The Salvatore Saga, Part Four: My new Life

As I glanced around our desk, I said, "Okay, the next item on the list is the warehouse, filled with..." I leafed through a few stacks of papers before continuing, "Everything. So, it's a bit of a mix that needs to be sorted. Any volunteers?"

Magnum looked at me and said, "Don't even try to sell that to me. I already have five warehouses full of weapons to deal with."

Our office was a great place to work. The light wood-colored enormous table and comfy chairs made everyone want to work a little bit more. I had chosen some dark mauve-colored long tufted rugs for the floor, but Tim had actually put them in place since I was pregnant and shouldn't exert myself too much.

Colin had denied my request for a sauna and spa, saying that due to my history of high blood pressure during pregnancy (although it was a long time ago), I shouldn't overexert myself and keep an eye on my feet to prevent swelling. No salty licorice for me, either. Someone took my blood pressure, but I could handle that once a day.

The light yellow walls brought some color and brightness without being too overwhelming. I focused my mind on the task at hand, trying to find someone to take care of yet another mess. Lepard refused to meet my gaze, and I shrugged.

I said, "Fine, let's put it on hold. I'll see if I can find someone in Charlotte to go through it at some point. I have a list of items here."

Charles grunted but didn't volunteer. Fine. I put that list on the other stack on my left side. We had been working here for about five hours.

Damon was making his rounds with the other females, and Mariella's wing needed some attention. She wanted Salvatores in there too, so I had my four and Magnum, Alaric, and Wulfe. We were sorting through this pile of assets that I had in my hands.

Despite having less than a week until labor, I could do this. All I had to do was sit, read, and talk. My wing was pretty much done, so it was all taken care of. I had my hidden den prepared too, in case I got a chance to give birth, but I just couldn't be so sure. 

I took the next list and read it aloud, saying, "And here we have another warehouse filled with files, books, and journals. So much information."

I glanced at Alaric, who looked concerned, sighed, and said, "Alright, send it here. I'll take care of it."

I passed the file over to him. He quickly glanced at it and shook his head. The next matter was a bit more delicate.

I spoke up, "Now, I'm not sure if we have any use for these or if we should get rid of them, but we have a rather large collection of tissue samples, ranging from whole organs preserved in formaldehyde to microscope slides."

Before anyone could respond, the door opened, and Damon, Numbers 2, 4, 9, and 10 entered, accompanied by Mariella, the wolves, and the girls.

Damon looked around the room and softly asked, "Baby, please tell me I heard correctly. Did you say we have a warehouse full of tissues?"

I nodded and replied, "We're just organizing these assets, as there's still a lot to be done."

Alaric looked at Damon and pleaded, "Please, save me. She's making me go through five warehouses full of information right now, but I can't really refuse, can I?"

Damon smiled and responded, "Oh, baby, you naughty one. You're overworking these poor souls. I'll take care of that warehouse, so hand over the information to me."

I nodded, and handed him the file, but Number 4 snatched it from his grip, quickly read through it, and grumbled to himself.

I picked up the next paper and read it, saying, "Okay, Magnum, this one's for you."

Magnum replied, "No more, unless it's perfect."

I slid the file over to him. It contained various personal safety products like vests, boots, and other items, so he could surely handle them. He read through it, rolled his eyes, but put the file in his pile.

Damon, Mariella, and the wolves stood there, waiting for something to happen. I raised my gaze and pointed behind me, where evidence of my multiple meals during this time was visible. "I've already eaten, so don't worry. I'm just here to sit and talk, nothing too strenuous."

Damon pulled over a chair and shifted me slightly so he could sit right next to me. The Salvatores and the females joined us and took their seats as well.

Damon spoke before I had a chance to say anything. "Darling, contact the base leaders and request personnel to clear out these warehouses. We have the ability to teleport people in and out, so distance is not an issue. However, ensure that these individuals are competent in their roles."

I handed Damon a stack of files that I hadn't had the chance to sell yet and grunted, "Deal with these first. Try to find someone to organize these messy ones. There's a lot of stuff, so it will take time and multiple teleportation points. Make sure the staff is prepared to receive them."

He took the files and looked at me. I was now the leader, stating rather than asking. I had another warehouse to tackle. This one was for number ten.

I said, "Here's your assignment, Damon. Magnum is busy, so start organizing the staff to inspect the weapons. Determine what we can use or reuse and decide what needs to be discarded or sent to Etna."

It was a large warehouse, and he read through a three-page-long list of items, grunting in response.

I moved on to the next list. "Ah, perfect. This one is for Mariella. It contains magic books and old spell books. Our staff should handle them, not the magic house. Our witches will decide what to give away. Remember, you are part of Fleas, not the magic house."

She nodded in understanding. Next, I found Mimosa and Shadow. They had a few warehouses filled with files, and it would be up to them to find handlers for those.

Number two spoke up, saying, "You're using us. You're quite cunning."

I nodded and replied, "Remember who's in charge here? I am the leader, utilizing my resources, which includes my pack. This allows me to focus on my motherhood."

Damon looked at me and saw the enormous pile of files in front of me.

He said, "Alright, it's almost time to wrap this up, baby. Give us those files, and we'll direct the staff to handle them. You don't have to work all the time, you know."

He snatched the files from in front of me and handed some of them to number two and number four. 

Damon glanced at me, his voice softening as he spoke, "Colin reminded me about your issues with blood pressure, so please take it easy, baby. Unless you want to be sedated for the rest of your pregnancy."

I rolled my eyes, annoyed. It had been a while since I had high blood pressure, but whatever. I teleported to my bead room to start knitting.

I knew Wulfe would be busy with Elena and Katherine, who now had a new phobia. Whenever their cubs didn't move, they would panic and worry that something was wrong. Wulfe had to reassure them with magic that the cubs were fine, growing, and moving. I guessed that those two just wanted some extra care, and I understood that being pregnant for the first time could be scary. I remembered.

In my spacious bead room, my sofa had been moved, but I still had my chairs. I could see from a slightly open drawer that my beadwork had been taken. Mariella used a lot of them for potions, powers, and spells, and perhaps Wulfe and the wizards had found them as well.

I decided to make a few bracelets. I gathered my supplies, selected my beads, and started working. It was a very calming and meditative activity, and I had the perfect setup to do it.

As my hands worked, my mind wandered. I reminisced about old cases, my life on the base, my life before Mariella, and a few of my PR gigs. Oh, how nice it would be to go to some PR event again, but now I had my whole damn jealous pack watching over me, so it wasn't that simple anymore.

As my mind continued to wander, I started to come up with new ideas for pack activities. But fine, let's discuss it with Mariella and the others.

I knew they weren't working anymore, so I mentally said to Mariella, "I'm in the beadroom, but I have an idea for a new pack activity. It still needs some work, though."

She responded, "Sure, I'll come over, but no males. They're still organizing and fussing over those warehouses."

I smiled to myself. It was nice to distract them from our pregnancies, even if only for a short while. Mariella arrived quickly, admiring my beadroom once again.

She said, "I'm all ears, so please tell me."

I replied, "Our in-house reverse casino."

As I explained my idea to Mariella, she smiled and exclaimed, "Oh my God, that is wonderfully devilish! I would love to see Damon try to obtain those things that are typically seen as winning."

Smugly, I responded, "As you know, the house always wins. It will take time to find the machines, rig them, and make all the necessary preparations. It may even extend beyond the breeding season, but it will be perfect."

Mariella eagerly nodded in agreement. It wasn't yet time to reveal our plan, not even to Wulfe, who surprisingly had a strong loyalty to Damon. But then again, he was essentially the prince of vampires, next in line for succession after Damon. So, there was that.

We continued talking with Mariella, planning our reverse casino. I would have to ask Charles to procure the machines for us without mentioning anything to the Salvatores or anyone else. Oh, it would be perfect. Being pregnant didn't hinder my mental agility, and I needed projects like this to keep my mind occupied.

However, there was still the matter of my desire to give birth alone, in my secret den. I had made all the necessary preparations for that. After Mariella left, I cursed my weakness. Why couldn't I be strong enough to just tell Wulfe where my den was or express my need to do it alone?

Little did I know, he had his own plans to ensure someone would be there to keep an eye on me. But the question remained, would it be enough? I was a strong, independent, and cunning individual. The future would reveal what I could or would do.

I simply hoped they wouldn't interpret it as a failure. It was just that I excelled at hiding and operating in secrecy. Perhaps, if I did it once, they would be there for me the next time. Part of me hoped for that unyielding obstacle to keep me under control, while another part knew it wasn't meant for me. I was who I was, and there was no changing it. Or if there was, it wouldn't happen quickly.

I found myself contemplating every possible thing that could go wrong and the potential complications that might arise. It was simply a part of who I was – always preparing for the worst-case scenario so as not to be caught off guard but to be forewarned.

It saddened me to always have to think in such a way, but life had taught me to do so. It would take a long time for my pack to instill such a strong trust in me that I no longer felt the need to be prepared for everything. I longed for the day when I could rely on my pack to have my back. 

I was sitting calmly in my bead room, allowing my hands to work and my mind to wander. I could feel a slight resistance from the string and the sharpness of the needle as I carefully placed the beads. The beads themselves were cool to the touch, and because I was working with tiny ones, it required dexterity to manipulate them.

To my surprise, Dresden walked in and flopped onto the sofa, observing my work with the beads.

He remarked, "You know, I had a bracelet back in my time with loaded charms, but this room, it's loaded. Mariella surely has the most loaded ones, but even the tiny plastic or glass beads you're working with have something special about them. It's not a bad thing, not at all. I might just be greedy sometimes."

I looked at him, knowing that I had made a few items just for occasions like this. I stood up and waddled over to a cabinet, reaching for a plastic basket on the upper shelf. I plucked a black stoned bracelet with some grey and light blue stones and handed it to Dresden.

He took it, put it on, and said, "This has quite a load, but thank you."

I smiled, returned the basket to its place, and went back to my work.

Dresden then said to me, "You have a secret den, don't you? I'm not judging or going to tell anyone. Well, Wulfe and Damon seem to already know, so it's not that big of a surprise."

I nodded and replied in a quiet voice, "I just can't help it. It is what it is, and I know I should trust my pack more and be stronger, but I can't help my instincts. They drive me to do this, and it makes me question my humanity, if I even have any left. Am I truly an animal in human disguise, driven by instincts rather than reason?"

Dresden smiled and said, "You have more humanity than those so-called humans. Your instincts are there for a reason. Don't suppress them and don't be like Mariella."

I was genuinely surprised. I had assumed that Dresden, being a wizard, would take Mariella's side and try to convince me to stop hiding. But he was almost encouraging it.

Curious, I asked him, "Why are you almost telling me to have my cubs in secret? Why not try to change my mind?"

Dresden smiled and said, "I know you, and I understand the lengths one would go to protect their offspring. I must admit, I'm frightened. I'm going to have more babies, cubs, and I can't help but wonder... What if?"

I looked at him, embracing my new self. No more sugarcoating the truth. So, I opened up to him about the three that I had lost. I shared with him the story of our intestinal bacteria, and he suggested maybe he should go talk to Colin.

Perhaps Colin could help as Dresden had an idea to neutralize those harmful bugs, to diminish their power. Bind their power, so to speak. Unsure if it would truly help, I hesitated. But then, Dresden smiled reassuringly and went on his way.

Once again, as the alpha female of the pack, I had aided a pack member. I wasn't sure how Damon would feel about the idea of neutralizing those bugs, or what Wulfe's stance was. However, it wasn't truly my problem. I had to focus on preparing for the upcoming birth.

I did not know about the subtle manipulation that Mariella had done with the wolves. The time for giving birth was rapidly approaching, and I needed to be ready for it. Despite the conflicting emotions in my heart, my instincts drove me forward with great intensity.