7. I Wanna Know What Love Is.

I woke up in an Alabama house by myself, and I was pissed off. He made me weak. Oh my God, when he wasn't thinking again. But fine. I'm not involved with anyone because Damon had told me that Adam was behind him on this, and so was Samuel. Overprotective much. Let it go.

The very first thing was to report these weaknesses to Magnum, Jake, Dresden, and Constantine because the Poison was now literally a very dangerous song to me, and it could cost lives, my health, and maybe even my enzyme if Sark ever found out. Damon had had little to do with Sark, so he didn't realize how fucking extensive Sark's network was.

What was new was that they had just hired demons to work for them, and that meant no gigs for me unless someone could make sure there weren't any demons because I'd be useless there. Similarly, I now had to find a partner if I did any job other than sitting behind a desk because if The Poison was playing, I wouldn't move, not one bit.

And with fucking Salvatore unaware of how many fucking degrees of telepathy there are in the world, they'd find that weakness quickly. But what the fuck does it matter when I have to be protected? No consideration that nothing bad has happened at any job, there hasn't been a single near miss, nothing that would warrant that satanic job other than the will of the Lord to rule over me.

Then I blocked every man's calls and messages. I just put a cold-sounding recording on them. I'm fucking fucked up, and I'm not talking to anyone. 

I was physically fine even though it took me a fucking week to program. I was sore but intact and deeply fucked up. I ate when I had lost weight again. It was funny. I couldn't be in good shape at all.

Every scar was still on my body and I actually noticed a couple of new ones where Damon had stuck his hand in my gut and squeezed, well I have a strong will and I know how to show it on my body then. I don't mind that no one actually wants me because I don't have pheromones. I'd probably been without sex for a year if you don't count the fingering in programming, and I didn't even remember much of anything about it.

As one might guess, I had to get back to work. The things I could do without risking everyone's lives, packing my bags and my car, not going to university or being a judge, not by force. Hell, let's just be a leader at the table. My rage had grown huge.

 He awoke from his cursed sleep when he sensed that the chosen one was now vulnerable to him. He would just have to secure peace at work first and then bring the chosen one to himself, and it would take time. Who knows, maybe he would find the true feelings that had once lived in his heart.

Maybe he would learn to love again, so he wouldn't have to be bitter, lonely, evil, and cursed, but maybe when he found love again, he would find grace, rest, and maybe freedom from his father. But he knew how corrupted his black soul was, and even though the dream of love switched inside him, he did not hesitate as he rose from the forest, stretched, and started walking toward the city.

 Adam sighed. They were with Samuel, Damon, and Charles in a house in New Mexico. Damon had warned that Mimi might and probably would get angry, so he had left her in their bedroom in Alabama to recover; it had been a rough week, and he had noticed Mimi's scars, her thinness, but he knew now she wouldn't want them around right away.

Adam had tried to call Mimi and had only received a cold voice message that he was not interested in talking now that she was trying to learn to live with her weaknesses. Adam realized how actually programming was a weakness, but it kept Mimi safe, and Damon assured her she would come to her senses. Damon had tried calling, Samuel too, and everyone had gotten the same voicemail even after a week.

Bran had come over when he had to talk to Samuel and had then found out about the entire problem. Bran saw that the men were having a tough time, and he suggested a party. It would help the men to relieve the pressure and give Mimi time to come to her senses and not have to tell Mimi. This was good for the big house, and Bran eventually persuaded the men to celebrate and unburden their guilty conscience with sex.

Damon himself saw the effects, as Adam explained.

He said to Damon," Mimi can't go to gigs unless someone makes sure there are no demons working there. You probably didn't know that the pharmaceutical companies have hired demons to work there, so Mimi would risk everyone, even herself, if she went to a gig where there was a demon to kill. Plus, Mimi now has two people with her wherever she goes in case the poison plays. Magnum told me these facts, and he also informed me how Sark uses demons, especially those who are telepaths or empaths. So Mimi now has to sit behind a desk, walk around with bodyguards, and hope that no enemy, not the medical establishment, not the demons, can get to her weakness. Yes, she'll be safe, but now I totally understand that reaction. I'm the crazy one who gave permission to clip Mimi's wings and turn her into a bureaucrat."

Damon was silent. He turned around, said nothing as he took the bottle of bourbon, and went into the living room to sit and drink. Bran easily persuaded the men to join the party. 

Then, once the party was underway, a man, tall with dark hair, had bright green eyes and a friendly smile, but a dangerous aura brought a few girls to the party; he had also brought Magnum, Jake, Charles, and the original family to the party—also, Jarod and Miss Parker.

The girls were very pleasant and went to Adam and Damon, Samuel and Charles and Bran, to seduce, to hit on, to be the perfect women for them. As the booze flowed, and the sex took the men with it, Mimi and her programming, the worries were forgotten in everyone's mind. This tall man was at the party for a few days, and everyone had a great time. 

Damien felt something was wrong, but he couldn't help it. Damon's self-reproach had woken him up, but when he woke up at the party and felt this man's aura, he knew that even by his standards, he was really evil, but when the stranger sensed Damien woke up, he came closer.

Looking Damien in the eyes, and said in a soft, low voice, " Party and forget about Mimi. She's not important. Drink, enjoy, and remember how wonderful it feels to have a tight mouth around your dick. "

The stranger touched Damien, and he felt himself weakening. It was as if he had sucked the strength out of him. Damien sank into a stupor. He couldn't take any more. 

I went to Philadelphia to do some gigs. I kept my calls blocked from the men for a little over a week, and then I took the block off as I continued to plan the gigs. I would sit in the office literally until my ass went numb and then walk around, seeing where I was going with what plan.

It took a lot of work to get my people to make sure a gig was safe for me to do, and often, I was then driving or coordinating raids from the car. I was kind of Overwatch. Of course, I knew and trusted my people to get the jobs done, but when I was always the doer, not the planner, and my frustration grew, my rage grew.

And then when very few gigs were where I could go that didn't have telepaths, empaths, demons, or Sark. I knew Damon hadn't controlled me to get a reaction from Sark, but I didn't trust that he or his vampire wasn't watching me, and if he found out I was after Sark and put that song on, well, I'd be a sitting duck for Sark.

I did gigs for three weeks, then I got bored and bought another house. I thought to myself, how will I ever have time to live in any of my houses if I just keep buying and buying?

The house was enormous; it had six floors, two wings, and several outbuildings. It had once been a farm, and the lot was huge; I bought all the old fields that belonged to it, and I never knew what to do with them. I drove up to the house, got out of the car, and walked around the property.

There were fruit trees and bushes, and then I started walking through the field, well it was mostly meadow, and it was quite autumn, so no plants were growing so terribly, but I had on a long skirt and soft leather boots as I walked around the field, then I saw him.

He was standing on the edge of the field, binoculars in his hand and looking off into the distance. There were some birds flying around. Of course, I had always watched birds, even during the migration season, but being a werewolf, birds don't come near me. I was walking along the edge of a field, and suddenly, I noticed a man coming closer. 

 He was tall, dark, and handsome. He was mysterious but funny. He wasn't as threatening as Damon had been in the beginning. This was a dark, handsome stranger who was safe. He was some sort of supernatural, but I didn't quite catch who.

The man said, " It's not every day a birdwatcher like me gets to know what species to find."

I laughed, touched my hair, and let my ring show. The man's expression didn't change at all.

He said, "What's a beautiful woman like you, married, walking in a field by herself and sad? I'm good at reading emotions, and you're sad."

I replied. " My husband is away; he did something to me I didn't like, and now I'm having an ice age. He stopped me from doing my job."

The man looked at me, smirked, and said, " Let me guess, you're a teacher?"

I shook my head and said, " Well, yes, I have taught many things all over the world, but I don't have an official title."

The man held out his hand and said, "My name is Reyes Farrow. I live on the farm next door; that was my family, but now I'm just a leftover."

I nodded as I shook his hand and said, "I know how it feels to be the last of your family left. Mimi Salvatore, nice to meet you. I bought that farm and the fields. I've just come to see everything here for the first time."

His hand was strong and warm, and I didn't break his hand now.

He looked at me and said, "I think you're a hybrid, a werewolf vampire; I can identify species."

I nodded. The man reminded me of something between Mel Gibson and Kevin Bacon, both in their youth, of course. His eyes were the brightest green I'd ever seen, and his mouth was actually quite kissable.

He said, "I'm going to see what hawks are out there."

I said, "I'm a werewolf, so the birds won't come near while I'm here, so I'll start heading back this way and leave you to check out the birds."

He smiled, and now it was a really sexy smile. I turned around and started walking back to the house. I was in a slightly better mood; I realized it was all because he saw me as a woman; even though I didn't have pheromones, someone wanted me.

I then put the house in order slowly, got a couple of bedrooms and other rooms put in for myself. The kitchen was lovely, so I decided to go to the shop the next day. Of course, I'd have my bodyguard with me. Just in case the bloody song came on in the shop. There were several radio stations playing these old songs when they were in fashion again.

In the morning, I was dressed, and my bodyguard pulled up. Of course, it was nice to be driven around and watched, but I was used to being independent and doing things. My life was what it was, and I just had to adjust.

We went to the shop; they went with me, but they didn't quite stick to me. They knew me so well. They were my trusted friends. Rick was a funny guy. He was the joker of the bunch, and we'd traveled with Harper and me almost all over Europe when some of the bunch were always left doing something on various bases along the way. Harper was more serious; he had an army background and followed orders to the letter, so he was right in his role as bodyguard.

They were both very competent men and kept me in check at the gig and made sure I didn't take my rage out unnecessarily. Jake had taught, and that lesson had expanded quite a bit, so my rage wasn't as effective a barrier as it had been before. 

I was wandering around the shop looking at meats, wagyu when a man came up to me and said," Oh hello, you have expensive taste, don't you, or are you making some seducing meal? "

I looked next to me, the man from yesterday. Reyes.

I said, "I have expensive tastes, and my nutrition is a science of its own; wagyu is the best meat for me,"

He grinned, and oh my god, he was good-looking. I took the meat and went on my way. Reyes walked around with me; we talked about food, baking, and decorating and went through the shop. I told him about the men who followed me, I just mentioned them being my bodyguards in case evil medical facilities would be on the lookout and also what I am and what I do, and he was very impressed.

I also told him what Bran did and how I no longer had pheromones, and no one in the pack paid any attention to me.

He said, "Well, I am not addicted to pheromones. Not at all; I see before me a beautiful woman who has been abandoned by stupid men. So, if I were your husband, I would not leave you alone. I would be with you always."

I replied, " Yes, thank you very much. Well, my life is what it is. Damon, well, he can be almost perfect, but he hasn't been for a long time, and then this latest stunt..."

Reyes furrowed his brow and asked, " What stunt?"

I sighed and said, " Well, he's a telepath, a doctor, a vampire, and he decided I needed to keep safe when I was killing fear demons. I'm susceptible to them, so he brainwashed me, programmed me so that I couldn't kill a single demon myself, and programmed a song to freeze me in a place of fear; that's why I have bodyguards with me if the song plays. I'm completely helpless and defenseless during it."

Reyes scowled, I went to the cashier and said " Come for coffee tomorrow, I'll bake something. "

He nodded. He would come the next day at 2 pm.

I then got in the car; Harper drove and said, "We'll do a background check on that guy and make sure he's not a medical establishment guy. Then you can rest easy. Do you want us to come by tomorrow at the same time?"

I thought about it for a while and said, "No need, I'll be fine, but you can stand guard outside, so if he is naughty and carries me away unconscious, you'll see."

Harper grunted. I knew him well enough that he wasn't entirely happy with my decision, but accepted it.

 When I got home, my phone rang. I looked at my phone. It was Damon; something was stirring in my heart. I don't know if it was longing or what, but I answered.

I didn't have time to say anything as my dreams were shattered; the music was blaring, and Damon said, " We got, baby, a party going on, gotta get some down time and while you're..."

I hung up. I couldn't hear a word. I felt so hopeless, so fucking lonely and rejected, but what could I do? I was a freak without pheromones, and then all the other women were lovelier, even the humans, when they had their own pheromones, albeit weak ones. This would be my life, to be alone. Just a fucking freak.