"Good evening." Kol voices, flashing up behind Matt, who was looking around, searching for Bonnie and Caroline. "You're Rebekah's friend. We haven't met." Kol offers his hand.

A dangerous smirk was playing at his lips, besides dancing with his mate, this was going to be the highlight of his evening.

Matt carefully studies the man. At last, he steps up to him, taking hold of the offered hand. "Matt Donovan."

"Kol Mikaelson." Kol's smirk widens as he tightens his hold on Matt's hand, squeezing until he can hear bones crack under the pressure, making Matt groan in pain and drop to the floor.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Damon interjects, taking in the scene before him. He hadn't been mistaken to perceive the youngest Mikaelson male to be a sadistic asshole like Niklaus.

Niklaus, who was done with waiting patiently, almost storms up the stairs, not caring about attracting weird looks from the lingering guests. The concern is legible on his face and he snuffs frantically, trying to locate Luna's scent, which is quite difficult as his house is filled with people.

Elijah, Finn, and Rebekah follow him closely, now also getting worried.

Once upstairs, they see Damon approaching their younger brother.

"Easy on the hand. Guy's a-" Damon comments.

It takes Elijah less than a second to speed over to Damon, slamming him into the nearest wall. Like his sibling, he had watched him and his brother gawk at his mate, Damon was definitely the kind of person who would harm Luna for his own gain.

"Where is she? What did you do?" Elijah bellows, thrusting his hand into Damon's chest, firmly gripping his heart.

Kol's smirk drop at the sudden change of events. He lets go of Matt's hand while eyeing the gathered group. He didn't see his mate, which sparked a sense of panic in the Mikaelson

"Ow" Damon groans, trying to keep his body as still as possible, staring at the enraged Original.

"Answer"

Niklaus, who had also flashed forward, snaps his fingers impatiently in Damon's face, waiting for his response.

"You talking about...Luna? You're barking up against the wrong tree" Damon snarls, immediately wincing as Elijah tightens his grip.

Niklaus glares fiercly at Damon, eyes tinting gold and veins webbing under his eyes.

"This is not the time to start your stand-up career. Where is she?" Elijah interjects, holding Niklaus back with his free hand.

"I..don't... know!" Damon replies, groaning in pain.

• • •

"Mother" Finn greets stiffly, entering his mother's study.

Although his demeanor is casual, his gaze frantically wanders the room, looking for a sign of his mate's presence.

Since Damon was ignorant of his mate's location, only one suspect remained. He had immediately sped towards his mother's study, not caring to inform his siblings, they would soon follow.

He suspects his mother's privacy spell to still be intact, so he deliberately left the door ajar.

Esther looks up from her grimoire, acknowledging Finn's presence.

"Finn, my dear boy. We can complete the link." Esther declares, rising from her seat, reaching for the dagger she had used earlier on the doppelganger.

"Where is she?" Finn asks, gazing intently at his mother, his voice cold and stern.

"Who are you referring to?"

"Luna, where is she? What have you done to her?" Finn growls while slowly prowling closer to his mother, eyes narrowed.

To the sound of Finn's question, the other Mikaelson men swiftly enter the room, all looking calculating at the witch in front of them.

Niklaus sniffs softly, recognizing his mate's scent. His inner vampire was frantic with his mate's absence. He figured Esther had used a cloaking spell, how clever. Niklaus rolls his eyes at his mother's predictability.

"Luna is safe, Finn. Let us complete what we've started and I shall return her to you." Esther suggests, apprehensively eyeing her children, who were all looking quite upset.

"Finn is not going to do anything. Return her to us, mother." Niklaus hisses while crouching slightly, as if ready to jump the witch.

"Watch your tone, Niklaus. I am still your mother." Esther retorts, narrowing her eyes at her son.

"Do pardon his cheek, as soon as you have returned Luna we can all take turns scolding Niklaus for his poor manners." Elijah comments dryly. Although his words were lighthearted, his tone was anything but.

"I'd never pass up on an opportunity to criticize Nik." Rebekah comments, entering the study. She had stayed behind to heal Matt's hand and make a few rude comments towards the Salvatore. She closes the door behind her, not in the mood for eavesdroppers.

Finn growls annoyed, his siblings were getting off-topic. Finn was restlessly pacing the study, snarling now and then at the mere idea of Esther hurting his Luna.

A muscle under Esther's right eye twitches, this wasn't how the evening should have gone. She hadn't thought a girl would suddenly drop in and mess up her plans. The only advantage was that she could use the girl as a pressurizing agent to get the blood of one of her children

Esther did wonder why this person was so important to them, she was clearly not a school friend as she previously claimed, but who was she to her children? Even Finn loved her, which was slightly insulting since he used to always support her, his mother.

"Finn doesn't have to do anything, I only need blood from one of you. Once I have it I shall return her to you." Esther says, eagerly grabbing the dagger from earlier, looking at her children one by one, a precarious glint in her eyes.

"Fine" Niklaus snarls. "Let us be done with this nonsense." He walks towards Esther, holding his hand out. He ignores the sharp sting of the dagger cutting his flesh, simply refusing to flinch or wince in front of his mother.

Esther is about to chant her incantation when Niklaus grabs the dagger at inhuman speed from her grasp, slams his mother against a bookcase, and holds the knife to her throat.

"You have my blood, the girl. Now!" Niklaus growls ferociously, baring his teeth at his mother.

"And don't even think about giving us one of your witchy aneurysms, do that and one of us will surely succeed in snapping your neck!" Rebekah hisses, narrowing her eyes at her mother. She was well aware of the crap witches pull on vampires and she'd rather not end the night with a headache.

Esther sighs, she did agree to return the girl once she had the blood of one of her children. She should have worded the agreement more carefully. With an almost bored gesture, she lifts the cloaking spell, revealing the girl on the loveseat in the corner of the study.

Kol is instantly distraught by the sight of his mate's unconscious form. He runs over and cradles her to his chest.

Instead of relief at the sight of his mate, Niklaus only gets more pissed off. He would usually admire a bold move against him, liking the challenge, but his mate's safety wasn't a game and he wouldn't let his mother off the hook for this.

While Niklaus is almost boiling with anger, Kol is gently snuffling at Luna's pulse point, relieved to hear her steady heartbeat, she was sleeping. He halts his nosing to gently pat her cheek in an attempt to wake her from her slumber.

Finn joins Niklaus and their mother, taking hold of the woman and forcing her into a kneeling position, readying her for her execution.

Luna slowly blinks her eyes open and is immediately met with Kol's concerned expression.

"You're awake, you're okay. Did she hurt you? Do you need anything? Asprin? Blood? Alcohol?" Kol rambles, letting his eyes travel frantically over her face, trying to read her expression.

"Kol..hey-sweetie I'm okay it's okay... I'm okay." Luna murmurs, stroking Kol's cheek, hoping to console him.

Luna looked worriedly at Kol, as if he had been the one who had gone missing instead of her. She shifts in Kol's hold sitting up straight, eyeing the other Mikaelsons. Her gaze meeting Esther's.

"For a thousand years, I've been forced to watch you. Felt the pain of every victim, suffered while you shed blood." Esther starts, still staring straight at Luna. Whatever the girl was to her children, she deserves to know the truth about the horrendous creatures that were her children. Esther hoped that would change Luna's mind about hanging around vampires. Like Elena, Luna was a girl, who didn't deserve to be exposed to the dangers of association with vampires.

Kol's jaw tightens at his mother's words. He couldn't care less that his mother didn't approve of the lifestyle that had been forced upon him, what irritated him was the way the woman was gawking at his mate. She was being insufferably pedantic towards Luna, which was enough reason for Kol to rip her throat out.

Rebekah looks at her mother only with pity. She was sorry that even now the woman on the ground would not face her own mistakes. She found it easier to blame her children.

"Even you, Elijah, with your claim to nobility, you're no better. " Esther continues, not even caring to look at her son.

Elijah merely stares at Esther, while rubbing his blood-covered hand clean with his handkerchief. The final sermon from his mother was completely unnecessary in his eyes. Like his siblings, he would have liked this whole thing to be handled as quickly as possible.

"All of you. You're a curse on this Ea-" Esther is cut off when Luna's fist meets her face.

"Ugh, shut up!" Luna groans, shaking the hand she had punched Esther with. What was it with witches and their inability to keep their mouths shut?

Luna had crawled off Kol's lap, ignoring his silent protests. Luna knew all too well where her little speech was going and she refused to watch her mates and best friend get mentally pulverized by their lewd mother.

The force of the punch knocked Esther's head to the side, a gasp can be heard.

"Bloody hell, you actually did it..." Rebekah mutters, looking incredulously at her friend with raised brows.

"Marry me." Niklaus blurts out, gazing in adoration at his mate.

"Wait-what?" Luna blinks in disbelief, thinking the exciting events of the evening addled his brain. "Nik, sweetie, I don't think this is the right time for a proposal..." Luna says as gently as she can, patting his shoulder in an awkward gesture.

"Idiot" Rebekah mutters, rolling her eyes at her brother.

"I'm going to umm, give you guys some privacy." Luna adds, making her way towards the door. Although she was pretty sure they all despised the woman, it must be difficult to kill the woman who birthed you nonetheless.

Elijah immediately follows her, grasping her waist to support her where necessary, after all, she had just regained consciousness and must have been weakened. Well, that is the argument he would use if she were to protest, in reality, he just wanted her close by.

Kol also flashes out of the room, for a change he wasn't in the mood to kill. He solely wanted to be close to his mate and bother her with his caring demeanor and hovering.

• • •

"Finn" Esther whispers, watching her eldest son prowling closer to her. She had never expected him to kill her. The whisper of his name wasn't meant as a plea for mercy, she knew none of her children were capable of mercy. She had obviously crossed some boundary she wasn't aware of and Finn had obviously informed his siblings of her plans.

"You hurt my mate." Finn growls, crouching in front of his mother, his fangs snapping near her face. "You tried to deny me of her." he accuses, his expression was full of hatred and disgust.

Esther's eyes widen, this explained quite a bit.

With a quick motion, he reaches into her chest, pulling her heart out of her body. Normally he left this method to Elijah, but breaking Esther's neck would be too tame for him.

Niklaus lets go of his grip on Esther's body and pats Finn on the shoulder. Silently showing his support. Niklaus walks up to his sister, who had also stayed quiet during the ordeal. Without exchanging words, he wraps his arms around her, silently comforting her.

• • •

"Ah, I see you've been found, great." Damon cheers sarcastically upon seeing Luna and the two Mikaelsons entering the hallway.

After Elijah had retracted his hand from Damon's chest, Damon had stayed seated on the floor. His chest ached, and he was still plagued by Elena's rotten remarks. Due to these and other factors, his motivation to immediately get up and move was extremely low.

"Why are you still here?" Elijah asks, gently pulling his mate closer to his side while narrowing his eyes at the Salvatore.

"Not much else to do." Damon admits, gently patting the big red stain on the front of his dress shirt. "How was mommy?" Damon pesters, even though he hadn't caught anything that had happened in the room, he could guess.

"Shouldn't you be carrying Elena home or something?" Kol retaliates, baring his teeth at the imposing vampire,

"She got a ride with Donovan." Damon replies, shrugging. Damon groans as he lifts himself up from the floor. Making his way towards the staircase, eyeing the Mikaelson men carefully.

Luna tugs at Elijah's sleeve, urging him to also move towards the stairs. Although a lot happened, they were still the hosts of this party and they should probably send any remaining guests home.

"Luna" Stefan greets as she, Kol, and Elijah descend the staircase. "I see you've found my brother." He comments dryly, looking pointedly at the giant bloodstain.

"That would be my doing, my apologies." Elijah offers, a small smile playing on his lips. He hadn't forgotten Damon's impolite conversing with his mate, so he couldn't feel too bad about injuring Damon.

Luna blinks, not needing any further explanation to guess what had happened.

Damon is about to complain, not liking Elijah's weak apology when he is interrupted by Niklaus's voice.

"We are not running a shelter! Salvatores, go home!" Niklaus growls while descending the staircase with Rebekah. Niklaus gestures dramatically at the door, he has seen enough of the two for one night.

Damon huffs at Niklaus, annoyed with the hybrid barking orders at him. Stefan merely rolls with his eyes, still waiting for an explanation for Damon's unkempt state. Sure, Stefan had snapped Damon's back earlier, but the stain on his shirt indicated that something a bit more dramatic had happened in his absence.

Luna turns around upon hearing Niklaus's voice, smiling softly at the hybrid.

Niklaus walks up to Luna. He gently grasps her waist, softly nosing at her cheek. Niklaus was glad that this evening was over and his mother had been dealt with. The worry he had felt when Luna was missing was terrible, he never wanted to feel that way again.

"What the fuck..." Damon whispers, he didn't know how to look. He felt like some kind of intruder in some intimate moment. He shifts his gaze uncomfortably at the ceiling, unable to perceive the hybrid, that had caused him so much nonsense and misery, as a being with actual emotions besides rage and bloodthirst.

Niklaus looks up from his nosing to see the two vampires still standing in his hall. He sends them an annoyed glare, a low rumble building in his chest. His territorial instincts were flaring up, what did those Salvatores not understand about overstaying their welcome.

Rebekah rolls her eyes, to prevent her brother from throwing a temper tantrum she quickly makes her way towards Stefan and Damon.

"Goodbye" She snaps, pushing the Salvatore brothers towards the exit.

Uncomfortably, the brothers stumbled out of the house without another word.

"Finn, are you alright?" Luna asks as she sees Finn descending the staircase. She frees herself from Niklaus' grip, carefully approaching Finn.

Finn had taken his suit jacket off and his hair was slightly messy. Besides that, she saw no direct changes. Which meant there hadn't been much of a struggle when he killed Esther.

"I am, do not worry for me, my love. Finn rumbles, stroking Luna's cheek affectionately. "No one harms my family and get's away with it."

Studying his face carefully, Luna notices his pupils were still dilated from the adrenaline. Luna throws her arms around Finn's neck, hugging him tightly. Finn buries his head in the crook of her neck, happily inhaling her scent. They had survived their first day back in town.

• • •

Luna totters up the stairs, making her way to the room Rebekah had shown her earlier. Elijah and Niklaus wanted to discuss the plans, but Luna wanted to get herself out of her dress first, it wasn't exactly a dress to relax in.

Luna undoes the necklace, carefully placing it back in its box. She kicks her heels off while browsing through the walk-in closet, searching for something comfortable to wear. Without Luna's awareness, the closet in 'her' room had been filled, stacked to the brim with brand new clothes. Luna suspects that was Rebekah's doing.

Luna opens one of the drawers, hoping to find anything different from the various luxurious-looking clothes. Luna clears her throat, looking flustered when laying her eyes on the wide variety of lingerie that was in the drawer. "You've got to be kidding me..." Luna shakes her head in disbelief. There were enough items in the drawer to start her own lingerie store.

She quickly closes the drawer, continuing her search. "Not even sweat pants." Luna grumbles softly, regretting the fact she didn't bring any clothes from her own universe. Perhaps she could bully one of the other inhabitants into borrowing her some clothes.

Luna knocks on the door to the right of her room, not knowing who the room belonged to. If no one opened, she could just have to sneak in and steal some clothes, no one needed to know. While plotting her perfect crime the door opens, revealing Elijah. He had exchanged his formal attire for a simple white button-up, she shouldn't even be surprised. Casual Elijah was still... Elijah.

"Elskan"

"Hi 'Lijah, I was wondering-umm if I could have a quick peek in your closet?" Luna asks, widening her eyes slightly at the man.

Elijah smirks upon seeing her puppy eyes and nods, Luna darts past him but halts her movements as she feels him grip her elbow.

Luna turns around, eyeing him inquisitively. Elijah doesn't say a word and leans in, capturing her lips in a kiss, something he had longed to do all day. He wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her as close as possible.

Luna happily answers the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, smiling dreamily as he pulls back.

"I thought I'd lost you," Elijah admits, whispering the words against her skin. He presses kisses to her jaw, slowly making his way down her throat.

"You will never lose me." Luna replies simply, running her fingers through his hair.

Elijah pushes the strap of her dress off her shoulder, his hands run down her sides, pulling her closer to him.

Luna feels Elijah's hands running down her sides, his fingers pressing firmly in her skin. His kisses turning into harsh nips. While she'd love to see where this could go, she remembers that the rest of the Mikaelsons are probably waiting downstairs.

"'Lijah" Luna murmurs, gently squeezing his shoulder to cease his actions.

"I apologize, you came here with a purpose." Elijah rumbles, pressing one more kiss to her jaw before reluctantly pulling back, giving his mate a smirk that indicated he was feeling anything but repentant for his actions. He pushes the less than polite images and scenarios out of his head, regaining his sense of self.

Luna hums, not believing his apology one bit. She quickly walks over to his closet, not needing any further distractions.

"Wow, how do you ever choose?" Luna teases, as she is met with a multitude of suits, all hanging neatly, organized by color. She wouldn't be surprised if his socks were also folded.

"She's right." Elijah states, observing his mate's rummaging through his clothes.

Luna grimaces, she instantly knows who he was referring to, remembering Esther's harsh words. She shakes her head in silent disagreement while turning around to face him.

"My talk of virtue. When it suits my needs, I kill, maim, and torment. Even today, I terrorized and almost killed someone." Elijah continues, avoiding Luna's gaze.

"No, Elijah. She's wrong, unlike her you actually possess morals. I do not believe it's possible to live a thousand years as a saint and it's not something you should strive for." Luna counters. She felt anger bubble up. If the witch hadn't caught on, she would have punched her in the face again. How dare she hurt her own children like that. "Everything you've done was for your family, your loved ones."

Elijah sighs, letting his shoulder relax. She was right, his mother was just trying to mess with his head as she had surely done before.

"I will never think less of you because of your past or the actions you took to protect your own. And I'm sure Damon will live." Luna smiles, cupping his cheek. "So, no sweatpants?" Luna tries, poking Elijah's cheek.

• • •

"Luna's bitches have done it!" Kol cheers, handing Luna a glass of bourbon, shrugging when she declines, happily chugging the liquid himself.

The Mikaelsons and Luna are hanging out in the living room, taking stock of today's events. Kol was enthusiastically flashing around the room providing everyone with drinks while happily blabbering about his 'hand crushing skills'. Luna was settled on one of the couches, in between Elijah and Niklaus. Finn and Rebekah were seated on the other couch, all were dressed a little more casual.

"No, Kol. Just no." Rebekah grunts, lobbing a pillow at her brother. The last thing Rebekah wanted was for their team name to stick.

Kol makes a rude hand gesture at his sister before hurling the pillow back, into her face.

"Enough!" Finn interjects before the two of them would come to physical blows.

"What are you worrying for, love? Esther is gone." Niklaus reassures, upon seeing Luna's troubled expression. He brushes a strand of hair behind her ear before gripping her chin gently to gain her attention.

"For now." Luna mutters, pursing her lips.

"What do you mean 'for now'?" Elijah asks, furrowing his brow.

"She doesn't exactly stay dead, which is a really annoying characteristic if you ask me. The bitch has returned around three or four times in the shows." Luna elaborates.

"Fantastic" Rebekah groans in exasperation. "So if we're lucky we all get to kill her?" Rebekah deadpans.

• • •

Luna wakes up from a vivid dream, blinking to dispel the sleep from her eyes, she didn't remember when she had fallen asleep. She switches the light on beside her bed.

Luna frowns, besides herself and her stuffed animal the bed was empty. It was a bit foolish, but she didn't want to sleep alone, she had secretly taken a liking to the cuddling. With newfound energy Luna jumps out of bed, quietly sneaking into the hallway.

Once in the hallway, Luna stops to think. This was a problem, who was she going to bother with her need for cuddles? Deep in thought, Luna doesn't see a certain blonde approaching her from behind.

"Luna?" Rebekah asks, tapping Luna's shoulder. Rebekah had gone downstairs to grab some blood, last night's events had made her peckish.

Luna is startled by the unexpected voice. She turns around at an unprecedented speed to punch the intruder in the face.

"Luna! What the hell!" Rebekah shouts, gripping her face. She was pretty sure Luna had actually broken her nose. "Are you doing this on purpose?!" Rebekah grumbles.

"I'm so sorry! I punch on first instinct!" Luna shouts, looking around frantically for something to catch the blood, of course, she couldn't find anything in the dark hallway. In her haste to help her friend, she trips into one of the badly placed side tables. This resulted in a loud crash as the vase, which was apparently on top of the table, drops to the floor.

"Jesus" Rebekah groans.

"Shit" Luna mutters, stumbling away from the table, trying her best to avoid the glass splinters.

Several bedroom doors open and someone turns on the light.

"Angel?"

"Luna? What happened?"

"What's wrong little love? Why are you up?"

"Yeah sure, go ahead and ignore me and my bloody nose." Rebekah complains, still gripping her face.

Elijah also exits his bedroom, gawking in horror at the scene before him. His gaze shifts from the remains of the ten thousand dollar vase on the floor to his mate who looks bewildered at the mess on the floor, to his sister who was clutching her nose, blood dripping down her chin.

"What happened, Elskan?" Elijah asks, rubbing his face tiredly, ignoring Rebekah's indignant huffs.

"I woke up alone... And-I didn't like it. So, I went looking for you." Luna explains, now looking quite bashful. She carefully backs away from the glass, almost bumping into Rebekah.

"And then she punched me in my face." Rebekah exclaims, pointing at her face.

"I'm sorry it's stupid. I'll go back to bed." Luna mutters, ignoring Rebekah's shouting. Luna felt silly, her mates finally had normal sleeping places again and here she was whining about being alone.

"Come, love." Niklaus gently pulls Luna to his side, retreating to his room without another word to the others.

Kol takes another look at the mess, then at his sister. He was grinning gleefully at her tortured expression, before also retreating.

Finn and Elijah leave without another word, leaving Rebekah by herself.

"You've got to be kidding me." Rebekah lets out a small huff, wondering how she ended up with such a caring family before also going back to bed.

A/N:

Wow, chapter 20! Woop woop!

The Mikaelson ball has come to an end! Plot twist, Damon didn't snap Kol's neck...wow who would have guessed? And Luna seems to develop the habit of punching judgemental witches...interesting.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let us move forward with other dilemmas!

Lots of love,