As I watched the vehicle loaded with my kids and their multiple bags drive away from our yard, I could not help but sigh. Now that it was finally our adult time, we had until Tuesday evening to relax and have some serious fun, even if not all of us were here. Still, as my life goes, no good times were ever too plentiful for me.
It had been three hours since the kids left, and I was currently in the kitchen—which was now clean—cooking for the days to come, as our plan was to do chores first and enjoy ourselves later. Yet, enjoyment didn't seem to be an option, at least not right now.
It all came down to the fact that Mariella, her kids, and most of the Salvatores and Charles were still in the hospital under isolation; some of them had the germ, and because they needed antibiotics, they were quite cranky. Mariella was constantly whining through the hive, asking me this and that because she sensed what we were planning.
Meanwhile, Damon was occupying the other Salvatores who were home with me. Since he was one of the infected, he needed a boost of power and healing; because my own capacity was limited, he couldn't just pull it from me and had to use the Salvatore hive instead, keeping them nice and busy. I could sense his jealousy through our bond, and he didn't even bother to hide it from me. Naturally, this meant the Salvatores had to take it easy, so Wulfe was tasked with making a few fortifying potions while I cooked with Adam and Lepard, and Demon tended to the babies with the girls.
As I was chopping some horse meat, Adam asked, "Tell me, honey, how do you get your horses? I mean, there are many ways like auctions and such, but those take time and are usually done horse by horse, not in bulk."
"Well," I replied, "I have guys—a few of them—who will get me anything I need as soon as I ask. Those same guys are also responsible for handling donations and other gifts from grateful clients; my organization directs anyone who wants to give us something to talk to them, so they know where to put it or what to take."
I took a breath before continuing. "What should I ask for when some of these grateful people offer me carte blanche? The options are somewhat limited, but say there's a 75-year-old human executive who has come into quite a lot of money and maintains deep connections. After being saved from Sark's facility following weeks of torture, he is incredibly grateful and determined to reward us. He has the capability to get us pretty much whatever we need—guns, ammo, explosives, computers. I already have people dealing with these things."
My voice remained calm, even though I was pissed off; I could see that this was not going to be a weekend of carnality or pleasure. Surely, Damon would come up with something to keep the boys, Adam and Wulfe, occupied so I wouldn't have too good a time. Adam grunted, and I could feel his disapproval since he had no idea who the people I was talking about were.
As I've said so many times to my pack, there is just so much stuff, so many people, and so much else in my organization that I have no time to explain or teach it all. I am the leader, many things fall under my purview, and it is just better that way. We have a council, meaning many of us make decisions on the big stuff, but I still hold all the strings—that is just how this works.
I could also feel Damon's telepathy probing my mind, trying to find that knowledge about those specific contacts.
Then, Number Two spoke to me telepathically: "We have time, my love. You have time to reveal a lot of stuff to us. Don't you see? It's another chokepoint. You need backup in case you are out of action, and there are things that fall under your leadership, so you need a second-in-command. That will be me. Believe it or not, Number One is just a weather vane as usual, but there are many Salvatores ready to dedicate themselves to our organization."
I rolled my eyes, focusing on chopping my horse meat as I said to Adam, "Once, I got about 60 or more horses in one lot. They were scheduled for slaughter because the ranch owning them had gotten into a bit of a pickle; the owners had gambled their money away and were drunk. They hadn't cared for the horses, which led animal welfare organizations to step in. Since these were tall, feisty racehorses with temperaments that made them hard to find suitable homes for, they were headed to the slaughterhouse. However, a few guys in those organizations knew me—and my rescues—so they arranged for those horses to come to me. It was 168 horses in total, and it took a team of 30 veterinarians, 6 farriers, and 50 other people to get them into good shape. As they were all under ten years old, they raced for about 13 years, netting me over a million in winnings and another few million in breeding and foals. I still have a few stables full of their lineage; they win steadily because they are runners."
Wulfe commented to me, "When this is all over, it seems you have a bit of teaching and updating to do. First, I am part of the upper echelon like most of the pack, so we need information on those guys as well. Then, since we are a pack—a family—what is yours is ours. It is wickedly fun to have a stable full of winning racehorses, and I am sure you have a lot more to reveal to us. It is just family life, nothing more. Sure, I could easily dig everything from your mind, but it will be fun for us to travel around, see what we have, and meet people."
Weirdly enough, I felt just how much Damon approved of this idea. It was not ideal for me, as I knew from the past that feelings might heat up in the wrong way when they got jealous and angry, leading to a big explosion. But hey, if they wanted it, let's see when we get there. Who knows, I might be wrong; perhaps our bond holds and no big explosions will happen—everything is possible.
Adam asked, "What are you planning with that horse?"
"Well, first I'll use some of this as a stew base, putting it in the oven for the night, low and slow. Then, I will use some to make terrines for the kids with the organs and fat, and the rest will be steaks with a filling of cheeses and herbs."
I focused on chopping bits for my stew, knowing I needed to make a large batch since we had plenty of hungry mouths to feed. I had my meat grinder ready and had already thawed the organs; I had a five-kilo vat of them cut into rough pieces, but as Adam heard my plans, he scooped some into a bowl for himself.
He was making some sort of filled meat logs or rolls, using his blender to mix the organs with cream and other ingredients. I also had my steak meat reserved, which would have to cook low and slow because horse meat is tough, though the cheeses inside would make them perfect.
As I was loading my meat into a big pot, Wulfe walked in and took it over to our broth kettle, where he started to ladle broth over the pieces. I didn't say a word, as he was focused and it wasn't unusual for him to take over; I simply needed to see if he would finish the stew so I could start on my terrines.
Number Five walked in looking tired, but he said, "I'll take care of the terrines and steaks—you start to plan desserts, as we need something for today."
Fine, I moved to my baking station, washing and drying my hands carefully before compiling ingredients for cake bases and fillings. I planned to do individual small cakes decorated with buttercream to make them a bit more fancy, and I had my gear ready because it was fun to make them look as elaborate as possible. I had a few plans in mind.
I could have focused on how our weekend was more or less canceled, but this life was what it was. Even though we didn't have our planned karaoke seduction session, there was still plenty of good to be found if I just looked for it, rather than hanging on the fact that Damon was once more dancing to Mariella's tune and trying to ensure I wasn't happy. Fuck them; I was happy, and sex wasn't everything to me.
I realized that Mariella did not really know me very well, as her ploys were based entirely on her own perspective; she assumed that withholding sex would be as disturbing to me as it was to her, but she just did not get it.
I was determined to teach her a lesson that weekend by showing her exactly what made me happy and then watching how she tried to prevent it. My guess was that she was mimicking the panic the pack felt years ago when my kids were on ventilators with E. coli and I was sick, too—but there was no reason for that now. I could sense that her kids, as well as Salvatore's, were not in critical condition; they were not even very sick, and Amber was already doing a bit better.
Because she couldn't play the victim to get the males to worship her and care for her babies while she had an orgy, that was not going to happen, and I had my own plans to prevent it. It might not make me popular, but as the alpha female and the actual pack leader, I knew my stuff, so there was nothing she could pull off to make me lose it.
As the smell of different foods wafted through the air, the clinking sounds of cooking created a domestic feeling; it was clear we were enjoying this, especially given how relaxed Adam and the Salvatores were. I could feel my violet silk dress hugging my body and my soft rabbit-fur slippers on my feet. My hair was styled in a complex, crown-like braided bun by Number Five, and as I glanced at Adam—wearing a Valentino t-shirt, white chinos, and bare feet—I thought he looked like one damn good-looking male.
Even Wulfe had tried a few different ensembles, opting for silk shirts, velvet trousers, and sandals rather than going barefoot. I wore no jewelry, as it was a hindrance while caring for the grabby babies, and I couldn't even wear my slippers near them because they found them too delicious.
The kitchen was truly the heart of our home, and it was evident that this wing was mine. As I probed the hive and prepared my plan, I knew I had several days to tweak it before they returned home.
I felt so smug that Adam noticed and asked out loud, "Why so smug, my love?"
"Well, I am getting a pretty good idea of what Miss Mariella is scheming, so I'm just making my counterattack. Not going to fold like a house of cards, not anymore. This time, I am alpha, leader of the pack, and let's see if they hear me roar."
This little declaration of mine made Adam smile—pretty seductively—and Wulfe was laughing in my mind, as he caught a few of my nasty ideas about what I was aiming for. Like I said, no more Miss Nice Mimi. This time, it would be the strongest alpha female ever, and she was coming for her mate as well as others she had claimed.
Well, one thing led to another, and after an intense and satisfying quickie with Adam in our bigger walk-in fridge, I had my game plan mapped out. The first thing would be to get our kids evaluated for their developmental age, and if the results were accurate, then we would go by that. What was surprising was that this evaluation was part of a special grant, so it was cost-free for us, saving a few thousand since it wasn't cheap.
Then I ordered the girls to overhaul all of the bedrooms Mariella had used, meaning using Wulfe's cleaning and sanitizing potion to get rid of any scent, smell, or anything related to Mariella's lust.
Also, all the bedding went to wash, mattresses were changed, and color themes were crafted for each bedroom. I showed the girls a few decoration and color-choosing tips, letting them continue the overhaul downstairs.
Now, one might ask why I would be so aggressive all of a sudden.
It all came down to this: after our quickie in the fridge, Number One spoke to me telepathically, snarling in my mind, "My dear wife, I do understand that you have needs and they need to be satisfied, but could you think a bit before fucking your brains out? Our bond is open, I still get your sensations somewhat, and I am currently in a hospital bed, hooked to an IV, having one nasty headache, blurry vision, and I am worried about the kids as well. My recovery doesn't need to feel you being fucked to bits—you could try thinking of others before your own needs."
I could very well feel and sense he was lying about his condition. He was just fine, not overly worried about the kids who were doing just fine. But since this bacteria took time to eradicate, they had to be isolated.
No one had any symptoms anymore, but it was a waiting game. Since Mariella had not gotten this bug, she couldn't be with Damon. And Number One, being a jealous bastard and dickweed, of course, wanted to ruin my happiness. So I got fed up.
I knew what would most likely happen when they returned, so my actions were simply a reaction—a way to let them see what an alpha female and pack leader can do. I had mentioned this to the girls, though they were less than impressed; they had no desire to witness Mariella shagging her way through all the rooms.
Consequently, their pheromones oozed out freely as they decorated and discussed, just as I had planned. It was not just about my own preferences anymore, as they would now literally smell the other pack members' opinions on their more carnal plans.
As I said, I can be a bitch when I need to be. Let's just say Wulfe was more than happy with what we did over those days, and he eventually went downstairs to let his own pheromones ooze out as well. It was all part of being a member of a pack, a family, where sometimes it is truly time to think of others before your own needs and wants—a lesson I was teaching both Mariella and Number One.