Thanks so much for the reviews! They totally make my day! I don't own twilight, but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night!
Chapter 3:
Calais went to her post behind the bar as Eric alighted to his thrown and the doors to the bar opened for the night. The stench of death was everywhere, Calais was having a hard time breathing, when something new hit the air. Allowing her eyes to drift towards the entrance as she made change at the register, Calais noticed a blonde and a redhead enter the bar. Handing the change to her last customer, Calais went to meet the new arrivals as they stopped at the bar. Calais immediately recognized the redhead as a vamp, young too by the look of it. The two hadn't exchanged blood, but appeared to simply be friends. Calais shook her head at that – being friends with a fanger wasn't the safest thing to do. Placing two napkins on the bar as she addressed the pair, "What can I get you?"
"Vodka cranberry for me please, Jess?" The blonde asked looking at her companion.
"AB positive Bloody Mary, splash of O neg."
"No problem." Calais replied as her hands beginning to mix the drink before her conscious mind could really keep up. She was totally going on habit with her bartending tonight. She'd tended many a bar and this fanger establishment wasn't much different from the biker bars she'd worked at. Calais noticed the girl in front of her might have been old enough to be in the bar and she came with a vamp, but she didn't really seem to belong. It hadn't gone past Calais notice that every vampire in the bar had looked her direction at least once since she'd entered. The girl flipped her hair behind her shoulder and Calais scented the air – the blonde smelled summery, like sunshine and wildflowers, a bit like Eric too, she noted with a smile as she took the ten that had been set on the bar. While she was turned with her back to the bar, ringing the sale into the register, Calais felt someone attempting to read her mind. Years of honing her privacy from the pack mind had made her defenses strong. With a jolt of recognition, Calais whipped around and shot a look of murder at her newest customer. Suddenly that summery scent wasn't so odd. "Get the fuck out of my head, fae." She whispered harshly. She was met by a very defensive growl from her redheaded companion.
"Jess, calm down." She replied, placing a hand on her companions arm. "I apologize for being rude. It's just usually I can hear everyone – and have to work to tune them out…except the vampires of course. But you're different. It's like I'm hearing static on a radio, I can hear your thoughts they're just out of my ability to understand. I thought if I concentrated more they'd translate."
"They won't translate unless I want them to. And since I don't know you, I don't want you anywhere near my thoughts. When I want you to hear what I'm thinking you'll know."
"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl replied, holding out her hand. "I'm Sookie Stackhouse."
Shaking her hand, Calais replied, "Calais Bozeman."
"Wow, your hand's so warm."
Calais dismissed her comment, "You're probably just used to those a little more cold blooded than the rest of us. Eric's staring, guess that comes with the territory of being his, huh."
"Oh, I'm not Eric's." Calais' eyebrow raised in a look of sarcastic surprise as she began to make the AB positive bloody mary for the vamp she was with.
"You've had his blood though." Calais replied as she placed the drink on the bar. The redhead took it and motioned to Sookie that she was headed to the dancefloor.
Sookie nodded at her companion and turned back towards Calais. "Oh, well, he tricked me."
"Men, right?" Calais joked. "So, you decide to start batting for the other team? The red head?"
"Oh, no, I'm very much into men, " stammered a flustered Sookie, "Just not Eric Northman."
"Sweetie," Calais whispered as she motioned for Sookie to lean in so she could whisper, "You've had his blood, you're in his bar, and I can smell what simply saying his name is doing to you. And by the expression on his face, he knows it too." She glanced towards the stage where Eric was staring at the interaction between the two women.
Sookie, leaned back with a serious blush coloring her tanned cheeks. "What are you?" she asked. "You're so warm, and you have heightened smell, oh my gosh you're a –"
Not out loud. Calais interrupted her, shooting her thoughts at the girl with a tinge of the power of an Alpha command, though it wouldn't actually command the fae to do anything.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean anything by it. You're not the first I've met."
"Right, sure. Why don't you run along now hun." Calais said, placing a new vodka cranberry on the bar in front of Sookie. "Here, this one's on me. Looks like you're being summoned and my guess is you'll need it. I know I'd prefer a stiff drink after chatting with him."
"Will you keep an eye on Jessica for me?"
"The red head?" Sookie nodded. "sure."
The rest of the night passed uneventfully and Calais was relieved when the crowd started thinning out. Closing the cash register and dividing up the tips, Calais walked the cash drawer into Eric's office. Calais balanced the drawer in one arm as she reached up to knock on the door. Hearing permission to enter, Calais pushed open the door, noticing that Eric was not paying any attention to her at all and was instead immersed in whatever story he was hearing from the person on the other end of the phone call. Calais dropped the cash drawers on his desk, assuming he'd want to double check that nights numbers and proceeded to turn around and walk back out the door to her apartment.
"Calais" Eric's voice stopped her before she could get out the door. Turning, Calais watched Eric pull an envelope out of a drawer of his deck and hand it to her.
"I don't know Eric, last time you gave me a 'gift' I wasn't a big fan." Calais said, walking back towards him to take the offered envelope.
"Open it." Eric commanded. Calais complied and noticed that this time when she allowed the contents to slip out of the envelope and into her hand, a black visa and a set of car keys was sitting there. Calais felt her breathe leave her, she'd grown up in a trailer park, she'd never have this kind of money, much less this kind of credit card. She looked up at Eric with a shocked expression on her face. Eric simply looked smug, his usual smirk forcing any other trace of emotion off his face. "You need clothes. I expect you to dress well, I won't have any pet of mine looking less than perfect. Tomorrow your day duties simply involve shopping for your new wardrobe. You will have the night off from the bar as well – but you will be back here and have checked in with me by last call." Eric finished as the phone rang again. Calais was dismissed with a wave of a hand as he answered.
The next morning, Calais awoke giddy as a school girl. Sure she was a bit of a hard ass, but she had a girly streak a mile wide when she gave in to it. Jumping out of bed and into the shower; Calais was washed, dressed, fed and walking out the door before she realized she had no idea what kind of car the keys went to. Hoping it was the only one in the parking lot, Calais made her way towards the front door, careful not to startle Ginger with her morning greeting. "Ginger, mind locking up behind me?" She called as she waltzed out the front door. The glare from the sunlight temporarily blinded Calais and as her vision adjusted, her mind freaked out. There in front of her, shiny and beautiful was a 1970 Dodge Charger. Black with a white leather interior, it looked like something out of Calais' dreams. Even more excited, Calais ran to the car and slid into the driver's seat. Turning the key in the ignition, Calais groaned in happiness as the engine growled to life. Pulling away from the depressing club that smelled like death, Calais made her way to the mall – feeling a bit like Julia Roberts in pretty woman…minus that whole hooker thing.
Calais spent the day in mind numbing bliss. She shopped till she dropped, then she shopped some more. Her trunk and back seat overflowed with skinny jeans, tanks, heels, accessories, a few figure hugging dresses and her new most favorite item, a dark brown leather jacket. Hours later, Calais pulled back into the bar, and began unloading – hoping to get everything to her 'dog house' before the bar opened and patrons arrived. Just as she was getting the last bag into the apartment, Calais heard her phone ring. Grabbing it from her bag on the couch, Calais answered without checking the caller ID.
"Calais. Oh god. HetookherIcan'!"
"Woah, woah. Luna, sweetie, I have awesome hearing, but even I didn't catch all that. Breathe hun, calm down."
"C, he took her. I went to Emma's school to pick her up and she wasn't there. Marcus got her and I don't know where she is. Oh god, they're probably halfway to Mexico by now. What am I going to do C? You have to help me."
"Luna, babe, it's ok. I'm leaving right now," Calais responded, grabbing her keys and bag as she slammed the door shut and ran to her new car. "Now, listen to me. You have to calm down. We'll find her. Go to the shop, I'll call Cindy and meet you there. Don't worry hun, no one takes a cub from my pack and gets away with it. Especially not my niece and especially not my ass of a brother."
Calais hung up the phone as she sped away from the bar towards the bike shop owned and run by the Pack. Dialing speed dial 2, Calais waited impatiently as the phone rang. On the third ring, Cindy picked up. "Hey Cin, I need you. Marc took Emma. Can you go to her school – track them down. I'm headed to the shop to see what the boys know."
"Leaving now."
"Thanks hun, call me when you find them. Emma goes to woodlands elementary – start at the school. You're my best tracker Cin, I'm counting on you!"
"You got it C."
Five minutes later and the sounds of an irate mother reached Calais ears as she climbed out of the car. Calais could scent Mike and Alcide in there as well as a shifter she didn't know and Luna. Walking into the shop, Calais presence immediately commanded attention. She was surprised to see Alcide and the shifter male she didn't know but, ignored their presence for the moment as all her attention turned to Mike.
"Where is he Mike?"
"I don't answer to you."
Calais didn't back down as she stood toe to toe with the 6' something Mike, the fourth stooge as Calais referred to him. "We can do this the hard way or the easy way Mike," Calais threatened, allowing her eyes to glow the dangerous yellow alerting Mike to the fact that she meant business.
"Fuck you."
The hard way it is, thought Calais. "On your knees Mike." Calais said, her voice laced with the power and authority of her position as Alpha. For a moment, Mike appeared to fight, gritting his teeth against the power of the alpha command, before he fell to his knees before her. "Answer me truthfully Mike. Where is Marcus?"
Looking anywhere but at Calais, Mike's voice sounded strained as he attempted to fight the second command, "I don't know."
"What did he say he was doing Mike?"
"He was going to get the kid and pick up the new bitch before heading out of town for a little while."
Luna gasped and began to yell, Calais held up a hand to stop her.
"Who's the bitch?"
Mike gave up struggling, hanging his head in defeat. "I don't know." He replied.
"Show me." Calais answered, closing her eyes and allowing Mike's memory of the female to enter her mind. "Fuckin' bitch." Calais yelled as she released Mike from the Alpha command and stomped over to what looked like a tool chest in the corner. Slamming open the door she reached inside, "Alcide, why are you here? Who's your friend and why's he here?" she asked, as she pulled a pistol out of the gun safe and tucked it in the waist band of her jeans, at the small of her back.
"Marcus killed his brother."
"Wonderful." Calais responded as she grabbed a shot gun out of the safe and slammed the door shut, moving towards a second cabinet. "Luna, you know this guy?"
"Yea C, this is Sam."
"Nice to meet you Sam." Calais said, not looking at the shifter as she grabbed a clip for the pistol and a handful of trank darts for the shotgun. "Luna's told me a bit about you. I'm sorry about your – "
Calais was interrupted as her phone rang. Grabbing it, she simply listened to the person at the other end. "Great work. Thanks Cin. Keep and eye on Emma and don't let them leave. We're on our way."
"She found her?" Luna exclaimed, running over to Calais.
"Yea," Calais replied. "They haven't left town yet. Cindy says Emma's sitting in the living room alone coloring. She looks nervous, but unharmed. Marcus is with her. " Calais turned her attention to Alcide. "You're driving."
"Where are we going?" Alcide asks, walking forward as the group heads to the cars. "You look like you're going to war."
"I'm hunting were's." Calais replied, "At your house."
