Elijah helped her up and they walked to his car. He helped her in, and just as he was about to get in himself, Selina said "What about Andria? Her body's still over in the field. Don't you think we should take it with us so Stella and her husband can say goodbye?"
Elijah's hand paused on the door and he nodded. "All right," he said. He came back a few minutes later, carrying Andria's body which was wrapped in his coat so Selina wouldn't have to look at it. Then, he set it down gently in the trunk and closed the door.
As they drove back to the hideout, Selina asked, "What am I now?"
"You're a hybrid," Elijah said matter-of-factly. "A combination of werewolf and vampire."
"I know that," Selina said. "That's the way it's always been. But it's official now?"
Elijah nodded. "I'm afraid so. Do you have anyone who can help you with this?" He asked.
Selina shrugged. "It's not something the family really talks about, you know? After what happened to Uncle Jacob, I mean. He did a bunch of research, activated his werewolf gene, and then one night when my mother was around eight, Uncle Jacob, who was her older brother, inadvertently killed someone while transformed. The townsfolk hunted him down and shot him full of silver bullets. They wouldn't let him be buried in the normal cemetery, so my grandfather just buried him in what we call "the vault." It's under the old house and very hidden away from everything."
"And your uncle was buried in his wolf form?" Elijah asked, his voice ending on a rising note.
"Yes," Selina nodded. "Why?"
"Because," Elijah said, "I was thinking of doing one more resurrection like that of your parents and your cousin. Since this happened to you and you say your family doesn't acknowledge it, but your uncle does, he could be an asset to you."
"But don't you think people will find it odd if a bunch of the townsfolk who lived more than a hundred years ago turn up alive again?" Selina asked.
"Four hardly constitutes 'a bunch'," Elijah said. "Besides, it's been so long since your uncle was alive that I bet no one really remembers what he looks like anyway. And even if they do, there are ways to alter one's appearance."
"You have a good point," Selina said. "I would feel much better about this if Uncle Jacob was around in the flesh. I'll admit that right now."
"All right then," Elijah said. "Then it's settled.
"But wait," Selina said. "He died while in wolf form, so we can't just dig him up like we did with the others. What are you going to do about that?"
"I have my ways," Elijah said.
Selina shifted in her chair, twisting around so she could get a better view of the bundle covered by Elijah's coat. "Next order of business," she said quietly, feeling the lump rise in her throat, "Who's going to tell Stella that Andria is really and truly dead?"
"I will," Elijah said. "I think the best thing for you would be to see Damon straighaway and reassure him that you're all right; altered, but otherwise unscathed. He gave us quite a bit of trouble when we wouldn't let him come after you."
"Where is he now?" Selina asked.
"We have him in one of the upstairs rooms of the hideout house. Stefan's guarding him and we had to sedate him with vervain so he wouldn't do anything rash."
"How much vervain?" Selina asked. "A lot?"
"Enough," Elijah said. "But he'll come back to himself soon."
"Poor Andria," Selina said quietly. "Watching her die was like watching myself die." She wiped her eyes. "Why would she do that for me? We barely knew each other."
"But you're family," Elijah said. "And if you can't depend on your family, then you don't have much left." He pulled a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her to dab her eyes with.
"Thank you," Selina said. "I won't blow my nose, I promise." She put it to her eyes, dabbed, and then burst out giggling. It was a release of emotion that took a little while to stop. When she finally got her breath, she gave Elijah his handkerchief back. "I assume we're going to the hideout?" Selina asked.
Elijah nodded. "We are."
They sat in silence for the rest of the ride with Selina trying her hardest not to look at Andria's body in the backseat. When they reached their destination, Elijah parked the car and ordered Selina inside. "Once you're inside and upstairs, I'll bring Andria's body in and give Stella the bad news," Elijah told her.
"Wait," Selina said. "Maybe I should be the one to tell her; then it might not be so difficult to hear."
"All right," Elijah said while Selina headed inside. She was met by Amelia and Matthew who were standing tensely just inside the front door. When they saw her they threw their arms around her.
"You're all right, thank God!" Amelia cried out. She let Selina go and studied her closely. "You are all right, aren't you?"
"I'm slightly altered, but otherwise fine," Selina said.
Amelia frowned. "'Slightly altered?' What does that mean?"
"Well," Selina said, "Klaus had this stone that helped him activate his werewolf side and when that happened, he pulled me in to, so the stone affected both of us. At least I didn't have to kill anyone."
Amelia looked like she was about to cry. "You mean, you're a—"
"Go ahead and say it, Mama," Selina said. "It's really not that difficult. Yes, I'm a werewolf now. At least partly."
Amelia sat heavily on the steps of the entryway staircase. "All those years," she said. "All those years of protecting you from the curse of my family and they came to nothing."
Selina sat next to her. "They didn't come to nothing," she said. "You did the best you could; you knew I was going to find out eventually. But here's the good part about this; I'm not going to be alone. I'm lucky enough to have people that care about me and will help me through this. Elijah said he'd bring back Uncle Jacob to help me out, and Tyler and Caroline are around, and Damon of course. I can count on you too, can't I?" Selina took her mother's hand.
"Of course," Amelia said wearily. "I got you into this mess. The least I can do is help you adjust to it."
"Aren't you going to tell Damon?" Matthew asked, just as three sharp raps sounded on the front door.
"Yes," Selina nodded, letting go of Amelia's hand and standing up. "I better get upstairs and give Damon the good news."
She raced up the stairs before she realized she didn't know which room he was in. "Where is he?" She called back down the stairs.
"Third door on the right," Matthew called back.
Selina knocked on that door and Stefan opened the door as soon as she took her hand off, putting his arms around her and pulling her in. "I'm so glad you're okay," he said.
"He's not the only one," Elena said, coming to meet her. "What happened?"
"Well," Selina took her hand, beginning to tear up. "Andria was the vampire who was sacrificed in your place. She's dead now."
"Oh, God," Elena said, putting her arms around Selina. "I can only imagine what it must have been like to watch her die."
Selina sniffled. "You can probably do more than imagine," she said. "It couldn't have been a picnic finding Katherine's body after Stella killed her."
Elena nodded. "That was hard. But it's not like I actually watched Stella kill her."
Selina let Elena go and turned back to Stefan. "My father said Damon was in here, but it doesn't look like it."
Stefan shook his head. "We put him back in your room. He's been resting."
"Elijah said you had to sedate him pretty heavily to keep him from running away."
"Yeah," Stefan nodded. "But I know he'll be happy when he sees that you're all right."
"You know, I am," Selina said. "Slightly altered, but all right."
"Slightly altered?" Elena asked.
"Yeah," Selina nodded. "When Klaus went through his werewolf transformation, he pulled me in too, so now I'm a little wolf and a little vamp. Mama's not too happy about it, but there you go."
Elena's eyes widened. "So you're like the superwoman now?"
Selina laughed a little. "I guess." She turned and made for the door. "Can we come with you?" Elena asked. "Or do you want to see him alone?"
"Let's start with alone for now, and you two can come in in ten minutes."
She left the room and headed next door. The door was unlocked and she walked inside, expecting to see Damon lying in bed. Instead, he was standing by the window, staring morosely out.
"I'm I interrupting anything?" Selina asked, clearing her throat.
At the sound of her voice, he started so bad he almost fell over. "Selina," he said when he'd straightened himself out.
"Are you all right?" She asked, coming to stand next to him. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's not that," Damon said, taking her hand. "It's just that I thought for sure you weren't going to make it through the night. Or that you were, and by the time you were done, you wouldn't want me anymore."
Selina put her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. "I'm always going to want you. And need you too, especially now."
"Why?" Damon asked. "What happened?" She looked up at him and the tears that had been threatening to fall since she'd first gotten into Elijah's car came spilling out. "Andria's dead," she said. "She offered herself to Klaus as a replacement vampire for Elena in the sacrifice and he accepted. Oh, God. It was like watching myself die!"
Damon held on to her and guided her to the bed, his body shaking a little because he was still a little weak from the vervain. "Why would she do that?" he asked.
Selina shrugged. "I don't know; maybe she did it because she didn't want me existing without my best friend. She was wrong about that though."
Damon frowned. "But Elena is your best friend."
"She's my best girl friend," Selina corrected. "Not my complete, all-around best friend."
"Well who's your complete, all-around best friend?" Damon asked.
Selina looked up at him through eyes that were still wet with tears. "You are," she said. "You know me better than anyone else in this whole world. When something bad happens to me, you know exactly how to make it better, don't you?"
Damon smiled. "A bottle of whisky, a good night's rest and a chat over a hangover remedy in the morning."
Selina laughed. "That's correct. Elena would probably want to make me talk about it, and I'm never ready to right away." She paused. "Do you think we have any whisky around here?"
A slow grin spread over Damon's lips. "You really want to do that when your parents are right down stairs?"
"Honestly, I think that's what Mama needs right now too," Selina said. "I don't think she'll object too much. You get whatever alcohol you can get your hands on and bring it back here."
Early the next morning, just as the sun came up, Selina went to the upstairs study to tell Stella and her husband about Andria. She had to steel herself before she knocked on the study door. When Stella, looking tired and haggard, opened it, Selina nearly lost her nerve. She could tell just by looking at Stella that she'd been drinking. A lot. "Can I come in?" She asked quietly.
Stella said nothing but gestured to her. Selina stepped inside. Stella's husband was sitting on the couch, his hand wrapped around the neck of an open bottle of red wine. "What do you want?" He asked.
"I have news about Andria," Selina said.
Stella's eyes widened and she grabbed Selina by the sleeves of her dress, pulling so hard that one of them tore. "Is she alive? Where is she?"
Selina bit her lip. "She's dead," Selina said. "She offered to take Elena's place as the vampire in the sacrifice so that I wouldn't have to be without Elena and Alistair staked her."
Stella stared at her for a moment, then turned quickly around and snatched the wine bottle out of her husband's hand, finishing it off without coming up for air. When she finally pulled the bottle away, her mouth was stained with red. Then, she strode toward the French doors that led from the study to a side balcony, threw them open so the room filled with light, twisted her ring off, threw it behind her, and made to go outside. But just as her feet touched the shaft of light over the threshold, her husband grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back. She was sobbing in earnest, crying out in nonsensical Italian. Finally, her husband gave her a sound slap across the face and she quieted.
Taking out a handkerchief, he wiped the tears from her eyes, and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Calm down," he said.
"Did you not hear what Selina just said?" Stella asked him in a tone of disbelief. "She told us our daughter is dead! Does that not move you at all?"
"Yes," he said, his black eyes flashing. He took Stella's hand and led her to where Selina stood. "Look at her," he said. "What do you see?"
Selina smiled and tried not to cry.
"I see Andria," Stella said. "Especially when she smiles."
"Exactly," Stella's husband said. "Andria's not gone forever. She's here."
"And this time, she chose to die," Selina said. "She was doing it to help me. She wasn't taken against her will. And she died quickly; she didn't suffer."
Stella nodded. "At least I have that to hold on to." She took a deep breath, picking her ring up from the floor and putting it back on. "What happened to her body? Can I at least say goodbye, or was it destroyed during the sacrifice?"
"Her body is here," Selina said. "I had Elijah bring it back with us. He's downstairs, I believe."
"Thank you," Stella said. "So much."
Selina nodded and Stella and her husband left the study to go have one last look at Andria's body. Once they'd gone and closed the door behind them, Selina took a deep breath and looked around the study. A knock at the door startled her. "Come in," she called.
Damon entered the room carrying two glasses of orange juice. "How did Stella take the news?" he asked. "Not well, I bet."
"No," Selina shook her head and took a seat in the brown leather chair behind the desk. "She finished off most of a bottle of red wine and then took off her ring and would have gone right through the French doors if her husband hadn't stopped her. She was really upset, but that's no surprise. Then her husband reminded her that Andria and I look exactly alike, and I told her that Andria's death had been quick, which was kind of a lie, but whatever, and she came back to herself. They're downstairs saying goodbye to Andria now."
"Good," Damon said. "Do you want this?" He asked, handing her the glass of orange juice.
"Does it have vodka in it?" Selina asked.
"Of course," Damon nodded. Selina downed it and gazed back at him. "Thanks," she said. "I needed that." Just then, her cell phone rang. She picked up. Caroline was on the other end. Apparently everyone at the mansion was desperate to know if she was all right, including Tyler, and would she mind coming by with Damon later in the day to ease everyone's minds?
"Sure," Selina said. "We'll be over after lunch, around one. Would that be all right?" She put the phone down and looked at Damon. "Everyone at the mansion is worried about me. Would you mind coming over with me after lunch?"
"Sure," Damon said. "I don't mind; it's not like I have anything better to do."
They headed over to the Lockwood mansion and were met at the door by Tyler and Caroline. "Are you really okay?" Caroline asked Selina as she ushered the two of them inside.
"Why wouldn't she be okay?" Tyler asked. "She's like superwoman now."
"It could have been hard to go through the process," Caroline said through her teeth. "And I bet she had to watch somebody die."
"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I did, but it wasn't Elena. It was somebody else. And when I told Mama about what happened, well to say that she was less than happy is a bit of an understatement."
"But you can't really blame her, can you?" Tyler asked. "You turning was probably the last thing she ever wanted."
"Yeah," Selina said. "But it's happened, and we can only move forward."
"Who was it that bit you?" Tyler asked.
"Mason of course," Selina said."He and Klaus 'bonded' and then Klaus tricked him into becoming the werewolf for the sacrifice, so even though Mason got his body back for a little while, he's dead now. Again."
"Selina." Selina turned at the sound of her name. "Oh, my god," she breathed. "You're here."
Jacob Lockwood, her mother's brother, was standing before her, his dark hair ruffling a little from the air conditioning. "Elijah told me you were going to be needing my help. What did you do to yourself now?"
"You know," Selina said.
He nodded. "But sarcasm is lost on the young, isn't it?" He asked.
"Wait a minute," Tyler said, gazing at Jacob. "You're alive, Aunt Amelia's alive, Charlie didn't come back too, did he?"
Jacob grinned. "No," he said. "And that, trust me, is a good thing." He turned his gaze back to Selina. "How are you feeling?"
"Not bad," Selina said. "How should I be feeling?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. But if you feel like you do the day of a full moon, then we're in trouble."
"No," Selina shook her head. "I feel normal, thank you." She stepped forward and looked up at her uncle. "So what happens now?" she asked. "What can I expect?"
"Well," Jacob said, "You won't have to make that many adjustments, although now that you're officially both, you might want to come here during full moons so that George and Michael can watch out for you, Tyler, and me, and make sure we don't kill anyone...else."
"All right," Selina said. "I can do that. Usually we just lock me up in my room at the boardinghouse, but since I could now cause Damon endless pain and agony without knowing it until it's too late if he's around me during a full moon, it would probably be better if I got away from him for awhile and came here."
"It would be," Jacob nodded, "My mind would be more at ease, anyway."
Selina grinned and took Tyler's hand in one of hers and Jacob's in the other. "This will be such fun," she said. "The three of us chained up together in the vault once a month."
"It could be a new reality show," Tyler agreed. "I don't know what we'd call it, though."
"I take it back," Jacob said. "Sarcasm isn't wasted on the young."
"Would you come back with us after we've told everyone else I'm okay?" Selina asked her uncle. "Mama's very upset right now and needs some reassurance."
"Of course," Jacob nodded. "I'd be glad to, if that's what she needs."
An hour later, Selina, Damon, Tyler, Caroline and Jacob drove back to the hideout. It was practically empty now, and they were told that Amelia and Matthew had gone to the boardinghouse. They went there, and went Amelia saw Jacob, she ran at him and threw herself into his arms.
"It's going to be all right," he told her. "I promise I won't let anything bad happen to your daughter."
"I know you won't," Amelia said. "Thank you."
The other four found Stefan and Elena playing cards in one of the living rooms and asked to be dealt in. As they played, Selina got an idea. "Listen," she said, looking around the table. "All of us have been through a lot lately and I think we should celebrate getting out of it all alive? How about all of us go to that new restaurant that opened down the street from the Grill? They serve Polynesian and they have luaus every weekend."
"Wow," Tyler said. "Dinner and a show?" He looked at Caroline, who nodded. "Looks like we're in," he said.
"Us too," Elena said, looking at Stefan.
"And I've never been one to pass up a pig with a mouth full of apple," Damon said. "Let's do it."
They spent the rest of the day watching movies in the den and as the sun was going down, Selina looked out the window. "Look," she said softly. "There goes the sun."
"But," Damon whispered into her hair. "It's all right."
A/n- End of the main series! I will definitely be writing more stories about Selina in the future, but they won't have anything to do with this bunch. Also, I'd like to thank all my readers and reviewers from throughout the series. Your support is awesome and very appreciated! The first story of the next series is called "Dark Angel".
