Goddesses and Monsters

Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and comment on the first chapter, I appreciate all your comments. Just to be clear, this is not a Sookie/Bill story, in fact if you love Bill, you won't love this story. I also feel I should warn you that there will be very mature content in some parts, but not dominating the story to make it a smutfest. Don't get me wrong, I love smut but this story is also about love and devotion. Sookie's relatives are all gone,

p.s. I should also say that I do not own the SVM or TB.

Bill

I took an unnecessary deep breath as I sauntered down the worn and broken steps of my ancestral home, relishing the solitude I had been craving since my Maker departed for New Orleans permanently.

Lorena had allowed me to keep my home, but not to maintain it. She hated Bon Temps, calling it a 'tasteless wasteland'. I only stayed there when Lorena did not require my presence in New Orleans with the Queen, which was thankfully quite often. It had only been made legal for a Vampire to own property shortly before old Jessie Compton's death, and I had glamoured Jessie into signing his assets over to me. Lorena was furious that I hadn't asked permission to seek this course of action and punished me brutally; but at the same time I knew that she would be pleased to have me 'out of her hair'.

Her brief liaisons with the Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Ann, had grown more and more frequent as they became closer. It was well know that the Queen preferred women, having mainly human females as pets. Lorena had taunted that sex with me had put her off men for eternity and so began her seduction of the Queen. It wasn't long before their burgeoning relationship had the Queen requesting that Lorena stay with her more often and for longer periods of time, which consequently provided me with the sanctuary of my home. Although the Queen detested me, I was useful to her, a fact that irked her immensely. Being the child of her lover and bonded she had to accept my existence until Lorena released me, but that didn't mean that she liked having me around and I knew it. They found assignment after assignment to keep me out of their lives and I had never felt more grateful for the tasks

The day that Lorena announced her marriage to Sophie-Ann and her intention to reside permanently in New Orleans was the happiest day of my undead life. Lorena would then release me.

When she came to my home as darkness fell, I felt positively giddy with joy at her words. She was a cast-iron bitch with heart of stone and cared nothing for me except for ownership, like a pet. For over 100 years I had longed to be free of her dominance over me. I hated her and I hated what she had taken from me. Instead of learning to love her, as she required, I loathed her and she punished me cruelly for it. Over the years my bitterness grew, I had always been a misogynist like my Father and women in my view were put on this Earth to breed and take care of their men. Lorena took my masculinity and turned me into her slave. Now that she had the love of the Queen, I was obsolete and she couldn't wait to sever their tie and neither could I.

The words she spoke when releasing me should have hurt. She called me 'dull as dishwater' and 'anally retentive', terms she no doubt picked up from the Sophie-Ann. The Queen was immature, bitchy and sarcastic and in these qualities, she and Lorena were a perfect match. I didn't care about her insults and wept crimson tears of joy when she finally said the words to release me, mistaking my tears for pathetic devastation as she laughed in my face as she abruptly left.

As soon as she departed, I took the steps from my home, ignoring the chime from my phone indicating I had a message, and walked from my grounds towards the cemetery for my evening stroll. Tonight was my rebirth and I intended to do all the things I had longed for whilst under my Makers thumb. The moon shone clearly, illuminating the ancient trees around me. I savoured the air, breathing in the scent of moss, earth and magnolias. As I strolled through my garden, I made plans to renovate the home that Lorena hated. Now that she was gone, I would restore it and its' grounds to its' former antebellum glory.

I was a proud man who wanted to prove that he was a formidable Vampire and not dependent on a woman to make something of himself. Lorena had stifled my masculinity, something that was unnatural to a Southern man and a solider at that. I would bide my time, make my plans and then strike. I would show my Maker and the Queen that I was not to be underestimated.

Eric

I slapped my hand over Yvetta's mouth as she continued to scream out my name in her annoying fake Eastern European accent. I had known for some time that she was actually from New York, but I was amused by the continued performance of her fake persona and the satisfaction that one day I would finally call her bluff and humiliate her like she deserved. Nobody toyed with the Sheriff, not even some cheap, fake blood whore like Yvetta. Her only redeeming feature was her delicious AB neg blood which I was sucking from her neck as I fucked her ruthlessly from behind.

Sealing her punctures, I released her from the wrist cuffs that were attached to the steel chains hanging from the basement ceiling. Dropping suddenly to her knees, she cursed at me, earning her a deathly glare whilst I strained to keep my patience with the insubordinate skinny bitch. My climax had been substandard and lacklustre, just like her. I wanted ecstasy, spine-tingling, mind-blowing sex that had me praising the Nordic gods. That was not going to be found in the basement fucking Yvetta, for sure.

"Fucking leave, NOW!" I yelled impatiently at Yvetta who was standing slowly and shakily, still recovering from the multiple orgasms I had given her whilst feeding and fucking.

She went to protest, reaching out to stroke a finger down my bare chest. "But Master, I make you feel good again, yes?" I gripped her wrist before she could touch me and stared at her menacingly. "Fuck off before I break it!"

She wrenched her wrist from my hold and huffed as she picked up her clothes to leave. I sped past her to my office in a blur, leaving her to stomp up the dark stairs like a petulant child.

"I don't know why you put up with her." Pam drawled as she lounged on the couch in my office, examining her manicure. "Sure she's got nice tits and her blood is just yummy, but she's as irritating as an STD, not that I would know of course…"

I sighed, although Pam was right, I was not in the mood for her sarcasm. I was uptight and unsatisfied. Sex with the fangbangers of Fangtasia had become a chore. Since opening my club in the early 2000's when Vampires' came 'out of the coffin' so to speak, the human patrons of my club had become increasingly undesirable. I craved something new, fresh and unspoiled. This club had started out as a profitable tourist attraction, fascinated humans would flock to see Vampires mingle with them, offering them danger, excitement and sex. It was clichéd, but it worked. It worked for decades until recently when the shit hit the fan.

"Shut it Pam, I'm not in the mood." Pam raised her perfectly groomed eyebrows in question.

I slumped in my office chair and templed my fingers in contemplation.

"Master?" Pam was concerned now. She could feel the discontent emanating from me.

"I'm so fucking bored of this place, it needs change. I need a change." I looked at her earnestly, prompting her response.

"What the fuck has that whore Yvetta done now! I'll fucking rip the extensions out of that skanky bitch's hair!" Pam was livid, she despised Yvetta.

"It's not her Pam." I sighed in frustration.

"What do you want to do Master? Close Fangtasia?" Pam was radiating anxiety; she had never witnessed this behaviour in me before.

"Yes, but open a new place. Somewhere different, a change of name and no more fucking fangbangers – it's too dangerous now..."

Pam just stared at my face, unsure what to say. She rose from the couch and kneeled in front of me, head bowed.

"I will do anything you command of me Master, give me your instructions and I will see that you are satisfied."

My fingers touched her chin gently, raising her eyes to mine. Their gazes conveyed understanding and no words needed to be spoken. I knew my child could feel my mood; I had felt the same mood from my Maker Godric before when he had contemplated exposing himself to the sun.

I took a moment to compose myself; I hated appearing weak, even to my child.

"We shall keep the club open until the new business is launched; our loyal Vampires need somewhere to meet. I want somewhere more upmarket, larger with options for a hotel, a restaurant, a club and offices for our business interests."

His mood improved as I envisaged my new plan. Change was always necessary to combat stagnancy. Vampires couldn't afford to become complacent; complacency is what caused the current unrest between humans and Vampires to escalate.

I heard a saying once, "these are days when no one should rely unduly on his competence. Strength lies in improvisation. All the decisive blows are struck left-handed." A saying that rang true in my mind, I would not stagnate…and I was left-handed after all.

"Yes Master, I shall start looking straight away." Pam nodded enthusiastically as she exited my office, grateful for my sudden uplifted mood. I was relieved she didn't question my melancholy as I reflected on where it all started to go wrong.

The fascination with Vampires and the legends surrounding them had been fervent for many years before the great revelation. When it was revealed that Vampires were in fact, not a myth, the reactions were varied. Some held morbid or sexually fuelled fascination the others had hatred and disbelief that Vampires could co-exist with humans. In a decade, religion and politics had fuelled this hatred causing organisations to form such as The Fellowship of the Sun and anti-Vampire politicians to whip hysteria and fear into the general public.

The 'relationship' with humans and Vampires was at an all time low. The only humans to accept Vampire society were the fangbangers. Individuals seeking sex and danger, often with low self-esteem, limited intelligence and dubious health. There were a small few who lobbied that Vampires were as victimised and prejudiced against as black people and homosexuals were before being accepted into everyday society. These few were lauded by the Vampire politicians who struggled to gain acceptance again. Even though acceptance could have been forced, dominance of this kind was frowned upon by the leader of our Authority; our Vampire Government only sought integration. The continued reluctance of the human Government to accept Vampires is what caused despondence in my Maker.

Godric had lived over two thousand years and since joining the Vampire Authority, he longed for peace amongst our kind. He was a visionary and deemed that over time, Vampires should evolve and blend in, not dominate and destroy. There were those in the Vampire world, of course, who disagreed with this philosophy and contributed to the ongoing mistrust of our kind through violence and criminal activity.

This mistrust caused powerful factions of the Government to seek ways to eradicate our kind. In the last decade, they had succeeded in creating a serum that would protect humans against Vampires called 'Haemorta'. A genetically created antibody that lived dormant in a human, it's genetic signature similar to that of the disease Haemophilia, only activated when the skin was broken causing Vampires who ingested immunised blood to suffer. Their blood would thin to the point that it would leach from their capillaries like a leaky tap, eventually causing said Vampire to bleed to death if treatment was not sought immediately. The standard Haemophiliac treatment of a clotting agent helped, but would leave the sufferer greatly weakened and susceptible to further exposure.

Many of our kind had been exposed leaving our numbers depleted. The masses that dreamt about being turned dwindled as did our innumerable food source. Vampires had to resort to feed upon the degraded souls who willingly gave themselves and those poor souls who could not afford to buy the drug. Those who had been immunised wore a brand on their neck, a clear indication to a Vampire that the human was 'off the menu'. Primal hunting for a feed became more widespread, setting the cause that Vampires were just as civilised as humans back to before the revelation almost.

Eager to fight the hatred and restore balance, Godric and I had invested in a vamp-owned pharmaceutical company in Texas, not too far away from Shreveport, that was working on creating a synthetic blood that was a palatable and nutritious alternative to human blood. The desire to show humankind that we were willing to blend into society without the natural instinct for bloodlust was strong, and it was only after becoming involved in this company, did my maker finally find a reason to carry on.

The work on this synthetic blood had taken several years. Too long for me and I was losing faith. It had to work; there was no other way our kind would survive without resorting to war.

As if reading my thoughts, my phone rang with a video call from Godric, no doubt to update me on the latest results from their pharmaceutical endeavour. His serene face appeared on the screen as I touched the screen to accept the call and I smiled back in welcome at my Maker.

"Master, it is a pleasure to see you." Godric smiled warmly at me.

"Child, you are well? I sense discontent from you, what troubles you?"

I hesitated, my lack of faith in our project was weighing on me along with the build up of dissatisfaction of Fangtasia, but I did not wish to burden my Master with my depression. If Vampires could get depressed.

"It is nothing Master. How is progress at the lab?" Godric narrowed his eyes, frowning slightly at my dismissal in obvious disbelief.

"Have faith my child, you will be pleased to hear the latest batch is successful. I am sending some cases to your club tonight for testing on your subjects; I believe it is our best yet."

Godric always knew when I was troubled, as with Pam, our bond allowed emotions and feelings to travel both ways. He sent reassurance to me as he spoke the words and I was encouraged by the conversation and the rush of encouragement.

"That is good news. I hope it is better than the shit they made for the reveal, that did our cause no good, nobody would drink it." I smiled appreciatively at my Maker.

"I am positive that this is better, I have tried it for myself. Apart from drinking fresh blood, it is highly palatable."

I couldn't help but let Godric's enthusiasm rub off on me. Although Godric was already my present age when he turned me back in my Viking days, he was essentially a teenager at heart and his enthusiasm was infectious.

"I shall arrange for a 'tasting' session with the Vampires of this area."

"Very good. Ha en god natt Eric." I nodded and pressed the touch screen to end the call.

I sent out an area-wide message for compulsory attendance at Fangtasia the next evening, which was a night the club was normally pretty quiet. I would need an up to date list of Vampires for this, something which Compton should have sent me but had failed to do. I picked up my phone and left a message for Bill Compton to send me the list immediately. I fucking hated that miserable excuse for a Vampire. Bill and his Maker had been renowned for their cruel and bloodthirsty ways, ways that were not acceptable to a modern day Vampire but there was nothing I could do about them. Not now that Bills' Maker was shacked up with the Queen. That relationship was nothing but trouble waiting to happen.

Once again I sat back in my comfortable office chair, unfolded my long muscular legs and crossed my feet on my desk. My spirits had been lifted from the funk that pissed me off whilst with Yvetta. I vowed to expel her from the club as soon as possible and take pleasure in the fact that things were looking up, I could feel it.

Please review, I value your comments and hope you look forward to having Sookie up next... Mx