Damon took a deep breath and ran a hand through his longer, messier hair, attempting to compose himself, curb his irritation, and steel himself to face the "dragons"—Mariella and Mimi, the two pregnant women who had no filter when it came to riling him up. And oh boy, did they excel at it.
Mimi, 14 weeks pregnant, and Mariella, 20 weeks along, both presented unique challenges, requiring Damon to be firm and clear in his dealings with them. Yet, they could infuriate him in a matter of minutes with just a few sentences. He wasn't the only one; Mimi could now provoke a reaction from even Wulfe or Charles, as she was exceptionally difficult to manage at times.
Mimi's hyperactivity, which caused her to burn calories rapidly, was now amplified by her hormones, whipping her into a frenzy. She became incredibly inventive in finding new activities, while Damon wished she would take it easy, conserve her strength, and eat appropriately.
However, she did the opposite, flitting everywhere, all the time, eating whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. It was a challenge for the Salvatores to catch her mid-meal. She employed her powers, the hive, as well as her pheromones, to mask her eating habits, meaning she consumed whatever she craved, not what she needed.
Mariella, meanwhile, was battling a medical issue; her blood glucose levels were excessively high, indicating gestational diabetes. With six babies on the way, the situation was complex to manage, and Mimi's abrasive attitude had rubbed off on Mariella, making her favorite pastime the art of irritating Damon, and indeed, all the Salvatores.
Damon sighed inwardly, knowing he had to persevere, and the primary reason was a dream he'd had weeks ago. Mimi had expressed distrust of him. The dream—or perhaps something more—had featured Jake and Rob, who had revealed information about Mimi and Mariella, and how everything fit together. Damon had then formulated a plan. He was their protector, and he recalled the almost promise, or plan for Mimi, he had made long ago in Chicago to Adam and Samuel.
Mimi needed boundaries, a sense of direction, and he knew he had to intervene. He had to demonstrate that, despite her distrust, he wouldn't abandon her. He was her protector, her mate, her biological other half, and her doctor.
He acted without asking; it wasn't a singular occurrence that he'd taken Mimi and sunk his teeth into her throat. This dental treatment, a unique ability for a teeth vampire, allowed him to create healing substances with his fangs to care for and correct her deficiencies.
Similarly, Charles, being the best match for Mariella, had also stepped in. Mariella, too, had Charles's fangs buried in her neck on several occasions. Neither woman was thrilled, but Wulfe's spell rendered them immobile, forcing them to endure the treatment.
I was in one of my craft rooms with Mariella, and we were having a wonderful time crafting new types of stone ornaments. I had carving tools similar to those I'd used at Lake Lanier, but these were smaller and more delicate. We were carving semiprecious stones, disc slices, and filling them with gold. I had obtained some of my ingots from the fleas, and I'd had our chakra patterns printed onto special paper.
To create the ornaments, I would take a disc slice—usually agate—and choose my alpha chakra pattern. I'd place the paper on top of the slice, then use my heating wand, running it over the paper a few times to transfer the pattern onto the stone. After peeling back the paper, the image was revealed.
Then, using my carving tool, I'd carefully begin to carve the pattern into the slice. Once it was ready, I would melt my gold, which was in the form of a very thin thread, into the grooves, creating a one-of-a-kind slice.
Mariella was working on white jade, carving a female's sex chakra pattern onto it. We weren't sure if there was any other use for these besides decoration, but I sometimes loaded the slices with energy before giving them to Mariella. This would often cause her to roll her eyes as my "little gift" seeped into her.
As we worked, we talked, and our major topic of conversation was, of course, Damon, his personality, and his physique, which neither of us was impressed by. Not even Mariella, as she had learned how fun it is to make her own decisions and act on what she actually wanted, not what Damon thought she should do.
Mariella said, "I mean, these will be pretty damn fantastic, but please stop loading them up! I mean, sure, I am an energy creature, but do you know how damn confusing it gets when you load this slab with your irritation and frustration? It makes me wanna throw this into a wall."
I smiled and said, "Use it again on our pack leaders; it is handy energy. But by God, I swear if I get one more of his fangs in my throat, I..."
Mariella rolled her eyes and said, "Do you have any idea what I smell like after that damn corn-dick has been all over me for hours? His damn teeth buried into my neck! I mean, the stink of his sweat and his scent... I used, like, five spells last time and washed myself three times, and I could still smell it!"
I nodded and replied, "Well, fucking Salvatore velvets me up, and I usually wake up naked, him naked with me, and I'm more or less glued to him with a thick blanket over me. So yeah, I know something about males wanting to bathe us in their sweat."
My voice was very irritated, and my eyes were squinted. We were sassing and complaining, being hormonal and not overly wise, but by God, it was liberating, fun, and felt so fucking empowering. Despite acting like teens with no real reason in our heads, we were just going with our needs and wants.
Of course, despite our bonding with Mariella, we were all over the place. One day, we might be mortal enemies, calling each other names and being really nasty cows. I usually got Mariella crying, demonstrating to her many ways I was better than her – meaning I would have more kids, more Salvatores, and better benefits.
Then, some days we might end up in bed, in one of the bedrooms, hiding from men, enjoying each other, eating each other's pussies and using our calories, not bothering to eat. And when males found us, they weren't so impressed.
Then, some days, we might be perfectly normal, not hormonal at all, making men suspicious at first, and then relaxing a bit. But one could never know what the next day would bring. Mariella might be bloodthirsty, luring men into a trap and feasting, or I might be overly emotional or in a funk, talking about the past and trying to unravel my mind, making Wulfe almost desperate. This was just our hormones, our pregnancies, and having toddlers in the mix, which made this even more complex.
As the door opened, revealing Damon, Wulfe, and Charles, my irritation grew. They observed us working, and I could practically see Damon's jaw tighten. His sharp eyes missed nothing.
In a voice as smooth as silk, he addressed me, "Now, wife of mine, have you completely lost your senses? Are you literally poisoning yourself? Or do you crave another encounter with my fangs, because it's coming, baby."
I rolled my eyes and continued carving. My slice revealed a beautiful moss agate, its dark green patches captivating. A slight powdery dust arose from the carving, but it was minimal due to the shallow cut.
Mariella also rolled her eyes, muttering something about overzealous "fangbangers." Charles immediately turned to her, snatched her tool and the jade slice from her hand, his expression mirroring her annoyance.
Wulfe, however, simply rolled his eyes and calmly addressed me, "You can blame yourself, my unicorn. This isn't good for you or the babies; you know that."
Damon elaborated, "You realize, baby, that the agate you're grinding into fine dust is mostly silicon dioxide, with some interesting impurities. Your little tool makes it incredibly fine, and as you eagerly inhale it into your highly sensitive lungs, it irritates them. The silicon dioxide also enters your bloodstream, potentially affecting our babies. It could have some pretty nasty consequences, making me wonder if you're trying to hurt yourself. And that gold, tell me, baby, how fast is your pulse? It's nearing 190, even though you're just sitting here. Remember, gold speeds you up. As you warm it and melt it, you inhale it, and you certainly feel the effects."
Damon's eyes flashed as he walked up to Mariella. He took a slice of her work, a piece of aragonite, and examined it. The aragonite, designed with a mandala featuring rose gold and silver, had caught his attention.
Damon crouched next to Mariella and began to explain. "This slice is aragonite. Do you know its chemical composition? It's calcium carbonate – sounds normal, right? But the key is how these molecules are formed. Their crystal lattice is acicular, meaning they don't form nice cubes or normal crystals, but spikes. When you grind and inhale this, you get tiny bits in your lungs. Funny thing about minerals: they tend to grow. This will hurt, darlin'."
His soft voice belied the coming action as he plunged his hand partially into Mariella's chest.
Mariella grunted, her expression pained. When Damon pulled his hand back, he held a piece of her lung tissue.
Though she healed as Damon used his power, he continued, "Let me show you. See, this is your lung, nice and pink, nothing special. But let me show you."
He took another aragonite slice, which had not yet been processed, and crushed it into fine dust. "Now, this is a bit sped up, but this is what happens inside you if you continue to do this."
He focused, using a spell to let a tiny amount of the dust fall onto the piece of lung tissue, almost imperceptible. He did this in tiny bursts.
"Now see those white dots? They are the pieces you inhaled. As this stuff accumulates, they grow. Just watch." With a few more bursts, the dots grew, looking like tiny needles.
Mariella remained quiet.
Wulfe glared at me and said, "See, my unicorn, you are even more sensitive. Do you really want mineral spikes growing in your lungs?"
He then snatched my tool and my slice, his expression tight.
"You two geniuses," Damon said, "time for some dental treatment. And, baby, please try to come up with a reason against it. I can tell you, it will take me a few days to bind all the gold in your blood and get rid of the minerals in your lungs and blood. So, yeah, I'm not sure when you'll be waking up. Don't worry, my teeth are itching to make velvet, so you will be asleep."
He looked at Mariella as Charles yanked her to her feet, and Mariella rolled her eyes. Mariella had recently quit her job as a mental health clerk and was now manning our occult shop, with help from her husbands and the girls, as well as me.
I had been hoping and planning to work for a few days, but not yet. Damon's firm grip on my arm pulled me with him. It was time to let him be the protector, but I was pissed off. Part of me was still not convinced that our little hobby had been that bad. Seeing several smug Salvatores walking in, knowing they would use our tools and materials just because we were pregnant, made me angry.
Damn it, I could be pissed off and hormonal, all over the place. Then I was pissed off at myself as my self-control was all over the place. I needed to get a grip, but not knowing what mood I would be in the next day made my life very challenging. Of course, since Mariella was now self-employed, her insurance was different, and she had taken the same as me, meaning her doctor was the same as mine.
Damon, being Damon, took care of us, meaning he didn't let me have my own time. He had been to every single doctor's or nurse's appointment, listening, asking questions about what I could do or should do, and what to keep an eye on. My doctor, as wonderful as she was, had given Damon lots of books. Since Damon was a doctor, he was very well aware of every little freaking thing in my pregnancy.
It was again one thing that was pissing me off. Funnily enough, Mariella was as intolerant of her husbands' care as I was, and them hovering over her made her lose her temper a few times. Damon then acted, meaning Mariella took naps when she misbehaved or got her blood pressure too high.
For me, my fucking life was about eating, keeping myself safe, and raising our kids together, as this damn burdock, called a husband, did not give me my own time with the kids, or at least it felt like that.
As a highly hormonal, overthinking alpha female, my pregnancy-driven hyperactivity and snarky attitude presented a significant challenge for Damon. Despite the hardship and exhaustion, he cherished this time, feeling for the first time like he was doing the right thing. He was present for me, refusing to yield or allow me to become unmanageable. And, oh, those sonograms! He was caring for his wife, and it made life taste delicious.
Damon led me to the bedroom and tersely instructed, "Take your clothes off, or I will. As I said, this will take time, and I will do this as many times as necessary. Actions have consequences, baby; you will learn. I hope at least at some point. But you see, baby, I've learned a big lesson here: we have time. No need to hurry and overthink, but I can be your protector and use my abilities as intended. Surely you could try to flood your pheromones, but feel the itch and slight pressure in your neck? It's just a tiny spell blocking your pheromone glands, keeping you nice and unarmed until I get my teeth in. And once my telepathy confirms you're out, I will only then take it off, so no, you are not getting rid of me. Wulfe is a damn handy guy to have; he protects you, and he knows what you can do, so he tells me, as he knows I am helping you."
I focused on undressing, my mind racing. "You are damn arrogant, overzealous wannabe alpha male; you must get a real kick out of this, overreacting to every damn thing I do. You just don't want me to have any good time." I continued to conjure up several less flattering words directed at him, his body, his plans, and his lineage.
Infuriatingly calm, he asked, "Are you done? Get on the bed, get comfy, baby, as this takes time."
Oh my fucking god. I went to bed naked. He crawled on top of me, locking our chakras, as well as our magic symbols, and turned my head. The last sensation was the hot burn of his bite and the thick sensation of velvet flooding my veins, and then darkness pulled me under.