Chapter 183: 23. One In A Million.
Damon stood and watched as Mariella slowly got up from her wheelchair. Though still pale, she managed to put on her own clothes and took a few steps towards him. As she reached him, she hugged him tightly, her face filled with tender concern as she made sure she could stay upright.
"Oh my god," she said, "I am not in the best shape. Our little public rescue was a hard lesson for us. Maybe next time we should ask Mimi for help instead of making her do everything. You look pale and skinny, too."
Damon hugged his wife and whispered in her ear, "Shh, darling, everything is going to be fine. We will be fine. Let's focus on getting better and then we can see what comes next. Don't worry about anything."
Damon wanted to believe his own words as well. The other Salvatores, Adam and Charles, were standing nearby, ready to leave too. Mimosa and Shadow were waiting in the lower lobby for them. Mariella relied heavily on Damon's support, while the others walked alongside her. They were all traumatized, their energies disrupted and weakened. They felt angry and bitter, but knew they needed rest and nourishment to recover.
Now was not the time to think about Mimi or what she was up to. Wulfe and Magnum were in the lower lobby as well, waiting to go home. Wulfe planned to make potions to help them recover and dispel nightmares. It was crucial for them to regain their physical and mental strength. The worst was over, and it was time to go home and start living again.
They walked slowly through the hospital corridors, the familiar scent of sterility and sickness filling their senses. They longed to rid themselves of this smell, which had become associated with their own weakness. Damon couldn't help but think about what would happen in the near future.
He imagined taking Mariella in his arms, getting in the car, and driving back to their home. Perhaps they would go straight to the bedroom, ready to begin anew. He wasn't exactly sure how passionate he would feel, but he couldn't predict it. He knew that it was something they, as lustful creatures, would require.
As raw and somewhat dirty as it felt, sex was a way for them to recover. They needed to let their lust flow, specifically for sex, because giving in to their need for revenge would turn them into monsters. It was also a way for them to physically express their emotions and they needed the chance to show each other how messed up they felt, how much they missed their physical connection, and how amazing it felt to physically love someone.
The outside air was crisp as it was winter, and they had a car waiting for them. He had a lot of thoughts about Christmas. Damon was within himself, pondering his own state of being, but there would be future Christmases, and he needed to take it easy. He needed to get himself back in order and then see what the future held.
When and how could he win Mimi back? Would there be a wedding and if so, what kind? He had so many ideas, or at least he did at one point, but the whole damn recovery process had put him in a pretty angry and sulking mood. It would take some effort for him to get back on track, to reach a state where he had the patience to seduce and tease Mimi.
Right now, he was feeling much more direct, not caring about seduction, but rather focused on carnal desires. His cock throbbed in his jeans and it felt good, even though he knew he should take it easy. His thoughts were very carnal, but he didn't send them to Mariella. Sending porn movies was something he and Mimi did, it didn't involve Mariella.
They all piled into the car, the wolves unusually quiet and not as chatty as usual. But that's just how it was, and they knew that time, sex, and energy would help them all get through it. Damon understood Mimi had gone through far worse than all of them combined, but they weren't Mimi. They were weak in a way that made it difficult for them to handle things as easily.
Mariella spoke in a quiet voice, asking, "How long will it take for us to feel like ourselves again? I feel like such a loser. I should have been able to handle it, but I'm a mess."
Damon murmured to her, "Take it easy, darling. It takes as long as it takes. No matter how much we want everything to be perfect, it will take time. We just have to hang in there."
Mariella looked over at Charles, who was staring out the window, not paying any attention to her or Damon.
Damon asked Charles, "Cornick, are you in pain? What's bothering you?"
Charles grunted and replied, "I can't quite figure it out. Something is wrong, but I'm not sure for whom. Is it my protector radar reacting to Mariella, my own problems, or something else? There's a nagging feeling in my mind that I can't pinpoint. It's irritating, really irritating."
Number two chimed in, saying, "It is irritating, and we can't know what it is. It could be Mariella, yourself, Mimi, the wolves. We're all connected, and even though there's no official hive, that connection is still there."
Charles grunted again. He somehow knew that someone had a real problem, but he didn't know who or what he could do about it. Like the others, he would just have to be patient. Maybe in time, this feeling would fade away or reveal itself, giving him a better idea of what it was for or whom it concerned.
The car drove silently, with Number Ten at the wheel. This was just one of the pack's cars, not one of Mimi's many sports cars. They weren't really suited for the entire pack, but maybe someday they would go on a road trip and take Mimi's sports cars for themselves. They could drive like crazy or even go horseback riding. A few of the Salvatores were even considering those types of activities. It would be great to see Mimi again, riding a horse like a madwoman, making Number One irritated. And of course, having sex while riding would be an unforgettable experience.
Sex and raw lust were slowly spreading throughout the Salvatore hive, instilling eagerness in all of them. The wolves were looking forward to taking several of them. Sex was starting to be quite important for them, including Mariella. She was getting wet at the mere thought of Damon dominating her.
However, they also craved some manly action if the need became too strong. They would continue to recover and improve, and once this crisis was over and all the celebrity obligations were fulfilled, they could focus on the future. Perhaps it would be the perfect time to start a family with some babies.
Number four couldn't help but think about how perfect it would be. First, they would keep the heat with a three-month passionate time on one of Mimi's new islands after the weddings—a real honeymoon. The gestation period wouldn't be too long, and the whole pack would be pregnant with women. Nurseries would be set up again, and there would be cubs and babies.
First, there would be cubs. Wulfe and Magnum, along with the other pack members, would come together to get to know the cubs and spend time with them outside. There would be plenty of helpers to assist with their care for a long time. Pack had, after all, ten more people in it.
Number four imagined how wonderful it would be to have lots of babies learning to walk by Christmas time. They would see the tree, receive presents, and even meet Santa. It would be the perfect family, the perfect pack. How fun it would be to hear Magnum curse as he tried to bathe some mermaids again. It would be one damn perfect Christmas and he could even see in his mind Mimi rolling her eyes while watching babies trying everything.
In his fantasy, he was with Mimi, not Mariella. Maybe it was because number one was becoming more and more focused on Mariella, constantly kissing her. As they approached the house, it was clear to number four what number one and Mariella had planned. Their arousal was evident enough in the cramped space within the car.
He wasn't sure if he was in the mood for sex just yet. Of course, he was a creature of lust as well, but he wasn't entirely certain. Perhaps he would cook something, open a few bottles of bourbon, and then maybe go for a round in the bedroom with the wolves. It wasn't set in stone yet.
Adam sat next to Charles as they finally drove to the yard. He had no intention of having sex with anyone; instead, he planned to go to the gym and release his pent-up rage and frustration through physical exercise. Charles remained quiet, and Adam didn't ask him to join as he preferred to do this alone. He needed to let out his anger and hitting the punching bags usually did the trick. Despite both of them being energy creatures, sex wasn't always the solution for them.
Adam also planned to have a hefty dose of blood to satisfy his vampire side. He could feel its restlessness, but the potent blood always calmed it down. He didn't suspect that his sensations were related to Mimi, but rather saw them as remnants of a past traumatic experience. Although he had been through worse times in his life, it had been a while since he had been a victim in this way. These memories resurfaced, and he needed to move on, allowing them to sink back into the depths of his mind without dwelling on or remembering them.
The car came to a stop, and people started getting out. Mariella jumped onto the lap of the number one and they teleported inside the Boston house. Several Salvatores were flanking the wolves and seducing them. Wulfe and Magnum came out to retrieve the bags from the car.
The boys were out hunting, so it would be some time before they returned as a pack, but at least they had managed to catch plenty of rabbits, deer, and other game. Magnum, Wulfe, and even Alaric had cleaned the animals and stored them in the freezer. They were ready to assist those who were still recovering, but none of them sensed anything from Mimi.
She had shielded her mind so well that not even Wulfe, especially Wulfe, could detect her increasing bloodlust, addiction, and her increasingly irate, erratic, and unstable state of mind. The high she got from blood made her indifferent to everything, but when she was stressed or questioned, her mood turned sour and her rage took control. It was a cycle that was hard to impossible to stop as it was purely biological, not mental.
The pack returned home and began to recover, each in their own way. The Salvatores retreated to the bedroom to deal with their demons, while Adam, Charles, and the others fought in the gym to overcome their own. Someone was cooking, one of Salvatores, or a couple of them who had not been captured, so the smell of warm food was constantly wafting through the house.
The press continued to hound them, calling daily, and those who were able had to handle the interviews and make statements. Their lives were plastered across news outlets and magazines, which could be annoying at times, but they had no choice but to deal with it. They even involved Bran and Samuel to divert the press's attention away from the pack and their personal lives.
Perhaps this was a lesson, a reminder for Mariella to think twice before becoming involved in public rescues. There would be time for her to deal with this, too. Right now, she had to let her frustrations out. Get her energies to circulate and feel something else than the feeling of being the weak victim.
Damon led Mariella to one of the bedrooms, where they both used a spell to undress. Their passion took over as Mariella eagerly pleaded for Damon to fuck her, harder and faster. The room filled with the sounds and scents of their raw, lustful fucking, with moans, grunts, and the wet sounds of their bodies colliding, creating a soundtrack. There were no victims here, only the raw and intense expression of their physical connection. The bed creaked under their weight, and the air was thick with the smell of sweat and sex.
They continued, losing track of time, focusing only on experiencing each other in this primal way. This was the first step on a long and challenging journey of recovery and moving forward from their traumatic experience.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone