Capítulo 236: 36. Say You'll Be There.
It was time to return to the pack, which meant I could show a few things to the others. It felt great to have so many people, my pack members, supporting me so I wouldn't be alone. I wasn't doing this out of spite, although I must admit I was angry about what was going to happen, just not yet.
We were going to have a karaoke night, and maybe do some unloading, without the involvement of the Salvatores. Wulfe was fully prepared for that, as he had crafted several spells into different stones from my warehouses. He was ready to go all the way with me, meaning having intense sex, but with the number of men present - Adam, Charles, Demon, Lepard, Magnum, even Alaric, Tim, Taylor, Murdock, and Dexter - there would be plenty of targets.
Adam and Charles were adamant that no Salvatores would be involved, and even if they noticed the signs, they would ignore them. I was going to demonstrate that when we returned. First, I had a little trick up my sleeve. I dressed in a way that would hide my true fitness and make me appear more fragile than I actually was.
I said to Wulfe and the others, "Now, they know that we've been recovering in another realm, right? So let's not reveal just how fit I am. I've covered my body to make myself look really small. When we go to the kitchen to eat, I'm sure Damon is going to be shocked when he sees me. But I'll strike first. And guys, don't hesitate to show your emotions. Let's put on a show and see what happens."
Charles smiled and said, "Honey, if I show you my emotions, you might not even get a chance to eat..."
He was still quite eager, and the thought of karaoke and unloading afterward had him excited.
I continued, "Now, I know Damon well enough to know that this crisis has set back his transformation. So once I make my move, he'll retreat to deal with his guilty conscience. Mariella, of course, will be more than happy to accommodate him, but she'll also be jealous."
Alaric nodded as well; he was also involved in this. He was a funny guy and had been alone for an incredibly long time. He never believed that he could find anyone, but he had found a pack. Now, Adam and Charles had also talked with the wolves, so they were aware of what was going to happen. And Mimosa, she was always ready to witness some interpack drama. She was truly happy that I now had someone, several of them, and wouldn't be left alone in the cold. We were ready.
As I stepped out of the portal room, I still couldn't wrap my head around how much Mariella had changed this mansion. And oh boy, after unloading, it would be time to make a few nests. All of us were going to make a room, and we would almost turn it into a competition. Let's see if we can get the Salvatores to do something other than just fuck. And oh, my sentences. I had many of them.
We walked down the stairs, and Mimosa walked up to meet us. She was now in human form, wearing a wrap-around flower dress. Her long red hair was intricately styled, clearly showing the effort the Salvatores had put into it. My hair, white as snow, with black and red, and golden stripes, reached down to my ass. Wulfe had done his work on it, and it adorned my head like a crown, with several loosely curled tresses hanging and framing my face. I had makeup that Charles had chosen for me, with pastel shades.
It wasn't anything too spectacular, but it made my eyes look even deeper blue, and bigger. There was a gentle blush on my cheeks, and my lips were plump and kissable. My clothes, loose and covering, did the job very well, hiding my once fit and firm body. Thanks to bedtime and Magnum whipping us all into shape, I once again had decent muscle definition.
I approached my seat and heard voices as the Salvatores entered the kitchen. Mariella was hanging out with numbers one and two, while number four stayed close by. Charles and Adam were busy preparing meals for Mariella and me. The Salvatores didn't bother to greet us, just nodded as they walked in. Mariella paid no attention to her charges, but I cared for Wulfe and Magnum because of the strong love I felt.
Damon looked at me, frowning slightly as he noticed my clothes. His face showed various emotions, ranging from intrigue to guilt and dissatisfaction. Charles brought me my first tray, filled with fresh smoothies, Coca-Cola, and coffee. Damon's mouth tightened and his eyes squinted, but he didn't say or do anything.
Damon then turned his gaze towards Mimi. She was wearing a thick grey fuzzy sweater and loose velour velvet pants. Her multicolored hair was tightly braided and reached down to her lower back when freed. She looked fine, yet Charles brought her food and Damon couldn't bring himself to act. Once again, he had crossed a line, and he wondered what the point of anything was anymore. Damon felt the memory resurface. He remembered the cage and a girl, wearing a red sweater and pants, with pale skin, lying motionless and barely alive, while he just watched.
Mariella caught a glimpse of this memory and asked, "Damon, who was she, and why was she there? Did Mimi remind you of her?"
Damon responded to Mariella's thoughts, recalling the past. "Her name was Anna, and she passed away. I wasn't always a kind person. This happened in the 1990s, although I can't recall the exact year. At that time, I was working for the government. Believe it or not, I took on various roles as an assassin, interrogator, and researcher/doctor. And I didn't always have the intention to heal. It was part of a government program. They were attempting to develop or discover a drug that would induce a state of hibernation, as close to death as possible, while still keeping the person alive."
Damon continued to gaze at Mimi, feeling ashamed of his weakness for not being her doctor. He knew that in the dimension where time passed faster, she may have spent months there. The whole situation left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He continued to explain to Mariella in his mind, "As you know, people have a fear of death, and this drug would have helped severely ill and fragile individuals survive and live longer. It was even intended to be used for space travel, to slow down metabolism and aging, allowing people to endure longer journeys in space. I was recruited as one of the scientists, and I had a mansion, almost like a castle, which I still have. However, I have no desire to return there."
His voice resonated in Mariella's mind, filled with pain. She empathized with him and wasn't pleased with herself, either. She could still sense jealousy trying to surface, and she could see how many people here worshipped Mimi instead of her. She longed to be worshipped as well.
"I created a serum, but I needed test subjects to experiment on and refine the process," Damon continued, recounting his story. "This was before I met Elena; I was a completely different person back then. It's a terrible excuse, but that's the truth. I conducted my initial tests on the shifters, as they were somewhat human, and used those results as a foundation to further my experiments. I must have had over a hundred prisoners, and every day, I would make my rounds, like a doctor, and determine what procedures would be carried out on each individual."
Damon glanced at Mariella briefly, feeling a hint of irritation, causing her to suppress her jealousy. And so, the story carried on.
In Mariella's mind, Damon's voice didn't sound as clinical as she listened to the story. "One day, I was doing my rounds when a new acquisition came in. She was in the back cage, a small but strong woman, a young girl. Despite her delicate appearance, she was a shapeshifter, perfectly suited for our purposes. My subordinates informed me that she had fought well in the past and even killed a few men. She was about the same size as Mimi, although Mimi is thinner than Anna was."
As Mariella observed Damon, she could see his eyes filled with unspoken self-hatred for past and present sins. "So, I thought she would be a good match for the test specimen. I had a syringe of serum with me, but all previous subjects had died. I modified the formula once again and decided to try it on Anna. I entered her cage, used my charm to calm her down, and injected the serum into her neck. Then she lay on the bed. My subordinates removed her sweater and pants. I covered her with a blanket. My serum was intended to slow down the body's functions, such as aging and metabolism, while leaving a small spark of residual activity. However, my previous test subjects had all died. My serum mercilessly shut them down completely."
Damon glanced at the plate in front of him, as Adam had brought a tray of food for him as well. Nodding as he tasted the meal, he continued his story, not really looking at anyone else but his tray. Others at the table were engaged in their own conversations. Even Mimi was discussing decorations with Alaric, who seemed very eager. Damon's voice remained steady as he recounted the events.
Mariella could sense how much these memories weighed on Damon's mind nowadays. "Anna lasted a week, longer than anyone else, but eventually, she died. And my serum had another terrible flaw: it didn't anesthetize. It merely paralyzed the body, so Anna was conscious throughout the entire week, feeling her body fading, shutting down, and becoming completely immobile. She was utterly helpless, and I would go in every day, taking measurements and recording everything. To me, she was just a lab animal, nothing more. Then, she shut down completely and died. She became another guinea pig that didn't survive. The autopsy revealed nothing new. She was just a human. My serum was simply too powerful. Her body, her data, everything was incinerated, and I forgot about her."
He briefly glanced at Mariella, realizing that he may have forgotten about Anna in the past, but not today. His memory was sharp, perhaps because of his connection to Mimi. Being who he was, he couldn't escape the haunting of his past.
Damon's voice carried a bitter tone as he spoke. "I can admit that I never managed to make that serum work. A few years later, the government shut down the entire project, deeming it unprofitable. I don't even know how many lives were lost because of that project, nor how many I took myself. Not a single one mattered. And then, during that session with Mimi in Austria, I used that damn serum. She survived, but she was already too far gone for me to gather any useful data. It wasn't the point, anyway. It was just another burden I placed on her. I wore a doctor's coat and played the role of a cold, clinical scientist during that time too."
Mariella responded, "Wow, what a story. Thank you for sharing. I'm surprised those memories haven't faded away. But you were a completely different person back then, both physically and figuratively. And what you did to Mimi, even if it wasn't entirely your fault, Bran manipulated you into it, and so did Damien."
Damon fell into silence and eventually spoke. "Like I said, I wasn't human at all during that time. I probably regained my humanity the most when I was with Elena, but even that didn't work out. Damien entered the picture, complicating everything. I've learned to forgive myself, but even with you, I am fully aware of how many times I have hurt Mimi, both physically and emotionally."
He didn't voice his thoughts aloud and maintained a neutral expression as he observed the animated discussion happening around the table. He felt somewhat excluded, his gaze shifting back to Mariella, and the weight of his mistakes pressing upon him once again.
He telepathically confessed to her, "It's me, not Damien. I'm a jealous bastard. On the other hand, I never questioned Mimi's loyalty. She has always been a saint for sticking around me. What bothers me the most is that Charles, Saint Charles, knows Mimi better than I do. Despite having a strong bond with her, I haven't given it the attention it deserves. And now, Wulfe, Magnum, Adam... she has others. I admit, I messed up. We were a messed-up group of fuckers, not her doctor, but that's how she sees us, and I can't blame her for that."
Mariella smiled at him, reassuringly saying telepathically, "What we went through messed us up. Mimi, being experienced in situations like this, can handle it, but we can't. We don't have the ability to cope when things like this happen. We are who we are, and the past is the past. You can't change it."
Mariella observed Damon as she ate, feeling guilty for not being a protector. She wasn't completely fine yet. Damon remained silent, lost in his thoughts. He was regretting something, something that had affected his relationship with Mimi. Damon realized the impact of his actions and the connections they had formed.
At the time, he had overlooked their significance and thought they didn't matter. But reflecting on it now, he understood how they had shaped his relationship with Mimi and the bonds between Mimi, Charles, and Adam. He could blame Damien, but deep down, he knew he was the one in control, consumed by jealousy and bitterness towards Mimi. He had played tricks just to hurt her, assuming everything would magically resolve itself. But it didn't.
Mariella continued to communicate telepathically, "Damon, it's in the past, you know that. A lot has happened since then. Mimi is a strong person, and many things have affected her, not just you. So stop searching for reasons to blame yourself again."
Damon did not even smile while glancing at his wife. He was tired, but who knows, maybe someday Mariella would acknowledge how badly he had messed things up between him and Mimi.
Damon's voice reverberated in Mariella's mind once more, filled with bitterness, regret, and self-hatred. "I too was a terrible person, a jealous and neglectful husband who failed to take care of my wife, even though I was in charge. There was a time when I had another woman, a human sniper, and we had an affair. I confessed to her about Mimi, but I didn't know that she worked for Sark. Mimi was pursuing Sark once again, and the two of us had an incredible 12 weeks together, heat like no other, filled with passion. But then I abruptly ended things and went to be with this other woman."
He shook his head slightly, realizing that he had been foolish and that it wasn't Damien's fault, but his own. He started questioning himself, wondering if his relationship with Mimi was even worth it. What was he truly seeking?
He held his gaze on Mariella and continued, "Mimi was on the rooftop, stalking Sark, and my girlfriend was monitoring Sark's security. She saw Mimi and tried to shoot her, but missed. Later, when I was off duty, I messaged her. She didn't reveal her location, but she came to me, and we ended up having fucking passionate sex moments in the alley. Mimi witnessed it, and secretly, I felt a twisted sense of satisfaction because Charles and Adam were already involved. Houses possessed wings, and I, or rather Damien, had committed many terrible acts, so our relationship was complicated."
He took another bite of perfectly cooked steak, but it failed to bring him any pleasure as he was consumed by his past regrets.
He continued speaking, while Mariella observed him, "Then Mimi shot Sark in the shoulder, and I telepathically threatened her. My girlfriend disappeared when I started berating Mimi for her deceitful actions. Eventually, my girlfriend returned to my embrace, wounded by a bullet in her shoulder. Mimi had shot her, and my girlfriend explained Mimi was jealous and had been trying to kill her, but she managed to escape. I gave her my blood to heal her, and she left while I confronted Mimi, yelling at her and forcing her into the car and back to pack."
Damon watched the pack once again, eating and conversing, but in his mind, he was reliving the memories. Mariella realized that he still possessed the ability to retain memories like Mimi.
His voice was calm, almost clinical, as he told his story. " The punishment was two weeks in a cage with nothing but water. Mimi said nothing, and I threw her in the cage. I sent out fear and terror, a sense of being chased just to fuck with her. Bran had sent Adam and Charles away for two weeks, and then when I went to let Mimi out two weeks later, I had thought about making amends, maybe seducing her. She was white, cold, and trying hard to go into hibernation. And she smelled blue sleep."
Mariella sighed. Poor Damon. It seemed that fate had worked against them for so long, and here they were. She would be there for him.
Dark confession continued, " I fucked off. I don't know who. Charles and Adam came in, and I just said, "Miss stinks of blue sleep, and I don't care; you deal with it yourself." I went to my girlfriend's house, and I drank her dry. I didn't even mean to, but I was so fucked up, and then I threw her carcass in the woods. I searched her bag and found evidence of how I'd been manipulated. And there went a few weeks, I did gigs, and I drank. That's how smart I was."
Mariella looked at Damon and said, "Neither Mimi nor I ever claimed you were perfect in every way. None of us are. But the past can't be changed; it shapes us whether we like it or not. It's time to move on and do something nice for the pack. Let's return to everyday life and relax."
Wulfe turned to Damon and exclaimed, "Nice stories! I've taken the liberty of sharing them with the pack. You see, we are a pack, yet you ask Mimi to share, while stories like these you've only told to Mariella. No more of that. From now on, we will all share, not just Mimi. Sure, you can blame yourself, but know this: you are doing exactly what my unicorn warned us against."
Damon felt exposed. Those were his stories to share, but Wulfe was right. As the leader, he should be brave and share, too.
Hesitantly, he asked, "What am I doing?"
It was Mimi who replied, her voice calm and almost smug, "You're doing the classics. You're finding every reason to let your conscience weigh down on you so you can excuse yourself from everything. A few days in, some bedtime talk with Mariella, and then it's off to the Azores. But you know what? This is a bigger pack, which means the Salvatores. You and Mariella don't make up over half of the pack anymore. Sure, go to the Azores, but the rest of us remain in the pack. We have many plans for our pack life. Hiding and fighting your demons by fucking your brains out won't help. You gotta move on, learn, and have some fun."
Mariella replied, "It's easy for you to say, you have your defenders with you."
I nodded. Mariella looked at me, and I glanced at Colin, who had brought my medical file to Mariella.
I said to her, "Your recovery took 11 days, and then you were fully fine. Your weight was where it should be, yet you continued to act like a brat. My recovery took 94 days, and I'm still in the process, so don't come at me and say I got it easy!"
Mariella was taken aback; she had never heard me speak to her so sternly before.
I continued, "Adam and Charles are lustful creatures—wizards, with Charles being as old as Damon, your protector. Yet he stays with me. Why? Because love and lust go together. I represent love, while he embodies lust. What happens when two lusts come together? An orgy. But when love and lust unite, that's a relationship not ruled by energies but by feelings. Try it sometimes, though I doubt you have enough pure love to embrace it. Look at Damon; you might not want to take him to bed right away, but you want to have a connection with him."
Mariella opened her mouth a few times like a fish, struggling to respond while I focused on my food.
Damon remained silent, looking at my plate while finishing his own meal. Wulfe nodded at me; it was time for a little demonstration. I took a piece of my steak and brought my fork to Damon's mouth. He hesitated for a moment, then took the piece, nodding as if assessing its suitability. This made Mariella feed number one and number two as well, and they both eagerly accepted her offerings.
I said in a stern voice, "Not anymore! You guys can stick to your own food. Your protector has her radar wide open."
Mariella shot me a glare—oh, that felt like a little victory.
It didn't take long for the Salvatores to finish their meal. All ten of them left the table with Mariella and Number One, not even bothering to ask the wolves who were chatting with Magnum. Lesson number one was given, with many more to come. My new outlook was no longer just to endure, but to fight fire with fire.
I felt irritated while enjoying my dessert—ice cream with whipped cream—when Wulfe said to me, "Come on, Unicorn, let's go do some work," meaning he wanted to delve into my mind and ensure my darkness stayed down and calm, as he sensed it becoming restless during my time on the ship.
My idea of digging into it further would not happen. He had done that in another realm and wanted to continue now. Well, this was my life: perfect in all its imperfections.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder