38. Forever Yours.

 I woke up when I shouldn't have, completely velveted with a massive hangover. Unsure if the blood drink had worsened it, the not-so-bright sunshine on this cloudy winter day was too much. I pulled the blanket over my head to block the light hitting my brain, causing a painful explosion. Nausea lurked, but I knew staying still would prevent me from puking.

My muscles protested any movement, so I lay there, unable to even try. Grateful not to need the restroom, I endured the misery in relative peace, knowing it would take hours. Too dreadful to attempt sleep again, I suffered. They say a foolish head affects the whole body, and I could feel it.

My mind wandered to my recent actions, pondering if it was wise to make everyone feel my pain. Would it lead to distancing or a view of me as a mess? Would they take babies away next time so I would not get attached to them? Had I damaged relationships by revealing too much? Lost in my thoughts, I found no answers, only the knowledge that I needed to act to find out. I wasn't ready to face my mistakes just yet.

The door opened, and familiar footsteps approached, emitting a scent of old parchment. It was Wulfe, who climbed into bed beside me. I remained under the blanket as he joined me under the blanket.

"Feeling poorly, I see. You still smell like velvet," he remarked.

I sarcastically replied, "As long as I stay still and covered, the nausea is bearable and that damn sunshine is not trying to drill a hole in my brain. I don't have much choice."

Wulfe touched my face, brushing hair out of my eyes, his warmth and love palpable.

"I fear I've disrupted the whole pack with my actions. I must learn when and how to share my burdens," I mused.

Wulfe expressed his feelings to me, saying, "I miss them so much. It's a new feeling for me, even though I'm over 2500 years old. Those tiny creatures with their milestones stole my heart. I feel like it was cut off too short, and it was all Mariella and Damon's fault. I have not been afraid to express my opinion to them."

I was somewhat surprised, and my brows raised slightly as Wulfe continued, "It's good to say things out loud, not let anything fester, or let them think they got off scot-free."

I wasn't so sure about it. While speaking the truth can set you free, based on my experiences, it could also lead to being thrown out of the pack. At least I had Wulfe and others, but how long and how permanent that support would be, no one could know.

I replied to Wulfe, "Sure, it might be good to speak out, but then again, my stunts tend to come back to bite me. I'm not that trusting that everything will be rainbows and flowers and happily ever after all the time."

Wulfe chuckled and said, "Being chaos, rainbows, and flowers aren't really your forte, my unicorn. But trust me, everything will be okay. You can make a change in the pack, and it doesn't mean the pack is like ostriches hiding in the sand."

Sometimes Wulfe's overly optimistic view of the world made me feel jaded and tired. I was just too tired to always see the bright side of things. It comes with the territory when someone has been in my line of work for as long as I have.

Wulfe held me in his arms, being careful not to jostle me too much. He stroked me and murmured something. I could feel tiredness seeping in. Maybe I could sleep for a while. Who knows if the situation would have changed by then?

I let my eyes close and my body relaxed against Wulfe's tense body. He wasn't as muscular as Damon or Charles, but he was solid enough for me. Slowly, sleep overtook me once again. 

Wulfe, an old creature, found joy in the creature sleeping against him - she was his missing half, a soulmate in a way that Mimi's husbands could never be. This bond was more important to Wulfe than life itself. He enjoyed holding her, but knew he had to act soon.

When Mimi fell asleep, Wulfe said to Damon, "Mimi was awake. She has a nasty velvet hangover, but I managed to get her to sleep for now. Can you help?"

She was strong, but he used his telepathy to ease her mind so she could rest, feeling the brimming vampire power within her and unsure how to help.

Damon replied, "Yeah, let me grab a painkiller and sedative so she can sleep it off. I held her, drawing as much power out of her, but she overdid it. Her vampire power is not really coming off so easily unless she is giving it as she is unsired."

Wulfe suggested, "We need every vampire to equalize that power among the whole pack."

Damon frowned as he gathered supplies in the medbay, with number two by his side. He asked number one if he understood Wulfe's plan, to which he shook his head, saying, "We'll see soon. Call everyone in the room."

Number two focused on utilizing the hive in the best way possible. Damon took tiny vials from the locker, reading the label, Xylazine 100mg/ml and butorphanol. He felt the cold vials in his hands, drawing the correct amount of xylazine and painkiller butorphanol to keep Mimi asleep until the effects wore off. It was something he had done countless times in his life and he could smell the bitter stench of xylazine and the cloying sweetness of butorphanol.

Despite modifying his velvet over the years, she always got a hangover, which frustrated him, as he didn't want to hurt her. Velvet was specially made for her but she was stubborn and she chopped it off always wrongly, getting a hangover.

Only if he were to use violet velvet, meaning velvet made from all of salvatores velvet. She could not chop it off, but then again she might get immune, so he had to be cautious when to use it. The syringe and needle felt familiar in his hands, knowing he was a doctor, yet he hoped Wulfe's juju would keep her deep enough not to feel the injection.

He had sensed Mimi's problems with medical stuff and injections still. Empathy remained within him - sometimes, a bit of pain was necessary to heal. He was prepared to ease her state but had no idea about the equalizing plan Wulfe mentioned. 

As he and number two walked up to the bedroom where Mimi was, Wulfe was sitting next to her. He had lifted her in the middle of the bed, on her back, and she seemed to be deep enough, as Damon verified this with his telepathy. He swiftly injected a syringe into her arm muscle, knowing it would take effect soon enough. Wulfe nodded and brushed her hair out of her forehead; she looked tired again and somehow worn out. Damon knew that he would have to make up for that damn slip-up that caused her this pain.

The bedroom was dimly lit, with the winter sun shining weakly through the clouds. The off-white fuzzy bedspread looked warm, and Mimi was wearing one of his shirts. The enormous bed was piled high with pillows, making her look tiny in the middle. Dark green curtains hung from the tall windows, and off-white rugs gave the room an airy feel.

It was a calming room, though a bit dull. However, a bright pink blanket thrown over the tiny sofa added some pizazz. Damon sighed, feeling like there were always clouds in their sky, too. He wanted to help her, as the flood of pain from her soul had changed something in him.

He realized he had been holding back from loving his babies, not seeing them as important as Mimi did. Ironically, Mimi, not being human, had no human DNA left in her, yet she was a mother to all of her atoms. She was built to be a mother, and perhaps he could learn to be a father someday.

He also recognized that using their status as lust creatures was just an excuse. Many pack members were lust creatures but still managed to function. Maybe he and Mariella were truly sex addicts, and it was up to them to improve themselves. Perhaps. 

Wulfe spoke in a calm, hushed voice from the left side of Mimi, holding her hand and connecting through their scars. Damon realized the importance of their bond for both Wulfe and Mimi, which stirred a pang of jealousy in him.

Wulfe's voice snapped him back to attention, "We will equalize the power by creating a bloodring. This means we bite each other, linking our powers so they flow equally through all of us. This should help reduce the excess power, considering the number of vampires present."

Damon, intrigued by this new information and eager to learn from Wulfe's vast knowledge, listened intently.

Wulfe instructed Damon, "You go next to Mimi as the anchor. You will feed from her, taking the brunt of the power initially. As we progress, you will be followed by the rest based on strength, with the girls going last. I will be at the end, giving my blood to Mimi, even though she is sedated. Her fangs will respond to my command. I will signal when the next person should proceed."

Damon nodded and positioned himself next to Mimi, while the rest of the pack gathered around the bed.

Wulfe guided Damon on where to bite, suggesting the arm or leg but assigning Damon to the neck.

As the pack settled into their positions, Wulfe urged Damon, "Start, begin drinking."

Damon sank his fangs into Mimi's throat, savoring her hot blood as it flowed into his mouth. As he drank, he felt the rush of power, making him unsure of how long he could continue. Soon, he felt a sharp bite on his leg, signaling that Number Two was drawing from him, which helped to balance the power distribution.

Damon focused on draining Mimi while managing the urge to help her as his fangs wanted so badly to chop off velvet and bits of velvet still harming her but now it was not the time, he distracted himself by biting harder into Mimi's tender throat, tasting her skin as well her supercharged blood, as the power levels needed to be reduced. 

One by one, pack members joined in, connected by each other, and power flooded through them. Each felt brimming with power before the next one latched on. Soon, the linkage was full, and Wulfe opened a big wound on his forearm. Placing it in Mimi's mouth, her fangs latched on, completing the circle.

Wulfe urged, "Keep going. We need to draw out more power until you can't take anymore. Fill yourselves with power."

Damon nodded, sensing the upcoming vampire heat and feeling unsettled by it.

Wulfe explained, "She triggered it, releasing pheromones that induced the vampire heat. It's up to her."

Damon shook his head, recognizing his wife's unpredictable behavior. Despite her past suffering and the dubious nature of blood drinking, he accepted the situation. He contemplated purifying Mariella's powers, along with those of the wolves, Elena, and Katherine, with a sense of urgency and newfound ideas spurred by the vampire heat. His guilt faded as he envisioned a more vibrant future ahead.

Focused here and now, Wulfe was sure that the vampire heat would take him away from Mimi. However, he suspected his unicorn had a plan of her own, and maybe it was for the best. A little time and reflection might help them all. As Wulfe tried to peer into the future, he lifted his brows. Surely, it could not be that hard, right? But it was just one possible future among millions out there. 

He also pondered the existence of a multiverse. Was there one where each time a decision was made, a new universe cropped up with a different outcome? Or was this realm just one part of a multiverse, born from a decision long ago? 

Wulfe, being old and having time, enjoyed pondering idle thoughts. It kept him humble, knowing that he did not know everything, and there was always something new to be learned.

He swore to himself to find time at some point to have a marathon of baking and cooking shows with his unicorn. Just the two of them watching, commenting, snacking, and spending time together with no worries or troubles, strengthening their bond. 

He knew that one day he would have to delve deep into her mind again to get rid of the other nasty year, where Damon changed the past. He hoped he was strong enough to do it and that his love could erase that vileness altogether.

Hope was not something he relied on, as it had been crushed from him one time too many in the past. Only with his unicorn, Mimi, had he learned to hope again, and it had been a careful process, but he was getting there. 

He finally said, "Okay, we are done. You can stop now," to Damon, who took his fangs out of Mimi's throat.

He leaned for a while as power buzzed inside him, along with Xylazine and Butorphanol after absorbing into Mimi's circulation. One by one, everyone let go, groaned, or cussed as the power truly hit them.

Only Wulfe was quiet as he withdrew his arm from Mimi's mouth. Mimi sleepily closed her lips, frowning slightly but staying asleep. Damon was unsure if there were any bits of velvet left in her system, feeling like he had consumed tens of liters of her blood and was now full.

Slowly, pack members started to walk out of the room, speaking in hushed voices, sensing the impending vampire heat. Wulfe stayed by Mimi's side, holding her in his arms. They were the only ones left.

He softly said to her, "I am forever yours, as you are forever mine, my unicorn."

He was happy, feeling that there was no other place in the world where he would rather be in that moment. It was perfection, keeping her in his arms, feeling her close to him physically.