Bekah, Nik, and I were still in his bedroom, chatting about Lewis's real plan, when we heard the commotion downstairs. Nik flashed out of the room before I had even registered the noise. The front door had opened with a bang, and I could hear struggling, muttering, and grunting.

Bekah sped out of the room as I stood, and by the time I made it to the top of the stairs, Nik and Bekah were downstairs, talking to the people who caused the commotion.

There were three people in the front foyer with Nik and Bekah: two hybrids whose names I did not know and Lewis. One of the hybrids was holding Lewis's hands behind his back. But I knew he wasn't strong enough to hold him; Lewis could use magic to easily free himself.

I stayed where I was, atop the stairs.

Klaus was in the midst of yelling at the hybrids as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, pushed a few buttons, and put it back when he was apparently finished. "Why did you bring him here? These were not my orders!"

"No, your orders were that we continue on as if we hadn't just lost one of our own. But we couldn't just let him go on living, not after he so brashly killed one of our own."

"This warlock didn't kill your fellow hybrid."

The one who was holding Lewis spoke. "That's why he's still breathing."

"Where is the hunter?!"

Klaus was furious now. And he was Klaus, not Nik.

"Which part of him?" that same hybrid sneered. "His head is no longer attached to the rest of his body."

Both hybrids laughed.

He's dead? The hunter is dead? The hybrids killed him?

"Which one of you killed him?" Rebekah asked.

"We both did," The other hybrid answered. They both seemed proud. Revenge for their fallen comrade, I supposed.

"Which one actually killed him?" Klaus asked. Why did it matter so much to Nik and Bekah which one killed the hunter?

"We both did!"

Klaus turned to Rebekah. "I suppose the true answer will make itself known soon enough." Rebekah nodded and grabbed the arm of the hybrid who was not holding Lewis. She dragged him out of the room. I could hear the hybrid struggling, pointlessly, against Rebekah's hold.

The hybrid holding Lewis looked concerned. "Where is she taking him?"

"Safe keeping," was all Klaus said.

Finally, Lewis spoke. "Where is Riley? I know you have her here, Klaus."

"Watch your words. She is here, but I don't have her here. I would never force Riley to be anywhere she didn't want to be, mate."

Klaus's obvious jab at Lewis did not go unnoticed by the latter; he clenched his jaw and his face went red with anger.

I then heard approaching footsteps on the driveway, followed by Anita's appearance in the front doorway.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," Klaus greeted her.

"As if I had a choice, Klaus." She looked at Lewis. "This is the warlock, I presume."

Klaus nodded.

Anita raised her eyes to me. Klaus follow her line of sight. "You know the Bennett witch?"

I nodded.

"Get her over here. Now."

Klaus nodded at me, agreeing with Anita.

I dialed Bonnie's number and spoke quickly once she answered. "Hi, Bonnie. It's Riley. I need you to come over to the Mikaelson mansion right away."

"What's going on, Ri?"

"I can't explain right now. Just please come. We need your help."

She sighed on the other end. "Okay."

"Hurry," I said as I ended the call. I didn't need to tell Klaus that Bonnie was on her way — he had overheard — but I nodded anyway.

I tore my eyes away from Klaus's and saw that Lewis was now aware of my presence.

"Riley," Lewis said, but Klaus stepped in front of him, towering over him to block his view of me.

"You will say nothing to her unless she permits you to speak."

Lewis glared at Klaus but kept his mouth shut. When Klaus stepped away, Lewis's gaze moved back to me and it never left. It made me feel incredibly uncomfortable.

Bonnie really did hurry over to the mansion.

"Thank you for coming, Miss Bennett," Klaus greeted her as she stood in the doorway.

Bonnie glared at Klaus and crossed her arms. "Where's Riley?"

Klaus extended his arm in my direction.

"Hi, Bonnie," I said as I gave her a small wave from my spot still atop the stairs. "Thanks for coming."

She took a tentative step inside the front foyer, taking in the scene in front of her and noting the hybrid who was still holding Lewis's arms behind his back. "What's going on?" I don't think Bonnie knew who was being held by the hybrid; I don't think she'd ever had the non-pleasure of meeting Lewis.

Rebekah returned to the foyer as Bonnie asked her question. "Oh good, the witch is here," Rebekah said, unenthusiastically.

I descended the stairs and stood next to Bonnie; we weren't that close, but I felt like she might appreciate having a familiar and friendly face near her if she had to be in this house.

How odd that we could have such different views of the same house.

"Why am I here?" Bonnie asked.

Klaus gestured to Anita. "This is one of my personal witches. Get acquainted. The two of you are going to work together to detain our magical friend here."

"What?!"

"Relax," Anita said. "No one's going to hurt him. We'll just hold him awhile."

"No way!" Bonnie was outraged.

I turned to face her. "Bonnie, please. This is my father. The man who just held me and C captive in the basement of his apartment building. He's dangerous and untrustworthy."

She shook her head and she lowered her voice, as if trying to speak to only me, though I'm sure she knew that everyone in the room could hear her. "I cannot go against my own kind, Ri. I'm sorry."

I sighed before telling Bonnie the truth.

"He killed me, Bonnie. Did C ever tell you that? I was supposed to be a witch, too, until he killed me so I wouldn't have any magic."

"He what?"

"I never knew I was supposed to have magic until I met you. I saw things in you that I had only glimpsed in myself, before I turned. That's why I asked you so much about your magic and how it started for you."

Bonnie looked completely horrified. "He killed you? He killed his own daughter?"

I nodded.

I guess C hasn't told that story…

Bonnie gulped and then turned to Anita. "What do you need me to do?"

Anita handed Bonnie a piece of browned, thin paper. "This is the spell. It's simple but powerful. It will contain him wherever we'd like. Once he's under the spell, we can move him to wherever."

"The basement," Klaus provided.

"No!" Lewis yelled. "No, wait. Riley, please. Please don't let them do this to me."

I scoffed. "Oh, I see how it is. You're perfectly fine with holding me and Caroline trapped in a basement but cannot stand the idea of being held in one yourself."

I stepped away from him and turned my head. I couldn't look at him.

Bonnie and Anita began chanting. Soon, they stopped and Anita told the hybrid he could let go. He did, and Lewis could not move. He tried, though. He struggled against the constraints, even though he must have known the hopelessness.

Rebekah stepped around Lewis and grabbed the other hybrid. He tried to struggle against her hold, but she dragged him off as if he were nothing but a rag doll.

"He can't use magic to break the spell?" I asked Anita. "You were able to break his silencing spell."

"That was different. I didn't break the silencing spell; I used your blood to undo it. Inside the confinement, the warlock has no magic. He's human, for all intents and purposes."

Klaus walked over and stood by my side. "Thank you," he muttered so no one else could hear.

I looked at him with confusion. "For what?"

"For getting the Bennett witch over here. And for convincing her to work with Anita. She would never have set foot in this house if I had asked her."

I shook my head. "Don't thank me," I whispered. "Her presence wouldn't even be needed if it weren't for my stupid father."

"You don't know that, Riley. He could still have come to Mystic Falls, alongside the hunter, even if you weren't here."

Klaus had a point, but I still felt at fault.

Rebekah returned to the front foyer and nodded to her brother.

"Take him to the basement," Klaus ordered Anita and Bonnie. "Rebekah will show you the way."

Rebekah took a step in the direction she had just returned from.

"No!" Lewis shouted.

Everyone stopped moving.

"Do you think I could be so easily captured by your minions, just because they killed the hunter? I let myself get taken, as a sign of good faith to you, Klaus. I mean no harm here." Lewis was pleading for his freedom and his safety. And maybe even his life.

"I will hear no more of your lies. Take him away!"

"No, wait. Please. You have to let me continue trying. Don't take my magic away from me. I am so close to reanimating vampire blood. Let me go and I'll show you. Then you'll be able to create hybrids again, Klaus. Your loyal followers. I'm so close! I just need a bit more time."

Klaus paused. When he didn't immediately shut Lewis up, I felt my heart plummet.

"Again with the hybrids, Nik? Really?" Rebekah scolded him.

As quietly as I could, I backed out of the front foyer, found the hallway, and walked away from them all.

At that moment, I no longer cared about what happened to Lewis. I just needed to be away from that foyer. I couldn't stand to see the conflict that was so plainly written on Klaus's face.

I was foolish to think he'd ever consider choosing me over his hybrids. I know I had told Lewis that I thought he would, but I was lying to him, so Lewis wouldn't see just how close Nik and I were. Or at least, I had hoped they were lies. But now I could see the unwanted truth of my own words.

"He spent a thousand years trying to break the hybrid curse. And once he finally did, he only had a few months when he was able to successfully create hybrids before Elena died. I haven't known him for very long but I know exactly where I stand on the scale of important things in Klaus's life. Of course he'll choose the ability to make hybrids over me."

I had said something similar to Caroline when she and Bonnie came to the basement to free me:

"When Elena transitioned and he lost the ability to create hybrids, he had to change his priorities. But he spent a thousand years waiting and fighting to have that ability and then he only had a few months where he could actually create hybrids. There is no way I compare to that; he hasn't been waiting a thousand years for me. Of course he'll choose hybrids. I have no doubt about that."

Turns out, I wasn't lying to C; I thought I was, but I wasn't.

Never before have I ever wanted to be wrong.

But I was. I saw that now. There was no way he would ever choose me over having the ability to create hybrids. He had been searching and fighting for that ability for the better part of a thousand years. He had stopped obsessing about it when Elena transitioned because that was the end of the doppelganger bloodline, but he'll never stop wanting hybrids. I hadn't even been a vampire for a full year yet. There was absolutely no comparison.

I saw the obviousness now.

And I felt my previous words haunting me: "He hasn't been waiting a thousand years for me."

Nik found me in his study. I was sitting in a chair with my knees brought up to my chest, just watching the flames in the fireplace.

"Where is he?"

Nik came near and knelt on the floor in front of me; he brought a hand up and used his thumb to wipe away a stray tear as it began to make its way down my cheek. I hadn't realized I was crying. "He's in the basement. Bonnie and Anita's containment spell worked brilliantly."

I nodded slowly and found comfort in his strong arms as he wrapped them around me.

"I wish he hadn't come back. I had gotten used to not having him in my life, Nik."

He stroked my back slowly. "You don't have to accept him just because he wants you to."

"I don't want him in my life," I said against his chest.

Nik held me close to him. "I can make sure he stays away."

I smiled and faced him.

He cupped my cheek and smiled. "I hate seeing you like this, love."

I caressed his chest through his shirt. "I'm already feeling better."

He was Nik again.

Our nice moment was interrupted when Anita cleared her throat at the entrance to the study. She spoke once Nik tore his eyes from mine to look at her.

"The warlock is in one of the cells in the basement. He's angry and vocal, but he's not going anywhere."

"Excellent."

But Anita came to us with a warning, not a status update. "This is only temporary, Klaus. The magical constraints on the warlock will not last indefinitely. But we cannot reinforce them until they've worn off completely, which means we then risk the chance of him escaping before the confines are reinstated."

"How long before he might be able to escape?" Nik asked.

"Not very long. A few days." Anita paused, as if unsure of how to ask her next question. "Is he truly working on reanimating vampire blood for you?"

"Apparently. But he isn't doing it at my command."

"And he is close?"

"So he says. But I doubt that; he was just saying whatever he though would buy him more time, or even grant him his freedom."

"He would say anything to save his own butt," I muttered in agreement.

"Very dark magic, indeed," Anita mused. And with that, she left us.

I turned to Nik. "So we have only a few days, at most, before he's able to return to figuring out how to kill you?"

"We could stop him, love."

"You mean kill him?"

He nodded.

"If you think that's best…"

He shook his head softly. "It's not for me to decide. He's your father, Riley. You have to decide; I will not let anyone else make this decision for you. And I, certainly, will not decide for you. If I do, I run the risk of you, someday, potentially, holding me responsible for the death of your father."

"No, I wouldn't."

"We don't know that. Everything gets much more muddled when family is involved. You may not like the man, or want him around, but he is still your father. He's still part of your family. And forever is a long time, love. Anything can cross your mind in that span of time."

"So I have only a few days to decide what to do with him?" I sunk back into the chair, almost curling in on myself.

"Let me show you something."

I shook my head. "I'm just going to sit here."

"No." He didn't give me a chance of resisting. He grabbed my hand from where it curled around my leg and pulled me into a standing position.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see, love; have patience."

I have always hated whenever he tells me to have patience because it just makes me that much more impatient.

A bit of his Klaus side was still showing — the pushy and stubborn side that annoyed me so much.

We left the study and walked down the hallway, in the opposite direction of the front foyer. I had never seen this part of the house before.

"I should have shown this to you months ago." He looked back on me and he had such a huge grin on his face that I couldn't help but smile too. This was such a contrast from the scowl that took root on his face when Lewis was brought here.

"Shown me what?"

"This room," he said as he came to a stop outside a set of double, thick wooden doors.

I frowned in confusion. "Why do you want to show me a room…?" I trailed off near the end of my question because Nik pulled the doors open and I saw what was on the other side.

And wow.

I have scoffed at people who spoke of love at first sight, but now I see it is possible.

The room was large, as was every room in this house. But the greatest part was that I couldn't see the walls because of the book-filled shelves. Floor to ceiling. I was in awe.

"This is amazing," I said as I stepped into the room.

"This is my library."

As if that wasn't obvious…

Besides the book shelves lining the walls, there were several chairs and a couple of couches scattered around the room. There were three small tables here and there. And a fireplace that sat directly opposite the door. The room looked wonderfully picturesque.

"I've never seen so many books in one place before, outside of a public library, of course."

"They're all first editions."

I meant to roll my eyes as I said, "That's not surprising," but I think my eyes were still open too wide with shock to do so.

Nik was quiet while I took in the room.

"I feel like I'm living in a scene from Beauty and the Beast."

"Is that a movie?"

I whirled around to face him. "You've never seen Beauty and the Beast?"

"No."

"Seriously? It's Disney." I couldn't believe how I just said that, as if it were impossible to miss a Disney movie.

"Ah, that explains it. Why would I watch an animated film?"

That did sound odd… the great Original Hybrid watching a Disney animated movie.

"But it's a classic."

"Well, the title does sound quite appropriate for our situation."

"Hardly," I scoffed as I returned to sight of all the books surrounding me. "You're no more of a beast than I am, and you are the better-looking one of the two of us."

It was his turn to scoff before he stepped closer to me and put his arms around my waist as he leaned against my back.

"I may never leave this room again," I said, still taking in the sheer number of books surrounding me.

"That's quite fine with me, love." I felt his breath against my ear and cheek. I sighed contently and leaned back against him.

"…If I can find my way back here, that is."

He chuckled, and I could feel his chest rumble. "You'll navigate my home eventually, love."

I turned around to face him. "Thank you. This almost makes me forget about Lewis. How am I ever going to make a decision?"

"Give yourself some time away." He leaned closer and kissed my forehead. "I'm taking you to dinner."

"That's not necessary."

He smoothed his hand down my hair and rested them at the sides of my neck. "No arguing," he said softly.

I walked into the Grill while Nik parked his vehicle. I saw Matt standing behind the bar. He smiled and waved as I walked over.

"Hey, Ri."

"Hi, Matt." I sat down on the bar stool in front of him.

"Haven't seen you in a while. But I guess you've been kind of busy…" he trailed off.

I chuckled. "Yea, having a psychotic, warlock father who holds you captive in a basement somewhere while he plots to kill your boyfriend and his family does prevent a person from frequenting the Grill." We both laughed at the absurdity.

" 'Boyfriend'?" Nik asked as he walked up to the bar and stood in between me and the bar stool next to me. "I wasn't aware we were putting labels on things, love."

I sighed in embarrassment. "We're not. Sorry, Nik. It slipped out."

He smirked. "Are we eating at the bar this evening?"

"No. Will you get a table for us? I need to talk with Matt for a few more minutes."

"Of course." He turned to Matt. "Mate, when you're finished, bring a menu and two glasses of water over to the table for me and my girlfriend." He put emphasis on the last word. I rolled my eyes as he quickly tucked some of my hair behind my ear and kissed my cheek before walking away from the bar.

"It's weird, but you two are actually kind of good together."

"Uh, thanks?"

Matt stepped closer to me and leaned on the bar counter. "I don't know, he just seems less evil, somehow, when you're around him."

"Okay…"

When I didn't speak again, he spoke. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

I decided to just be blunt. "Rebekah." It was Matt's turn to roll his eyes. "Don't do that. Just hear me out. Please?"

He sighed as he picked up his cloth and started wiping the counter. "Fine. Go ahead."

"You went to the Mikaelson Ball with her, right?" He hesitated to answer. "I'm only phrasing it as a question to be nice; you do realize that C has already told me that you did."

"Okay, so I did. So what? That was a long time ago."

"What did you think of her, during your time together at the Ball?"

When he didn't answer, I stared him down, waiting for a response. He sighed. "I don't know; it was all overshadowed by her brother Kol breaking my hand."

"That's fair," I conceded. "But between the time you arrived at the Ball and your awkward one-on-one with Kol, what did you think of Rebekah?"

"She was—" Matt shrugged. "She was fine, I guess. Pretty. Easy to talk to. Not intimidating, as I imagined an Original would be."

I smiled. "You know, she still is all those things. I mean, obviously she's still pretty; that doesn't change. But she's still approachable and great to talk to."

Matt tried to speak, but I held up my hand to stop him.

"I know that all you think about now when you see Rebekah is the fact that she forced your truck off Wickery Bridge. I get that. You could have died, too. And I know it wasn't right, but she did have her reasons. Her brother had just been killed right in front of her. The brother that she was and always had been the closest with; the brother she had spent the better part of a thousand years with. He was gone. He had been killed. She was probably still in shock. She may have even been entering into grief. Either emotion would have compromised her judgement.

"Part of you must understand that, Matt; you lost your sister. All Rebekah knew was that Evil Alaric killed her brother and she wanted revenge. But she couldn't directly kill Alaric, so she killed him by killing Elena. It's not right, but it does make sense. Don't you think?"

Matt didn't respond; he wouldn't even look up from the top of the bar that he had long-ago stopped wiping.

"Look, I'm not asking you to marry her — I'm not even asking you to go on a date with her, or anything. But I am asking you for one thing, and I think it's a simple thing to do: the next time you see Rebekah, can you please just dial down the hostility. Please. I promise you, she doesn't deserve it. I believe that a person is more than just his or her actions."

I stayed at the bar and stared at Matt long enough to get a nod from him before I thanked him and left to join Nik at the table.

"Your speech almost makes me want to run home and hug Rebekah," he said as I sat down.

"Go right ahead." I picked up the menu. "I'm sure she'd love that."

"I said 'almost.' I happen to have a dinner date with my girlfriend right now."

I rolled my eyes. "You can stop saying that. It was a slip of the tongue." And it really had been a slip. 'Boyfriend' was an odd term to associate with Nik. It sounded odd; it didn't fit.

And besides, we didn't need labels anyway. We knew that we wanted to be together. What else mattered?

As we finished eating, I told Nik what I had been thinking about. "I think I should spend tonight back at the Forbes house and maybe sort things out with Caroline."

I went to use the word 'home,' but I realized that I honestly wasn't sure which house that word best applied to anymore. I had been spending most of my time lately at Nik's.

He sighed. "I've been expecting this, but I won't pretend to be happy that you'll be sleeping elsewhere this evening."

I half smiled at that. "I can't leave things hanging with C. She is still my family and someone I care about."

"I know. When we're finished here, I'll take you over there."

"Thank you."

"And maybe I'll revert to sneaking in through your bedroom window again."

I laughed. It felt like a lot of time had passed since he's done that. "I'll make sure to leave it unlocked, then."

I walked into the bathroom before Nik and I left the Grill and went straight to the sink to wash my hands. I heard a scuffle behind me, but I didn't get a chance to turn around and check it out.

It seems like an odd thing to think about, but as my world faded to darkness after the sharp piercing stab in my neck, all that ran through my mind was the idea that happiness never lasts.

Something or someone is always there to steal it away.