It wasn't until well into the night that they arrived at their destination. They had driven for a long time, and Jeremy was half asleep when they arrived. However, he quickly woke up when they all began to climb out of the car.

"Welcome back to Chicago, Stefan," Klaus states leading the small group toward the door. Since the hybrids had failed, Klaus had been more secretive with his plans. Whether that was because of some form of mistrust or simply a way to avoid the disappointment of his failure was a mystery to Alvina.

Klaus pulls the large wooden door out of the way, allowing them to see the large city. Alvina smiles as she gazes upon the lights shining from the tall skyscrapers. She would always be more of a nature girl but even could appreciate the beauty in front of her.

"What are we doing here?" Stefan asks the question running through their minds.

"I know how much you loved it here," Klaus grins with a hint of mystery. "Bringing back memories of the good old ripper days?"

"Blacked out most of them. A lot of blood, a lot of partying. The details are all a blur," Stefan says in a bored tone. Jeremy cringes a bit at the image of so much blood. He was slowly getting used to it, but it still made his stomach churn. 

"Well, that is a crying shame. The details are what make it a legend. Word was the ripper of Monterrey got lonely, so he escaped the city for comfort. It was Prohibition. Everything was off-limits then, which made everything so much fun," Klaus raconteurs. "Chicago was magical."

"Yeah, well, I'll take your word for it. Like I said, I don't remember most of it," Stefan tells him.

"Going to get down to business, then?" Klaus murmurs, closing the door.

"Why am I still with you? We had our fun; your hybrids failed. I mean, don't you want to move on?" Stefan asks, his arms crossed over his chest.

"We're going to see my favorite witch. If anyone can help us with our hybrid problem, it's her," Klaus states making his way back to the car. 

Jeremy nibbles on the inside of his lip anxiously. Enzo covers Jeremy's hand with his own, trying to convey some comfort. Jeremy sighs silently and reenters the car.

"Can your favorite witch wait until the morning?" Alvina asks. "We've been in this car for days,"

"Yes, sweetheart, she can wait till morning," Klaus nods, directing the car towards a very fancy hotel. Alvina smiles excitedly. As usual, the four mates get a room together, allowing Stefan a room to himself.

Jeremy instantly claims the middle of the bed. Despite the anxiousness floating around his mind, he falls asleep. Alvina steals the bathroom needing a moment to herself and away from the boys.

"Perfect," Alvina whispers, falling in love with the bathtub in front of her. Alvina pulls her clothes off and settles into the warm water. As her muscle begin to relax, her mind starts to run wild.

The more she thinks about it, the more she is convinced that the reason Klaus has failed to make hybrids is that Elena is alive. Tomorrow they're seeing a witch that might be able to tell him that exact thing. Alvina didn't know much about Klaus despite being with him nonstop for months, but she did know he would not react kindly to the news.

She felt torn between giving this information to Klaus herself and continuing to keep it a secret in hopes of keeping Elena from certain death. Again, she finds herself wishing Elena was anybody else's sister instead of Jeremy's. She felt as if she was at a crossroads where her only two options were to betray Klaus's trust or Jeremy's. She hated to think it, but until she and Klaus completed the bond, Jeremy would always take precedence. Nonetheless, it didn't make the decision any easier.

"I wish you were still here, mom," Alvina whispers to herself. Her mother had been her confidant. Any questions that she could think of her mother had some form of an answer to. She knew if her mother were still around, she would be able to help guide her in moments like these.

It had been a while since she thought about her mother. Upon meeting and pursuing her mates, Alvina put little thought into her childhood. Her childhood wasn't bad, far from it. However, the death of her parents continued to make it painful to think of memories of them. Despite this, memories will randomly pop, making feelings of nostalgia hit her like a freight train.

After months of her mind being occupied with worrying thoughts about the future, her mind now becomes consumed with the past. Despite almost being 160 years old, she still held the mentality of a teenager. While she felt a bit more mature, one could argue that she was the same age as Jeremy. A teenager that felt as if she had to grow up too fast because if she hadn't, then the five years between her mother's death and finding Damon would have destroyed her.

Yet, those five years felt like a breeze compared to the stress and drama that came with Mystic Falls and followed her mates. From protecting a human in the supernatural world to conducting a prison break to trying to gain and maintain the fragile trust with an original hybrid, all the while fighting to keep her idiotic best friend from getting himself into another situation that could end with his death. While she enjoyed the challenges and the rewards, she couldn't help but yearn for the safety and peace she would feel when her parents would envelop her in one of their hugs. She imagined the sound of their voices when they whispered words meant to calm, encourage, and comfort her. Yet her imagination was nothing compared to the real thing.

A soft knock on the door breaks her staring contest with the neutral-colored wall. Her eyes fluttered to the opening door, watching Enzo slipping in. He offers her a small smile, one she tries to reciprocate. 

He closes the door behind him before making himself comfortable on the floor beside her. His hand dips into the water to grab hers. The sound of water droplets returning to the bath fills the room as Enzo pulls her hand toward him. He kisses her knuckles before resorting to messaging her palm.

"How're you holding up, love?" Enzo mutters. He had tried to give Alvina her privacy, but he could sense her steadily declining emotional state. He knew that while Alvina could be cheeky and cheerful, she also tended to carry the weight of the world upon her shoulders.

"I'm worried," Alvina whispers. Enzo gives her hand a comforting squeeze.

"So am I," Enzo agrees, hoping to show her that she wasn't alone in her worries. "Things aren't exactly going as planned, are they?" He mutters, and Alvina shakes her head before resting it back against the wall. 

"Where's Klaus?" She asks. She fears Klaus would overhear them. If that happened, she would be forced to explain, and she had no idea what she would, or even could, say.

"I sent him to get him and me some blood," Enzo tells her. "Told him I was thirsty but didn't feel like getting anything myself but also mentioned that I didn't trust his little goons," Alvina smiled. "He didn't want to, but I managed to get him to get the blood himself, and with Jeremy dead asleep in the bed, that gives us a few minutes to ourselves," Alvina grins a bit.

"Will you join me then?" Alvina asks, a hopeful smile on her face. Enzo smirks. He winks before standing up. Her mood instantly lifts. She shamelessly licks her lips as he slowly takes his clothes off. "Damn, baby,"

"All for you," Enzo flirts before tilting his head side-to-side. "And two, eventually three, others. But right now, all for you," He snaps as he points at her causing her to let out a small giggle. He smiles and stares at her for a moment. His eyes filled with adoration before he motions for her to move up. The water swishes with the movement, and Enzo settles behind her.

His arms circle her stomach, prompting her to lean against his chest. One of her hands rests over his while the other gently glides over his forearm. He playfully nips at her shoulder before nuzzling his head into her neck.

"We'll be alright, darling," He promises.

"Can't have a rainbow without a little rain," Alvina mutters the phrase her mother loved. "At this point, I don't want a rainbow, just a normal day,"

"You deserve all the beautiful rainbows in the world," He mutters to her. "And when we get through this, that rainbow will have been worth all this rain," He promises.

"As long as we don't lose anything along the way," Alvina whispers, afraid to lose Klaus before they've had a chance to have him. "I'm just worried about what this rain is going to cost us... it's been raining a long time, and I hope it doesn't flood,"

If they lose Klaus, it could cause a severe chain reaction. You didn't have to accept your soulmate(s). There is a choice. The after-effects of not accepting the bond, however, are... unfavorable, especially in cases of multiple mates.

Growing up, Alvina's mother stressed the importance of each mate within a bond. She told stories about the consequences of losing one. If the mate was lost before the bond was completed, there was a bigger chance at recovery than after the bond was made.

They had initiated the bond. They had started the process with Klaus. None of them wanted to lose him. Jeremy clung to the idea of having Klaus but also keeping his sister alive. Alvina and Enzo were beginning to shift to the idea of keeping Klaus. Whether that scenario involved Elena's death or not was slowly becoming less important to them.

They know how much Elena means to Jeremy, but to Alvina and Enzo, Klaus mattered so much more. If it truly came down to it, they'd hand-deliver Elena and then do whatever it took to gain Jeremy's forgiveness.

"I don't know if we'll be able to handle another," Alvina murmurs, glancing down to the untouched initials on her arm. Enzo eyes the identical ones on his own forearm.

"Maybe he'll be the one who brings us all together and simplifies things?" Enzo suggests. "Maybe things will get better when he comes,"

"Perhaps..." Alvina whispers.

A soft, comfortable silence surrounds them. Both of them are lost in their thoughts surrounding their current and future predicaments. They both hear Klaus returning and know they can't speak of the subject aloud. However, neither have anything to add, so they keep to themselves.

When the water grows cold, they climb out. They dry each other off and get dressed once again. Before Alvina can open the door, Enzo turns her toward him. He gently cups both sides of her face. They stare into the eyes of the other and say nothing, but there's a promise that things will get better. They have to.

Enzo presses a slow yet reassuring kiss on her lips. She leans into him and clings to his shirt. His fingers thread through her hair, holding her so close they could morph into one. Neither wants to pull away and when they do, they stay in each other's arms for another minute.

"I love you," Enzo whispers, breaking the tense silence. Alvina smiles and kisses him again. She doesn't say the words back, but her emotions are clear through the kiss.

When they exit the bathroom, there's still a weight on their shoulders, but it's not dragging them down as it once had. It hasn't necessarily lightened but feels more distributed amongst the two of them. As if the burden is now shared.

"Here," Klaus hands a glass of blood to Enzo. "The finest in Chicago," He smirks with smugness. Enzo returns the look with a coy grin. His fingers take the glass lifting it to his lips. Alvina watches as his eyes close at the taste of the blood. "Not nearly as good as I've heard the blood of fairies taste, but it's the next best thing," Klaus says in a twisted attempt to flirt.

"Careful Klaus," Alvina warns. "Fairy blood is the heroin of the supernatural world. Turns even the strongest of men mad with insanity," She explains.

"Hmm, don't tempt me, love," Klaus hums, eyeing her with hunger. Alvina fights a squirm as she imagines how her mate would look underneath her but she grants the hybrid a wink. "I'm sure you taste as ravishing as you look,"

"Even more so, as impossible as it sounds," Enzo comments, now sending Alvina a similar look. Alvina forces herself to look away before she gives into the growing temptation. How desperately she wanted to give into them. 

But how could she? 

She felt no guilt seducing Enzo, or rather him seducing her. With Klaus, however, the guilt was prominent. To complete the bond, knowing he would find out about their little secret would only worsen things. She would force herself to wait until things either blew up and then settled down or when she was certain Elena's secret survival would remain a secret.

Until either of those things happened, she would have to wait. No matter how enticing Klaus is.