"...So...witches created everything," Avery clarified. "The werewolves, the vampires...but what created witches? Not my daddy. Doesn't seem like something he would do. In fact, he tends to drown people or imprision them in bad places when they try to overstep their bounds and stuff."

Malachai shrugged. "Well, I don't know. You'll have to ask him. I guess he decided that since witches wouldn't do any harm when they showed up, he decided to let them be."

Avery gasped. "Or maybe he spared the witches because of my mom!"

Malachai made a face. "But he didn't know that your mom was a witch at the time," he pointed out.

"Well, whatever," Avery shrugged. "The werewolves were created first by the witch, Enid?"

"Yes," Ludovic nodded. "Revenge on her cheating boyfriend, Rudolph. She saw him as an animal, unable to control his lusts...so she doomed him to be a slave to them."

"Well, good, if he's gonna be an idiot," Avery replied savagely. "Before I forget, would you do me the biggest favor?"

"If it's what I think it is, no," Malachai replied dryly.

"Oh, I know better than to ask for that," Avery grinned. "At least now, anyway. No, I just need your opinion about what I should wear on my date tonight. Any thoughts?"

Malachai refused to look up at her, gripping his book tight, and shutting his eyes tighter. "No, I don't have any thoughts. Can we go back to the lesson, please?"

But Avery ignored him. "I have these wide black trouser pants, nice and tight, and a shirt that would show off my back..."

"For your father's sake, Avery!" Malachai yelled. "Wear a fur coat and a turtleneck for all I care!"

Avery pouted. "No need to get snippy and insult me!"

Malachai started to reply, but was cut off by a sudden burst of loud noise from outside the office door: booms, bangs, lots of swearing...

"What do you think is going on out there?" Avery asked. "And don't tell me to stop and concentrate on the lesson because I don't think I'll be able to with all that noise."

Malachai sighed. "For once, I agree with you. Let's go see Astrid and try to get to the bottom of this mess."

Astrid paced back and forth in her office, rubbing her hands nervously and biting her nails, only pausing when her office door opened and Alistair strode in. "Please don't talk to me if you don't have anything useful to say," she begged. "I know we're fighting, I know we're having problems, but...I just can't handle any more right now."

But Alistair said nothing. Just gave a slight nod, pulled her into his arms, and hugged her. She was surprised at first...resistant. But then, she felt tears starting to flow from her cheeks, and she hugged him tighter and let them fall.

"S-sorry," she sniffled, finally pulling away and seeing a wet spot on his coat. "I didn't mean to get you all wet!"

He grabbed a tissue from the box on her desk and handed it to her. "It's okay. It'll dry." He sighed. "And...I won't deny that I haven't been feeling too good myself these days."

"Well, how could we feel good at all?" Astrid wanted to know. "Our daughter is going to probably be executed any day now!"

Alistair took her hand in his and made sure she was looking him in the eye. "We'll find a way to get the charges dropped, I promise; Nothing...permanent is going to happen to Helene. I won't let it."

Astrid shook her head. "I-I'm so scared but I can't show it. I can't show anything but willingness to go along with the law because how would it look if the head of the Council wanted her daughter to go free when she's committed crimes that would doom someone else?" She sniffled again. "I just...thank you for letting me show my grief."

Alistair nodded and kissed her forehead gently. "I know. I feel the same way." He sighed. "In hindsight, I'm glad Helene made a run for it."

"Me too; I mean, it's a shame that we might never see her again, but it's better than her being killed."

Alistair took her face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes. "We're in this together, Astrid. Even if..."

"Even if?" Astrid asked. "Even if...what?"

Alistair scoffed. "I don't know," he said.

Then, Astrid grabbed his face and kissed him.

"What was that?"

"What do you think it was? Do you need me to do it again?"

"No, no," Alistair shook his head. "But remember, you started it, so I don't want to hear anything about how I manipulated you in a vulnerable moment, and-"

"Stop, will you?" Astrid begged. "Just shut up and..." she backed up against her desk. "Take me."

Alistair nodded, picked her up, and sat her on the desk. Pants were unzipped and panties were on the floor.

"Is this..." Alistair asked as he pulled down one of the shoulders of her dress and kissed her bare shoulder, "is this why you wore this dress today?"

"No," Astrid shook her head and threw her arms around his neck. "Just luck, I guess." Truth was that her regular sized blazers were beginning to get tight when she buttoned them so she'd switched to dresses cause of that, but it was something she didn't want to tell Alistair just yet.

Her moaning with each thrust turned him on even more until, at last, she was laid across the desk with the elastic neckline of her dress pulled down and her bra off so he could play with her breasts too.

"Yes!" She yelled. "Good, good!"

It was then, after she took a few deep breaths that Astrid realized how close she was letting herself get to her soon to be ex husband. Not wanting to get pulled back into the trap (although maybe she'd gone too far already,) she sat up, her face deep red with embarrassment, put on her panties, straightened her clothes, and stood up straight, doing her best not to let her eyes stray downward toward Alistair's open zipper. "Yes," she said firmly before retreating behind her desk where she felt much safe. "You and I are in this together to help Helene, but...that's all. Am I clear?"

The door opened again and Malachai and Avery entered with Malachai casting a look around the office. "Everything okay in here? We heard bangs and crashes and swearing and we wondered if you knew..."

"No!" Alistair snapped. "And why do you always have to show up at the worst possible moment?"

"I work here, remember?" Malachai reminded him. "I have every right to be concerned about my co-workers."

"Oh, yes, you work here," Alistair drawled, a wicked grin on his lips. "What is it you do again? Are you the janitor?"

"Alistair, be nice," Astrid said firmly.

"I know that you're hurting," Avery said, reaching out for Astrid's and Alistair's hands. "I know you both are. Is it because of your daughter?"

"H-how do you know that?" Astrid asked, amazed.

"Oh, don't be impressed," Alistair scoffed and glared at Malachai. "Big mouth here probably told her."

"No, no, he didn't!" Avery shook her head. "I...it's one of the powers I inherited from my father. I pick up on things without someone telling me..."

Malachai's jaw dropped. "And how come this is the first time I'm hearing about this?"

"Sorry," Avery shrugged. "I'm still getting used to it and I wanted to make sure it wasn't just a fluke before I went around and told everybody."

Before anything else could be said in response to this announcement, Astrid and Alistair looked on in surprise as both Helene and Ludovic were pushed roughly through the office door. After they had time to dust themselves off, Helene looked her parents in the eyes and gave them a small smile.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Daddy."

Astrid stepped forward first and took both her daughter's hands, a smile on her lips. "Hello, Helene. They stared at each other for a long moment, then hugged, before Helene turned back to Ludovic.

"These are my parents," she told him.

"Yes, I remember," Ludovic said and gave them a nod. "From the night we left your house. Nice to meet them officially, though it should go without saying that I would have preferred better circumstances."

"Now you say 'Hello'," Helene prodded her father. "And be nice about it; he's been good to me."

"Prince Ludovic," Alistair hissed through his teeth.

"What do you mean by 'Prince'?" Helene asked and then gave Malachai a brief glance. "Malachai..."

"Helene," Malachai got out. "I would say that it's nice to see you, but under the circumstances, that's not true. And you know I don't like to lie."

"She's your ex-wife?" Avery asked.

"Yes," Helene nodded. "And who are you?"

"I'm God's daughter, Avery," Avery replied without any hint of being self-conscious.

"Of course you are," Helene scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Interesting that you found a crazy one this time." She looked her over. "But I guess being pretty counts for a lot more, doesn't it?"

Avery smiled. "You think I'm pretty? Thanks! You're not so bad yourself!"

"Don't say anything else, Avery," Malachai urged. Then he locked eyes with Helene again. "You're one to talk, Miss 'I found myself a prince'!"

"What is with all this 'Prince' nonsense?" Helene cried. "If you're gonna insult him, at least make an actual effort."

Ludovic cleared his throat. "Helene, I think you and I need to have a word in private. Come with me."

He tried to pull her out of the room into the hallway, but she resisted and was soon dropped to the floor when the door opened and someone sped in, grabbing Ludovic by the throat and pinning him against the wall.

"Adrian!" Astrid cried.

But he was beyond hearing as both his hands closed around Ludovic's throat.

Astrid continued to yell, but she was ignored.

Eloise came in and froze at the sight of Adrian shaking Ludovic like a dog with a rat. "No!" She yelled. "Adrian put him down."

"Good, keep saying that," Astrid encouraged. "Maybe you'll get through to him."

"And if that doesn't work, we'll try something," Malachai said. Then he and Alistair began trying to pull Adrian and Ludovic apart. But nothing came of their efforts and they were soon pushed out of the way.

Astrid began to worry that nothing would stop Adrian until Ludovic was dead, so when the door opened again, she almost breathed a sigh of relief. "Gertrude! Rudolph!" She cried, so full of relief that she forgot her manners. "You're here."

Gertrude raised an eyebrow. "Why are you speaking to us in that tone?"

"Free my son at once!" Rudolph barked.

Adrian turned to give them a brief glance but then went back to what he was doing. He didn't know who they were and he didn't give a single damn about it.

"Adrian, for heaven's sake, free him!" Alistair yelled. "He's your ancestor, Prince Ludovic of the Lycanthrope Kingdom!"

"What?" Helene's jaw dropped. "Daddy, what do you mean, Prince of the...what?"

"Helene," Ludovic got out but just barely. "Let me explain...I'm not...I chose a different life for myself..."

Adrian finally dropped him on the ground like trash, glaring at Alistair as Ludovic tried to catch his breath and stop coughing.

"I...I promise," he said at last when he could speak. "Helene, that life isn't for me anymore. I left it. I'm just Ludovic now and that's the truth!"

"And if you expect me to give a fuck because he's a prince, I don't!" Adrian said. "I mean, considering where I am in the vampire chain of things, we're basically the same so I'm not going to kneel and scrape!"

"Adrian..." Eloise gave a murmur of warning and rubbed her belly. "Please watch your tone."

"I want you to start giving a fuck," Malachai told Adrian firmly. "Because he's close enough to being the first that if you had killed him, you would have ended the lives of all the other werewolves, including your own."

"He's right," Avery nodded, stepping forward. "The first family of every species needs to stay alive or everyone after them will die."

"How do you know that?" Malachai asked. "Your father's knowledge again?"

"No," Avery shook her head. "Do you think I just wait for your lessons, Malachai? I read up on things on my own too."

Just then, Beatrice and William entered. "Don't worry," Beatrice told Helene. "We found a room to put the children in. They're safe."

William locked eyes with Rudolph. "Hello, brother."

"I have nothing to say to you, especially anything like 'Hello'," Rudoph sniffed. "You knew where Ludovic was all this time and you didn't say a word!"

"Perhaps," William nodded. "But I'm not sorry. It was for the greater good."

Mathilde raised an eyebrow. "What children are you talking about?"

"Three orphaned werewolves we found in the woods," Ludovic explained. "Their village was burned and their parents were killed. Actually only two are children. The other is an older boy, a teenager."

"So that really happened," said another tall man, entering the office. "So sad to hear you confirm it, Ludovic." He sighed and rested his gaze on his shoes. "Werewolf villages being burned, families all dying..." he shuddered. "It's been going on for months." Then he looked up and smiled. "I'm sorry for just barging in like this. Hello, Beatrice, everyone. It's been a long time." His eyes landed on Eloise and he smiled. "Hello, beautiful pregnant lady. Triplets, no?"

"Yes," Eloise grinned. "Very big triplets!"

"Baltazar?" Astrid and Alistair said together."

He smiled at them. "Alistair! Astrid! Dear friends..."

"You know this guy?" Helene asked. She sensed shiftiness coming from him. "Is he really your friend?"

"No," Astrid was quick to reassure her daughter. "We're not friends. Just...we have to work together for business. That's all."

Baltazar made a fake sad face. "Not in the friendliest of moods, I see."

"What are you doing here?" Beatrice demanded.

"Well, I was passing through town and I realized that it had been a while since I'd seen my extended family, so I decided to drop by and give you all my regards," Baltazar explained.

"I'm glad you did!" Ludovic exclaimed and went to hug his uncle. "I'm so glad you're back." He grinned.

"Hello, Ludovic!" Baltazar greeted and gave him a clap on the back that almost sent him tumbling to the floor. "You made me so proud the day you decided to be a man and leave your..." He paused and whispered in Ludovic's ear. "...Your awful mother."

"Now," Gertrude said to Astrid after giving Baltazar a wicked glare. "Let's not forget why we came here. With what I have just seen, it's more important than ever."

"Oh?" Astrid said. "And what's that?"

"Your daughter has damaged our son's honor by dragging him into this scheme," Gertrude replied. "And we demand retribution!"

"Excuse me!" Helene cried. "He was a willing participant! I didn't force him to do anything! I-"

"Shut up!" Ludovic hissed, putting a hand over Helene's mouth to silence her. "Just shut up! You're right, but now is not the time to point that out!" Then he cleared his throat and eyed his parents. "I'll make you a deal," he said. "I'll come back and take back my title, but I want a few things in return."

"What are they?" Rudolph questioned.

"I want to be able to marry Helene," he said. "I want you to drop any charges you might be drafting against her. And...I want to adopt the orphans that we have with us." Then he let out a curse as Helene bit his hand and pushed him away.

"You think I want to marry you now?" She raged. "You think I want to marry someone who lied to me and who probably hasn't said a true word our whole relationship? You want me to just get down on my knees in gratitude because you're going to be so kind and rescue me? No, thank you! That might be how you think you can treat women in Werewolf World, but witches do not put up with that kind of crap! You can go to Hell for all I care!"

"And he had a part in kidnapping my pregnant wife and holding her hostage!" Adrian yelled. "You don't just expect me to let that go, do you? I don't care if he is a damn prince!"

Meanwhile, Avery's eyes were wide beside Malachai, and she ran over to help Eloise, who was pale and shaking. "I...I feel dizzy," she said.

Avery held onto her and looked down at the floor. "There's a puddle of water by Eloise," she said. "Should I clean it up?"

Adrian's eyes widened. "Oh, fuck!" he yelled. "No, no!" he gently elbowed Avery aside and took Eloise in his arms. "No, this can't be happening! Her C-section isn't for another week! How will we get the babies out?"

"A-Adrian," Eloise muttered, her breathing picking up. "Adrian, I think the babies are coming." Then she passed out.

"We have to get to the hospital!" Adrian cried. "Don't just stand there! Someone get us to the hospital!"

"I'll do it," Baltazar volunteered.

Once they were gone, Gertrude and Rudolph began thinking about their son's proposition. On the one hand, it was an impossible thing. The girl was a witch...and a difficult one at that. But she was clearly the one that Ludovic was in love with and due to that spell that had rendered him impotent, he would never have children of his own. Adoption would be a way to carry the family forward...and besides, they'd said themselves that the children were full werewolves. At least that counted for something. Give Ludovic a way to hold his head up when facing the rest of the kingdom.

"So?" Ludovic asked at last. "Yes? Or no?"

"We're still thinking," Rudolph told him. "And until we do, you'll stay with us, and the girl will stay with her parents. Your aunt and uncle can take the children for now. They seem to like them well enough. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," Ludovic sighed, reaching out to clutch Helene's hand for the last time in who knew how long before his parents marched him from the room.

"...it's all my fault," Adrian, mumbled, holding Eloise tight as she groaned in pain and tried unsuccessfully to hide it. "Baby bear, I'm sorry..."

When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned his head to find Baltazar looking at him with sympathy in his dark eyes. "Look, young man," the older werewolf said. "I don't know you very well...in fact, I don't know you at all. But I've been around a while and I know what love looks like, and you clearly love the woman you are holding so tight in your arms. I am almost entirely certain that none of what is happening right now is your fault."

"Well," Adrian sighed. "The doctor...the doctor said that having three babies could mean they have a higher chance of coming early."

"See?" Baltazar grinned. "There you go!"

Adrian managed to crack a smile. "Thanks for that. I'm Adrian Mikaelson, by the way. And I'm sorry before for trying to kill, you know...the guy that I almost killed. Do you know him?"

"We're related," Baltazar replied. "And he's made his own share of bad choices so I am going to assume, again, that some of what you did to him, he brought on himself. It's a pleasure to meet you, Adrian Mikaelson." Then he scoffed. "My goodness, this is a hospital. You would think they would be more prompt. Would someone please help us? A very lovely lady has gone into early labor with triplets and is in desperate need of assistance!"

That was all it took before a bunch of doctors and nurses descended on them, carefully getting Eloise into a chair and then taking her (as fast as they safely could) to a hospital room.

"Thank you," Adrian told Baltazar.

"Don't mention it," Baltazar shook his head. "Go be with your wife now. That's the most important thing."

"How did you know she's my wife?"

Baltazar grinned. "With the way you look at her, how could she not be?"

As Adrian entered the hospital room room, he breathed a sigh of relief. Eloise's eyes were open, and although she was clearly in pain, she did her best to smile when she saw him.

"Hi," he said. "I know this is my fault. I'm sorry."

Eloise winced and grabbed his hand. "Yeah, you were an ass. But..."

"But what?"

Eloise truly smiled. "But I love you anyway. There's very little you could do to make me stop loving you."

Adrian began to cry, tears running down his cheeks. "I can't imagine life without you by my side. There's got to be a way to get the children out safely. There's gotta be! No one here is going to let you die!"

"I believe that completely," Eloise nodded. "You'll always have four of me around." She paused and gave him a look as he knelt down beside her bed, muttering to himself. "What are you doing?" She asked. "Praying to Steve?"

"No," Adrian sighed. "My great-grandma Warren was a midwife. Never lost a baby. Maybe she'll give us luck or something. Cause I know I'm a very lucky man. And I'm not gonna give up on you or the girls now. We'll figure this out, Eloise. I promise! Even if it means I have to get them out myself!"

"I don't think that's necessary," Came a voice from the doorway.

"Sean!" Adrian cried. "Thank Steve they sent someone competent!"

Junior grinned and shook his head. "Well, if it isn't Adrian Mikaelson and his beautiful wife," he said, advancing toward the bed and gently squeezing Eloise's foot under the blanket. "So...what happened here?"

"I...I got upset at someone, and stressed her out so her water broke and she started having contractions," Adrian explained.

"How far away are you from the planned c-section?" Junior asked.

"Just a week," Eloise sighed.

"So you're not too far off then," Junior nodded. "This could have happened anyway, so don't beat yourself up too much, Adrian." Then he gave Eloise a smile. "And how are you feeling?"

"Like three babies want to burst out of me!" Eloise cried. "I'm feeling like my stomach is going to explode! Get them out of me, please!"

"Well, I am here to do just that," Junior said. Then he put on a pair of weird looking glasses and peered intently at her stomach.

"What are you doing?" Eloise asked.

"I'm trying to figure out how much I need to slow things down," Junior explained. "These glasses have magic that allows me to see inside your belly without harming the babies."

"And?" Adrian asked. "Is it an emergency?"

"Not as bad as it could be," Junior said. "The one that's closest to coming out is head down. That means we have a little bit more time before things get more complex. We have time to get one baby out!"

Meanwhile, Baltzar, who was listening to the conversation from the hallway outside the room was soon joined by someone else who was very keen on learning what was happening.

"What's going on?" Gabrielle asked. Eloise's mother saw the discomfort on her daughter's face and worry hit her gut. "Baltazar, what's happening?"

"You're daughter is about to give birth, Gabrielle," he said. "You know this."

"Right," she nodded. "That's why I'm here. How foolish of me to forget!"

"Well, you saw your daughter was in pain," Baltazar reminded her. "No one can blame you for being scared for her."

Gabrielle let out a breath. "Thank you so much for calling me and telling me this was happening so I wouldn't miss the birth of my grandchild!"

"You're welcome, what's a friend for?" Baltazar grinned. "Oh, and since it seems you don't know...your daughter is going to have three babies, apparently, according to her husband."

"Three?" Gabrielle's eyes widened. "Oh, my goodness!"

"I'm surprised you haven't asked about my brother yet," Baltazar told her.

"I...I was going to," Gabrielle replied. "I heard he's here with the Queen. I'm trying to stay out of the way."

"Yes," Baltazar scoffed. "The bitch is here with him. And your son Ludovic the prince, too."

Gabrielle sighed again and Baltazar pulled her into a hug. "When you came back, did you tell your daughter's father? Does he know you're here?"

"No, I haven't yet," Gabrielle shook her head. "He has enough going on. He's in love with another woman and his former wife came back from the dead. The last thing he needs is a one-night stand just popping up to say 'Bonjour'."

"You have to show yourself eventually," Baltazar reminded her. "Why not just get it over with now?"

"I will, I promise," Gabrielle tried to reassure him. "All in good time, I swear!"

"Come on, come on," Malachai urged as he grabbed both of Sibyl's hands and pulled her into the restaurant. "Don't just stand in the doorway. It's rude!"

"I wasn't," Sybil protested, trying to keep her balance as he pulled her along. "What in the world is the matter with you?" She paused and heaved a big sigh, rolling her eyes. "Or do I even want to ask?"

"I would be happier if you didn't," he said. "And I think you would too." He sat them both down at a table, then obscured both their faces with a giant menu. "Thank goodness this place has so many options," he said. "I love menus with lots of options."

"Yeah, it would be hard to cower behind a tiny menu, wouldn't it?" Sybil drawled. "Why the hell did you bring me here? What's going on?"

"Well, can't a man just bring a beautiful woman on a date?" Malachai asked, doing his best to appear to have genuinely hurt feelings.

"He can," Sybil agreed. "But I don't know that this is a date. In fact, I don't know what it is." She narrowed her eyes at him, then let out a soft burst of incredulous laughter when she saw Avery come through the restaurant door with a young man trailing behind her. "Why am I not surprised," she groaned. "It's Avery again. Would you just tell her how you feel and stop being an idiot? Or is that too hard of a concept for you to grasp at the moment?"

Malachai flushed bright red and waved his hand wildly at her. "Shhh!" he hissed. "Quiet! Go back to your menu and stop drawing attention to our table!" He paused and took a deep breath to try and retain some of his dignity. "As for anything else, I don't know what you're talking about. My feelings have nothing to do with Avery and the young man at the table over there. I'm just a little wary of strangers at this restaurant. That's all."

Sybil scoffed. "You must be crazy in love with her! You wouldn't be lying and blushing so much if you weren't!"

"I am not," Malachai tried to insist. "She is a child, and as a grown man, I do not have that sort of interest in children!"

"Got it!" Sybil cried triumphantly. "You know who I'm talking about! The gorgeous, dark-eyed brunette sitting with the young man at the table over there. You're in love with Gwen and Steve's daughter. I knew it!"

"I am not!" Malachai shook his head. "I am only staring at the table so intently to make sure no funny business happens on this date. Steve asked me to."

"Yeah, sure," Sybil nodded. "Steve did."

"You can't blame a father for wanting to look after his daughter."

"And how would you know that?" Sybil asked. "Do you have any daughters?"

"Several, actually," Malachai countered. "It's a complicated thing to explain and I didn't raise any of them, but...I do have some."

Sybil rolled her eyes. "You know, that wasn't the sort of answer I meant. And you knew that before you said it. I just want you to be honest about your feelings for Avery, that's all." She sighed and shook her head. "If only I could get myself a man who tells it like it is, no bullshit!"

"I don't know what you expect from me," Malachai said. "I have nothing more to tell."

"Yeah?" Sybil got in his face. "Nothing like...you want me real bad and that's it? Or that you want Avery real bad? That's all I want to hear: that a man wants me, and nothing else. Why is that so hard?" She huffed and crossed her arms. "I hate being a third wheel!"

"Actually, if you count it right, you're a fourth wheel," Malachai corrected helpfully.

"Oh, shut up," Sybil glared, deciding at that moment to skip dinner and go straight for the dessert cart.

"I...I don't mean any of this in a bad way," Malachai tried to backpedal. "I like you very much...I think you're a wonderful person..."

"You used to hate demons!"

"I know," Malachai admitted. "But I'm older and wiser now!"

Sybil gave an evil grin and plucked a gray hair from his head. "I don't know about wiser, but you're definitely older."

Malachai ignored that remark. "Look at her," he said about Avery. "Laughing at all his stupid jokes like he's the funniest man on the planet. He can't even file right and he makes lousy coffee."

"You're only making it worse for yourself by paying attention," Sybil tried to tell him. "She probably saw or heard you and is doing her best to try and make you miserable."

"But why would she do that?" Malachai wanted to know.

"Gee," Sybil said, wanting so badly to slap him. "What could possibly cause a woman to want retribution against a man? Think about that while I look the menu over. I was going to go straight for the dessert cart, but now that I saw there's lobster, I'm having second thoughts."

Eventually, Sybil was halfway through the dessert cart and Malachai was still red and shaking with rage. "She just stroked his cheek!" He growled. "Sybil did you see?"

"No," Sybil shook her head, her mouth full of chocolate cake. At first she had been irritated by all this, especially since she knew that the loud, fake way Avery was giggling meant she was fully aware that Malachai was watching her and she was just trying to make her as mad as possible.

And it was working! Malachai got madder, and madder...until, with a curse that seemed so unbecoming for a man like him, he made the young man Avery was with disappear.

"So..." She asked after swallowing her cake. "Who was that guy Avery was with that you made disappear because you're jealous?"

"What guy?" Malachai asked, reached for a Baked Alaska, and put his napkin in his lap.

"The kid with the woman you desire so much."

"Oh, him," Malachai shrugged. "Maybe he went to the bathroom. I'm not his keeper!"

Meanwhile, Avery was looking everywhere for Gerald. Under the table, under the next table, and the next...then, as she came back to sit, she locked eyes with Malachai and shook her fist at him and drew a finger across her throat, her eyes black with anger.

"You know," he said, swallowing, "it's been a real pleasure, Sybil, but I have to go now. I hope you understand." He threw his napkin down and abruptly started to walk away as Sybil began to realize just how much she'd eaten.

"How are we gonna pay for all this?" She called. "Would you put in for half?" She could pay for it all if she had to...but she didn't want to.

But Malachai didn't hear her. He was already out the door with Avery, running like Fury, on his heels.

"Hey!" Avery cried as Malachai ran. "Slow down!" It was no joke running in these heels. They were pretty but didn't have much else to recommend them. "Slow down right now. I can see you! You don't stop and I'm going to turn you into the chicken that you are!"

No, Malachai thought to himself. Would the zebra stop to make it easier for the lion to eat him? I don't think so! But finally he turned around, pasting a smile on his face. "Well, Avery, hello! Fancy meeting you here! I would love to chat, but I'm late for a...a thing, so..." He turned away, not seeing her raise her hand to cast a spell causing him to bump hard into an invisible but very real feeling brick wall.

"Damn it!" He yelled, rubbing his head and turning to glare at her. "What did you do? You better hope nothing's broken or-"

"Or what?" Avery asked, arms crossed. Along with her mini skirt and heels, she wore a sleeveless vest with no back. But of course Malachai couldn't see that. "And stop being such a big baby. You didn't hit that hard. You're not even bleeding!" She advanced on him. "Now tell me...what did you do with Gerald?" She asked, fire in her eyes. "Where is he?"

"Gerald who?" Malachai asked innocently. "Maybe if you described him, I would know who you were talking about."

"Oh, stop," she said, poking him in the chest. "You know perfectly well who Gerald is. You know, the warlock from the Council that you're jealous of? The one who is younger and more attractive than you?"

"Mind your manners," Malachai told her. "Why would I know where he is?"

"Because you saw him!" Avery cried. "You were sitting at a table not far from ours, spying on us! And with some blonde no less!" Her eyes narrowed.

"You were by our table?" Malachai questioned, eyes wide and trying to sound clueless. "Really? I didn't see you!"

Avery grunted and, with the whole weight of her body behind her, gave him a good, hard slap. He stumbled, got his balance, and stared at her, open mouthed as he rubbed his cheek.

"What the hell was that for?"

"For being a big, fat liar!" Avery yelled. "I know that you have been watching Gerald and I ever since we came into the restaurant. For two hours of your life, you had nothing better to do! You got jealous about how happy we were, used your magic on him, and now he's missing! You better know how to fix it!"

"Don't flatter yourself thinking that I was looking at you all that time," he said with a sorrowful shake of his head. "I wasn't. I prefer blondes, as you probably noticed and you..." he took a strand of her dark hair in his fingers "...you don't really fit the profile."

"Oh, sure," Avery put her hands on her hips. "Prove it!"

"I don't have to prove anything to you," he said.

Avery stomped her foot. "I know you were spying on me!"

"Oh, all right," Malachai heaved a big sigh and rolled his eyes. "I was having dinner with a friend and fulfilling a request from your father. Happy?"

"You're lying again! Can't you ever stop lying?"

"It's not a lie at all. When your father found out that the beautiful Sybil and I would be having dinner at the same restaurant you and Gerald were, he asked me to just make sure everything went all right."

"If that's your story," Avery said, pulling her phone out of her purse, "you know that I can call Daddy myself and check up on it."

"Give me that!" Malachai yelled and tried to yank it out of her hands. This turned into a rapid game of keep away until finally, Malachai grabbed it and threw it on the ground, causing it to smash into several pieces. "There," he said smugly and wiped his hands.

"You broke my phone!" Avery yelled.

"You brought this on yourself with your childish behavior," Malachai snapped. "If you had just stopped behaving like a child, I would have let it be!"

"Where is Gerald?" Avery yelled, her face bright red.

"Oh, calm down," Malachai replied. "It's not like he's hurt or anything. Safe and sound in his office at the Council."

"Gerald has more class in his little finger than you do in your whole body!" Avery cried.

"You can go on and on about how much you admire him, but then who's lying?" Malachai snapped. "You know he's not the one you really want."

Avery burst out laughing. "And I hope you don't think it's you instead," she replied.

"Yes," he said, grabbing her so that their chests bumped into each other. "It is me!"

They then gave each other a long look before he kissed her deeply and pinned her against the wall in the alley. His lips were all over every bare inch of skin he could find. Then, as he looked at her, hair mussed and two of her shirt buttons undone, he put a finger to his lips, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into his car and sitting her down on his lap.

"Malachai," She breathed and then let out a moan as he kissed her bare shoulders and nibbled on her earlobes and neck.

He was breathing heavily. "God, you're so sexy! I can't get enough of you!" Then he undid the rest of her shirt buttons to get at her breasts. It was immediately clear that she was not wearing a bra.

She giggled as he played and then undid his shirt buttons, giggling as she kissed his bulged chest.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"Well, my dad sent you to look after Gerald when he should have been worrying about you instead," Avery said with a smile. "I think that's plenty funny."

They then continued to make out until a knock on the window made them both jump, their eyes wide as they saw a frowning policeman glaring back at them.

They dressed quickly, Malachai blushing as red as the lipstick that covered his face. He wiped it off and tried to straighten his hair. Then he put the window down and cleared his throat. "Yes, officer? Is there a problem?"

"You do know that it's against the law to have sex in a restaurant parking lot, don't you?" the policeman asked. Then, before Malachai could respond, the officer wrote him a ticket for several hundred dollars. "Get dressed and get out of here," he ordered. "If you're doing to do that, do it behind closed doors."

Malachai sighed. "Shit."

He probably thought I was too young to have any money," Avery said.

"If he'd thought you were too young, that would have been a whole other set of problems," Malachai replied, trying to take a breath.

"Do you think the policeman will tell my parents?" Avery asked worriedly. "Oh, this is all your fault!"

"Oh, don't you dare!" Malachai yelled. "You were a willing participant too."

"Don't remind me!" Avery groaned. "Get in the front seat and drive me to the Council." She pouted and looked out the window. "I need to find Gerald and apologize. I owe him that much at least."

Meanwhile, Sybil had resigned herself to the fact that Malachai wasn't coming back. With a moan, she paid the bill, even leaving a good tip, knowing it would be some time before she'd be able to buy herself anything pretty. Unless her mystery man she'd always dreamed of was insanely rich too.

"No," She paused and shook her head. She didn't want another man. Any man. Men sucked, Malachai included. Maybe she should just get a couple of cats and a house on the beach somewhere. that would be nice. She'd just be able to live her own life and not be surrounded by men who would always treat her horribly. The decision made, she turned the corner to go through the alley to her car, and bumped into someone.

"Hey," she cried, looking up as she struggled to keep her balance. The person had hit her in the chest pretty hard. She noticed that other person was a man and became full of rage.

"Do you mind?" She asked, hands on her chest. "Watch where you're going!"

He'd been watching her with his cool blue eyes but as she spoke, his eyes met hers. "Can't you? You bumped into me too!"

Then they realized that they had seen each other before and winced. "It's you!" She hissed. "Just when I thought this evening couldn't get any worse!"

He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Sybil," he growled. "I heard the dead had come back. I had hoped that the demons wouldn't be resurrected but sadly, I was wrong. It pleases me so much when one of your kind dies."

"Mikael Mikaelson," she breathed. "Or whatever it is you call yourself. "I'm sure it gives you just as much pleasure to know that demons can be resurrected. Or is it just that I'm ecstatic to see the look on your face when you found out?"

Mikael scoffed. "You couldn't care less about me if you tried, just like I couldn't care less about you!"

"You got that right," Sybil replied. "At least I'm not bumping into people and manhandling them. I can barely feel my breasts!" She then rubbed them to make sure they were still there.

"Oh, my dear," Mikael clicked his tongue and shook his head. "If you're trying to arouse me, it isn't working. How can I be aroused by something I can't see?"

Sibyl's eyes widened in shock and her jaw dropped. Her hands balled into fists. Just who did he think he was to talk about her that way? She wanted to slap his head clean off! Then, a thought hit her. A grin slowly curved her lips. "Yes, well...you might not think much of my body, but..." She paused and adjusted her bra. "...I assure you that your stepson has much better taste in the female body than you do!"

Mikael winced and turned his head to gag, possibly to throw up. He wasn't sure. "You mean, you and Niklaus..."

Sybil nodded. "Oh, yes. Sometimes several times a day!"

"Don't make me sick!" He spat.

"I'm sorry," she batted her eyes innocently. "Have I touched a nerve? So good to know I can!"

"No, no more," he shook his head and backed away. "I don't have time for a slut demon like you!" Despite what he said, he couldn't help looking her over. She was wearing a very nice, very body hugging dark blue dress, silver stiletto heels, and an expensive, sparkly blue cashmere pashmina draped over her shoulders. At least she had a taste in fashion, even if that was the only taste she had.

"Yeah, well, that's fine," she hissed. "Because I don't have time for a fossil like you, either!"

They were very close now, smelling each other's perfume and cologne, their breaths picking up as they bared their teeth at one another. Then Mikael stepped around her, coming up behind to put both hands on her shoulders and whisper in her ear. "Don't ever think of crossing my path again, Sybil," he said. "If I see you again, I won't act so gentlemanly."

She scoffed and pushed him away. "You call all this gentlemanly?" She asked. "I'd really hate to see what your bad manners are! A caveman would be more gentlemanly then you!"

The loud laughter that came next seemed to make something in Mikael snap. He grabbed her arm, pulling her to him and making them bump chests again. She swallowed and then made the mistake of staring deeply into what actually were a pair of very beautiful blue eyes. The air began to thicken around them. She let out a moan, actually found herself leaning forward, wanting to kiss those lips, cause she was either desperate or losing her mind. But then he started speaking and she came back to her senses.

"I would suggest you see a good plastic surgeon. Implants are good for women or woman-like creatures such as yourself who have small chests."

"Oh, go to hell!" She snapped, hoping he wouldn't see her blush. Then she squirmed and flailed, trying to get away from him.

He finally pushed her away, smirking as she lost her balance and fell on her butt. "What a pleasure it was to bump into you," he drawled, probably sarcastically, before turning on his heel and striding away.

"I hope you'll be dead before sunrise," she called, struggling to get to her feet.

"You and everyone else," he responded dismissively. He then continued to walk away and she kept her eyes on him while she tried to get her heartbeat and breathing to slow down. She found him repulsive, so why did he make her feel this way?

She shook her head and wiped off her clothes before striding the opposite way toward her car. "Get your head together, Sybil," she told herself. There's no one on this earth worse for you than Mikael Mikaelson!

What she didn't see as she made her way back to her car was that Mikael had paused and was watching her go. "I'll be damned," he whispered to himself. He didn't want to admit it, and he'd never admit it to her, but even bruised, mussed, and covered in dirt, she looked amazing tonight. A demon with a blue dress on. He wondered what she looked like with it off.

He shook his head and growled. She was beautiful and he knew it. And if she wasn't a female demon, he knew he would have taken her in the alley tonight without hesitation. But thank goodness he wasn't that desperate. It would take something extreme for him to actually want a demon. He chuckled, shook his head at how stupid lust had almost made him, and walked home.