SPOV

I'm wakened by the loud ringing of my cell phone and I let out a groan as I reach up to quiet the annoying device. I'm ready to reject the call and get in a few more hours of sleep when I see Quinn's number flashing across the screen. A small smile crosses my face as I answer my friends call.

"Hey, Quinn," I croak out groggily as I hear his low, rumbling laughter.

"Hey, Sook. I wake you up?" he asks as I grin, wiggling my way free of my vampire lovers' tight embrace.

"Yeah, no biggie," I tell him as I stand before the bed, looking down to Eric and Godric with a soft smile, remembering the tender night of lovemaking we shared together. "So what's up?"

"Heard through the grape vine you're going up against a big bad vamper," he says as I let out a sigh.

"You heard right," I concede as I plop down sit on the edge of the bed.

"Well, I couldn't let you run off without being properly armed, so I've got a few new toys here for you to check out," he informs me as a wide grin crosses my face.

"Oh, Quinn, you always say the sweetest things," I tease as he chuckles lightly.

"I'm home all day, come on over and I'll get you stocked up," he tells me as I nod.

"Sure thing. I'll call Claudine and we'll be over shortly," I inform him with a grin.

"Sounds good, see ya soon."

"Thanks, Quinn. You're the best," I inform him with a grin.

"You know it, Babe," he replies before the line goes dead. I shake my head with a small smile. I may have fae powers now, but I definitely won't be going into any fight without my weapons. They're like another part of me; I don't think I'll ever be able to give them up fully. I shoot Claudine a text then before jumping in the shower to ready for the day.

I exit the steaming bathroom before throwing on clothes for the day, taking the time to strap on a few extra weapons. We still don't know who or what we're up against and I can't afford to be caught off guard. Sadly, at this point, I'm starting to think I won't be able to hunt this vampire the way I usually would, but will instead have to wait for him to bring the fight to me. If this is truly the case, I'll be sure I'm ready.

After I holster the last pistol against my hip, I smile over to Eric and Godric's sleeping forms. Tonight we'll finish the bond between us, and I now know for certain I'm making the right decision. I walk to the head of the bed and lean over to place a soft kiss to each of their cheeks. "Until tonight, sheriffs; I love you," I whisper before turning to make my way upstairs.

Claudine is standing in the living room waiting for me and she turns to flash me a wide grin before wrapping me into a tight hug. "You went through with the second exchange, didn't you?" she asks as I pull away to nod to her.

"We make the final exchange tonight," I inform her as tears form in her eyes. "God, Claudine, don't get all mushy on me," I tease as she wipes away her tears with a glowing smile.

"I knew you'd make the right choice," she says as I lead her to the front door with a grin. We exit the house and Alcide looks up to us once we're standing before him on the porch.

"You up to playing chauffeur today?" I ask as stands with a grin.

"Sure thing, where we headed, ladies?" he asks as we make our way to his tall, red pickup.

"A friend of mine's got some gear for me to pick up," I inform him before climbing up into the cab, sliding to the center of the seat to give Claudine room to join us in the cramped cab. Once we're settled, Alcide revs the engine and backs from the house as Claudine and proceed to give him directions to Quinn's place.

We pull up to the house and Alcide jumps from the truck, sniffing the air before nodding for Claudine and I to exit. He takes up post, leaning back against the bed of the truck as Claudine and I make our way to the house together. A wide grin crosses my face as we enter the house to see weapons and ammo strewn about the entire living room.

"Hey Sook, Claudine," Quinn greets as I begin looking over the weapons longingly.

"Hey, Quinn, what you got for me?" I ask as he starts laying weapons upon the large table set up in the middle of the room. I glance down, smirking as I hold up a wooden stake, cocking my brow at a grinning Quinn. "Kind of old school, don't ya think?" I tease as he chuckles lightly.

"If the rumors about this vamp are true , I want to be sure all our bases are covered," he explains as I nod to him.

"Good thinking," I reply as I return the stake to the table.

"So what exactly have you heard about Warlow?" Claudine asks curiously as I look up to Quinn, eager to hear his answer. He always has the latest intel around the supe world, and I honestly don't know why I didn't think to ask him about this sooner.

"Just a bunch of rumors, really," he says with a shrug. "You know how faeries are with gossip, there are wild accusations being thrown around all over the place."

"What kind of accusations?" I ask curiously. This is the first I've heard of something like this floating around. He laughs then, shaking his head.

"You'll get a kick out of this," he tells me with a grin. "Supposedly there's a rumor going around about one of your own," he informs us as I tense and Claudine shoots me a look of concern.

"Which one?" Claudine asks cautiously as Quinn takes in our somber expression, sobering his mirth quickly.

"Um, last story I heard was about that new guy," he tells us as my brows rise in surprise. "I think his name's Ben, but anyways, supposedly someone claimed to have seen him drinking blood. It started this whole argument about whether or not he could be the guy," he tells us as I feel fear rising within me. "It's just a stupid rumor," he says. "You don't really think there's any truth to it, do you?"

The front door slams open at that moment and the three of us turn to see the angry face of Ben before us. Oh, fuck my life. "Don't you know it's not polite to gossip?" he asks before shooting a ball of light at Quinn, flinging him across the room. My jaw drops as I see his large form slam into the wall before his body falls to a heap on the floor. Claudine shoves me to the side then and I lose my footing, falling to the floor on my back as I see bright lights flashing through the room above me. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

I scoot behind the couch to gain cover as I slip my pistol into my hand, gripping it tightly before poking my head up to see what's become of the battle. Tears form in my eyes as I see Claudine's unconscious form lying at Ben's feet. Fuck. He looks up to me then, shaking his head at me as I raise my gun to take up aim, square at his chest.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warns before I fire off the first round, hitting his torso dead center. He laughs lightly and my anger builds as I proceed to squeeze off the rest of the rounds, hitting him in what should be numerous killing blows as he continues stalking towards me, completely unfazed by my silver ammo. All I can do is watch in horror as his chest heals before my eyes and he looms ever closer.

He leans over me then, sniffing the air above me before a look of pure rage covers his face. He raises his hand then and I have time only to tense slightly before his large hand smashes into the side of my face. I fall to the floor as stars explode behind my eyes. My head slams into the hard floor as the darkness take me under.

GPOV

I wake from my day rest to see Sookie gone from our bed. A slight frown forms upon my face as I had thought she may be waiting to complete the bond at first dark. I reach out through the bond and tense, sitting up in alarm as I feel something is wrong with our sweet fae. The bond I share with her is clouded somehow and I feel she is far from the house. I rise from the bed then as I begin pacing the room in a panic.

As it is still daylight outside, I am stuck underground, completely useless to her for hours yet. I search around the room, desperate to find answers to her whereabouts. She apparently showered earlier and it looks as though several of her weapons are missing.

An icy chill runs through me then. Could it be that she left to fight Warlow on her own? I know she is coming into her fae abilities now, but surely she must realize she is no match for such a powerful opponent. I rush through the rest of the underground, finding no more clues as to her possible whereabouts.

I enter the bedroom once more, searching the bond again to find there is no difference. Why is the bond muted? We've just finished the second exchange; I should feel her just as strongly as I did last night. I sit lost in my melancholy for a time until I feel Eric wake behind me. I turn to see him looking to me with worry etched across his face.

"It's Sookie, isn't it?" he asks anxiously as I nod to him. "Fuck," he whispers as he rises from the bed. "What do we know?"

"Nothing," I answer dejectedly. "I don't know why the bond with her is muted, but we should check the upstairs now that darkness has fallen." We vamp upstairs together and begin searching for any clues as to what could have happened to Sookie. Pamela rushes into the room then, looking to us in concern as she feels our anxiety rising through the bond.

"Where's Sookie?" she asks as we both give her grave expressions. "Fucking hell," she whispers as she falls to the couch dejectedly. "She wouldn't have taken off on her own, would she?" she asks as the front door fly opens before us. The three of us are poised to attack our intruders before I recognize it's Claudine, Alcide, and another male were rushing inside.

"He got her," Claudine informs us miserably as she slams the door shut in frustration.

"Warlow?" Eric asks as she nods to us.

"Tell us what happened," I demand as the three of them look down in defeat.

"Alcide and I escorted Sookie to Quinn's to stock up on weapons this morning and while we were there, we were attacked by Ben," Claudine informs us as Eric looks to me in surprise.

"Ben? The fae hunter?" Eric questions as Claudine nods to us.

"Benjamin Flynn is Warlow," she informs us as my fury rises. He was standing right before us in the restaurant the other night and we were none the wiser to his true identity.

"Fuck!" yells Eric as he slams his fist into the drywall, sending a cloud of white dust through the room as his fury rises through the bond. I walk to him, sending him whatever tranquil feelings I can muster in an attempt to calm his seething anger. "We need to get her back," he whispers softly as I nod to him.

"We will, my child," I tell him gently. "But we must understand what we are up against first." I turn to the three guards then. "What can you tell us about Ben?"

"He's powerful, and he possess the light of the fae," Claudine informs us. "He knocked all three of us out with his light before he took Sookie."

"Do you know where he took her?" Eric asks as the three of them shake their heads.

"We thought you may be able to follow the bond you share with her to pinpoint her location," Claudine tells us as I look to Eric in concern.

"The bond is muted," I inform Claudine as her face falls in defeat. "It could be she is sleeping or she is possibly unconscious, we cannot know for sure."

"Shit," Quinn spits out as he falls to the sofa, placing his head in his hands. "We gotta get her outta there." Claudine steps beside him, placing her hand upon his shoulder.

"We will, Quinn," she tells him softly. "But the bond is the best way to track her. Until Eric and Godric can lead us to where she is, we'll just have to prepare for the upcoming fight."

"She's right," says Pamela. "We need to come up with a plan to take this fucker out."

"I think I can help out with that," Quinn informs us as a wicked grin crosses his face.