It was 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, and I was already in the kitchen, cutting meat. Despite a promising start on Friday, nothing happened because, just as we arrived at my lair, Mariella burst in, all hormonal and semi-hysterical, almost crying to Damon that her babies were dead or malformed. But she smelled like lust, so it was all an act, and I let Damon go with her.
He hadn't come out since, and there weren't many other salvatores to satisfy her demands in bed, so the lust queen needed some cock in her holes. Not love, but lust. Well, that was what it was, and I was not going to let it bother me.
Damon's confession whirled through my mind, and I was once again tying my mind in knots over how to help him. Could I help him, and did I even try? My thoughts returned to that moment and what happened after that. Meaning my little rampage across America, chasing and killing Sarks.
I had no idea how long my killing spree would have continued if Magnum, Murdock, Colin, and Dexter had not literally captured and sedated me, as well as Wulfe casting one spell to push some of my darkness down.
But those spoilsports compelled me to pack. They told numbers two, four, and nine what I had been doing for the past nine weeks, and Salvatores took action. This was all ancient history, but it made me smile because it was one of the few times when I had gone a little too far with my abilities. Not always so controlled.
"Honey, what on earth are you doing here and smiling?" a deep voice inquired, and then a strong, muscular body pressed against me.
The scent of crisp, chocolaty apples wafted to my nose, and a hard, hot cock pressed against my back. Charles was feeling quite eager, I could tell.
"Oh, I'm just cutting up some of my oldies," I replied. "This is a reindeer, an old male. Tough but quite fatty and tasty. I was just wondering if it's too tough for jerky."
A dark grunt emanated from him.
Charles plucked a small piece of raw meat and ate it, simultaneously thinking, "Nope, but honey, you haven't shown me this cooler and all of these oldies, nor have you asked my opinion on what we should do with them."
He was displeased by my alpha attitude. His fingers moved around my neck, his vampire claws emerging as he dominated me, showing me his power.
"Wulfe said the toddlers will sleep today too, as the potion takes time and binds those empathic and telepathic skills. It's the babies' time to be downstairs, and the girls are minding them. Miss Pussy has her cocks, and despite having food here, it's always good to have something to cook," I explained calmly.
Charles grunted again. He had an issue with me being too independent these days, and these ideas of mine were not as well-received since he was still the pack leader. I had made a few arrangements yesterday as well, and I was just thinking a reindeer roast might be a good Sunday meal for those of us who would be upstairs.
I took my larger knife because I planned to cut this quite large piece of meat into two pieces. One would be roasted in the oven and cooked slowly and low, while the other would be chopped into steaks, stew meat, and some for jerky.
But as I reached for my knife, Charles snatched it away and said. "Move over, I'll handle this one. I need onions and garlic. I'm making a decent supper for the kids with leeks, some colorful carrots, and baby potatoes."
I rolled my eyes as he pushed me aside and went after what he wanted. It appeared that we were going to cook together, which was fine. I wasn't going to lose my mind over this; I could help him out and then maybe make some cakes or something for dessert.
"What can you eat, honey?" he inquired of me as he skillfully sliced tough meat into slices, heated a skillet, and brought him a generous amount of butter.
"Nothing much yet, morning sickness, as usual, yogurt, coffee, and fruits," I replied, but my appetite was so bad that even those had a hard time staying inside me.
He grunted and said, "In that case, you should not really work or act much in the morning because you can't get calories to work on; you are just burning your reserves to end when you start to hustle at this hour."
His voice was quite snappy; this was actually his doctor's voice, and he was going to feed me something, but I had no idea what.
He, too, could be surprisingly creative with his ideas, and it wasn't uncommon for him to come up with completely new concepts.
"Go sit down. I'll put this in the oven soon and then help you out a bit."
I had chopped vegetables as he requested, and he had whole meat sliced in a large pot with our stock and spices while my veggies and oven warmed up. I had no idea what he had planned, but we'll see. He deftly opened the oven door, using an energy shield to protect his hands from the oven's heat as he placed the pot inside. He'd also rolled up a few large roasts before wrapping them in foil. They also went into the oven.
He closed the oven door and said, "Fine. Let us try this."
He sat next to me and said, "Come on, into my lap."
I wasn't sure what he was going for, but he quickly sank his fangs into my throat, but he didn't feed; instead, he drained something thick in my vein, oh, his velvet, as my mind shut down and darkness took over. I awoke in his lap, groggy, with a cannula in my arm and the other end inserted into Charles's artery.
He murmured to me, "I slowed down your heart rate, and I have given you my blood for 20 minutes, feeding you the calories and nutrients you require."
I blinked a few times and still felt sluggish. As previously stated, Charles' ideas continue to surprise me on occasion. I was safe in his arms, despite the fact that he had a pretty strong hold on me and had used some kind of spell to make me immobile, so I couldn't move much but tolerated it.
He did this out of love, and as I relaxed a little, I noticed Wulfe walking in; there was some kind of telepathic discussion going on between these two, and Wulfe seemed to get ideas as well.
He said to me, "Morning, my unicorn. As you can see, we have a lot of ideas for caring for you, not just feeding you but literally giving ourselves to you, so you should start learning about this."
I was quiet because I didn't have much to say. I could feel Charles' blood energizing me and giving me energy, and a tiny flutter in my belly told me that my four little ones were also very happy about this.
I had no idea how long it had been, but I heard voices coming into the kitchen, Mariella chirping first and Damon grunting something. Now Wulfe had found a cannula and cannulated himself, and he, too, was giving me blood, or circulating my blood through him, infusing vitamins and minerals into it, just like Charles was. I was sleepy, and I believe one of them had put something in their blood to keep me calm.
Mariella's voice seemed irritated as I heard number one demand that she stop lusting and try to send him pure love back. His tone of voice seemed to set Mariella off perfectly. As the group approached the kitchen, Mariella's face twisted into a frown as she saw what I was going through, and Damon's jaw twitched, but he couldn't deny that this was a pretty damn good way to energize me .
But, of course, as Charles held me securely, his hands weren't so clinical, but they knew certain points in my body, and Wulfe murmured to me, "My love, remember what the doctor said: you need less stress, more pleasure, and keep your vitamins as high as possible."
Number four stated, "Interesting method, quite efficient, but you might not be able to do that many times in a row."
Adam, who had also walked in, said, "There are others; we can easily give her a morning boost, and it is a hell of a lot easier for us to get our levels up and running in a few days; I, Charles, the boys, and Wulfe, we can take two or three shifts, so there is always time to eat and get more stuff into us."
Number one responded, "Well, good idea, but first, once you are finished, we males go and take blood tests, determine the levels that are required, and then make a schedule to check both females."
Adam's eyes flashed, and he walked up to Mariella, pressed his hands against her sides, and said, "This one is full of bumps; no need to feed."
He pinched her arm. "I'm not going to waste my nutrients on Miss Pussy, the lust queen here, but I'm going to take care of my wife, who needs a boost."
He walked up to me and pinched my arm, revealing that I had very little subcutaneous fat.
Mariella muttered something about brainwashing, and Adam looked at her. "Are you a masochist? Believe me, I can be creepier than Mimi was and make you feel even more pain."
He was truly irritated by the lust queen's attempt to play the victim, as she was usually in this mood because she was pregnant.
Damon said calmly, "Let's not overreact here; try to find a balance. Mariella needs company; she is hormonal, and it is difficult for her."
Wulfe said in a poisonous voice, "You stink like a brothel in Amsterdam. You dare come here as a pussy slave and demand that we start worshiping Miss Pussy here? Not in a million years, and it is Christmas time, so I would suggest you curb your damn lust and try to make this Christmas something special for kids."
He was furious as well. Pack's lustful activities did not fit into his idea of the perfect Christmas. Mariella muttered something about me manipulating Wulfe again, but this time Number Four hit her across the face, snapping at her and telling her to try to behave; she was the one manipulating, not I.
He was also quite pissed off, and Number One said nothing; not even Mariella looked at him and clearly asked him to order Number Four to behave, but Number One seemed to see sense in him as well, and he was once again ashamed.
After being let go, I felt more energetic, but Charles, Adam Wulfe, and Number Four were watching over me to prevent me from wasting energy. I was assigned to sit at the table and help prepare food.
Mariella muttered, "Of course I've always lost focus, damn it. When will I learn to be an actual pack member and not some insatiable harlot?"
I told her coolly, "Focus on something other than your wants; it is not that difficult to exercise a little self-control and think twice if it is December, with less than a week until Christmas, with kids, whether it is wise to start fucking like a sex addict; it is all about choices."
Number one felt ashamed again.
I said coldly to him, "As I have told you repeatedly, what you do is on you, not on Mariella, not on me, but on you, your choice, your burden. So don't bombard me with your self-hate; I'm not looking to be impressed."
He took a deep breath, looked at my tray, which Charles had brought me, and noticed the reindeer pieces that were still marinating on the table.
"Okay, Missy, after this, we will take a pleasant stroll and see every cooler that is outside, as we have not had time to go through them, so we will check them out as well."
He stood up and told Mariella, "You shower and then dress yourself. Choose your own clothes, but remember that this is not a fashion show; we have things to do, so dress smartly."
Mariella was taken aback.
I rolled my eyes and decided to give her a bit of a push by taking out AlphaPower, which made her beta power flare up. Soon, her emerald eyes flashed defiantly as she walked away. It seemed Damon had suppressed her beta power once again, trying to make her into a submissive sex slave once again, but it was hardly conducive to pack life; it was time for Damon, too, to learn it.
It will be interesting to see what kind of Christmas we will have, as it seemed once again interpack drama was raising its head.