As it turned out, Elijah brought guests with him to dinner. Jonas Martin and his son Luka who were his current favored witches. Once they'd settled at the table and dished up their dinner, talk swiftly turned to Elena and Niklaus.

Elijah focused on Caroline. "I trust what we say here will not be repeated, Miss Forbes. My Lucy trusts you and considers you family so I am extending you the same courtesy. Do not make me regret it."

Caroline's eyes grew big as she glanced between her friend and the Original. "I won't. I promise."

He nodded once in acknowledgment before leaning back in his chair. "As you are all aware, my siblings and I are the Original vampires. Five of us still live, or a semblance of it at any rate. My brother Niklaus seeks to end a curse and needs the human doppelganger to do it."

"The curse of the sun and the moon," Caroline said with a little nod.

He narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. "Not exactly."

"The curse Klaus seeks to end is one placed solely on him," Jonas said. "One he has been suffering from for 1,000 years."

Lucy arched a brow. "No wonder he's got anger issues."

Elijah huffed a laugh. "You have no idea. After we were changed, it wasn't long until Niklaus had his first kill. That triggered his werewolf gene. He became the Original hybrid. My father had never cared for him, but discovering that Niklaus was the product of an affair was his breaking point. My mother bound my brother's werewolf side, claiming nature demanded balance."

"You know that was a load of shit, right?" Lucy asked. "If he wasn't meant to be both, the vampirism would have overrode the werewolf or vice versa. She was trying to placate Daddy Mikaelson. I assume it didn't work."

"As my father has been hunting us for the last thousand years I would say no," Elijah agreed. "This is his chance to release the wolf and be free. He needs Elena for the ritual. Once it's complete, he will be weak during his transition and it is then that I will kill him."

"Complete?" Caroline asked. "But that means Elena..."

"The doppelganger will die, yes, however our intention is not for her to remain that way," the Original explained.

Lucy placed her hand over his where it rested on the table. "Do you really want to kill your brother?"

"Of course not," Elijah snapped. "But he must pay for what he's done to our siblings."

"But you'll be alone." Her voice was soft, worried.

He turned his hand to take hers. "Not alone. I'll have you, little one.

***

Mid-afternoon of the next day Damon told Lucy they had some errands to run. She'd simply shrugged and followed him to his car. It didn't take her long to realize one of the things they apparently needed to do was go to Elena's house so Damon could mock her. The Martin witches had cast a spell confining Elena to her house until she was slightly less suicidal so the rest of them could have a break.

Only Elena and Jeremy were in the house when they arrived. Lucy glanced around. "Where's everyone else?" She didn't really care but found it kind of amusing that they'd all just abandoned the teenager.

Elena just glared without answering. Fair enough.

Damon's phone rang before he could begin his taunting. He paced as he talked, irritation heavy in his tone. Finally he hung up and slipped his phone into his pocket. He grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her toward the door. "We have to go. Jeremy, you keep babysitting. Elena, you should get out. Enjoy the fresh air. Oh, wait. You can't." He smirked, proud of himself and dodged the pillow Elena threw at his head.

Lucy laughed as she followed him out the door. "Where are we headed?" she asked as he pulled away from the curb.

"Grill. Ric's there. There's an issue."

"What sort of issue?" In Mystic Falls, it could be most anything really.

He glanced at her with a sigh. "Someone's looking for Mason. She's stirred up enough shit that Liz has declared him a missing person."

His knuckles turned white as his fingers tightened their grip on the steering wheel. She laid a hand on his arm. "Hey, we got this. Breathe."

He took a breath and nodded as they pulled into a parking spot. It was evident her words hadn't had much of an effect when he was out of the car and in the grill before she even had her door open. That wasn't like him at all.

Lucy shook her head and took her time following him inside. He'd already taken a seat beside Ric and both of them had their eyes on a blonde sitting at the bar. She was talking to Matt. Lucy shifted her gaze between all of them before heading to the bar to get a drink. She planted her ass on a stool and waited for the bartender to take her order, all the while silently observing the other woman as discretely as possibly.

The bartender sat a scotch in front of Lucy without a word and she looked up in surprise. It was one thing for the bartender to recognize you, another for them to have your drink order memorized. Oh well. She gave a nod of thanks and shoved a five in the tip jar.

She stayed at the bar to sip her drink, debating whether she should just pretend she didn't know the two men. She glanced over to Damon and he smirked in amusement obviously knowing what she was thinking. He licked his lips and chuckled before gesturing toward Ric with his head.

Her gaze shifted to find the teacher heading toward the blonde. He pretended to be tipsy and bought her a drink to her obvious displeasure. After a moment, Damon valiantly came to her rescue. He stood with his back to Lucy and she rolled her eyes. What were these two numbskulls up to now? Whatever it was, it was almost certain to get someone in trouble.

Ric met her gaze and smiled as he stirred something in the blonde's drink. Damon told him to get lost and Ric acted offended. Lucy rolled her eyes and stood, elbowing her boyfriend in the process. He scowled at her.

"Sorry. I'm so clumsy." She walked over and linked her arm with Ric's to drag him away. She leaned over to speak in his ear as they went. "Please tell me you didn't just roofie the werewolf?"

His head jerked to look at her in surprise. "Wolfsbane. How do you know she's a wolf?"

They settled at an empty table where they could keep an eye on the bar. "It's a logical assumption. She's looking for Mason. Odds are he left a pack behind."

"Yeah, well, the wolfsbane is to make certain. We need to know what we're dealing with."

"So, you basically poisoned her. I'm going to assume this was Damon's idea." Her boyfriend was nothing if not impulsive.

Ric smirked and sipped at his drink. Lucy sent a text. Dumbass.

Damon pulled out his phone and frowned at the screen. He shot a glance at her and she lifted her drink in a toast before finishing it off. She kept a careful eye on him and his companion as they continued to talk. Afterall, she might need to move in at any moment to rescue him.

The blonde slammed her drink down on the bar and Lucy immediately moved in their direction. Ric was right behind her. She stopped a few feet away and watched as Damon practically confessed to killing Mason. Lucy sighed and moved into his side, running a hand under his jacket to rest on his back, hoping to be a calming presence.

"You're an idiot for doing this on the night of the full moon. Any other night, you might have me, but not tonight," the wolf threatened. At least Lucy wouldn't need to repeat the lecture later. "You've been marked," she added then stormed past them and out of the bar.

Damon blinked in shock for a moment before lightly pushing his girl away and following the wolf. The other two shared a look then trailed after him.

"Where is she?" Damon demanded as they reached the parking lot.

"Just let it go," Ric said.

"Let it go? She said I've been marked. What kind of werewolf throw down bullshit is that, anyway?"

There was no sign of the other woman anywhere. "Damon," Lucy said, her voice quiet. He ignored her and continued to look around for any sign of the wolf. She said his name again, her voice, louder and firmer.

He turned in irritation. "What?"

"It's a full moon. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"She's right," Ric chimed in when the vampire didn't say anything. "If any of this is true, one bite and you're dead. Take Lucy home and we'll deal with this in the morning."

Damon glanced at the moon shining brightly overhead. "Yeah. Okay. Let's go home, kitten."

The drive home was silent, though he held Lucy's hand the whole way. When they walked inside, he locked the door behind them, something she didn't think she'd ever seen him do. Too bad werewolves wouldn't be using the front door should they choose to turn up.

Lucy's hands trembled and she clenched them in irritation. "I say we barricade ourselves in the bedroom until morning."

He smirked and started to say something before frowning and pressing a finger to his lips to tell her to stay quiet. He moved silently through the house and she followed far enough behind that he didn't have to worry about her. They stepped into the other room to find Rose sitting behind the desk. Lucy rolled her eyes and leaned against the doorframe, allowing Damon to deal with it.

He sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't answer your phone."

"That should have told you something. What do you want, Rose?"

"I wanted to apologize for running away when Elijah showed up." She tried to sound sincere but neither of the other two were buying it.

"Bullshit," Damon said. "You just don't have anywhere else to go."

Her gaze darted between Damon and Lucy. "I really am sorry about Elena. I didn't know what she was going to do. And, you're right, I don't have anywhere else to go."

"You're a vampire. You'll figure it out," Lucy told her.

Damon smirked and headed toward the liquor. "There's nothing here for you, Rose. I suggest you find somewhere else to be."

The shattering of glass filled the air and they all turned toward where the sound had come from. Lucy's heart pounded in her chest and she had the insane urge to run upstairs and hide under the covers. Damon darted to the door and the three of them moved into the hall as a group. Curtains fluttered in the breeze from a now broken window. A low growl sounded and they all searched for the source.

Damon jerked a sword off the wall and held it in front of him just as a large gray wolf stepped into view. It stared at Damon and hunched down as if preparing to leap. The women shouted his name in warning.

Something slammed into Lucy's body from the side and she stumbled forward until she was between the wolf and its target. White hot, searing pain flooded through her as sharp teeth buried in her shoulder. A scream tore from her throat as the wolf tossed its head. It growled and snarled and tore at her body. Her hands dug into its fur as she struggled to push it off her.

Nausea rolled through her as the intensity of the pain worsened with every shake of its head. Its teeth ground together inside of her flesh, tearing through muscle and clamping onto bone. A large crack accompanied a mind-numbing wave of agony as her collarbone snapped.

Damon thrust the blade into the wolf's side. It released its prey and whimpered in pain before exiting through the window it had broken. He dropped his weapon and fell to his knees beside his girl. His hands hovered as he took in her injuries as if he didn't know where to start.

Tears poured down Lucy's face and her head swam. Darkness ate at the edges of her vision as she writhed on the floor in pain. Movement only brought more agony but she couldn't seem to make herself still. "It hurts," she whimpered. "It hurts so much."

He placed one hand on her head and his other hand grasped hers. "I am so sorry, baby. This is my fault. I shouldn't have provoked her."

She wanted to agree with him but the reason seemed so unimportant right then. "Please, Damon," she begged, unsure what she expected him do. She just needed the pain to stop and knew he could do it.

He bit into his wrist and placed it to her mouth, her hands reaching up to grab his arm once she was able. A sound drew her attention and panic spiked through her. What if the wolf came back? She blinked away tears and shifted her gaze to the figure behind Damon. Rose came into focus, arms crossed over her chest and a smirk on her face.