Capítulo 250: 10. November Rain.
It took about a day for us to complete the threat reports, as well as the clinic consultations. The Salvatores wanted to be informed whenever a new consultation came in, so Mariella and her witch friends ensured the clinic was an addition to Salvatore Hospital, allowing them to stay updated. A few days had passed, and the day after tomorrow would be Thanksgiving. I was feeling restless.
Mariella had once again taken Wulfe into her potion lab after they had raided my bead room. I had certain types of stone beads that could be used to enhance potions, so I made them into bracelets for Mariella. I had given her some ready-made bracelets, and she also took a few types of beads for herself. I could inadvertently load those beads with energy, and it wouldn't be wise to infuse them with my lust or sexual energy.
I'm a red-blooded woman with a healthy appetite for carnal pleasures, but I manage to control myself. However, that does not mean I haven't had mishaps when working with certain minerals, which have somewhat dampened my enthusiasm for gemology, as I tend to load those stones unintentionally.
I was walking on the official top floor, but I knew it wasn't the actual highest floor. That thought irritated me since there was one more floor above, which frustrated me because the rooms there that I discovered years ago were impossible to fully decorate. I had attempted to come up with a plan for them, using the pack, but now, considering how hard everyone had worked on addressing the threats, I was hesitant. My fleas had been informed about my system as well, so they could implement it, and the threat reports were requested to be given to the Salvatores before me, even though I was the leader of my organization. Damon was the leader of the pack, and he needed to be informed.
We had quite a long discussion with Magnum, Wulfe, Adam, and Charles, as they began to question why I selected certain individuals for specific jobs when they believed there were better options available. We reached a compromise; they could ask around, but they soon realized just how long it takes to onboard someone new who has no understanding of the threats or how to handle them—at least not right away.
As I gazed out at the wintry scene, I heard footsteps nearby. I was standing at the end of one corridor, looking out of the window. To be honest, it was quite boring. This side of the castle opened into a vast expanse of white. Our land was now covered in thick snow, with no trees or plants in sight; it was dull to look at, which was a problem for that upper floor.
I caught a whiff of passion fruit, but as the air circulated, I couldn't pinpoint which version of Salvatore's was present. Soon, strong arms enveloped me, pulling me against Damon's strong, firm body. He rested his jaw on top of my head and looked out the window. It was noon, and the sun was setting. The winter sun has its own color; it's usually low, and the light in winter is completely different from that in spring.
I turned to Damon and said, "What do you think of this scenery?"
He grunted in response, "Wintry, lots of snow, not much else."
I continued, "It doesn't invite much looking out. What are you doing? Do you need me for anything?"
Damon replied, "Nope. I just came to see what you were up to. I'm not in the mood to tinker with potions. However, I was curious about your idea for the pack game decoration."
I nodded and said, "Well, yes. I must admit I was going to use the pack to solve something that has annoyed me for several years. Do you remember when you first came to Kansas Castle? Charles mentioned that light to me?"
Damon replied, "Yeah, there was a room that pissed you off. I never asked or saw that room; what was wrong with it?"
I leaned into him slightly, feeling his heartbeat as he sheltered me.
"Well, it was a room in the corner on the north side of the castle, and our forest was just behind it. It was a damn dim room, or when the sun shone in, it changed every color I tried to use into the wrong shade. I ranted about that to Charles several times. He came in, looked at the room, and said, 'This is just a room. So what? Why don't you put up decent curtains and find a suitable way to illuminate it—a light fixture? Honey, you can't win against nature, and that forest is too magnificent to cut down just so you can make this room to your liking.' So there I was, trying to find a suitable lamp, but it wasn't easy because the room wasn't square. It was longer, and the wall socket was in an awkward place. Charles didn't put in a new one; he just told me to find a lamp that worked."
Damon grunted, "Fine, nice story. Now I have to see that room sometime. Is there something else that annoys you about this castle?"
I said to him, tilting my head to look at him, "Did you know that there are secret corridors and that this isn't actually the highest floor? There's one above us, hidden. It really pisses me off, especially since the windows are tiny, the view is boring, the rooms are oddly shaped, and they're all completely empty and cold. I know it would be a real challenge to fix, but I'm just too irritated. It seems like too much work."
Damon laughed softly, catching my annoyed tone.
He said, "Come on, baby, let's go! Try to make me pissed off, too. I've never gotten mad about rooms; I look forward to new experiences."
I rolled my eyes. "Hilarious; you make me sound like a lunatic."
He replied, "Yeah, you are a little neurotic lunatic, but you're my lunatic. Right now, my baby, try to make me irritated about those rooms too. What about the rest of the floor? I mean, this is a big area—do we have an attic or something?"
I responded, "Yeah, there's a huge, cold, empty attic that would need insulation and other work to make it livable. I had my own little plan for it, but I'm not much of an insulator or builder."
Damon said, "Do tell me what you were planning."
I sighed and said, "Fine. Let me show you—just a short field trip, just the two of us."
He nodded, and I teleported us to my Moldovan castle.
Damon looked around and whistled lowly. "You, baby, have done some work here. God damn, this is starting to look like somewhere I should live, along with the whole pack."
I smiled and said, "Come on, I've gone through this place from top to bottom, so I know every nook and cranny—every secret corridor. But this way…"
I led him to one of the elevators I had installed. I dug out a little golden key as we entered, placed it in the lock, and pressed the button. The elevator whirred to life, and we began ascending. Soon enough, the elevator stopped, and we stepped into a dark corridor.
I told Damon, "This was a secret part of the castle, but now I'll show you. Go into that room; it's the observation room. I just got everything ready."
Without further explanation, I headed to my preparatory room and activated the crystals that transformed it into my feline playground. I knew the pack had its own version, but mine was enhanced with spells that randomly suspended pieces of meat in various spots throughout the room. It could accommodate anything from a sand cat to a tiger. I had plans to create an avian room at some point, but I hadn't gotten to that yet. Then, I shifted into my jaguar form and entered the room.
Damon watched as the expansive space filled with climbing trees, wall boards, ropes, tree trunks, and nets formed a feline paradise.
As he sensed the spells and saw the meat suspended in various places, he thought to himself, "Oh no, baby, you will not have that much fun all by yourself."
He informed the other Salvatores about this space, knowing it would soon be linked to them, but first, he intended to have some fun—along with the pack.
He exited the room, found the correct one, transformed into his jaguar form, and walked in. He could smell the meat, and there were huge steaks hanging from ropes. Easy! He pounced, trying to grab one of the ropes, but he was too big to manage it. Fine. He looked over at Mimi, who was now in lynx's form, crawling into a tube.
Soon, Mariella's voice echoed in his mind, "Oh wow, let me put some more meat in! We're going to have so much fun."
Damon replied, "Yeah, and this isn't easy; it will take some doing."
Mariella activated the spell a few times, loading in pieces of meat, skin, and other goodies to ensure there was something for everyone.
I was having some feline fun when I noticed Damon walking in. I was trying to get a whole liver of moose; I could smell it, but the maze made of tubes was magical, and its configuration changed every time, which added to the challenge. That was part of the fun. Soon, I heard others approaching since we were in a pack. Just as I was about to grab that liver, Mimosa, who had entered from the other side, was faster and snatched it up, eating it right in front of me. I decided to back out.
"Fine, let's show them how this is done." I exited the tube and noticed that no one had retrieved the meat from the rope. "Alright, I can demonstrate."
I changed into a serval, ran up the ramp, and leaped onto a board near the ceiling. I had to position myself just right.
Damon called out to me, "What are you planning, baby? That meat is ours!"
I replied, "There are no possessions here, Damon. Only the cleverest will get the reward."
Once I was in the right spot, I leaped. The serval was small enough that my claws caught the rope, and my hind leg found a knot for purchase. I reached up for the meat, grabbing it firmly in my jaw.
With a firm grip on the meat, I transformed into a jaguar. The added weight pulled the meat free as I jumped down and devoured what I had retrieved. There was still more meat left.
I saw Mariella in her serval form running up the ramp. She had been watching me and was trying to replicate my movements, but it would take some effort for her to get that leap just right. I noticed Colin in his wolf form digging into a trap for some meat.
This was my ultimate playground. I had done a lot of work and recruited many people to help create these exercises, including witches, to cast spells. I also noticed Wulfe modifying some of the spells. He had to get involved, too.
I had eaten half of my meat when Damon came and robbed the rest of it, eating it voraciously. I did not mind. I saw Adam and Charles in their lion form fighting over a piece of skin, pulling it. Other pack members tried to get pieces of meat, it was a wonderful exercise for them.
I was sitting in my feline form when Wulfe approached me and said, "My unicorn, look up at the ceiling. I put something up there just for you. Go on."
I glanced up to see a perch with a branch where a pile of rats and mice was resting.
Wulfe smiled and added, "Yeah, go on, show us your feathers."
I rolled my eyes and transformed into an owl.
Wulfe picked me up in his arms, raised me high, and said, "Go on, fly away, my queen of rain. Write my name in the sky."
With a few strong beats of my wings, I soared to the perch and landed. I picked up a mouse in my beak and started to eat. Damon, now in his human form, was watching me.
"Oh baby, I will one day do that too," he said.
Wulfe replied to him, "Remember, you transformed into a canary. Why not try being an owl? Take the idea from her mind and do it."
Damon nodded and focused.
I was taken aback when a great horned owl suddenly flew next to me, grabbed a rat, and ate it. Then, it took a mouse, tore off a piece, and fed it to me. Mariella and the girls sighed and commented on how romantic it was.
Charles was feeling mischievous. He conjured up a table with a large plate of spaghetti and meatballs. He transformed Mariella into a spaniel and himself into a mixed breed, resembling the characters from "Lady and the Tramp." They sat down together to enjoy the meal, and in a playful gesture, he gave her the last meatball. He had made that one long spaghetti perfectly, so they ate it from each end until their muzzles touched. They were both in a romantic mood.
My owl mate was carefully feeding me, making sure I only ate the meat and not the fur or bones. He dropped the fur and bones for others to eat. We finally landed and changed back into human form. We kissed passionately.
He was possessive and said to me, "Now, the rest of the pack will take care of the linkage to Halifax. How about you show me that secret part and get me pissed off, too?"
I replied, "Fine, if you want, but I warn you, they are nasty."
He simply smiled and told the rest of the pack, "You take care of the linkage. I need to check a few rooms with my future wife, and then we'll decide what to do next."
Mariella said, "Have fun! By God, when we get this space in every house and I can put my special catnip in there, we'll have a party like no other."
We teleported back to Halifax, and I led him into a seemingly ordinary room. There was an entrance to the upstairs. I opened a secret door, revealing a corridor with stairs leading up. It was a bit chilly, so I had brought a light woolen sweater to keep from shivering.
As we climbed the stairs and I opened the door, I pointed to my right and said, "This entire space is one enormous attic. I had planned to make it my feline room, but the walls are bare stone with no insulation. As you can feel, it's quite cool to cold in here, so it would be difficult to insulate. Not impossible, but I'm not skilled in that area. And since this is the pack's castle..."
Damon nodded and said, "Max is busy, but we can find more builders after the holidays. There is potential here, but it won't be simple. There's not much light, wiring, or heating. And this space is enormous. Now, show me more."
I led him to the left side, opening one door and guiding him through a short corridor until we reached another door. I had installed small lights with motion detection, so it wasn't too dark.
The corridor we entered was straight, with rooms lining each side. The air was stale and cool, and the dark grey stone walls gave it a prison-like rather than a homey feel. I opened the first room on the right side and noticed that the ceiling was slanted towards the low windows, making the room even more claustrophobic. Only a little light seeped in, leaving about 60% of the room in darkness. The stone walls, floors, and lack of furnishings made it uninviting to decorate. Even though 60% of the room had a normal height, the oppressive feeling brought by the ceiling made it feel dank.
Damon grunted and commented, "Well, that ceiling is challenging, but with some paint, it could be something."
I didn't say anything. I opened the next door on the other side of the corridor. Since this was a wing of the castle, there were small windows and another slanted ceiling. However, these rooms were long and narrow, which made Damon frown as he walked in, trying to come up with some ideas.
I showed him room after room. The rooms on one side were long and narrow, while the ones on the other side were square but oppressive. There were about 15 rooms on each side, maybe a few more.
Finally, Damon exclaimed, "I get it! Goddamn, what a project. We can't take down the walls since they're load-bearing, and that damn ceiling is a problem. And with these long rooms, it's not easy to find anything suitable to do."
I smiled and said, "I told you, I can also make you angry."
He just grunted with his brow furrowed, lips pursed, hands almost fisted, and asked, "So, what's your grand idea? What do we do with these freaking rooms?"
I replied, "My idea is to do a little switcheroo. We start by getting one room and go in alphabetical order or whatever order we choose. The first person gets three hours. Now, three hours isn't that long when the room is empty, so you have to prioritize. After three hours, we move one step forward, so the next person continues what someone else started. They would then have 2.5 hours, and with each switch, the time decreases by 5 minutes. Eventually, the time dwindles, but many people have contributed to the room. I'm not sure if this is perfect for it."
Damon smiled cruelly and said, "Perfect, baby. Just perfect. Oh, I can't wait to see Mariella's expression. We can make this work. I saw fireplaces in the rooms. Are they working?"
I nodded and said, a little excited, "Now, how about this? We gather supplies in the attic. Not everything, but a wonderful selection. They will be close by, but it will be fun to try and find something you saw. We can assign pack members to retrieve those supplies, and then we can start doing this."
Damon firmly nodded and said, "Good. We won't bring our best here, not at all. Here's the plan: we'll have a meal, and I'll tell them more about it over the food. I won't reveal everything upfront, but let's see what we can accomplish. We also need to check the wiring and make it easier to access that part. After all, shared misery is halved, right?"
I simply nodded as he teleported us into the kitchen, where the pack was already eagerly preparing the food. It was soon time to see what our little decoration scheme would bring.
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