a/n: WOW, wow, wow! I can't say it enough! You guys blew my mind with all of the reviews last chapter! Thank you so much, it's so amazing to know so many people are reading my work and care about my characters. You guys are the best! Now...let's see what happens after that major cliff hanger!

Chapter 14

I was frozen. Everything in me was telling me to scream but my body was not listening. Eric was staring down at me and I no longer recognized him. His eyes were cold and his gaze predatory. The snarl was still rumbling from his chest, his hands on either side of my head so his arms blocked my escape. Most of his weight was on me anyway so I had no chance. This was a nightmare, it had to be. I shut my eyes and willed myself to wake up. Nothing happened. I opened one eye then the next and the evil version of Eric was still there, his face inches from mine.

This was a dream, I would wake up soon…I shut my eyes again and this time I felt Eric's newfound fangs scraping against my neck. Fuck! I wasn't waking up. Somewhere in my mind I thought this was in fact still a dream but for now it felt real enough to try and push for my own survival.

I wiggled around and tried to escape him but that only seemed to make him angry. Eric growled again and pinned my arms against my sides with his hands. Once again I could feel his sharp teeth against my skin. He was going to bite me. Was he going to try and eat me? Or drain all the blood out of me? I had no idea what kind of monster he was, I just knew he was a monster I had to get away from.

"E-eric, please! Don't kill me…" My voice cracked as I held back a sob. I could feel the tears burning the backs of my eyes.

I felt the pressure of his fangs on my neck lighten but he did not move.

"….Sookie…" His voice was hoarse and uncertain, muffled against my skin. When he finally raised his head to look me in the eye, I wondered if he even recognized me. He seemed confused and definitely still debating on whether or not he wanted to take a bite out of me.

Then there was a pounding at the door and I heard a female voice. "Eric!"

In a flash Eric was off of me and gone. He moved so fast I couldn't even see him. I sat there in shock for a few minutes. What the fuck just happened? I recognized Pam's voice outside and slowly got up. I pulled on my robe and on shaky legs went towards the front door. I should have been running for my life but I had to know what the hell was happening. What had happened to Eric?

"You're back" I heard Pam and it sounded like she was crying. When I finally got close enough to see out the front door I gasped. She was standing on my porch with Eric, who only had on a pair of gym shorts. His arms were wrapped tightly around her and I could see trails of blood running down her cheeks. I was ready to pass out. What was going on?

"I am my child. I am sorry to have ever left you." Eric kissed her forehead and tilted her face towards his to wipe the bloody tears from her eyes.

"What the fuck?" I finally stammered.

Eric's eyes met mine and I could not begin to identify all of the emotions swirling in them. Not only was he some kind of monster, but he had changed in every way. He held himself differently and the way he walked towards me with such a commanding presence caused me to back away. I thought I saw hurt flash across his face for a second but it was quickly covered up.

"Sookie, I have regained my memories. I am restored to what I once was." Even the way he worded things sounded different, formal. One thing stuck out in that sentence: he remembered. My heart pounded and crushed into a million pieces.

"W-why is she still out there?" I could see Pam on my front porch still. She was just standing there and not moving a muscle.

"She can only come in if you invite her." Eric stated but made no attempt to make me invite her inside.

"What the hell? How does that make any sense? What's going on?" I was backed up against my living room wall. I noticed Eric's fangs were gone. Had I imagined them?

"Sookie… I am not-"

"Eric!" Pam cut him off. "You know you can't. We have to go, just glamour her." Well so much for the crying, the commanding bitch was back.

Eric looked from Pam to me a few times. He seemed uncertain to do whatever she said. I had no idea what a 'glamour' was, maybe some freaky cult term? I was too speechless to ask. He finally took a few steps closer and his eyes locked onto mine.

"Sookie, you will remember nothing of my time here. You will not remember myself, Pam, or anything you have seen tonight. It will be as if I never existed." His voice remained steady as he spoke and I felt myself crumbling to pieces. "Do you understand?"

"I…." I had no idea what to say. Apparently the second Eric got his memories back he no longer wanted me. Maybe he had a family, or a psycho cult to get back to. But there was one thing I had to know before I let him disappear from my life forever. "Why did you have fangs?" My voice shook with fear.

Eric's face went from puzzled to shocked. He stared at me again and this time I felt a strange pressure in my head. I rubbed my temples to try and will the discomfort away. While I was busy doing that Eric repeated the same statement. Geez, did he really need to rub salt in my wounds?

"Got it this time?" Pam asked.

"Yes, just a little rusty I suppose." Eric eyed me suspiciously then the both of them sped out my front door faster than a speeding car.

I collapsed in a useless heap and cried. What had I just seen? Were monsters real, with fangs and super speed? All of this time that's what Eric's life truly was? I had a million questions about everything I had seen. But there was only one thing I knew for certain and it was that Eric no longer wanted me. He wanted me to pretend he never existed and it was like a knife through my heart. Was I afraid of him now? Of course I was! I was not an idiot. But I had loved him, just told him I loved him for God's sake! No matter how insane the situation was it always hurt to lose someone you loved. It hurt even more to know they did not want you to remember them or any of the memories you shared. I fell asleep on my living room floor that night after crying until I had no tears left.

When I woke up the sun was streaming through my open front door. It was confirmation that last night was real, as was my sore body. I pushed myself up and trudged over to shut the door. Thank god they did not come back since I left it open like that. I quickly locked it and headed for the kitchen. My movements were robotic as I made coffee and collapsed at the table with a steaming mug. It was noon time but I didn't care about eating or getting dressed.

After a few sips my mind started to work again and I went over everything I remembered from last night. I went to the barbeque with Eric, he got drunk so I drove home, and we had some amazing sex. He told me he loved me and always wanted to be here. Then I woke up in the middle of the night and he had fangs. I remembered clearly how they glistened in the dim moonlight and the growl that erupted from his chest when I tried to get away. He almost bit me, then Pam showed up with blood coming out of her eyes. Eric was obviously very close with her in his real life and then he proceeded to break my heart and leave. That about summed it up. Well they left at like Superman speed… but I was still processing that part.

I had the day off and spent it at home drowning in self-pity. I took the one photo I had of the two of us, and tucked it away in my bureau. It was a picture I had taken on my cell phone and then printed. Eric had just gotten his haircut and we were standing outside the barber shop, making silly faces at the camera. He had his Renard Parish Road Crew shirt on since he had just gotten out of work. That was all gone though, I reminded myself. Eric did not want me to even think of him.

As the day wore on I kept uselessly hoping he would walk through the door with Jason, trying to mooch dinner off of me. I wanted this to be a bad dream, or at the very least for Eric to come back and tell me he cared, and to explain all of this insanity. That never happened and as darkness fell I tried to busy myself with making dinner. I barely ate a thing then went to bed early after trying to watch some television. My sleep was restless and I awoke the next day feeling exhausted. I had to go to work and forced myself into the shower.

Once I arrived I deflated even more the second I realized Amelia was not on the shift this evening. Octavia was the only one working with me besides the night janitor. I was quiet all evening and barely spoke a word as I tended to my patients. even tried to flirt with me some but it barely earned a reaction from me. Octavia noticed my lackluster attitude and haggard appearance.

"Sookie, are you alright?" She asked softly while we were both sitting behind the front desk.

"I'm fine." I replied and tried to sound like I meant it. I could feel her eyes on me.

"You look pale. Are you getting sick?"

"No I just did not sleep well last night." I shrugged and Octavia suddenly grabbed my arm and dragged me into her office.

"What the hell?" I pulled my arm free as she shut the door behind us.

"I knew it.." She muttered and started pacing.

"Knew what?" She was strong for an old lady, my arm hurt.

"I knew that blood sucker was going to hurt you the second he had a chance, then force you to forget…" She went to her desk and started rifling through her drawers.

"What? Octavia what's going on?" I put my hand over hers to stop her digging around. Finally I did what I had been afraid of for months. I dug into her brain for any thoughts I could find. "What do you know?"

Maybe I should have told her, maybe it would have stopped him. But then they'd all be after me if I shared their secret.

"Shared whose secret?" Octavia was as stressed as me since she didn't even notice I was questioning her thoughts.

"The vampires." She whispered and her fearful eyes finally locked onto mine.

Holy. Shit.

That explained the fangs and why he wanted to bite me. It potentially explained the freaky speed Eric and Pam had. I let go of her hand since she finally seemed to be opening up. I'd rather ask her than dig around her brain. But if I had to force it out of her with my telepathy I would.

"Explain Octavia" I demanded and locked the office door for good measure.

"I thought I could protect you and myself without telling you Sookie. I'm sorry." She ran her hands over her face and looked ready to cry. I sat down in the one other chair in her office.

"Please just explain it to me now."

"I knew who Eric was the second he stepped foot into this hospital with you. I also knew he was going to bring us a world of trouble. I am a witch, which makes me a part of the supernatural community. That's how I know all of this." She explained and dug out the spell book Amelia and I had found over a month ago.

"Once Eric showed up here I recognized him immediately. He's well known in the supernatural world. I called his second in command, Pam, hoping she would just take him away and they could deal with his memory loss and newfound human traits." She shook her head. "But of course that didn't happen…she wanted him here where his enemies would never expect to find him. "

"How did he lose his memory, and become human?" I was having a hard time believing any of this, but I saw his fangs with my own eyes.

"Pam has been hunting down who did this to him for months and I got dragged into it as well. She found out it was a powerful witch that Eric angered somehow, so she cast a spell to turn him human. We assumed the memory loss was actually a mistake, since the spell was meant to humiliate him and make him feel weak. Eric Northman is a powerful vampire so being turned human would be a great punishment." Octavia made eye contact with me. "I'm sorry Sookie. I thought I could protect you."

"Is that why you showed up at my house that night?" This sort of made sense now.

"Yes, I was putting up a ward to keep out any beings with evil intent towards you… or Eric, since he was staying with you."

"How did you know that?" I should have felt like a fool, taking in a patient and falling in love with him.

"Pam told me he refused to leave your side. I don't like that vampire one bit, but I could tell it was hard for her to see Eric choose someone else over her." Octavia sighed and tucked the spell book back into her desk.

"Um, Amelia knows about your spell book too…. She found it." I did not want to rat out my friend but it seemed like Octavia had honestly been trying to help this entire time. It was probably best if we were all honest with each other.

Octavia sighed for what seemed like the millionth time then nodded. "Okay, I will have to speak with her as well."

"Octavia, what else is out there that I don't know about?" If vampires existed then what the hell else was real?

She did not say anything and I could tell she was going to try and fight me on this. However I wanted to know what the heck I was dealing with. I placed my hand over hers again in what probably seemed like a comforting gesture.

You don't want to know. So many things… things I wish I didn't know. Vampires, werewolves, shifters, demons…

"Holy shit… werewolves? Demons?" I pulled back.

"How did you do that? How do you know? I didn't say anything." Octavia noticed this time. I wasn't really trying to hide it. I was going to use my telepathy to my advantage so she knew she couldn't keep important things from me. I wanted the truth.

"I might not be 100% normal either…. I can read people's minds." I whispered. "But please don't tell anyone Octavia, no one but Amelia knows." And Eric… but I kept that to myself for now.

"Oh my goodness! How long have you been able to do that?" She watched me with wonder.

"As long as I can remember. I can block people's thoughts out most of the time, so it's not like I'm listening into everything you do. I have to purposely try to listen in. I don't do that often, I try to respect people's privacy." I explained and my boss looked amazed as well as bewildered.

Once Octavia discovered that little factoid she was much more willing to fill me in on this hidden supernatural world. We spent another hour in her office and she tried to explain how all of this had always existed but remained hidden from the human world. She emphasized that I was to tell no one, my knowing was already risking my life. I wanted to ask more about Eric specifically but there just wasn't the time. We had work to do still. By the time I went home that night I at least had a decent idea of what a vampire really was.

I locked all of my doors before going to sleep and rescinded Eric's invitation into my home. Part of me ached as I said the words but Octavia said those words would keep vampires out of my house. I was food to them and nothing more. As I curled up in bed I knew sleep would be a battle. Flashes of Eric snarling with fangs kept me awake and tense. What if he came back? What if that invitation crap did not really work?

My entire world had been turned upside down and now the cult idea seemed like a pleasant fairytale.

The following morning my phone was ringing off the hook.

"Hello?" I answered groggily.

"Sookie! Octavia left me a weird voicemail, what's going on?"

I told Amelia to come over and I would explain. She arrived fifteen minutes later with two fresh coffees and some muffins. We sat down at my table. I proceeded to explain the chaotic past couple days to her. Her eyes were wide as I finished, ending with my last conversation with Octavia.

"But you can't tell anyone Ames, for all of our safety." Sometimes Amelia needed to be reminded of such things.

"Wow…. Just…wow." She shook her head and took another gulp of coffee. "So Eric is one of them? Damn…."

"I know" I let my face fall into my hands. "I never should have let myself get close to him. Even if he was normal he was bound to remember his life and leave me behind. I'm such an idiot."

"Sookie don't say that. You took a risk and yes it was a little…extreme, but you had more reason than most people to go for it. Eric was silent to you. You can't blame yourself for wanting a chance at a real relationship. I certainly don't." Amelia squeezed my hand and I could tell her thoughts matched her words. I had a good friend here.

"You think all vampires are like that? No thoughts?"

"I have no idea, maybe. I never heard Pam's but I also never tried very hard." I shrugged.

"Octavia said they're immortal? How old do you think Eric really is?" Ames was full of very good questions. None of which I had the answer to.

"I don't know, seventy, a hundred?" Eric could technically be an old man.

"He didn't even seem sad to leave you? I get that he remembers his life now, but you guys seemed so happy together." She emptied her coffee with a frown.

"Nope, it was like he just wanted to forget he was ever human or knew me." My voice cracked and I could feel tears stinging my eyes. Amelia immediately came over and hugged me.

I spent the rest of the day with Amelia eating junk food and watching chick flicks. It was a nice little escape from the scary reality we were living in these days. I might have fallen for a monster but I still needed a normal recovery with girl time and cheesy movies.

a/n: I know this had a TON of dialogue, but Sookie had a lot of catching up to do on the supe world! I'm hoping you guys will like the next chapter, it will be the first one in this entire story from Eric's POV. Please review, review! =)