Chapter 12: The Crown of Love

I couldn't look away. There he was, standing right in front of me, tall and proud. His face was emotionless and while his eyes were staring into mine, I forgot where I was. I made one step out of instinct, I am not sure why. Maybe to get closer or simply to feel? I couldn't tell if time had stopped or if we were suddenly alone but I didn't see the guards make the same step in my direction, or the queen leaning forward to stop me. I was so close to him, I just needed to reach out, extend my hand slightly and I would feel his skin again. How long ago was it that I had seen these icy blue eyes? My body ached for him and I could feel every minute and every hour I had spent away from him weighting heavily on my shoulders. I fought for my legs to not go limp or for my arms to stop shaking at the sight of him but all of it was in vain. He was standing right in front of me but somehow I felt as if he couldn't see me. I didn't look away from his stare while I slowly raised my trembling hand to reach out to his cheek.

I don't know what happened but before I could feel him again, I was cruelly denied the touch as my body hit the floor. A body was now obscuring my vision so I looked to my left where I saw Pam with her fangs down growling in the queen and Eric's direction. The man moved off my body and then pulled me up to my feet keeping my hands behind my back just like cops would do minus the fact that the man was a vampire guard and he had no handcuffs.

I look up at Eric who had stepped in front of the queen in a protective stance. He wasn't looking at me but at Pam. The vampire that was holding me tightened his hold and pushed me forward to the queen who was smiling.

"I want her dead." She said without much emotion.

Like fuck you do!

I frowned at the thought not sure who it belong to. I looked on my left but no one was there. I looked back at Pam who was showing fangs to her maker who was now growling.

"That's enough." A voice at the entrance of the office declared. I recognized the Spanish accent right away; Felipe de Castro, king of Louisiana. "Sookie has done nothing wrong here, my dear. Last time I checked, we are not in Oklahoma now are we?"

The queen shrugged and turned her heels to take a seat at the desk while Felipe entered the room. The guard released me and Felipe grabbed my hand kissed it gently.

"So nice of you to join us Ms. Stackhouse." He said. Letting go of my hand he indicated for me to sit on the couch at the side of the room. I didn't argue and sat not sure what to say or what else to do.

I look over to Eric who was standing behind the queen. Was he her guard or something? I mean they were married were they not? So as a husband, would that not make him a king? And if so, why was he just standing behind her and not talking.

As I swam in my confusion, Pam took a seat in front of Freya and Eric and so did Felipe. It was obvious to me, the two states were meeting for something official but I had no idea why nor did I care. I wondered why Pam did not tell me about it but then again she didn't want this mess in the first place and most likely knew I would come no matter what even if it was just for a glance of him. I felt like a junkie who needed her fix and judging by the look on Pam's face, she could feel what I felt.

"As I said Freyda, Miss Stackhouse has not committed any crime to my knowledge." DeCastro said staring her in the eye.

"It doesn't mean I don't want her dead." She hissed back. "If she even tries to look at…" she didn't finish her sentence as Felipe cut her off.

"You are in my state so you will obey my rules. Now, let's not get all awkward because of my precious telepath."

I wasn't really paying attention to the scene that was unfolding before my eyes. Part of me didn't care enough to listen but the other part couldn't stop watching HIS every move. I couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't looking at me. Eric was so still, you could mistake him for a statue staring into the wall in front him. I did hear Felipe claim me as his telepath. I felt the pang of frustration but also of panic and hurt. I did not want to be used by Felipe. When Eric had negotiated the terms of the contract, it had been to keep me safe which meant no vampires were allowed to feed on me and most of them had left me alone for five years risking putting my life in danger therefore forfeiting the contact between Freyda and Eric. While I was with Sam, I haven't really given it any thought on what it meant to be safe as much as I did now. Was I really that naïve to think that my life would be ''normal'' with Sam? The only reason why it had felt like that was probably because of Karin and really, because of coincidences. Sooner or later, a vampire would had shown up to my door and request my skills or more likely demand.

When Felipe had said ''my'' telepath I shivered and wondered if it was my vision that had trembled or was it Eric? I mean, I think I saw him slightly move but his face was showing no emotions nor was his body language. Wishful thinking was a strong and I guess it was now making me hallucinate.

I try to hide what I was feeling but with the increased pressure my rage was slowly consuming me. I didn't want to be an object and certainly I had no desire to be ''his''. My hands formed fists as I felt my face turning to red. I tried to take deep breaths but as Felipe kept talking on using my powers on his staff to find out useful information about something that was oblivious to me, the rage kept clawing onto my inside menacing to surface. Why was I unable to control it? Even thinking of Gran wasn't enough. Was I out of control? Was it because he was in the room, not looking at me, not even a glance? Was the frustration of the lack of anything on his face strong enough to cause my rage to be out of controlled?

Pam was looking at Eric with such fierce and defiant eyes; I didn't understand why she too had formed fists with her hands. She was so tense she looked as if she was ready to pounce on him at any time.

It is only when Eric quickly looked at me and then back to Pam, so fast if I had blinked I would have missed it, that I understood what was going on. The split second his eyes had met mine was enough for me to see it; to see the same rage I had lurking behind his eyes.

A/N:

Thank you so much for all the reviews! It is always so excited for me to get my review alerts!

Beautiful Amber beta this chapter for me, thank you darling xxxx