"Nana, this is my mate and fiancé, Niklaus Mikaelson"

My grandmother smiled brightly as she declined my mate's subtle handshake and smile and went in for a hug instead. Something inside of my heart swelled at the image, the love of my life hugging the first member of my father's side of my family that I knew. It was a beautiful image that I never knew I needed to witness until then. I was excited to make it even better.

"And Nana, this is Stefan and Damon, my brothers"

Nana Christo smiled at my younger and older brother before grabbing them into a big hug and giving them kisses on their cheeks that would've made them blush if they were human. Just as when she hugged Nik, my heart swelled at the image of affection between my favorite family members. My brothers had come a long way from the day of the ritual to that moment but what mattered was that moment right in front of me. Besides, they were part of the reason that Nik and I stood there in my grandmother's cottage.

"Thank you men" My grandmother said grabbing Stefan, Damon, and Nik's hands one by one and giving them squeezes of gratitude, "Thank you for keeping my Lina safe"

"Well she handled herself pretty well" Damon said sheepishly as he gave his little sister a little squeeze of appreciation, "She probably saved us more than vice versa"

Nana chuckled at Damon along with Stefan who was nodding in agreement, "I'm not surprised, Lina is quite the firecracker"

"A spitfire of sorts" Nik said before shooting my grandmother a wicked grin that she replied to with a wink.

"Anyway, let's see it My Angel, the mating tattoo!" Nana exclaimed nearly clapping like a young child with anticipation, "You've had me waiting for too long!"

"A week, Nana" I said chuckling, "A week, but alright"

I stood from the L shaped couch formation that Damon, Stefan, Nik, and I sat on across from my grandmother who sat in her favorite cushioned rocking chair and slipped the shawl from my shoulders. The summer dress I wore was strapless so the bird tattoo could be seen perfectly without me having to readjust my clothing.

As I turned my back towards my grandmother, she gasped upon seeing the large tattoo that extended from the nape of my neck down to just above my shoulder blade and spread from the middle of my back to the beginning of my shoulder.

The big image was a bird, like the ones in Nik's tattoos that were flying away from being a part of his feather tattoo but inside of the bird was the outline of a leafless tree. The tattoo was only black and white with a little grey but it was the most vibrant thing that I had seen in a long while. It was a prideful reminder of the day we successfully took Esther down and proved we were true mates.

It was also the memory that two weeks ago I lost my best and closest friend at the hands of a witch who couldn't face her own mistakes and blamed everyone else for it. There wasn't a second that went by that I didn't miss Anastasia. I would give anything for her to have been able to come and see my brothers and Niklaus getting along while visiting my family in Spain. It was quite the sight to see but I knew she was watching from the other side.

With a power like hers, Anastasia White did not simply just die. A stab in the heart may diminish her flesh but it does not kill her spirit. There were times when I missed her so much it hurt and just like that, I felt a bit of the presence of her spirit comforting. It also spoke to my dragon and calmed me down in my dreams. She was with me spiritually, just no longer physically.

I remembered that when Klaus and I managed to returned to our bodies, I felt the weight of something on top of my back.

A chill had run down my spine as I turned over and saw the blood before I looked into the dead eyes of my best friend as her body rolled onto my lap. I screamed for so long that the fire turned to smoke and my tears became liquid acid. I nearly had burned her I was so angry. I couldn't understand who would do something like kill Anastasia. Sure she was powerful but she had no enemies accept for—of course, Esther Mikaelson. The witch she had known the truth about from the first day.

But instead of speaking about the witch I hated the most in the supernatural world, I should explain how Nik and I worked together and used the power of 'The Mates' to return to the Earth.

The spirit animals conjured up a spell book for me to read to Nik mentally for him to repeat as he went through the motions of performing magic for the first time. I had to read a Spanish spell that would return us to our flesh and from then everything would fall into place.

In the middle of the black nothingness that we seemed to have had been placed in, Nik and I pressed our foreheads together and with my ability to read in the dark with enhanced vision, Nik and I began to chant.

Te amo muchos chicos y espero que todos tiene una vida exitosa feliz y lograr todos tus sueños y mucho más!

After Nik finished chanting, I felt the air around us begin to come alive. I fell into a short stream of consciousness as my body got heavier and heavier until I felt the itchy grass beneath me and heard my own rapid heartbeat. Gasping awake simultaneously with Nik, I came face to face with the deceased gaze of my best friend for more than a century.

It felt as though my heart had been ripped out of my chest all over again as I dissolved into tears grabbing the bloody witch into my arms. I had no care for the hole in my dress from Nik's fist or the blood to go with it, just that I knew Anastasia White would no longer be physically with me.

Nik comforted me as I cried but all too quickly, I felt a white hot rage come over me.

Before, it came slowly, increasing until my skin burned the grass I stood on but in that moment, the fire seemed to be switched on from the snap of a finger. During my attempt to close Anastasia's eyes I tinged on her long beautiful eyelashes and that only seemed to add on to my rage.

My emotions hit me so quickly that I didn't even notice the change in my mate at first. It wasn't until after dealing with Esther that I noticed Niklaus's newfound strength and the very strong, very evident heartbeat in his chest or the sparkle of power in his eyes.

Our ritual had been successful even with the loss and Nik and I were proven to be true mates and did not return to the Earth human though he did have a heartbeat.

Little did we know, my brothers and Alaric took care of Esther before we could even attempt to.

All that was left was to mourn the loss of the one who had been there for me when I needed someone the most.

After that, I prepared a funeral for Anastasia and that was when everything with my brothers cleared up and they even decided to be tolerable with Nik during the ceremony and after. I had finally been able to convince them that I had indeed fallen in love with their enemy and they had accepted it. Nik even thanked them and after that he told me of his deal with Elena in terms of leaving Mystic Falls after the ceremony.

Following that, he proposed to me! Literally proposed and told me that he would go against the agreement if I wished to see my brothers because that was the reason I went to Mystic Falls in the first place.

I said yes of course (!) and accepted the terms on one condition: I got to introduce my fiancé and my brothers to my unus ignis family.

And, one week later I was getting on a plane with my fiancé, my brothers, and my cousin that I never would have met without my Guardian Angel who always would be with me in my heart.

"Alright, time for a family photo!" My Nana exclaimed as she shoved Nik, Stefan and Damon, Mika, Skyla, Mika's very pregnant mate, and I altogether to take a corny family picture.

All cheesiness aside, I smiled brightly in the arms of my fiancé, the Big Bad Wolf, while listening to his heartbeat and wondering if our hearts would ever join together and beat in the chest of offspring of our own.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~

Hey guys! This isn't exactly the epilogue that I wanted because it was so rushed but college came faster than I expected :(

I'm currently sitting in my dorm room typing this nearly a week late because I ended up having do nothing but pack and visit people before taking that nine and a half hour drive to college!

On another note, I absolutely loved writing this book, I'm very proud that I was able to put it up and consistently post even though I had no schedule and a lot going on. I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope that later after I've settled in with college and gotten into the routine that I can come back and edit everything and make it way better than it is now.

I do plan on answering a lot of you guys' comments after I post this but also if you guys have any questions about high school or college or even just seek advice in general I would love to help as best that I could.

Honestly, I love it here. There's so much to do and everyone's so nice that I wouldn't have it any other way. Sure, I'm far from home but it honestly feels worth it. My classes start on next Wednesday so wish me luck!

I love you guys and thank you so much for going on this journey with me!