POWERS

Sarah felt her throat constrict in panic, but she forced air into her lungs, concentrating her power, feeling it move along her wrists. She struggled against the hands that held her, feeling her deep breaths turn to ragged pants as she fought.

Concentrate.

She did, but only felt a dull tingle of power in her hands. Without anything to focus on, she was struggling, her emotions making it all the more difficult as she heard the werewolves talking about throwing Eric in the van.

She gritted her teeth, grabbing onto the first emotion that surged above the others.

Anger.

She heard a cry behind her as flame flared over her skin. The ropes that had been secured around her wrists sizzled, the smell of the fibres as they burned making her crinkle her nose for a moment before she lashed out. She was fighting blind, not chancing taking even a moment to remove the blindfold, but in their human forms they were loud. She focused on the scuffling of feet, the sounds of ragged breaths from the ones she'd injured.

She sent a ball of flame to her left, hearing a sharp cry.

'Behind you,' Eric called as loud as he was able with the silver burning into his throat, any more of his warnings cut off when the door of the van was slammed shut.

Sarah ducked, swinging her burning hand around in the same moment to scorch the attacker as well as knock his feet from under him.

She rolled to the left, shooting up with the help of a gust of air that sent her sailing over two of the werewolves. She took the opportunity to remove the blindfold as she heard the squeal of tires.

When she hit the ground, her arms were coated with flame, her eyes locked on the van as it sped down the road. She let out a cry, hurling balls of flame into the chests of the werewolves that were too slow to dodge, revelling in their pain as she doused the flames on her arms, sending a few of the bastards slamming into the solid wall that surrounded their home with a gust of air. They crumpled and she sprinted forward, slamming her foot into their ribs to knock their breath from their lungs.

But just like at Merlotte's, more were closing in. Seven surrounded her, all wary on their feet as they dodged her attacks, all in their wolf form as they circled.

'You better hope I kill you now,' she growled, grabbing the neck of the werewolf that leapt at her. She tightened her grip on his throat, fire shooting from her hand to surround his neck like a collar. She sneered at him, letting him see the flames that seemed to burn in her eyes as she hissed, 'because the longer that my boyfriend is in the hands of you sick pups, the more flesh I burn or freeze off you bastards before you die.'

When more tried an attack, she spun the flaming wolf in a circle, using the wind that had helped her hold him in the air to propel him into a few of his comrades.

The others fled, barely dodging the flames that she threw after them as they scurried into the trees. One made the poor mistake of heading for the car in which they'd arrived, realising too late that it had been a bad idea when she set the engine ablaze.

He leapt out just in time to have the explosion singe his backside, the only reason he'd escaped without being completely engulfed in flame being that Sarah had surrounded the vehicle in a tornado like current of wind.

The werewolves that had been knocked down by their flaming companion rose on injured limbs, limping to the side, their gazes locked on her before they ran into the bushes, leaving the one who had attempted to drive away lying writhing naked on the road. When he looked up at her, bringing his weight onto shaky arms to stand, she glanced to his most exposed place, feeling a feral grin curl her lips as flame covered her hands.

'Run Spot. Run.'

Eric clenched his jaw until it ached, muscles tightening as they added another line of silver of his chest and stomach. He tried to fight against it, to even lift his body an inch toward his target of ripping their heads off, but he was trapped.

Somehow he would be set free though. Somehow, he would find a way to kill every last one of the pack that had even dared to harm Sarah.

Sarah…

He roared at the thought of her fighting the bastards alone, but he knew that she was safe. All he could feel was her anger. He had even heard her cry of rage as the van sped down the road. Now he felt a strange sort of satisfaction filtering through him, knew that it was coming from her, but he had no idea what had caused it.

Hopefully she'd toasted the pups.

He clenched his jaw again, refusing to show any further emotion in front of the werewolves, even when he felt teeth sink deep into his arm, the suction that followed telling him that more would follow. They would be blood crazed, just as the ones who had been loyal to Russell Edgington had been.

A part of him hoped that she would not come after him, that she would leave him to the werewolves who would likely drain him dry before they even reached their destination.

But the logical part of him knew that she would search for him. She was stubborn, fierce. There would be no changing her mind, so he could at least give her some help. He dragged his mind from the depth of the pain, forced the burn of the silver to become nothing but a dull throb as he focused all of his energy on his thoughts.

…Pam…

Sarah came from the trees, wiping a smear of blood from her arm as a tree snagged her skin. She crossed the street, walking straight past the twisted metal of the car that she'd destroyed. She hardly noticed it, though on some level she was glad that they lived on a road that received little traffic so that no one had passed to see the wreck.

Or hear the werewolf's screams.

She went to the gate. She swung around she felt a hand grasp at her wrist, flame coating her hand as she slammed her fist into the chin of the attacker, realising too late who it was.

'Pam!' she said, dousing the flame before she reached to steady the surprised vampire. 'Shit, I didn't realise it was you. Are you okay?'

'Fine, I assure you,' she said as she straightened, cracking her neck and jaw as the burn healed. 'I should have said something.'

'I'm guessing you heard the explosion.'

'Well yes, but I didn't think much until Eric called me here,' she said, and Sarah saw her usual smug look fade. 'He's in danger, isn't he?'

'He got grabbed by werewolves. They wrapped silver chains around him, and god damn I wanted to kill every last one of them, but there were so many–'

'Doesn't matter, we're going to get him back and tear off the balls of whoever is behind it.'

'Or burn them,' Sarah suggested, a little spark of satisfaction firing through her.

A little bit of Pam's usual smugness returned. 'That too.'

Sarah stared at the burning wreck of the car, watching the flames swirl for a moment longer before she sent a blast of water over it. 'Think you could help me move that into the woods somewhere?'

Pam nodded, going to the car. She lifted the side before hoisting it on above her head, Sarah using a current of air to take some of the weight from Pam's shoulders as they moved it deep into the woods.

'I think we need to get some help,' Sarah said as they trekked out of the trees, heading for the house so she could change her clothes. 'Could you stay here for a little while, glamour any one who comes to investigate the explosion while I go get someone who can get us on the inside?'

'Sure,' Pam said, stopping by the heavy iron gate. 'Make it quick though. I don't want to wait around forever.'

Sarah paused by the front door, nodding, pretending she hadn't noticed the fear behind Pam's bored smirk.

She went to the wardrobe, picking out a short sleeved black top and a pair of black jeans. She pulled her hair back, tying it in a tight pony tail before she pulled on a pair of heavy black hiking boots, knowing that if she had to fight off any more werewolves, she wanted to be able to kick hard. She grabbed her phone, tucking it into her pocket, as well as her wallet and keys.

In a little over five minutes she was heading out to the car, pulling out of the driveway. She paused next to Pam, her window down. 'I'll be as quick as I can.'

'Hurry back.'

There was no way she couldn't. She had only been driving for a few minutes when her phone rang, the ringtone telling her that it was Sookie, their favourite song blasting from the little device. She snatched it up, connecting it to the phone speaker set she'd had installed in her car before she connected.

'Hey Sook, what's up?' she asked, trying to sound casual. She didn't want Sookie to know that something was wrong. Though she would be angry with Sarah when she found out that she was going in without her, this was about to get a whole hell of a lot more dangerous. Sookie and Bill could defend themselves, but she couldn't drag them into it, not when she was already risking capture herself.

There was no way she would let Sookie get taken by the pack too.

'Are you driving?' Sookie asked.

'No, actually, I'm not. Eric is,' she lied as she swerved around a corner. 'I doubt you'll get a word out of him right now.'

'Aren't you home by now?'

'No, Eric left his car at Jason's so we had to go back there to get it, and of course we didn't quite manage to make it there straight away…'

Sookie laughed. 'Of course. Let me guess, he'd have trouble speaking past his fangs?'

'Lot's of trouble,' she said. 'Listen, I have to go. We're nearly home and I doubt that my being on the phone is going to stop him once we get there.'

'Okay, we'll I'll talk to you tomorrow hon.'

I hope so. 'Night.'

She waited a second before she hung up, not wanting to sound too rushed. She gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, her knuckles going white as she worried her bottom lip. She hated lying to Sookie, but she wanted her best friend safe. If she went missing, Sookie would go to her and Eric's house, find the spare key and then the note that Sarah had left for her on the counter.

She hoped to god it wouldn't come to that.

Sarah slammed on the brakes, skidding to a halt in front of his house before she shut the engine off and grabbed her keys. She locked the car over her shoulder, rushing to the door and knocking rapidly, knowing by the light that shone from the windows that he was home.

'Coming, coming,' called a gruff voice, deep as it rumbled through the wood of the door. 'Quit your banging.'

As if, Sarah thought, knocking even harder until the door was wrenched away from her fist. She had to crane her neck to see his face, her eyes moving over rippling muscles and a gorgeously broad jaw covered with a neatly trimmed, dark beard before she met his rich – and somewhat irritated – brown gaze.

His expression softened when he saw that it was her and he reached out, wiping tears that Sarah hadn't even noticed were streaming down her cheeks. 'What's wrong?' he asked. Alcide cupped her cheek with his warm hand and she barely held onto the anger that had been fuelling her.

'I need you to come with me.'

'Why, what's happened?'

She tried to speak but paused, swallowing the lump in her throat before she finally said, 'they took him.' Her voice broke, her eyes brimming with fresh tears. He gathered her into his arms, drawing her against his chest as a sob tore from her.

'Who took who?' he asked, voice a soft rumble that drifted over her head. 'I can't help if you don't tell me.'

She clutched him closer for a moment, trying to compose herself, knowing that she was only wasting time. When she pulled back she swiped at the tears on her cheeks, taking a deep breath. 'Werewolves,' she said, voice only wavering a little. She met his gaze, forcing him to see the anger and the fear as they mingled within her eyes. 'They took Eric.'

He pulled her inside. 'Wait here,' he said before he disappeared into the house. She heard draws and cupboards opening, as well as the jingle of keys before he appeared again with a hastily buttoned shirt and shoes that he was still pulling over his heels. He locked the deadbolt, ushering her out before he closed it behind him.

'Do you know where they took him?' he asked as they got into the car, doors slamming after them as she turned the ignition. She felt fire burn in her gaze, blazing as she pulled onto the road far faster than she should have. She gripped the steering wheel, heading back the way she had come, knowing her destination.

'No, I don't. He hasn't called to Pam again so she can't work out where he is,' she said, gaze narrowing as she swerved around a corner, Alcide gripping the dashboard for a moment, 'but I know someone who does.'

Next update: Sunday the 19th of September.