The Passionate

Chapter 1

My skirt fluttered over my knees as I sat down on the edge of his desk. He grinned, bearing a bit of his fangs as he stuck his arm out and curled it around my waist. I squealed with delight as he yanked me off the cool polished walnut and across his denim-covered lap. Mm, he looked devilishly handsome, as always. He'd pulled his long hair back behind his head in that intricate plait that I loved, and his sapphire eyes seemed particularly piercing. He turned his head to nip my earlobe, to caress the soft skin of my throat, to brush his tongue against the faded scar he'd left on my shoulder when we'd bound ourselves to one another.

"You look good enough to eat, my lover," he growled into my skin, grazing me with his teeth. I giggled and shivered.

"Don't tease me," I whispered, touching the taunt skin of his belly with my fingertips. His abdomen muscles rolled as he laughed.

"Why not, Sookie? I thought you liked being teased," he chuckled. One of his large hands disappeared under my skirt as he reached for the pair of pink lace panties I'd adorned.

"Only if I get to tease you in return," I smirked playfully.

"Hmm, I am supposed to be working," he frowned momentarily before shrugging his massive shoulders.

"You really need to give yourself a few nights off…" I grinned. I leaned against his chest so I could place delicate kisses on his neck and shoulder. My lips were hovering over his tight black tee shirt when there was an insistent knock at the door. I couldn't even contain my pout.

"What?" Eric growled over my head, addressing the door. It burst open and Pam fell in, followed by about four members of the Shreveport werewolf pack. Among them was Amanda, a red-haired were I'd met many times before. She looked positively merciless right now, about as close to changing into a full wolf as I'd ever seen her.

"You have guests," Pam grunted before throwing her butt into the cushions of Eric's couch. I slithered from his lap and went to join her. Eric got out of his chair and stepped around to the front of his desk. He crossed his arms over his chest and appeared almost calm but for the seething anger in his icy blue eyes.

"Can I help you?" Eric asked, narrowing his eyes at the handful of werewolves. A man I didn't recognize stepped to the front. He had deep brown eyes and almost black hair. His skin was tanned and wrinkled, and I gathered he spent a lot of time in the sun. He wore a white tee shirt and blue jeans, hiked up with a black leather belt holding an enormous gold belt buckle. He didn't seem to be afraid of Eric at all, which meant he was either really brave or really dumb.

"Alcide Herveaux is missing," the man spat accusingly. Okay, just answered myself. He was really dumb, and I mean really. Still, I jumped up from my seat beside Pam and scrambled to Eric's side.

"What do you mean, he's missing?!" I squeaked. Eric didn't look at me, but he stuck out a hand to squeeze my wrist. I shut my trap.

"He did not return home from the office last night, and no one has seen or heard from him since. His cellular phone goes to voicemail automatically, and the security tapes that monitor the parking lots at his office have been stolen." Amanda spoke tersely and tensely. I looked from the belt buckle man to Amanda, and then up at Eric. Surely they didn't think the vampires would want Alcide for anything.

"And you think I have him?" Eric raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "What would I want with your pack master?"

"You know he's been heading up the Supe Revelation campaign in Louisiana. Maybe you only want your own kind out in the open." The belt buckled man sneered accusingly, but Amanda and the other two wolves only shrugged. They didn't think Eric had anything to do with Alcide's disappearance. I felt one of them out, looking for a clue, but could only manage to get a sense of bewilderment and fear. I sat down again beside Pam. The process of digging into a Supe brain isn't easy, and digging into an angry and confused Werewolf brain is that much harder.

"I don't have Alcide Herveaux, and I don't know of anyone that would. Now, if you'll remove yourselves from my bar, I'd much appreciate it."

"Come on Allen," Amanda said to the belt buckled wolf. He was still staring intently at Eric, but he didn't shrug off her outstretched arm. "We shouldn't have come here in the first place."

Pam excused herself and went back to managing the bar, so I was left alone on the sofa. I looked up at the Viking. He got up from where he was leaning on his desk and sat down beside me, pulling my body against his with one snaking arm around my shoulders.

"What did you hear?" He asked before pressing his lips against my temple. I shuddered for a moment and exhaled a deep breath.

"Nothing concrete. They were afraid, confused." I looked down at the floor before I raised my eyes to Eric's face. He didn't seem bothered by the disappearance of Alcide Herveaux, but I certainly was. "I can't believe he's missing. What if something's happened to him? What if he's in danger?"

"Alcide Herveaux is heavily involved in this Supe version of the Revelation. He should've been more careful." Eric shrugged.

"More careful? What do you mean?"

"Some Supes don't want to be exposed, Sookie. I don't blame them. I wasn't terribly thrilled about the vampire Revelation myself, until I realized all the profit in such an endeavor. There may not be much profit in the Supe Revelation, though. They're already working in human sectors. They could be ostracized."

"So you think Alcide might be in danger, from whoever these other Supes are that don't want to be revealed?" I shuddered at the thought of vengeful Supes, particularly vengeful werewolves.

"I have no idea." Eric brushed his fingers through my hair. "I honestly do not care."

I should have known that Eric, a vampire, wouldn't give a rat's ass about the whereabouts of the Shreveport pack master. Vampires and Supes were notorious in their dislike of one another, and though they occasionally had a business dealing, that was the extent of their relationship. If Eric lost his connection of werewolf businesses through Alcide's disappearance, he could find an in through some other route. The business was far more important than the specific contact, and I should have known that by now.

But I was worried about Alcide, particularly after Eric had told me about the group of Supes that weren't too interested in informed integration with the rest of society. I honestly didn't blame them. People would probably get pretty riled up if they learned that there were really werewolves around, particularly among children. I couldn't even imagine all the letters to the principals about dangerous children among "regular" children in preschools. I frowned as I walked into Sam's office after work to ask him about Alcide. Sam was setting the phone on its hook when I walked in, shedding the rectangular black apron I'd worn during my daytime shift.

"I don't know what happened to him, Sook," Sam frowned, looking up at me for a minute before returning to the pile of papers on his desk.

"You already heard, then," I frowned, slumping into one of the two wooden chairs arranged in his office.

"Yes, I heard. Alcide Herveaux and Miriam Andrews, pack master of the Baton Rouge pack, have been missing for two days. I just got off the phone with one of the public relations officers at the office where they've been doing preparations for the Revelation. They've received several anonymous letters about Supes uninterested in their plan to expose our kind. But they haven't received any specific threats."

"I'm worried about Alcide," I sighed. "What if he gets hurt?"

"Don't go doing anything stupid, Sookie. Supes take care of their own. We'll find Herveaux and Andrews. Trust me."

"Yeah…" I muttered, getting out of the chair and reaching for my purse. "Right."

On the drive home though, I couldn't not think about Alcide and what trouble he might have gotten himself into by taking on such a large part in this Revelation stuff. I pulled up in front of the rickety farmhouse to find Tray Dawson's pickup perched on the gravel out front. I parked beside Amelia's car around back and walked inside. Tray was on his feet, pacing in front of a confused witch. She stared at him with her mouth half-open. He stopped moving when I shuffled into the house.

"Sookie," Dawson grunted, lifting his head. He crossed his arms over his chest. I could feel his mind reeling the way Amelia's did pretty much all the time. He was stressed out and worried, concerned for Alcide probably. I looked at Amelia who suddenly clamped her mouth shut.

"Sorry to interrupt. I uh… just got off work." I whispered as though I'd just walked in on a funeral service. Dawson was broadcasting so loudly that I couldn't ignore it. I felt dizzy with the heaviness of his thoughts, but I kept right on listening.

It's gotta be The Passionate. If it isn't them, they know where he is, I'm sure. Those despicable… I'll have to catch the car in front of the Shreveport cemetery, sneak in and nab one of them. I'll beat it outta them. Damn ungrateful wretches, all elitist bastards the lot of them!

His train of thought kept rolling, but I'd had enough. I wandered dizzily out of the living room toward my bedroom, making a mental note to look up whatever The Passionate was as soon as Dawson left.