Confused and satisfied, I lay in bed, the unusual blend of emotions prompting me to ponder. My vampire side, usually restless, was deeply calm, almost exhausted, as if experiencing something entirely novel. Wulfe had forged the first connection between lust and pleasure, and his repeated climaxes had awakened me.
I was slowly emerging from wherever my mind retreated when she took over, and I must admit, the sensation of a mind-blowing orgasm was beyond anything I had imagined. The room, with its vampiric coloring and the heady, yet not overpowering, scent of our pheromones, reflected my state of utter relaxation.
Still trying to comprehend it all, I asked Wulfe, "So, you believe my vampire side could eventually merge with me? This is the way?"
He had explained it to me once, and while I acknowledged my desire, I remained uncertain. Wulfe, lying beside me after having pleasured me for like fifty hours, explained further. He had first weakened and confused my vampire side before making her climax using only his mouth and hands.
Only when I began to return to myself had he truly started to fuck me, and our shared passion, as always, was extraordinary. This time, however, he had kept it contained, ensuring nothing would seep into "the hive," as he put it.
"This will work, Mimi," he'd assured me. "It will take time, many repetitions. Once I establish a strong enough link, one the Salvatores cannot break, I will enlist our lust-filled wizardlings. And then, my love, you will be thoroughly pleasured."
I rolled my eyes. I had no idea how long this process would take—years, Wulfe estimated—but we had time. He believed it might be sooner than a year before he could bring me to a point where the Salvatores could also achieve this.
I could see the benefits, but my history and my shitty past made me question if I might botch this myself. What if my mind couldn't handle it, or my neuroses took over too much? His warm hand caressed me gently, but he wasn't done with me. His fingertips made my nipples jut out further, and a needy sigh escaped my lips.
He chuckled darkly. "I must admit, my unicorn," he commented, "those oils of yours seem to have quite an effect on you. You're whimpering again. Are you really this insatiable?"
In a husky voice, I replied a bit more eagerly, rolling onto my side to look at Wulfe and letting my hand wander. "You know, I used to go weeks with Damon, and that was before I was even this evolved, so yeah, I can go on for quite a long time. I'm just wondering if I should go to the special room to get more gear and make you beg, too."
He kissed me. "No need, my love. You're all I need. I must admit, this is still so fucking wonderful – being in love, having you in my life. I mean, an old creature like me, one might suspect I'd seen it all, but the truth is, something can surprise even me."
I hummed, letting my hands caress him more. "It is a fucking wonderful world, you know," I commented. "And since time is something we have, it doesn't mean we should squander it willy-nilly, just thinking there's always tomorrow. This moment, it's all that counts, what's important. Carpe diem – live in the moment."
I was feeling rather limp, yet strangely trusting. Not that I didn't trust Wulfe, but this plan of his made me feel like he was truly ensuring I would be fine one day. While Damon had helped, and Wulfe had helped in the past and now, there had been a lot of talking and less doing. So many plans, but rarely did they come to fruition.
This, however, was different. He had started something and was committed to it; he had a vision, a plan, determination, and a motive to go on. He was different from Damon or the Salvatores because Mariella had no sway over him or his actions concerning me. If this had been someone like Number Five, it's most likely Mariella, in her jealousy, would have interfered and messed up the whole plan.
Wulfe told me, "I'm not going to tell you when I'll do this again, and I might make you forget this when the time comes so you can't prepare. I'm not sure yet, but I'm just saying, it will be a surprise, as it should be, because then it will be most effective. For that bitch, I'm not going to make all your parts integrate too much within you. She's trouble, messes you up, and makes you feel like a monster or a beast. That, my love, is something I don't allow you to feel, as you are the most precious, wonderful, amazing creature in the whole damn universe, and you deserve only happiness, love, and acceptance, having already seen the worst."
I smiled at him and replied, "Oh, are we getting emotional again? Well, I could certainly come up with a few mushy sentences of my own if I needed to."
My voice was gentle, and I let him feel my love, feel me wholly, as much as I could give him.
Still reeling from the entire experience, which had brought a kind of inner peace, I spoke in a dreamy voice. While the "bitch" was certainly down and out, Wulfe had done more work on my rage, my darkness, and even my inner killer. I felt a strange sensation as I recalled my escape from one of the nasty facilities.
I was, so to speak, just testing the waters. The dark pleasure that had once been so overwhelming was now much more diluted. I knew Damon had talked about using his telepathy to dilute pleasure, but it seemed Wulfe had done it too. Of course, a great deal of dilution had occurred, as the sensation of warm innards slipping from my fingers was still present.
Wulfe's sharp command cut through my swirling thoughts as he pulled me from my daze.
"My unicorn, stop that," he instructed, his tone firm. "We will get rid of it, or isolate it, or simply forget it for now. I do need Salvatores, and we will attend to it in due time. You see," he continued, outlining his plan, "we will implement a system in your head, one that will snap you into the right mindset during situations like Utah. Even if your rage is blocked, this is a complex undertaking that requires careful planning. We will partially utilize the hive and your bond with Salvatores to create a web of rage, allowing it to seep into others, fueling them as well as yourself."
He took a breath and continued to explain to me, "Now, as I've learned more about medicine, humans use rage blockers – medications that interfere with certain brain chemicals. However, our plan also involves improving your sedative organ. This means there will be a reservoir, secure from human influence, that hoards the necessary neurochemicals. Upon a specific impulse, it will release them, igniting your rage regardless of whatever the humans have filled you with. And as you know, our link within the protector radars will alert us when it's needed; pressing a button will activate it. Should the Salvatores be compromised, there are backup plans, such as myself or even our security medical system. But as I said, setting it all up takes time."
His tone was adamant, "Once it's complete, however, you will no longer suffer for weeks waiting for humans to grow a conscience. Furthermore, it will be recorded and made as public as possible."
His voice was calm, yet a steely undertone betrayed his resolve. I knew trying to convince him to abandon the plan would be futile. While it sounded like a plan, my mind churned with many potential outcomes, and I could sense Wulfe's smugness as he anticipated them.
He preempted my thoughts, saying, "Thanks for those; they give me a much better idea of what to look out for. Keep thinking, keep coming up with possible scenarios where it might not work, so I can make it perfect."
Oh, my god, he could be insufferably smug at times.
I said to him just as it occurred to me, "Have you, being so freaking old and ancient, done a lot of work on furs? I mean, I have a ton of fur scraps—bigger pieces as well—and I was thinking maybe of creating something out of them. Maybe sew a blanket or a jacket; I'm not sure yet. It's just one idea that popped into my mind. I haven't even looked at what species they are, but it's one project I was considering. I know our jewelry and gemstones are needed, but the Salvatores are pretty good at wire-wrapping and stuff, and the girls handle the online site. Besides, I'm not in the mood for my excavation yet."
He asked, "What excavation? And yeah, projects with pelts and furs sound perfect for the whole pack. My guess is Charles might be a whiz at that too. If you have plenty, it's good to have many doers. Who knows, maybe they can be sold, or made into kids' clothes for winter. Besides, since we have a permit to hunt, we can get more if needed."
I explained, "I have a backyard with enormous boulders. Fleas brought them from Missouri ages ago—I can literally smell if there's something good in them. So, they dumped a lot of those boulders here. It's not just a random pile of rocks; each of them has something useful, and I need to dig it out. But I'm not in the mood because they're so big, and it takes time and energy. Plus, we end up with a lot of leftover stone material. I haven't yet thought about what to do with that."
Wulfe smiled and said, "Now, the Salvatores are aware, thanks to you. It keeps us busy. It's not hard to cast a few spells to find every tiny little bit of useful gemstone. I just snatched from your mind that you usually go after just one or two, even though there might be more, and you don't dig them all out. Well, we will—every last scrap. As for the stone material, either the boys will use spells to crush it, use it as landscaping material, or we can sell it as well."
I rolled my eyes. It seemed my little projects had turned into whole-pack endeavors, but maybe—just maybe—this was one of the lessons meant for me at this time. Perhaps upstairs, in heaven, they wanted to teach me to be part of the pack, to do things together, let everyone take part, and see just how perfect that is.
I knew we had a lot of stuff, as my people had gathered it for me. My five hamster storage rooms were still very full, and I knew it would take me a long time to go through them. However, time was something we had. It might be that not everything was useful, but then again, we could sell the surplus or be very creative with it.
I was just thinking about growing things, plants in our yard. I knew this plot was huge and mostly unmapped, so perhaps we could make a field of it, partially, growing things like wheat or soybeans. That would mean extra money, or alternatively, feed for our cattle. However, I had no inkling of what it would take – permits, costs, and whether it would be profitable for us. Of course, I would have to talk this over with Charles or Adam.
But I said it out loud, "We have a lot of land, I mean, a lot. I just thought that I have no idea about permits and things needed to start growing a crop, like soybeans or such. I mean, sure, it pays, and there might be benefits or tax exemptions, who knows what. It was just one more random thought that popped into my mind. I do have a lot of hamster storage work to be done at some point, but with the kids, it's not so easy. I have the nights, but then again, babies might be awake at night, and I can't demand the girls be up all night for them."
Wulfe's warm hand caressed my cheek as he gazed into my eyes and said, "We will talk and chat, learn what is needed. I guess Adam and Charles might have the best idea, and we'll see if it is feasible. I mean, plowing the land, making it ready, ensuring there are no pests, getting seeds in, the necessary machines, maybe workers. Well, let's take a look, and who knows, maybe we will have a few fields, and we might even be able to rent them out too."
His voice was calm, his touch healing. Our connection was something I had no words to describe; it was more than just feelings. It was us, our past, our burdens, our love, and it was so amazing that it literally made my soul sing. My feline side purred happily too; she wanted to be taken care of. Damon's latest stunt, his rage-fueled rant, had made my feline side distrustful, but what Wulfe did to me, my feline side, she could feel him helping her, too.
I was beginning to see the beauty in the world and in our lives once again. While my relationship with "number one" might have been more or less doomed, I had so many others who loved me, wanted me, and helped me. And by God, I loved them all.
I was still lying in that very vampiric room, the scent of our lust heady and heavy in the air, but my mind was filled with romance, love, and all the things that made my soul happy. I had told Damon, "number one," time after time, that what he does is on him – it is his burden, his responsibility. And sure, he might hash it out with Mariella.
It was just one thing, not my entire world. I had discovered just how perfect my imperfect life could be, and sometimes the biggest surprises have the most profound effect. This was just one more lesson for me to accept.