บท 132: 12. Lady In Black.
I glanced at Mariella, Mimosa, and Shadow with a serious expression. "It's Annaliese, Damon's sire. She has control over them. We have confirmation on that. This is going to be intense, and I have no idea where we'll end up, but I'll do everything I can to get Damon back," I said.
Mariella nodded, engrossed in the intelligence report just brought in.
Mimosa spoke up, "I don't look into the future because you always throw curveballs at us. We expect one thing, and something else happens. What's your plan?"
I leaned back in my chair, gazing at the ceiling. We were still in the base.
"I will become the hive queen, and you, Colin, Alaric, Murdock, Dexter, Tim, and Taylor, at least. Sylvie and Drake promised to meet me too, so we can discuss if they want to join us. I'll present my scales, we'll attend parties, make a stand, and it will be epic. But..."
Shadow interrupted sarcastically, "And now the good part, what comes after 'but'?"
I looked at Shadow and replied, "You will be upgraded, become a much stronger vampire than you are now. I will be the queen, as strong as possible, even Wulfe won't be able to control me. But our goal is to get Annaliese out of the game, free the Salvatores, and let you have your love. I'm not even thinking about myself, as I have no idea who or what I will become. Are we clear? From now on, I am the leader. No questions. You will obey me, do exactly as I say, and leave the thinking to me."
Mariella spoke up, "I'm ready. Make us strong. But I know it's a big ask, but if we finally defeat Annaliese, is there any way for Damon to kill her? So he can end her?"
I shrugged and replied, "I have no idea, but it's a good idea. Has Damon ever told you about his past? Why does he have such a strained relationship with those females and why do so many fear him?"
Mariella shook her head.
I explained, "I will provide you with some reading material on the subject, but to summarize, a long time ago, female vampires were in control, and Damon was one of their victims. However, he met a witch named Lilah, who was a bounty hunter, and they had a connection. She was one of his true loves, and together, they started eliminating these female vampires. They attended parties where these vampires were present, and Damon used a dagger to kill them. Eventually, Damon's men took control of the territories, and he appointed Nick Michaelson as the minister for a while. However, Nick eventually broke free from the bureaucracy. Damon killed the weaker vampires first and grew stronger himself, bringing down these female vampires. The ones who are still alive have sworn not to try to take over again."
Mariella asked, "How do you know all this? What happened to the witch?"
I replied, "Annaliese killed her. Damon was too distraught to kill Annaliese, but he harmed her, so she could only awaken once every century, and she was not at her full power. However, Nick has done something to enhance her abilities. Lilah, the witch, was one of Damon's true loves, but he may never tell you about her. Bridgette left me a lot of books about vampires and their history, so that's where I learned the story from. Damon, 'the liberator' Salvatore."
Mariella looked at me and said, "Oh, I want to read those stories. Maybe one day when I get Damon back, I can get him to talk about Lilah."
I said, "Now, what we need to do is prepare ourselves. The first party is in five days, and I want us to make an impact there. Then, a week later, there's a Valentine's Day ball, and we will make a stand. This means you three will embrace your vampire sides, like my 'The Bitch' persona, and we will attend the party in our vampire forms. So, I will drink your blood, but you won't drink any blood except my milk. Soon, you will crave blood, and my milk is infused with my vampire power, enhancing your vampire sides even further. This will keep you contained in cages. You won't feed from each other. I will pump my milk, which will be your only sustenance, and I will drink from you as well. This is not about seeking power, but about strengthening your vampire side. I will also consume a potent mix to boost myself. This won't be easy for any of us, but as soon as I get you into the hive and your vampire sides emerge, you can leave the cages and feed on blood."
Mimosa said with irony, "Oh cages, right? Let's see if you're a nastier jailer than Damon was."
I responded, "At least I won't subject you to pheromone withdrawal. But it won't be easy for any of us. I have to take Murdock, Colin, Dexter, and Alaric into my hive too, and as fast as possible. I'll be guzzling a lot of blood. It's possible that after this, I won't want to drink blood for a long time."
Shadow chimed in, "Don't be so sure about that. You're a pretty greedy specimen."
I rolled my eyes and retorted, "It'll take a few hours to wrap things up, and then we'll go to New York. I have my own mansion there, not in the pack's name. We'll start with parties in New York. We'll also have to shop for dresses at some point."
Mariella suggested, "Hmm, maybe we should unload a little before starting. After all, I'm a free woman now, and there are a few fine specimens here."
Mimosa added, "I'm thinking of going to the medbay and asking Colin for a 'health check.' I need some anaconda."
Mariella looked at her and said, "Hmm, anaconda, you say? I could use one of those."
I cautioned, "Calm down, let's think things through."
Mariella replied, "Nope, why should you be the only one who gets an anaconda? And if Damon has a problem with it later on, boohoo!"
I rolled my eyes again and said, "You want him to stab you?"
Mariella insisted, "Let's just go with the flow. I'm in the mood for an anaconda, so you have 24 hours to make everything ready."
I sighed as the trio walked away. My example may not be the best. I can see that. But then again, they were free, at least for now. It might be that once this crisis is over, little mishaps will be forgotten. I focused on wrapping things up, but for some reason, neither Tim nor Taylor were available.
Alaric had quite an expression on his face as he came by to see a few things. He would be part of my hive too, so he had to delegate his work onward. Things would never be the same, and I was scared. I was thrilled. My vampire side was so ready to beat that damn hussy to the ground. But my alpha side, my feline side, she was scared. She did not want to confront her. I had a very wussy feline side when it came to confrontations.
This was just another sacrifice I had to make before others, and it might not seem like it, but I wasn't even sure if Wulfe would stay by my side after this. After all, he is an old creature who was enslaved by Annaliese first, and then maybe me. It could be that I would have to walk the boulevard of broken dreams all alone again. However, I wasn't thinking about that yet. Maybe someday my mind would be filled with regrets and sorrow for what I had lost.
And then it happened again, right in the middle of my thoughts. Those two marks on my neck grew warmer, tingly, almost achy, as if they were being bitten all over again. It gave me the conviction to do this. I wouldn't be alone. Those two would be with me, even if I couldn't see them with my eyes.
I had prepared the cages, a whole flock of them. I wasn't sure if I would have to restrain Salvatores or whoever else would come, so I made sure to be prepared. The cages were spacious enough, set up in my large cellar. It wasn't too cold, but it was a bit dark. I had installed extra lighting, but it still felt like a cellar, not a living room. Each cage had a bunk, toilet, chair, and even a rug. I tried to make them as comfortable as possible, but I doubted that once the bloodlust kicked in, they would care about the rug. And then there were the males. They would be needy, wanting me to bite them, and I would have to oblige. It would take some effort.
I was ready to let my vampire side out. I hadn't felt such bloodlust yet. I had milked myself, ensuring that my powerlaced milk was flowing so, that I had something to give to my subjects. I shook my head. This whole plot felt incredibly strange, but I am chaos. It was my plan. It was time to execute it, more or less perfectly.
"Please, Mimi, I beg of you, feed on me," Colin's voice grated on my ears.
I had just returned to the cellar with fresh bottles of ice-cold milk for each of my companions. As soon as I opened the door, a chorus of begging began, and my nerves started to fray. In my vampire form, I had already consumed five liters of potent blood, and I didn't want another drop. But I had to.
We had been going through this for three days now. Mariella and the wolves were becoming more feral from their bloodlust, while my men begged me not to bite them. I could feel them in my mind, not yet part of my hive, but getting there. I had to make them want to join my hive, and it had been a challenging journey of self-learning for me as well.
I began with Mariella. Her ruby eyes, a sign of her bloodlust, stared at me as she hissed, "I don't want your milk, I want blood. Give me some goddamn blood."
I walked up to her and said firmly, "Drink the milk, pet, and behave. You wouldn't want to upset me, would you?"
She hissed at me but reluctantly took the bottle of milk and drank it all in one go. The milk was strong, thanks to Constantine and Dresden's potent concoction, infused with my vampire and vampire alpha power. As Mariella drank, her hair began to turn partly white. I handed milk bottles to the wolves, and black stripes appeared in their hair as they consumed the milk and stumbled afterward.
Once they were reeling from the milk, I began my biting round. I bit each of my pleading victims, drinking their blood and pulling them into my hive. It was a learning process for me too, but bite by bite, I started to understand what I needed to do. I was pulling them deeper into my hive, feeling their presence more and more. I used that connection to bind them even tighter, pulling them closer to me.
The taste of blood on my tongue was becoming unpleasant, as I had consumed it so frequently. However, I needed to continue. I knew that once this was over, I wouldn't have to rely on blood meals for a while. In my vampire form, I appeared captivating with my black eyes, white hair, lace dress, poison nails, and ivory skin. My blood-red lips completed the look, and naturally, men were drawn to me. They would often compliment my appearance and make suggestive comments.
I walked from one cage to another, eagerly accepting offered wrists and sinking my fangs into them, drinking their blood and pulling them closer to me. It was satisfying to see them become intoxicated, as it confirmed that I was doing everything correctly. I had become their addiction, and as I finished my rounds, my confidence grew.
Approaching Mariella, I opened her cage and attacked her throat, drinking as much blood as I could. It took more effort to feed on the three females, as they were different from the men. After draining Mariella, I moved on to the wolves and repeated the process.
The act of sinking my fangs into their throats and tearing out their veins used to bring me immense pleasure, but now it felt dull and unsatisfying. The blood tasted bitter and tangy, no longer the elixir it once was. Nevertheless, I swallowed it down, feeling my powers grow with each feeding.
I hoped to finish this task soon, but I knew it wouldn't be easy to gather everyone in my hive or defeat Annaliese. It would require careful planning and a delicate balance of power. I needed to start drawing people into my hive, but I couldn't reveal my full strength to Annaliese just yet. The time for reckoning would come, and perhaps I could enlist Damon's help to finally eliminate her. Maybe my hive would offer him protection, but for now, it was all just theory. I needed to focus on one problem at a time.
I called Jarod and shared my plans with him. He laughed heartily, as he was often in another realm and not always available. Miss Parker didn't allow him to be part of my hive either.
I sat in the dimly lit blood room, the faint scent of iron permeating the air. A jug of thick, crimson liquid sat next to me, its five-liter capacity filled with the potent essence. With a shiver running down my spine, I poured the blood into a delicate crystal glass, the coolness of the glass contrasting with the warmth of the liquid within. The sound of the blood splashing into the glass echoed in the silence.
As I brought the glass to my lips, the rich aroma of the blood engulfed my senses, mingling with the metallic smell in the room. With a single swift motion, I downed the entire glass, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over me as the power of the blood coursed through my veins. My head spun, and I found myself talking aloud, the words escaping into the stillness.
"I am one freaking nutso," I muttered, my voice laced with a touch of madness. "How in hell does one turn oneself into a monster for the sake of true love for others? I should regain some sense of self."
Ignoring the disorienting effects, I poured another glass; the liquid flowing smoothly. With each sip, the taste of the blood intensified, the velvety texture coating my mouth. Shaking my head, I couldn't help but comment on my attire, the sensation of the lace dress against my skin adding to my intoxicated state.
"What's the fuck with this damn lace dress?" I muttered to myself, the words slurring together. "I would want to change my clothes from time to time."
The room seemed to spin as the effects of the blood intensified. I could feel the presence of Mariella and the wolves, in my mind, we had a hive, their energies intertwining with my own. Mariella had white hair like I had, but she had a blood-red lace dress. She was still in a cage. The wolves, with their black hair and white lace dresses, remained confined in their cages, their movements restrained. However, I had given them blood to appease their instincts, ensuring they wouldn't attack me or the men who would soon be part of the hive too.
As the countdown continued, with only two days, or perhaps just one remaining, the anticipation grew. The room pulsated with an eerie atmosphere, a mix of excitement and apprehension filling the air.
I could sense their presence in my mind and communicate with them, but due to being intoxicated with blood, my ideas weren't well received. Mariella told me through the hive bond. It felt different from the pack bond.
"Pull yourself together, Mimi. Now is not the time to lose control. Our lace dresses are sexy and perfect. Stop complaining and drink that blood. Then come and bite the freaking men. Their begging annoys me," she said.
I sighed, feeling a bit melancholic from being blood-drunk. But I drank another glass, feeling the power buzzing within me, making me dizzyingly stronger and more powerful. It was either changing something in me or I was just so intoxicated that I felt anything. I continued talking to the walls of the blood room, with Mariella, Mimosa, and Shadow commenting sharply through the hive bond. Hell, I was too drunk to close off that bond. I let it remain open, letting them feel my intoxicated state and encouraging me to drink more blood and then go bite the men so they would stop begging.
Of course, bringing the women a jug filled with a very strong blood mix each time was a motivator for their bloodlust-filled minds. We were a pack of addicts, more or less. Or maybe I wasn't as addicted, but I was their drug and their pusher. Hell, it was a new role for me.
I remembered that time in the hospital and shared the memory with them. I had learned to share my memories through the hive so they could see. Of course, if I was drunk enough, not everything I shared was pleasant. But it allowed them to get to know me better, at least. Mariella giggled at the whole damn thing. Oh, what the fuck. At least someone was having fun. I thought bitterly, even though that memory had been funny.
I was drunk, not in a cheerful way, but in a moody and sad way. Blood drunk, anyway. Maybe things would get better tomorrow when it was time for our public appearance as the Hive. Me as the Hive Queen. My thoughts were dripping with sarcasm. All hail the freaking Blood Queen.
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