It had been a week, and I had focused entirely on my kids. I was on childcare duty, spending quality time with my five, whom I called "mine," not "ours." It was just me and my way of naming them. Early one morning, a little after 6 AM, I walked towards a specific storage room, which was full of kid stuff. It was locked with an old-fashioned handle, which could be easily opened by a toddler.
The room was on the first floor, where Mariella's three resided. I had the keys and planned to retrieve more toys for the kids, perhaps even push carts or pushcars. I knew I had a lot of items in there, but I groaned inwardly, remembering how challenging my kids could be, so I was careful with them.
Despite Wulfe having given them potions to bind their powers, something was always pushing through. The boys were incredibly strong empaths, feeling their sisters' distress. My whole brood could erupt if someone got scared or banged up, even though they healed quickly. It took a lot to calm all five of them, so I was trying to come up with something new and fun for them, while remaining relatively safe and secure – no easy task.
My steps were soft yet determined as I walked down the silent corridor, my thoughts racing. There was a lot to be done, and I didn't know if the Salvatores had been trying to make pheromones. I had made certain ones in the past with relative ease, simply because my past experiences gave me the feelings and sensations for those specific types of pheromones.
However, many were difficult for me to create. This booth had been made on purpose so I could emit the correct kind of pheromones. It also connected me more keenly to my memories and feelings, which wasn't easy for someone like me, who wasn't used to wearing their heart on their sleeve all of the time.
It made me feel incredibly vulnerable, and if I were feeling vulnerable, my pheromones would tell everyone to pack it up, making them hover around me. So it was a balancing act: let myself feel, but keep it under control.
As I reached the door, I patted my jeans pocket for my keys. I was dressed in a light pink silk shirt, faded skinny jeans, and fuzzy slippers. My hair was loose, held back from my eyes by a headband. I hadn't put on much makeup, intending to put my hair in a bun once the kids woke up to prevent them from pulling it.
Just then, I heard footsteps, and Mariella's voice chirped something. Damon's irritated grunt made it clear he was fed up with whatever mood Mariella was in. Knowing her, she was likely feeling lustful, and it seemed Mr. Salvatore wasn't in the mood for spending days in bed catering to Mariella and her pregnancy cravings.
"Baby, what's with this room, and why is it locked?" Damon asked, his voice laced with annoyance.
I slipped the key into the lock, opened the door, and replied, "Because it's the kids' toy storage room, with an old-fashioned handle, and we didn't childproof it. I didn't want Mariella's triplets ending up in here, as it isn't child-safe."
I flicked the light on. The room was large, filled with stacked cardboard boxes and a few tall bookcases and storage racks, all crammed with boxes. There was no organization, just a haphazard collection of toys, stuffed animals, board games, and puzzles. Damon grunted again while Mariella kept sidling up to him, nibbling his neck. This seemed to irritate Damon further, but he didn't react.
I rolled my eyes and thought, "Fine, let's be a good wife and see if he needs help."
Through our bond, I asked Damon, "Do you need help with Mariella? Just ask, I can help. She senses pheromones better than you, and I can use that to distract her."
Damon's response was surprised. "Fine, please, get her the fuck off. I've said several times I'm not in the mood, but she doesn't get it."
"I rolled my eyes and, telepathically, asked, "Wanna know why? It's because of your promise."
Then, I pressed him, "But tell me, what did you promise her? You promised she'd always be your number one, that she'd come first, period. There was no promise of being gentle or never hurting her. Yet somehow, she's made you think like that, meaning she makes you assume you've almost promised to never hurt her, to always just love her and tolerate whatever she does. Now, Damon, remember what you promised and stick with it. And as for the rest, well, let's make no promises unless you want to make one about keeping her in line."
Damon's whole demeanor shifted. I'd provoked him, but that wasn't all.
"Let's distract her," I told him. "I'll give you a lesson in using my pheromones on a few subjects, and you'll get her off your back. Deal?"
He nodded.
I wasn't revealing my entire plan, however. Nope. I was determined to keep my time with my kids and not have Damon bossing me around. I had a little unloading reserved for him, too.
"Let's start," I said to Damon. "I need you to care. Tap into your protector side and care for Mariela, not as a wife, but as something to be protected. She's pregnant, and you're the protector of that pregnancy. Just start thinking of her as something to be protected and cared for, and be gentle. Make sure she rests and sits down and doesn't get her blood pressure too high."
Damon took a breath, and his expression morphed into caring as he approached Mariela. "Darling, sit down and take it easy. You're pregnant, and we need to make sure you're fine this time. You have twice as many babies in your tummy as last time, and it's not time for preeclampsia. Good girl, sit there. Oh, wait, let me get this... Good, lift your legs there. Just relax, deep breaths, and remember to breathe."
Damon's voice was perfect. Mariela was stumped at first, but she was soon rolling her eyes. She wasn't in the mood to be treated as a fragile flower. Damon kept glancing at her, hovering over her.
"It's time for the next step," I told Damon. "Now, it's time to make yourself something she *can't* be jealous of. That means it's time for you to tell her, via pheromones, that you're not interested in me. So, look at this storage room – a chaotic mess with no rhyme or reason. And I'm not going to do anything about it. I kept it locked, so be irritated with me. Go on, I can feel it... just let it out."
I paused, then added, "Now amplify it a bit. Be even *more* irritated. Look at this chaos! What's in that box on your left side? No idea, isn't that irritating? You have to open it, see what's inside, and then find a place for it."
Damon furrowed his brows, his irritation mounting. Mariella's nostrils flared as she noticed his rising anger. Damon huffed as he started to lift boxes from the shelves, trying to make some sense of the mess. Mariella was smiling smugly.
I said to Damon, "Okay, time to escalate. Give Mariella a better target. Now, this will be tricky for you, but you need to keep your irritation focused and not be jealous. Understand?"
He asked, telepathically, clearly pissed off at me, "What do you mean? I mean, this whole room is a damn mess. So go on. I am *not* jealous. I am trying to make some damn sense so we would have any chance of having an actual fucking idea of what we have in here."
I reached telepathically to Number Five, knowing he could be pretty rough with me, and since Damon was steadily letting his protection and care envelop Mariella, making her pissed off, he was becoming less of an ideal target. So, it was time to employ my secret weapon.
Number Five had never promised Mariella anything, or if he had, he wasn't hell-bent on keeping them, and this boy could hurt. It was time to flare Mariella's jealousy and, at the same time, give Number Five a fucking nice target for his need for roughing females up.
"My love, come and find me. Can you come and make me pretty wild?" I had a pretty low libido again, and it took a bit of work from Number Five to get me going, but it would be fine.
His voice was dark as he said in my mind, "Oh, my love, I am coming. I can sense your smugness; you have a plan... Let's just see if your itinerary will change."
I hadn't told him about Mariella yet, as this needed to be as natural as possible.
I was opening one of the boxes when Damon barked at me, "What are you looking for? Don't use that mat knife and slash yourself. Your healing is slow; no need for you to get an infection."
I rolled my eyes. Mariella was smiling even more. I took the car out of the cardboard box. It was one of those push cars for babies with buttons and such. I was in two minds whether I should take these for the kids; sure, they would love them. I opened the box and took the car out, placing it on the floor. It was pretty lightweight and rolled easily, making me furrow my brow.
Damon snapped at me, "What are you planning? I am their father, so maybe we should discuss before just choosing a toy for them. Let it be, let me get this damn room in some kind of order and then we can take a look at what is suitable for them, but why aren't you sure of that one?"
I said, "My kids."
I had no time to end my sentence as Damon interjected, irritated, "Our kids, but go on, try to remember that I am their father!"
I rolled my eyes and said, "Yeah, anyway, these are lightweight, and as Darien likes to climb, he's more than likely going to try to climb on top of this, and this moves pretty easily, making it dangerous. Dash would probably try to run with this, bumping into things and falling over, and the twins would use these to get my curtains off or something. I'm trying to find something new for them, but at the same time, I just know how spry they are."
My voice was calm. The door opened, and Number Five walked in. Oh yeah, he was in the mood. A slight flicker of his nostrils told him Number One was pissed off with me, protecting Mariella, and those were catnip to this one. Mariella was becoming the perfect victim for him, but first, he needed to have me, as I planned.
Number Five stalked towards me, grabbed me, and murmured, "Oh, my little bitch, what are you doing selecting stuff without me? Tsk tsk, naughty bitch. Daddy might punish you and let others care for the kids."
He then forcefully threw me against the wall, pressing his hot, hard body against mine, and began licking my neck. Irritation still simmered in Number One, as I intended. It seemed he was grasping this part of my plan, meaning he was also learning my tricks, making future manipulation potentially difficult.
However, I relished a good challenge. My mind grew heated as Number Five lifted my shift and bit into my nipple, making me gasp. He then licked my chest. Panting, my eyes blazed. I needed more. My hands went to his sides, and with a sharp press, I snapped a few of his ribs. He cursed and clamped his teeth into my throat, around my windpipe.
This got Mariella's attention, a good thing. She also loved pain, and Number Five seemed more than willing to provide it.
Mariella said in my mind, "Oh my god, that is hot, but please, can I have him too? I need that kind of action. Number One is all over me, but not in the way I need him to be."
Number Five bit deeper into my throat, making it difficult to breathe. Simultaneously, I pushed his ribs slightly inward, making him grunt with pain.
I said to Mariella, "Tell me, has anyone ever bitten and eaten your nipples off? This one does. Eats them right off. Sure, I grow new ones, but damn, it hurts."
"No, no, for God's sake, never!" Mariella replied. "It sounds perfect, Mimi, please, can I join you?"
"This one is rough," I told her. "I've let him be, and he's learned from it. Be sure, he regrets nothing and made you no promises, so there will be no gentleness.
Number five pulled his teeth from my throat and kissed me with fervent passion. I moaned lustfully in his mouth, the heat rising within me. This lust, I knew, was a source of Mariella's jealousy. Once she sensed it, her possessiveness would bloom. I hadn't told her about number five, who had no patience for such behavior; Mariella might face his rough treatment, and a lot of it.
She nodded, almost panting with lust. Number One rolled his eyes, clearly not in the mood. He had no idea what I was aiming for and wasn't yet skilled with pheromones.
"Come on, swat his ass hard and be ready," I said to Mariella. "This one attacks."
Her nipples jutted out as lust practically oozed from her. She stood and walked behind Number Five, who was in the process of snapping my vertebra. Hot pain lanced through me. The sound of Mariella's palm slapping his ass was loud, making him turn around. His eyes were black with lust. He grabbed Mariella and threw her against the wall, biting into her throat and causing her to climax.
They teleported quickly, as I had instructed Mariella to break a few of his ribs and puncture his lung. The pain got him going. It was important for him to deal with Mariella; he needed to show her he wasn't a pushover. Having someone like Mariella to dominate would help him, ironically, because he was too in love with me to unleash himself fully. With Mariella, there would be no hesitation.
And number one, who was still irritated by this chaos, I also had a plan cooking for him.
I contacted Wulfe via our bond and said, "How about you show me if you can get this irritated number one to change his mood? He's pissed off with Mariella. I got Mariella to tease number five to give him a decent target, but number one is angry about my baby storage room, meaning he's not easy."
Wulfe's voice was dark as he replied, "Oh, my unicorn, do not challenge me. I can get him under me easily, no matter how irritated he is; just let me show you."
He took my little challenge so beautifully, meaning he would keep number one nice and busy and stop him from harassing me, as I was planning to be with my kids. Yes, they were still my kids in my mind, not ours, just mine.
I was still opening boxes and trying to select toys for the children when Wulfe entered.
He approached me, wrapped his arms around me, kissed me, groped me, and whispered darkly in my ear, "I'm not sure if I should just take you and have my way with you, right here, right now."
He could still smell my arousal. As number five had gotten me in a pretty wild mood, it was catnip for Wulfe, and right now, he did not really care even if number one was witnessing this.
Number One, his voice laced with irritation, interjected, "Please, not now, Wulfe. This place needs to be sorted, not turned into a sex nest. I know you're there for Mimi when I can't be, but I'm here now, so there's no need to be all over her right now."
Wulfe turned to Number One, grabbed him, and kissed him passionately, without asking. He was dominating, his vampire power pressing against Damon, making him react. Soon, they teleported away.
Of course, I had released pheromones throughout this entire time. Initially, when Mariella had been present, I'd released my happiness. Then, I had flooded the space with my alpha pheromones, ensuring I was in charge. This had already irritated Damon, even though he didn't easily sense them.
Now, with Wulfe's arrival, the pheromones connected with lust and sex had further agitated him. I knew Wulfe well enough to know he wasn't always inclined to follow orders when he had certain things on his mind. He was using this opportunity to show his might to Damon, who relied on lust and sex as tools.
So, I took my chance to be with my kids, with a little bit of...organization. I didn't think of it as manipulation; it had a nasty taste. It was just reorganization, which sounded much neater. After all, I, Mimi Salvatore, alpha female and pretty much pack leader, was good at what I did, which was ensuring my pack had a good time and good, or even perfect, lives.
As for the other Salvatores, I was focusing on the kids and other things, letting them handle the chores like good manservants should. While I might eventually make food, I was having too much fun with my babies right now, watching them grow, play, talk, and learn. This was the life I wanted to live.