Disclaimer: I am not the owner of these characters. The original story and the characters belong to Charlaine Harris. I am only borrowing them for a little while.

Chapter 11

I think that the upcoming chapters need to be told from Sookie's POV only because… well, you will find out why! Enjoy it

SOOKIE'S POV

The ride to Alcide's house was silent. There was really not much to say at this point. My heart was still aching knowing that Bill lied to my face without flinching. How many more lies did he tell me and I believed him?

We parked in Alcide's driveway next to a man who was dismounting a motorcycle; we recognized Mustapha the minute he took off his helmet. He looked at us surprised, but recovered really quickly.

"Mustapha," I called him as I exited the car, "did Alcide call you in?"

"No. I'm here to talk to Alcide. Looking for new leads to find Warren."

"We are here for the same reason," I told him.

"We have been looking for you. Especially Eric," Bill stated. I looked at him knowing that he was lying again. I didn't add to his comment, but it suddenly downed on me that Bill was trying very hard to cover up Eric's disappearance.

"This is an unexpected but pleasant visit Sookie. Good evening Bill and Mustapha," Alcide interrupted us as he waved us in.

After all the pleasantries were given and all the drinks were served, we sat on his living room, anxious for information.

"I'm going to talk first because I have a special interest to get this done with," I said while I sipped on my coke. It felt refreshing on my throat. "Mustapha, how did Kym get into Eric's house?"

"I let her in," he replied. Alcide stopped and turned to him. His face was hard and accusing. "Jannalynn told me that she had Warren. She told me I had to let this Rowe girl into the house. That was all I had to do," Mustapha explained.

I looked at Bill with satisfaction. Bill wasn't too happy to find out that I had been right about her, but he didn't make any comments. His face was hard to guess because he barely showed his emotions.

"If Jannalynn has Warren, then we need to find her and make her confess," Bill said, turning our attention back to the topic.

"After I talked to you about Jannalynn," Alcide spoke to me, "I began to think about her pretty seriously. The more I took her recent actions apart, the more I thought I should look deeper. I figured out that Jannalynn was not telling me the truth about a few things. Sometimes when she was supposed to be around, she was out of touch. I thought maybe her romance with Sam was going over the top, but when she'd tell me one thing about them, you didn't seem to know anything about it. And Sam's your partner, so you'd know, I figured."

So he'd called me to talk about Sam and Jannalynn's "wedding plans," at least in part to hear my reaction; of course, I'd been completely shocked.

"I saw her one time when she didn't see me. She was at a bar way across town, instead of at the Hair. And she was with a group of rogues I had turned down. I knew she was planning something. I'd had them all over at social evenings at the house, talked to 'em. The only one worth anything was a female named Kandace, and she wasn't sure she wanted to be in a pack. Didn't like the power struggles. I got to respect that, but I thought she'd be an asset."

I thought maybe he'd also liked Kandace's assets, but that was his business.

"So, I called up Kandace, and asked her to meet me alone. Without me even bringing it up, she volunteered to tell me what was going on, because it troubled her."

"She must be a good person," I said.

He smiled, gratified. "Kandace said Jannalynn wanted to challenge me, defeat me, but first she wanted to get a good toehold in the pack by socking away some money, enlisting pack members to her side, getting some of her own muscle. Her proposal to these rogues was that they could come into the pack if they'd do her bidding; then when she beat me, she'd let them have full benefits."

I wondered if that included health and dental, but I wasn't going to go down a side part while he was still in a sharing mood.

"So," he said, "I got a guy she didn't know to follow Jannalynn. He saw her meeting with your buddy Claude. There's just no good reason for that."

That got my attention, "what… why? Why was she meeting with Claude, of all people?"

"I have no idea," Alcide said.
"So all we have to do is find Jannalynn and ask her a lot of questions," I said. "And find Warren. And hope that Claude comes back from Faery, so I can question him. And get Felipe and his vamps to leave us alone, here in Shreveport. And get that Freyda out of here too."

Alcide looked at me, wondered whether to speak, and decided on full disclosure. "Is it true Sookie? Palomino told Roy that Eric's engaged to a vampire from Oklahoma?"

"I can't talk about it," I said. "Or I'll get really upset, Alcide, and you just don't want that tonight. Besides, she shouldn't be telling vampire business around town."

"Going back to the subject," Mustapha said, "I know why Jannalynn was meeting with Claude. She was hired to find a were girl willing to carry it out. Claude hired her. I have seen him at your place. Your cousin?"

I was shocked. I was more than shocked.

"Why?" I said out loud. "Why?"

"I assume it was Claude's blood that had made Kym so irresistible to Eric," Mustapha added.

"Dammit," I said leaning forward to bury my face in my hands while holding back my tears.

"Sookie, we'll figure all this out," Alcide said. He sounded very confident and strong. "We'll get this all taken care of. We'll clear Eric with the police."

"Where could Jannalynn hide Warren," Bill said.

"Jannalynn is from Shreveport," Alcide said. "She lives in an apartment above the Hair of the Dog, so that's out. No place there; besides, we'd have heard Warren if he'd been stashed there, or we'd have smelled him."

"If he was alive," I said, very quietly.

"If he wasn't, definitely we'd have smelled him," Alcide said, and Mustapha nodded, his face expressionless.

"So where does she have her own, a place she could be fairly sure no one else would go?"

"Her mom and dad retired to Florida last year," Alcide said. "But they sold their house. Our computer guy who works at the tax assessor's office couldn't find anything else in Jannalynn's name."

"You sure that house sold? In this market?"

"That's what she told me. And the sign was down, last time I went by," Alcide said.

Mustapha stirred. "It's on a big lot, and it's pretty far out of Shreveport," he said. "I was out that way once, driving with Jannalynn, when the pack was courting me. She said she used to ride dirt bikes out there. They had horses too."

"Anyone can take down a sign," I said.

I put enough doubt on everybody's mind that we were out to Alcide's car absentmindedly, and we hit the road immediately. After some driving, I saw we were now in a suburban area where the lots were at least four acres; maybe this had been out in the country once upon a time, until Shreveport had grown.

"It's right around here," Mustapha said and when we saw a white fence bordering the road, he said, "This is it. I remember the fence."

There was a horse gate across the driveway, and I hopped out to move it because I just wanted to get out of the car. They drove through and I followed them. It was completely dark out here, no streetlights. There was a security light in the front yard, but that was it. No lights on in the ranch-style house or in the freestanding garage a few feet behind it, where the driveway terminated. A dilapidated swing set rusted in the front yard. I pictured little Jannalynn playing on it, and found myself picturing a swing hitting her in the head.

I grimly erased that image and joined the three men who'd gotten out of the car to stand uncertainly in the noisy night. The crickets and all the other myriad bugs of Louisiana were having a concert in the woods that bordered the property. I heard a dog bark, far away.

"Now we break in," Alcide said and I said, "Wait."

"But-" Mustapha began.

"Be quiet," I said, finally feeling that there was something I could do rather than get swept into events as they passed me by. I sent out my other sense, the one that shaped my life, the one given me at birth by the demon Mr. Cataliades. I searched and searched, looking for the signature of a mind, and just when I was going to give up, I felt a faint flicker of thought. "There is someone," I said very quietly. "There is someone."

"Where?" Mustapha and Bill asked in unison.

"In the attic over the garage," I said, and it was like I'd fired off the starting gun. Werewolves are creatures of action, after all. Bill followed them. I could tell that Bill really didn't want to be here, but he was putting a good front. Maybe finding Eric's innocence was not high on his priority list.

There were outside stairs on the side of the garage, which I hadn't seen. They saw it and up they swarmed. Mustapha, catching a scent he recognized, threw back his head and howled. It made my hair stand up. I moved to the foot of the steps, and though I still couldn't see much, I could make out the two figures on the landing above beginning a furious motion. It accompanied a rhythmic thud. I realized the three men were throwing themselves against a door. There was a ka-BANG that had to be the door flying back, and then a light came on.

Mustapha howled again, and I feared that Warren was dead.

I just couldn't stand it; I sank to my knees.

"Sookie," Alcide said urgently.

I looked up. Mustapha was coming down the stairs, a body in his arms. Alcide was right in front of me.

"He's alive," Alcide said. "But he's been up there without air conditioning or ventilation or food or water for God knows how long. I guess the bitch couldn't be bothered. We got to get him some help."

"Vampire blood?" I suggested, but very quickly.

"I think Mustapha might consider that now," Alcide said, and I knew that Warren must be very bad.

I turned my head to Bill's direction who was cautiously listening to our conversation. "Bill could you help him?"

Bill stood still for a second and then nodded, but Alcide interrupted us, "let's get him out of here first. He could feed him in the car." We left in a hurry.

Mustapha settled Warren in the back of Alcide's truck and I sneaked in as I could. Warren's head rested on Mustapha's lap. His concerned face broke my heart.

Warren's brain signature became weaker, flickered, resumed. "Mustapha, would you mind if Bill gives Warren a drink to help him live?"

"If it can bring him back, I'll do it. He may hate me later. Hell, I may hate myself. But we got to save him."

Bill opened the door nearest to Warren's head, bit his own wrist, and held the bleeding wrist over Warren's parched mouth.

I didn't know if Warren would have done it if he hadn't been so thirsty. At first, Bill's blood trickling into the slack mouth seemed to raise no reaction. But then something sparked in Warren, and he began to consciously drink. I could see his throat moving.

"Enough," I said after a minute. I could see Warren's brain firing back up. "Now take him to the hospital, and they'll do all the right stuff for him."

"But they'll know," Alcide was scowling at me, and so was Mustapha. "They'll question him about who took him." Bill, standing and holding his wrist, looked only mildly interested.

"You don't want the police to arrest Jannalynn?" That seemed like the best of all possible worlds to me.

"She would kill them if they tried," Alcide said, but I knew from the conflict flowing from his head that he wasn't voicing his real concern.

"You want to punish her," I said, in as neutral a voice as I could manage.

"Course he does," Mustapha said. "She's pack. She's his to punish."

"I do want to ask her some questions," I said.

"Like what?" Bill asked.

"Claude," I replied.

"Claude himself could tell you why," Bill said grimly. His comment hung in the air as we got in Alcide's truck to return home.

Our drive back into Alcide's neighborhood was shorter than our drive out because we knew our way now. As soon as we arrived, Alcide's invited Warren and Mustapha to spend the night at his house until they find Jannalynn. They both accepted. In a hurry, Bill and I got in his car and drove back. I couldn't wait to get back home.

"Why would Claude have done such a thing?"

I didn't realize I'd said it out loud until Bill answered.

"Sookie, I don't know. I can't even guess. He doesn't hate Eric, or at least I can't think of any reason why he should. He might be envious you have such a handsome lover, but that's hardly sufficient reason…."

"Okay, let's think," I said. "Why would he try to make trouble in such a devious way? He could have set fire to my house." (Though that had already been done.) "He could try to shoot me." (Ditto.) "He could abduct me and torture me." (Likewise.) "If his goal was to make trouble for Eric, there were at least twenty more direct ways to cause it."

"Yes," Bill said. "But a direct way would have led straight back to him. It's the indirectness of it, the slyness of it, that convinces me that Claude wanted to stay in your good graces, stay close to you."

"It's not out of love. I can tell you that."

"Is there something I don't know about Sookie? Some reason Claude would want your company, want to live in your house and stay close to you?" After a moment of silence, Bill hurried to add, "Not that any sane male wouldn't want to, even someone like Claude who likes other men."

"Why, yes, Bill," I said, "And it's funny you should bring that up. As a matter of fact, there is such a reason."

Though I clammed up then because I didn't need to spread the word any wider, I was fuming. I might as well get "I HAVE A CLUVIEL DOR" tattooed on my forehead. Thanks, Grandfather Fintan, for the great gift. And while I was at it, Thanks, Sponsor Cataliades for the telepathy. And also whle I was angry at people in my past – Thanks, Gran, for having an affair with a fairy and not using the cluviel dor while you had the chance and, therefore, sticking me with it.

I had to talk myself down a little bit after that internal explosion of rage, all the more powerful because it was silent.

I took a deep breath and let it out, as Bill had advised me to do earlier in the evening. The procedure did let off some steam and gave me the control necessary to slap some discipline onto my thoughts.

By the time we arrived at my house, the night was almost over and Bill was in a hurry to get back home.

"Tomorrow, I'll let Eric know about Jannalynn's involvement and his proven innocence. Rest well Sookie," Bill said and drove away.

I was extremely tired, and after a quick shower, I went to sleep.

I could swear I just went to sleep when the alarm went off. I was due at Merlottes at three, but there was no way it was that late. Unfortunately, a quick glance at the alarm clock confirmed my error; it was two o'clock already.

I got ready in slow motion, wishing I could get back to bed. At Merlottes I was on auto-pilot. Every so often I considered taking the rest of the day off, but I really needed the money. Besides, staying at home wouldn't do any good because all I would be doing would be thinking about Eric, his message, and the fact that he hasn't come to see me.

Was Eric taking me for granted? Maybe I have been too available for him and he didn't appreciate me anymore. I knew that the vampire world was more important than me, but what else could I do to be his number one priority? Shouldn't I be his priority since he pledged his feelings towards me? Would I ever be his priority? Would I be happy with a man that didn't consider me as his priority?

Yes, definitely staying home wouldn't be a good thing. At least Merlottes kept me busy. By the time I got off work it was already night time. Of course I glanced at my cell phone multiple times expecting a text or a missed call from him. And of course, nothing happened.

I went home in a bad mood, and it didn't help to find Pam waiting for me. I parked my car by the back entrance and walked to the front porch where Pam waited.

"Another message from Eric?" I said bitterly. I was tempted to sit next to her, but I decided otherwise.

"He doesn't know I'm here."

"He doesn't know I'm here either," I stated bitterly. "First he went missing, then you went to find him, and now he hasn't even called me since his return."

"There are too many things that you don't know," Pam said.

"I noticed. Have I been dumped and haven't been notified yet?" I said with a heartbreak, but not letting that show in my voice.

"Felipe de Castro kidnapped Eric and tortured him for several days. Since Eric wasn't caving to marry Freyda among other new business' financial changes, Felipe decided to use me as an incentive," Pam said while she took off her tennis shoes which I didn't realize she was wearing until now. This was the first time I have ever seen her wearing tennis shoes. She removed the left sock carefully and extended her feet towards me. "He cut off my toes with a saw that had a hard toothed edge made out of silver. Needles to say, the silver poisoned me the same way it did to Bill. Eric has been feeding me his blood to help with the healing."

I couldn't be any more shocked. "What did he do to Eric?" I asked, scared of her answer.

"I'll start from the beginning," Pam said and I took a deep breath for what was coming. Pam delivered the story without sugar coating it. As a matter of fact, she went on with lots of details to emphasize the reasons for Eric's absence. Pam told me everything: Eric's torture, her agony of not knowing where he was, her pain seeing him defeated because of her. "Eric was kept prisoner and Felipe de Castro used me as leverage. He would have come for you next had Eric not succumb to their wishes."

"So Eric accepted to marry her," I thought out loud.

"He had to. He's protecting you."

"I see that. I don't like this. We need to come up with a plan," I said.

"Eric will kill me if he knows I told you this. You knowing this will get you in danger, and Eric won't forgive me for several centuries."

"Then, Eric won't know, but I'll think of a plan," I said.

"I don't want Eric to be miserable. He would make our lives miserable too. Two hundred years is a long time," Pam said.

"I want the king dead. And her too," I said absent minded.

"Then, I'm in." Pam said with her fangs down, ready for battle. "A few centuries of Eric's anger will be worth it if we get to kill them both."

"Let's think of a plan to save Eric and to kill the King and the Queen."

We spent several hours discussing our options, but we couldn't come up with a good plan. Eventually, Pam left before Eric return from his meeting with the King. I learned he was in NOLA in a last minute trip per the King's demand. That explained why he had not visited me yet. Eventually, I went to bed thinking of a plan and I was coming back blank.

I woke up with my heart beating fast as if a sledge hammer was pounding on it, "I got it!"

Note: Will Sookie's plan work? Can she save Eric? Continue reading to find out! Reviews are more than welcome. Let me know your thoughts!