Cami was the one who encouraged Esmeray to go see Klaus.

"Please," the blonde said once the hybrid was getting ready to return to the Bayou. "I don't know what happened between the two of you, but he wants to talk about it. He's worried about you."

Esmeray was not in the mood to respond kindly. She wanted to say, "Why don't you just stop making recommendations about what we should do? We never asked for a couples therapist, so stay out of it." And she wanted to say, "Yeah, you're right, you don't know what happened— keep your mouth shut."

Instead, she said, "Okay," very simply, and with a small smile on her face. "By the way, you should probably get your uncle to leave New Orleans. He won't be safe here. It's better if he tries to set up a church somewhere else. Until the inhabitants of this city calm down, he'll continue to get hurt."

Cami had nodded, and Esmeray had left, deciding that she wanted to walk around a bit before she made it to the Compound. She was on high alert this time, keeping her eyes closed at random moments to try and listen for any dangers that she might be blind to.

But when no one attacked her, she returned to the Compound, finding it surprisingly empty. Usually, there were vampires lounging in the courtyard. Now, only Elijah was there, tidying up.

"Where did everyone go?" asked Esmeray quietly.

"I sent the vampires away," said Elijah simply. "Marcellus has been exiled. Rebekah and Niklaus have come to an agreement regarding her leaving and not returning. She told me to thank you for what you did. She worried coming to you in person would lead Niklaus to change his mind about being so lenient with her."

"Oh," was all she replied with, blinking a few times. "Well, then..." she cleared her throat. "I'm going to go upstairs."

Elijah shot her a look as if asking her if she would be speaking with Klaus. Esmeray nodded before heading up the stairs.

He was in his art room, painting angrily. The canvas in front of him was being splattered with random colors. She didn't know if he was actually trying to create something, or if he was coping by practicing abstract art.

Klaus sensed she was there, and ceased the movement of the brush, but did not turn to face her. He didn't want to be the first one to speak.

"Hi," she said, tucking her hands together. "May I come in?"

Rather than joke that she wasn't a vampire and didn't need an invitation to move around her own house, Klaus merely nodded. She came to stand beside him as he started to paint again.

"Judging by your silence," she murmured when several minutes of silence passed, "you'd rather not speak until I give you approval to." She sank into the seat beside him, looking at her feet. "I just don't want to say it. I'd rather you look into my mind and see for yourself."

Klaus stopped painting again. He set his utensils down and sat across from her, looking into her eyes and holding his hand out to her. She took it slowly, closing her eyes and concentrating on the memories she wanted him to see.

When she opened her eyes again, a slow tear was running down his face. "Why are you crying?" she asked carefully.

"Because I haven't done a good enough job of showing you how much you mean to me, love," he said, coming to kneel down in front of her. "That witch is nothing to me. She attempted to seduce me, and I did not let her. According to her, she fancied me in the 1900s, but I assure you, even then, I never paid her any heed. As for Camille— I only wished to help her find out what truly happened with her brother. If there's anyone she fancies, it's Marcel, which Rebekah would not have been happy to hear." He cupped her face. "You, Esmeray, are the one that I want. Not them. Not anyone else. That witch Celeste was only trying to hurt you with her words."

Celeste had grabbed her head roughly, and she'd been able to see a scene taking place in another room. Genevieve standing in front of a shirtless and disheveled-looking Klaus. As if that wasn't bad enough, the redheaded witch was sliding her hand up his leg, and the Original hybrid wasn't stopping her.

Celeste brought her out of the trance, and Esmeray let out a quiet sob. "That's not true," she whispered. "You're... putting... images in my head."

"It's true," said Celeste. "It's happening right now." She leaned down in front of her, coming to her level. "I want to know why you claim to be such a good person when you let someone like him into your bed at night. You know what he's done and you support him. You're just as sick as him. And even then, I pity you. Because you truly don't understand how disposable you are to him. He's been with so many women in the past— women far prettier than you. Better, too. They're calm and submissive, just how he likes them. You? You're a ball of fire and he will grow tired of you soon enough. He won't be able to tolerate you talking back all the time for much longer. You put him in a position where he feels out of control. You think you're good for him, yet you fail to understand that you're just making him worse."

Klaus let his knuckles run down the side of her face. "You challenge me. You make me question my behavior. You give me reason to be better and the support to do so. What I feel for you grows stronger every passing day. Your fire is what drew me to you long before we knew we were soulmates. I prefer that you be the one in control because you're the only one who has helped me feel like I can relax, and with you, I am at peace. You are radiant and a vision of both outer and inner beauty that is unmatched. I have never felt for anyone what I feel for you."

This was true. As time had gone on and Klaus had grown closer with Esmeray, he realized that the one love he clung to— Aurora de Martel— had been but a tiny flame in comparison with the love he had for Esmeray. Aurora never countered his opinions, never tried to speak for herself. Their attraction had been rooted in lust, and though she made him happy in seeing past the monster he was, that first love was naive and simple.

Esmeray had witnessed a thousand years worth of horrors and even then made him feel he deserved affection. Their love had been built up before they were intimate for the first time. Esmeray spoke up when she didn't like something he was doing, and always stood up for what she thought was moral. She was intelligent and she made him laugh, and she appreciated all aspects of him.

She was crying as he spoke to her. Her eyes were closed again, and tears slipped out from behind her eyelashes. She was trembling, and Klaus felt his heart breaking. She wanted to believe him, and yet, there was doubt. She'd lived nineteen years hearing about how terrible and undesirable she was. Klaus had been working to build up her confidence, but he couldn't fix her in less than two years after over a decade of being mistreated, even by her own father.

"You are what matters most to me in this world, love," Klaus told her when she put her hands over her face as she began to sob. "When I am with you, I will never be thinking of anyone else. Even when I am without you, my little werewitch, you will be the one I want. You are the one I desire above all things. Perhaps you may laugh when I say that I will give you my word on this, but I will never be unfaithful to you. You are who I wish to lay with for the rest of my life."

"K-Klaus, that's not possible!" she cried, muffling the sound in her palms. "I'm going to die in less than one hundred years. I'm mortal. You'll move on, you'll be with another after me—"

"Don't be absurd," he said, removing her hands so that he could see her face. "That, love, we will figure out. I could not tolerate remaining immortal while you and my child age normally. If I have to take that stupid bloody cure, so be it. If I have to endure a painful ritual that will strip away my immortality, so be it. You have been conditioned to believe that you aren't worthy of anything. But I am telling you, love, that you are worth every bit of pain I could ever have to endure if it meant I could live and die by your side."

Esmeray choked out another sob before pulling him into a tight hug. Had he not been a vampire, she would have easily knocked him over. Instead, he was able to hold her, get to his feet, and bring her legs around his waist so that he could carry her to her room while they embraced.

He hadn't left her side for the entire month afterward.

He'd taken her back to Mystic Falls for a week, which she'd spent with Damon and the others, who were glad to see her. Everytime she started to feel guilty because he was very obviously bored there, he assured her that he was happy so long as he got to see her enjoying time with her friends. After that, they'd returned to New Orleans, and Klaus had spent his days painting with her or simply reading beside her while she worked on spells she wanted to do. He would take her out to the Bayou to conduct her check ups on Hayley, and afterward, he'd take her to the balcony in his room, and keep her on his lap while they looked out over the city at night. She'd fall asleep with her head resting over his heart, listening to the gentle rhythm that she could only just make out with her wolf hearing.

When the next full moon had come, he'd been at her side in the Bayou, his wolf form curled up beside hers and licking her face gently to help her feel better. Elsewhere, the Crescent wolves were finally cured of their curse. Jackson had come upon them when morning came and Klaus was getting dressed to be ready to take Esmeray back home when she finally transformed back.

"The witch's concoction worked," Klaus noted, not really inclined to pay attention to Jackson as he prepared a blanket to toss over Esmeray's body. Once he sensed she was starting to turn back, he covered her up, wrapping her carefully before scooping her up and letting her cuddle up into him, still fast asleep.

"Thanks to her," said Jackson, nodding at Esmeray. "Whenever she came by and wasn't checking on Hayley or helping get supplies to our Pack, she was doing spells to make sure that weird juice was going to work. As soon as she hears that it worked, she's going to be spending every day over here. She's told Eve about all her ideas for rebuilding homes here using magic for the new wolves that are migrating in to try and see this miracle baby that you and Hayley made. I just worry that it'll cause problems with the other supernaturals in the Quarter."

Klaus let out a huff. "If you wish to speak of turmoil, turn your words to Elijah. My brother has it in his head that he has what it takes to continue Esmeray's work to bring peace to the French Quarter. When she refused to take back her position as Queen, he started brainstorming about a treaty. Your complaints ought to go to him."

Jackson, knowing Klaus was more preoccupied about getting Esmeray home safely than he was about fixing tension in the Quarter, nodded and returned to where Hayley was helping the other wolves move their stuff around.

He'd been right. As soon as Esmeray had woken up, two days later, she'd been rushing about grabbing at sketches she'd made of homes that she could build for the wolves.

"I didn't know you were becoming an architect," Klaus teased, looking over her shoulder as she started taking notes on some of the buildings she was thinking of putting in the Bayou for the wolves.

"They can't keep living in motorhomes," she said, shaking her head. "There's enough space to make a few small houses with just enough room for what they need. I talked it over with Eve. They don't want a big place. As long as it has a bathroom and a stove and a comfy place to sleep, it'll be fine. I just think this will really help them if there's ever a massive storm. They can't possibly prefer to live under tarps when I can use magic to make mini-houses for them."

Klaus pressed a kiss to her cheek. "How about," he purred in her ear, "I give you a nice massage when you get home tonight?"

She leaned back into him, smirking to herself. "That sounds nice. I just worry you'll accidentally break me."

"Love, if I haven't broken you when we—"

"Shh, I don't have a Silencing Spell up right now!"

"Elijah should not be listening when it does not concern him..."

Esmeray had to wiggle out of his arms before he could start kissing her. "I have to go, Klaus," she said, trying to get to the door, but he pulled her back by the belt loops on her pants and yanked her back, making her laugh. "I can't do anything for the wolves if I'm stuck in your room all day!"

"The wolves can build their own houses," Klaus insisted, biting lightly into her neck and drinking just a bit of her blood, knowing she enjoyed it.

"Don't make me blast you into the next room..."

He let go of her, and turned her around to kiss her firmly before she trotted out into the hallway.

Jackson greeted her with a tight hug. "It feels good to finally get to do this normally," he said as she sighed into his chest, relishing in the opportunity to speak to him without complications.

She pulled back and nodded, letting her fingers graze over his beard. "What was it you said when we met? That I'd make fun of you for looking this disheveled? Your lumberjack style is just... interesting."

"Beards are nice," he said, smirking as he led her to where the wolves were sparring with each other. "They decided that to celebrate, they wanted to have a show of strength."

"And you don't participate?" she asked, seeing Oliver currently brawling with a wolf Esmeray hadn't formally met.

Jackson shook his head. "We don't do the tournament thing you mentioned. They know I'm the Alpha and they really just do it as an unofficial competition to be Beta. Even then, they all know Oliver and Aiden are my Betas. Speaking of that, you should meet them formally. Come on."

He led her to a man that looked to be of Italian descendancy. His blue-green eyes were darting all over the fighting wolves, as if he was giving the commentary in his head, praising certain moves and criticizing others.

"This here is my buddy Aiden," said Jackson, clapping Aiden on the back. "Aiden, Esmeray."

Esmeray held out her hand for Aiden to shake, but to her surprise, he bowed his head and got on one knee before getting back up. "Oh, wow, you don't have to do that," she said sheepishly.

"Hey, Jackson says you're the Queen, and we all agree," he said before shaking her hand.

"Jackson's told me a lot about you," said Esmeray. "I just never got to talk to you about anything. He says you're pretty good at fighting. I guess that's why you're not participating— you'd beat them all pretty easily."

Aiden shrugged. "I'm decent. You, however, I'd like to see in that ring."

Esmeray blushed. "Um, it's been awhile since I sparred. I don't know if I'd be any good."

"It's just for fun," said Aiden. "We've all known you for months, even if we didn't get to chat. We respect you even if you're not the strongest, physically. We all recognize that you're the smartest and most powerful in other aspects. Come on. Ollie will go easy on you if he sees you're struggling."

She shrugged. "Alright, why not?" She removed the bag that rested over her shoulder and handed it to Jackson. "Those are my plans for the mini-houses. You can look them over if you want."

Surprisingly, she did a lot better than expected.

Oliver had been quite welcoming. She knew that Oliver wasn't the most respectful to Hayley, but he seemed to like Esmeray a lot more. And considering none of the female Crescent wolves were coming into the circle, he respected that she was going to try and take a test of strength.

"It's alright, just take a swing," said Oliver as the Pack gathered around. "You can make the first move and we'll go from there."

Esmeray held up her hands. "Wait, let's just clarify the rules. Are we allowed to do anything and everything as long as we don't use weapons, or what? Because back in my day, we could use weapons."

"No weapons," Jackson chuckled off to the side. "Everything else is fine. But for you— no magic."

Esmeray nodded, and decided that she ought to put it away to be safe. Reaching into her pocket, she extracted the little wooden wolf Klaus had made for her and drained her magic into it. She handed it to Jackson, who put it safely in her bag.

She had Oliver flat on his ass within the first minute.

She'd swung, and he caught her fist, therefore she swung her leg around to knock him off his feet, using their connection to do a strange sort of somersault that left her on her feet while he crumpled to the ground. He got up quickly, and this time, he threw a punch, but she ducked, and used his own momentum to toss him over her shoulders. He fell to the ground a second time and this time, she pinned him down quickly, one knee digging into his groin, and her elbow pressing into his throat.

"Damn," he panted, looking up at her. "I don't think I'm as good when I go up against a girl who's taller than me."

"Or maybe," Aiden teased as he came into the center, "she's just a better fighter than you."

"You fight her, then," Oliver huffed as Esmeray let him go. "Ain't no way she'll take you down that fast."

He was right— it took a little bit longer for her to pin Aiden down.

There was more kicking this time around. He'd made the first move, and she'd had to dodge and play defense for quite a bit trying to keep herself from being smacked or tossed back into the crowd. She thought to let him tire himself out for a bit before she suddenly caught his leg and yanked him forward, sending the both of them to the ground. She got up quickly, but he was faster, and he tackled her to the ground. She was able to flip them so that she was pinning him down, and dug both knees into pressure points in his thighs before punching him in the face, knowing he'd heal anyway. He was able to toss her off, but he didn't get up as fast this time, and she jumped up ready to kick him in the stomach, then kneed him in the chest and knocked the wind out of him. She yanked his arms behind his back and kicked the back of his knees to force him down before wrapping one of her hands around his throat. He knew to stop, then, because in a real fight, she could have easily crushed his throat that way, and he wouldn't have been able to get her off in time to save his own life.

"Damn," said Aiden, rubbing his neck once she let him go. "Now that is the Wolf Alpha right there. I bet you could beat Jackson if he were to fight."

Esmeray scrunched up her nose. "I don't know. He's pretty strong, and I don't think I could keep up for very long."

They didn't get to think more of it. She looked back and saw Hayley, Jackson, and Oliver were talking off to the side, and Hayley didn't look too happy. Waving at the wolves as they clapped for her, Esmeray went to join them.

"You know," Oliver was saying to Hayley, "word from the Quarter is your boy Elijah's holding some kind of power summit."

"Power summit?" asked Esmeray with a frown. "Elijah's just trying to work on a peace treaty."

"He's holding a full on meeting with the other factions," said Oliver distastefully. "Guess who wasn't invited?"

Hayley and Esmeray shared a look. "Where did you hear this?" the wolf asked.

"It doesn't matter," Oliver told her. "The point is that we're stuck here living in the swamp, while your vampire boyfriend's deciding who gets what in the city. But, I guess that shows how much respect he's got for the werewolves, huh?"

"Elijah wouldn't do that," said Esmeray slowly. "He was trying to continue the work I started to bring peace to the Quarter."

"Well, it's pretty clear that he took advantage of the fact that you're here actually trying to help us so that he could exclude the wolves from any peace. Go on, see for yourselves. I ain't lying."

The two women shared another look, knowing they'd have to go see if he was right.