It's funny how quickly life can change. As I sat in my bed, listening to the final sounds of the Salvatores moving their belongings out of our wing, I could feel Charles's and Adam's rage. Wulfe's arms were around me, and I felt... so much. First, there was the physical discomfort. I'd been stabbed for a week, four nights and days in a row, while he hammered at my mind with his telepathy. My mind was literally withdrawing, almost breaking. His rage mounted as I wasn't the victim he needed, and I was once again too weak for him, causing him to lose control.
This led to Charles getting a hint of what was happening. Damon was stripped of his co-leadership, as well as his role as my protector. However, Charles was still Mariella's, and the biggest hit was yet to come. With Wulfe's help, Charles had utilized the hive, my powers, and their powers to perform a switcheroo.
This meant Mariella now only had ten Salvatores as her charges, and they were her protectors, as well as the protectors of her girls and babies. As for me, I had a whole new protector, Wulfe, and I was, once again, his, Adam's, and Charles's protector. Charles was protecting the boys, Adam had my girls, and my older girls were under the protection of Demon and Lepard.
I had lost every single Salvatore. My heart was ripped apart. There was such pain, but my messed-up mind wasn't yet able to feel it fully; time would come for that, surely later.
I sat there, Wulfe embracing me, my mind just going back in. I was once again hanging from the ceiling, naked, feeling Damon thrusting a large machete through me, sending fear and terror into my mind. Normally, I would have been able to shake it off, or Damon would have done whatever he usually did.
But I had hidden my MNDS, meaning my mind was not okay. His actions, sending fear and terror into my mind, somehow shattered my trust in him. Combined with my nightmares, he became a veritable boogeyman in my mind. As usual, my mind, as strong as it is, reacted, sending him a sense of dread he had never gotten from me before.
But because he was so irritated by my laundry room, my kitchen, and my time with Wulfe, he didn't stop and ease up; instead, he escalated. He now targeted that feeling of dread, making it bigger and, at the same time, trying to find whatever had caused it.
But my mind shut fully down, and my nightmares went so deep, now carrying a sense of fear and terror that it flooded out onto my link with Charles, causing him to lose it and do whatever he saw as necessary.
Mariella's influence had given her time to ensnare every Salvatore, but sooner rather than later, she would discover what it was truly like to live with Damon in a family setting; it was no "sex holiday in the Azores."
I shuddered, still feeling the machete's impact, or perhaps him bleeding me out. Wulfe, overwhelmed by his protector instincts and the chaos, murmured something. He struggled to regain his composure; he was also incredibly angry. But this was our life now, and for the moment, we would make it work. I wasn't alone, not for a moment, and I had my family with me, my babies. Maybe in time, once my bruised mind recovered, the sun would shine on us again.
Damon's actions were done, though nothing truly felt over. Another rift had formed between us, Mariella interjecting, and I could no longer sense the three Salvatores in my mind or heart. My guess was Damon had taken them away, and now Mariella possessed them. Good for her, though it wasn't so simple to live with them. I'd had a glimpse, and Mariella wasn't as patient as I was.
Those three had been wonderful to have, but I couldn't even consider reaching for them yet. It was always a terrible bout of fear and terror, as when I had been tethered to Damien. What Damon had burned into my mind meant I couldn't even see them without being scared. I was perplexed and scared, yet I knew it was time to be a mother, to rise above this, and hope for the best.
Perhaps someday, as the trauma healed and my mind was in a better state, I might try to connect with the Salvatores, even a few of them, but not yet. Now I had serious healing to do, to learn our new way of life, and to hope everything would be alright. It was the first week of May, or something like that, I was not sure about the date, a suitable new start for our life, and I hadn't even thought about the future, about my babies, and what they would have to learn. One day at a time, as I couldn't do anything else just yet; I was too broken.
I, of course, blamed myself. I had hidden my nightmares, revealed my trust issues to Damon again, and then panicked when he performed his ritual. I had ruined it for him, and I had no idea how it would affect everyone.
They say the hardest lessons are sometimes those you can foresee, but are thrust upon you by surprise, and I just knew this was one of them. Looking back now, though, I can see that it was actually very beneficial for us all. It taught lessons to me, Mariella, and the Salvatores.
Ironically, Mariella and I grew really close because of it, as she was beginning to understand Damon. Wulfe and I, well, we were tight. It brought us so damn close together, welding our relationship, and teaching me a hell of a lot about who Wulfe was and what difference Damon's feline side actually made.
Wulfe murmured in my ear, "My love, let me in, let me help you, show me, I can take it all off."
I replied in a quiet voice, "Not yet, you can't. I'm too bundled up, too bruised, and I just can't handle any headwork right now. This whole mess is my fault..."
I didn't have time to finish what I was planning to say before he placed his fingers on my lips, shushing me and pulling me back to lie down. "Try to sleep, easy does it, come on, close your eyes..."
I wasn't sure if it was a sleeping spell or if I just wasn't ready to face the world, but I closed my eyes and fell asleep. It felt as if I had no will of my own in the matter.
As Mimi drifted off to sleep, Wulfe maintained his gentle yet potent, sleeping spell. He could physically sense her fractured state and the pain she endured. This whole "protector" role was new to him, and he felt conflicted.
He wanted to scream at Damon, he wanted to comfort Mimi, but he knew that five infants now relied on him and a few others, as the Salvatores were occupied elsewhere in the house. Fine, this was life, and life had a peculiar way of surprising even an old creature like Wulfe. He walked to the kitchen, where Charles was busy cooking, his face a mixture of irritation, self-blame, and love.
"She's asleep again," Wulfe said, "Her mind is bruised, and I haven't even tried to enter. It needs time. My spells help, but this is all so new to me – being a protector, this damn radar. I need to ensure she's okay, which she isn't, and I want to shout at the Salvatores, but I know it won't help. Not one bit."
Charles nodded and replied, "It's wonderful, but also incredibly demanding. And I must admit, as cold as it sounds, I'm glad I'm not Mariella's protector. I mean… never mind," he trailed off, his posture rigid and his expression angry.
This situation was a crisis for all of them. Charles, Adam, and the others knew that Damon wouldn't regret his actions, at least not initially. Mimi would likely blame herself, and then they had five demanding babies to care for – a full-time job, a shop to maintain, and the need to minimize Mimi's stress, which brought a myriad of health concerns to Charles' mind, and worry bloomed in his chest.
Wulfe prompted, "You were saying?"
Charles grunted and continued, "I mean, being a protector gives a sense of satisfaction, but it's diluted in Mariella's case. I was mostly jobless, the Salvatores filled her up, fed her, and all I had to do was remind her what not to eat. It was rare for me to prepare a full meal for her. I guess that instinct is one reason why I went along with the whole sickness, time. I just wanted, you know, to feel needed, to fulfill that need."
Wulfe muttered, "With my unicorn, I guess my hands are pretty damn full as it is. She is not fine, not mentally and not physically, and it really pains me physically to see her in such a state. Knowing what Damon did, well, I do understand him; it is nothing new in vampire circles. Hell, I have the same kind of penchant if I'm wild, but not fear and terror, but the stabby-stabby thing. Well, in my case, it's more of biting. I love to chomp on my so-called victims. Well, maybe someday my unicorn wants to try something new in bed."
Charles responded, "One can never know; she can be a wildcat, and she, too, has a nasty side. Her vampire side is not gentle in bed; that I know, as I have dug her out a few times and been in a world of pain afterward. But the future will tell us what all this means and what our life will be. Will Salvatore ever grow a pair, or will he be Mariella's little slave dick for the rest of the time?"
Charles and Wulfe were still discussing things when Adam and the boys walked in. Together, the men started to craft a plan: how to nourish Mimi and her daughters, what to do with the babies, how to manage the shop, and what about finances? Everything would be okay, not perfect, as life rarely was perfect, but now they had the chance to show Mimi what family life could be at its best and how they could showcase their skills as husbands.
Wulfe mentioned a few times Mimi's Rage, and all of them knew that sooner or later, it would come out too, and then they would have to deal with it. SUMAC had been canceled, and the men were talking about taking the babies to nurse at some point, but not yet; they were just a little too tiny.
But they would grow, faster than human babies. And as the men had studied things, they knew that despite this being the so-called normal world, the babies would have rules of their own, which they would grow by, so they would have to prepare for the future with Mimi, as a family.
And best of all, the Salvatores would assume they would be hostile and angry, but nope, that was not the plan. Sure, Mimi might be quite opinionated, but the Salvatores, as well as Mariella and her girls, were part of the family, and one cannot choose their family. They would maybe be slightly cool with them, but openly hostile or badmouthing? Not a chance. Moreover, they would flaunt their relationship with Mimi openly and without any shame, as she was now theirs. It was time for the Salvatores to learn what they had lost and what they had gained, meaning: was Mariella worth it?
As for Mariella, she would have to learn to live with Salvatore, as his wife and as a mother. This time, however, the pack would not be there to care for the babies if their lust took over. Mariella's older daughters wanted to work in the flower shop, and Charles, the packleader, approved.
Life could be cruel when it taught its lessons; then again, sometimes cruelty is just the spice someone needs to take a leap of faith or confront their behavior and try to grow up. The future held surprises, both good and bad, and someday, Damon might be packleader once again, if he chose. Charles knew that much; he had seen a dream. He had visitors, and they had discussed things at length.
Let's just say that two men, Jake and Rob, had once been Mimi's life. They were now ghosts, but they had once been her truest soulmates, her confidants, and the most important people in her life. Life had taken them away, but perhaps it was meant to be, so they could continue to help her from heaven, opening doors and giving directions to those around Mimi.
They had not been surprised by Damon's reaction, and they had told Charles a few stories about Mimi's rage, just to remind him that he needed to deal with it. Perhaps Wulfe might have some insight, after all, Mimi had a magic symbol carved into her chest. Wulfe was the oldest and most powerful wizard in the world, so surely he might have some knowledge about that as well. So, they were not alone; they had help, motive, and the means.