When the wolves had finished and settled down around the church to wait out the full moon, I went over to the door, carefully avoiding Dahlia's twisted remains. As I stepped into view of the door, Marcel appeared on the other side of the barrier.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine. We're all fine. Any casualties out there?"

"No. She knocked them around a bit but they'll all recover."

"Good. Let the witches know it's okay to drop the spells on the church and then get your people off the street. We don't want any incidents between the vampires and the werewolves. And could you bring some blood bags in the meantime?"

"Sure. Should I have someone come and deal with the body as well?"

"Yes, please. I promised Kieran we'd put everything back when we were done. I don't think he'd be happy to find a dead body in his pews."

"I'll deal with the clean-up. When the barrier's down, you and those girls should get home and rest."

"I'm fine Marcel, I promise. Go get us out of here before the wolves get hungry again." He nodded and sped off. I went over and sat in one of the pews, feeling exhausted. I couldn't really believe that we'd won. I'd spent so long mentally dealing with the potential emotional fallout that now I didn't have to worry about it anymore I felt empty and drained.

Marcel returned with blood bags which he tossed inside for us, before going to clear the streets of vampires. I collected to the bags and went over to the siblings. They were all awake now although very weak. I carefully distributed the blood between them. No one spoke. We still didn't really know what to say so the siblings contented themselves with feeding and regaining their strength. Freya came down from the attic with the twins and the rest of the wolves. I took my babies from her and hold them close, rocking them gently. They were safe, that was all that mattered.

"What happens now?" asked Freya.

"I don't know… I guess we get on with our lives." That thought seemed scarier in a way than the thought of Dahlia and what we'd faced tonight.

"I've spent my whole life with Dahlia or trying to hide from her… I don't know what my life is…" She bit her lip. I considered it for a minute. It was something I'd wondered myself. My own life was defined by being controlled by people trying to kill me. If things were safe now… I didn't really know what I'd do. My old life was long gone…

"Well then we make a new life for ourselves. It might not be perfect, in fact it's almost guaranteed to be messy and terrible in places but it'll be ours and the good will outweigh the bad." I touched her hand. "You can meet someone, fall in love… have a life of your own outside of Dahlia's control. You can do anything you want."

"I like that idea…" She said with a small smile. "What about you? What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to raise my girls… and I guess I need to deal with the mess I've made with the boys."

"Love isn't a mess."

"It is when you've got a bunch of brothers, who already have a strained relationship, declaring it for you." I looked over to where Kol and Finn were sitting. "I don't know what to do…"

"What do you want to do?"

"I… it's selfish." I'd been pretending that I didn't know, refusing to admit it to myself but I'd known the entire time. I'd always known what I wanted.

"And? Sometimes the selfish thing is what's right. Tell me… what do you want?"

"I… I don't want to choose." Kol met my gaze from across the room. I bit my lip and looked away. Marcel reappeared at the door and gestured that we could leave. I ushered the wolves out and watched them disappear into the streets of the city before looking at Marcel. "You good here?"

"Yes. Go on."

I looked to the siblings.

"Come on, let's go home."

We trudged home. The streets were alive with noise but everything felt out of kilter. The sounds seemed to be miles away, like there was something separating me from the real world. We went back to house, not knowing what we might find there. I hoped Dahlia had been telling the truth about what she'd done to Klaus and Elijah.

When we got back, Elijah was seated in the courtyard as Klaus paced. As we entered, they rushed over to us, clearly as concerned about us as we had been about them. Nobody spoke, we just hugged one another. In the fuss, I slipped away and headed upstairs. I knew that I should stay with the others, we should celebrate our victory but all I needed was time to just relax and let my feelings restart themselves. I put the twins to bed, content in the knowledge that they were safe, and went to my room. My wolf was sitting on the floor, waiting for me.

"Hello there…" I said softly. I knelt down in front of him and offered him my hand. He nuzzled it gently and looked up at me. "We won… The twins are safe."

The wolf pulled away from me and went to the window, looking out at the street still bathed in moonlight. He stretched and closed his eyes. As I watched, the light seemed to settle on the wolf's body. It grew in intensity, building until it was painful for me to look at him and I was forced to turn my head away.

The light died. I peeked back to the window. The wolf was gone. Instead, a tall man was standing there. His hair was dark, cut short and he was dressed in strange old fashioned clothes, a leather vest and leggings of some kind of animal skin. He got to his feet and turned to face me.

"Hello Elena," he said, smiling.

"Wh… wh… how…"

"This is my true form. I can officially introduce myself now I have it restored to me. I am Ansel." He bowed.

"Okay… and you're human again…?"

"Yes. I have fulfilled my purpose here and I can finally achieve peace." He reached out and gently touched my cheek. "Thanks to you."

"It's… going to be really weird not having you around."

"I'll always be here. If you need me, I will come." He carefully removed a leather cord from around his neck and carefully tied it around mine instead. I carefully examined the talisman that hung from it, a large white fang, razor sharp and carefully carved with ornate patterns. "My time with you has been very special. You have allowed me a chance to see my son, to see his family grow and that is worth more to me than anything else."

"I'll miss you." I hugged him. I was going to miss him. I'd gotten so used to having him at my side, the thought of him not being there was strange to me. "Are you going now?"

"I have until the sunrise." He kissed my forehead. "I'll stay with you till you fall asleep. When you wake, I'll be gone." I nodded and sat on the bed. "Would it be uncomfortable if I joined you?"

"I think, all things considered, it'd be alright."

He came and joined me on the bed, careful to retain a respectful distance between us. Even though he was no longer small and furry, I found myself comforted by his presence and warmth. I closed my eyes and settled down. For the first time in a long time, I felt completely at ease. Things were going to be good.

I woke up late the next morning and Ansel was gone. I smiled sadly and got up. I felt warm all over and I was excited for the rest of my life to continue. I checked my phone and noticed a new message.

Hey Elena
Glad you're not dead! Can you come to Rousseau's? I've finished getting things ready.
~Sophie

My heart skipped a beat. I smiled to myself and got dressed, before heading downstairs. Everyone was in the courtyard, hanging out. I guessed that they weren't really sure what to do now they had all this time.

"I'm going out for a bit… is that okay?" I hadn't meant to ask, but it was almost like an instinct. I wasn't used to not being in danger.

"Of course. Did you want company?" Finn asked.

"No, I'm good. I'm just going to hang out with Sophie for a bit. Are you guys okay with being on twin patrol?"

"What's the worst they can do?" Kol laughed. "We can handle them. Go and have some fun."

I smiled and headed off into the warm streets. Everything felt good and I could relax, without feeling like I was being watched. I headed to Rousseau's, taking my time, enjoying the sunshine. Now that things were getting back to normal, it was time to start thinking about the future. I wanted to finally finish my senior year, graduate, focus on the twins… get married.

These were opportunities I hadn't thought I'd ever get, I wasn't about to waste them.

I reached Rousseau's and went through to the kitchen, where Sophie was busy working.

"Hey Soph."

"Elena!" She hugged me. "I'm so glad you're okay! I was worried."

"I'm fine. Everything went to plan. I owe the witches a big thank you… I have to think of some kind of way to repay them."

"Its fine, we were happy to help." She smiled. "Speaking of help…" She went over and fetched a small pouch from her coat pocket. She upturned it onto the counter to reveal five rings. Four were set with sardonyx while the last was set with rose quartz. She separated the rose quartz one away from the other. It was smaller and far more delicate. "This one is yours. The spell was easier than I thought but… it doesn't work without the blood of the vampire you want bonding to you. Yours is active but it won't work without being partnered to a vampire."

"Thank you Sophie."

"It's fine. I've written directions for how to finish the spell. Any competent witch can do it for you."

I hugged her tight.

"You have no idea how much this means to me."

"It's really not a big deal. Just… you know, a sign of how awesome I am." She grinned. "What's next for you?"

"Well, going to enrol into a high school so I can finish my education but not until September. Give the boys an answer… live my life."

"You make normal life seem so interesting."

"I don't care if it's boring, I can't wait for the chance to be normal."

"You will never be normal Elena," she nudged me.

"Well I can do normal for me." I grinned. "First goal, try and throw a party that doesn't end in death, disaster, decapitation…"

"Oh all the best parties have those things," Sophie teased. I smiled and slipped the rings into my pockets.

"You know, this is the first time I've been here in ages where I don't have to run off. I have the whole day to do what I want."

I perched on the kitchen counter and watched as Sophie cooked, chatting happily with her. It felt nice to be able to take my time, to spend as much time as I wanted with my friend and just enjoy myself. I snacked on some of Sophie's gumbo, chatted with Cami when she came in to work. We made plans to meet up again and actually go out for an evening.

When I left, it was early afternoon. I felt the weight of the rings in my pocket and I was happy. I returned home and found that the siblings had broken out the champagne. The shock of our survival seemed to have worn off and we were all feeling jubilant. Elijah poured me a glass and Klaus raised his in a toast.

"To our family."

We clinked our glasses, echoing his toast. No one brought up the unpleasantness of what had passed, Elijah and Kol seemed at ease and didn't bring up their proposals. We were just enjoying the moment. I wished it would last forever and that I could just live in this feeling.

To our family. Together, always and forever.

A/N: Not the end. Yet. One more chapter.