2. Stars.

We left the well-lit stone room, the coolness of the air hitting our skin as we ascended to the third floor. The collection room awaited us, adorned with shelves displaying an array of gleaming gemstones. Each stone was accompanied by a small plaque, showing its size, grade, price estimate, and clarity. The room also housed my cherished awards, including Formula One prizes and accolades from my baking endeavors, carefully arranged on a shelf. Some were tucked away in cupboards, hidden from view.

This room had existed long before Mariella entered my life. On occasions when Bran's guests visited, he would proudly showcase the room, demonstrating our ability to afford such precious gems without selling them. It was a space where I could proudly display my accomplishments, a testament to my hard work and success. Over the years, I have accumulated various collections, all curated with a hint of ostentation.

As everyone explored the shelves, Charles and Adam inspected the room's security, testing locks, and examining various safety features. Damon, turning to Mariella, presented a stack of small, nondescript stone chips. They were of little monetary value, but I envisioned crafting them into a necklace for myself. These chips were tiny, with delicate holes drilled into them.

Mariella remained silent for a moment, contemplating their placement.

Finally, she spoke, her voice soft yet determined. "Bedrooms. These belong in the bedrooms. When they are displayed on the walls, darling, you will understand their true beauty."

Charles interjected, expressing concern over their value.

Damon, with a hint of amusement in his eyes, responded, "Do we lack funds, my friend? If Mariella says bedrooms, then bedrooms, it shall be."

The conversation continued, and the room filled with a sense of anticipation. The air carried a mixture of excitement and the faint scent of polished wood, mingling with the faint aroma of delicate perfumes worn by the guests. The room exuded an air of sophistication and accomplishment, a tangible representation of years of hard work and dedication.

Charles said to him, "I was not talking about those chips. Come and see yourself before deciding to use these as wallpaper. And as Mimi's monetary guardian, it is up to me to decide this caliber of stones and these are not yours. They are Mimi's, not packs, and I will put them in safety." His voice was stern, making mariella lift her gaze. 

Damon was silent. It was rare for Charles to attack him. But he did not respond yet.

Mariella came by to look. Charles had found my raw diamonds and rubies and such, as well as my loot from several deposit boxes. Mariella looked at them, but she said nothing. She realized that these were really mine. I had still been prenup valid, and she had no say in my possessions. Then she noticed my awards, my prizes.

Well, some of them were named after Salvatore, but some of them were Springcove. My formula prices were Springcove.

She looked at them, thought, and then said to Damon, "Damon, come here. I know you want Pack to have an excellent reputation. How about we make a museum? She has those paintings, statues and then these, we could also put these diamonds and stuff in that museum which would be Salvatore museum but awards, prizes we can change that name into Salvatore and think what reputation we get, plus everything that she has, those rugs and all the expensive stuff we can put in that museum. And after the wedding, it will be yours as well. "

Damon nodded. He took his phone and worked on it while Mariella was smiling happily. She was finding more and more of my awards and such from shelves and cupboards.

I was not thrilled as I did not need anymore reputation, but I had no choice as the pack leader did what Mariella asked, so I just sighed. Adam came and wrapped himself around me, nibbling my ear and neck. I let him have a meal, as he was hungry. Again, igniting fury in number one's gaze, he took mariella, slammed his fangs into her, and not drained her naughtily but almost painfully.

Adam drank my blood in a way that made me feel calm and safe, and he did not drain too much. He knew his limits and then, as usual; he kissed me with his bloody mouth, oh; it made my vortex little reactive. if only... I saw Mimosa coming very near Adam and starting to almost seduce him. Jealous much?

As Adam moved on to Mimosa, I was walking into my room, opening a few cupboards with my special key, getting sharp glances from Salvatore, but Charles just nodded slightly. He had no problem with me securing my rocks and diamonds.

I pulled out more rocks from the cupboard. There was quite a collection of different minerals and some of them were quite damn rare, so they would fetch a lot of money if I would sell them. Damon and Mariella came to look, and Damon murmured something into Mariella's ear.

She said, "These are normal ones, they will go into bedrooms. Bigger ones and rarities go into the museum. Fine, we'll get into that at some point. But now we could probably eat, couldn't we, Mimi?"

I was actually hungry, really hungry, even though I had a deli cupboard in my stone room. I said nothing even though I knew she was not hungry but she need to fuck and it was just good to make me eat and not do my little hobbies.

We went to eat, and the Damons were quiet and focused on their Mariella while the wolves began to seduce Adam and Charles. Fine. Now I knew what I was going to do if they got really busy. Even though I had again 1001 things on my list, fleas on, and everything else, there was one thing that I wanted to do.

I was going to that house in Atlanta to visit, and I had even found the keys to that house after finding one of my ancient bags. It had just appeared at the bottom of my closet somewhere while I was going through it. I had found the keys and the car keys. So I even had the car there. I didn't know if the whole place had been burned or destroyed. And after that, I'd go through a few bank vaults. I would have time and my peace as this bunch would end up fucking and a long time too.

But for now, I was concentrating on eating, being completely innocent, and not going anywhere just yet. However, I could go to the spa to enjoy myself and then relax with a couple of good crawlers. I needed some serious pleasure even if it would be then by my own hand, and then, after that, I'd be a little more mellow again, so Atlanta beckons.

They were eating as Mariella asked Damon in her mind, " What's wrong with you, honey? Something's obviously bothering you."

 Damon was thoughtful and then said, "Mimi is alone again. Damn, wolves sucked all of Mimi's fucking and Adam and Charles are busy. Missy just is. It's me or us with you and Mimi without, and before you suggest why don't I take Mimi, I'll just not take her now. Just leave it alone. We're going to fuck soon, you know that. And I'm not gonna take a wolf for it. It's just a fact that Mimi's alone. It is just one thought I snatched from her mind. This pack life is not as great for her as it is for us. And for that, I feel guilty all the time. "

Mariella was silent, she knew it herself. To be now without sex, and intimacy for over two years, to suffer, to be poisoned, tortured with the CPAP device. So a bad European gig Mimi died, and now then she is alone again. And Mariella knew why Damon wouldn't take it. When he wasn't there to offer Mimi protection, Charles and Adam had been by her side throughout her recovery, holding on.

Mariella was sure that Damon had heard Mimi's idea that Mimi needed protection, and Damon hadn't given it. Again, that guilty conscience or something. That's when Damon always retreated to fuck his demons away. And he wasn't doing anything about it now.

Mariella knew that Damon had been right. Pack life was not so good for Mimi as it was for her and maybe she should stop pushing this life to Mimi's face and let her be, to get some kind of happiness. Not just have to witness when others fuck, bond, and be in the pack while she is not part of it.

She watched Mimi closely throughout the meal and then, just with mere curiosity, looked into the future to see what she was up to. What would she do? Would she be lonely or what? of course in the future, there are so many possibilities and she just looked most likely one. Oh, the spa department, and then the crawlers. Fine miss goes away, but where to? Just a minute. Mariella looked into the past and saw Mimi find her bag and keys. She had to tell Damon about this.

She said to Damon through their bond, "Damon, Mimi is going to go look at some house in Atlanta. She found her old bag and the keys to this house were in it. Mimi has known about the house for a long time and is going to look at it herself. But Damon. The house's past is protected. You can't see it. But I know you'll recognize the house. Here. Watch this clip as Mimi goes inside."

Damon watched and froze. That was their house. But why had he forgotten it? And why number two was watching so intently? Why Mimi had remembered it and why she was going there. 

The two said to Mariella in his head, "That house is the last place I have any memories of before I got into the jewelry."

Mariella was curious now, but before she could say or do anything, Damon looked at Mimi and said, " Or did you find the keys already, good so we can have a bite to eat and see the house. The whole pack. Now I remember that house, too. But my head is full of questions and somehow I know I'm nowhere near finding the answers to all of them yet. Number two remembers it as well. It is the last place that he recalls before ending up in jewelry."

Mariella looked at Mimi, who had stiffened at Damon's statement. Interesting. Why doesn't Miss want everyone to come along? She still has a job to do there. Mimi remained silent, not saying anything but focused on eating. 

Interesting that Salvatore suddenly remembered the house, but fine. Now there's no choice but to go in a pack, and go to the library, hoping to find a book there. And then a pen. I was not disappointed per se, I just knew that maybe someday I would get some time with my husbands. I was so-called uncorked, and it was one part of my planned seduction, but for that to happen, I would need some guarantee that I would get one of them in bed with me. 

I knew that the book I was looking for was in the Atlanta library, but I wanted to find it in peace and not have to explain why or what I was doing. The house would make an excellent diversion, though. The only problem was my wolf. Did she remember, or was this information just left to me? 

I finished eating, and Damon still checked that my stomach was suitably full before letting me go. I did not get anywhere as Damon held on to me and suddenly pressed me against the wall, flattening me with his firm body.

He looked into my eyes and said, " What is this secret you are trying so hard to keep from me? What are you going to look for in there?"

I felt him deep in my thoughts and with decent strength as he searched.

He held me physically still and kept going. I tried to keep my secret, but I was no match for a millennia-old telepath determined to find his answer. Then he found my dream: the jewelry, the book, the pen.

He looked at me for a moment and said, " So you are going to look for the book. Interesting. Let's see who finds it and what the significance is."

The pressure in my head didn't let up, and he still held me. He was checking did I had any other secrets. Oh, I had plenty, but they were hidden. I just let him know that fact. 

He said, "I could take you here and now, brutally, mercilessly, but not yet. "

Then he let go of me and I straightened my clothes, and we all went outside where the men would teleport us to a house nearby. I was not even disappointed; I had seen the look on his face, that said that he was bored with me, it was good for him to say to Mariella that he was feeling guilty and not be with me for that reason while the real reason was his total disinterest of me. I had felt it in his grips. 

He was more or less fucking machine and if he would want me, he would have taken me, he very well knew how long it had been since I got some dick in me but no, I was not supposed to get any, well maybe Adam and Charles would help me in sometimes. It would be one of the special times, as my vortex was active, but Damon's flattening did not move it. He did not have the right attitude for it to come out.