18. Milk And Toast And Honey.

Damon grunted dissatisfiedly as he got up to leave the bed that he and Mariella had been using for the past ten days. Mariella was still sleeping as he made his way into the shower. He had just given her a dose from her implant and wanted some time to himself. Feeling moody and angry at himself, Damon couldn't help but realize that this was the main bedroom of the mansion, and he wasn't a happy man.

When he had teleported out of that gaudy pink room and found Mariella, who had been trying to seduce Wulfe and Magnum, he had cleaned her up and reminded her that she was his wife and not always available to others. Mariella had been disappointed, and Damon could sense it from her thoughts. It had been Mariella's idea to pair him with Mimi, hoping to harness their energy for her own web.

Damon had coldly rejected the idea, explaining that Adam's people would keep them safe and Wulfe and Constantine could put some spells in place. There was no need to turn them into a mating frenzy. It was already difficult enough to maintain the web, and this new boost would have pushed them to mate for months, with as many of them as possible, except Mimi, who wasn't an energy creature and couldn't contribute to the web.

Mariella had wanted to separate Mimi from this side of the pack, which troubled Damon. But he and Mariella had their connection, and he had started to have sex with her, unable to stop himself. It had just taken over, and he had to admit to himself that Mimi wasn't in a shape to be involved. He simply couldn't do it, especially considering what she had been through in that facility. It made him see Mimi as a weak victim, rather than a force of nature.

Damon knew he wasn't perfect, but he was Mariella's husband. He had shared the end part of the story with her, and Mariella had remained silent. She didn't want to talk about his past relationships, and Damon realized that Mariella sometimes struggled to remember that she was supposed to be the one who understood him and his side. It was just one of the many challenges they faced. Damon admitted to Mariella that he couldn't even remember what Betty had looked like. 

He had just stepped out of the shower when Mariella walked in. She admired his steaming hot body, still glistening from the shower, as he wrapped a towel around his hips and grabbed another to dry his hair.

Mariella spoke up, "What's bothering you? I mean, I enjoyed our time together as usual, but it feels like something is on your mind. Do you want to talk about it? And why did you choose to velvet me? Am I too demanding?"

Damon grunted as he walked back to sit on the bed. He replied, "I feel like a terrible boyfriend, or possibly fiancé, to Mimi. Here I am again, after ten days of intense fuckfest, not doing much to help her recover or be with her. What do I expect her to do if I can't handle this? I should be better, but no, I'm just a sex-addicted liar when it comes to her."

Mariella sat down and said, "Yeah, you're right. And I'm no better. My little game was wrong, and I see that now. It shouldn't have been so secretive. But you should have seen who you were pleasuring, and then maybe you could have chosen someone else. There's not much we can do now except face the consequences, see where we stand, and figure out if there's any way to make things right. I know we technically didn't do anything wrong, but it still feels off. And then I brought you into the main bedroom and we had sex everywhere here, so now this place is ours. The whole pack can smell it. This was supposed to be therapy for Mimi, not this kind of mess."

Damon grunted again, realizing there wasn't much they could do. He didn't want to dwell on the past, but rather adopt a new outlook of letting life surprise him and reacting the way Mimi would. He wanted to be more than just cold and distant; he wanted to be something else. But it was difficult.

Mariella took a shower as well. She was disappointed in herself for once again being manipulative and not asking for consent. She had an obsession with her energy web, and it had caused her to behave this way. Maybe there was something else going on too, but Mariella couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Still, Mariella couldn't help but wonder why she had wanted Damon to be with Mimi. Maybe she wanted to test him, see if he could handle her. Mimi wasn't in good shape, her skeletal appearance clear even in the sauna. But what was done was done. Mariella couldn't find a simple solution other than going in and seeing what was going on. Trying to explain would be pointless. Once they got in there, they would see for themselves. But she was curious, especially about that pink room.

Mimi needed support, and despite their initial eagerness, things had fallen flat. Mariella didn't even want to think about the disappointment and self-hate that would be evident on Damon's face when he saw how much Wulfe and Magnum had been supporting Mimi instead of him.

She walked out of the bathroom to find Damon dressed in a black satin shirt, sleeves sloppily rolled up, paired with white leather pants that made him look like a sex god. He had chosen her clothes too, a bright green silk dress. Green suited Mariella, but not Mimi. It only made her look even more tired and pale. It just didn't work on her.

Mariella sat down and let Damon style her hair. Her hair reached her mid-back, not as long as Mimi's, but she didn't bother asking about it. Looking at herself in the mirror, she resembled a supernatural version of Vivien Leigh with her red hair and vampire-like paleness. She had been made, per Damon's desires. Her appearance was made of just what Damon had wanted.

Sometimes she realized she had no personality in her face, like others. She was a doll, for Damon. Her shifter side was not as prominent in her face, perhaps because Damon didn't want her to look as feral as Mimi. Mariella's bright green, emerald eyes were supernaturally vibrant, and her flawless skin added to her tame appearance. Her calm expression and demeanor made it clear that she wouldn't be difficult to handle.

But Mimi was different. Her dark blue, expressive eyes and defiant jawline gave her a demanding presence. Even her kissable mouth could be set in a thin line, with a hint of squinting in her eyes. When her eyes turned black, it might be obvious to everyone, they would know she was trouble with a capital T. Her normal expression carried a wildness to it, effortlessly exuding supernaturalism. In a way, Mimi was a wildcat, while Mariella herself oozed sexual appeal and sensuality. So, Mimi was the dangerous one. 

Mariella thought about their enemies. Had Mimi gone into the dark web to see if Evil Sarks had stopped their attacks, or had she made some calls? Was Alaric also working? Even though Mariella had previously blamed Mimi for being a troublemaker or instigator, they had to face the truth. It only took five or even fewer threat reports for them to realize how many people were after them, not Mimi, but Mimi had protected them.

Mariella thought to herself, "By God, we were such brats, being protected, and yet we still dared to blame her."

Damon said softly, "You're right, we were brats, but not anymore. Now we'll do better. Let's go in, see what they're doing, and move on. Let's not dwell on this. Let's see what she's been up to in the last ten days and how she's recovering."

Mariella admitted, "I'm not sure if I dare. I feel like such a floozy, with my schemes and plans and this situation. Damn it, I made us take the main bedroom that was meant for you two, and it was never consecrated, but that's in the past now."

Damon said, "It's just one room, but yeah, I feel it, too. I noticed it as well. But we are who we are, and sometimes things happen. Most of the time, it's because of us, and we know how to be cruel and selfish. She's the only one who is selfless around here."

Mariella said, "Well, Wulfe and the others called her selfish because she tends to think everything is because of her, and well, most of it is. But they tried, each of them tried to take the blame so she wouldn't have to, but not me. I just couldn't come up with any way to blame myself."

Damon nodded and then put her hair up again.

Mariella stood up and said, "Are we ready, once again, to see just how badly we screwed up and what will happen next?"

Damon nodded, and they walked out of the main bedroom. The halls of this mansion oozed history, and Damon and Mariella stopped here and there to admire some paintings. Mariella took pictures of them and sent them to Max to be appraised. She might also stop in some places to absorb some residual energy. And of course, there were rooms to be connected, and they arranged them accordingly. If they found a suitable room, they linked it up, and Damon put a sign or picture on the door to show what the room was for.

They were in no hurry, knowing that facing the truth would be hard enough. They gave themselves time, and it was important to connect the rooms and make this wonderful old mansion truly their home. Damon was browsing the internet, trying to find out who had originally lived in this mansion and who his mistress might have been. He was just curious. 

It had appeared to be a love story, with Damon, an ancient creature, involved in a forbidden romance. It struck him deeply. Throughout his lifetime, he had encountered many lords and even princes who had secret lovers and illegitimate children. It must have been difficult to have a child with the one you love, yet keep it hidden from the world in order to maintain a perfect image. Humans and their obsession with appearances, he thought.

But then again, he had once been the same. If there had been any courtesan or anyone who had stirred something in his doomed soul, he had used and closed them. Often, encounters with him were fatal to humans. He had only confided in Mariella. Occasionally, he would share snippets of his experiences with her, not all of them, but some.

One of them had been a maid in New Orleans. She belonged to an up-and-coming family, and her name was Yvonne. She was a lovely Creole girl, but what really captivated him were her clever responses, which always brought a smile to his face. Yvonne was just a servant girl, seemingly unimportant, and Damon wished he could have been better for her.

He would visit that family every few months, once or twice a month, and Yvonne's presence always lifted his spirits. Somehow, she saw him as a person, not just the beast he had been at that time. He used to work as an assassin, targeting wealthy families who hired vampires like him to eliminate their enemies. He had carried out quite a few hits for this particular family.

Then he remembered a specific incident. It was after one of his hits when he went to collect his payment. They were having a party, and someone offered him a vampire drink. The next thing he knew, he woke up in a bed surrounded by lifeless humans, most of them naked, and Yvonne was among them.

She was dead, naked, and he could still see the blood between her legs. In her last moments, as she had been a virgin, the vampire drink had made him rough and brutal. He had taken her innocence, her life, and she was forgotten by the family, thrown into the forest to rot.

He couldn't be sure if the many bite marks all over Yvonne's body were the cause of her death or if it was the blood that had seeped from her as he tore her apart. He had been a monster. They had not blamed him since she had been part of his celebration and he had the right to take anyone he wanted. 

Damon was aware that his past was not as pleasant as Mimi's, not because he had been tortured, but because of all the terrible things he had done. He had been a beast, a monster. He often pondered what had caused him to change, when it happened, and why. He wondered who or what was responsible.

However, he couldn't pinpoint a specific moment; it had been a gradual process, with Mimi being the ultimate catalyst. Even Mariella hadn't evoked such a rush of emotions within him. Yet, here he was, once again committing the shittiest thing imaginable towards the one he was supposed to adore and treasure. 

Damon pondered to himself that for most of his life, he had actually been quite poor. His wealth had only come after centuries of looting and collecting things. Now, he was rich, but there was a good possibility that Mimi was even richer. She had truly built her empire through her skills and organization. Damon's thoughts were interrupted as they finally approached the kitchen. Mariella frowned as they could hear laughter, which rang like bells. It was Mimi's laughter, along with many voices, including Salvatore's. From the sounds of it, the whole freaking pack was in the kitchen, having a blast. It was time for him and Mariella to face the truth.