently he took an apple from the saddlebag and gave it to the gray mare that seemed to appreciate this little snack.

"Elijah!"

To his surprise Elijah saw Danica running towards him. He scooped the laughing child up and spun her around few times. Then he noticed the bruise on her face and frowned. Before he managed to ask anything, Tatia hurried towards them breathing heavily. Apparently she had run after her daughter.

"Danica, I have told you not to run away like that", she said after catching her breath.

The girl wrapped her little hands around Elijah's neck and looked at her mother innocently.

"I am sorry, mama, I wanted to see Elijah. I have missed him."

Her words warmed Elijah's heart. He already saw this little girl as his own child, although he and Tatia weren't married yet.

"And I have missed you", he said warmly even though he hadn't expected to see her, usually Tatia came to see him by herself. He looked up and noticed right away that something was wrong; Tatia wasn't very good at hiding her emotions.

"Sweetheart, go and pick up some flowers", she said smiling tensely when Elijah placed Danica on the ground.

"Yes mama."

"Stay where I can see you!" Tatia added when Danica started to hop towards some blue flowers, vervain if Elijah remembered correctly. Botany had never been his specialty; his mother was more interested in such things. Tatia clenched her fists and looked down, like she would have tried to keep herself from breaking down. Elijah's gentle touch on her shoulder made her to let out a sob. That startled him.

"Tatia…please tell me what is wrong", he pleaded.

She looked at him with her tearful eyes and took his hand.

"I could not protect my child… I can not…Please…Please help me to protect my daughter."

It took few seconds for Elijah to understand what she was saying. That bruise on Danica's face…

"Your father?" he asked tensely since he was very much aware of Frederiks bad temper. Yet he found it incomprehensible that any man could raise his hand against an innocent child.

Tatia nodded.

"Things have gone worse after Sonja left. I do not know what to do…"

"You are both coming with me", Elijah interrupted her. "I will look after you, I give you my word."

She looked at him cautiously.

"But…"

"We will get married as soon as possible, I will tell that to my father tonight. That is if you still have me."

Tatia's eyes started to fill with tears again but this time they were tears of joy. She was laughing and crying at the same time but she managed to nod.

"Yes, of course I will have you."

Elijah touched her soft rosy cheek and kissed her deeply and passionately. While tasting her perfect shaped lips he knew that she was the woman he loved and who he would always protect. He never wanted to let her go.

When I had waked up this morning being only aware of the pain of my bruised face and the humiliation of letting my whole new family see me crying like a little girl, I would have never thought to find myself laughing today. Yet here I was, having supper with almost everyone who I cared about.

Danica was leaning on my side and playing with my hair while eating. Tatia tried gently to remind her of table manners but Danica just smiled. Seeing her happy even after being punished by papa was a relief. She was still so young, so thrusting and full of life; the last thing I wanted was her to become shy and timid like I had been. I was sure that would happen if she would have to grow up in the same household with papa. Hopefully she wouldn't have to.

When I looked up, my eyes met Kol's. I smiled at him while stroking Danica's hair. He had been amazing, so kind and sweet. I wanted somehow to repay his kindness but the problem was that I didn't really know how. While I was pondering this dilemma, Elijah cleared his throat and started to speak. Something about his tone caught my attention.

"Father, I have something to tell you."

"Hmm, what is it?" Mikael asked. He seemed distracted; perhaps he had other things in his mind.

"Tatia and Danica are not here merely visiting, they are staying here."

That made Mikael to look at his son.

"Excuse me?"

Everyone at the table was suddenly quiet. I couldn't help but to admire Elijah for staying so calm.

"I shall marry Tatia as soon as possible."

Mikael froze like a statue, his face turning blank. That made me very nervous. The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife. Thankfully Esther broke the silence.

"Well, that is wonderful, my son. Congratulations to both of you."

"Thank you, mother", Elijah replied glancing at his father who didn't say a word.

"Thank you", Tatia said too trying desperately to smile but I could tell how nervous she was.

"Father?"

Mikael's lips curved into an ice cold smile.

"We shall talk about this later, my son. Privately."

Elijah nodded calmly.

"As you wish but you must know that nothing will change my mind."

Mikael pressed his lips together and gave Tatia one brief glare before turning his eyes back to his oldest son.

"I see."

The silence that followed his words certainly wasn't comfortable. Niklaus had worked the whole day so he seemed to be too tired to care about any of this; he was simply gobbling his food. Everyone else on the other hand looked uncomfortable.

"Elijah will be my papa", Danica's clear voice suddenly said. She tilted her head and looked at Mikael. "Will you be my grandpapa?"

"We will see", Mikael muttered tensely. Tatia and I both leaned instinctively closer to Danica in order to protect her. Mikael ignored us and continued eating. After the supper he marched straight into his bedroom.

"Give your father some time…" I heard Esther whispering to Elijah. Tatia looked distressed so I touched her shoulder reassuringly. I couldn't understand why Mikael didn't want Elijah to marry my sister since he himself had bought me for Kol. Unlike me, Tatia had dowry so that couldn't be the problem. At least Elijah's siblings congratulated him and Tatia. I was just finishing cleaning up when Kol wrapped his arms around my waist from behind.

"How are you feeling, my sweet?" he asked.

"Better", I replied truthfully. I felt him smiling when his lips touched my neck.

"Good. I want to take you to bed", he purred and nipped my neck.

"Not here…" I muttered feeling very uncomfortable. We were standing in the small kitchen nook but anyone could see us. His lips found the sensitive spot behind my ear, giving me a little shudder of pleasure.

"I want you…" he whispered. "Right now."

"Not here…" I repeated but the truth was that I didn't really want him to stop. He ran his hand across my waist, making me to lean closer to him. His other hand was touching my breast through my gown. Before I managed to gather enough strength, in order to tell him to stop, someone coughed. I almost jumped and moved quickly away from Kol who let out an annoyed groan.

"Excuse me", Elijah said calmly.

"What?" Kol snapped.

Elijah looked amused.

"Tatia and Danica will sleep in my room with Sonja, at least tonight, I am sure you do not mind. You can sleep in your own bed…"

"Yes, I do mind", Kol interrupted him angrily. "Surely they can sleep in some other room…"

"Aunt Sonja?" Danica's voice said when her head peaked behind Elijah's back. "Can we go to sleep now?"

"Sure, sweetheart", I said looking at Kol, hoping that he would understand. He looked everything but happy but he nodded rigidly.

"Fine", he muttered in his teeth.

I smiled and kissed him chastely on the cheek. That made him to roll his eyes. Danica took my hand and led me determinedly to Elijah's room.

"Was he hurting you?" she asked. "He promised not to."

"No, sweetheart, he wasn't hurting me."

Danica looked at my bruised face and tilted her head.

"Is he like grandpapa?"

"No", I said quickly. "He did not do this to me, it was…a bad man, but he is gone now, there is nothing to be afraid of."

I lifted Danica onto the bed and kissed her forehead.

"Everything is alright."

Having Tatia and Danica here truly made me happy. When the three of us curled up under the blanket everything really was alright. Tatia hummed to Danica and stroked her hair until she fell asleep. We waited a moment, in order to make sure that she was fast asleep, before we started to talk quietly.

"Mikael hates me", Tatia said and sighed.

"I am sure that's not true, he was probably simply surprised…"

"Did you not see his face? He hates me."

I wasn't sure what to say so I took my sister's hand and squished it reassuringly.

"Elijah loves you, that's all that matters. He will marry you, no matter what his father says."

"Yes, I suppose you are right. I would just like to know why…" Tatia paused and bit her lip. "Enough about me, how are you feeling? It must have been terrible to…you know."

"I'm fine, thanks to Kol. If he wouldn't have been there…"

The thought made me shiver.

"Thankfully he was", Tatia said quietly and wrapped her arms around me. We were both quiet for a while before she continued. "Have everything gone well with him? I mean your wedding night and all."

I felt myself blushing.

"Actually…could I…could you explain something to me?" I stuttered.

Tatia moved away and looked at me. She seemed worried.

"Has he hurt you?"

I shook my head.

"No, it's not that…"

After pulling myself together and making sure that Danica was still sleeping, I tried my best to explain my strange feelings. Tatia was smiling after I had finished.

"Alright… Did you find this unpleasant?"

I bit my lip.

"No, but… Is that…normal?"

"Yes", Tatia said calmingly. "It is a normal reaction but the reason why I did not tell you about it is that I didn't know if he… Well, let's just say that most men do not care if we genuinely enjoy it. It sounds to me that you can consider yourself lucky."

I thought about her words for a moment. Knowing that my feelings were normal lifted a burden off my shoulders. Thankfully I had someone wiser to guide me, since this certainly wasn't something I could have asked from anyone else. I felt calm and peaceful now having my sister here with me. I was confident that things would be better for both of us.

Niklaus had just lied down when Kol marched in looking rather unpleased. Elijah was right behind him, carrying an extra bed with Henrik.

"We are all going to sleep here?" Niklaus asked.

Elijah nodded.

"Yes, Tatia and Danica are in my room with Sonja."

No wonder his little brother didn't look too pleased, apparently he had been kick out of his marriage bed.

"Welcome back, brother", Niklaus said teasingly.

"Shut up", Kol replied sending him an angry glare.

Niklaus couldn't help but smile, even though his every single muscle hurt. The day had been long, especially for him. Yet he had completed every task his father had ordered him to do. He hadn't done any of it because he would have been sorry, no; he had only wanted to prove something to his father and perhaps to himself as well, although he wasn't completely sure what that something was. All he knew was that he was sick of being treated like inferior to his brothers.

All his life he had done everything his father had requested, been a good and respectful son. What more could his father possibly ask? The strange thing was that for the first time in his life Niklaus actually started to question the importance of Mikael's approval. He wasn't a child anymore, why should he have to act like one when ever he was speaking with his father. He felt stronger and more confident than ever before.

Now he just had to wait until his brothers would be asleep before sneaking out to meet Drusilla. He could hardly wait. Unfortunately the day's hard labor started to take its toll and it didn't take long before he was fast asleep. He certainly would have slept until morning unless something wouldn't have waked him. The room was dark and quiet and for a moment he wasn't sure where he was. Then he heard it again, someone was knocking at the window shutter.

"What…" Niklaus heard Elijah's sleepy voice muttering but he was already on his feet, opening the window shutter. He wasn't surprised to see Drusilla; he had already caught her scent.

"What are you…" he started but she climbed inside before he managed to finish his sentence. What was she doing? Judging by his brothers stunned expression they were wondering the same thing. Kol and Elijah had lighted two candles and they were both staring at Drusilla who looked almost like some kind of spirit wearing a light green gown. Ignoring their audience, she cupped Niklaus' face and looked into his eyes more intensely than ever before.

"I do not have much time so I need you to listen to me very carefully", she said. "Tomorrow night when the moon is full, you must hide. Find a safe place and take everyone who you wish to stay alive with you. Do you understand?"

Niklaus certainly didn't understand.

"What are you talking about…"

She placed her finger on his lips.

"You must live. For all of us."

"Niklaus?" Elijah said. "What is going on?"

Drusilla turned to look at him.

"Are you the head of this household?"

"What? No, but I want to know what…"

"You know what happens when the moon is full, do you not?" she interrupted him.

"If you are referring to the wolves, we know how to take all necessary precautions."

She shook her head.

"Not this time. You must hide if you wish to live."

Niklaus grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him.

"Drusilla, what are you talking about?"

"They are coming for you", she replied tensely. "You killed one of them so hide; that is your only chance. Do not make me regret this."

Effortlessly she freed herself from his grip and jumped out, disappearing in the darkness. Niklaus was too stunned to follow her. Elijah found his voice before his brothers.

"Niklaus, I believe you have some explaining to do."