**AUTHOR'S NOTES

I am a big fan of Trueblood the TV show as well as the Southern Vampire Mysteries and so this story will have my favourite elements of both. This story will loosely follow the plot of Season 1 of Trueblood with a few of my characters added to the mix. ***

"Remind me why we are here?" I sighed and looked to my best friend Grace.

'Here' was a long queue waiting to get into an apparently note-worthy vampire bar in an industrial area of a Louisiana town called Shreveport. We'd been to plenty of vampire bars in New Orleans – they were everywhere in the 'dead quarter' – and all had been exciting and a great time. However, I was a bit under my enthusiastic par as it had been a long day of travelling and checking into a dingy little motel.

Grace and I were travelling across America. We'd planned it for years and had changed only a few details when the vampires came out of the coffin. It was exciting but I did want there to be more to our U.S adventure than travelling from vampire bar to vampire bar.

Grace was very persuasive though, and I usually caved in to what she wanted to do. I knew we'd have a great time whatever we did, but, like I said, it had been a long day.

Grace turned to me with a huge smile on her face "We are here because they talk about this place in New Orleans so it must be good. Look at the queue" she gestured at the black and red clad patrons waiting to get inside. "It can't be bad if all these people are waiting to get in. Plus", She leaned closer to me and arched an eyebrow "I hear the owners are hot as hell."

"Well, as they're dead, I doubt they would be anything but cold" I grumbled.

"Oh Alex" she said and gave me a quick hug. "We'll get some drinks and you'll be fine. They have a band in tonight too, look." She pointed to the poster that was now next to us as we took another couple of steps forward.

"Fangtasia," I read out loud "The Bar with a Bite" I couldn't help but laugh, and Grace joined in to. "Presents the infamous Deadset." I finished "I guess a vampire band could be cool" I will make an effort to have fun God damn it!

Another 15 minutes and my feet started to hurt. Grace and I had dressed for the occasion. I was in killer heels – excuse the pun – which always brought a smile to my face. They were shiny black snake skin and I loved them. I put them with a black, leather, knee length pencil skirt that was almost too tight. I clung on to that 'almost' as tightly as the skirt clung to my ass. I'd put on a demure looking black slash neck top, except that it had a huge cut out, exposing most of my back. I loved the fact that I felt so sexy without having to show too much skin. Grace said I looked like a wicked secretary. If I fit in with the black clad crowd, Grace fit in with the red patrons. She wore a simple strapless red dress, just above the knee. She really didn't need to dress it up at all as her body underneath the dress did most of the talking. Damn her, she looked hot as always. Wearing big black heels like mine and a couple of bangles and she was done.

We both thought we looked hot and just racy enough when we left the motel but compared to the queue of people around us, we looked frumpy without tits and ass on show

"Oh my God" I heard Grace gasp and I looked up from my shoes. We were only a couple of people from the front now and Grace had seen what was now making my mouth hang open. The lady, no doubt a vampire, on the door was absolutely beautiful. She was dressed to match the patrons, in a black latex dress that held her breast up high and proud, it was almost wrong not to look and appreciate them. To contrast, her long blonde hair was hanging loose around her shoulders and it was all messed up. Very much the just out of bed look. The dress was just as tight all the way down. It made me wonder how she could walk in it, let alone in her shoes – oh! She had the same shoes as me! I said as much to Grace who smiled back at me "You both have good taste then. They're my favourite of yours as well." Then we were in front of her.

"IDs please" she sounded bored but I couldn't help but be swept up in the atmosphere now and I wanted to see inside and see if the owners were as hot as the door lady was. She glanced over our driver's licenses and looked back up at us, smiling and a hell of a lot more animated.

"You're from England?"

"Yes" we both said together

"Lovely" she almost sighed as she looked us up and down. I looked over at Grace who had a similar blush to me.

She handed back our cards, "I am originally from there". That surprised me two fold. First that the southern drawl must have once been an English accent, and secondly that she would share that kind of information at all.

"Well, you're more than welcome to join us and reminisce" I looked over at Grace, not quite believing she had said that. Was she flirting with the vampire? I looked back at the dead vixen and she was now slowly smiling at us, showing just how much she wanted to reminisce as her fangs extended.

"Indeed I am" and she stepped to the side, removing the rope as she moved and allowing us into the noisy bar.

I knew she was checking us out as we walked in. I didn't look back, but noted that Grace did. The room opened up to the bar, stage, dance floor and tables and booths. Grace made an excited little sigh and jumped to hug me tightly.

"Ok, ok, calm down" I said, dragging her to the bar, "what do you want?"

She looked at me and didn't say anything

"I don't think they sell her at the bar"

She gave a particularly predatory smile "I'll have a white wine then" and turned to lean her back against the bar and get a better look of the place.

I glanced around as I waited for the bar lady to get to me – I hadn't had a decent glass of wine since we were in America. I don't doubt that the wine was perfectly fine – but I guess I needed to find a drink to suit the country. I didn't like beer so I went with a G&T when the vampire bartender swept over to us. As if reading my mind Grace quickly turned and asked to make that two.

The place wasn't packed but I knew that would change with the queue that we had left outside. You could instantly tell where the vampires were. They seemed to glow in the muted light they were so pale. But maybe that was just me? They also had a crowd of people around them, not right up close though, so there were strange vacuums of activity dotted around the bar.

I had to admit it was a pretty decent bar. Nice (if predictable) décor, clean, good music but not too loud but, again, I guessed that would change later on when the band started. There was what looked like a temporary stage to the right of the bar, directly opposite the front door. But there was also what looked like a smaller, but permanent, dais opposite the bar that both Grace and I were now facing with our drinks. There was a very imposing chair/throne in the middle facing out into the crowds and I knew the bar owner had to be the one to sit there. It seemed such an antiquated thing to do, like surveying his lands or something, so I knew it had to be a vampire that sat there.

After a few more observations and comments on the vampires and their respective fans we shimmied over to the gift shop which included branded sex toys much to our amusement. We went back to the bar as the booths and tables were well and truly filled. Grace went to order another round of drinks and I said I'd meet her back there and headed for the bathroom.

They too were clean; it was the people inside that weren't.

Of course the term 'fangbanger' was pretty much an international thing, but these girls were a different breed altogether. There was a distinct air of desperation. Or maybe that was a bit cruel. It just wasn't the same as New Orleans. The girls waiting to use the stalls were all ages. The youngest must be barely legal to be in the bar but they seemed to make up for it with the young flesh on show. They might as well all be in their underwear with a 'bite me' tattoo on their foreheads. Oh, I take that back, there was actually a woman with that tattooed on her back, just below her neck. Well, I suppose it wouldn't get ruined if she were bitten on the neck. She was the oldest person in there with the rest of us. Dressed to the nines in a short denim skirt (black of course) and a branded fangtasia t-shirt that she had cut and ripped to make it very revealing. So much so I could see most of her zebra print bra. She had her died blond hair pinned up in what she probably thought was an alluring style for the vampires in the bar and it also meant that her tattoo was on show. She made me feel very lucky that I was just a tourist, and I know that doesn't paint me in the best light.

The rest of the crowd in the bathroom was about my age (25) and it seemed to be pretty indicative to the bar in general. There was also a good mix of local fangbangers and tourists like Grace and I. After I had my turn, I realised there was only one other girl in there with me and I made the mistake of glancing over to her.

She must have already been looking at me and I think we were both surprised to be making eye contact. However, I was immediately drawn to what she was doing, apparently alone in the toilets. She was very petite, but had a bit of what could have been mistaken for puppy fat, round face and muffin top over her red mini 'naughty school girl' skirt. I must have surprised her because she was in mid cut. Yes, she was cutting herself, just above her hairline so it couldn't be seen but undoubtedly could be smelled by every vampire in the place. I smiled out of habit and nerves, just a little one, and averted my eyes. Getting back to washing my hands. She let her dark hair down over the little cut, checked herself in the mirror and washed the razor blade before putting it in her wallet. She glanced back at me and gave a similarly small smile "it makes them notice me" and she left.

I felt a bit sick after that.

I just wish Grace had been there to see it so I would be more likely to convince her to leave.

I know it might be naive of me, and I know that vampires are real and know all that comes with that: super strength, speed, glamouring, blood sucking, dead people but I had never really seen anything like that. I've never seen a feeding, well, only on the internet, and I'd only spoken to the vampires Grace and I had met in New Orleans but I don't really count them as real conversations because they were pretty much doing the rounds in the bars they worked in. Kind of like a meet and greet to keep the customers happy. So I've never gotten to know any.

So yeah, seeing someone cutting themselves just to be noticed freaked me out, and made me very glad I had no open wounds, nor showing too much skin. I did not want to be noticed.

My sombre mood was interrupted by a new group of girls who had already had too much to drink, but were having a great time.

"Did you see the bartender?" said one girl, preening herself in the mirror.

"Yeah," said one who had disappeared into a stall, "I've never seen one with so many tattoos"

I left them to it.

I navigated my way back to where I had left Grace, but all I found was a gap at the bar and one gin and tonic. I looked around but the bar was packed now and I could only see about 3 people in each direction. I moved to the space left clear at the bar and took a big swig of the drink. It was more than a double and I winced. When I opened my eyes, the illustrious tattooed bar tender was in front of me. Every inch of his arms and neck were covered in intricate tattoos, and I could only assume they continued under the racer vest he was wearing.

"You're Grace's friend?" he asked with no emotion at all.

"Yes, where is she?" I was leaning over the bar to hear his reply.

"She's indisposed," he said. He didn't smile but his features seemed to brighten slightly which I didn't like one bit. "She will be with you before the end of the night," I opened my mouth to ask him what the hell he was talking about but he continued "drinks are on the house until she returns" and he was gone at lightening speed.

What the fuck?

I was angry and scared and wanted to know what the fuck she was thinking when she left me alone in a vampire bar while she did God knows what. I finished the gin and tonic in another few swigs and found it had been replaced without me seeing anyone, human or vampire, behind the bar.

What the fuck Grace.

I turned and looked at the people around me. Everyone was in groups of friends, chatting and laughing, looking at the vamps. You didn't need to be a mind reader to see what some people were thinking. What had Grace been thinking when she went wherever she went?

I sipped this drink, knowing it would be all too easy to get drunk now. This one was also more than a double and I eyed the tattooed bartender, who was now concentrating on the other end of the bar.

I thought it was pretty obvious she had to have gone off with a vampire, but which one? I decided to do a circle of the room, seeing if I could remember all of them, I think there were only a dozen of them at most, but then who knew who had arrived and left since we got here. Oh God, what if Grace had left with one of them. I just assumed that she was still here in the building but she could be anywhere. I picked up the pace and was a bit less forgiving using my elbows to get around the room.

Suddenly there was a screech of feedback from the speakers and a load of hissing. The feedback died away and the hissing did too, after a little while. Maybe there were more than a dozen vampires in the house after all.

"My apologies for that. Vampires, ladies and gentlemen," There was a pause as the announcer waited for the noise to die down. "Please let me introduce the illustrious Deadset".

The bar erupted into whoops and cheers and claps and there was movement towards the stage as the crowd tried to get closer. Of course, being in the throng I was caught in the flow and even though I knew it was useless, I tried to fight against the tide, to move to the side and not get squished. I knew it would happen but I just did not want to get caught up in anything else I didn't have control over so I fought harder to get free which resulted in me tripping over someone's foot and I went flying.

I could feel myself fall in slow motion and resigned myself to hitting the hard, metal edged step to my side. Which I did with my upper arm, which meant I lost grip of my drink which flew away from me.

I lay for a second or two and waited for the floor to swallow me up but I wasn't so lucky.

I was sprawled on the floor of the dais that could only mean that the feet I was seeing in front of me belonged to the owner of the bar. As if the embarrassment wasn't enough, I could now be accused of getting in the personal space of the head vampire. Nice one Alex.

It was a small consolation that the crowd had moved from around me and was now concentrated on the band.

I purposefully didn't look up at him (I'd like to see a woman, dead or alive, with feet that big) but tried to get up as lady like as possible. I noticed with relief that my skirt still covered my ass without ripping anywhere.

I put my weight on the right arm and hissed at the pain there. I must have hit the deck pretty hard. Without me seeing any movement, a large pale hand was offering me help up. I followed the line of the wrist, over muscled forearm and biceps but caught myself before I made eye contact – a mix of fearful embarrassment and fear of his glamour.

I really couldn't do anything but take his hand and the help offered – I certainly didn't want to offend a big shot vampire any further than I already had. I was surprised how cold it was, then mentally shook myself for being stupid. He was dead; of course it was cold! And I couldn't even blame a head injury…

He pulled me up so fast my free hand went out to steady myself and landed squarely on his chest. His very firm, muscled chest.

Before I could snatch it away, he started walking me up and across the dais. I had to totter after him, most likely looking like a useless fangbanger, but there was really nothing I could do, as he wasn't letting go of my hand.

I found my tongue when he walked through a staff door and we were in a back corridor and still moving.

"Where are you taking me?" I was impressed at how strong my voice was. It didn't do any good though, as he didn't answer me.

He opened another door and pulled me in. It was a small office, big desk with a big leather chair behind it and a bigger leather sofa along one of the walls.

"Are you going to bite me?" I yanked my arm which he still held. I glanced up and knew I shouldn't have. Our eyes locked and I took in the rest of his face. He was distractingly handsome. But it didn't distract from the danger; it distracted from everything else – including the common sense in my mind that should have been screaming to look away from a vampire that could glamour me. He had intelligent, bluer than blue eyes and his chiselled features only made it easier to imagine him ripping someone's head off. In contrast he had long blonde hair which was currently flowing over his shoulders, slightly out of place from our brisk walk. He had a wicked smile on his lips and his fingers trailed down my naked back and made me shiver.

"Would you like me to?"

"No" I said immediately.

The smile didn't leave but he walked to sit behind his desk "Then you are fortunate I have already been satisfied this evening" he sighed and threw something onto the leather couch on the opposite wall to where I was standing "clean yourself up". I looked at the little first aid kit and back to him, but he was already consumed by whatever was on his computer screen – no smile now. I was obviously not worthy of any notice any more.

I opened the first aid kit and cleaned out the rather large graze on my arm, happy there didn't seem to be any dirt in it. I got a hiss from blondie, presumably at the smell of the anti-bac wipe I used. I was about to stick a bandage patch on when he said, "use the iodine as well".

I looked over at him and he was in exactly the same pose as he'd been, like he hadn't spoken at all. I guess I must still smell bloody. I did as he said, then finished with the patch and cleaned up the mess, stuffing the paper rubbish in my bag rather than ask him where the bin was.

Ok, I willed myself to relax, or at least appear to do so. But here I was, in a back office with a big scary vampire, albeit he wasn't hungry, that didn't mean he wasn't willing if his offer was anything to go by.

What do I do now? I was torn between being as unnoticeable as possible and wanting to go back out and find Grace.

Why the fuck did I let her bring me here? I could be asleep right now. I was suddenly more angry than concerned about my friend.

I opened my mouth to ask if I could go now, but thought 'well fuck you too Mr Vampire' and stood up and went to the door. I got no reaction from him and so opened the door, only to come face to face with the tattooed vampire bartender, holding what looked like a g&t and a little red paper napkin in his hand. All for me, well I wasn't I the lucky human.

"Please take a seat" I heard from behind me and I was forced back into the office as the bartender advanced into the room without waiting for me to move out of the way. He herded me all the way to the couch until I was forced to drop down when my legs hit the seat and offered me the drink again, with a snigger on his face. I took it indignantly and didn't say thank you. He turned, bowed to blondie and left, closing the door behind him.

With nothing else to do I sipped my drink. I was completely perplexed with what was going on. Why was he keeping me here if he didn't want to bite me? Maybe I was going to be supper closer to morning?

"How long are you going to keep me here?"

I waited for his answer. He continued to look at his computer screen but eventually turned his head to me. It was like he had to drag his eyes away from the screen. He looked me up and down with a bored expression.

"You are to remain in this office until I release you" he continued to hold my gaze and I wondered if he was glamouring me. But if he was doing that then I wouldn't be thinking he was glamouring me, would I?

I lifted my chin slightly, willing myself to be braver. The worst he can do is bite me and glamour me so I can't remember. In this modern age, and with the need to mainstream, he couldn't just kill me, although I got the feeling he was very capable and maybe just as willing.

"I came here with my friend. She'll wonder where I am"

He got that wicked smile on his face but I fought the impulse to shrink back into the couch. "Have you ever had sex with a vampire?"

"What?"

He leaned forward and spoke slowly like I was some kind of idiot, although the complete switch of subject did leave me reeling "Have you ever had sex with a vampire?"

"No!"

That made him chuckle "I didn't think so" and he went back to his computer, with a final glance to get another chuckle.

It just made something click inside me

"What am I even doing here?" I got up off the couch and slammed the drink in his on front of him, sloshing the liquid over his papers. "Where is she? If the bartender knew where she went, then so do you. You probably know a hell of a lot more. So tell me where the fuck my friend is or I will call the police and have them search the building!"

I had noticed that his eyes had widened somewhat when I shouted, and they had followed me as I stood in front of his desk. They had left my face to watch the glass slam down and they hadn't risen up again. Now I was shaking and breathing hard, looking at a vampire staring down at the desk.

My heartbeat didn't slow down, even though my tantrum had stopped. His lack of action was keeping it racing.

He stood up at vampire speed, so fast it was the sound of his chair hitting the wall behind him that made me jump back and gasp. Still looking at the soggy papers, he walked around the desk and lifted the glass off of the table and removed all of the wet papers. I started to back up towards the door; he was doing everything far too calmly.

Then the glass smashed against the door behind me. I shrieked but shut my mouth when I saw the look on his face.

"This" he waved the stack of dripping sheets in front of him, stalking forward at the same time "was my last 2 years revenue reports" he threw them at the sofa. Some of the relatively dry ones floated down, some dropped immediately and others stuck to the walls and the sofa he threw them so hard. He didn't pause and was still advancing. The way he was stalking reminded me of a lion. Yet again I was backing away from a vampire, and my back hit the wall and I was trapped.

Shit fuck wank.

He stopped in front of me, freely showing his fangs and I'm pretty sure he growled though I was a little distracted by hyperventilating.

"I was going to make your first fuck with a vampire exquisite" he growled, leaning towards me, his breath was cold on my hot face, "but now I have neither the time nor the inclination".

I think I felt the moment my body switched off before my brain did.

Damn glamouring vampire.

***I'm working on continuing this so hope to get the next few chapters up soon. I would LOVE to know what you think so please review!***