"Wait."

Donald's voice rang out through the foyer as Eric fell to his knees. Annie tried to push her father from her, but she was struggling more than she cared to admit. It took him a few seconds to push his daughter to the side, watching as she rushed towards Eric. She fell to her knees as the men kept the chains around him.

"Let him go," Annie tried to reason again, tugging at the silver to no prevail.

"He glamoured us not to leave this house," Donald suddenly said to Annie. "I want him to undo what he did."

"So you can take him to your little centre and torture him?" Annie demanded, her hands still trying to pull at the chains against Eric's chest as she bit down a sob. "No...I don't think so..."

"I can have him staked here, Annie," Donald warned his daughter. "He'll do what he has to do to survive."

It was then when Annie saw her father grab an umbrella from the rack, holding it tightly in his hands. The tip of the umbrella was made from sharp wood and Annie's eyes widened at the sight of it.

She suddenly felt Eric's fingers move over to her thigh. She turned her head to look at him and moved her own hand down to his, holding it tightly as Eric struggled for breath and her other hand continued to try and move to chain from his neck. He was looking at her with those blue eyes she had grown to love, but they held nothing but anger inside of them.

"Move out of my way, Annie," Donald demanded from his daughter as he held the umbrella tightly in his fingertips.

"Go fuck yourself," Annie demanded from her father and Donald saw red for a moment.

He grabbed Annie by her hair and threw her to the side. Annie had never thought of her father as being a physical man, but she should have known better. His vendetta against vampires knew no bounds. He was the same height as Eric, but Annie doubted he was as strong.

Eric watched on as Annie pushed her hands in front of her to stop her from landing flat on her face. She groaned for a second and tossed her head over her shoulder to look back to her father and Eric. Donald pressed the tip of the umbrella against Eric and Annie felt her mouth dry up.

"Don't move, Annie," Donald warned his daughter as he noted her pushing herself to her feet from the corner of his eye. "Now, Mr Northman, isn't it? Owner of Fangtasia? Oh, I've done my research about you. You and your seedy bar...do you honestly think I would let my daughter anywhere near you willingly? There are reputations to uphold...it is bad enough Annie has already been announced as a fang banging whore when she decided to get involved with Jonathan. The PR mess was a disaster."

Annie kept quiet as her mother sipped on her wine. She looked to Maria for a second, but her mother didn't even look back to her. If anything she looked bored. She was still drinking her red wine and her eyes flicked down to her case notes. But her parents didn't care. They only cared about their image and Annie had ruined that.

"So, you're going to let me leave this house...me and my wife...and you're going to do it because you care for your life."

Donald nodded to the man holding the silver around Eric's neck. Eric gasped for breath as the silver loosened and he felt himself cough. He doubled over and Annie remained still, her body shaking and her hands clenched into fists.

"Why?" Eric demanded as he managed to find his breath. "You'll just kill me anyway."

"No!" Annie snapped. "Don't do anything to him."

"Shut up, Annie," Maria rolled her eyes.

"Do it," Donald demanded Eric, pressing the tip harder against Eric.

"You're a bastard, did you know that?" Eric asked of Donald. "I came here to help your daughter. I did everything to protect her. She may be a fang banging whore, but I'd rather her be that than any part of you."

Donald's jaw clenched and Eric glanced to Annie for a moment and she moved with haste as her father faltered. She rushed towards him and tried to wrestle the umbrella from his fingertips. She failed miserably as Donald slapped her from him, the sound echoing through the foyer as Annie yelped in pain. The back of his hand against her flesh made her blink back tears and she barely heard Eric's snarl and bared fangs.

"Do it!" Donald yelled at Eric. "Do you think I won't kill you? Do you think I need you? You can turn to nothing right here and now...I don't care what Annie wants...because you'll never have her."

What choice did Eric have? He turned his gaze to the brunette who was holding her stinging cheek, tears falling from her eyes slowly and marring her pale cheeks. Eric kept quiet as Annie glanced over to him through her lashes, doing her best not to cry. Eric would die right there if he didn't do what was asked of him. If he could keep himself alive then he could fight for life. He had to do that.

And so he did what he had to.

...

Annie wasn't a fool. She wasn't the most intelligent of humans, but she wasn't naive to her mother and father. Her father had locked her up in her room and her mother had gone back to her case notes. Annie had banged on the door, but nothing happened. She contained to yell loudly before she gave in.

She had snuck in so she could sneak back out. She looked down the drainpipe, wondering if her father had sent for extra men. She didn't doubt he would have. She would risk it anyway. The front of the house was quiet and Annie climbed through her window, pushing her body down the drainpipe. She had no idea where to go. She didn't even know where her father's hideout would be.

"Asshole," Annie sneered as she glared up to the house and then rushed away.

No doubt someone would notice her absence soon enough.

She raced down the block, her mind whirling as she thought about what to do. How could she save Eric? How could she go against all those men to free Eric? She couldn't do it on her own. She knew that. She needed help. But who would help her? She had no friends. She had no one.

But she did know someone who would do anything for Eric.

...

Pam was bored. She was stood behind the bar, sipping on a gin and tonic. Ginger had annoyed her more than she cared to admit, and not even Iveta could make her happy. Pam drummed her fingertips against the bar of Fangtasia whilst dancers danced and bartenders served drinks. She missed Eric. She missed Eric's wit, smile, arrogance...she just missed everything about him. But he was too busy playing the prince to Cinderella. Pam scoffed. Annie Walters was slowly becoming a pain in her ass.

"Pam!"

Ginger's voice scraped through her and Pam looked down the bar.

"What?" Pam snarled.

"There's someone on the phone for you," Ginger called out. "Said her name was Danni."

"Danni?" Pam called out and sauntered closer to the phone Ginger was holding from the bar.

Pam snatched the phone from Ginger and held it to her ear, her arm wrapping her waist and her hip jutting out.

"Fangtasia, Pam speaking, this better be interesting."

"Pam! It's Annie!"

Pam rolled her eyes and glowered to Ginger. Danni? Could Ginger do anything right? Pam seriously doubted it.

"What do you want, Cinders?" Pam demanded. "I don't have all night to listen to you swoon over Eric."

"I need your help," Annie said, her voice seeming smaller than it had done when she had confronted Pam. "My daddy...he...he's taken Eric...I don't know where...but he...I don't think..."

"Calm the fuck down and tell me what happened," Pam hissed, unable to say anything more on the matter.

She turned her back to the bar and held the phone tightly in her grip, listening with intent to what Annie had to say on the matter. It took a few moments of deep breathing from Annie before the girl could form a coherent sentence.

"We went to my parent's house to ask for help, but daddy managed to call his guards. They wrapped Eric in silver and took him away. I don't know where, but I assume it is the same place he took Jonathan."

Pam took in a sharp breath and closed her eyes. She hadn't felt Eric in pain. She hadn't felt him call her. But Eric was strong. Eric could cope with more than anyone Pam had ever met before.

"So you're telling me that you dragged Eric into your mess and now you've gotten him into trouble?" Pam deduced.

"I never meant to," Annie whispered, her voice small. "I didn't want to hurt him...please, Pam...you need to believe me... help him...please..."

"Don't cry," Pam demanded. "Crying over him won't save him. Where are you right now?"

"Some diner," Annie said, sniffing loudly. "I'm trying my best to find out where they could have taken him...I just don't know where to begin."

"Well you need to begin somewhere. How can you not know where he has taken him? Look, just do whatever it is you do and I'll be in New York sooner rather than later...but I swear if anything happens to Eric then I'm taking mommy and daddy's heads and decorating Fangtasia with them. Do you understand?"

"Understood," Annie meekly responded.

Pam said nothing more on the matter. She hung up the phone and looked around the crowded bar. Could she manage to free Eric alone? Would she need any help? She contemplated calling Bill Compton. Bill and his beloved Sookie might be useful. But Pam soon put that out of her mind. She could do this alone.

...

Eric had been deposited in some form of underground cell, the only way out was a hatch above his head with ladders leading down to the dungeon. Silver chains still bound him to a table and he could feel his body burning. He'd been told about the UV lights above him if he did anything dangerous. There were no windows and no other escape.

He had lain on the metal bed, cursing in his head. He had contemplated calling for Pam, but he didn't know what she would do. Pam was often reckless when it came to Eric, but Eric was the same. His progeny was more important to him than anything.

"Mr Northman."

Eric didn't even need to roll his head to the side to know who had entered the concrete prison cell. He had thought Donald Walters was nothing but a pompous businessman who liked to wear expensive suits and hold himself tall. He had a deep voice and he didn't look much like a scientist to Eric. He looked more like a businessman.

The scraping of the metal chair from the corner of the room brought Eric's gaze to Donald's, the two men trying to weigh each other up.

"Let me just take this off...it might help you talk," Donald said, peeling the chain from Eric's neck.

"You want to talk?" Eric asked. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Don't be like that," Donald chuckled lowly, lacing his fingers together. "Now that we're alone I feel as though I can talk to you properly without Annie's hysterics."

"No," Eric drawled, "because you well and truly shut her up when you slapped her. Do you abuse your daughter often? Is that why she hates you so much?"

"Annabelle does not hate me," Donald said lowly. "She is my daughter. I have provided for her for her entire life. The way she thanks me is inconsiderate."

"You imbecile," Eric sneered. "Your daughter is being hunted by a psychotic vampire you should have staked when you found out he was trying to drain her. Instead you used him for research purposes. You created Frankenstein's monster."

Donald sighed and pushed his fingers through his receding hairline. "I should have disposed of Jonathan once he had served his use. True, the drugs I gave him enhanced his strength and his speed. He is lethal...but that was not my aim. My aim was to use his blood against him...to destroy him...and destroy all other vampires out there. I could have made millions. No one wants you blood sucking creatures roaming the earth."

"Your daughter does," Eric declared. "Where does this hatred come from? Jonathan is not like the rest of us."

"Yes he is," Donald snapped. "You're all evil. Annie can't see that, but she will. Don't tell me you haven't thought about tasting her blood or draining her."

"I did." Eric said, instantly regretting it once he had done, but he couldn't stop himself. His lip curved and his eyes glistened. "She gave herself to me one night. She asked me to drink from her...to stop her from having nightmares about Jonathan...so now she dreams of me. Your little girl moans my name in the middle of the night and I've tasted her blood. She asked me to, but would I have drained her and killed her? No."

"You bastard," Donald hissed, moving to wrap his hands around the collar to Eric's jacket, pulling his upper body from the table slightly. "You've poisoned her mind."

"No," Eric declared. "I did nothing of the sort. You're the only poisonous scum I see here."

Donald composed himself, dropping Eric back down to the table. He resumed his place in his seat and Eric looked to the ceiling, his gaze intent.

"I tried to help your daughter," Eric spoke in a dark and dangerous voice. "I saved her when Jonathan had taken her and I promised to stop him from hurting her anymore."

"You don't care about her," Donald said. "She's just a blood vessel...a slut you can use when you please...Annie has always been weak. She's always clung to anyone who would show her the slightest bit of attention."

"I wonder why," Eric said sarcastically and arched a brow before peering back to Donald. "She told me all about her childhood; you and your wife fucking other people whilst your daughter spends her time alone. She hasn't exactly had the best childhood, but I do know one thing."

"Do you?"

"She is hardly a slut," Eric spoke. "Trust me, I've seen sluts and she isn't one of them."

Donald seemed to be lost for words as Eric chuckled and shook his head.

"I've known your daughter for a few weeks," he said, "and I already know her better than you ever have."

"I doubt it."

"I don't."

Donald said nothing back to Eric. He had no time to. It was then when Eric heard another voice enter the room, the sound of boots hitting the concrete ringing into his ears.

"Dr Walters."

"What is it?" Donald appeared agitated that he had been interrupted.

"Your daughter has gone missing. She escaped the house. Your wife just called...security can't find her anywhere and she doesn't have her phone to be tracked. We have no idea where she is."

Donald's orbs widened and Eric looked over to him before closing his eyes, trying to sense if Annie was in any danger. He couldn't feel anything, but all he could feel was the searing pain of the chains against his skin.

"She'll be looking for him," Donald spoke. "Keep security tight on the entrance and send out men to look for her. She isn't safe on the streets at night."

Donald stood up and didn't bother to glance back at Eric as he made his way to the ladders.

"And give him a dose of light...he hasn't exactly been playing nice."

...

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone reading and I do hope you will review!