Hayley lay in his arms. His fingers circled her bare shoulders in soothing patterns.

"Are you crying, Hayley?"

"No," she huffed, even though it was a lie.

"Am I that bad at sex?" asked Elijah.

"No, you idiot," she said, "I'm crying because I'm happy." She smiled at him.

"I like that."

"You like it when I cry?"

"No, when you smile."

He traced her lips with his fingers, and then her eyelids, wiping away the little tears.

"Klaus would tell you not to cry, little wolf."

"But you're not Klaus…and I want to be Hayley to you…no little wolf…no queen…just Hayley…your wife…Hayley…"

He kissed her hard then. Hayley moaned and grabbed his hair, pulling him down on her.

"Ready for round two," she whispered huskily as she ran her other hand down the panes of his muscular back.

"Ready if you are."

"I'm always ready."

Soon, Hayley was mewling and thrashing from his expert kisses and touches.

"I know," Elijah whispered as they made love. "I love you. Come for me Hayley. I love you. You are my wife." You are my wife. The words echoed and rattled in her brain. I am his wife. I am a part of the original family, not in blood, but in name. I have a family. He loves me.

She looked into his eyes and smiled, and kissed him again, again and again.

Two years later…

There was going to be a full moon tonight. Hayley sensed it; just the way the leaves knew when to change their colour in the fall. She walked around the compound.

"Oi, Klaus," she said, locating the famous hybrid. "Can you look after Adira and Zara tonight?"

"Actually, no I can't," he said, not bothering to look up.

Hayley came to a screeching halt. "What?"

"You heard me, I can't. I have plans."

Hayley raised an eyebrow. "You have plans? Enlighten me."

"I have a date with the delightful Miss Forbes."

Hayley's anger dissipated. "Good for you," she said, truly meaning it. "I'll go ask Elijah if he's willing to babysit."

"You're not angry?"

"No I'm happy for you," she said, "after all; I'm a sucker for love stories.

"What plans do you have tonight anyway, Little Wolf?"

"I have a date with my wolf ego."

Klaus laughed. "Unlucky for you. I'm sure Elijah wouldn't mind spending the night with his nieces."

Elijah didn't mind of course.

That night Hayley and Klaus tucked their girls into bed. They were nearly three. Oh, how the years flew by.

"Mummy has to go out tonight and so does Daddy, but Elijah is going to take good care of you."

"Can he tell us a story?"

"Oh, Elijah loves stories, don't you brother?" said Klaus.

"That's quite right, Nikolaus." He smiled at the twins kindly. "How about I tell you a story about a young werewolf girl that wandered into a foreign town in the search to find a family?"

"Does it have a happy ending?" piped up Zara.

"Of course it has a happy ending, silly duffer," said Hayley, tickling her daughter. Zara squealed in delight.

"I should get going," said Klaus "don't want to make a bad impression on my first date with Caroline."

"I think you're already made a bad impression with your blood thirsty antics," said Elijah drily.

Klaus laughed. "There are plenty of ways to make it up to the girl."

Klaus headed towards the doorway of the nursery.

"Good luck, Klaus," said Hayley.

"Thank you," he said, "and run free tonight, little wolf."

Hayley smiled as she watched him leave. She looked at the window. The moon was rising. Soon she would transform. She didn't want to leave. She was mesmerized by the sight of watching Elijah tell her daughters a story. Their story.

"I have to go," she whispered eventually. She kissed both her children on the forehead.

"Goodnight Adira. Goodnight Zara."

"Goodnight Mummy," they chorused.

She turned to Elijah and traced a hand across his jaw, feeling the roughness of his stubble. She swooped down and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Goodnight," she murmured.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Goodnight."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

A/N: So this is it! The end of this fic, Thank you guys for being the best readers I've ever had and for coming on this fanfic journey with me. Lots of love, CD