*disclaimer: I do not own the Southern Vampire Series or any of the characters featured below. All rights belong to Charlaine Harris.

"Thou art to me a delicious torment."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

.

.

.

.

I fishtailed out of my parking spot in the gravel behind my house.

"Easy, tiger!" Claudine said, grabbing onto the Oh, shit! handle above the car window. That's what I call them because every time Jason dropped me off at school in his truck, I'd have to hang on to it for dear life. He drove pretty recklessly amongst the many other things he did that way.

"Sorry, I'll slow down." I was just glad to have purpose. "No tiger references, please," I said, giving her a grimace.

"No problem," she said with a wink.

Again, as I was pulling out of the driveway, I was sure my headlights caught a flash of white through the pines. I was half tempted to roll down my window and tell Bill or whomever it was to get a life.

"I want to be serious with you for a minute, Sookie," Claudine said after a while.

"Alright," I replied.

"I know you're in pain right now, but you don't need to risk your live for revenge. Give yourself some time to heal. Let Calvin take care of it. Or Sam. Or even Bill," her eyes pleading as she finished.

"I can take care of myself. Calvin's already helping and Sam will, too." I left out Bill because I didn't need to give him a reason to be hanging around.

"Maybe I'll call Eric," I added finally, sounding a little optimistic.

"Oh, Sookie," she said sadly, resting a hand on my shoulder.

"What?" I said, shifting in my seat. I was hoping I didn't come off sounding like some forlorn groupie of his. We had talked a few times since the takeover, mostly him leaving naughty little messages on my voicemail about memories from our time together. Truthfully, I looked forward to them, but he stopped calling last month without a word or an explanation. I knew he was busy and I didn't want to seem needy, so I figured he'd call when he's ready.

"Sookie, he's seeing Selah now," she said softly.

"WHAT?" I burst out and swerved onto the shoulder of the road.

Claudine sighed heavily and looked out her passenger window at the trees flashing by.

"Sookie, Eric's new human assistant at Fangtasia, Jon, is dating Claude. Jon keeps breaking dates with Claude because he's working too much overtime. When Claude asked him why he said it was because Eric was spending all his time with a lady friend," she paused, "Sookie, he said she was an attorney named Selah Pumphrey."

I just kept my eyes on the road.

"Please don't say anything, Sookie. Claude really likes Jon and doesn't want him to get punished or I would have told you sooner," she said as her voice trailed off.

"Well, screw him," I said nastily. Selah's running around picking up my sloppy seconds, but Eric should have known better. He has hundreds of Fangbangers to choose from, but he chose to run with the one that would make my blood boil. The worst part was, it hurt, but not just because it was Selah. I'd never heard of Eric dating anyone before, I didn't even think he was interested in that type of thing.

We pulled up to Jason's small home, which used to be my parent's house. It seemed so quiet and desolate tonight. Jason's truck was still here parked in its worn diagonal spot in the grass. I didn't know what to make of that. We pulled up next to it and got out of the car.

"What now?" Claudine asked.

"We need to look around." I figured that was the next logical step.

I walked over to his car and cupped my hands against the window peeking into the interior through the dark tinted glass. I tried the handle but it was locked. Nothing out of the ordinary there, so I decided to move on.

As I was walked around the side of the truck, I saw two small dots of light shining from the side of the house next to the viburnum shrubs my father had planted for my mother as a Mother's Day gift many years before. The dots began to move forward, and suddenly from underneath the darkness, a figure began to reveal itself. I started backing away.

"Uh, Claudine?" I said nervously.

"I see. Stay very still." And in an instant she was in front of me, pressing me backwards with her every step. I knew Claudine was a formidable opponent for just about any attacker, but I wanted to see what we were up against. I poked my head around the side of her shoulder, only to see there were three sets of eyes. We were outnumbered. I steadied myself and wrapped my right hand tightly around my keys forming a solid fist. I certainly wasn't the biggest or the baddest, so I thought I just needed to be the scrappiest.

Suddenly, I recognized the faces that were forming out of the darkness.

"It's alright, Claudine—I think they're friends," I said as I wrestled away from her attempt to keep me behind her.

I began to move closer to the figures, holding my hand up with my palm facing out. I recognized the molten green-gold eyes of the one who led. Two others were flanking his sides. He was a beautiful creature with limbs that padded forward in a liquid motion. The sleek tawny coat was a rich golden tan that faded to white on his chest and muzzle. The one on his right was smaller with a black fur just as sleek and that moved just as smoothly, but with a more delicate step. He made a low purring sound as I approached. The one on the left was the largest. He was bigger than I thought a panther could be. The same earth color as the first with the same large feline eyes lined in black, but with paws nearly the size of a dinner plates. His eyes seemed almost neon in their greenness. They stopped about ten feet in front of us. I slid my keys in my jacket pocket and stepped forward again, with both hands extended now. Claudine pinched my arm and gave me a look of caution.

I returned my gaze back to the panther and said, "Calvin."

I felt sure it was Calvin, but it would be just my luck to run into the last wild hungry pack of panthers in Louisiana. He bristled in confirmation, and I was sensing calm from the scramble of his mind. He was here looking for something, too. He was a man of his word. I was touched.

I moved closer until I was right in front of him, and I knelt down to eye level. I slowly placed my hand on the back of his neck and leaned forward, closing my eyes, to touch my nose to his. I could feel his whiskers as he complied.

"Thank you for being here," I said, feeling glad that Jason had not driven away every person who cared enough to help—even after his death. He wasn't forgotten. And even if Calvin was only doing it for me, it still meant just as much.

I got back up, joining Claudine and watched as the trio of majestic creatures gracefully resumed their search around the house, with their powerful tails swaying behind them. I knew they wouldn't be here if there wasn't something here to find.

To be continued...