Chapitre 212: 12. Losing My Religion.
I woke up still in Charles's arms, his gentle voice whispering to my mind, "Sleep, honey, just sleep. No need to wake up, no nightmares, just rest, sleep."
I allowed the dreams to take me to a place where everything was fine, where I could feel without the heartbreak over Bella, my first feline companion, or the pain of losing them all, including Jake and Rob. My mind and body needed rest, and Charles, Adam, Wulfe, Magnum, and Colin were all in that one bedroom, in the same bed, sleeping with me, keeping me safe, and showing their love. It was therapeutic for all of us.
Mariella wasn't being lustful; she went to the kitchen to cook and then talked about a magazine. To her surprise, the Salvatores were on board, and it was a project they were diving into. They were learning what it took to publish a magazine and had to talk to a lot of people.
Mariella and Damon visited the magic house to discuss this with Giselle and the other witches. Dresden and Constantine weren't initially enthusiastic about the idea, but deep down, both of them were kind of vain, and maybe it was their chance to be in the spotlight too. They had both lost so much, and sharing their stories would be beneficial for humans to learn about them as well.
Constantine saw this as an opportunity to find companionship and indulge in some carnal desires. After all, he was a wizard living in a pack full of lustful wizards, so those ideas were contagious.
Dresden had once lost her only child, but Mariella's plan was for her to have more offspring. Dresden was too strong not to be used for breeding, and Mariella saw the potential in him. Damon looked at most creatures with this aspect, wondering if he could use them for breeding. It was something that Mariella was learning too. Dresden would definitely have many offspring.
What Damon hadn't told them was that their DNA was also changing. It was partially becoming more like his, as he was the pack leader and their guardian. In a way, they were related to him, so his genes were being passed on as well.
Damons, all ten of them, and Mariella had not really paid attention to what Mimi was doing as this idea took over. It was only three days later when Mariella remembered Mimi and thought about what she was up to. A quick glimpse into the past revealed it was so good to be a witch with this capability. Mariella saw that it had been pretty boring; she had slept, and all of those men had slept with her. How sweet, she thought sarcastically. At least they were planning a magazine and not just hibernating in the summer.
But then it hit her: Mimi was not yet well, and rest was one thing they had talked about—how important it would be for her mind to have a good, long rest. The question had been how to make that happen.
Mariella thought again, sarcastically, "No need for drugs; just give her my protector and a bunch of other men, and she'll sleep for days."
The bond between Mimi and Charles bothered her, and it had been bothering her for a long time, right from the start. She had to admit it to herself. She might be a jealous hag, but seeing that perfect relationship between those two made her hands squeeze into fists and her smile falter. Despite how much Damon had been there, telling her he would always choose her first, seeing Charles promise the same thing to Mimi irked her—and it still did, she realized. She was damn sure that Damon knew what they were doing and that he would be jealous as well.
Mariella shared the facts with Damon, who simply grunted in response.
He told her, "Darlin', Mimi needs rest. If it takes Cornick and half of the pack to take care of her, that's fine by me. Stop being jealous and focus on this project."
Taking a deep breath, Mariella replied, "They aren't really sleeping, not that much. Not anymore, at least. Adam and Charles went to the spa section to turn on the sauna and make sure everything was ready. I guess they will take Mimi to the spa. You know how it goes - one woman and many horny men, and these guys are skilled lovers, so Mimi will be busy after too."
Damon lifted his gaze from the papers that had been sent to him for the magazine. He rubbed his eyes and sensed black velvet forming for Mimi. Grabbing a jar, he bit through the lid and drained a potent sedative.
After letting out the whole damn dose, he said in a deceptively patient voice, "Who's going into the sauna and what do you want to do?"
Mariella explained, "Not Adam and Charles, but Colin, Magnum, and Wulfe. Adam and Charles just took a bunch of blood samples and a spinal tap from Mimi. They'll be busy analyzing the results and looking into her recovery. You can see for yourself."
Damon replied tiredly, "No need. It's good that they're taking care of Mimi, but nothing out of the ordinary. I don't have to micromanage them all the time. I'll review those results and see what they're planning."
Mariella suggested, "Mimi needs sensations, right? I have a little plan that involves me, you, Elena, Katherine, the spa section, and what happens afterward. No one knows."
Damon looked at Mariella and said, "Darlin', I've let you have others, but I'm not interested in those two. The other Salvatores can have them." He was getting tired of Mariella's ever-increasing jealousy.
Mariella rolled her eyes and said, "Not those, but Mimi. Just think—with us there, it will be four females and four males. I have this little play in my mind that gives Mimi some intense sensations, as well as the others. If you don't feel like you want her but me, that's fine. There will be others for her; she won't be alone. It will be Wulfe, Magnum, or Colin who will have her."
Damon looked at Mariella. She seemed so calm, but he could tell that her mind was racing. She was jealous and wanted one of those three—perhaps even all of them. By taking Elena and Katherine, there was no fear of them hogging all the men like wolves might. Mimi could not manipulate those two as easily as she could with the wolves.
Damon said to her, "Fine, I'm in. Let's go to the spa, but let's wait a while to make it more dramatic for us to walk in and see what they're doing."
He was not sure where this would lead, but he was ready to try to live and let loose.
Mariella replied, "And we have to figure out the whole protector thing one day—who belongs to whom? I know I have several, but Mimi has ten of you. The wolves will have some, too, so there will be learning for all of us. It will change the pack dynamics."
Mariella was accustomed to talking about anything with Damon; he was her husband, lover, confidant, and best friend. It felt natural for her to express whatever came to her mind.
Damon nodded and said, "Yeah, one thing at a time. Well, it seems we have a spa night tonight, and we'll see where we go after that. I mean, one moment I'm ready to seduce Mimi, but then a little gesture or expression makes me back off. She is so different now, and somehow she feels real. It's scary but exhilarating to learn about her. I'm waiting for her pretender power to activate, so she will be like before, but at the same time, I don't want that. I want to seduce that creature and truly get to know her."
Mariella nodded and said, "There is an innocence in her, this, how should I call it, authenticity? She is not pretending; she doesn't try to impress anyone. She speaks her mind and shows herself as she is. She's not even trying to hide her irritation or be overly polite."
For this reason, Damon felt a bit hesitant.
He admitted, "I know she is not innocent or a virgin, but I swear I have this feeling that I should treat her as if she is—take it slow and careful. She is Mimi. We've been together for over 200 years, and now I don't dare to touch her. If I do, will I let her down again? Will I be a coward?"
Mariella smiled at Damon; he was such a gorgeous creature, and to her, he was perfect. However, she knew that in Mimi's eyes; he was not. She wanted to hear the story of how Mimi met Dash. She was ready to listen, even if it meant hearing about Damon's past mistakes. The past couldn't be changed, but they could and should learn from it.
Damon looked at his wife. Mariella was literally the woman of his dreams, and the centuries they had spent together had been the happiest time of his life. He had nine other versions of himself, created by an original witch, so one day they would have the power to manage the Salvatore family magic, forming a coven of their own known as the Salvatore Hive.
It was interesting to live with these nine other versions of himself; some were influenced by the time when they were copied into vessels, waiting for the right moment. For instance, number two loved Mimi almost more than he, number one loved Mimi himself. He was ready to do anything for her. The number three was calmer, but the book in which he had been hidden was placed between medical texts and the Kama Sutra, which had turned him into something of a "sex machine."
Number four had been needed to help Mimi. He had been in a pen, and with that pen, she had signed off on her divorces from him—number one, and last time when she had held that pen, she had been in an awful place. She had just lost Jake and was in the middle of a grueling world-saving tour, and he had taken yet another divorce from him.
Number four had always woken up in that pen, feeling the pain and despair of the baby, but being fully unable to do anything. That time had turned him into a healer, into a doctor. As Mimi's mind began to break, he had transformed himself back nearly into how he used to be—Mimi's version, not core like number one. He was similar to what he used to be, but not the same. There was a good dash of the core in him, too. He was the most diverse of Salvatores, not so much one of many, but the unique version.
Number five had been placed into the Pope's ring when Mimi had been overtaken almost by a demon. The Pope and Damon had freed her from it. Number six and the others had been taken when he had been hooked on a vampire drink, enslaved by Brianna during their first divorce. They hated themselves and were trapped in various jewels. Tens and nines had been trapped in crystals, and it had been a rough ride; they were sharper versions ready to give lessons, even to Mimi.
In the past, there had been one issue that had caused some problems. As their hive had formed, he had pushed his memories into each of the Salvatores. However, his love for Mariella had been his alone, not theirs. Mariella had never truly claimed any of them as hers. Over the years and decades, it had been slow going, but they had begun to gravitate back to Mimi.
It was meant to be that Mimi and Damon belonged together. When number one made an idiotic mistake that cost that relationship, the whole hive had suffered, not just him. He had used Mariella as his crutch, so it had not been as bad for him as it had been for others. But now, he didn't want to rely on anyone else; he, too, wanted Mimi, and by God, he was ready to pursue her.
Damon said to Mariella, "You know, darling, you are perfect. Even when you're sometimes imperfect, the universe is trying to tell me I belong with Mimi. I know we will always be together, too. So we're trapped in a never-ending love triangle."
Mariella smiled and replied, "It's more than a triangle. You have to consider everyone Mimi wants, not just us. There's also Adam, Charles, Mimi's five, and of course, the wolves. It's not that simple."
Damon laughed and suggested, "How about we write a telenovela, pitch it to a company, and let them produce it?"
Mariella smiled and said, "Let's see. First, we have Mimi, our leading lady, fiercely independent. Then there's you, her lover, and I'm your lover—the one who gets jealous but tries to appear as Mimi's friend. Wulfe would be Mimi's best friend, but she would never see him as anything more than that. And then there's Charles, the dark, strong man in Mimi's life—your rival. I could keep going; there's definitely a telenovela in our pack."
Damon responded, "We could turn it into a soap opera! We could choose the actors and actresses. Oh, I would love to see Mimi's expressions; it would be so hilarious."
Mariella cherished this side of Damon; he could be incredibly funny with his crazy ideas. She wanted him to share this side with Mimi, too. She knew Damon had treated Mimi poorly in the past, but she believed it wasn't too late for a fresh start. No matter how many times they had tried before, there was always a chance to begin again. All it would take was for Damon to have the courage to navigate her little game and see where it led.
That story, Mariella wanted to hear it, it was not just about Damon or Sark or anything nasty but it would have something else in it too, and have Mimi now telling the story, it would be perfect, and besides if the memory would be rotten, wulfe would be there, damon would be there and both of them would get the memory isolated, and it would be taken care later on.
It would be soon time to go to the spa and move forward with this plan. Mariella had not told Damon what her plan was all about but it would be a surprise and then, it would be time to hear Mimi screaming Damon's name in the throes of ecstasy in the spa section.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone