Disclaimer: I own only the plot.
A/N: Just to be clear, Alcide is NOT a love interest. Bear with me. :)
Last time:
Jesus. One night, and I was already thinking of this place as home.
I'll be damned if I spend more than a week here, I decided, crawling under the covers. It took me barely any time at all to fall into blissful slumber.
Being woken up by someone banging on the front door was really getting old. I rolled out of bed groggily, with that peculiar feeling you always seem to have when you take a nap during the day, like your head is full of damp cotton. I opened my mind up as I made my way to the door. Curiously, Alcide's snarly brain was nowhere to be found. A quick glance at a wall clock told me it wasn't even noon yet, and my heart gave a little jolt realizing I'd been alone. The perfect chance to make a getaway!
Damn.
The brain behind the front door was completely unhappy, I picked up, but I pasted a polite smile on my face anyway as I opened the door to stop the incessant pounding.
"Hi there, can I help you?" The balding, middle-aged man on the other side of the door scowled at me, his meaty fists clenched. His head was full of insults, which was just rude, considering he didn't know me. He was thinking I was a live-in tramp, using his master for his money to laze around. In his opinion, I definitely wasn't pretty enough for that.
I crinkled my nose at him, more than a little offended by this putz.
"I am Mr. Northman's dayman. He sent me to see if you need anything." He grumbled. I'd never heard anyone sound as surly as he did in that moment.
Whatever. If he disliked me for no reason, that was going to be his own problem, not mine. In fact, if he wanted to be such a jackass, I'd give him a reason to be one. My polite smile returned.
"Anything?" I asked sweetly. He glowered.
"Yes, ma'am." My smile turned into a grin
"Why, there sure is something you can do for me!" I leaned against the door, still grinning. "It's awful cold here in the house sometimes, and I'd do just about anything for a nice, soft throw blanket for the couch. Something cozy, with a nice rustic feel? It'll need a fairly high thread count, of course, and not too big, or it just won't look right here in the living room. A splash of color would be nice, too."
I was honestly just rattling stipulations off without thought, and it made me vindictively happy to hear him getting angrier with every word that fell out of my mouth. Good little gopher that he was, Bobby was already thinking which stores were most likely to carry what I asked for, and they all seemed to be over an hour away. What a shame.
His jaw worked as his teeth clenched; I swear I almost heard the veneer being sheared right off his molars. "I'll get right on that. Anything else, ma'am?"
I thought for a moment, considering; his bad mood simmered, just under the boiling point. I decided he'd had enough for now. What a pansy.
"No, Mr. Burnham, I think that'll do it!" He gave me a strange look, and I caught him wondering if the Sheriff had told me his last name. He didn't realize I'd plucked it right out of his head, and I was tempted to tell him I could hear every nasty thought in his head, just to freak him out. That particular train of thought was discarded quickly; a girl needs to keep her secrets, right?
"I'll be back as soon as I have your throw blanket, ma'am." He turned and lumbered down the walkway to his car, not even bothering to say goodbye. I rolled my eyes and closed the door.
A shower seemed like an amazing idea, and I was halfway to the master bathroom when I paused mid-step. No one was here; the Sheriff wouldn't be here until after dark, and it wasn't even noon; Alcide could be gone for a while yet, and Bobby definitely would.
I could leave. It could be hours before someone noticed I was missing. This could be my only chance.
My heart was racing in my chest at the thought. I could escape. I turned on my heel, staring at the front door, considering. It was just so tempting. I could be free again, after only two days. Wouldn't that just burn his butt? My weight shifted from one foot to the other. I could go home.
But…he had said he could track me. My gut told me that now wasn't the time to check how true that really was. I hadn't done nearly enough mind-reading-reconnaissance, I couldn't realistically get very far on foot, not to mention the Sheriff knew where I lived. And Jason, too—although I do admit that I wasn't feeling particularly protective of him at that point, all things considered.
I chewed my lip and with a defeated sigh, I gave up the notion of making my great escape. It twisted my insides to let such an open opportunity slip by, but the likelihood of it being successful was slim to none. No, I decided, I'd do better to bide my time, gather more information, and take them all by surprise. Maybe the longer I stuck around, the more his guard would fall, and he'd never see it coming.
I let the shower wash away my misgivings, and a thorough self-pampering made me feel more assured. After some more internal debate, I even allowed myself to look through the clothes stocked in the walk-in closet. Nothing fancy, obviously, and not a huge selection; but there were some nice, soft jeans and a selection of plain t-shirts. I opted for a vibrant red; I needed some kind of color in this monotone house.
Just as I was plating a sandwich, I felt what I now could identify quickly as a Were brain signature pop up instantly on my radar. I started, almost dropping the ceramic plate; there had been no indication anyone was approaching the house. They were just there. I turned to look at the back sliding door, probing the brain until I figured out it was just Alcide. My brow furrowed as I considered why I hadn't noticed him before; I'd been keeping my shields down the past few days, just in case. Plus, since I was more or less alone mentally, there was no need to expend unnecessary mental energy keeping the shields up.
I was prepared for Alcide to walk through the door; my lips were even poised to ask him if he wanted me to fix him some lunch. I am, after all, a Southern lady, and hospitality is in our blood. What I wasn't ready for, however, was a very naked, very buff Alcide to come waltzing through that door. I yelped and covered my face, glad I'd set my plate down on the counter or I really would have dropped it out of shock.
I'd seen naked men in the minds of many women—and many men, too. I hadn't, however, seen a naked man in the flesh, and my face burned at my first sighting. He was incredibly…well built, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to him physically; Lord, was I ever. I'm a hot-blooded woman, after all, with an entire lifetime of pent-up sexual frustration to boot.
But a little warning would be nice.
"Jesus Christ, Alcide, put some damn clothes on! What on Earth are you doin', walkin' around naked?!" I kept my eyes covered as I screeched at him, my head turned away just for good measure—just in case I was tempted to peek through my fingers.
"Sorry, Sook," I could hear the contrition in his voice. "I was out patrolling, and shifting in clothes would just destroy 'em. I'll go get dressed real quick."
He had been in wolf form? Interesting. In a lot of movies, they only turn into wolves on the full moon. I'd like to see him as a wolf. When Alcide reappeared in the same clothes he'd arrived in this morning, I asked him about it.
"Nah, we can shift when we want. It takes some energy from us, and we don't have a choice but to shift into our animal and run on full moons, but any other time, it's by choice." I hmm-ed at him in response and set a sandwich in front of him. I'd waited til he was back to eat, so we could sit down together, and that had given me just enough time to make a fresh pot of coffee to revive over.
Alcide and I talked of nothing else of importance, really; just regular conversation, like two friends chatting. We watched some crappy television. We laughed at bad jokes. We commiserated over 'those goddamn bloodsuckers'. We ate an early dinner.
I was starting to get more nervous the lower the sun sank. "When are you leaving?" I asked Alcide.
He scratched scruffy hair on his chin. He was one of those rare men that look good with some stubble. "I'm to wait 'til Northman shows up, then I'll be on my way. Tomorrow at dawn I'll be back, though." I nodded. Despite my trepidation, I derived some comfort from that. At least I'd have a friendly face.
We were laughing at something dumb Alcide had said when the door opened roughly and Mr. Northman stalked in, clearly unhappy. I couldn't fathom what had upset him so early in his day—well, his night, to be exact; getting used to his opposite schedule was getting to be a real pain in my ass—but something clearly had. Our giggles died away instantly as he glared at us.
"Wolf. Leave." He spat. A low rumble sounded briefly in Alcide's chest, not unlike the growl of a wolf. Fear spiked momentarily in my heart, and the growl subsided quickly. His thoughtfulness warmed my heart just a little bit.
That was a sweet thing to do, on his part, even if my reaction had been to something he'd done. It was like a puppy licking your hand after biting it.
I shook the thought of Alcide as a dog out of my head, rising with him to walk him to the front door. Angry eyes followed our path, and I did my best to ignore them.
"Sookie. I'll see you tomorrow mornin'. You be safe tonight." He bent down to give me a friendly hug, and I returned it gratefully. It hadn't occurred to me how much I interacted physically with people until I was starved for contact; in fact, I avoided touching people, on account of it amplifying my ability to hear their every thought. But the fact remained I still craved the touch of another human being.
Besides, it wasn't as if Alcide was hard to look at. He was warm and solid and, even if he was keeping me from getting free, it still felt like he was on my side.
Before I could absorb too much comfort from my new friend, an angry snarl sounded right behind me. I jumped away from Alcide, frightened, eyes wide as I stared at the Sheriff. He was sneering at Alcide and, before either of us could react, he had slammed the door shut and pinned me against it.
