17. The River Of Dreams

Mariella and the rest of the salvatores, along with Adam and Charles, came to the outside of the den, and Damon had set out heat packs with the pups on top. He had given emergency energy transfers to almost every other pup. Then Mariella came into the cave and saw the whole situation. It was an almost nightmarish scene, with hundreds of weak cubs and puppies moving slightly. Not much sound came out of them. Damon working endlessly, trying to make them perk up. Infection, old meat, and sickness lingered in the cave, making Mariella's nose scrunch from this assault of scents.

She steeled herself and got on with it. Damon had put the ones with the infection on the other side and Mariella felt like her head was going to explode when the rescue radar started reporting something about each puppy, kit, and cub. They smelled sick but there was a scent of strawberries in some of them, meaning they were Mimi's first true offspring, genetically precious even Damon did not have the same kind of emotional bond with them as he had Mariella's and his cubs, they were truly his children, his family. These, they were important, but he was now a clinician, an alpha male, not a husband in love, heart pictures in his eyes. 

The Salvatores started moving the kittens to medbay for treatment, and Mimosa and Shadow followed suit. Mariella went over to Damon while he was on Mimi's belly, digging out one after another of the incredibly tiny, delicate puppies. they had huddled beneath their mother's security and warmth. This was trying to suckle weakly on Mimi. Cubs had a strong bond with their mother, who had cared for them until her strength had almost run out fully. Still, Damon felt nothing for Mimi, only irritation as he thought that he would have to care for her. Not gonna happen.

These were the last ones, and Damon took a pup off the teat and held it between his palms, giving it energy and magic. It squirmed and tried to make a sound. It was hungry still. It was the small lion, black, and Damon could feel tiny buds of wings on its back, but as they were so weak, he was not sure if would they need special flanks to bind them, or should wait before they were stronger. It smelled of strawberry and passionfruit, their offspring.

Damon himself was already pale with exhaustion and Mariella knew Damon had to do this. She gave 80 tanks of pure energy to Damon.

He looked at her and said, "Thank you. When you let me do this."

Mariella nodded and went to assist with the other puppies. She had never seen puppies so malnourished before, and she knew it would take some time before any of them would recover. They were like living skeletons. Carefully, she placed the cubs into the specially designed grates, complete with heat packs, energy stone chips, warm blankets, and only Damon's scent. It was his directive, and Mariella followed his orders. Mimi would no longer care for these cubs, so it was best for them to only smell Damon or Mariella, not Mimi and miss her.

Damon felt slightly annoyed as Charles, Adam, and the boys focused on Mimi. They gently rolled her onto a gurney, inserted a cannula, and spoke in hushed tones as they worked to stabilize her condition. However, Damon couldn't order them to leave her alone because she was also a member of the pack.

Damon, Mariella, and the rest of the Salvatores, along with the wolves, were occupied with the cubs. The healthy ones were taken straight to the Magic House and were teleported once they were identified. They were also skinny, but the Magic House had the resources to nurse them back to health in no time. Damon was tired of the issues Mimi brought to the pack, and he believed that without her, Damien and Sark wouldn't come after them.

However, this was merely his assumption and opinion, not something shared by the entire pack. He was the only one who didn't have strong feelings for Mimi. Despite Mariella's attempts at manipulation, the other Salvatores still cared for Mimi.

They just didn't feel the same way about Mariella as they did about Mimi. Mariella hadn't been the one by their side, the one who had needed them and confessed her love. She wasn't the one they had taught to shoot or to become more vampire-like. She wasn't the one who had been with them during that year in England. Mariella had argued that it hadn't been all of them back then, only Damon as the number one. But as number two had stated, she couldn't force them to love her. 

Mariella was feeling jealous and possessive. She managed to make Damon see things from her perspective - how much she needed the Salvatores and how they had also been manipulated. They brought the cubs back to the house and into the medbay, and then the actual work began. However, Damon was insistent when it came to Mimi. He wanted her to be moved to the magic house, where there were healing pods, to ensure that her bug wouldn't be contagious to Mariella. Mariella needed to be protected.

Adam, Charles, and the boys were very upset about this decision. They didn't do anything for Mariella, even if it was something she wanted or needed. When Mariella tried to manipulate Charles by pretending to be in distress, he closed off his radar and told Damon to focus on saving and helping the cubs, instead of dealing with a semi-hysterical fool. So it was up to Damon to take care of Mariella as well.

Because Mariella was jealous and needy, they spent a lot of time together in the bedroom, talking, fucking like bunnies in heat, and just being together. There were no calls from Damien, and nothing bothered them because there were other Salvatores keeping an eye on the cubs. As the cubs got healthier, they were moved to the magic house as soon as possible.

Mariella almost became hysterical when she saw how tenderly number two took care of the cubs - kissing them, smelling their strawberry scent. Her jealousy flared up but she could not make number two love those cubs less. Or wanting to smell that wretched strawberry scent.

Something was changing inside Damon, and he didn't even realize it. The part of him that loved Mimi was withering away, going into deep dormancy, and it would change him forever. What he didn't know was that the other Salvatores still had that part alive and active in them. They were worried about Mimi, even though she was in the magic house. There was a group of skilled healers and witches doing their utmost to help her regain her health and remove the spell that had been put on her.

It was not that easy as she was resistant to magic and her body might reject the healing spells, so it might just be up to her own body to get well. So when she woke up, she would be fine and ready to continue her life with the pack. And now, she had left her legacy in the world. There were now creatures bearing her and Damon's DNA - they had achieved it. 

In the dim light of bedroom number four, he lay alone on the bed, gazing up at the ceiling. He couldn't help but imagine how wonderful it would be to have mirror tiles there again, and to show Mimi how he would ravish her. He didn't care about Mariella and number one. Let them have each other.

He didn't love Mariella. She was merely a warm hole for him to use. Love was reserved for his baby. He still had a spark, a part of Damon who had loved Mimi more than life itself, and he longed for a second chance with her. He wanted to protect her from Damien, from Sark. Now it was clear that Damien existed, and they had an enemy. He would be there for her.

Sometimes it was so damn irritating when Mariella sashayed over to him, trying to entice him into sleeping with her. She would say how much it would help him, but in reality, it didn't help at all. It only made him angry at himself for being too weak to resist. He wanted to be strong for his baby, and if there was someone he wanted to have fun with in bed, it was Mimi, not Mariella. But Mariella's jealousy made everything so difficult, and he knew he wasn't the only one.

Number two was in the kitchen, preparing food for the baby. She would need it when she returned. As wonderful as the magic house was, it couldn't help her recover as well as her own system. Her body was too unique and resistant to magic. It was probably a mistake to put her in there, but number one didn't care. Whatever had come over number one, causing him to lose his love for Mimi, had made him cold and indifferent towards her.

Number two hoped Mimi would be fine, but he was actively doing something for her. He was providing food. It wasn't perfect, as he had a strong desire to take her away from the magic house and put her in a warm bed, curling up next to her and nesting with her. He had still such a nesting instinct.

But he knew that would cause a war unlike any other, and he was too tired to deal with Mariella's possessive jealousy. Especially since he wasn't the one she truly wanted. It was always number one. And for number two, that wasn't a bad thing. He wanted to be there for Mimi, and if Mariella was preoccupied with number one, he would be free to be with Mimi. Wolves understood this. They weren't jealous or possessive like humans. There was always someone ready to mate with them, and they didn't need to have everyone. 

Number Two was too jaded to even attempt to decipher why Mariella behaved the way she did. The driving force behind her jealousy held little significance to him. Instead of dwelling on that, he focused on creating perfect portions for Mimi. Admittedly, they weren't truly perfect, as achieving that would require him to taste her blood in order to get them just right. Nevertheless, they were close enough. They would provide a good boost to her recovery.

Despite the slight jarring feeling of no longer being the leader of her organization, Number Two couldn't help but feel relieved knowing that she would be safe at home, no longer putting herself between one of her people and a bullet. He would be there for her, and things would soon be much better for the baby as well. He knew he wasn't the only Salvatore who felt this way.

As he pondered ways to punish Mariella if she ever crossed a line too severely, he realized he wasn't that afraid of Number One. In fact, it was this sense of loyalty that bound him to Number One, not any love for Mariella. Not at all.

Number Two took the next big roast from the oven, lifted it to cool down, and draped foil over it to let it rest for a bit. He grabbed a stack of huge plates and began piling up Mimi's portions. He had just made about 20 smoothies for her, which were now in 500ml glasses on her shelf. Their shelves were designed to hold a lot of portions, thanks to a nifty spell.

Mimi would drink about 3-5 smoothies per meal, so they wouldn't last long. But he was trying his best to remember to make them for her. They were the best way to provide her with fiber and vitamins. The fiber had to be in small pieces, and the vitamins had to come from oranges or tangerines, occasionally lemons, but not grapefruits. There were other fruits in there too, like a bit of avocado, but not too much, as it had some other effects on her. It wasn't as strong of an effect as honeydew berries, but it was strong enough. 

He carefully scooped small portions of colorful potato mash and buttery pasta from a pot onto the plates. He didn't put too much, just a few spoonfuls. Next, he added slices of ready-made meats like pork neck and pork belly. He generously smothered them in a creamy white sauce.

Once all 20 plates were prepared, he skillfully sliced a large roast and divided it among the plates. He also added some more meats from the smoking cabinet. To finish, he sprinkled a pinch of dill and parsley, along with a sprinkle of salt. Each plate was topped with a generous knob of special butter. He then carried the plates into the fridge and placed them on Mimi's shelf. He felt satisfied seeing her shelf full of delicious meals.

He knew Mariella didn't eat often, as she was full of energy and passion, often spending time in the bedroom. Food wasn't as important to her, as she could sustain herself with her energy and spells. Number two sighed as he cleaned up the kitchen, as he always did.

Cooking gave him time to think and cleared his mind. Now, he was ready to wait for Mimi to come out of the magic house. He would be there to take care of her and make sure she ate. Perhaps they would even cook together.