After enjoying a very tasty bowl of chicken soup, followed by a substantial amount of meat, I had to head to the flower room to begin my floral arrangements. However, I wouldn't be working alone. Numbers Five, Nine, and Ten were joining me to learn how to create funeral sprays and similar arrangements. Since this is our family business, they were eager to gain these skills.
Thus, I found myself once again in the role of teacher. My husbands were in too stern a mood to let me off the hook, but this was a necessity. Furthermore, there was a good chance Wulfe might join us as well. This is our family life, and I simply had to learn to teach, share, and be a good wife, a role I didn't feel particularly adept at.
Crafting funeral sprays is a time-consuming process, and there are many minor details to consider to ensure a well-made arrangement. Therefore, I would likely need to talk out loud about my actions, explaining what I was doing and why.
Even though the Salvatores are telepathic, extracting information from their minds isn't always instantaneous, so it would be more efficient for me to simply talk through the process. They could then ask questions, and if they wished, they could try creating their own sprays. We could then photograph them for the web or bring them to the shop, as pre-made items always sold well.
As I was still eating, I pondered what aspects were most crucial to show and explain immediately, and what could wait. It wasn't always a straightforward task. As mentioned, there are many minor details to consider, which take considerable time. This includes preparing the flowers and ensuring the floral foam sponges are adequately wet and securely fastened with tape.
Additionally, one needs to determine the appropriate size for the spray, as clients can order different sizes at varying price points. Finally, there's the matter of the color theme, preferred flower types, and any other specific requests from the client. Consequently, I generally had to form a clear vision in my mind of the desired outcome, making the teaching process quite complex.
There were quite a lot of technical details to consider, such as which flowers and greenery to use and what the final arrangement would look like. Although my flower room was spacious enough to accommodate everyone, and perhaps this was an excellent opportunity for me to teach, a part of me remained hesitant. My "alpha female" side wanted to keep some things exclusively to myself.
"Baby, tell us something about the time you spent with Nick and Elias before you were turned," Number Five requested.
I understood their jealousy regarding that period, and they would likely attempt to erase or fade those memories. However, they might also want to ensure that no triggers from that time remained within my mind. The entire trigger situation was quite irritating to me, making me feel weak and even broken.
Knowing I possessed literal bombs in my mind didn't always make me feel like a force of nature, but then again, I had my guys to help me through it.
I began, "Well, we watched movies. I introduced them to many of my favorite actors, and then I combined their appearances in my mind. They grasped it quite quickly, and soon they were doing the same, describing characters for me. I also told them stories about my pets – my dogs, cats, and even my fish – which seemed to make them feel young again. They were such different individuals before Freya corrupted them."
Number Ten grunted, "More, tell us more."
His voice was strained, and I knew he, along with Number Nine, wasn't fond of the originals. It had hit them hard when they had to kill all the babies Nick had tried to create, as he had become fixated on having an heir. However, I knew the Salvatores well enough; they were seeking some kind of advantage, an upper hand over the Originals once this was all over.
My voice was calm as I let my memories surface, sharing them so they could see as well. "Well, according to Elias, my system whirred at 120 percent compared to human fitness. So, they fed me, and then they were rather naughty, giving me some fucking spicy Cajun food that made me cough and frantically search for a glass of milk to stop the burning. Afterward, they told me stories, war stories of sorts, about who they had killed and why. Nick talked a lot about Aurora; it seemed she was truly the one who got away. Did you know what happened to her?"
Number Five replied, "Nope, we had minimal interaction with her. She wasn't our type. I mean, she had dark hair, was very pale, not beautiful, and almost a teenager in her body, and crazy as a bat."
I nodded and continued, "Well, much later, years, even decades, Nick and Elias saved me from that Bran's hellish cage, which sprayed silver and herbs and whatnot. They were talking, and I had no idea about VENOMS back then. But now I realize Aurora had gotten it and killed herself. Nick described her ever-crumbling mental state. Aurora had told him she had met a wonderful, handsome human man – dark-haired, seductive, wonderfully emotionally cold, and a doctor. So, you can guess who got Aurora: Krycheck. I didn't tell Nick that back then, and I have no idea if Aurora got VENOMS from Krycheck or just some other way. But she killed herself in front of Nick, blaming him for not loving her. And of course, she had woken Freya up too."
Ten was quiet, while Number Five was almost bursting at the seams with anger. The mere word "Krycheck" was worse than a curse word to him, as he loved me so deeply. Knowing what Krycheck had done to me over the years truly infuriated him. I hoped that either these two would go to Mariella and the others, unload in bed, or cool the fuck down.
They were clearly not in the mood for flower arrangements; they were way too amped up. But this was just our life. My past was shitty, yet I had so many who loved me. Nowadays, they had a really hard time listening to my war stories because they wanted me to be happy, loved, and not carry so much baggage in my mind and memories.
Ten said to me, "You are right; we need to go have some fun with our set of holes so you can do your job in peace. I am way too pissed off to focus on flower tinkering right now."
I nodded and replied, "It's fine, go on. If it helps you, use Mariella as she is meant to be used. Don't ask, just use her. She will soon start to curb her lust since she is just being used, not worshiped. As for me, I'm not sure if I'll work on flowers just yet; I might focus on them at nighttime."
Nine remarked, "You know, nights are meant for sleeping—you do need to sleep too."
I said nothing and focused on my dessert. I had a few ideas about what to do, but they weren't work-related; they were for other projects. It was good to have some me-time again. Of course, having toddlers and younger babies in the mix meant my own time was very limited, but I still managed to find some.
Once again, I was the alpha female, making sure my pack functioned optimally and everyone was okay. At the same time, I was securing my own independence and decision-making. I would not let the males run me over and tell me what to do—nope, that was not me, not at all.
The first thing I planned to do was have some strong blood, relax, maybe listen to some music, and just be. There was no need to list things in my mind—what to do next or with whom—but simply to be. It was important for me to have some time of my own.
I knew that when Wulfe woke up, he would be all over me, along with the kids and maybe other pack members too. Living in a family truly meant that I didn't have much of my own time anymore. I had to be a mom, wife, mate, and more almost all the time. But now, I needed just a bit of time to be me, with no need to pull this damn pack forward again.
I walked to our blood room and took one of the jugs, then began selecting my bloods. I had just acquired a bag of fire elemental, one uberstrong demon king, and one energy wizard when a voice from the doorway stopped me.
"My love, let me fix your bloods. There's no need to make such a potent mix," Wulfe said as he walked in.
He took the bags from my hands, hummed, and put them aside, but he took another jug for himself.
He proceeded to pick and choose more bloods, telling me, "I will help you with the flowers, but first, let's have our bloods and talk. I have a few questions for you."
I went to sit in my perfect chair, waiting for him to prepare our mixes. He knew his business, and I would not argue with him, especially since I knew he had my well-being as his utmost priority.
I said to him lazily, "Did you know that the first time I met Adam, I wasn't really trying to make a good impression? I was fighting with everything I had."
Wulfe grunted, but suddenly those memories were once again removed or placed somewhere inaccessible.
Wulfe's voice was calm. "They might have triggers, and I need to check them out. You see, my unicorn, most of your triggers are linked to powerful feelings. What I've discovered is that their purpose is to reignite those feelings, but twisted and stronger, messing you up more. So, any memory with uberstrong rage or some other strong feeling or sensation will be checked. And I'm not asking for permission."
His demeanor was calm, but there was tension in his shoulders, and his aura flared up slightly. This meant he was upset, probably at whoever had implanted the triggers, or perhaps at someone else.
He explained a bit more. "Those triggers, some were put there by Krychek, some by Damien, some even by Sark, and so many others. They are meant to break your mind, to mess you up. They're kind of a backup plan because they learned you were immortal, unkillable. So, time is something they also had. I have pretty much constructed shields and warnings so you can't trigger them as easily, but just in case, I will monitor you."
I nodded and said, as if it had nothing to do with my triggers, "Do you know how fun it is sometimes to mix different energies and then see what I get? Not that they are always useful."
Wulfe replied, "Tell me more. I'm not an energy creature, but I can use energies, and if you combine them and get something peculiar, I might be able to use them in my spells."
I focused and took one of the mixes, though I had no idea what exactly I had put into it. At least it contained my lust, my love, and a bit of different energies I had siphoned here and there. I let some of it seep into Wulfe through our bond, and his expression became somewhat flabbergasted.
I hadn't given him much, but he swallowed hard and said huskily, "Yeah, this is kind of potent. I mean, now I love the idea of fucking you, but at the same time, I want to fuck you outside as it rains. I also know that it will elevate our passion to a new level. I have to do some adjustments."
He gulped quickly and added, "I have to go, or else..." Then he trailed off. "I'll try to harness this into a spell or potion base. You are truly dangerous, you know that."
I could see he had a serious problem in his pants, and his eyes were shining with lust. I just smiled and sipped my blood in peace. As I said, I am not an energy creature, so I had no idea what my little concoctions would do.
I idly thought that Damon, number one, might be a good victim for my little mixes as well. I could use some solar energy, my strongest lust, and—hmm—I had some of his own dominance energy that I had siphoned at times, plus a bit of love. I had no idea how it would affect him.
It would be fun to hit a few more Salvatore brothers with my unique mixes and see what they actually do. I wasn't so keen on testing them on myself, as they could be a bit unpredictable for me too, and I needed to be able to function as well.
I was a siphon, not an energy creature, and furthermore, I was the pack's power battery. So, naturally, I could share my little concoctions with pack members and play the innocent. I had devised many different mixtures in my mind, and as I sipped my blood, I created more.
I had small amounts of various energies at my disposal, and since no cubs were being born at this time, I could use them. Normally, I would let my cubs play with all sorts of energy fragments, but not right now. Therefore, I had to find a use for them to avoid becoming too overloaded.
My siphoning was almost always active, and things just kept accumulating. For instance, I had collected many fragments from the daycare center, my shop, the church, and the grocery store. No one had drained me significantly anytime recently, leaving me with ample material to experiment with. Oh, life could be fun too, and I eagerly anticipated what would happen to number one when my little combination of lust, rage, and solar energy would hit him. Only time would reveal the outcome.