Chapter 21- I will wait for you
The cold air surrounding them made Sookie shiver in Eric's arms and he held on to her a little tighter. He wished at that very moment that his heart could still beat and pump blood into his body creating warmth Sookie could use. She had fallen asleep in his arms not long after their escape. He knew her body was exhausted from all the events that had taken place but also the blood exchange. He could feel it. He could feel her.
Even in her dreams, Sookie was on alert. Her heartbeat had slowed down but he sensed she was still listening to her environment. The feelings coming through the bond were puzzling to him. Deep down Sookie had seemed welcoming to this new connection but something was troubling her. She felt betrayed and he knew it would be a long road before she would understand his intentions. Most humans liked monogamy and Sookie was no different. He knew the kiss he exchanged with the queen had a terrible effect on Sookie's trust and he wondered if this was what the queen meant in the first place. She must have sniffed out his interest in Sookie and played with them. She had always been a woman who loved drama.
Eric was travelling in the community's direction but could feel that his child was at their hideout so he decided to bring Sookie there. He wanted only the vampires to know about what took place at the mansion and not to alarm the rest of the community. Fear always had the annoying tendency of bringing the stupid side of humanity out.
As soon as he set foot into the main room, Pam was standing beside him.
"Master! What happened!?" she exclaimed watching him put Sookie in his coffin. She needed to rest.
"Where is Bill?" he asked as his sole answer.
"He is helping Alcide gather food for the humans."
"Good. Godric was at the mansion. We did not have time to talk very long but we both knew Sookie wouldn't get out of it. He informed me that the queen has been conducting research experiments on the virus and has developed a biological weapon as a result. For fear of her experimenting on Sookie, Godric released the virus which infected all the humans in the compound. The security system decided to shut down the mansion."
"I am glad you have made it out. Any survivors? What about the queen?"
"I believe she left the mansion before it was locked down."
Pam nodded and looked at Sookie.
"There is more," Eric added coldly. "The experiments created some advanced virus. We were chased by some kind of beast who is now running freely in the wild. As for the corpses, they no longer just walk."
"She created some kind of super advanced virus? Why! We need this virus to be gone to ensure our species survival," Pam growled.
"I suspect it was purely political. She most likely wanted to use the threat against the other kings and queens. Until we hear from her again, we must not share this information with anyone else. We still have the strange death in the community to investigate and I do not trust anyone else but you and Sookie."
"Why do you trust her master?" Pam asked but quickly regretted her question.
"I do not need to justify myself, do I?"
She looked down at her feet.
"Please go get Compton so we can at least fill him in on some part of the story as to why the queen is no longer in contact."
Pam left at vampire speed while Eric sat beside his coffin and watched Sookie sleep. She looked so peaceful and he ached for a similar peace of mind. As he watched her chest slowly rise up and down, he was taken back to that faithful night that had changed his life for the worst. As he felt the rage boiling up he promised himself he would never let her go and would give his life in exchange to hers. Nothing had been ever clearer to him. He wouldn't live another moment without Sookie and it was killing him to not be able to share it with her. He couldn't let himself feel for her, as he had, he needed to focus on their safety. Letting her in meant giving her power over him and Eric wasn't ready to give that up yet.
He felt his child near and stood up. Sookie was stirring into the conscious world as Pam and Bill entered the room. Bill ran at vampire speed to her hugging her body tightly as he whispered he was happy to see she was okay. Sookie looked shocked by his move and noticed Eric was already clenching his fist. He felt the confusion within her, but couldn't miss that pinch of excitement she had in her stomach. He was witnessing the obvious which he had failed to see. Sure he knew that Compton desired Sookie but he had no idea that Sookie had wanted him herself. That Bill had broken her heart and now that he was hugging her tightly, Eric felt the flame revived and the dull ache she was so successful at hiding
Eric growled which made Bill step away. He was hugging his bonded, his love and that he couldn't let happen. Sookie watched Eric as he walked to Bill.
"I apologize Eric," he said unconvincingly.
"You shall not touch her ever again Compton. She is my bonded therefore mine." He sneered at him.
Waves of rage was coming from Sookie, which Eric didn't really understand at first. She barged out of the coffin boiling with anger. Stopping five centimeters from Eric's face with her eyes almost bulging out of her skull and she started yelling.
"Excuse me? And who the fuck do you think you are? I am my own person. I do not belong to you and you sure don't own my ass."
She pushed at his chest out of fury but Eric did not move. He knew Sookie did not understand, he knew she might never, and he was willing to let her hate him if that meant she was safe. He looked behind her and sighed very deeply at Bill who was smirking in victory. It took everything in Eric to not jump on him and rip his head off but in a calm voice, he declared.
"We shall have this discussion at another time."
"The hell we will!" Sookie was so full of rage, Eric couldn't feel anything else coming from her.
"Sookie, we must discuss the events at the mansion."
She cut him off.
"Oh about what? The fact I almost died, the fact that there's a giant monster heading here or the fact I was forced into bonding with you?''
Her words hit him harder than any man or vampires could. He did not want to force her into the bond and had asked her as she was dying and yet she held him responsible and hated him for it. Eric seemed to have calmed down instantly as he tried to control the overwhelming pain he was feeling. After a couple minutes of composing himself, he simply stated.
"No one but us can know about the involved virus. It would create mass panic."
"And what if we are attacked? They need to know what they are up against," she pointed out, a lot calmer.
"The community is safe for now."
Sookie looked at him suspiciously knowing there was more.
"We must go see the witches," Pam said quickly.
Eric turned to her and stared until she spoke again.
"While you were both gone, the witch contacted us. Bill and I went to meet with her. She wants to see Sookie. Something about a cure."
Sookie accepted right away which surprised Eric. She quickly explained that she would be able to ask her what had happened to Gran. If she was such a good witch, surely there was something she could do. In addition, if Sookie could help find a cure, she would do so in a heartbeat to stop this hell. Eric knew she meant it and would die for the cause if necessary but of course, he would never let that happen.
"Alright, we shall go tomorrow when I rise," Eric stated.
"Who the fuck made you the boss? I want to go during the day with Sam," Sookie replied with disdain in her voice.
"Or you could wait until night fall and I could go with you," Bill risked in her direction.
"Shut up Bill, you rejected me remember?"
Eric chuckled at the remark. Sookie was definitely a fire cracker.
"Pam, Bill, please leave the room. I must talk with Sookie," Eric declared before anyone could add anything.
They did not argue and left the room quickly to Sookie's dismay. She watched them leave and did everything she could to not look at Eric. He wasn't one for being ignored and feeling the rage that still lingering within her; he decided he couldn't afford having her in such a state especially when she wanted to go see the witch during daytime when he couldn't do anything about it short of putting her in a cell. Again.
He stood beside her and forced his hand in hers watching the fire near them. He knew they did not require eye contact because of the bond.
"I understand your rage Sookie," is all he could say. He couldn't stop his feelings of sadness from leaking into the bond despite all his concentration. He did not want her to know how he felt but it was hard for him to control everything with her own feelings in the mix.
She was about to say something but he cut her off.
"I am sorry you feel I forced you into this bond as it wasn't my intentions. You were dying and that is all I could do at that very moment. All I did was to protect you as I should have never brought you to the queen in the first place. You must understand Sookie, that in my world, I must obey the queen. The only vampire that comes above her is my maker Godric. I know there are things you don't understand and I know you are mad about what happened but I promise you, everything I did was to keep you safe and I would do it again. Whenever you calm down and are ready to ask questions and listen to the answers, I will be there for you. Until then, I ask of one thing only; do not do anything reckless."
As he spoke, her feelings of anger got worst as if he was spilling fuel onto the fire. He wished she could feel how much he cared for her but the only feeling he was letting in through the bond was his feeling of concern. She did not speak to him right away, as she was trying to calm her nerves before saying something she would regret later.
"I don't trust you," she spit out to his face before walking towards the exit.
Eric felt the tug of the sun calling him to his grave. Bill and Pam both had come back in seeking to take shelter. He wanted to go after her, to tell her how much he loved her and how much he was hurting from all her rage but as he closed his eyes, he worked hard on killing his feelings with him for the day.