After a long day, I, Mimi Salvatore, alpha female of our pack, as well as mother of ten, finally walked quietly out of the nursery at 1 AM, having just finished changing and feeding the babies. The girls had gone to sleep early and would be available to take over if needed, handling feeding and changing.
We hadn't had tortilla pockets because Number One didn't want so many carbs, and besides, there was plenty of ready-made food available. Tortilla time could wait for later, a subtle hint that he would be on kitchen duty that day. The Salvatores had also logged many hours sorting those rooms, ensuring our logs about storage and needs were precise. Again, we had food, so there was no need for seven people to be slaving in the kitchen all the time.
Damon, number one, had called most of my five and the Salvatores to discuss various things, so there was no passion tonight. To be honest, I didn't mind; I was bone-tired, and the thought of a warm bath in my smart tub seemed like heaven. It would keep me warm, prevent me from falling asleep, and relax me wonderfully. After my long and luxurious bath, I would most likely sleep like a log.
Most of my time today has been occupied because Number One and Mariella wanted to get up to date on everything. This meant I needed to show them what we had done, how we did it, and what our plans were. Of course, he had also checked me over medically, ensuring that the little incident with the amaranthus wouldn't repeat itself.
That plant would be tested in our secret lab – or rather, it *had* been my secret lab, but not anymore. They could potentially discover what compounds made us loopy and extract them, as they would be crucial if I needed medical attention. I still had my problems with all things medical, and since this was such a hectic time, I hadn't had the chance to truly focus on making myself tolerate medical procedures.
I had no idea if Wulfe had told Number One about what he had planned and done for me, so I kept my mouth shut and didn't mention anything. I didn't want to hinder Wulfe's plans, especially if he had intentionally chosen not to inform Number One. It was up to him, not me, to decide whether to share that information.
I walked to my bedroom, a pastel-shaded haven of calmness at the back of the house. God, I was beat, and the thought of a long, deep, all-night sleep felt wonderful. But first, my bath. I flicked on the bathroom lights and slowly turned on the water to fill the enormous tub.
I had also reserved some white wine, blood pouches, and a few treats in my small fridge—I might sip a blood cocktail while bathing. This super-strong blood, from the Dark Elf King, made me buzzed, but funnily enough, according to Number Four, it also supercharged my body, making me much more efficient at absorbing nutrients, which explained my excellent fitness.
As I started undressing, I took off my clothes one by one, opening my hair at the same time, not really thinking about anything in particular. I walked around my room, semi-naked, gradually removing more and more clothes while sniffing them to see if they would be useful for the next day.
Finally naked, I calmly walked to my bed and began to rummage, wondering if I had left my nightgown there or if it was in the wash. I moved my fluffy pillows and peeked under the covers—not noticing that the door had opened.
A dark voice whispered in my ear soon enough: "I must say, wife of mine, you do know how to seduce, goddamn it. You there, bent over, practically offering yourself to me."
It was Number One, and oh my God, he was heated.
He pressed my upper body against the bed, crooning in my ear, "Naughty bitch, naughty. Well, it seems Daddy just has to give you a few lessons on how to behave."
His words and seductive murmur flooded me with desire, his heated closeness making me almost expect him to spank me or something.
"Oh no, not yet, my naughty little minx," he whispered. "But first, we'll have a nice long bath, since you seem to be drawing one of us in, and we need to sanctify that damn tub. Then this room needs some serious work. Now, don't worry about the babies or toddlers—they'll be cared for, even if we take a few days..."
His dark croon in my ear made me incredibly wet. Somehow, he was using his alpha power differently—seducing me rather than suppressing me—and I realized that it was our bond that made this so unique, that special connection between us that could never be broken.
It was a bit scary, but also something fabulous, something that belonged only to us. A small part of my mind registered that I hadn't read all the books yet, so there might be surprises, but right now, I dismissed them. He let me go to check on my bath, clearly eager for some adult fun, and I was just going with the flow.
It wasn't the time for doubts or insecurities about the future. Somehow, the possibility of him getting me pregnant vanished from my mind as my lust intensified. My nipples hardened, and my body prepared itself for a good time.
I went to the fridge, grabbed a few glasses, and some white wine. I mixed it with my reserved blood, creating a very potent concoction, then poured a glass for Damon and handed it to him.
"Here," I said, "let's have a drink, shall we?"
He took the glass and sipped, muttering, "Potent, as usual. Are you trying to get me drunk, my love, hoping to have your way with your poor husband?"
He sipped again, and I smiled, taking a long, deliberate gulp myself, showing him I could handle my drinks. I licked my lips, and he grabbed me. He took my glass, placed it on the table, and kissed me like never before.
There was love, our connection, and such a true need for him to be with me, to have me, to love me, that it blazed like an inferno into my soul, leaving me with no doubt about his feelings.
Our relationship was undeniably messy, but I began to suspect that this volatility was simply its inherent nature: a cycle of bad times and good. Perhaps our flamboyant personalities caused us to clash as powerfully as we connected. I wasn't sure if we could learn to temper ourselves, or even if that was truly possible.
He kissed me, and time seemed to stretch into an eternity. We somehow found ourselves in the bathroom, a blur of groping and kissing. Soon, he too was unclothed, his hands mapping every inch of my body, his tongue seeking to conquer my mouth, to claim it as his territory. Our desperate need for each other blazed like an inferno, and I sensed that some of this intensity seeped into our hive, as I felt an almost palpable acceptance emanating from it.
I finally understood: it was my vampire book, and it was happy. According to its narrative, we belonged together, and this conviction strengthened our pack immeasurably, solidifying our bond as it was meant to be.
After all, we weren't mere humans, nor simply vampires, but chimeras – shifter vampire creatures. At least, I possessed a decidedly feline mind, though I couldn't be certain if others in our pack shared this trait to the same degree. My own mind harbored darker aspects, but thankfully, they were carefully contained by my husbands, all fourteen of them, and my one exceptionally strong, ancient soulmate.
I was a creature of juxtaposition: one of the most powerful beings in the universe, possessing a killer instinct and a supernatural, white-hot rage that was less an emotion and more a tangible power within my mind.
Yet, paradoxically, all the hardships I'd endured had also forged within me the capacity for the most potent lust in our pack. The most ironic and amusing part? I was, at heart, a creature of love. I craved genuine, true love, and when I found it, my entire world became perfect.
Here in this room, I felt that love, my lust surging and merging with Damon's, creating something uniquely ours. This new, lust-filled love energy seeped into our hive, igniting the entire pack. It wasn't a call to mere physical union, but an invitation to connect, to share. I could feel them reaching out to us, riding the wave of our pleasure.
As we finally ended up in the tub, Damon didn't hesitate. He grabbed me by the hips, gazing into my eyes, and pulled me down without asking permission. Then, thrusting his hot, hard cock between my greedy pussy lips, he filled me with one brutal move. We kissed as he moved me up and down, thrusting at the same time, using my body in the best possible way.
It felt as though he was trying to merge his soul with mine, as if he had a wound in his soul, and he was using my love for him as a healing balm. He was truly a lust wizard, and the sex was amazing, as always. Time lost all meaning. All that existed was an intense highway of emotions: love, lust, need for each other, regrets of the past, his curiosity about my life and what I had done here, and even a greedy desire for my powers.
As he finally activated the magic symbols on his chest to draw power from me, he fucked me like a madman. However, I had plenty to share and curbed the flow somewhat, not wanting to overwhelm him with my power flooding out. I was that powerful right now.
I was sitting in his lap, pressed so close against him that I could acutely smell his pheromones. He wasn't very skilled with them yet, which meant he simply let out what he was feeling, making his pheromones potent and rapidly changing.
These signals told me so much about him, but they also revealed just how deeply this had hit him once more. His exploding at me, fearing he was losing me, and knowing I had others. He wanted me, wanted to be with me, but he was unsure if he was worthy or if he should be with me, given how many times he had hurt me in the past.
Despite the intense orgasms he wrung out of me, I could almost telepathically understand what was going on in his head. I was grabbing his shoulders because if I had grabbed the sides of the bathtub, I might have triggered some massaging jets or other features.
There were many options, and I didn't want a sudden cold spray of water hitting me, as that was one of the tub's features that might keep me awake. I didn't care if I crushed his shoulders or broke his collarbones as I moaned and rode him, my eyes rolling back in my head from sheer sexual pleasure.
Only a small part of my mind thought that I was almost more of a lust queen or sex beast than Mariella, as I had been thoroughly fucked to bits nightly and simply couldn't get enough of this activity. We fucked, kissed, and groped.
Neither of us had much of our senses truly awake, but we were once again in an almost animalistic mood, driven by the need to have each other, to be each other. This was not the time for doubts, thoughts, or ideas about the future, but a time to feel, connect, trust, build, and fuck. Brutally fast and hard, water splashed as grunts and moans erupted from our lips. Despite the water somewhat containing the scent of our sex, this was just the beginning.
The soft, thick mats in my bathroom had been wonderfully plush. At one point, I was flattened beneath Damon as we fucked on the bathroom floor. Once the tub was done, it was time to move on and find nooks and crannies for adventurous sex in very exotic places. It was just our thing.
I knew he wasn't like this with Mariella; they stayed mostly in bed. But with me, he and the other Salvatores always wanted to find the most fun places to fuck. My bed was one, of course, as were my rugs and, this time, my nightstand.
They were rather delicate, but he infused them with energy as he positioned me to sit there, plunging his hard, hot cock into my sopping wet pussy and fucking me roughly. He kissed me, and my nails raked grooves into the surface of those tables. I wasn't sure if I should change them or not.
His eyes occasionally turned into yellow feline eyes, much like my own. He also tried to slowly coax my rage out, my emotions towards his little explosion, wanting me to get rowdy with him, to take out my rage so he could help me fuck it off. After all, it was kind of his thing. There was no need for words, only action—only physical sensation, only sex.
Time for talks would surely come later, but it was still somewhat new to me to deal with my issues via sex. Not many Salvatores had used this technique on me; they knew fighting in the gym usually helped. However, Damon had done this to me from time to time. It usually took effort from him to get me in the right mood so I could do it.
Thus, it was not easy or fast by any means, but he was working on me while also working on our bond, our connection as an alpha pair. He was trying to prove himself to me and to my alpha side, staking his claim on my body. I once again felt a deep, hot burn when he bit me, sinking his teeth into my shoulder, marking me as his once more, as deeply as he could.
I wasn't sure how long we would continue. The ache in my jaw was clear evidence that I was biting and claiming him as well. A part of me was beginning to realize our relationship might be like this: a gigantic explosion, some breakup, then getting back together, and then sparks would fly. However, the future was not for me to see or even decide. Sometimes, the future just surprises you, and nothing is certain.