It had been five days since we had performed our little ritual on Salvatore and Wulfe, and I must say, it worked better than well. Several Salvatores as well as Mariella were unavailable, and I was not sure what they were doing.
My actions had gone beyond mere seduction or teasing; I had delved into Bridgette's gift of books and discovered a wealth of rituals that vampires could perform on each other. As King and Queen, we have our own unique rituals, so Damon was completely unaware of what my "little thing" had truly entailed. In the vampire language, it is known as "reih'ty'wulf ahid'reg subw'par," which translates crudely to the "ritual of releasement."
It was one of those fun things that I had found, and I was eager to test it. Well, call it intuition or something else, but I had zeroed in on my victims right as I had read it. I did not tell Mariella actually what this was all about, as I had a focus to get pheromones right and get myself into the right mindset, and it took some tinkering, but I was persistent, and I did it.
In ancient times, the roles of Vampire King and Queen was fraught with difficulty. Much like human monarchies, vampire marriages were rarely based on love, but rather on power and prestige. Consequently, a king might not have loved his queen, and vice versa.
Kings endured constant wars, assassination attempts, and the challenges of securing their lineage. Furthermore, ensuring an heir was a significant concern, as less than 20 percent of vampire women were fertile in that era, and fertility declined with age. To address this, some kings would take young maidens, turn them into vampires, and marry them. However, such brides might prove unsuitable as vampires or be perceived as weak.
Kings required a means of stress relief, and while lust was a factor, it was not the sole purpose. A king demanded worship and honor. Thus, this ritual was developed. It was typically performed by five or six young, beautiful, and innocent girls who would "release" the king, not through fucking, but by teasing and tormenting him, prolonging his arousal, and worshipping his body without engaging in physical intimacy.
If a king was fortunate enough to have a loving queen, this ritual held even greater power. If the queen herself performed the ritual, she might have one or two girls assist her, again, with no sexual contact, only teasing.
I had stumbled upon a ritual, and I was eager to test if I could perform it. It seemed I could. Now, it was time once again to embrace our crazy pack life and see what surprises awaited us. Oh boy, something was definitely brewing.
My current duty was in the kitchen, preparing food and snacks. Even though I had a rather large number of babies to care for, this task gave me a bit of personal time, and I genuinely enjoyed cooking. Right now, I had several enormous pieces of meat in the oven, sauces were bubbling, and I was also indulging my new obsession: soups.
I had five different soups simmering, and they were not only delicious but also greatly appreciated by the Salvatores. They would use my soups as a base for their own creations, adding to them and using them like stock or broth, even though they were already quite substantial.
My first soup was a chicken soup with rice, potatoes, onions, and a few herbs. It was clear and based on our broth, and I planned to thicken and blend it so it would be suitable for the babies and toddlers. The next soup featured old hares, noodles, cream, sweet potatoes, and a bit of beef offcuts. This was a wine-based soup with a slightly more adult flavor, intended for my eldest grown-up girls. Then came a seafood soup, brimming with clams, mussels, crabs, shrimps, and mixed fish, all in a creamy, herb-filled base.
The fourth soup was for me. Fatty parts of Wagyu and Kobe had been simmering in the oven for 10 hours. Now, they were being combined with sweet potatoes, butter, peanut butter, seasonings, and pork. The final soup was also a meat soup, but it contained a mix of meats, both fatty and lean, along with potatoes, onion, herbs, and spices, intended for the men.
All of these soups were novelties; I simply combined a few ingredients and created something new. I didn't ask for permission or announce my intentions; I just did it. And, thankfully, my husbands were usually very eager to taste, refine, and, in a way, "claim" my soups, as they would then use them for their own purposes.
While humming to myself and checking on my soups, I was suddenly alerted by sharp, loud wailing. I furrowed my brows; surely, there were adults checking on things, and the girls would handle it, as my toddlers were once again playing with their siblings. However, the crying continued, so I sighed, put down my ladle, and went to see what was going on.
As I walked into the living room, my confusion deepened. May, Emmylee, and Lily seemed to be asleep on the couch, while Sadie was crying her eyes out, clutching her arm. Jesse was giggling nearby.
I went to Sadie, murmuring, "Shh, Mommy is here. What's going on? Let me see your arm, my girl."
Gently, I moved her hand away from her arm and furrowed my brows. Distinct fang prints were visible.
"Shit," I thought, "someone here has fangs and not much restraint."
"Lepard," I called out via hive, "could you come upstairs? I have a bit of a dilemma here."
Lepard was downstairs, chopping meat in one of our meat lockers. I wasn't sure how many of the Salvatores were free, but at least he could come. I hadn't checked which Salvatores had logged in, and since some of them were busy, chores still needed doing.
Lepard seemed a bit surprised when I called him over.
He said to Number Ten, who was also chopping meat, "Mimi has a problem and asked me to come, but didn't clarify what's going on."
Number Ten grunted and put his knives away, ready to go and assist his beloved, whatever had happened.
As the men came upstairs, they could smell the delicious soups and rich meat. It seemed the baby was as active as ever. However, as they walked into the living room, the sight was both unsettling and surprising. Three girls were slumped on the couch, asleep. I was sitting in a chair, holding Sadie, who also seemed to be sleeping.
When I turned to look at the men, I must have looked drugged, blinking slowly with pinpoint pupils. The younger toddlers were playing with their toys, and the older ones seemed to be asleep.
I mumbled druggily, "Teeth vampires, velvet... bites."
I tried to move, to adjust Sadie in my lap. Number Ten noticed as Jesse saw him and eagerly got up, trying to walk towards him. However, his cheeks were rosy, and his lips were flushed, meaning the little guy had had some blood.
Number Ten muttered, "Oh, great. These ones are teeth vampires. They have velvet, or something very strong."
He reached telepathically to number four, who had been in the lab making vaccines. "Four, we have a problem; Jesse, Luca, Evie, Lizziy, and Suzie are teeth vampires. They have probably velveted girls as well, older toddlers, and Mimi too, meaning whatever they have is darn potent, as Mimi is about to pass out, and something is warning me."
Number four said, "Keep calm; let babies be. I am coming. Wulfe is also free, as well as number one. Mariella is resting after, well, you know. We are coming, and we will deal with this. Wulfe says it will take a few days to make a fangs-off potion, but let's see if Number One or I can make something from our fangs. I am currently crafting mini collectors, as those substances are most likely concentrates and novelties. Try to keep Mimi awake and see if you can move her to one bedroom; give her Ritalin or something. I have no fucking idea how her system will handle this, and medical problems are not what we need right now."
As Ten got me standing up after he had gotten Sadie in his arms too, he said to me, "Lean on me; that's it, good girl. Now let's walk a bit."
He heard footsteps as others were coming, and I was pretty damn legless.
Soon, strong arms picked me up and said to me, "We are now going to medbay, hooking you up to a nice strong Ritalin drip. You need it, believe it. "
I was so damn tired, and I just wanted to sleep, but this version of Salvatore kept me awake by pushing mental force in my mind, forcing my wakefulness. I was so damn messed up and utterly tired, and I just could not comprehend why I could not sleep.
He said to me, "The same thing happened with Mariella's kids, his three boys with Damon, making her fall down stairs and break her femur, and her healing is not yet working, so she is downstairs recovering. We had a plan of checking these guys too, but they were a bit faster."
My vision was blurry; my brain was too out of whack for me to identify which Salvatore this was, as stuff just did not happen in my brain as it should have.
I somehow realized I had been carried to medbay. The person carrying me may or may not have been speaking, but eventually, I was laid down, cannulated, and soon felt my heart beating even faster as the first dose of Ritalin began to work its magic.
My brain finally became awake enough to notice that Number Five was tinkering with a few more bags, hidden from my view but hooked up to keep me on an IV.
He looked at me and asked, "Feeling fresher, darlin'?"
I nodded wearily. He then explained, "This will take a bit of time, as whatever these guys are doing is ultra-concentrated. The second it hits your system, your blood dilutes it, but it spreads a little everywhere. I'm just going to snatch a few tubes of your blood, put them in the analyzer, and see what it says. I'm not going to taste your blood."
He continued, "Others will deal with the kids. This is just one more thing we need to remember: to put the fangs down as soon as possible, or ensure no substances are used."
My mouth was dry, and he said, "Just let the Ritalin do its magic a bit. Let's see what your bloodwork says, and we'll go from there. I'm nasty and not going to give you anything to drink just yet, as you might get sick or something."
He was once again in a very caring mood, wanting only to care for me and not let others give orders. He was as pedantic as ever, meaning that taking a few tubes of my blood took its time because he did it with the utmost sterility, ensuring I wasn't bleeding, the blood was secured, and the trash was disposed of. He put the tubes into the analyzer, and soon the internal centrifuge began to whir as the blood was prepped for analysis.
Meanwhile, he took my vitals, stripped me naked, and gave me a long and detailed medical examination, checking every orifice and my fluids, and even taking samples of my tears. I knew I was awake due to the Ritalin, but not much else.
Somehow, I could still feel the effects of whatever my son had bitten me with, still trying to affect my brain, leaving me in a strange and taxing state. I was also using my willpower to stay awake and trying to get rid of the damn stuff in my brain.
After a few hours, the results were in. Despite being on my third bag of Ritalin, there wasn't much change; this damn thing was incredibly hard to get rid of.
He then told me, "Now, you're a bit too skinny again, and there are deficiencies in your blood, along with a bit of stress. Worry not, Boys and Adam, as well as Charles, are taking care of the soups. It's good that you inspire."
He continued, "I am not going to sink my fangs into your neck, as these results indicate that this stuff will affect me as well. What we'll do is a blood transfusion. We'll take out your old blood and give you new blood. Now, this is delicate because once this starts, it will lessen Ritalin's effects as well, so you might be pretty out of it. However, we have 60 liters of blood reserved for you here, flooded with universal choppers and Ritalin."
As he was explaining, numbers one and two entered, pushing a cart with a blood collection machine and many blood bags.
Number five continued, "After we've changed your blood, you'll need to drink five liters of human blood, and then we'll head to the sauna. We'll have Ritalin with us, but let's get you to purge the rest of it out."
I rolled my eyes and asked, "And girls or other toddlers?" Number one replied, "They'll be fine. This isn't affecting them as much as it's affecting you, as you are biologically more vulnerable to their concoction. But now, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"
His voice was calm, not like a doctor's, as there was an underlying tension between him and number five. Number one looked at me, long and hard, as if to ask what I had done to him. However, the time would come when I might tell him. Not yet; I liked my power over him, which made me feel so damn smug. Of course, I hid it carefully, not letting anyone feel it, not yet, anyway.