A/N - YAY! It only took me like 4 chapters to work up to this one!! lol You know what I usually say by now anyhow. This is another experiment. Sorry for the delay in posting and I want to apologise to those of you who sent me messages. For some unknown reason this site doesn't like me and they didn't show up! I found them in my emails and I'm off to reply to them now. I hope you like this chapter.
"So kind of you to keep ahold of the girl for me Northman, but I am here now, she cannot escape. You may release her." Sophie-Anne silkily intoned at Eric.
He turned, dropping one of his hands but keeping Sookie's hand gripped in his other one. His queen stood in the doorway of Sookie's kitchen, a smug, self satisfied expression on her beautiful face. It was an expression she wore often and it had always annoyed Eric. Right now he wanted to punch it right off her face.
Her slim body was barely covered by a short, cream coloured satin dress, it rode further up her thigh as she lifted an arm to lean against the doorframe. Seemingly alone, though Eric knew her child Andre and no doubt the rest of her guard were hovering nearby.
It would seem I was correct. He thought. Bill has informed her of my newfound closeness with Sookie and she has arrived here hoping to catch me off guard. This should be interesting.
He watched the queen silently, all the while feeling Sookie's absolute terror through their bond. Hating that he could not give her any real comfort, he squeezed her hand gently to remind her of his presence. That he would protect her. And I WILL protect her.
Their fight over Quinn was completely forgotten at the moment.
Never before had he known Sookie to be so terrified. It touched him right down into the darkness of his soul and a primal, instinctive urge to protect her at all costs possessed him. With a great effort, he forced himself to remain still and outwardly calm.
Sophie-Anne's gaze shifted from her Sheriff to Sookie, an eyebrow raising appreciatively as she took in the girl before her. She did love a pretty girl.
"I can see I am not to be disappointed. Reports of your beauty were absolutely accurate, Miss Stackhouse."
Sookie merely blinked at the woman who had invaded her home. The pressure of Eric's hand and the feel of his body beside her were about the only things keeping her grounded. Oh God this is it! She's come for me and there's nothing I can do to stop her. She was holding his hand so tightly that if he'd been a human he would surely have cried out in pain by now.
Neither vampire in the room missed the movement as she pressed closer into Eric's side, her eyes never leaving the dangerous vampire queen before her. But for once, Sookie didn't give a damn about appearing weak. All she wanted in the world right now was to crawl inside Eric and hide there while he made the big bad vampire lady go away.
They were both clearly waiting for Sookie's reply to the queen's comment on her beauty, but the only words Sookie could manage to gather from her stunned and deeply frightened mind were, "How did you get into my house?"
Eric smirked inwardly. Even in her fear his telepath was keeping it together, asking the right questions. How exactly did she manage to enter Sookie's home without an invite?
Sophie merely smiled. Eric immediately felt incredibley uneasy. What has she done? His queen was, for the most part, pretty easy to handle, although unpredictable. He was usually very adept at working out what she was upto and staying one step ahead of her. This time however, he was at a loss. She had clearly managed to undo the magic that kept a vampire out of a living persons home unless they had been invited in. But how?
"Ah, yes." the queen answered after a moments pause. "I would of course have to have been invited in, by a person who calls this place home, would I not?"
Her eyes glowed with malice as she watched Sookie closely, eager to see the girls reaction to the surprise she had coming.
She'd been furious to discover that Bill Compton had ruined her plan to have the telepath brought to her. It had been simple. The girl would fall in love with Bill and once he had bound her to him in every possible human way, he would present her to his queen and she would have her own personal telepath who, in time, would become her telepathic vampire child.
She had already selected a ring for Bill to present the girl with in proposal of marriage, having been assured that Ms Stackhouse would take her vows very seriously and thus follow Bill wherever he wished he to go. Which would be straight to Sophie Anne, who would be the envy of all the kingdoms in the supernatural world with such a prize.
A part fae and telepathic vampire would be a rare thing indeed, and no doubt extremely powerful. And she would be the queens to command as she wished.
Until off course, the Sheriff had got in the way of her carefully laid out plan. Bill had warned her about Eric's fascination with the girl, but assured her that Sookie hated the viking with a fiery passion and that he did not pose a threat to their plans for Miss Stackhouse.
They should have realised how quickly passionate hatred could turn into other kinds of passion. It had certainly not been hatred that had caused the girl to be caught up by Bill in a clinch with her Sheriff. Nor had it been hatred that caused her to cling to him now as though she were drowning and he was her lifejacket.
Oh yes, the queen was furious. The Northman had ruined it all. But Sophie Anne had not managed to become queen of Louisiana by being foolish. The moment her beloved child Andre had arrived at her compound with a severely injured Bill Compton, she'd been formulating a new plan of action.
Calling her Sheriff to arrange for the girl to be brought to her had only been the first step. The second step was to take him by surprise by arriving unexpectedly to claim her prize. The third was about to play out in front of her.
Of course Eric would attempt to keep the girl for himself, she had no doubt about that. He was clearly smitten with the bloodbag. But if the girl chose to come with his queen willingly he would have no choice but to let her go.
And Sophie Anne thought she knew exactly how to make the girl come to her willingly.
"Hadley my dear, come say hello to your cousin." She drawled cockily, watching with pleasure as total shock covered Sookie's face and a look of confusion appeared on Eric's. Oh this was going to be fun.
Eric watched as a woman sauntered into the room, excitement clear across her features. She was blond, slightly bigger than his bonded, but looked a little like Sookie. Though while her cousin was strikingly beautiful, this woman was merely pretty.
He felt, rather than saw Sookie's slight stumble as she took one uncertain step towards the woman the queen had called Hadley, her hand still gripping his.
"I. Hadley... What are you - " Sookie didn't get to finish her sentence as she suddenly had an armful of her cousin. Hadley had launched herself at Sookie in her excitement. "Oh I am so happy to see you Sook! And you're going to be coming to live with us! We'll be like one big family! Isn't it exciting?" She pulled back beaming, until she saw the horrified expression on Sookie's face. "Your boyfriend Bill will be with us too. Sophie says we can all live together..." she trailed off, her face falling in confusion that Sookie didn't look happy about it all.
Eric let go of Sookie's hand and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her back into his side. He wanted nothing more than to shield her from the idiotic woman in front of them, and smash the smug grin off Sophie Anne's face. He felt the utter horror flooding through his woman and knew that worse was to come for her. He'd already figured out how the queen had found out about Sookie in the first place, but he was certain that she was too scared and confused at the moment to work it out for herself.
For her part, Sookie had finally torn her eyes away from Hadley to stare at a smirking Sophie Anne. Forcing herself to maintain eye contact with the vicious monarch, she whispered, "What are you doing with her Hadley?"
Before she could answer, the queen's silky drawl once again filled the room.
"Hadley has been with me for almost two years now. Isn't that right my dear?" She spared a glance for her pet before turning her gaze back to Sookie. "She told the most fascinating stories about her family. You in particular. The girl who can read minds. Naturally, I was simply dying to meet you. My pet informed me that your favourite movie is Gone With The Wind, and how you wished for your very own southern gentleman."
At this, she clicked her fingers and stepped gracefully to the side to allow Andre to enter the kitchen, pulling along with him a very subdued looking Bill.
His eyes immediately sought out Sookie. a growl escaping as he saw the way Eric was holding her, and how Sookie was clinging to his side, her eyes wide and full of pain. She is mine! He has no right to touch her! He glared silently at his sheriff as Eric purposely chose that moment to press his lips against Sookie's hair, his eyes blazing into Bill's.
"And here he is Miss Stackhouse. Your very own southern gentleman. I sent him to you as a gift." She gestured towards Bill. "And now you will both join me at my home where I am sure we will all get along very well."
"No."
The voice was so low that even with their inhanced hearing the vampires had to strain to hear it.
"I beg your pardon." Sophie Anne purred.
"I said, NO." Sookie glared at the queen, forcing her eyes not to move to Bill. "I am not going anywhere with you."
"Bill... control your human or I will be forced to punish her."
Bill jerked his head up, making to step towards Sookie before Eric's growl caused him to freeze.
He'd been silent long enough. Now that he knew exactly what the queen intended and had done, it was time to lay claim to his telepath.
"Excuse me your majesty," his accent sounding thicker than ever. "but I think you will find that Miss Stackhouse is MY human. My Bonded. And I assure you that if Compton attempts to touch her I will kill him." He rose to full height, stepping forward. His blue eyes were cold, fierce. Sookie got the impression that they were the very last thing most people who pissed Eric Northman off got to see.
Now Sophie Anne looked murderous. He dares?! He dares to bond to the girl when he knows that I wish to claim her as my own?
"What is the meaning of this Sheriff?" She breathed icily. If Northman had indeed bonded the girl to him then there was nothing she could do. She couldn't even touch the little bloodbag without his permission.
"My queen..." Eric shifted his gaze to her. "Your child informed me that you wished to have the use of Miss Stackhouse's gift. He said nothing of your wish for her to join your place of residence." If he played this right then there would be no need for things to come to a fight. Yet. Though I am more than willing to take on my queen and all of her little helpers if it means keeping Sookie safe and with me. Astonished with his own turn of thought, he mentally shook himself and smiled easily at Sophie Anne.
"I will of course, be happy to allow the use of her gift. As long as certain boundaries are held to..."
Sophie Anne glowered at him. He had blatantly flouted her orders to suit himself, yet she could do nothing to prove it as she had indeed informed her child to tell him only what was necessary. Everything had been falling into place until Eric had gotten himself involved and now she could only watch as her plans fell apart around her. Even if the girl had been swayed by Hadley's little speech about how they would all be together like a family, Northman simply had to say no and she would be unable to take the girl. Bastard. He has played his hand well, but he shall learn that no man crosses me and survives to tell the tale. He will PAY for this!
"Very well Northman. I can see that for now, Miss Stackhouse is out of my reach." There was undisguised threat in her voice, but Eric simply smirked at her.
Before he could reply though, Bill seemed to have found his voice. "No! Sookie is mine! You had no right to bond her to you! No right at all! I will have you before the magister for this! She is mine!" He growled, making to step towards Sookie. "Sookie..." he said, plea clear in his voice. "Sookie please understand..."
Sookie cut him dead. "Don't you dare. Don't you speak to me Bill Compton!" She pushed past Eric to stand before her first love, anger interrupting the aching horror she was feeling. "You tricked me. You came into my life and you lied to me every second you were in it. How dare you threaten Eric for protecting me? It's more than you ever did! How can you even look me in the eye? I don't ever want to see you again Bill! I rescind your invitation to my home!"
"Sookie, please... I love you..." Bill whined, feeling the pull as his body walked backwards towards her kitchen door and on out of her house.
Sookie watched him go silently then rounded on her cousin who had been watching proceedings quietly. "And you! You're supposed to be my family. How could you do this to me? You helped them trick me!"
Hadley gave a nervous smile. "But Sook, we were all going to be a family. I thought, I thought that's what you wanted. And Mr Compton, he loves you. Isn't that what you always wanted? I was trying to give you what you always -" She was silenced by the resounding slap that Sookie had marched forward and delivered.
"You think I wanted to be lied to? You think I want to be given over like some prefect little present to some vampire queen I've never even met before? You've always been an idiot Hadley, but this is amazing. Even for you. How could you think that I'd want to be torn out of my life and kept like a damn puppy!?"
Hadley was crying silently, her hands holding her cheek. "But Sookie - "
Once again Sookie cut her off -
"And family Hadley? I had a family. I had gran. And do you know why I don't now?" She stepped close to her cousin, fury shining out of her eyes. She didn't think she'd ever been so hurt, or angry. "Because she was murdered." Something akin to pleasure erupted through her body as she saw Hadley's eyes widen in shock and horror. "Oh didn't they tell you? Your precious vampire masters didn't tell you that our gran was murdered because I was dating Bill? And it's your fault. She always said you'd be the death of her. Guess she didn't know how true that was."
Absolute fury was flowing through her and everyone in the room except her saw that her eyes had begun to glow white. "And you come here, inviting these monsters into my grans home. How dare you? This isn't your home, it hasn't been for years. You lost the right to call it that when you screwed our gran over and skipped town. If she could see you now she'd be ashamed of you!" She was shouting now and she didn't give a damn. "Now GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" With that she shoved her cousin backwards and was more shocked than anyone when her hands emitted an intense white light and Hadley was thrown right across the room to slam into the wall and slump to the ground unconscious.
Everyone froze in utter shock, Sookie included. Her eyes were no longer shining and when she lifted her hands up in front of her to gaze at them they were just her normal hands again. She stared at them, utterly overwhelmed. And then her gaze found her cousin, slumped in a heap on the floor. Immediately, she felt terrible.
"Oh, Hadley - " She made to rush to her cousins side and was instantly pulled back against Eric. "No little one, leave her." He muttered in her ear softly, his arms wrapping around her chest to hold her close. He was astounded at her little display, and by the look on her face he knew that this was not some secret she had been keeping. Whatever power in her had enabled her to throw a woman several feet across a room, it was as new to her as it was to him. His eyes flicked across the room to Sophie Anne, who was just about regaining her composture.
"Well Mr Northman, it would seem that you have quite the prize there. I was not informed that she had extra abilities. This is most fascinating." Her eyes were roaming over his bonded greedily, paying absolutely no mind to the fact that her human had been injured and may need attention.
Eric knew that she was considering making an attempt to take the girl there and then and his arms tightened around Sookie. "Indeed your majesty. As you can see, my bonded is well able to protect herself. It would be a fool indeed who chose to attack her or anything she cared about." An eyebrow rose in challenge. He was making it clear to the queen that a fight against himself and Sookie would not be one that could be easily won.
She seemed to understand this as she finally moved her gaze to Hadley. "Indeed Northman. This one turned out to be quite useless in the end. She will of course be punished most severely for her incompetence." An amused smirk formed as she heard Sookie's sharp intake of breath.
Sookie had been about to protest wildly at the queens words, but a sharp squeeze from Eric and one look up at his face silenced her.
"I will be in touch Sheriff. Be sure to have your bonded ready for my use when I am." With that, Sophie Anne sneered at them both and turned and swept from the room.
They watched silently as Andre picked Hadley up and swug her over his shoulder, a look of abject disgust on his face. On his turn to face Eric and Sookie, he leered at her. "And to think, you were to be my bonded Miss Stackhouse. No mind," he drawled. "I am sure I will see you very soon." With a cocky nod to Eric, he left.
Before she could think, or possibly burst into hysterical tears, Eric and loosened his grip and span her around to face him. "What was that?" He muttered, looking over her face. She knew exactly what he was referring to.
"I have no idea. I've never done that before. Oh god... Hadley. What have I done? I hurt her... and they'll kill her... I have to do something!"
Just when he'd thought she couldn't possibly surprise him any more...
"Sookie, the woman betrayed you. She caused all of this. Yet you would risk your life to go after her?"
"She's family Eric! No matter what I think of her right now I can't just leave her at their mercy."
"She will be fine. Sophie Anne will not punish her too badly. If anything she will keep her alive as a pawn to use against you. For now your cousin will be fine." He told her.
Sookie nodded, turning away. The gravity of everything that had happened threatened to pull her back into misery. The tears had already started flowing. Eric moved up behind her, carefully lifting her in his arms and speeding into the living room where he sat down on the sofa and folded her up against him.
They were silent for a long time, each going over the events of the night in their minds. Sookie was the first to speak.
"Eric?"
"Hmm?" He replied.
"The night I met Bill... He. I. A couple of drainers got him. I saved him from them. I saved his life."
Wondering where she was going with this, he simply stayed silent and waited for her to speak again.
"The next night, I had arranged to meet him after work. He was late and they - they found me. I was half dead when he appeared. He killed them. And then he gave me his blood..."
She looked up at him for the first time since they'd sat down. "He set me up didn't he? So I would be attracted to him. He let them kick me half to death and then he..."
Eric didn't reply, he knew he didn't have to. Pain filtered through their bond and he simply tucked her up against him and let her cry.
Her world had been torn apart in a few short days and she didn't know where to turn. She simply let go and allowed the hurt that had built up in her to escape through her shattered sobs. All the while clinging to Erics neck and allowing her tears to soak through his top.
For the longest time she cried, feeling his hands rub her back gently, his lips pressing into her hair and uttering words in a language she couldn't understand.
When the sobbing eventually stopped, neither of them spoke. Eric thought she had fallen asleep and was surprised at how even her voice sounded when she sat up slightly to look him in the eye and spoke.
"Just for the record, I do not appreciate the way you spoke to me earlier." He quirked an eyebrow at her. She ignored him. "I don't belong to anybody Eric and much as I am thankful for everything you've done for me, you don't have the right to tell me who I can and can't have touch me. It's not like you're about to ask my permission to go screw whichever fangbangers you like."
He opened his mouth and she shushed him. He looked mildly affronted at being silenced by a human girl, but said nothing. "Like I said, you don't have the right to tell me who to touch, but since you've done so much for me I at least owe you an explanation. I didn't know he was touching me. I didn't realise, I was miles away."
Eric glared at something over her shoulder, "Sookie you know you cannot lie to me - " A finger pressed against his lips to silence him again. He considered biting it off if only to show her her place.
"I was having... daydreams.. About someone else." She looked away at that point and he remembered her words from earlier. Smirking, he reached up to cup her cheek.
"Do tell little one."
She glared at him. "Do you want me to tell you or do you want me to kick you?"
He chuckled, he'd take an angry Sookie over a crying one any day.
"I was thinking about you, and I got kinda carried away... It was only when he said my name that I realised I wasn't imagining the hand on me." Her face was burning now, but she'd achieved what she'd set out to do. Which was to not have Eric thinking she was some kind of slut. The fact that she cared whether he thought that of her was annoying her immensely.
I mean it's not like I like him or anything. Sure he's attractive, and yeah he's GREAT in bed. But he's really not my type and I soo don't want him to be my boyfriend or anything... As a friend... sure I like him as a friend. He saved my ass. And he's really quite funny when he wants to be and his hugs are great. Plus his ass is just about the most beautiful thing I've ever seen... No, wait, that's bad. I mean the ass isn't bad, the ass is GREAT. But the fact that I think the ass is great, that's bad... very very bad...
He was watching her quietly, his thumb brushing softly back and forth across her cheek as he waited for her to stop arguing with herself. While he was no mindreader himself, it didn't take a genius to work out that she was very deep in thought. She wasn't showing any signs of moving or speaking, so he took matters into his own hands.
"How are you feeling Sookie?" He asked softly.
And why does he care how I'm feeling? "I don't know. I. I'm angry sure. And hurt. But I think I'll be alright. I mean I know I'll be alright. I'm safe as I can be right now, and the rest, well I'll think about that later."
He nodded, eyes drifting slowly up to meet hers. She was immediately mesmerized.
"Thank you, Eric. You, you saved me." His normally ice cold blue eyes looked warm for a change and the effect on Sookie's body was instant. Nobody could make her feel like he could. Without even thinking about it, she leaned forward and pressed her lips softly into his. The resulting groan he gave just about sent her over the edge and she kissed him harder, with a fierceness she'd never used before.
Eric quickly dominated the kiss, crushing her mouth with his own in the most delicious way she'd ever experienced. Her arms slid around his neck, hands finding the back of his head and gripping the hair there.
His free hand found her other cheek, holding her beautiful face as though it were made of glass while his lips attacked hers in a very less than gentle way. She moaned against them as fire shot through her entire body. Tugging hard on his hair in her excitement, she shifted to rest on her knees either side of his body, pressing her sex down hard on his already stiff jeans. He growled sharply into her mouth and tore his mouth from hers to nip playfully at her neck, fangs descended.
Pushing his hips up to match her movements, he flicked his tongue across her soft skin. His hands trailed down between them and ripped her t-shirt off with one quick yank, freeing up her heavy breasts. Eric kissed his way down to them, immediately latching on to a nipple, rubbing circles with the tip of his finger around her other one. He sucked it into his mouth, tongue rubbing around it, fangs scraping the tender flesh.
They shouldn't be doing this, they should be discussing what would happen now, Sookie's newfound powers, what the queen would attempt to do next. But neither of them were willing to stop, nor did they even try to.
Eric stopped his assault on her breasts only long enough to smash his lips back into hers. Hooking his hands under her ass he stood up and wrapped her legs around him. Somehow they made it to her bedroom where he dropped her onto the bed and wasted no time in stripping them both of their remaining clothing. Then he crawled slowly up the bed parting her legs and slipping his hands under her ass once again. "Look at me lover." He told her huskily, dipping his head down between her legs to inhale her scent. Fuck, she smells like heaven. Sookie stared down at him, eyes wide with lust. He locked onto her gaze as he dragged his tongue along her opening. Her eyes rolled in excitement. "Eric..." she moaned, ripples of pleasure shooting up her spine.
He sank his tongue into her dripping hole, groaning at the taste. His fingers worked over her clit as she writhed beneath him, lost to the sensations he was creating inside of her. When he felt she was close his fingers changed places with his tongue and he sucked her clit hard as they pumped quickly into her, the tight walls of her center gripping them. With a loud cry of his name she went over the edge and came hard, her back arching up off the bed.
Eric slid up her body, entering her at once as her orgasm washed over her. His throbbing cock slid through her trembling walls like a hot knife through butter. Once he was buried to the hilt he stopped moving and gazed down at her. Sweat beaded on her forehead, her cheeks flushed with orgasmic bliss as she watched him blearily. He could almost hear her willing him to move deep inside of her. "You are so beautiful." He whispered. Then he began moving. Slow, deep thrusts that filled her and stretched her beyond imagining. All she could do was grip his back as he rode her achingly slowly. Every inch of her buzzed with rapture as the viking god above her drove her deeper and deeper into the mattress with every thrust. His rock hard cock was hitting places deep inside her that sent shockwaves of pleasure across her body. With a harsh growl he began moving faster and faster, his arms wrapping under her to hold her close against him.
Both trembling, they moved in sync, her body sliding against his as they both got closer and closer to their releases. Eric buried his face in her neck, the scent of the fae entering his nostrils and driving him over the edge. He pounded his cock into her tight center and his fangs tore into her neck. Drinking deeply as he felt her come apart around him, he immediately followed her over, shooting ream after ream into her womb.
As she screamed out his name he pulled his fangs from her neck and licked the wound closed. For a few silent moments they simply lay there with her hand stroking through his hair. As her breathing slowed, he rolled them over and pulled her on top of him, her face tucked into his chest.
His long arms reached down to pull the blankets up over them, happier than he would ever admit in that moment. Feeling Sookie's exhaustion through the bond, he ran his fingers through her hair slowly without speaking.
"Eric?"
"Yes lover?"
"What's gonna happen now?"
"I do not know Sookie."
He could have been answering any number of questions. And they both knew it.
Sookie closed her eyes, turning her face into his huge chest.
"She'll come back, won't she?"
"Yes."
"You won't let her get me, will you?"
"No Sookie, I will not."
"Eric?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
Before he could reply, Sookie was fast asleep, leaving the 1000 year old viking wondering what the hell he'd gotten himself into.
A/N - Hope you enjoyed. Also hope the ending wasn't too out of character, but I promised lemons, so lemons you got. I have read about a trillion True Blood fics where Eric and Sookie hook up, and then go to the queens compound, where they manage to avoid having to give Sookie to her etc etc. I thought I'd do mine a little differently, let me know what you think. And about the confrontation - I wanted to give Sookie a chance to defend herself in her own right. She's proved more than once in the books and the show that she's not afraid to defend herself no matter who she's up against, so after her initial terror I wanted her to do just that. Anyway, I won't apologise for this chapter, but not because I think its any good.
Thank you once again to the reviewers, please continue to share your thoughts and the offer is still open to anyone who feels they have any ideas or suggestions they would like to share.
Till next time x