So I have a new chapter.. it's the longest one yet... enjoy!
Hope everyone's doing well.... thanks so all those who continually send me love.
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Last Time....
"Sookie?" Ben looked up at me with bloody tears trailing down his face.
"Ben!" I about yelled. I lowered myself down to crouch in front of him and put my arms around his shoulders. I know he's a vampire and a young one at that, but I had been worried about him. "Are you okay? What are you doing in the stock room? Let me go get Eric, he'll be so glad that you're here." I took a breath and stood to run and get Eric. Before I could get away Ben grabbed a hold of my wrist. I turned back to him and the tears were still flowing in full force.
"I'm so sorry, Sookie." He sobbed out before pulling me back to his body.
"Ben, what are you doing?" I asked as fear started to bubble within me. He didn't answer he just lowered his face to my neck. I heard the moment his fangs popped out. "Ben, please stop!" I begged him. He sniffed one more time and I could feel his cold bloody tears landing on my warm skin. Then he bit, hard.
Ben's fangs weren't in my neck for more than a moment before I felt them being torn from me, along with the rest of Ben's body. I opened my eyes to see Eric holding Ben up against the closest shelving unit with one hand and holding me to his body with the other. Ben's feet were dangling mid air and he still had bloody tears coming from his eyes. Now he had my blood in around his mouth. Sam had rushed in moments after Eric, but was standing in the doorway watching, saying nothing.
"Thank you… thank you…" Ben was mumbling through sobs.
"Eric." I put a hand on his chest hoping to calm the fire that was in his eyes. He didn't turn to me; he kept his eyes on Ben as he bared his teeth. "Eric, could you at least heal my neck?" I could feel the blood leaking out of the wounds on my neck and it was reminding me of when Bill ripped my neck apart in the trunk of the Lincoln. That got his attention. All while holding a sobbing Ben against the shelf he leaned down and licked the wounds on my neck closed. When he was done the rage returned to his eyes, but there appeared to be less.
"Kill me, Mr. Northman. You have to." Ben was begging.
"Eric, don't." I put my hand on the arm that was holding Ben against the shelf. They both looked at me like I was crazy. "Why do you want Eric to kill you?" I asked Ben quietly.
"Mr. Madden, he said I had to hurt you Sookie. I don't want to hurt you; I don't want to kill you. He said I had to drain you until you pass out and then take you to him." He was rambling.
"What happens if you fail?" I asked knowing that he had of course had just failed.
"I am supposed to meet the sun." He stopped crying and looked seriously into my eyes. Now I was pissed.
"Eric, let him go." I yelled up at my Viking, who didn't move a muscle.
"He can't let me go." Ben informed me, "I can't deny my maker. I will just attack you again." He hung his head a little in shame.
"Shifter, take Sookie back out to the bar." Eric didn't take his eyes off of Ben as he commanded Sam.
Sam looked disgusted the Eric was ordering him around, but I guess he agreed that I shouldn't be in the room any longer because he came over and started to pull me towards the door.
"No! Eric, do not kill him! It's not his fault!" I yelled to my Vikings back. Unfortunately, Sam was stronger than me and I was out of the stockroom two seconds later. Sam did what he was told and sat me at the bar. I didn't think I had been in the back very long, but the crowd had cleared out with exception to a few tables. Now I had to wonder how loud I had screamed to get everyone to leave.
I was at the bar for at least five minutes waiting for Eric to emerge from the back hall covered in Ben's remains. It didn't happen. What did happen was Bill came in the front door holding a black bag. He didn't stop and talk to me, he barely nodded to me. Instead he walked straight back towards the store room. Another five minutes went by and Eric came from the back, alone and clean. Tears started to fall down my cheeks before I even realized I was crying. I knew that Ben was a vampire and a bad one at that, but he was just a kid. Eric saw the state I was in and didn't say a word he just placed his hand in mine and pulled me out the front entrance, nodding to Sam on the way out. He still hadn't said anything as he put me in the car and got in himself. The only noise in our drive towards my farmhouse was my sniffling.
We were about five minutes from home when he finally spoke, "I did not finally kill him." He said softly.
"What, you had Bill do it for you?" I asked coldly. The tears had finally subsided and now I was angry. I don't know why I was snapping at him, I just was. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared out my window. When we finally pulled up to the house I got out, slamming the door behind me. I noticed he was following me to my door so I turned to address him, "I don't really feel like company right now, so feel free to be on your way." I looked him square in the eye. If I didn't know any better I would have sworn he looked hurt and the bond backed me up, but this was Eric. Eric 'Freakin' Northman.
"I need you to pack up some things. You'll be coming home with me." He was in sheriff mode.
"Oh I will, will I?" I put a hand to my hip and put my feet firm on the ground.
"Sookie, go in the house and pack up your things or I will assume that you wish to remain in your bar uniform or naked for the time that I must keep you under my protection." He was dead (haha) serious.
I tried not to back down, but I could feel that he was not going to bend on this command. "Who do you think you…?" I wanted to finish my sentence, but I found myself being thrown over Eric's shoulder. Not quite in the passionate cave man act that I had experienced the night before. This was more the angry man who was tired of listening to his woman argue with him. He set me down on my feet in my bedroom not even looking at me as he pulled a bag from my closet and started throwing clothes in it. Before I could say a word he was already in my bathroom and I could hear my toiletries being thrown about. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest, tapping my foot and waiting.
"Anything else?" He asked as he zipped my overnight bag shut. I glared at him and he took that as a no. That's how I ended up back over his shoulder and on my way to his car. After he threw my bag into the trunk and slammed it shut I found myself standing next to the passenger seat. Eric was standing with his hand on the door waiting. He didn't wait long. With a hand on my shoulder, he pushed me down onto my seat and turned my legs in. He even buckled my seatbelt before shutting the door. Without a word he got in and started the car and pulled down the drive. At the end of the road he turned to Bill's instead of the main road to the highway.
"Why are we going to Bill's?" Eric didn't answer me; he didn't even look at me. Through the bond I could tell he was still hurting and a little angry. I had to assume I had caused both of these feelings.
We pulled up to Bill's and parked behind Bill's car. We both got out of the car and headed up to the front door. Eric walked in like he owned the place, because Eric has no manners. I followed behind. The sight that I got when we walked into the living room made my heart leap. Ben was sitting on one of the arm chairs. Sure he was wrapped up in a silver chain, but he was alive… or undead. I looked up to Eric who still wouldn't look at me. I guess my assumption that he ripped Ben apart or had Bill do it had really insulted him. He was a fair Sheriff after all and he took pride in that.
I reached my hand over to him and placed my small hand into his large one. He finally met my eyes. I pushed my remorse and gratefulness through the bond and I got back love. He squeezed my hand before turning back to Ben, Bill, and Pam who had just entered from the kitchen holding a Trueblood with a straw sticking out of it. She walked over to Ben and held it in front of his face. Ben eagerly latched onto the straw and sucked out the thick red liquid. I was touched to see these big bad vampires acting so caring. Of course, I would never say any such thing out loud for any of them to hear.
"Eric, have you heard whether Felipe will be here tonight or not?" Bill asked. He appeared to be annoyed by the guest that was forced upon him. He could be annoyed all he wanted as far as I was concerned as long as they didn't kill Ben or let him kill me.
"He will be here tomorrow. Apparently he did not take Russell's phone call seriously. I have informed him that it is indeed a matter that needs to be addressed. Can you keep him for the day?" Eric asked as if Ben were a car in need of a garage.
"I have a place for him." Bill answered simply. Ben was done with his Trueblood and Bill disappeared into the kitchen to recycle.
"Are you okay, Ben?" I asked from across the room. No need to test the strength of the little silver chain around him.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Sookie. I don't want to hurt you. I think you are the nicest lady I've ever met. And you're so pretty, Mr. Northman is so lucky to have you." He was starting to tear up again and I had no desire to watch him cry. Pam put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"It's okay Ben I know it's not your fault." I gave him a small sad smile. "Will he always want to kill me, Eric?" I turned back to Eric.
"Not if we get Victor to take back the command or send him to his final death." Eric said with a bit of a smirk. I had to assume he had a plan to do just that, to finally rid himself of Victor Madden.
"And how are you going to do that?" I knew better than to ask, there was no way he was going to tell me.
"I have a plan." He smiled. That was Eric, the vamp with the plan.
"Of course you have a plan." I rolled my eyes at him. He didn't bother explaining further; instead he looked directly at Pam.
"Pamela, I need you to call Victor. Tell him I need to make recompense for the final death of his child Benjamin. Tell him that Ben attacked my bonded this evening at her place of employment." He smiled at her.
"Of course, Master." She smirked back at him.
I looked up at him with what I hoped was a questioning look. He waited until Bill entered the room to start talking.
"Bill, I've asked Pam to contact Victor with the news of Benjamin's demise. I have offered recompense for his final death." Bill simply nodded. I guess Ben and I were the only one's not in on the plan, because he looked just as confused as I felt.
"Ben's not gone." I stated as I looked back and forth between the men, vamps, whatever.
"Yes, but we don't want Victor running away. He knew Ben wouldn't succeed tonight and he assumed I would send him to his final death therefore destroying any evidence of his actions. And with the small chance Ben did succeed he would have his hands on you." Eric pulled me closer, wrapping an arm protectively around my waist. I wondered if he realized he did it or if it was a subconscious action.
"So, what's going to happen to Ben?" I asked and Ben looked to Eric eagerly awaiting the answer.
"For now, he stays with Bill, in chains." I gave him a face to let him know I thought that was a bit cruel, but he stomped my argument before it even left my mouth, "If he gets out he'll come for you again or meet the sun." I looked back at Ben who looked relieved to know he'd be surviving the night at the very least.
"Won't Victor know that Ben is still around, he can feel his child, can't he?" I asked, although I'm sure they had already thought of everything.
"Pam's blood bond has weakened the bond between Victor and Benjamin. It is of course still there, but he doesn't care one way or another. He thinks Ben will meet the sun if he is not already gone. He won't think that I would actually keep Ben safe." Eric smiled reassuringly. I wasn't sure I bought it.
"Okay, so tonight he stays with Bill and then tomorrow what happens? Felipe comes and we ask him if we can stake Victor?" I hated that they made me fill in the blanks all time. Why couldn't they just say everything instead of making me guess?
Eric smiled, "You would like to participate in his final death?"
"What? No." I answered quickly.
"You said, 'we ask him if WE can stake Victor', I assumed that meant you would want to participate." He quoted me, but obviously misunderstood me.
"Well, you assumed wrong. It's just hard for me to think of us as separate people." I rushed out in my defense and knew I had said too much when I saw the smile widen on Eric's face and the scowl on Bill's. Pam was, of course, laughing. It was true; I had to blame the blood bond. I had no intention of becoming one with a vampire, but it appeared that I had.
I was never more thankful to hear Eric's phone ring and I sighed in relief that I wouldn't have to explain my last statement. He chuckled a bit and I knew he could feel my anxiety and then relief.
"This is Eric." The smile faded and his voice was back to business, but I could still feel his delight through the bond. I was hoping he would let it go, but he was of course Eric. With his phone still attached to his face he walked from the room, and then from the house. I turned back to Pam, Bill, and Ben. Ben and Bill had matching scowls. Ben, I was sure was just feeling the effect of the silver wrapped around him, but Bill was blatantly disgusted by my declaration. Pam looked delighted, well, as delighted as Pam ever looked.
"Sookie…" He started in that 'I know Eric better than you' tone I was getting awfully familiar with.
"Oh, just get over it, Bill." I stopped him before he could continue. I didn't feel like hearing it from him.
"Yes Bill, get over it." Pam said emotionlessly, but I could see a glint in her eyes. "I'm sure Eric…"She looked at me and I could tell she was enjoying this, "I mean Sookie, has memorized your speeches and declarations by now." Bill cringed when she pretended to mix me and Eric up. She was a professional when it came to teasing; I had to give her credit.
"Thanks a lot, Pam." I huffed. Count on Pam to make a bad situation worse.
Thankfully Eric returned a moment later.
"Pam, you will not stay with Ben tonight, go home. Bill, Pam will call you and let you know where to bring Ben when we are ready." Bill nodded then turned his eyes back to mine. He gave me a look I was getting more and more used to. I turned away from him and waited for Eric to continue. "Are you ready, Lover?" He had the grin back on his face and I knew he wasn't going to forget that I had said we were one person in my mind.
I gave Ben one more sad smile, "I'll see you tomorrow, Ben. Don't worry about anything." I gave Bill and Pam a nod and turned back to Eric. "Ready." I had almost forgotten in all the excitement that I had been pretty much kidnapped. I was glad he had dropped the 'we' conversation I knew he wanted to have and followed him to the car. Of course, just because he dropped it in front of the others, didn't mean he was going to drop it completely.
"So, my love, what were you saying before my phone so rudely interrupted?" He picked up my hand and kissed my knuckles softly, "Something about being one with me." His eyes sparkled in the little light that the moon was providing in his dark car.
"Why can't I stay at my house?" Avoidance thy name is Sookie. He didn't drop my hand; instead he rubbed my palm along his cheek. Had he been a cat, he would have been purring.
"With Victor still out there looking for a way out of the trouble he has brought on himself, I do not want you in danger." He closed his eyes and placed a soft kiss into the center of my palm. Who knew that that exact spot was connected directly to my heart? The feel of his cool lips on my palm made my heart melt.
I forced myself to focus on anything but his lips on my skin, "But he thinks Ben is gone, doesn't that mean he'll think he's safe and leave us alone?"
"He still wants you." Eric's voice came out as more of a growl then anything. "His tactics are sloppy and undeveloped; you'd think he was a new vampire himself the way he's acting. I can't let him come at you again, especially with such bad form. Ben could have hurt a lot of people the way Victor threw him into the wild the way he did." I hated to say it, but I was confused as to why Eric suddenly cared about people.
"Since when do you care about who gets hurt?" I couldn't stop it before it came out of my mouth. Thankfully he wasn't hurt, in fact, he chuckled a bit.
"I do not. It would have been a lot of clean up, both physically and politically, for my area. Besides, despite his substandard plans, he did get close to getting what he wanted. And I do care whether or not you are hurt." He punctuated his sentence by leaning across the center console and giving me a swift kiss on the lips. When he leaned back over he already had the car started and was pulling out of Bill's driveway.
I shut my eyes and leaned my head against the head rest. There was no arguing with him evidently so I planned to save all my energy for the next few nights when I'd have to deal with more vampire politics. I opened my eyes to see that we were pulling onto Eric's street. The previous evening the street appeared to be quiet, not a soul to be seen. I found that was no longer the case. The street was crawling with riffraff, young and old. All of them blank spots in my mind, all of them vampires.
I felt Eric's alert through the bond, but couldn't take my eyes off the groups of people standing on each corner of Eric's block. Eric slowed and turned into his garage, shutting the door behind us. I finally turned to look at him. He was staring ahead, obviously planning.
"What's going on? What were all those vampires doing outside?" I asked attempting to sound calm, but that was about when I heard the first bang. Someone was knocking loudly on the metal garage door. When I turned to look the door was starting to dent and crumple under the pressure. I felt like I was in the zombie movie that Jason had made me watch with him when we were kids. That gave me an awful thought and I'd have to remember to ask Eric if Zombies were real.
Without an answer Eric jumped from the car coming to my side to pull me out. We were inside the Brady-like home in seconds. I could hear around the same time Eric slammed the garage door closed the metal outside door being torn off completely and by the sound of it thrown into the middle of the street.
Eric was pulling me into the bedroom and towards a door I hadn't noticed before. I was imagining what was behind it; perhaps he had an arsenal hiding inside. When he opened it, I found myself disappointed, nothing but storage. The banging was starting again, but it was coming from every door and window in the house. I was thankful my paranoid and prepared vampire had thought it important to get reinforced windows or they would have been shattered by now. I forced my attention back to Eric watch him pull away a false wall.
"I knew you had a bat cave!" I exclaimed forgetting the danger surrounding us momentarily. "Bat caves usually go down." I commented noting that the only thing behind the fake wall was a ladder, going up.
"The bat cave is in another house, this is merely my escape hatch." He answered as he picked me up by the waist and started me a few rungs off the floor. "Now if you could go up, but stay inside until I say so." He smiled and left me to climb the ladder, closing the false wall back up. I reached a trap door when I got to the top. I assumed he meant for me to not open it when he said for me to stay inside. I could hear the banging cease and I guessed that they had successfully made it into the house. I could still feel Eric through the bond and he was confident and in control. I decided I wouldn't worry about him, yet.
"Where is she?" I could hear multiple voices yelling the same thing over and over.
"Who sent you?" Eric's voice was stronger and more assertive than the rest, easily overpowering them.
"Victor…" they seemed to hiss it.
"What do you want?" Eric asked again, I wondered why he was bothering. He knew what they wanted and I was hugging a ladder behind a wall in the bedroom of his house.
"We want the girl. Sookie…" A spokesman for the group had taken charge. My name on his lips made my skin crawl. "Master wants her and he shall have her."
"Thank you that will be all." Eric replied confidently. After that I heard some more crashes and if I couldn't feel that Eric was safe, I'd be scared to death. Okay so I was kinda scared regardless. Which is why when the hatch above me opened, I screamed a little.
"Eric!" I yelled with my hand over my heart. He grabbed the hand that was holding onto the ladder rung and pulled me out of the hatch onto the roof. I could see there were still some vampires on the lawn below, but there were definitely fewer. Eric pulled me up into his arms and took off into the sky. I buried my face into his chest; flying was not my favorite activity.
I finally relaxed when I felt he feet touch the ground. I looked up to see us on the front lawn of an intimidating structure, a gothic looking mansion with a moonlit lake beside it. I looked to Eric when he set me down on my feet.
"Does this live up to the picture of where I live that you have in that pretty little head of yours?" He asked with a smirk.
"You live here?" I asked, thinking he just brought me here to make fun of me.
"No, but I own it. The house I live in is most likely being dismantled by young frenzied vampires." He seemed more than annoyed by the prospect. At the mention of the vampires I swung around to look at the property as well as I could in the darkness. We appeared to be alone. "No one besides Pam knows I own this house and I haven't been here in decades. We should be safe." He pulled my hand to follow him into the dark house.
The inside was dark and musty. He really hadn't set foot in the house in a long time and neither had anyone else. There was dust and cobwebs covering the foyer we wandered into.
"Eric, I like the other house better." I said yelped as I jumped when something scurried across my foot. Eric caught me in his arms as I climbed up him trying to avoid touching the floor. "Can't we just stay at my house? What if they go to my house? What if they tear apart my house? What about Amelia? We have to go right now!" I was ranting.
"We can't go to your house. I asked Pam earlier to collect the witch and keep her safe. I'll text Bill and ask him to check on your house for you, okay?" He was getting better at the whole compromise thing. He was already texting before I answered.
I sighed defeated, "Okay."
"I would take you to a hotel, but I think this will be safest for the evening. I'm sure he's looking for us at every vampire friendly location in the area." As we got further into the house it got darker. I was glad for once that I didn't have vampire sight. I didn't want to see the things that were scurrying about. I was perfectly happy in Eric's arms and in the dark. He turned on a light when we reached the kitchen. He set me down on a dusty counter top as he moved the kitchen island across the floor revealing a square carved into the floor. He pulled it up revealing a staircase.
"You are so predictable." I mocked him with a smile.
"Your underground fortress, m'lady." Eric made a gesture as if I were to go ahead in.
"I'm not going down first." I set my arms across my chest.
"Afraid?" He lifted an eyebrow at me.
"More like, unable to see in the dark." I would never admit fear, even if he could feel it. He smiled before leaning down and pressing a button inside the hole in the floor. Lights clicked on a millisecond later. "Fine." I jumped off the counter and headed for the stairs. I took them cautiously one by one. I stopped and turned when I noticed that Eric wasn't following me. He was still in the kitchen and appeared to be deep in thought.
"I need to go get you food for tomorrow; also your bag was in the car… the car that is probably destroyed." He added the last part through gritted teeth. I knew if Victor wasn't already in trouble, he was now. No one messed with Eric's car and got away with it.
"Okay, let's go." I started back up the steps.
"I think you should stay here." He stopped me before I climbed out.
"You want me to stay here… in this creepy house, by myself?" I asked hoping he wasn't serious.
"You'll be safe, just stay downstairs and if anyone comes to the door don't answer it." He smiled at the end because he sounded like my dad.
As if on eerie cue the lights sputtered out. I jumped up and out of the basement attaching myself to Eric's side. I was amazed that after all I'd seen I was still afraid of this creepy old house.
"I knew I would regret not keeping up with repairs." Eric said mainly to himself.
"Okay, that's it!" I threw my hands in the air, "I'm not staying here." I started towards where I thought the front door would be. Eric quickly caught up with me and pulled me in a different direction. I thought he was fighting me on my decision, but he led me out the front door and back the lawn we had started on.
He sighed, an oddly human thing for him to do. "Any ideas?" he asked. No, seriously, he asked me if I had any ideas. I almost passed out then and there. After I collected my jaw off the ground I thought for a moment. I did have an idea, but Eric wouldn't like it. I put the sweetest smile I could muster on my face. Eric looked down, suspicious, "What?"
"I know where we can go that Victor will never look." I wrapped my arms around his waist and stepped on his feet looking up at him. He looked down at me waiting for something, an address, an explanation. I would give him neither. "Come on. Up, up, and away." He smirked at that remark. "On dasher, on dancer, on prancer, on vixen…" Before I could finish he covered my mouth with his hand, shaking his head. He tried to look annoyed, but I could tell he was amused.
"Never compare me to flying reindeer again." He looked serious. Faker. I nodded and tried to look remorseful. I was glad his hand was over my mouth, because I wasn't sure I could stop myself from smiling. A moment later he took off into the air, I shouted directions best as I could over the wind. I had him touch down a block away from my intended target in hopes that he wouldn't recognize the surroundings.
I started us in the direction of the house we would hopefully be spending the next day in. Of course, nothing gets by Eric. He stopped pulling me to stop with him when we were only a few houses away.
"Hell no." This time he was serious.
"Eric, no one will ever look for you here." I tried to get him with logic.
"That's because I will never go in there." He pointed to the house in question.
"Eric, I'm exhausted and there is nowhere else." I pleaded and tried to get him to move again. He didn't budge. "Fine, I'll stay here. You go back to the house on haunted lake for all I care. I'll see you tomorrow night." I let go of his hand and started towards the house again.
He caught up with me in seconds, "I don't want you staying here alone."
"I won't be alone." I knew it was a low blow, but sometimes you have got take some unfair shots to get what you need done, done.
He was still right behind me when I reached the door and rang the bell.
"Sookie, please…" The great Eric Northman was saying please and usually that would be enough, but we needed somewhere to stay and this was it. He'd just have to suck up his pride for one night or day.
A very sleepy Alcide pulled open the door clad in a pair of plaid sleep pants. He was still yawning when he saw that it was Eric and I at the door. I forgot that not everyone kept Vampire hours like me.
"I am so sorry to wake you, Alcide, really." I started and he looked at me concerned.
"What's wrong, Sook?" He was awake now.
"Long story short, bad vamps after me, well us. We don't have anywhere to go and Eric catches on fire in the sun. We need somewhere to stay." I threw it all out there in one breath. Alcide took a second to let it all sink in before a smile crossed his face. His eyes automatically went to Eric. I looked over my shoulder and he was pouting, refusing to acknowledge he was even on the were's stoop.
"And you want to stay here?" Alcide couldn't believe his ears.
"I think this is the last place they would look for us and I am a friend of the pack." I hoped that my friend of the pack membership was still being accepted these days.
"Both of you?" Alcide asked still looking at Eric.
"Both of us." I answered firmly.
"I'm sure I can arrange something, I don't have a vampire proof room per se, but I'm sure if we could cover a few windows." His eyes came back to me when he realized Eric wasn't going to play along.
"That would be so great. Thank you so much." I almost hugged him, but with him being bare-chested and Eric being pissed off at me I figured it would be best to hold back. Alcide backed away from the door and I followed him in. I noticed Eric wasn't following me and remember he needed to be invited. Alcide appeared to be taking his sweet old time in doing so. I gave him a look to let him know I knew what he was doing.
He shrugged before giving in, "Eric, won't you please come inside?" Eric stepped forward and grabbed my hand in his, but he still wouldn't look at either of us. "Let me go get some supplies and I'll cover up the windows." Alcide left Eric and me in the living room.
"I do not trust him." Eric grumbled in my direction. I forced him to look at me.
"Trust me." I sent my sincerity through the bond. I knew that he felt vulnerable when dead for the day and being in a were's house wasn't going to make him feel safe. "You have to know by now; I would never let anything happen to you." I squeezed his hand. He hated having to rely on someone else, this was killing him.
Alcide was back before anything else could be said and I was sure he could feel the tension in the air. "I'll set Eric up in a back room if you wanna follow me." He was carrying some metal sheets and some sort of power tool. We followed him back to what appeared to be a guest room. It only had one window which meant fewer renovations needed to be made. He had the sheets up quickly and we all stood quietly looking around the room. It was nice and simple. A large bed filled the center of the room with a desk in one corner and a couple dressers lining other walls.
"So, you're sure that'll keep out the light?" I asked not used to temporary light proofing.
"Yeah, it'll keep him." He regarded Eric. I didn't like the term 'keep', like Eric needed to be put in a Tupperware container. "If you want I can show you to your room." Alcide headed towards the door. Eric looked at me immediately. I couldn't believe he thought I would leave him. Men.
"I'll just stay in here with Eric, but thank you." I announced as I weaved my fingers with Eric's. Alcide took a look at the two of us. He had suspected as much, but I had confirmed that Eric and I were really together. I guess we needed to have a big coming out party in order to inform the different supe groups in the area that I was indeed Eric's and he was mine.
"Suit yourself." He said as he turned his back to us and walked from the room. "I'm going back to bed, keep it down." He shut the door behind him.
I turned to Eric who still looked none too please. He unclasped his hand from mine and turned to the bedroom door. Without a word he was gone. I was alone in a newly light proofed bedroom. I sighed and sat down hard on the bed. After a minute I realized he was gone from the area so I peeked out the door and made my way down the hall. I was thankful that even though I had not asked for a tour Alcide had left the bathroom door open and the light on for me. I made myself as ready for bed as I could. I didn't have anything with me, so I brushed my teeth with my finger and rinsed my face with water. On my way back I ran into a still half naked Alcide in the hallway.
"Sookie, is everything okay?" He asked as he stood between me and the guest room door.
"Yes, everything is fine. Well except the whole getting attacked by vampires and having to hide out." I put on my best crazy Sookie smile.
"What are you doing with Northman? You know he's a manipulative, self centered vampire who only thinks of himself right? He doesn't care about you. He only cares about what you and your telepathy can do for him." Alcide informed me with a hand gripping my arm. I shook off his hand and looked him square in the eye.
"We'll have to agree to disagree on that. I happen to love that manipulative, self centered vampire." I pushed past him and put my hand on the doorknob to the guest bedroom, "Thank you very much for the room Alcide. I know you don't like Eric and I know you don't trust each other. I like you and trust you Alcide, but if you give me any reason to believe that you are going to hurt or double-cross Eric in anyway, you'll regret it." I didn't turn back around. But I felt a few different things, pride and love through the bond and shame with a hint of bitterness from Alcide's mind.
I walked back into my temporary room to find Eric sitting on the bed. He had my bag in his lap.
"You went home?" I asked hoping he would look at me again.
"I wanted to assess the damage" he answered emotionless then turned to look at me, "and you needed your things." I smiled at him. I went to stand in front of him, taking the bag from his lap and placing it next to him on the bed. I walked to the edge of the bed between his knees. I ran my hands up his arms soothingly.
"How bad was it? How's your car?" I didn't really care about the car as long as we were still here, but I knew it was his one of his favorite things.
"Nothing that cannot be replaced." He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to his chest. He nuzzled my neck and what he said next shocked me into silence, "You are the only thing that matters. They can burn down all my houses, set fire to all my cars and it still wouldn't matter." I stilled. I decided to pick out the only thing about the declaration that I could handle at the moment.
"They burned down your house and set fire to your car? I thought vampires hated fire?" I pushed off his shoulders so he would look at me.
"It is unimportant." He wasn't lying to me. He couldn't have cared less about the things they had destroyed. What happened to the Eric who an hour earlier looked like he would kill for his precious corvette?
"How did you get my bag?" I glanced at the slightly ash covered bag.
"The fire department put the fires out before they reached the trunk." He said with a shrug as if it were nothing.
"You love your car." I stated. I still didn't understand what had changed since an hour ago.
"It can be replaced." He looked deeply in my eyes when he said it. I was lost in a sea of emotion flowing between the two of us when I heard Eric's phone vibrate.
"Eric, your phone." I shook him from his thoughts. I wasn't the only one stuck in the bond.
"This is Eric." He answered curtly as usual. There was a long pause. "Good, and what did you find out?" another pause, "Collect as many as you can." With that said he hung up.
"Pokemon?" I asked referring to his order of collecting.
"Vampires." He stated simply.
"Collecting vampires? That's new." I usually wouldn't ask, it was his phone call, not mine, but I was worried.
"Pam and Bill found some vampires waiting around your home. Before you get worried the witch is fine and with Pam." He put my hands in his before continuing. "Pam interrogated one of them and it seems that Victor has been trying this scheme for months. He got desperate after we figured out he was Ben's maker and called in all of his new vampires, revealing himself as their maker. Then he sent them after us."
"A desperate vampire can't be a good thing." I shook my head thinking of how many people have been hurt and would be hurt by Victor's horrible plan.
"No, but desperation often leads to mistakes and one's own demise." He squeezed my hands and gave me a small smile. He had Victor where he wanted him, I was sure of it.
"Let me guess… you have a plan?" I said with a sigh. Eric grinned.
Hope some of that made sense. I'm sick and who knows what the hallucinations have been telling me to write. :)
Just read Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones... AMAZING- read it... even though it's found in the 7-12 year old section of the book store. If you don't want to read it.. at least watch the movie... its a cartoon... but hey if you watch it in English you get to listen to Christian Bale talk.
Fun fact: When I was a little girl I was so mixed up from my parents teaching me both Christianity and Mythology that I though Mary (Mother of Jesus) was half donkey... cause they always showed her riding side saddle and i could never see her legs. :)