There will be spoilers.
Rated Mature
If Tara never left Bon Temps and befriended Alcide
The gentle caressing of Tara's belly caused her to stir in her sleep. Alcide smiled and slowly slid his hand up to the skin beneath her breast. Her slender form rested back against his. Bending his elbow, he rested his head against his palm and got comfortable. It was eight pm, and the darkness of the woods had cooled the cottage. Alcide fondled her breast while thinking of what he would cook for their dinner. The decided on sesame crusted salmon, with spinach and baby red potatoes. He ran a single digit along the bridge of her nose, and onto her lips.
"Would you like that?" he whispered. They would eat in front of the fireplace and then play a game of cards...
His finger ventured further down, and circled her nipple. She frowned slightly, and he tried to stop himself from laughing at her contorted face. He pressed the nipple as if it were a button.
"Sstttoooopppp" Tara groaned pouting. He bent down to kiss her cheek. But he didn't stop.
Alcide rolled the nipple around, and placed soft kisses on the corner of her mouth. When she sighed and squirmed against him, he went back to her belly. She pushed herself back against his naked crotch with a grind.
"Mmm..." he groaned into her neck, and grinded back. He pulled the sheet down revealing her breasts, and causing her to shiver. He grasped one and placed his hot mouth on it. She gasped, gripping his hair. He suckled, nipped, and licked at her nipples as he promised himself he would. The taste of her skin hardened him further. His palm drifted down to toy with her belly button again. And then, at a snails pace, reached for her womanhood. Tara rocked herself back against his erection as he began to play with her slit.
"Alcide..." she sighed sleepily. He knew she was exhausted from their bout earlier, but he wanted to watch her come again. The man fingered her unhurriedly. His loins began to ache from playing with her body, but he continued to take his time.
"What do you want Tara?" he whispered huskily.
She pressed his finger deeper with her own hand. A smirked slid onto his face.
"You wanna come baby?" He asked nipping at the skin beneath her ear. She nodded, and he slid in another finger, working her hard and fast. It wasn't long before her body began to spasm and she moaned her release, arching against him. He stroked himself until he came, and rubbed the head of his penis on her lower back. His wolf yipped madly at the new conquest.
He was very pleased.
Alcide laid beside her until she fell asleep, then rose from his warm spot to start on dinner.
From the beginning of the meal to the end, Tara praised Alcide's culinary skills. After she took her last bite of Salmon, she placed the fork on the plate and leaned back in her chair. Her head shook slowly from side to side. The man smiled at her from across the table.
"What?" he asked. Tara wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"That was fuckin' amazing"
"Well I'm happy you enjoyed it" he chuckled, and stood to grab her plate "Want more?"
Tara frowned suddenly.
"You tryin' to get me fat!" she accused. Alcide burst into laughter over the insinuation. But she was partially serious. She stood from the small wooden table.
"I do want more, but I'm not gonna fall for your tricks Rumpelstiltskin" she joked. Tara could have eaten two more plates, but didn't want to tell him that. All of Jason's jokes about her being "manly" made her self-conscious, and she had been told on more than one occasion that she "ate like a man". He placed the plates in the sink and ran some water over them. When he turned to face her, his voice was honest.
"I can't help it if I like to feed you" he said. It was true. He hoped to do many things for her.
"Shuddap" she said walking into the living room "You're a big softy, ya know that"
Tara felt uncomfortable and embarrassed with the sweet talk for reasons she didn't understand. Alcide joined her on the love seat, resting an arm on her shoulders. She nuzzled into his embrace wrapping herself around his torso. He was treating her so well. The sex, the sweet words, the dinner...
It made her want to run.
'Maybe this is getting too serious too fast. What if Sookie read him wrong?' she thought. Tara hated the way her thoughts turned negative within the matter of seconds. All she wanted was to be happy, even if what they had wasn't long term. She wanted to enjoy it while they still had it.
It was a little after midday at Merlotte's. The floor was bare, and the staff had been waiting for customers for over an hour. Sookie, Tara, and Arlene sat at the bar in a comfortable silence. Lafayette and Terry sat at the table nearest to the kitchen playing cards. It was unusually empty. Any other day around that time customers would come flowing in for lunch. But the whole town seemed to be bare.
'Everyone is leaving, dying, or being turned into a vampire' Tara thought. She looked at Sookie dozing off with her cheek flat against the counter. She had volunteered to work lunch rush until Sam could hire replacements for the ones that were dead. But Sookie hadn't stopped to think about how that was going to affect her new time setting until after she said yes.
"What are you guys doin?"
Everyone except for Sookie, who had passed out, raised their heads to give the boss attention. Sam was leaning against the frame to the kitchen entrance. He didn't look angry that everyone was lounging about, but he was a bit bothered.
"Can't you all find anything to do?" Sam asked.
Arlene shrugged "I swept the floors and cleaned the tables"
"I cleaned under and on top of the bar" said Tara. Sam nodded and looked at Lafayette and Terry waiting for their excuses.
"I prepped everything for the next few days, and Terry did the dishes and the bathroom" Lafayette sighed. Terry nodded in confirmation. Their boss scratched the back of his head in annoyance and stood up straight. Tara stared at Sam. They hadn't talked like friends since the night she turned him down. It had been strictly business between the two. But she missed the friendship. She wondered if it would ever be possible for them to go back to how it was before she fucked everything up. She rolled the thought around for a few more moments before folding her hands down on the bar, and laying her head atop of them like Sookie.
She wouldn't do it.
It would be selfish of her to try and keep him around when she knows how much he wanted things to work out between them. The Tara she was before Alcide came along, would have thought up a ridiculous excuse to justify her actions. 'Well it's not my fault he cares about me...' is something she would have said in the past. And it's true, it's not her fault. But knowing how deep his feelings ran for her, and being around him all the time, wasn't going to help him get over her. She wouldn't do it. She didn't want to fall back into old ways.
Alcide made her want to be a better woman. He helped her to see the beauty in herself. A small smile made it's way to her face as she thought about her worries from the night before. For once, she actually felt safe with herself and her relationship.
Sam walked behind the bar and poured himself a glass of orange juice. "I'm closing up if we don't get anyone within the next thirty minutes" he said. Everyone nodded. Tara stood and made her way into the kitchen to make her lunch. When she walked past Sam, he stiffened.
'No...' he thought. He followed her into the back. She was pulling out a beef patty and buns. When she realized her boss was staring at her, her eyes widened.
"Oh shit! I'm sorry. I forgot to offer you guys some" she said wincing. Tara had worked for a few food service businesses. And at everyone she had to pay for her meal. Sam allowed everyone to eat what they wanted as long as it wasn't while the bar was busy. She was grateful for that, and felt that the least she could do was offer to cook for everyone else if she was going to heat the grill. Sam walked around to her side of the table, and sniffed her. Tara frowned and stepped back. He leaned back from her crossing his arms.
"Are you offering the same thing you've been offering that damn wolf?" he asked. She quickly opened her mouth to tell him about himself, but then something clicked. Her jaw dropped.
"You can smell him on me?" she asked astonished. She had forgotten Sam was a shape shifter. His senses were heightened like many of the other supernaturals.
"He marked you Tara" He said the word with so much disdain, she was afraid to ask what it meant. Sam looked towards the food service window to see Arlene peeking over the side of the bar at them. He motioned for Tara to follow him. Once they were in the safety of his locked office her continued.
"I thought you didn't like supernaturals... You called us freaks"
Tara's focus shot to the floor. The hurt in his eyes shook her.
Sam's heart clenched remembering the day he told her his secret. They had just reconnected, and had the best sex he'd had in a long time. He had felt closer to her. And for that moment, he thought they were going to be alright. But she turned him away after finding out what he was, and ran out without even fully dressing herself. It burned him to know she left him for another supernatural, and one that considered him an enemy at that. He never knew why, but many werewolves hated shape-shifters. At least all the ones that he'd come in contact with.
"I know" she whispered. She didn't think about how Sam would feel once he found out. "I didn't know any better. I was a complete bitch. HELL! I still slip up every now and then...I'm a fuck up Sam...I'm sorry..."
He stared at her, his icy blue gaze never wavering.
"You're always sorry Tara" he said coolly. She sniffed trying not to cry. He was right. She reached for him, but he quickly stepped back from her. She looked up at him holding back the wave of emotion that one little step caused.
"That's not a good idea. You don't want him to smell me on you right now. The mark is too fresh. His wolf is on edge." If there was anything life as a shifter taught Sam, it was to stay away from a werewolves companion. He sat at his desk, and motioned for her to sit as well.
Tara shook her head in confusion and rubbed the tears from her eyes "What the fuck is a mark anyways?" she huffed, barely managing to get herself under control. She was starting to hate being so sentimental. The exact moment it happened was hard for her to pinpoint. But Alcide had opened her up. Tara sighed and sat in the hard plastic chair across from the man.
"Well-" he took a breath. Explaining what 'marking' meant to Tara, was not something Sam had prepared himself for. "When you mark someone, you are telling everyone else that the person you marked is off limits"
Tara's frown deepened, but she nodded. "Okay...but I don't remember him marking me any kind of way"
Sam rolled his neck along his shoulders. What made it worse is that whoever the wolf was, he marked her without permission. The thought of her being intimate with someone else irked him in a way that made him feel pathetic. When they first started to mess around, he was well aware that she wasn't ready for a relationship. But in the end he had tried to date her anyways. He had gotten himself hurt. Sam leaned forward resting his elbows on his legs. His hands folded and pressed against his lips.
"It was probably during sex" he mumbled. Tara cocked her head to the side.
"How in the hell...?"
Sam sighed, not wanting to explain anymore. He didn't know the guy, and had already decided that he hated him. Tara never allowed him to do things like that when he was with her. On the inside he was a little child throwing a tantrum, but on the outside he just looked annoyed.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore" he said standing. Tara quickly did the same.
"No dammit! Tell me Sam. This is fuckin' important. If he did something to me-"
"It's not a big deal. It'll wear of in a little while, so it shouldn't matter"
"It matter's because this is my body. What did he do?" she asked. Her tone signaled the end of games. His eyes bored into hers.
"...you let him come on you?" he said. It was supposed to be a statement, answering her question. But it came out as a question, because he was still surprised himself. She used to warn him not to get any on her, or she would kick his ass. But the threats only excited him more.
There was some ass kicking.
Tara's face heated up. 'No wonder he didn't want to explain'. She was furiously embarrassed. She had been weak from previous orgasms, and half way asleep onto her next, when Alcide had ejaculated onto her back. She didn't think much of it for the rest of the night, because he was treating her so well. She shook her head. Half of her was happy that he wanted her to himself, and the other half was angry at him marking her without permission.
"I don't understand most of this shit" she said "But I think he should have asked me before..."
Sam felt a little guilty for giving her a hard time earlier. She was trying to do better, and she was obviously learning. He was just sad that he couldn't have been the one. He quickly pulled her into a hug, catching her off guard.
"I thought you said-"
"Fuck it"
She smiled hugging him back. They had been good friends, and Tara ruined it when she found out he was a shifter. She didn't stop and think about how kind he had been to her, or how many times he took her back after she fucked up. She squeezed him, and he nuzzled her neck.
She froze.
His arms tightened around her, and his lips traced the shell of her ear. She shivered and pushed against his chest.
"Sam..."
"Yeah yeah, I know" he said and took a step back admiring his handy work. He was happy that he could still turn her on. Sex was definitely not one of the reasons she left him. In fact, it was one the reasons why she always came back. He had figured out her body fast. And although they kept it traditional, the way he touched her made her think she was the only woman in the world. Tara huffed, putting her hand on her hip; she knew what he was trying to do. It's how he used to get her before Alcide showed up. She smirked and started walking out of the office.
"You're bad Sam Merlotte" she said. His blue gaze followed her until she left the room. Sam had held her close enough, and tight enough for his scent to be all over her. He sat back down at his desk.
"Yes, I am bad"
Alcide was sitting on the front porch when Tara and Sookie arrived back at the house. He waved and Sookie cautiously waved back, staring at Tara. Her friend stared at him with a blank face.
'Time to go' Sookie thought, rushing past Alcide and inside the house. Tara leaned on the driver side door with her arms folded. They didn't move any closer to each other. He could tell she was bothered, and he could feel the rage building up inside of him from her scent. As soon as the dust settled, it was clear to him that another male had touched her. A shifter.
Before Tara could start to tell him off about marking her, he brought up the reason he was there.
"Are you my girlfriend Tara?" he asked, trying not to sound angry. By her scent he would believe that she still thought she was single. Thought she was single. Instead of saying something out of frustration that she might end up regretting like 'Not anymore', she made a wiser decision.
"Why are you asking me that?"
He stood, but did not approach her. His wolf was itching to show her a bitches place, he fought that energy and took a few deep breaths.
"Lunch at my Uncle's house. When he called you my girlfriend, you flinched"
Tara flinched again from the memory. His uncle had caught her off guard that day. Earlier that morning she was worrying about whether Alcide saw her as a girlfriend or not. She had tensed at the thought of his response being 'We're just friends'. But she didn't want to say that to him. She didn't want to feel weak anymore. She decided to let him figure it out on his own.
"Okay..." she responded. His eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean 'okay'?"
"I mean exactly what I said. I'm trying to get your point"
He stared at her for a moment, and then began to chuckle rubbing his hands on his face. He sat back down on the steps and closed his eyes.
"You're trying to start an argument with me" he stated.
"No-"
"You are. But that's childish. It's obvious that something is bothering you, and instead of telling me there is a problem, you're playing games"
Tara blinked at the true statement. Alcide opened his eyes, but looked off to the side in the direction of Bills house. He wondered if he'd made a mistake in trusting her. He was beginning to see similarities between her and Debbie.
That was a huge turnoff.
She stood up straight and began to walk to him, but he held up his hand for her to stop.
"I can smell him on you"
Tara had forgotten in an instant what Sam had done...what she allowed him to do.
"You're right. It's childish for me to play around what's bothering me instead of just confronting you"
Alcide eyes locked on her. He listened.
"The friend that I told you I had sex with...is my boss" she confessed. Alcide tried not to react. There had been many times she had received phone calls from Sam, when they were hanging out. It was before they started having sex, but it still bothered him.
"He's the shifter then" Alcide concluded.
"Right... And he said that you marked me" she said frowning. Once again Alcide didn't react. He knew it would come up eventually. With Bill being around all the time, he would be able to sense it. But he didn't think it would have been discovered so soon. He was happy that it was one of her ex-lovers that found out, but bothered that the male did not heed his warning.
"I did"
"Without my permission" she said growing angry. He was making it seem like it wasn't a big deal, and it was pissing her off. "You don't think you should have asked me first?"
"Why does it matter Tara? It didn't stop him from putting his hands on you"
"Now you're the one dancing around the problem!" she exclaimed exasperated "Fuck this. Goodnight!"
He planned on allowing her to stomp past him, and into the house. But as the scent of the shifter grew stronger with each stride, his wolf began to snarl within him.
'Mine...'
Before she opened the door he snatched her arm and pulled her to him.
"Go the fuck home!" she yelled, not noticing the red flash of his eyes. His arms circled her torso and lifted her up against the door, so that her face was leveled with his.
"You know why I marked you Tara" he growled. Tara turned away from him, exposing her neck. She didn't know it, but to a wolf, that was a way of saying your sorry, and submitting. He hesitantly leaned towards her, surprised she gave in so easily. He gently nibbled on her neck and along her jaw. She frowned, still angry, but let him continue. The small bites turned into slow, wet, hot licks; going up and down her neck. She struggled not to relax into his hold. It felt good, but if they had sex, it would make him think he hadn't done anything wrong.
"Enough!" she said slapping his shoulder. He blinked in confusion, he thought she had submitted. She turned to look at him and gulped at his lustful glowing red eyes. She had to make him understand "I-It was wrong for you to mark me without permission, Alcide"
He lips parted slightly, then he nodded and nuzzled his face into her breast. She wondered if he was acting like he understood because he was horny, or if he was being sincere. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and spoke gently in his ear.
"With everything that you know about me, how could you not expect me to be angry over this...It was wrong Alcide" she said playing with his hair. He sighed and looked back up at her. His eyes were once again the warm brown that she was familiar with. She kissed his forehead and cheeks.
"I'm sorry...I should have asked you first" he said softly. Like her, he had a strong fear of rejection. Alcide couldn't blame it all on his wolf; he wanted to mark her just as badly. He never thought of himself as being possessive, but with her... He placed her back on the porch and took a step back. Everything he knew about being a werewolf, didn't prepare him for Tara Thorton. He needed to retrain himself.
Alcide's uncle had raised him most of his life, and taught him the ways of the wolf; how to control it. So when he had questions, Jeff is who he went to. He decided to spend more time on the farm. Attending to the hens was his favorite chore. They always wanted to play when he went into the coop, which made cleaning difficult, but it was also entertaining. He would let them out so he could have room to clean, but once they were out, they would stand around his feet. And when he stepped in to clean, they would follow, defeating the purpose of letting them out.
Finally completing the task, it would be time to put the hens back. At this point, they decide they don't want to follow him around. So he runs around for fifteen minutes trying to catch the eleven of them and put them back. By the time he's finished, he needs a long hot shower. Alcide had been on the farm for half a week before his uncle had asked him to clean the coop again.
It was harder that day, than any other time he had to clean and feed them. They were bursting with energy, and as soon as he released them, they went to the farthest reaches of the fence and spread. It was the last thing on his to do list, so he was a bit tired afterwards.
When handling the animals, he tried his best to hold in the the wolf's energy. They were sensitive to the power of supernatural beings, and could tell the difference between one and a human. Holding in the power was a part of Alcide's training. Any amount of energy that leaked, would frighten the animals into a frenzy.
After showering and throwing on a pair of briefs, he laid on his bed and called Tara. Since the night he decided to train more, he hadn't seen her. But they talked on the phone. He was a bit paranoid about giving her space after finding out she used to mess around with her boss, but he needed to trust her.
The phone only rang once before Tara's out of breath voice was heard on the other end "What's up?" she asked. He could tell she was smiling, it made him beam. He missed her.
"Nothing, just got out of the shower"
"Mmm...really?" she asked. He chuckled.
"Yes really. What's all that noise over there?"
"Sookie is cooking dinner for everyone. I was helping, but then I heard my phone ring"
Alcide was slightly confused "She invited some friends over?"
"Yeah, some co-workers and friends... Do you want to come?" she asked. He wondered if she was trying to trick him. He had told her he needed to back off and get his head right. But it seemed that every time they were on the phone, there was some sort of special event going on. Like she was trying to tempt him. He was silent for a moment.
"...You understand why I'm doing this right?" he asked softly.
"I do...but I don't want you to. You don't have to be in control of your...your-"
"Wolf"
"Right. I accept all of you...just the way you are" she mumbled the last part, not wanting to sound sappy. He grinned, knowing it took a lot for her to say that. She's was always trying to be tough. He wanted to be tough for her, so she could relax.
"Call me after dinner babe"
Tara's stomach fluttered at the pet name.
"Okay"
The cry of his phone woke him. He realized just then, that he had fallen straight to sleep after talking with Tara. He looked at the time before answering the phone.
"It's two am" he said.
"Dinner was fine, thanks for asking" Tara deadpanned. He smirked.
"Everyone just started leaving?"
"Naw, everyone took the party out to the porch. Sookie and I were just talking...about you" she added quietly. He sat up slowly.
"I'm listening"
"Well, we decided that you should stop the training thing and come and see me right now"
He chuckled and wiped the sleep from his eyes. Since he had been away from her, there had been many late nights he thought about hopping in his truck and going to see her. "Right now?"
"Yessir"
He thought about it for a moment. Alcide wanted to see her badly, but he needed to practice self control.
"I'll see you when I get off from work tomorrow. My dad is coming back from Florida to check up on the company"
"No...I said now Mr. Herveaux"
He rose an eyebrow at her silky tone "Why now?" he asked smoothly.
"Because" she huffed. Although she wasn't being direct, he was pretty sure he knew what she wanted. He decided to play with her. And he wanted her to ask for it...politely.
"Yes?"
"I want to see you" she said.
"I'll send you a picture-"
"No! I want to see you in person"
"What's the difference?" he asked smirking.
"...I can touch you in person"
Alcide grinned "So the truth comes out...You want to touch me"
"...you're an ass...but yes"
He chuckled and ran a hand over the crotch of his briefs. He wanted to touch her too, she didn't know how hard it had been for him... "Where...?" Alcide asked. Just the sound of her voice was stirring him. He wondered where she was, what she was wearing, and just how badly she wanted him. She laughed shyly on the other end.
"I don't know...I want to taste you again" she sighed. He twitched at her words.
"Oh yea...?" He pulled his hardening member from it's confines, and began to stroke it.
"Mhmm. It was fun...You know, I've never done that for anyone else before" She laughed softly "Your cock just looked...tasty"
Alcide licked his lips as he thought back to the time she sucked him off in his truck. 'Soft tongue...wet, hot, little mouth'. He stroked himself faster. He imagined her tongue sliding from the tip to the base and back... Suddenly there was a crash on the other end of the phone, and yelling. Alcide was abruptly thrown from his fantasy.
"Oh shit" said Tara.
"What's wrong?" he huffed. He frowned hearing a male voice speaking to Tara.
"Dammit! Okay, okay, chill out. I'm sorry Alcide. I gotta go" she said.
"What? Wait! What's going on?" he asked panicked.
"Jason's acting like an asshole for some reason, and he's in my face-! Ew boy! What the fuck you been drinking? Ugh!" she barked. Alcide was concerned and yet annoyed.
"Why didn't you call me from your room?"
"I did-! What the hell Jason?"
His eyes narrowed. He didn't like the thought of Sookie's brother being in her bedroom. Before they got together, she had told him about how she used to be in love with Jason.
"I'll call you later okay" she said impatiently. He knew it wasn't directed towards him.
"...Okay" he responded. As the line went dead he dropped the phone.
'What the fuck...?'