Twenty-Four
I Love You, My Everything
Sookie wanted to grab James and slap his face until that grin fell off. He had no rights at all to smile and to act as if nothing had been wrong. Rolling himself in the bushes with a woman who might be twice older than he was was not what she could call 'all right' and also not exactly what she wanted to see when she finally found him.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
And especially not with a woman, whose head was full with curses!
"Hi Mom!" James smiled widely and brushed the dirt on his body. "I am glad that you finally found us," he said. "Where have you been?"
Sookie felt her head exploding. James did not show any sign of regret or guilt on his face. He acted exactly like Eric, when she caught him of doing something that he knew very well would annoy her: smiling, grinning and spreading his charm with a hope that he would escape from her anger.
We were just kissing; his head told her, it's nothing serious, Mom. He passed her by, walked towards Cooper and Doc. Both Hounders took that chance to take some distance away from her and Det. Luna. They were having cold feet to be near her. They knew that she was angry and nothing was more dangerous than an angry mother was. She would turn the world upside down if necessary.
"Mrs. Stackhouse," Det. Luna fixed her vest and came to her. "I can explain,"
"What do you want to explain, Detective?" Sookie tried her best to sound cool. "Nothing happens between you two? That whatever you two did, it means nothing to you?"
"No, that's not what I wanted to say,"
"Good because I don't want my son to be treated as nothing,"
Det. Luna stood in front of her with a pale face. Sookie could see and hear that she was thinking very hard how to explain what she had just done, but she seemed not to able to find any word to start.
Finally, Sookie decided to tell her what she thought. "James is fourteen years old, Detective. He is a minor. If you ever dare to lay your filthy hands on my son again, I will report you to your superior officers. I will make sure that you lose your job and go to jail. I will also make sure that you will never ever find a job again,"
"Mrs. Stackhouse...." her eyes were getting red and tears fell down on her cheek.
"Don't tempt me," Sookie raised her face. "I appreciate your help and I will let you do your work to solve the murders among the werewolves, but if I ever see you near my son, if I ever see you touch his hand, I will make sure that you go to jail even before you open your mouth,"
She wiped off her tears. "We like each other, Mrs. Stackhouse,"
"HE IS A MINOR!"
"Don't you think I know that?" her nose was red. I've been fighting with my feelings since the first day I saw him, her head told Sookie. She wiped off her tears. Especially, after I slept beside him. I can't forget his smell, his touch, the way he looked at me...
Sookie did not want to hear this. This woman was thinking about her son, who was merely a man....like...what did she mean with sleeping beside him? Was she...? Was she the fox?
"Yes," she said when Sookie asked her.
"Did you sleep with him?"
"No," she said. Not yet.
Sookie felt her blood boiling. "Are you planning to?"
She did not answer; in her head, she was sobbing. I don't know...God...I don't know...She turned her face away. "No," she said after a while. She wiped off her tears. Her face was hard when she said. "You're right. He's a minor. I am sorry, I will not do it again," Then she walked away.
When they finally continued the journey, Sookie noticed that none of them opened their mouths. Cooper and Doc were in their ready-to-attack forms. They were not completely transformed, but the long rough grey hair was all over their bodies. Sookie saw that their hands were longer and bigger. Their finger nails were black, long and pointed. Det. Luna walked in the front, away from James. James did not try to catch her or to get near to her. Somehow, he seemed to understand that Sookie was angry and did not want to provoke her. Sookie noticed that James watched every move that Det. Luna made and saw how bright his face was. He was in love. The 'girl' that he had been thinking about the whole time was not a girl, but a woman, possibly twice older than he was.
Sookie sighed. Det. Luna was probably James' first love. What was she supposed to do? Should she let him continue having his feeling? Should she talk him into considering the choices? James was handsome, has good posture and clever. He could try to be a model if he wanted to and with her connection to the Queen, he could be a member of any modeling agency. James did not say much about his days at school in Baton Rouge, but Sookie had attended some occasions at his school and she could say that her son was quite popular. The Girls liked him.
Yes, probably she'd better wait. Soon he would go back to school. He would meet new girls and Det. Luna would return to Baton Rouge or to wherever the hell she came from. They would never meet again. If she forced him to leave her now, he would be more eager to be with her. It would be better if she stayed away from the whole situation. It was his first love, probably would be his first broken heart too. Let him enjoy for a moment and be there when he had his rough times. Yeah, it would be better if she did that way.
Sookie sighed and walked faster. The sandalwood scent reached her nose. Now, she'd better concentrate on the reason they came to this cursed place and got the hell out of there as soon as they were ready.
Spider webs and dust welcomed them as they entered the house. The place, which once had been one of Bon Temps jewels, now looked rotten. The furniture was at the places where Sookie had seen, but they were grey from dust and covered by many small crawling insects. Doc opened the windows to let the fresh air went in.
Sookie did not know what had happened at that place fifteen years ago. Francesco had taken her to Wilson's place and left that place. From Dušana-Aurora she heard stories about a big battle that had taken place here, how the werewolves and vampires had been turning into some kind of robot, following the order of one man, Daniel Wilson. "His mother was a powerful witch," she said. "She taught him everything she knew,"
"What are we looking for, Miss Sookie?" Doc asked.
"I don't know, honestly," Sookie said. "Take everything we can get and leave,"
Doc and Cooper looked for a box, when they did not find it, Cooper said something about making it themselves. Sookie, James and Det. Luna collect all books and paper they could find and gather them on the table.
Somehow, Sookie admired Det. Luna. She was determined not to look at James. When their eyes met accidentally, her green eyes did not give James a sign of any feeling. James smiled or stood very closed to her, trying to steal a touch or a glare from her, but it did not work. After a while, the table was full with books, rolls of old parchment, paper and some boxes, which were carved with beautiful ornaments.
"I don't want to take these," Sookie said. "They could contain jewellery,"
"We can always return them," James said. "Victoria can take them and look for the next of kin of...who lived here?"
He calls her Victoria, Sookie thought. Not Detective Luna any more.
Sookie touched the boxes. "Daniel Wilson," she said. "Francesco's son,"
The one who tried to kill Papa, James looked at her. Papa as in Eric Northman?
What was he thinking about? Of course it was Eric...who else?
James turned his face away. "I want to go out," suddenly he said and left her.
"James?" Sookie wanted to follow him, but Det. Luna shook her head.
"Let him go," she said. "He was confused,"
"About what?"
"Who his father is,"
Sookie closed her eyes. He had told Det. Luna about Eric.
"I can keep a secret, Mrs. Stackhouse," she said. She walked slowly towards her. "We had met three faeries some time ago. One of them told us that James had wolf blood...it confused him. He thought that perhaps the one he believed to be his father was not his real father after all..."
"Silly boy," Sookie sighed. "Of course he is,"
Det. Luna's face was getting hard. "Cooper and Doc believe that his father is a werewolf," The certainty in her voice made Sookie looked at her. What did she mean? Was she the one who gave James the idea? "The werewolves think differently. They are animals in human forms," now, her voice sounded disgusted. "They don't think or react with their brains, but their instincts. Their decisions are influenced by scents, the smells in the air, the emotions they feel and many times by the signals that are sent by the others. James – your son, Mrs. Stackhouse, sends very strong signals and his scents are so like drugs for us. I believe, the werewolves out there can't think straight any more every time he is around. Their body reacts crazily; my body reacts crazily... differently...."
Her body or her libido? Sookie stared at her. Now she could see Det. Luna's face clearly. She had high cheekbones and green eyes. Her eyes were puffy because of tears, but Sookie still could see that they were beautiful. Her jet-black wavy hair was rolled together on the back of her head. Sookie had seen it opened some moments ago. It was long and beautiful.
"But I give you my words, Mrs. Stackhouse, I will not come on to your son. Please, give me a chance to prove it to you," she said. Her eyes were watery again. She was afraid. "I love my job," she said. "If you report me, I will lose my job,"
"You should have thought about it before you seduced him,"
"I did not seduce him," she said. "It happened. He saved me from the Grey Hounders and took me to his bed. I planned to leave his room and I waited for him to sleep, but I was exhausted from running and fell asleep. He had been awake when I woke up, watching me. He saw me naked and aroused...." she continued in her head, God, his eyes! He fucked me with his eyes!
Sookie lifted her hand. "I don't want to hear it,"
"I did not touch your son that night," she continued. "We did not sleep with each other; you have to believe me,"
"You kissed him!"
"Yes, and I am not proud of it," she said. "But he has such an aura that I can't resist. I believe, neither can the werewolves. For us, he is like the lamps to the insects; we are drawn to him, just like that. At the beginning, I didn't know how it could happen. Now I know why. It is the wolf blood that runs in his vein, Mrs. Stackhouse, it made him irresistible to us. He is still very young, I know that, the werewolves know that too, but…" suddenly her face was blushing. "…he is very persistent with what he wants," she turned away. In her head she continued, fuck! What the fuck did I say that for?!
And James wanted Det. Luna, the way Eric wanted her. Like father like son, James would not stop until he got what he wanted; Sookie was sure about it. Eric had not stopped teasing her, challenging her, seducing her until he got what he wanted: Getting into her pants. James wanted the same from Det. Luna. Sookie closed her eyes. "But he's still very young..." she sighed.
"I know," Det. Luna faced her. Her lips were trembling when she said, "Can you imagine what will happen when he is older and getting too strong for weres and shifters? He will be considered dangerous by some and might be god-like by the others,"
Sookie had never thought of that and she was grateful that Det. Luna told her. She sighed. The woman in front of her was confused, very confused. Something told Sookie, Det. Luna had been honest about her feelings for James. She liked him, maybe it was too early to say it; she might love him too. "But he's still too young…"
"I know," tears fell down on her cheek again. She wiped them off. "I know what I have to do. Just, please give me a chance to prove it,"
"How old are you, Det. Luna?"
"I will be twenty-five this year," she said. "And this is my first big case. I cannot fail,"
Sookie knew how it felt to handle the first case. She had been there before. Yes, she believed her. Det. Luna would force herself to stay focused on her case than on James. She might probably be able to refuse the advantages that James tried to offer her.
Sookie took a deep breath. "All right, I give you the second chance. But as soon as I catch you with James....."
"Thank you, Mrs. Stackhouse," she cut her sentences and took Sookie's hand. She shook it hard. "You can trust me,"
Cooper and Doc entered the room with some kind of a carriage. They had made it from dry wood and tree roots. They put the books, paper and boxes on that carriage and carried them out. James was sitting on one of the stones in the front yard. He pouted his mouth and crossed his arm. He always did that if something was bothering him; and clearly, whatever he had heard from the faeries was bothering him. His eyes were shining brightly when Det. Luna passed him by and gave him a smile. Sookie pretended not to see that. She also did the same when James took her hand and pulled her close to him.
Goodbye, J.F Northman-Stackhouse, Sookie heard Det. Luna saying in her head. Goodbye.
Again, Victoria. Kiss me, again. Now. Sookie heard James sighing in his head. I'll die if you leave without kissing me.
Sookie forced herself to ignore whatever she was hearing. She knew, if she turned around, she would find them kissing. However, she would not do it. Det. Luna was saying goodbye to James, and for the sake of her head; she'd better keep her promise, otherwise Sookie would use her influences to make sure that Det. Luna lost everything she had.
"Little Brother, hurry up, will you?" said Cooper suddenly. "We have to leave the woods before dark,"
"Come to me tonight," Sookie heard James whispering. He was out of breath. "You've got to come to me tonight,"
Det. Luna did not answer.
"Victoria...please...I'll let the windows open,"
Again, there was no answer.
Sookie heard a sound of kissing, and then she saw Det. Luna walking very fast, passing her by.
"Vicky!" James called her out and chased her, but Det. Luna was faster. Soon, she disappeared among the trees.
James stopped running.
Doc patted his shoulder. "She is a god damn fast girl. You'll catch her, Little Brother. You'll catch her,"
It was dark when they were out of the woods. Det. Luna's car was not there any more. They put the books and the paper in the car trunk; the boxes they put on their laps. James bit his pinky as the car slowly was rolling. His eyes fixed on the woods, but his mind was on Det. Luna. He did not understand why she had left him like that. He wanted to go downtown tomorrow. He wanted to see her again; he had to know why she had done that to him. She had been on his bed, naked, he had seen her body and he liked what he had seen. They had kissed, didn't it made them boyfriend-girlfriend? That was what the guys at school said. If one of them kissed a girl, then the girl became his girlfriend. Victoria was his girlfriend! God, he wanted her; he wanted her so much that his body ached. Suddenly, he cursed himself for not being able to think about something else. There were questions he wanted to ask 'Papa', he had to stay focused on those questions. He also cursed his dick for staying hard and big….and…
Sookie turned her face away as she heard his last thought and felt guilty for listening to his very intimate thoughts. Her son was not a boy any more. He was entering his manhood phase and he wanted his woman badly.
The lights in the mansion were already on as they entered the ground. Alcide was there with his men and Eric had been awake already. James went out of the car and ran to Eric, who was standing at the kitchen's door. Ignoring many pairs of eyes, he let himself fall into Eric's arm and held him tight. He spoke rapidly in Old Norse and then looked at Eric, who was looking at Sookie. His eyes were cold and narrowing. He took James' head in his hands and spoke something in Old Norse. His voice was soft and gentle. Sookie could not see James' face, but from his body gesture, it seemed that he was calming down.
He is the father. He is the one who carried the blood of the first táhshah.
Somebody was thinking aloud. Sookie turned around and saw Cooper looking at Eric with a strange light in his eyes. She also saw, Doc had the same look. They must have figured it out. They were after all werewolves, who lived their lives depended on body gestures, mimic and scents. And the body gestures that Eric and James were having now, was obviously clear for them. James considered Eric as his father, his protector.
James nodded, and then he went inside.
Sookie came to Eric. "Hi," she said. Eric looked pale and dull tonight. He needed fresh blood. She tiptoed to kiss his cheek. "You should drink your True Blood," she whispered.
Eric took her hand and asked her to sit down beside him. "What was that all about?" he asked. "He said he didn't want to have any other father," a fainted smile was on the corner of his mouth.
Sookie told Eric what had happened in the woods. How they had been separated and that she had met Niall, whilst James had met other faeries. His face was as expressionless as before when she told him about the cure that Niall had given him. It looked as if the pain that he had long time ago was a distant memory....or perhaps something that he wanted to forget.
"Now they know," Eric threw his gaze at outside. The Hounders were gathered; Alcide was some steps away from them.
"I am afraid so,"
"And he smells of a shifter," Eric sniffed. He looked neither impressed nor shocked by the possibility that the werewolves knew who James' real father was. Instead, he was more curious about what James had done with the shifter. "What did he do? Rolling himself in the bushes with her?"
Sookie knew Eric was being sarcastic, but that was exactly what James and Det. Luna had done. Shifter, Det. Luna was a shifter and not a werefox. Now Sookie understood why James had told Det. Luna that he would let the windows open. She could transform into any animal she wanted, probably she would transform into a bird and flew inside his room – or at least that was what James wanted. "He did," She laid her head on Eric's chest. "He is in love with Victoria Luna,"
Eric snorted. "He wants her, I can feel it," he said. "It's not necessary that he loves her,"
James had drunken Eric's blood; therefore, Eric was able to feel what James felt. Why it didn't make her feel better?
Colin and the others entered the kitchen. Sookie straightened her body.
"I am sorry to bother you, Sookie," Colin said. "A woman named Grace called today. She said she had something for you and she expected you to come as fast as you can,"
"Thank you, Colin," she said. "I'll call her tonight. She has something important for us; I would appreciate if one of your men could accompany me to go there, or to pick it up,"
Colin nodded. "I don't know how you would arrange it, Sheriff," he said. "Alcide and his men are ready to work for you. I would like to stay here, with your allowance, until Sookie's son is able to go to Beaumont,"
"Then stay," Eric said.
"Thank you," Colin said.
"Does James have to go to Beaumont?" Sookie asked. "Is it really necessary?"
"To become a full member of the pack he has to go through some ceremonies, but it's all up to Little Brother how he wants it and to Alcide. How would you want it, Alcide?"
Eric's eyes were looking at Alcide dangerously. Sookie could feel how tensed his grips on her shoulder. Alcide felt that tension too. He looked at her and said, "I will leave it up to James and Sookie. And Eric, of course,"
"I can't leave Shreveport," Eric said. "As a Sheriff I have to stay, unless my Queen says something else. If you ask me about his decision to be a full member of your pack or not," he looked at Colin straight into the eyes. His eyes were cold and stern when he said, "James Stackhouse is man enough to decide what he wants. I'll respect his decision,"
That night they were busy putting the paper and the books in order. They did it outside on the yard because the books and the paper were dirty. Sookie did not want to have the dust and the animals inside the books in the house.
Wilson must have been very interesting in wolves because his books were mostly about them. He also collected the books about werewolves – a lot of them, in different languages. Some of them were written in alphabets Sookie could not even read.
"That's how he could control us," Alcide said. "He studied about our weaknesses,"
"He was a son of a witch, he knew how to control you without reading those books," Eric said. "I don't like witches. You can't control them,"
Everybody in the room looked at him. It was clear for them that the Sheriff of Shreveport was afraid of the witches, just like them. His voice sounded higher than usual, but they did not say a word. They knew it was better not to give any comment to his last sentence. They knew his strength; any wrong word could be their last word.
There were some drawings, which could be houses, but since none of them could read architecture drawings, they rolled the parchment and kept them separated.
Eric was interesting in some kind of notebook. He seemed to recognize the handwriting on it. The book had leather for its cover and the pages were yellowish. He took the book and left the yard. Sookie followed him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed when Sookie entered Aude's room. He was touching the book carefully. The writing itself was from gold. "Cecco's diary," he said to Sookie. He lifted the book so Sookie could see what was written on it.
"What is that for a language?" asked Sookie when she could not figure out what it meant.
"Italian,"
"It must be an old Italian language," she said. Well, what did she know about Italian language? She did not know any word in Italian, but it must have been old, considering the condition of the book and the time of the writing.
"It doesn't make any different to me," Eric said. "I knew his Italian,"
Sometimes Sookie forgot that Eric had been living forever. Yes, of course he knew Francesco's Italian, perhaps they had even talked with each other in his Italian. What was 'his Italian' anyway? Were there many Italian languages?
"Dialects," Eric said. "They have a lot of dialects," he smiled, as if memories sprung to life. "Francesco came from Piacenza, and he spoke Piacentino,"
"Piacenza? Where is that?"
"Northern Italy," he said. When he saw that 'Northern Italy' was not enough information for her, he continued, "Christopher Columbus lived there once. I heard about this crazy sailor who wanted to find a new world, I thought, I might join him. Ships and seas were part of my blood," his eyes were soft. He was remembering his human life. "So I talked to him and he agreed to have me in his ship. He needed the money and somebody who knew and loved the sea as well as he did. He put me in a box inside his chamber, under his bed, protected from the sunlight. It was risky, but we could manage," Then, he smiled. "Giorgio Armani was also born there,"
"Ah, now I know where Piacenza is," Sookie said cynically.
Eric smirked. "Cecco and his crazy food," he continued. "He liked making a jar of fruit in sugary and mustard syrup for Marguerite. Cecco and his Mostarda di Frutta, it drove her mad because she did not like mustard, but to make him happy she ate them in front of him. When Cecco fell asleep, she poured out the mostarda. I threatened her that I would tell Cecco what she had done one day and she bribed me with her blood," There was a strange light in his eyes. Sookie wondered if Eric had slept with the woman of his best friend. As if he could read her mind, he said, "No. Cecco loved Marguerite very much and he was my friend. Marguerite was taboo for me because if I had slept with her, I would have broken his heart. And I loved him dearly, I didn't want to hurt him. Beside, I would not destroy my friendship because of a witch. She offered herself to me one day, and asked me to leave him because she believed that my presence would only bring danger to him,"
"What did you do?"
"I said to her that she could keep her body for her man because if it was his safety she worried about, I left willingly and as long as I could protect him, I would not leave. Besides, her body meant nothing to me. She cursed me for that. No man had ever rejected her before. I said to her that I am not a man, I am a vampire,"
"And what did she say?"
His face was stern. "She cursed me and said, one day I will meet a woman, whose body I can't reject and that woman would die rotten in front of me, so that I know her fear of losing somebody she truly loved,"
Then Eric was quiet. He must have been thinking about Aude. They were together for more than fifty years, from the time when Aude had been still a virgin until the day she had died. He had women in between, Sookie knew that; he had her, but she believed Eric had never stopped thinking about Aude.
Eric put the book on the night desk and reached out his hand. Sookie came to him and stood between his legs. He hugged her and put his head on her stomach. There was something bothering him. Eric acted like that when he was not sure about himself or confused. She bowed a little and kissed his head and she was shocked to feel how cold Eric's head was. She realized, his hands were also cold, colder than the usual. "You need to eat," she said. "You have to drink some True Blood,"
Slowly Eric let her go. "I'll go to Fangtasia and have some," he said. He kissed her hand and 'click' his fangs were bared. He wanted her blood, Sookie could feel it how he was aroused. She turned her hand around and gave her wrist. "Take it," she said. "It's okay. You need it,"
His cold lips touched her palm, sending shiver straight to her bones. His eyes were flickering and Sookie gasped as those fangs were bored into her wrist. She had to hold on his shoulder as he sucked her blood strongly; otherwise, she might fall.
"Mom..." James' voice made Eric stop sucking. Sookie turned around and found James standing at the door. Clearly, he looked uncomfortable seeing his father sucking her blood, he turned his face away. "Sorry, Pa," he said as Eric lifted his face. His mouth was covered with blood. He sniffed and turned around. It was obvious that he did not want James to see him like that.
"Yes, James?" she said, wiping off the blood from her wrist. Eric stood up and went to the bathroom. When he returned, he had a roll of bandage with him. Quickly he licked the rest of the blood and wrapped the wound with the bandage.
"There is something that I have to know," he walked in and closed the door behind him.
"Come here," said Eric, throwing the bandage on the bed.
James walked towards him.
In gentle and slow tone Eric told James what happened that night when Dušana-Aurora had attacked him, and how the faeries had cured him. He was as expressionless as before, as if that night had never happened. "I am glad that I don't have wolf-blood in my body any more because there is nothing more that I despise than living as a half-life,"
"Aunt Dušana-Aurora was the one who attacked you? I thought she loved Godric,"
"She does," Sookie said. "Very much, but she didn't know Godric back then and she thought that your father wanted to kill her father,"
"Does it mean I will be able to transform like the Hounders?"
"No, I don't think so," Eric said. "Otherwise you will reject my blood the moment you drank it,"
James shrugged his shoulder. "For a moment I thought it was cool to be able to transform," he said.
"Don't be so greedy, James," Eric smirked. "You can read my mind, make the werewolves do what you want, see the faery world with your naked eyes, what else do you want?"
He did not say, but Sookie knew what he wanted. Victoria Luna.
"The key of survival is not what you have, but to master what you have," Eric walked closer. "And if you have weaknesses..."
"...try to change them, and if you can't change them, learn to accept them," James continued, putting a smile on Eric's face. "And God, give me strength to recognize the difference,"
"You listened well, my son,"
"Who said that?" asked Sookie. That was a very good advice.
"Godric," Eric and James answered, at the same time.
When had Godric ever said things like that? Every time she saw him, he was busy playing children games with James or all over Dušana-Aurora. Like any other teenagers, Godric seemed never to get enough with sex. In Godric's case, he never got enough with Dušana-Aurora. When Sookie visited her and Godric was there, she always found him kissing her, touching her and probably they would end up doing it on the floor if she and James had not been there.
James hugged Eric. "I love you, Papa," he said. He put his head on Eric's unbeating chest. Eric hugged him back. His hands were shaking. Then, he said, "Jag älskar dig, mitt allt"
Tears ran down on Sookie's cheek. Whatever Eric said, it sounded beautiful. He must have something nice because she saw a wide smile on James' face and his eyes were watery. When he let Eric go, he walked backward to the door. Smiling for one more time, he opened the door and went out.
"What did you say to him?" Sookie looked at Eric and to her surprise; she saw two streams of blood tears running down on his cheek. He looked straight into her eyes when he said, "I love you, My Everything,"
"Come here." Sookie said, wiping off her tears, opening her arm and hugged him tight as soon as he was in it. She kissed his cheek and answered his kiss passionately when he kissed her. Suddenly, he threw her onto the bed and impatiently opened her jeans. "I am stinking," she said. "Let me have a short shower,"
"I don't care," he said. He opened her blouse, and then his own shirt. "I like it when your body smells stronger,"
"James can come in at any minute,"
"He can hear my thought, he won't go in," He opened his trousers.
"There are many werewolves out there,"
"Let them hear you scream," he crawled upon her body.
"Eric..."
"Yes, Lover?"
Finally, Sookie gave in. She did not see any chance that she could escape from his desire; and she was glad that she had done it. Even when it was short and quick, Eric did it strong and hard, she could feel her body burst out with excitement when Eric was exploding in her. She swore that if Eric had been a human, his back would have been bleeding by now because she had buried her fingernail onto it, so strong that Eric moaned loudly.
"Woman, you are killing me," said Eric, lying on the bed, exhausted. His hand ran down on her back, his eyes were shining brightly.
Sookie kissed his nose, and then off the bed. She snatched her blouse, which was lying beside Eric. It looked like Eric had ripped off some of its buttons. "I am taking a shower now," she said. "And you'd better go down and make sure that the werewolves will behave themselves if I go down. Or I'll kill you, again,"
Eric raised his body. "Is that a threat?" he smirked. "I don't like being threatened. Show me how you will kill me now or consider yourself defeated and let me show you to kill me, again,"
Smiling, Sookie threw her blouse at him. Yeah, right.
"I mean it,"
Sookie closed the bathroom door. She knew he did. If it had been up to him, they would have never left the room!
*******
Standing in the dark, watching James and Cooper talked about going to Beaumont, made Alcide somehow feel like an outsider. They were talking as if they had known each other for years. There was a light in Cooper's eyes that he had never seen before; a light of love and admiration, as if that Hounder was seeing something precious.
James Stackhouse was precious, in a way. He was after all the son of the woman he loved. More than that, he was a good boy and like his mother, he had a warm heart. He was helpful, polite and seemed to be sincere. And sometimes, when he watched him playing with Janine's children; it lightened up his heart already, like a father who was watching his son playing.
His father had told him to watch over James Stackhouse. There was something in him that was not usual. His father did not know whether James would bring goodness or evilness in the werewolf community, but that boy had to be watched. "If he becomes our enemy, we know what to do," his father said. "Don't let him out of your sight,"
He did not mean to.
"Something is bothering you, my friend," a soft voice made him turn around. Colin Purefoy. Alcide cursed his carelessness. He had been off guard. For a werewolf, it could mean death.
"You are watching Little Brother in a way that I don't like, if I may say," Colin moved closer. "You took him as a son, but why doesn't the wind convince me? Or is it his mother you want to claim?"
"I introduced him to you; never forget that, Colin,"
The flame at the end of Colin's cigarette was for a moment brighter. "I shall not," he said. "But what is it that bothers you?"
"Don't you feel it? We all like dogs in front of him, weak and useless. Do you ever consider that he might use whatever he has against us?"
For a moment, Colin was quiet. The leader of The Grey Hound knew what he was talking about. Or had he tasted James' power already? "The idea of you wanting his mother is more intriguing than thinking that Little brother might destroy us," he said. The light of his cigarette showed his mocking smile. "He is an interesting boy. He has after all, an interesting mother. Don't tell me that your love for her has blinded your sight and unsharpened your senses. She is not a human; trust me. I can smell her blood,"
Alcide knew that. He had smelt that blood for a long time. It was and it had been intoxicating for him. He remembered when the first time he smelt it. She must have cut her finger and the air had taken the smell of her blood everywhere. When he found the source of the sweet strong smell, he saw Northman sucking her finger. He had been ready to transform, to protect her from being sucked dry by Northman, when that old vampire turned around and left. Alcide could see his fangs bared and his eyes flicker with madness. That vampire wanted her and he would not stop until he got what he wanted.
Aude smiled when he told her what he thought. "Keep an eye on them, Alcide. Don't let Eric hurt her. She is very dear to me. Her grandmother was my friend. I don't want something bad happen to her; otherwise I would not be able to forgive myself,"
"Your husband wants her; you know what it means,"
"Yes, dear. I know what it means," she sighed.
"You don't mind that he cheats on you?"
"Dear Alcide, look at me. You know how much I love and respect my husband and I trust him completely. He will not do that to me," Then, she smiled. "Unless it is a new love. I would be more than willing to see it happen,"
Aude Northman, what a strange woman! Alcide knew that if Northman slept with Sookie, it wouldn't be the first time or the last time that he cheated on Aude. Eric Northman, some said that he was older than the existence of Louisiana was, even much older than the existence of America as a country. However, he had a body of a man in the end of his twenties; and as a man himself, Alcide knew what the body on that age wanted. Sex, sex and sex. Northman must have many women during his marriage with Aude. That woman was getting older day by day, whilst Northman stayed the same. It would be a lie if somebody told him otherwise. Although he had to admit, as long as he worked for Northman, he had never seen him bringing any woman to the mansion, but it did not mean that he had not done it outside.
He clenched his teeth. He remembered hearing the sound of their love making for the first time. Northman had taken Sookie on the cold floor somewhere on the first floor. He knew it because he heard the sound of the table hitting the window or the flower vase. He heard Sookie screaming Northman's name; in fact, he heard everything. He had to stand far away from the mansion because he could not stand hearing the noises that they made. He was burnt with jealousy and agony. His suspicion was proven right as in the morning he saw the condition of the library and the smell of Northman's sperm and Sookie's sweat and juice. It made him want to throw up because of anguish. If he had been the man, he would have taken her on the warm bed in a room lightened by candlelight, perhaps roses on the floor and on the bed too. He would make love to her with gentleness and tenderness; and not like that. Northman smirked at him as he showed him clearly that he did not like what he had done to Sookie.
"You would kill her if you continue sucking her blood," he said opposite to what he wanted to say.
"Then I'll make sure that I don't do it, Alcide," Northman said. "She means to me a lot more than you ever imagine,"
What would Northman know about what he had imagined about Sookie? Nothing, but Alcide did not want him to know.
"You want her, I can smell it," Northman bared his fangs. "I am a good keeper of what is mine, Alcide. Remember that,"
"Love her well, Eric. She deserves it,"
Northman smirked and did not say a word.
"Don't let your emotion cloud your judgement, Alcide," Colin's voice brought him back to the present time. "As the future leader of your clan, you're perfectly aware of that. Your clan depends on you. Even if you are able to win her heart, you still have to provide your clan offspring. She is not a werewolf; she can't give you an offspring for your clan. Think about it, my friend,"
"I know," Alcide said and he despised it. He wanted to marry Sookie and he would, if only the rule of the clan had been written differently. He was the first son of his family; he had to take a pure werewolf to be his wife, to guarantee the line of his family; of the clan.
Colin patted his shoulder. "He will not destroy us, Alcide. The Niish keeper told me and he has never been wrong with what he said,"
The Niish keeper was how the Grey Hounders called Matt Cooper. The Grey Hound, a strange clan from Texas. They followed the ancient rules from their ancestors. They learned the secret of the moon and the nature just like the ancient people of Akokisan. They cultivated their cattle and land like their fathers before them. They did not use any chemical stuff in their food product. Nowadays and people called it 'nature' or 'bio' products. The price was always more expensive than the non-bio products but the taste was better. There had been huge campaign about going back to nature, to use or cultivate food without any chemical agents and people thought it was something new. The Hounders had been doing it for ages and did not brag about it.
Somehow, Alcide wondered if the Hounders also followed their ancestors' ritual or habit. The elders said that the Hounders ate the flesh of their enemies. The Atakapan – that's how the elders called them – the Man-Eaters.
"What did Cooper tell you?" Alcide pushed away the thought. Standing beside a man, whose legend or rumour included eating man flesh and doubting if the legend was true or not was not exactly a comforting thought.
"James Stackhouse has wolf-blood in his body," Colin threw the cigarette rest on the ground. "It makes me start thinking whether he is your real son or not,"
Alcide looked at James. That boy carried wolf-blood, hmh, who was his father? The way he acted around and towards Northman, he could swear that the boy accepted that vampire as his father. His eyes shone brightly every time he saw him and a little acknowledgement from him able to draw a smile on his face. And tonight, when he arrived from the woods, he ran into Northman's arm as if he was afraid that he might have been losing him. He saw also the way Cooper and Doc looked at Northman. The look of disgust that he had seen before now disappeared and changed into respect, perhaps even fear. Something has happened in the woods; and he wanted to know what it was. Did the Hounder think that Northman had wolf-blood in his body? Did they think that he was James' father? Alcide looked at the mansion. Was Northman James' father? He looked at James. Something unseen struck his heart like a lightning struck a tree. From a distance, he could see clearly, of whom James reminded him. The way he listened to Cooper, the way he looked at him with that pair of piercing blue eyes...Northman. Those were Northman's gestures. The different was, James laughed and smiled a lot, like Jason. Northman was mostly expressionless. James was wearing black hair now, but Alcide knew it was not his real hair. He had blond hair and it hair started to show. One could argue it was normal because Sookie had blond hair, but so did Northman. And those greenish blue eyes...they belonged to Northman, not Sookie. Sookie had greyish blue eyes. God...how stupid he could be! His knees were shaking.
"Alcide, are you all right?" Colin caught him before he fell onto the ground.
Alcide caught his breath. "I am fine, thank you,"
"You look pale, my friend," Colin said.
Colin would also be pale if he knew what he was thinking.
Suddenly James stood up. "Somebody is coming," he said.
The werewolves were alerted. They looked around. Nobody smelt or saw anything. What was James talking about?
"The vampires," his voice was choked. "They are coming,"
"I take care of James," Colin said. "Your call, Alcide," then he went to James. "Gentlemen," he said to his men. "We have a company. Don't disappoint them. James, you come with us,"
James followed Colin and the Hounders; and disappeared into the darkness.
Alcide told his men to make some kind of barricade, whilst he was running inside the house. Northman opened the door of his bedroom with shirt wide open. From the corner of his eyes, Alcide saw how messy the bed was. Sookie came out of the bathroom, wearing only bathrobe. Her hair was wet and there was a wound on her wrist. The sweet scent from her blood aroused him, but when he caught the familiar woman's scent and man's sperm, the arousal changed into disappointment. They just had a sex. Alcide pulled himself together and straightened his body. He could only hope that his voice sounded normal when he said, "We have a company. James said, the vampires are coming,"
"Thank you, Alcide," Eric said. "We'll come down in a minute,"
He nodded and left. On the way down, he cursed himself for having hot stomach and burning chest. He had to stop feeling like this every time he saw Sookie and Northman together. He would only hurt himself. And in a situation like tonight, he could not afford to lose his concentration. "Merde!" he said, then walked slowly towards his men and joined them forming a line. From the gate, he saw a shadow of a man, running.
******