Hey guys!

Sorry about the slow updates, but it's been stupid busy around here lol.

Well, this is the last chapter for this story anyway.

I may or may not do an epilogue, but I do have a sequel planned lol, so be on the lookout.

Hopen ya'll enjoy! And I promise to update Do you Believe in Angels as soon as I can get it written.

Thanks for the patience :)

We were all in the study now, apart from George and Tyler, sitting on the furniture, as though the room wasn't littered with blood, and the corpse of a Mutt.

Alaric was questioning Elijah, trying to pinpoint exactly what had spun the uprising.

"The plan sounded good at first," Elijah admitted, "It's not really safe anymore, being a lone wolf out there."

He sat up in his chair, "Kai decided it would be helpful to turn serial killers. Three, to counter the one that you have."

He looked at Damon, who was leaning against Alaric's desk.

A growl rumbled through him, and Elijah held up a hand, "Just being honest."

"Not exactly your strong suit," Mason muttered, but Alaric hushed him.

"Continue."

Elijah relaxed, "That wasn't enough though. He felt he needed more. The rumor, was that back when Elena was running down the Mutts with Damon, she at least brought a touch of decency. Humanity. Him alone was just the inevitable waiting to happen. All temper and force; a single Mutt didn't stand a chance."

Alaric shook his head, "Wait, if this was about Damon, then why kill Enzo?"

"I never said it was all about Damon, but they were trying throw you off," Elijah admitted, "Send the Pack's Enforcer out in a blind rage, that way you wouldn't see the big picture."

"And what might that be?" Alaric asked.

Elijah leaned forward, "It's like a game of chess. The king," he motioned to Ric, "He moves one square at a time. Slow, calculated, thoughtful."

"Now the rook," he glanced at Damon again, "It goes all over, zigzag, zigzag. Everyone knows he's unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, but always in a rut. And eventually, he'll make a mistake...but the queen..."

He turned in his chair to meet my gaze, "Well, she can pretty much do whatever she wants."

Alaric straightened, "So...all of this, it was about Elena."

I shivered.

Elijah smirked, "Of course it was. There's no one else like her...but Kai wasn't the only one that wanted her."

Damon stepped forward now, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Elijah stood, "Easy. It's just the fact. Kai ran this operation, but surely you must know that he wasn't smart enough to put all of this together."

"Your brother then, Klaus," Stefan guessed.

Elijah shook his head, "Nicklaus is in Europe, doing his own thing at the moment. None of these past events were of any interest to him."

He moved over to Kai's body, and pulled a cell phone out of the Mutt's pocket.

"Call the last number dialed," he handed it to Alaric, after checking the log, "You'll get your answers. But I think I'll take my leave now. I don't care to be around when that one hears the truth."

He motioned towards Damon.

Alaric nodded, "Very well, you may go. But don't stray far."

Elijah nodded, and in the next moment, he was gone.

I came to stand next to Damon, Stefan and Mason following my lead, as Alaric looked down at the phone in his hand.

"Good ol Elijah," Mason muttered, "Cryptic as ever."

Alaric ignored him, and hit the call button.

He placed the phone on speaker, and we all listened to it ring.

After the third roundabout, someone answered.

"Malakai. I was wondering when I'd hear from you."

All the guys froze, Damon especially.

My eyebrows furrowed.

I didn't recognize the male voice on the other line.

My Alpha's next words explained why.

"Giuseppe...you're alive?"

Now I froze too.

Giuseppe Salvatore?

As in Stefan's father?!

The dead ex Alpha who bit Damon as a child, after slaughtering his mother in front of him.

The voice gave way to a chuckle, "Alaric. It's been a while."

"You're alive?" He repeated.

"I guess you should have asked to see a body, instead of just believing what you were told. It really made dropping off the grid entirely too easy."

"But, your family ring...and...you faked your own death," Alaric realized, "Why?"

Giuseppe's answer was almost conversational, "I wanted all the pieces in place. I needed to disappear, and for you to think I was gone. That's all the "why" that matters."

"Father?" Stefan spoke, his voice disbelieving.

Giuseppe paused, "Stefan...I suppose the entire Pack is present...what's left of you, anyway..."

"You're the one behind the attacks on the Pack?" Alaric growled, sounding angry, now that the shock had worn off.

"It was a necessary evil," the man replied.

"How do you figure that?" Ric demanded.

Giuseppe sighed, "How many years had we fought together, Alaric? How many moons had we Changed under? I know you...and you are too weak to do what needed to be done."

"What are you talking about?" Ric snapped.

"I'm talking about the future," Giuseppe told him, "I'm talking about preserving our species...I'm talking about her."

Damon's hand, which had been holding my waist, tightened.

"Elena," Ric breathed, "What about her?"

"What about her?" Giuseppe repeated, "What do you think? Every Pack has tried to turn a female, every century, on every continent. None have survived, until her. And what did you do? You put her on Pack errands, never able to appreciate her full potential; what she could mean for our race. With her offspring, we would have full blooded wolves. More powerful than any of us. We could finally come out in the open, instead of hiding from the humans like rats! She changes everything."

Alaric turned red with anger, "She's not your breeding cow, Giuseppe...are these the same words you filled Kai's head with?"

"The kid was smitten," Giuseppe waved off the question, "But do you think it really matters to me who has her? A bitch in heat is a bitch in heat. I hear she's the object of Damon's affection. Him, Kai, you, anyone...it doesn't matter who spawns with her. A child will eventually come. The rest of this was just means to an end, really. Though I am sorry about Lorenzo."

I snapped at the mention of Enzo, "You bastard."

"Is that her?" Giuseppe sounded almost cheerful, "We haven't had the chance to meet yet, but I must ask...how is it that runt I turned managed to find the only female in existence who could survive the Change?"

Damon growled, taking the phone from Alaric, "I'm not a runt anymore, father. And I dare you to try and come after her."

Giuseppe was calm, "I'm well aware of what you've become, Damon. Don't forget how many a night I spent training you to be exactly what you are. And I have no need to come for the female just yet. It's the offspring I'm interested in, so I suggest you two get busy. Besides, I imagine the Pack still needs time to clean their wounds. But don't worry. I'll be seeing you all eventually."

Damon was pulsing, "Looking forward to it."

When the line went dead, everyone began speaking.

"He's still fucking alive?"

"What are we going to do?"

"Does he really think he can just-"

Alaric raised his hands, "Enough."

The chatter ceased.

He looked at me, "Elena, are you okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."

A not so dead ex Alpha wanted me to spawn a new species, but yeah, it's all fine.

Damon's arm wrapped around me, "He won't get to you. We won't let him touch you."

"I know," I assured him, "But I don't really think it's me that he wants."

"She's right," Alaric agreed, "He said so himself, he is only interested in her children."

I swallowed.

This didn't sound like the nice quiet time off I was hoping we'd all get after this fight.

"Don't worry," Alaric told me, "I know Giuseppe. He's straightforward. I'm sure he meant what he said, about letting the Pack lick our wounds."

"We should still go after him," Damon stated, standing close to me, "We can't have another threat waiting for us."

Alaric nodded, "We, will, Damon. We will go after him. But not tonight. For now, we rest, we mourn, we heal. Stay alert, but as of right now, Giuseppe is tomorrow's problem. Give me time to think over a plan."

We all nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now take care of this mess," Ric commanded, "I'm going to go check on George."

We all split the duties, Tyler coming down to help carry the bodies out.

Damon and I stacked them outside, finding it easier just to burn them, while the others headed inside to start the clean up.

I watched the flames infume the bodies, and Damon came up behind me.

"You sure you're okay?" He asked quietly.

I leaned back into him, "I will be."

He kissed my head, "Don't worry about Giuseppe."

I sighed, turning to face him, "I'm not. Not yet, anyway...but did you notice how many bodies we just carried out here? All these Mutts, thinking they could challenge the Pack, just because we stopped tracking them down. I went off the grid, and they got cocky-"

"Hey," Damon placed his hands on my shoulder, "Don't do that, okay? It's not your fault."

"I know," I assured him, "But this can't happen again..."

"So?" He pressed.

"So, you and I are going to start tracking them again. Keeping them in line, like we used to."

He smirked slightly, "You and me, huh? I like that."

I smiled, "Me too."

He leaned down, catching my lips, and pulled me against him.

Despite the burning bodies behind me, it felt right, being here.

Especially now that my love for Damon wasn't being challenged by anger and guilt.

It was finally as it was supposed to be.

Well...almost.

I pulled back, enough to speak, "Hold on, okay? There's something I need to do."

Damon nodded, and I gave him a final kiss, before heading back inside.

I passed Stefan, mopping the floor, as I made my way up the stairs.

I'm sure he had a lot on his mind.

We all did.

Alone, in my room, I considered what Giuseppe might mean in my future.

Would he really try and force me to have children? Was it even possible?

Who knew.

But given the roller-coaster of the past week, I would give myself a few days before tackling that issue.

Besides, I had a more pressing matter at the moment.

I walked over to my nightstand, and pulled open the drawer.

In the corner of it, behind papers and a hardback, was a little box.

I grabbed it, and sat on my bed.

The edges of the box were frayed, but it didn't matter.

I opened the latch, and from the soft cushion, my engagement ring shone up at me.

Slowly, I took it out, staring at the little diamonds encrusted in the band.

It felt oddly heavy, as if the magnitude of what it symbolized was suddenly weighing on it.

But nudging away all human perspectives, I knew what I wanted.

Damon was my mate. The love of my life.

And wedding or not, human or not, we were bound together.

Even hating him couldn't stop me from loving him.

I placed the ring on my finger, my mind at peace with the decision.

"It looks good on you."

I turned to see Alaric in the doorway.

"I didn't hear you come up."

He moved into the room, coming to sit next to me on the bed.

"We're going to keep you safe, Elena. You know that, right?"

I nodded, looking back down at the ring.

"And I'm sorry," he continued, "I know that entire situation caused you a lot of pain."

I sighed, feeling to tired to be angry now, "It did. But Damon more. I wish the two of you hadn't lied to me...I mean, I understand why you did at first, but later...you should have told me the truth."

Ric nodded, "I know, and you're right. I guess I was a little selfish myself. I didn't want you to hate me either."

I looked over at him, "I'm mad. But I could never hate you, Ric."

His lips curved in a small smile, "Good. Because you, all of you, are my family. And we need each other. Especially if Giuseppe is planning something."

I nodded, "If he does, we'll be prepared."

A knock on the opened door called out attention, and Damon stuck his head in, "I thought I'd find you here."

Alaric stood, clapping him on the shoulder, "You did good today."

Damon accepted the praise, then motioned to the hall, "I just left the infirmary. I think George is awake now. The bleeding stopped though."

Alaric nodded, then gave me a parting glance, "We'll finish this later?"

I nodded, "Sure."

He left, and Damon sat down in his place, next to me.

"Find what you were looking for?" He asked.

I smirked, then lifted my hand, flashing the ring, "It still fits."

Damon smiled, grabbing my fingers, and brought them to his mouth.

He kissed each one, then my palm, before placing my hand against his face, leaning into the touch.

I reached out with my other arm, and pulled him into me.

We fell back onto the mattress, wrapped around each other.

Damon kissed my forehead, and I settled against him, perfectly content in the moment.

I know that there is still a dangerous future waiting for us.

There are issues to be dealt with.

Like Caroline, when she realizes Matt is in the hospital, and I'm nowhere to be found.

Kol's girlfriend, who I prayed wouldn't give us a reason to hunt her down.

Ray Sutton's body, which the police would eventually stumble on.

And putting the Mutt's back in their place, to avoid this ever happening again.

There's no telling what's going to go down with any of it, though I doubt it'll be pleasant.

But for the first time, that thought doesn't terrify me.

Because I know that whatever it is, I'll survive it.

With my Pack behind me, Damon at my side, and the wolf within me, I'm invincible.

Whatever is to come, we're ready.

The End!

Thank you all for following this one :)