The Salvatore Saga, Part Four: My new Life

As the plane landed, my nerves tightened. I had been trying to remain calm, but for some reason, I felt jittery and uncertain about this vampire wedding. It wasn't due to any external influence; it was simply my mind overthinking everything and conjuring up countless problems and potential issues for the future.

The whole damn thing was causing me stress, and what made it worse was that I couldn't do anything to change it. I hated feeling powerless and at the mercy of others.

I quickly got dressed, put my boots back on, took a sip of my now-cooled coffee, and took a deep breath as the door opened. Once again, two men escorted me into a waiting car.

The surroundings were dark, with the bright lights of the private airport casting an eerie glow on the snowy scenery. The car was an unmarked sedan, just like the last one, and I had no idea if they had already taken my bag. I descended the stairs, feeling the cold railing through my gloves as I held onto it.

I hadn't been able to sleep on the plane, instead; I had read many articles from our pack. The way the press portrayed me as a superhero and detailed my life and challenges, it was no wonder they would continue to chase after me.

I could see press vans parked on the other side, and flashes of cameras were visible as they spotted me exiting the plane. I was a celebrity with no privacy, at least for the foreseeable future, but it would keep me safe.

In my mind, I chuckled, knowing that I wasn't the only one being hounded by the press. The good sarks had given many interviews about the evil sarks, and now their white vans were well-known to the public. It made it a little harder for them to find victims, although it wouldn't stop them from trying.

The good sarks had promised to cooperate with any interested parties and help identify the nasties. It was likely that the Sarks would have to change their modus operandi significantly or simply wait for this storm to pass.

Krycheck was another person of interest to the press. Of course, they wanted the public to know about these evil beings, but there was no way they could press charges against me or the magazines. They had several charges pending, old convictions, and the attention of various authorities. It wouldn't be easy for them. 

I was guided towards the car and smoothly slipped inside, noticing the chill in the air. As I settled into the car seat and fastened my seatbelt, a wave of warm air greeted me.

Here I was again, being transported to a wedding where I had no say but to go along with the flow. This seemed to be the essence of my life. I also realized that one reason I had taken on responsibilities was to have something I could control, to be the one in charge.

Honestly, until now, I had, at the start, over 140 years ago, very little control over what I had. I had lived under the protection and guidance of Adams and Damon, being their student and following their instructions.

When I established my own organization, I finally had something that was solely mine to control. I was the one giving the orders. Now, however, there were plans to potentially take some of that control away from me, and I couldn't help but feel tense about it.

I didn't want to relinquish my position as the leader or become a co-leader. But after the wedding, would I have a chance to do anything about it? Despite having a council and not being the sole leader, my five companions had never tried to push me aside.

They helped and shared the workload, but they never demanded that I reveal every secret. Perhaps it was because I was a good leader or because they respected my position.

As Damon had once told me, experience was not something that could be taught overnight, but my eager students wanted ready-made methods to learn. Over the years, I had learned to handle things on my own, and upon introspection, I realized they had become somewhat lazy in relying on them to wait for me to provide all the answers.

However, if I could teach them to work as I wanted, it could be beneficial. There were mundane tasks that fell under my responsibility, and I could teach my enthusiastic students to handle those while I focused on the more important aspects.

It was a dark night as we drove through the Romanian countryside, heading towards our unknown destination. I didn't pay much attention to the landmarks, as I had been to Romania many times before.

Somewhere in this country, our "sexnest" still existed, but I highly doubted we would be visiting it right away. It was a fond memory nonetheless.

To distract myself from dwelling on the upcoming wedding, I pondered my own thoughts, perhaps attempting to avoid facing the truth that I would be tied to Damon forever. This time, even he couldn't break the bond between us. Despite my deep love for him, I was fully aware of the person I was marrying.

I had to ask myself, "Is this a wise decision?!"

It had been many years since we became vampire-married, and even in our normal marriage, I had grown accustomed to being single or having my secret mate. Here I was again, possibly making a mistake.

But why did I see it as a mistake? Was it because of Mariella? Or my five, or Colin? All I had to do was stay focused, not place too many expectations on Damon, and live my own life.

Let him be with Mariella, as she is the one for him. Surely, if he was in the mood, I could have a few weeks with him, but there were nine other Salvatores I could seduce.

Oh yes, this was an excellent train of thought. I began to think of various ways to seduce the Salvatores. How many of them could resist if I presented myself in a fishnet body suit, with just a little fabric covering my intimate areas? I would be completely exposed otherwise. It would be interesting to see how many of them could last longer than five minutes.

Or my personal favorite, I could go into the kitchen and reminisce about our most adventurous sexual positions while subtly letting my eyes wander so they would take notice. And of course, the ultimate plan would be to engage in woman-to-woman action, involving a wolf or both, and see what kind of reaction it would provoke.

I was quite inventive when it came to this idea. As I entertained these thoughts, I felt a twinge deep in my belly, a stirring of desire. The heat was beginning to build. It would take a week or maybe two to fully emerge, and then we would have an incredible amount of fun, or at least I hoped so.

I knew I had some papers about that island somewhere, and I made a mental note to find them at some point. I wanted to see how the island was mapped by satellites and how many caves there were.

Me and Adam in a cave, having a blast. Or picture a hot sandy beach, with Charles on top of me, and nothing else in the world mattered. It was good to plan, good to dream, and then be pleasantly surprised by reality.

As the car drove safely, but at a brisk pace, I saw an enormous castle looming on the horizon. I couldn't help but feel jittery, but there was no turning back now. It was time to take the leap and see how badly I would get burned.

Then, I could tell Charles and the others what had happened. I still didn't trust Damon to be there for me, not during my pregnancy or when it came to raising our cubs.

But I didn't need him. I could do it alone. And if necessary, I would want Wulfe to stay away from me after giving birth. My feline side was very protective of the nest and my cubs. I didn't even tolerate Charles near me during that time.

But it would also be a thrilling time for me. I hoped that there would be no losses and everything would go smoothly. Damon could be with Mariella as much as she wanted. They could have their family, and I would be just fine.

I asked myself, "What is it that I actually want? Do I want Damon to be there for me or not?"

I was pretty confused about that myself. I hadn't made a decision yet. Either way, it wouldn't be solely my choice or decision. Fate would show me what was meant to be. I remembered how perfect it had been when Damon was there for me.

But then again, I was the alpha female. Taking care of my cubs and babies was what I was good at. It would be a whole different thing, and if I had too many of them, I would need some help. I knew that my pack of five and my four were ready to assist.

Oh, the joy of having babies and watching them grow, learning their personalities. It would be perfect for me. Of course, there were many things to consider and see what was allowed.

Like producing milk. If I was allowed, I would provide the best milk for the whole pack. I had a big freezer filled with my power-packed milk in Qatar and Moldova. I would have to ask Wulfe if he could take my powers from them, or ask Colin if I could give that milk to my babies, with all its powers.

Oh my god, if the Salvatores knew, they would drink that milk themselves. There was plenty of it. And then there were nurseries and cub rooms. Who would take care of whom? Would the other girls have cubs with us or in the magic house? And how big would the litters be? 

My musings came to a halt as the car finally pulled into the courtyard of the immense castle. I could see the three dryads already walking towards the car, with real torches illuminating the night. I wondered if there was magic here, like in the other castle.

The door opened, and I stepped out. The girls giggled at my clothes.

One of them, speaking in Romanian, said, "Welcome, our queen. We are honored to have you. Come, this way. We can start with preparations and cleansing. Your fellow females are waiting. Come on."

I replied, "Thank you. It's nice to see you again. The honor is mine to be tended by you."

One of the girls, a redhead, said, "Please, let your vampire form come out."

The dryads were dressed in simple, short leather dresses with bare feet, unaffected by the snow. They giggled at my warm outfit. One of them, a blonde named Birch, touched my warm padded jacket with wonder.

They admired my black and blonde locks of hair and praised how magnificent the high priest was. I wasn't sure who that would be. I remembered the black-haired woman from our last encounter. Was she the high priest, or was there someone else as well?

One of the girls said, "Your future husband will also have his preparations done to be ready to receive you. He will be cleansed too."

I had no idea what kind of wedding this would be. Would I be seen as a virgin sacrifice again, or was there another angle where I was the underdog and Damon had the power? Typical vampire dynamics.

As we entered the castle and walked through winding, dark corridors lit by torches, the girls admired my black eyes and pale skin. They noticed that my body had more shape now than last time. Damon had worked on molding my body over time, but he hadn't gone overboard.

I told the girls, "I have dragon scales, two of them on my chest. Will they be a problem? I can hide them."

The black-haired girl reassured me, saying, "No, no. The dragon will be present at the wedding too. It's good that you're blessed by the old ones. We'll make sure they're visible and active, just like your future husband's. The priest has taken this into account."

I nodded, left to wonder if it was that same priest woman from last time who had given these girls the drinks to be consumed by me.

There were so many questions and too few answers. Eventually, I found myself standing before a large door. A girl with red hair, whom I believe was named Ash, opened it. Although it appeared heavy, I remembered how strong she was from our previous encounter.

I entered a plain room. Ash instructed me to remove all my clothes, as it was time to begin. As I undressed, the girls quickly collected my clothes and placed them in a basket. Oak, the black-haired girl, opened another door and led me naked into the next room. It looked exactly as I had before, with Birch, the blonde girl, handing the basket to a man who had arrived at the door.

Inside the room, I discovered it was some kind of washing area. The girls and an older woman were already there. I noticed a sauna with several people inside.

I could hear Mariella's voice, indicating they had already started their sauna session. Shadow was diligently removing impurities. I heard her cursing in very colorfully. They were cleansing their alpha power in a slightly different way than usual.

The older woman examined my scales, touching them and remarking, "Oh, it's been a long time since I last saw them. You truly are the chosen one, as those two gave their last scales to you. Yet you also helped them. Your heart is boundless."

I nodded and replied, "I tend to try and save those who have no hope, but sometimes my enemies surprise me and become my friends."

The old woman simply smiled, made some adjustments to the shower, and said, "Go on, let's get started."

The water was surprisingly cool, but invigorating. There was no need to scald me alive, at least not yet. They washed and scrubbed me, and the old woman had several small potion bottles that she instructed me to drink.

She then anointed my scales with five different oils, making me feel even more connected to them. They felt like an authentic part of me, sensitive and shimmering with changing colors. They also felt softer and more flexible.

I watched as the blonde girl entered the sauna, carrying a bottle that she poured onto the stove. The automatic water distribution system kept the steam flowing constantly. The benches were elevated, making the heat almost unbearable, but the cool water cooled me down.

I found myself yearning for a good, hot, steamy sauna session. Of course, if those potions were to cleanse me as well, it would be quite messy. It had been a long time since anyone had even attempted to challenge my alpha power, and I possessed three of them. 

When the women led me to the sauna, Mariella exclaimed, "Wow, your scales seem to have come alive in some way. I can almost sense them. Come on, it's time to get you steamed too."

I replied, "Yeah, that shower was refreshing, so I need a good steam now."

Shadow chimed in, "You'll get it."

She was covered in a greenish hue as her sweat, being an herb wolf in her human form, naturally expelled all the unwanted herbs from her body. Mimosa, who was no longer my wolf but had been inside me the last time we did this, was also sweating. Her sweat had a brownish tinge, while Mariella had black gunk coming off her.

I didn't even want to think about what color I would push out. I wasn't the only one in my vampire form; there were others too.

I went to sit next to Mariella, and she asked me, "Did you have a wonderful trip? Oh my god, that jet was magnificent. I can't wait to see you all doped up at our wedding, madly in love with Damon."

I couldn't help but remark, "Why on earth do you think I would enjoy being drugged up? Remember the last time? You'll be just as doped up, and there's nothing you can do about it. I'm feeling slight twinges from my heat, and I'm sorry, but I can't promise anything about that. I have no idea how it will turn out."

Shadow rolled her eyes and said, "Oh yeah, thanks for the warning. Of course, we'll be as calm as you. And as for the heat, let's hope for the best and not think about anything else."

Mimosa added, "Oh please, let's have a demanding heat mode and see what the males think of that."

Mariella muttered, "Well, at least Damon would lose his nerves with me."

I smiled and said, "Oh please, I would make him lose it first. I can be much more challenging than you. All I have to do is activate my robbing mode, and then let's see how the Salvatores like being robbed as my sex toys."

Mimosa chuckled and said, "Oh no, I would be emotional. I'd demand Mariella to pleasure me by keeping one finger in my pussy and not let the males fuck her too much, and she'd be in her most lustful mode."

Heat mode referred to a heat cycle where each week we would experience a different mode, such as emotional or the need for specific positions. Sometimes we would even engage in running away being really nasty with our mouths and mean sentences and males would be the ones doing the chasing with someone.

It usually pissed off even Charles, and with additional females and more males, it could potentially become quite chaotic. However, I couldn't make any guarantees.

But it was quite obvious that Damon would want nothing to do with me for a while if Mode Heat occurred during our breeding season. He was usually the one to lose his temper easily. Only time would reveal the intensity of the heat.

As we sat in the sauna, it was amusing to speculate about different scenarios. The temperature kept rising, and I too, started to sweat and cleanse myself. My sweat had turned red, which made me shake my head, smile, and continue conversing with the girls.

Elena and Katherine were also present, sweating a light brown substance and expressing their frustration. Katherine even threatened to punch me in the nose if I caused them to experience Mode Heat, knowing she would be impossible during the breeding season as she was waiting for a sex holiday on a paradise island.

Eventually, everything would be fine, and we would see what unfolded during our cleansing rituals. There was no need to worry about things beyond my control. It was time to take each moment as it came, focusing on sweating while awaiting the arrival of the girls to hose us down with warm water, ensuring the sauna stayed heated.

The dimly lit sauna had its own ambiance, filled with the scent of herbs and a touch of magic. The girls poured some kind of potion or cleansing substance onto the stones, further enhancing the atmosphere.

We chatted, relaxed, and occasionally cursed as the cleansing process became tiring. I could feel the exhaustion in my body, and I knew that if I got the chance to sleep, I would sleep deeply.