Hello, my faithful readers! I am so sorry it has taken so long to update—I just got back from spring break abroad and the week before were midterms. I am hoping to get another chapter out within' days but we have a second week of midterms this week. Fingers crossed! This chapter gave me some difficulties—so sorry if it does not quench the thirst, I know it is a bit short. Reviews are always appreciated—good or bad!
Dead to Me: Chapter 14: SPOV
Content with my snack, and ready to get this over with, we met Alcide outside of the second floor meeting room. I was still a bit shocked over my treatment of him—but I attributed it to the newest dosage of vamp blood. It definitely left my emotions on a rollercoaster—or was that Eric, tonight? When I entered the conference room, all eyes shifted from Alcide, to me, to Eric and then stayed there. Go figure that the well-chosen outfit by Pam was nothing compared to a hunk of sexy man—or maybe it was the vampire prejudice. The room was filled of men with the exception of a well-toned red head and masculine brunette.
Eric gripped my waist and stepped partially in front of me—no matter the blood his senses were always stronger than mine. Alcide took a position standing in the front of the packed room. All of the chairs around the conference table were taken so I let Eric position me against the wall, behind Alcide's left shoulder.
"Welcome everyone to the Southeastern Were Summit. I'm Alcide Herveaux, packmaster in Shreveport—I will be leading the negotiations. I'd like to point out a few things before we get started. Greg, in the back corner will be filming the meeting available for the Shifter/Were Association for America and a live feed for those unable to attend. In addition, everything will be dictated and forwarded to all members in the area. Those who did not show up or leave early from the summit will not be considered when final decisions come to tally. Behind me is Miss Stackhouse, some of you may have heard of her in association with the Vampire Summit at Rhodes. She will be monitoring the meeting."
A few murmurs went through the group but only one voice interrupted the rumbling. An older grey haired man with horn rimmed glasses shouted from the center seat in the room, "What makes her so important that she can be here? This is for Weres only—even the vamp security has to remain outside. What's with her and the beefcake?"
My emotional rollercoaster was taking over again as I tried to suppress a giggle at Eric's nickname though it somewhat fit—and the flash of anger at being called out as not good enough to be in the room bristled the hairs on the back of my neck.
"Miss Stackhouse is a friend of several supe communities including my pack—as well as a telepath. I guess I need to spell it out. The beefcake—is her bonded—and local Sheriff, Eric Northman. He is here for her security purposes—I'm sure you all realize that she could reveal some personal thoughts—I'd rather we be safer than sorry for her sake. Just in case anything gets out of hand. Perhaps, one of you would recognize the respect due and permit her a chair.
I had never thought of my position there as dangerous. When it came to vamps, I knew that I could be beaten, kidnapped, drained, or bitten any second—but weres just seemed like the everyday cup of tea. They were human after all. Well, mostly. But could one get so furious with my announcements that I could be attacked? I nestled myself closer to Eric.
A growl penetrated the settled silence of the room and I saw a younger looking Were jump out of the seat adjacent to Alcide. I guess I could understand not wanting to stand through a meeting intended to last several hours. I smiled to him—which seemed to scare the Were even more, or maybe that was Eric lurking behind me?
"Let's begin with declaring the Southeastern region's vote on how the American Were community should be run."
I settled into the chair and spun it to an angle where I could reach Eric's hand. I could feel his panic, and questioning sinking to the bond. I settled on seriousness and followed his train of thought until he realized that it helped me hear them better. Not wanting to seem weak, he let go of my hand and placed his hand sexily against the naked area of my back. I couldn't suppress the lust which made me blush, but when I looked up at his face, it was blank despite the unwarranted lust being returned. This was going to a long night.
"I don't see why anyone would have a problem with a system similar to the vamps—there should be a hierarchy. It will take forever for things to get done if we work under a democracy system," said the red head in the back corner. Her voice was high pitched and stood apart from the grumbling arguments of the men.
I could hear the rush of minds and located the one who had decided in an instant to reply, "There is a reason why we hold vamps at arms lengths—" there was another term he wanted to use but Eric was a bit too bulky for him to continue that train of thought, "all of us like to have some form of a leader and also feel as if we contribute equally. All of us are aware of the kingdom turnovers and wars that the vamps end up dealing with. Usually, we get stuck in the middle of it. I will speak for myself in saying that I consider myself more human than supe and we should have a system that follows the Humans."
A few cheers broke out around the room, but a few minds were still stuck on power and glory.
"I think we should take it to a vote," said a gruff voice from the back corner of the room. I knew who it belonged to immediately. He walked forward from the shadows and made eye contact with me. His mind was swirling over the announcement of my bonding with Eric—and I was surprised he had voiced anything with the seething hate that was consuming his soul. My emotions must have triggered Eric's because he placed a second hand on my shoulder and gripped it a little too tight for comfort.
It was never about putting her first—I knew it all along—it was about him; she loves him, she's practically oozing her scent all over that chair for him.
I blushed and he realized that I had heard anything. He didn't make any effort to apologize with a facial expression or show any culpability.
"A vote it is," Alcide exclaimed, breaking apart the split tension and awe of Quinn's presence.
"All in favor of a democratic style system for the Southern states of Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, and Arkansas raise their hands."
Most hands flew up immediately, and I listened closer to the hesitant ones. Most were happy with the development and those that lingered before raising their hands, simply had doubts about how well it functioned.
"That makes everyone—let's move forward then," Alcide proclaimed.
"If I may," my voice choked out the syllables before I could think about it first. Eric had made a barrier between my body and the room without my eyes catching the quick movement. Wow.
"Of course, Sookie," Alcide's voice was somewhat annoyed but maybe he was just nervous. He was paying a lot for this after all.
"I think there should be some sort of guidelines for what the democratic system would entail—some are a bit wary. Also, the man over there—"
I hated pointing but my eyes were not good enough to read his name tag. He was a rolly polly man but I had a feeling that he shifted into something a bit more dangerous, "has some strong feelings against the agreed upon system. So much so, that he intends to use his financial status to gain enough power to fight it if he has to."
The shocked intake of breath could have conjured up its own hurricane. The man flushed, and did not look away from my face. My chair, conveniently on wheels, was shoved by Eric to the corner behind Alcide, the pressure of the hurl was the only thing that kept me balanced on the contraption. A high pitched but still masculine noise was emitted from the rolly polly man—which I had finally read shifted to a bull. How fitting.
"Eric!"
He was already moving towards the man and within' seconds had him dangling above the ground holding the man—Clyde Arnez—by the back of the neck. The man was hovering in the air and somehow already unconscious. It still shocked me to see how strong my man was. How was I already claiming him in my head?
A few Weres stood up to interfere but Alcide had already let out the rough growl that had commanded my seat hours before.
"I think we all realize that Mr. Arnez was not going to be able to control himself. There was no blood spilled. Let us continue. Thank you, Mr. Northman for handling that so appropriately."
Eric seemed unsure if he wanted to just leave the man unconscious. I could feel his inner debate on whether he could risk some other form of punishment. I refused to read further in his head—maybe he would trust me more if I gave him his space.
I saw a slice of Bill as he ran into and out of the room to retrieve Mr. Arnez. I was aware that his eyes lingered on me—my state—and maybe even my chest but I couldn't be sure. Eric gave him a cold look and he left as quickly as he arrived.
"As Miss Stackhouse mentioned, we should clear up the details of the democracy scenario."
The group argued for another forty-five minutes on random details. The pack master of each group in our Southern region would declare his pack's opinion or vote on any significant matter. Those that were unique such as Quinn would have a collective vote that was similar to number as the pack's votes. Problems within' packs would be settled as always, and there would be a formal hearing from a pack outside of the region of any dispute between two packs in the region—to prevent alliances or bias. A leader of the region would be chosen to deliver any opinions to national summits and chair panels on unforeseen issues. Everyone seemed satisfied with the arrangement and agreed that it should be sent to the Shifter/Were Association of America. They would iron out any kinks that did not suit the group's needs.
"But who will be the representative? How will you choose—a vote?"
I could feel Eric's annoyance that I had spoken up once again but it seemed odd that this one small detail was skated over.
"A pack contest of course."
"Oh," I said—reprimanding myself for not thinking about it harder.
"I think we've taken care of almost everything for the evening. Why don't we have anyone who wants to participate write his or her name on the white board? We'll let the winner celebrate tomorrow evening and have one last conference on Sunday early evening. Thank you everyone for your patience and cooperation. We should get some rest—tomorrow evening will be a trial, I'm sure."
I stayed seated and watched as every person in the room put his/her name on the board before leaving. Sam winked at me as he scrawled his name under the crooked list. I stood up to go to him and stop him but Eric held me back.
"It isn't your place."
"I'm his friend—he could die. This is stupid Eric."
"That is the way of the supes—we handle things both mentally and physically. He knows what he is risking; if he didn't believe he could win, or didn't believe it was worth it, he would not be here."
His gaze commanded me to listen to his reasoning and for once, I gave in. I would be the first to admit since Bill walked into Merlotte's, I would never understand the ways of the supes.
"Come, lover, we still have time before dawn to relieve that tension from your hard work this evening. And I believe you need something to take your mind off of your worries—Alcide, we'll meet you tomorrow before the contest."
"Of course. Thank you, Sookie—is there anything you didn't mention?"
I handed him the notebook of notes I had taken but all seemed irrelevant with the meeting settled. I took my Viking's hand in mine and he did not move away for once. Perhaps, he knew I needed it. I was happy that everything had gone relatively well but we were on our way back to the hotel room—and the memories of that premonition surfaced. For now, I could let it go. Everything seemed better than it was because I had him within' my reach—actually, I had him intertwined between my fingers.