* Please note that this story is set after All Together Dead and does contain spoilers. All characters are the sole property of Charlaine Harris. *
It was a beautiful Sunday morning and it was my day off from Merlotte's. I brushed my teeth, peed, and reveled in all the little things that still made me feel like a human. I trotted back into my room after piling my hair into a neat ponytail on top of my head. As always, I faced the question of what to wear. I wound up pulling on a pair of sweatpants and my favorite long orange sweatshirt with Bon Temps Football on the front. It still smelled a little bit like Jason.
Thinking about my idiot brother made me scowl a bit. I would have to get around to having a series of awkward conversations with him one of these days, but it definitely wasn't going to be on my day off. I wandered into the kitchen to make myself a steaming cup of coffee and spread the last of my grandmother's jam onto two pieces of toast. I ate my breakfast in silence until Amelia burst through my front door and stomped up the stairs. She rethought her dramatic entrance halfway to her room and decided that she would rather tell me her troubles.
"That man is an asshole," she muttered and helped herself to some coffee.
"Werewolf," I corrected. Her thoughts consisted of nothing more than angry snarls and expletives, but I was too tired to think about blocking her out.
"I'm going shopping." She announced suddenly and disappeared out the front door just as suddenly as she had come. With a beginning like this, I should have suspected that it was going to be one hell of a day.
I climbed into my car and decided to do something productive. I stopped by the grocery store to buy some pork chops and blood since it was my night to cook. I pulled into the library and dropped my books in the deposit slot instead of going in. I thought Alcee Beck might rip my head off if I even thought of speaking to his wife, the librarian, ever again.
I was pleased to arrive home and curl up on my loveseat with a good romance novel. It had been a long time since I had paid Nora Roberts proper homage. I bit back a sigh as I realized how much I missed Bob's little body curled up on my knees keeping them warm as the winter months approached. I really did have to see about getting a new cat to replace him.
Amelia still hadn't returned by the time I stood up to start making dinner. I was in the process of chopping the fat off of the pork chops when I heard a string of beautiful and strange notes coming from the woods. My hand curled tighter around the knife as I went to the window to investigate. There was nothing suspicious about my yard, but it was hard to tell without the security light on. After a while I gave up and returned to my task.
The first needle caught me in the left shoulder. I involuntarily turned to look at the source and the second one caught me in the side of the neck. I hit the floor like a ton of bricks and starting convulsing. I called out in my head as the darkness claimed me. ERIC!