18.

I went and changed my clothes. I selected my outfit carefully. I had a role to play here. So my ensemble was I had a thick fluffy woolen shirt, light pastel pink, oversized, so it hung on me, and black loose velvet pants. I had put my hair in a tight braid, and I had not much makeup, so I looked very young and vulnerable. Like a teen or so, and with the right expression, I was the perfect victim. Damon looked at me from head to toe, raising his brow, but made no comment. Damon teleported me to New Orleans on Nick's doorstep and there seemed to be vampires in there. 

My plan was based on the fact that I was the alpha vampiress, a strong one, and even Nick had no idea, as I had kept this a secret from the pack, too. They knew neither. Not really. So this was just one more secret that I had kept to myself over decades. It was part of my life to keep secrets, even from those whom I loved. To protect them and also not to make drama. 

As an alpha vampiress, I had the ability to manipulate my blood. I could infuse mental hints into it, very subtle ones. They would seem like one's own thoughts and there was no way to find them. That was not all. And I had also the ability to alter the taste of my blood, making it irresistible.

I had made my blood ready, so my little plan was to get Nick to drink me dry, killing me seeing me just a meal, my hints would ensure it, and then he just made his goons dump his meal into the forest nearby, and my little hints would be all over him. But I did not tell this to Damon, not yet. After Nick would have drained me, he would not recognize me, or remember anything about our interaction, not at all. 

We went inside. Damon had made an invisibility spell, and he slinked into shadows. I had not told him much about what I was doing but only that Nick would soon sing karaoke, wear Hawaiian shirts, have noon tea, and talk about weather and England affairs with vampires and he would expect them to discuss deeply with him.

Nick was sitting in the middle of the room it was almost a throne, the seat, and I did not see Elias or Rebecca but a few coffins near him so it had not been too hard to see that he had gain put his siblings into away. So they would not disturb him. I walked briskly, to him, keeping my expression neutral and not letting my rage show at all.

He was quite freaking surprised I walked in there. After all, he had thought I had perished, stopped existing, that my mind was gone, but that was not it. I walked up to him, and he stood up and took a few steps toward me, smiling and trying to say something. He was trying to get in my good books and placate me. But no. This was not like that. Not at all. What Nick responded to was threats, so I needed to become one, and I had just the right thing for that. 

I stated in a cold, cruel voice. I had quite a collection of vampire books and old ways, thanks to Bridgette. I had recently gotten a letter from her lawyer where she left her several houses and everything that there was to me. I had gotten this after Damon had dumped me from that trip, before my blowup. I had read a few books and there had been just the right text for me.

This ancient ritual unfolded in the dimly lit chamber, the air thick with the scent of age and power. The old vampire's eyes glowed with an otherworldly intensity as I coldly severed the ties that bound us.

"You are no longer my friend, my family, or under my or my pack's protection. You are now my foe, always and forever," I declared, my voice unwavering.

The look of disbelief etched on his face spoke volumes, but I pressed on, determined to provoke him further.

"And I will end my enemies, you know that," I continued, my words laced with a calculated menace. "So you have three days to make your peace. I still possess those sticks, and this time, I won't show mercy."

It was a challenge steeped in ancient war traditions, one he knew all too well. We were meant to declare our weapons, and I had made mine known. The one thing that could bring him down. He had to act swiftly, and he proved to be even faster than Damon, surprising me with his agility.

My heart swelled with satisfaction, for he was no longer my kin. Though he would not recall this moment, he would undoubtedly feel the palpable shift in our bond. I needed him to react, to succumb to his rage so that I could unleash my secret weapon upon him. He approached me, a sinister smile playing on his lips, his voice tinged with amusement and a hint of menace.

"You're pregnant," he taunted, his voice dripping with sadistic pleasure. "I can sense your unborn children, yet you dare to challenge me. Very well, once I defeat you, I shall relish carving those babies from your belly and snuffing out their lives."

I remained composed, showing little reaction. Drawing him closer, I discreetly bit into my lower lip, allowing the metallic tang of my blood to permeate my breath. I locked eyes with him, refusing to bow down before his malevolence.

"You will be reduced to nothing but a heap of ashes," I hissed, my voice sending shivers down the spines of the vampires encircling us.

They stood in stunned silence, unable to believe their ears or their eyes. A mere teenager had defied their immortal lord, delivering a chilling death threat. And then, I spat in his face, an ultimate act of defiance.

Enraged, he seized me, his eyes turning pitch black, fangs bared. In a venomous voice dripping with malice, he hissed, "As I said, when you awaken, your pregnancy shall be no more."

Without hesitation, he sank his fangs into my throat, drinking deeply from my lifeblood. 

Nick was furious. How dare this come and challenge him? The smell of this blood was overwhelming, and he did not want to control himself, so he grabbed her, sank his fangs, and drank.

Warm blood filled his mouth, and the taste was something that he had never experienced in his many thousands of years of life. Blood was rich like ambrosia, and he enjoyed it. Pure bliss filled him and he drank as greedily as he could. He could feel the pulse of his prey getting faster. This was just a tiny little thing, not pretty enough for to him even get interested in her, not giving her pleasure.

This was just a meal, a nameless nobody, and Nick could feel her heart racing. She felt so frail in his hands and blood was all there was. It had been quite a while since he had felt this kind of bloodlust. He let it take him because this blood was pure ecstasy, but then he noticed that the prey's pulse started to slowly decrease. She sagged in his grip and he dug his fangs deeper into her neck, desperate to get the last of the blood. His grip was tight, and he was drinking brutally, not giving her the pleasure of a vampire's kiss. This one was just a meal, not a deserving one.

Meal's heart beat ever so slowly and weakly and it stopped, but Nick pulled as much as possible that blood in his mouth. Then bitterness took over his mouth, this tasted awful, like gasoline and he let go of this body, it fell boneless heap onto the floor and Nick gazed at a pale, plain, ugly face and he was quite disappointed at this blood, it gave him nothing.

Her dull eyes were half open, her white lips parted, dry, her skin white, and her face was plain, not pretty, and in death even less cute or anything. Her features were so plain that she was nothing. The bitter taste of gasoline filled his mouth, and he was left with a feeling of downing a weak human, with bad-tasting blood and very little decent life force in her insignificant mind.

He said to two of his men, "Teleport this damn carcass into the forest. The forest will take care of it, and next time bring me a better meal. Not this kind of bad-tasting weakling. No need to bury it, let animals rip it apart. "

Few of the men looked at him puzzled. One man said, "But, sir, she was not human, was she? She just.. "

Nick sighed, irritated, not letting the man finish his sentence, and said, "She was human, you imbecile!" how he dared to defy him. He was so angry now, he usually got upset if the meal was not up to his standards and he thought these idiots knew better. But they had their weak spots for a few preys, so he thought he would handle them. 

He walked and compelled everyone to remember Mimi as a meal and he seemed to see her as human, not even to recognize her. Then he walked into another room where Damon heard giggling and laughter. He could smell humans and he remembered when he had been like that, too. 

Damon was puzzled, and he did really want to hear Mimi's explanation on this, so then when a few men took Mimi's seemingly dead body and carried her to the forest, dumped her without even burying her, Damon sat nearby boulder to wait for his wife to wake up. How in hell she did do that and how did she know those words? He was proud of her when she had severed that bond between her and Nick.

When he smelled her blood, his fangs had come out fully. He had been brink of attacking her and only by his last bit of self-restraint did he keep himself put in the shadows. He was very surprised by Mimi denying Nick, and it had been quite remarkable that she knew old words, and that battle challenge. Those sticks would be something that she would hand to him.

He was left to wonder what the hell had just happened. Has she some crystal or some weird thing? He just could not come up with an explanation. He wanted to hear what was that. After the men had gone, Damon made a simple spell to transfer some of his blood into Mimi so she would wake up. She was pregnant, for god's sake. This was not the best time to do these kinds of things, but then again, she and the babies were quite strong, too.

I woke up, being dumped into the forest. It brought back quite a few memories, and it made me smile. The first thing I was happy about was not being buried. I hated to dig myself out of the shallow grave. The next thing was that I felt much perkier than normal, so I guess Damon had done something to me. I could smell him near me, and hear his breathing, a pulse which was as calming as ever. I sat up, seeing Damon sitting on a rock near me, looking at me very tightly.

He said to me, "Now dear wife, if you care to explain what was that, you are pregnant, and how in hell does your blood smell like that? I was about to lose my control too. I have no words to tell you how proud I am of you denying Nick, but those sticks belong to me. You know old vampire language, and that is one thing we need to discuss, too. Those books of yours.. but the first explanation. Then I will ask more questions if needed."

His voice told me he was not listening to any argument, and I was happy to explain things to him. Not everything, but I could tell him what I could do. 

I rose to stand, stretching myself, and said," Perks of being an alpha vampiress, I can manipulate my blood, make it extra tasty, and make it dilute enough so whoever drains me thinks I'm human as it feels like human blood, I can also put mental hints in my blood, my blood was filled with them and they are all in Nick now. They are very subtle, so he does not know that he is being manipulated. They feel his thoughts and he does not remember any of this, only that he had a human, ugly, plain-looking weak meal and that's it. I have three alpha powers. This is only one part of my abilities as a vampire. I must admit that I have done this little stunt quite many times in the past, so this is nothing new." 

Damon looked at me, thinking, and I could now feel him really burrowing into my mind, putting his will in my mind to stop me from fighting back. And soon there were Mariella, Mimosa, Shadow, and Lepard, too. Each of them looking for something. Damon took a few steps, grabbed me, and teleported me into the house. We were in one bedroom. I sat on the bed, not saying a word.

Damon made a spell and undressed me, and gave me a nightgown. He was not now interested in my body, only my mind and my abilities. I saw a flash of regret, and pain in his eyes as he saw my perfect skin, with no chakras burned, no magical symbol etched, no nothing that made me his.

He had taken them all away, not putting anything back yet, and it was one obvious thing that separated me. But it gave me my autonomy back. My control over my body, over my chakras, and over my powers, too. I felt a prick on my side. He just gave me a flank, and my eyes blacked out fully. Before my mind shut down fully, I was not sure if could he get this ability to himself.