Elena woke up the next day in a painful haze, her head was searing, her body aching and she barely knew where she was; as her eyes opened slowly, the room spun slightly and she had to squeeze them back shut for a long moment to correct them.

Slowly taking in her surroundings, she realised she was asleep on the sofa in the plantation with Rebekah on the opposite side of her with her legs and an empty bottle of bourbon on her; she groaned lightly as she continued to look, Klaus was sprawled out on the floor, Kol passed out on the stairs with only his boxers on, Marcel was hanging off the armchair and Elijah was nowhere to be found.

"Bekah?" Elena said weakly as she nudged at her body, to no avail, so she raised her volume, "Bekah!"

Everyone instantly darted up, there was a series of gasps and groans as they all realised how dead they felt; Rebekah shot up and rolled from the sofa, the bottle landing on the floor beside her, Elena couldn't help but laugh.

"I hate you," she muttered before she dropped her head onto the floor and passed out all over again, Elena still laughing at her torment; she stood from the sofa weakly and felt a moment of dizziness overcome her, she caught her balance after a slight stumble and steadied her feet, she pressed her hand to her head, her gaze shifting from each passed out member of her family.

A small chuckle escaped her lips as she stumbled into the kitchen, instantly reaching for the bag of coffee and aspirin; she filled the coffee machine, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took the aspirin. Her vision was still slightly impaired and she hadn't noticed someone else appear in the kitchen.

"Good morning," a loud gasp escaped her lips and she spun around instantly, revealing Elijah stood behind her with his hands instantly grabbing at her waist as the dizziness overcame her, "rough morning?"

"You're talking so loud," she said in a painful and hushed tone as she slumped into his arms, her head resting on his shoulder as she welcomed his warm embrace; she noticed how he had no symptoms of a hangover, nothing to even indicate he had been at the festivities the night before, he looked amazing, his shirt was tucked into his pants, his sleeves rolled up and the top button undone, "how do you look so perfect? I feel like death incarnate."

He couldn't help but smirk at her words, a small chuckle escaping his lips as she clung to him for dear life, "You still look perfect to me."

"You're sweet," she smiled on his lips, her arms wrapping around his neck and bringing him closer, "and you're also a liar."

They both laughed slightly before sinking into each other, indulging in a long and heated kiss before retreating them to the bedroom; they had to sneak past the family, climb over Kol on the stairs and get across the hallway to her room.

She instantly went to the bathroom, running the hot water on the shower, brushing her teeth and ridding herself of the clothes she'd worn yesterday; she stepped in the hot water, it washing over her in instant relief, her muscles relaxed and her mind cleared.

She suddenly felt Elijah step in behind her and he instantly started lavishing her body with kisses, his hands smoothed over the curve in her waist and hips and he pressed her into him. He buried his head in the gap in between her neck and shoulder and smothered it in kisses and slight nibbling.

"Do it," she said softly, opening the gap more as he realised what she had meant; his face softened and he seemed to be thinking deeply about it, as if he didn't want to hurt her or use her as a source of blood, "it's okay, Elijah, I want you too."

He kissed along the nape of her neck softly, before extending his fangs and gently piercing her skin; she inhaled a sharp breath at the sudden contact but she wasn't afraid, she felt closer to him, the whole moment was filled with a different type of intimacy between them as he sucked and drank at the wound.

Her blood slid down his throat like silk and he hadn't consumed another like it, she tasted sweet and he was consumed by her scent; his hand smoothed down her waist and landed on her hip, bringing her closer as he removed his fangs from her neck.

As the blood trickled down her neck, he plunged his fangs into his wrist and held it in front of her, she wrapped both hands around his arm and drank, she felt powerful and intoxicated, like nothing could stop her and the whole moment aroused her to no end.

She let him go, spinning on her heel to face him and she smashed her lips onto his, their bodies crashing together as they indulged in a long and intimate morning together.

An hour later, they had emerged from the bathroom completely entangled in each other; she was sat on his waist as he carried her through to the bedroom, her lips stuck to his as if they were magnetised but they suddenly heard a commotion downstairs and knew the others had woken up.

Saddened by the revelation, she pouted playfully on his lips before she slid down from his hold and went to her dresser, "we need to tell him soon."

"I know," he said, before picking his clothes up from the bed and dressing himself quickly, "and we will, very soon."

He placed his hand on the back of her neck and kissed her softly, before disappearing from her room within a flash; she took a deep breath, frustrated by the sneaking around and the guilt from lying to Klaus, she knew the longer they waited, the worse it would be but she couldn't imagine hurting him, not like this.

Lost in thought, she quickly dressed into a pair of black jeans, a black long-sleeved shirt and her usual boot wedges, before she grabbed her leather jacket and purse and headed out of her room; as she got to the staircase, she saw Kol still passed out in his boxers and she knelt down beside him.

"Kol!" She yelled playfully, watching as he shot up from shock but fell backwards, tumbled down a few steps and lay on the floor groaning, she laughed slightly before playing the innocent act, "oh, you were asleep, I'm sorry."

"I'm actually going to kill you," he muttered under his breath, as he tried to squirm to his feet; a small smirk fell on her lips as she walked past him, stepping over his legs and joining the others in the kitchen.

Rebekah was sitting at the table with her head resting on it, Klaus sat with his head in his hands and Elijah was making breakfast, "oh my god, how much did you guys drink last night?"

"Do you know the liquor store on the corner of St. Anne's?" Rebekah spoke, muffled by the table.

"Yeah?"

"Exactly," she groaned at the thought, she was sure if she wasn't a vampire then she would be dead.

"How are you so-" Klaus spoke lowly, his gaze flickering to her momentarily and snarling at her energetic state, "chipper?"

"I've been up for hours, I looked pretty much like that when I woke up," she smiled slightly as she pointed to Rebekah but in reality, her morning spent with Elijah rejuvenated her and his blood healed her.

"Elena," she heard a voice growl playfully behind her and she turned to face him, laughing as she saw Kol standing in the kitchen doorway, still mostly nude and in a hungover state, "I'm going to kill you."

A playful screamed emitted from her lips as he went to chase her, she quickly ran around the table and the both of them knocked into it several times causing Rebekah and Klaus to growl and groan; Elijah smirked as he watched Elena dart out of the room and continue to try and dodge Kol.

"I hate them both," Rebekah muttered before letting her head drop back onto the table, Klaus reciprocated her feelings and continued to grumble; in the living room, Elena was standing behind the sofa with Kol opposite her, she ran one way but he followed, so she dodged the other way and this continued for a long minute until he eventually jumped over the sofa, a small gasp escaped her lips as he grabbed her and spun her, he playfully growled into her neck, a burst of laughter emitted from her lips as he sped her into the kitchen and released her.

"You shouldn't torment her, brother, she could probably kill you," Elena smiled smugly at Rebekah's muffled words before sticking her tongue out slightly towards him, "and if she doesn't, one of us will if you don't keep your voice down."

Rebekah yelling at her brother only made Klaus wince and encourage Kol more, he darted towards her once again and in her attempt to back away from him, she tripped over her own feet and went hurling backwards; Elijah quickly dropped the mixing bowl and whisk and came to her aid, catching her effortlessly in his arms and into a dip, she inhaled a sharp breath by the sudden horizontal position she was in and their gaze lingered for a moment, her heart fluttering that extra speed more.

"Thank you, Elijah," she said as formally as she could as he lifted her back onto her feet, he nodded his head once and returned to making the breakfast; there was an awkward tension in the room and all eyes where on her, "you should get ready, guys, busy day."

"No," Rebekah whined, before pulling her head up and shooting her daggers to Elena, "why are we busy?"

"Oh, it's nothing much, just the Soul Eaters, my inevitable death and the end of the world as we know it," she smirked slightly, watching as everyone's expression changed from disbelief to disapproval, "no biggy, though."

"Fine," Klaus spoke with a bitter tone before standing from his chair and pulling Rebekah up as well, "we'll be ready within the hour."

"You should get some clothes on too, Kol, you'll catch your death," Elena spoke with a smirk and watched as he sped off upstairs; she turned to face Elijah, before standing beside him and resting her head on his shoulder, "I have to head out for a bit, would you tell the others?"

"Of course," his words came out formal and cold, she understood why but it still hurt all the same; she held up her barrier around them, making it impossible for vampires ears to hear them. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the magic encircle them and pulled her into a quick kiss, "Where you're going, will you be safe?"

"Yes, I'm just going to check on the wolves, get the report from the full moon and see if they had any encounters with the Soul Eaters," she explained, her hand caressing his cheek and her eyes filled with sorrow, "Elijah, we need to talk about all this, keeping secrets and hiding us from Klaus, it isn't going to end well, we keep slipping up and we're only prolonging the hurt we're going to cause him."

"We will," he brought her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the back of it, her heart warming at how gentle he was being; his resistance from telling Klaus came only from his past horrors, everytime he had allowed himself to feel something for another person, Klaus killed them and he couldn't put Elena in the middle of it, "I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled softly on his lips before kissing his cheek tenderly, she dropped the barrier and they separated and as much as it hurt them, they returned to their formal and usual selves, "I'll be back soon."

She focused her magic, channelling the power that flowed around her through her lineage, the ancestors and her family, she saw in her mind the place she wanted to be and teleported herself there, appearing across the river and at the dock in front of the werewolves new houses.

She took a quick glance around and everything seemed normal but a faint sound in the distance caused her alarm, a scream radiating from one of the houses; she ran along the dock, listening as it grew louder and louder until she heard it clear as day outside of Alexander's house.

The door was open a crack and she hastily went in, she saw him there lying on the sofa and screaming out in agony; she knelt down beside him and inspected his features, "what happened?"

Skylar was a mess and the other pack leaders where holding him down as he writhed and thrashed in pain; Gregory looked at Elena before side glancing the door and walking out, she quickly followed after him and she closed the door behind him.

"Did this happen last night? She asked, guilt overcoming her as she failed to protect him.

"No, the full moon and the change went smoothly, we where deep in the bayou, we had the talismans, everything prepared for an encounter but they never showed, it wasn't until early this morning when we all slept soundly in our beds, they waited for Alexander to do his normal protection sweep of the dock, they jumped him with this dark energy ball thing and said there was a message in it," he explained, his voice slightly frantic and filled with concern.

"A message?" Her brow furrowed and her gaze fixated on him.

"For you, Elena, they said it was a message for you."

Her lips parted slightly at his words and she quickly returned to the house, kneeling beside Alexander once again; she hovered her hand over his chest and started muttering a chant under breath but there was a resistance, the darkness that lay beneath him was strong and it would take a lot to reach it, she quickly took out her phone and handed it to Gregory, "call Elijah, explain everything and get him and Klaus here."

He obliged and went outside to make the call as she continued to channel all the power she could to fight through it; her chanting grew louder and more intense, items on shelves and furniture began to hurl and thrash around the room and a droplet of blood slid down her lip from her nose, Alexander's screaming grew louder but she began to feel the darkness pull from him and into her.

She lowered her hand onto his chest and continued to chant, the darkness started to show on her skin as the black essence seeped through her veins and slowly crept up her arm; Klaus and Elijah burst through the door moments later and they where instantly beside her, each of them looking in horror at the darkness moving through her.

"What is happening to her?" Klaus spoke through clenched teeth, his anger growing.

It crept through her entire body and as it reached her neck, Alexander stopped screaming and calmed until he fell unconscious; the darkness seeped onto her cheek and she winced in pain as it hit her brain, a series of images flashed across her mind as the spell came to a sudden stop and she was returned to reality.

"They're coming," she muttered under her breath, her gaze shifting from Klaus to Elijah, "tonight."