1. Honey, Honey.

The sun was shining mercilessly as I walked through the hot yard of one of my stables. It was a big surprise for me, as I had assumed that the pack would go to the Azores after the vampire heat, as they had been away for a little over six weeks. However, Damon walked into my office in Pennsylvania and told me to come with him to start the next pack activity.

And here I was in Australia, on my biggest horse ranch I had bought about ten years ago when we were not married and I wanted to buy it. The ranch housed over 300 horses, many of which I had bought from the internet without meeting them in person.

It seemed like the pack was going to do some horseback riding, which was fine by me. I had my few favorites that I could use, and my personal locker with a few dozen handmade saddles and other horse gear. 

I was wearing my black skinny jeans with diamond-studded patterns, which I had recently bought and they were perfect, though maybe not for horseback riding. I also had on a black tee shirt with sparkly stone patterns and my red hair was loose, hanging down my back.

My edgy clothes were a stark contrast to Mariella's, Mimosa's, Shadow's, Elena's, and Katherine's immaculate dresses and hairstyles. Damon seemed intrigued by the large rose quartz in my belly button, a recent piercing I had gotten. He didn't comment on it, but he looked at it for quite some time. 

I could see jealousy flashing on the faces of almost every female as they noticed it, while the males gave me heated looks. The big red stables lined the ranch, and I could hear horse whinnies, smell the hay, the heat, and the horses. I wasn't sure what Damon thought of my little stable, or if he considered it ours now that we were married. But I still thought of it as my own.

Damon was currently with Mariella, who was standing near a fence with mares and foals on the other side, admiring and talking about them. I was standing a bit further, contemplating whether to go to the main stable or the one where my horses, the ones I had bought for myself, were kept. I was reflecting on what had brought me here in the first place.

Not everyone was pleased with my involvement in the incidents during the vampire heat, especially my actions to assist the females. In one particular instance, number two forcefully pushed me against the wall in a stable, getting very close to me, and whispered a mix of threats and seduction.

It was only number one who intervened and prevented any further advances. Although I wouldn't have minded public or semi-public sex at times, it was probably for the best in this situation.

I was walking calmly toward the door of the stable when Charles walked right next to me, wrapped his arm around me, and pulled me against him.

"Quite a setup, honey. Where are you going?" he grunted.

I replied innocently, "I'm meeting my horses. I've bought quite a few and come here from time to time to spend time with them. If we're going to have horseback riding, I have a few good options to choose from – not traditional purebred, but mixed-breed horses."

Charles grunted dangerously and said, "Let me see them first, honey. I have a little more experience with horses than you."

His voice oozed danger, and he was right. He knew his horses, and I had just let him check them out. But I could direct him to certain ones and then choose others. I knew how to manipulate him, too, getting him interested in certain types of horses so I could have what I was planning. I was once again the alpha female, doing my thing, making sure I got my way.

As we entered the stables, Charles wasn't letting me go. It needed a little more finesse, but as I heard Damon's voice among the females, too, I rolled my eyes. Now, this was a bit more challenging. However, with 45 horses here, there were plenty to choose from. There were many other stables in case Mariella couldn't find what she was looking for.

We walked side by side with Charles when Damon strode next to us and nodded to Charles, saying, "Why don't you help Mariella choose horses? She's not good at that, and I can help out with the baby."

Charles frowned but knew better than to argue with Damon when his voice was like honey.

He just said, "You have the alpha female here, who has her ideas about horses or the horse she's taking. I was just trying to make sure she's not taking something that she can't control in every situation. She has crossbreeds here, which are a kind of rare and only for certain collectors, so we might have some potential here."

Damon gripped me against him as Charles let me go and said, "Good to know. We'll check on the horses next, and I'll make sure she's not taking the wildest ones here."

As I rolled my eyes, the thought crossed my mind, "Is he being overly protective, or just plain jealous?"

Damon whispered to me, "Ooh, feisty. I wonder if you should try to stay a bit calmer, baby. Don't be so tense."

I felt a prick on my side, and my mind fogged up as he injected a sedative into my lungs. This was going to be one of those times, I sluggishly thought to myself.

The horses I had planned to take were at the other end of the stable. Mariella soon walked near Damon, talking excitedly. Damon let me walk on my own as much as I could, and he took Mariella in his arms as they looked at the mares at this end - calm, reliable, but dull for my taste, so I decided against choosing them.

As my mind cleared, I noticed the stablemaster, Alexander Ellison, coming in. He was in charge of the whole ranch, a tall, weathered, half-aboriginal man. I walked up to him, and we hugged - his usual way of greeting friends and strangers alike.

"Good to see you, Mimi. What brings you here?" he asked.

I replied, "It's good to see you, too, Lex. We're here for some horseback riding, and Damon wanted to explore this place. With our pack now at 30 people, at least we have horses here. I was thinking of taking Thunderstorm for some exercise."

Lex's expression turned a bit pensive as he said, "He might be a bit excitable at the start. Depending on how long your trip is, I wonder if he'll calm down easily."

I smiled and reassured him, "I think he'll be just fine. He can have some faster runs here and there, nothing to worry about."

Lex just shrugged.

I didn't have time to ask more when Adam wrapped his arms around me, pulled me into him, and nodded to Lex.

He knew him and said, "What's so special about this Thunderstorm? Should we go see him, honey?"

His voice was laced with honey and danger, his grip not too gentle, and I felt controlled again. I nodded as we walked on.

Lex explained to Adam, "Thunderstorm is a cross between a Shire and an Arabian. He's a big boy, very lively, three years old, and full of energy. I'm not sure if Mimi can handle him."

Adam muttered, "I'm not so sure either."

We didn't reach Thunderstorm before Damon approached us and said, "Oh, what a cross! Thank you, Hauptman, for informing me."

He introduced himself to Lex and Lex explained, "Every horse in this stable is Mimi's one, so they're not part of our breeding program. She decides for them."

Damon suggested, "Why don't you send me everything about each horse, including these personal ones, so I can get up to date? It might take a while, but I am her husband, as well as Adam, and many others, so they belong to all of us now. Not just her. I've seen some fine horses here, and it would be almost criminal not to breed them."

Lex smiled and mentioned, "I've told Mimi, but she's stubborn. Most of these horses are more or less rescues, and she pampers them."

We stopped near a black horse, excitedly whinnying.

Lex shared, "Like Knight Rider here. He was just under a year when Mimi found him in one of the vampire women's lairs, beaten and abused. I suggested putting him down, but she tamed him, more or less."

Adam let me go, and I walked to the horse. I opened the door and stepped in. The horse came to me, whinnying softly, nuzzled me, and seemed glad to see me. I stroked him, praising him as a good boy. I decided not to take him as he was nervous and needed to take it easy, being bullied by others in the pasture.

I was surprised when Damon stepped in, started to stroke him, and used his pheromones and healing in a new way.

He said to me, "Go, let me handle him. He will be fine."

I walked away, letting him do his thing. 

I walked to the end of the enclosure where Thunderstorm lived. The horse before me was a dappled grey, large like a shire but with the energetic disposition of an Arabian. He reared up on his back hooves when he saw me, whinnying excitedly. I had raised him since he was a foal, so he recognized me.

Calmly, I greeted him, "Hello, love. Did you miss me?"

He seemed like a puppy waiting for my arrival.

Charles grabbed my arm, cautioning, "Honey, be careful. He seems excited," his voice tinged with worry.

I nodded and explained, "As you can see, thunder is full of energy. A little horseback riding will do him good to spend some of that energy."

I freed myself from Charles' grip, opened the door, and stepped in. My massive horse was thrilled to see me, nuzzling me and playfully biting me.

Damon's voice soon chimed in, "Oh, thank you, baby. This one is for me. He's gorgeous, isn't he, darling?"

Mariella remarked, "He's huge. How did Mimi think she could handle him? He's all over the place."

Damon grunted as he stepped inside, causing Thunder to retreat behind me. The horse didn't trust many men, except for a select few like Lex. Women were not an issue, but Thunder was wary of men.

I told Damon, "Thunder has his issues with men. As you can see, he's not too fond of you."

Damon approached me, kissing me passionately, eagerly seeking my response. Surprised by his actions, I kissed him back with equal passion. As we finally pulled away, Thunder seemed less anxious about Damon's presence. Cleverly, Damon had used me to show Thunder that I approved of him.

Thunder was still hesitant, but not as much as before. Damon calmly approached him, passing by me, and touched the magnificent animal for the first time, trying to tame him. His voice was filled with genuine admiration as he whispered to Thunder. I could feel Thunder still wanting me by his side, so I stayed put.

However, Damon insisted a few minutes later, "Just leave us. Let us boys get acquainted. We'll find a suitable horse for you soon."

I had no choice as he exerted his alpha power and pushed me away. I had four more stallions, each named after a weather phenomenon. There was Avalanche, a white horse, Tsunami, a black one, Sandstrom, a light brown one, and Tornado, a dark brown, almost black one.

They were all massive horses, crossbreeds of the tallest and fastest breeds, like Arabian. As I approached them, numbers two, four, nine, and ten came closer to me, and soon they selected their preferred horses. There were plenty of stallions around, and the Salvatores quickly found suitable matches for them.

I swallowed, feeling like destiny was pushing me towards a real challenge. I wondered why I had chosen male horses. They were usually steadier and easier to direct than mares, who could be quite stubborn. However, I had no choice but to select one particular mare for myself, even though I had suitable mares for the other females.

I said to them, "Come on, girls. Let's go meet our horses. I have just what we need. Since those boys are quite fast, we need horses that are fast, strong, and durable."

I walked out of the stable. My mares, whom I sometimes called my "bitches," were in a smaller stable nearby.

I walked in, and first, there was a mare for Elena. "Elena, meet Duchess. She is the calmest, but not too wussy."

Duchess, a semi-brown, normal-looking horse, appeared very regal. Elena approached her, but the Duchess ignored her.

I advised Elena, "Use a few sugar cubes to bribe her. These are mares with attitude, and it takes some effort to get them on board."

Katherine asked, "Wouldn't it have been easier to choose an easier mare?"

I reassured her, "We need these, trust me."

I then presented Katherine with her horse, the Countess. She was light brown with a dark mane and scrutinized Katherine before reluctantly accepting the bribes and going in.

For Shadow, I had Dark Princess, a dark brown, almost black horse with a long mane and tail. She whinnied and reared on her back hooves as Shadow entered. For Mimosa, I had a Fairy, a grey, fairly large but calmer horse, albeit a bit lazy. It took some effort to get Mimosa going. For Mariella, I had Princess, a white, regal horse, the biggest Mariella had ever ridden. Despite her size, Mariella bravely approached her to get to know her.

Taking a deep breath, I walked to the end of the stable. Before reaching Queen, who was almost as big as Thunder, a night-black horse with a stark white, very long mane and tail, I passed a few empty stalls. Queen whinnied and danced around upon seeing me approach. She was one temperamental horse, much like me in many ways.

I entered her stall and said, "It seems like you and I will be spending some time together, huh, girl? Want to meet Damon?"

She shook her head, as if to say, "Not really, no."

I muttered to myself, "Can't blame you. He can be a little overwhelming from time to time, but he will be fine. My guess is Mariella will have to deal with the princess, and he might see the need to involve himself, so we can get on with our little riding trip. It has been some time since I last rode for longer periods. I wonder, do you have a preference for a saddle?"

The queen peered at me from under her huge mane, and I shook my head, saying, "I guess it is up to me. Let's see soon what I will choose. I should probably braid your mane or something so you can see better."

She whinnied softly as I patted her and ran my hands through her luxurious mane. She was warm, strong, and had that perfect horse smell we needed.

I wondered what kind of horse Wulfe took and if he likes to ride. We had never talked about it, but I guess we will have time. I was soon ready to go to the saddle stable and choose a saddle, as well as a better outfit for myself.

Since we had teleported here, I assumed we would be getting on horses right away. I was actually glad I had my private locker with my clothes, saddle collection, and reins.

My saddles were handmade and custom-made just for me, with several sizes and styles depending on my fitness and weight, which was about 64 kilos right now. It wasn't perfect, but not too bad either.

I was ready for this adventure, and it would be fun. I wasn't sure why Damon had arranged this, but I was looking forward to it. It would be perfect, fun, and who knows what would happen next.

I had no idea how long this would take or what kind of terrain we would encounter, but I was starting to learn that sometimes, it's fun not to know everything and just go with the flow, to see what's around the next corner.