DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TRUE BLOOD!

Divine Intervention

Chapter 25

"Anamaria!" Eric and Godric cried, holding the convulsing young woman. Godric quickly grabbed Anamaria's discarded yoga top and stuffed it into her mouth, to stop her from biting her tongue.

"What the hell," Eric cursed, moving with Godric and laying her on her side on the bed.

Godric held onto her thigh as she continued to seize. "Has this ever happened before?" He knew that his Childe had accessed Anamaria's medical history.

Eric shook his head. "She's not epileptic."

"Allergies?"

"Mild hayfever in the summer, but that's it."

The seizure stopped after a few seconds, and Anamaria went limp. She breathed slowly and evenly, but she didn't move or open her eyes.

"Anamaria," Godric said quietly, brushing her hair out of her face. But she didn't stir. The older vampire tried again, but she still had no reaction.

"We need Doctor Ludwig," Eric announced seriously.

Godric agreed. "But she can't come here. There are several hours before sunrise, but if Anamaria needs further care, there isn't anywhere light-tight in the house. We'll have to take her to Fangtasia."

Eric looked at his Maker in disbelief. "That's not exactly-"

"I know it's not ideal, Eric, but it's our only option! Ludwig will not go to your house, and we need somewhere secure." When Eric hesitated, Godric snarled at the Viking. "This isn't a discussion, Eric. Get Anamaria into the car. I'm calling Ludwig."

!"!

Anamaria groaned as she woke up. Her head was pounding and she felt drained. "Godric? Eric?"

"We're here, little one," Godric's voice reassured her. "Can you hear us?"

She brushed a hand over her face. "What happened?"

Godric helped her sit up. "You had a fit."

Someone started peeling her eye open. She flinched when a bright light burst into her eyes, and she batted her hands at whoever was prying at her eyelid.

"Settle down, girl!" an unfamiliar voice ordered her, a warm but crabby hand took hold of her wrist and pressed on her pulse point.

The Latina opened her eyes again and looked around. She recognised the red and black décor even through her headache and blurry eyes. "Fangtasia. Why did you bring me here? When did you bring me here?" she asked tiredly, pausing when she saw a small strange woman at her side. Eyeing the medical scrubs she wore, she asked, "Who are you?"

"Doctor Ludwig. I'm a supernatural healer."

"Why do I need a supernatural healer for a fit?"

The doctor looked at her critically. "I think you know the answer to that."

Anamaria paused. "Because I've never had a fit before?"

"Not only that, but there was no medical reason for your episode."

"So, was it something supernatural that caused it?"

"I need to ask you some questions," the tiny doctor said brusquely. "What were you doing just before the fit started?" Anamaria blushed, and the doctor rolled her eyes. "Come now, stop being childish."

"We were fucking," Eric said bluntly.

Anamaria glared at the vampire, angry at his callous attitude. "Eric!"

The doctor didn't seem fazed. "What was happening, exactly?"

Anamaria spluttered. "How is that relevant?"

Ludwig just glared. "If it weren't relevant, I wouldn't have asked."

"Do you have any theories about why this might have happened?" Godric asked.

"Perhaps, but I need to know what happened first!"

"Godric had just given our Mate oral sex," Eric explained with false disinterest, "and as he inserted his cock for the first time, that's when the fit started."

The doctor hummed thoughtfully, while Anamaria just wanted the earth to swallow her whole. "And have you had sex with her?" she asked Eric.

"Not yet."

"What about blood exchanges? Who's drunk from whom?"

Anamaria answered that, needing to take back some control in the discussion. "Eric and Godric have both fed from me, but I've only drunk from Eric once."

"And this was the first time you were engaging in intercourse." The fact that that last part was a statement, not a question, told the triad that the doctor knew what went wrong.

Godric stated firmly, "You know what caused this."

The doctor didn't answer, instead asked her own question. "Why haven't you given her your blood?"

Godric looked vaguely insulted. "Again, why is that relevant?"

"And again, I wouldn't have asked if it weren't!"

It took a minute for the Gaul to respond. "When I met Anamaria, I was suicidal. Shortly before I attempted to meet the sun, I attacked her and drained a large portion of her blood. She asked for my blood, to heal, but I refused. I felt that, seeing as I would die soon, it would be almost sacrilegious to give my blood to a human I had just met. At that point, we did not know we were a Triad."

"And since then, why haven't you given her any blood?"

"It hasn't been necessary."

The doctor groaned. "You're not working off the Three Exchange rule, are you?"

Anamaria frowned. "What's the Three Exchange rule?"

"A human and vampire can only exchange blood three times before a permanent Soul Bond is formed," Eric explained.

"That's not accurate," Ludwig criticised. "What the fanger means is that, a human can only drink from the same vampire three times. A vamp can feed from a human as many times as they want, and they often do."

"And this Soul Bond… We're Mates, so doesn't that-?"

"Exactly! Maybe if you vamps had read up on your own history, this might not have happened!" she snapped. Godric and Eric lowered their fangs in anger, but the doctor scoffed, seemingly not at all frightened by the two Ancient vampires. "You three are Mates, so your Soul Bond will be created automatically when you all have sex for the first time."

"But I had a fit before we could-"

"Would you let me finish?" she barked. Anamaria blinked, leaning back slightly into Godric for support. "The Three Exchange rule doesn't apply to you. You're Mates; you can drink each other's blood all you want without worrying about that Soul Bond, because you'll have a Bond regardless of how many or how few blood exchanges you do." She looked to Godric. "Gaul, give her your blood, then you can all fuck each other. In a Mateship, blood always needs to come before sex."

"Why?" Anamaria dared to ask. She admired this odd woman's moxie, but was intimidated by it at the same time.

"Any vamp can fuck a human. But to give one their blood is a deep commitment, one that lasts forever. Blood before sex is supposedly the ancient way for a vamp to prove their devotion to their Mate."

"But that doesn't explain the fit…" Anamaria argued.

The doctor glared at her. "Are you not listening, child? Your other Mate needs to prove to the vampire gods, or whatever's up there for you guys, that he's committed to you forever. By giving you his blood, he proves this, and then you'll be able to have sex."

Anamaria frowned again. "Forever? You mean metaphorically?" Again, the doctor and both vampires just stared at her. She hung her head, then looked up. "I have to become a vampire, don't I, in the future?"

Ludwig groaned loudly, then picked up her bag. "I'm leaving this shitstorm to you. You'll get my bill in the mail."

Eric started to walk her out. "Thank you for your services-"

"Fuck off!"

The Viking chuckled wryly as the doctor left the bar. He shut the door after her. "She's not a fan of the fang. No doubt she'll charge us double for making her come here." When he looked back towards Godric and Anamaria, he looked at the young woman carefully. Her face was blank, and there was a small but fresh smell of tears around her. "Anamaria?"

She dropped her head. "I guess I've kind of been in denial about it." She didn't elaborate but both vampires knew what she was talking about.

Godric moved from behind her, crouching on the floor next to the chaise she was on. "Little one… It's only been a few weeks since we three discovered what we are, our Mateship. It's normal for you to need time to adjust."

"But you two already knew I'll have to be a vampire one day." It wasn't a question.

Eric took his hands out of his pockets and walked over to his two Mates. "You forget, älskling; between us, Godric and I have over three thousand years of vampire experience. We know the stories, legends, myths, and lore of Mates. If one Mate is a human when they meet, they don't stay that way for long. You will become a vampire, Anamaria. It's inevitable."

!"!

Anamaria tried not to think about that night a week ago, as she pushed her hips up into a Downward Facing Dog position. With Netflix open on her laptop in front of her, she was stretching her body out after a hard day's session of rehearsals for her class' upcoming performances. She normally did her yoga in silence, or with quiet ambient sounds playing. But so much had happened in the previous week, she was desperate to distract her mind. Every time she tried to empty her mind and focus only on her breathing and stretches, her mind filled with screams and images of blood.

Back at Fangtasia, just as Anamaria was about to start shouting about how unfair the whole Mate situation was – she had to become a vampire, otherwise Eric and Godric would both die when she did – when blood had started to trickle out of Eric's nose.

He groaned and wiped it away in nothing but annoyance. "Of all the times for the fucking bleeds to start."

"You guys need to sleep-"

"Go to ground," Eric interrupted.

Anamaria blinked. "Pardon?"

"The correct phrase is 'go to ground', not 'sleep'. Vampires don't 'sleep' as humans do. This is stuff you'll need to know, for when you become a vampire," he quipped.

"Listen here, you giant, cocky fuck-"

Godric stood up from Anamaria's side, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I think we have all been through too much to continue this conversation at this time. Eric, we both need to go to ground; and Anamaria, you should get some rest. I know this may not be ideal to you, but I ask that you do not leave until we awake at sun down."

Anamaria scoffed and stood up, looking Godric in the eye. "You want me to hang around your creepy bar all day, while you guys nap it off?"

"Well, this place will be less creepy the more time you spend here," said Eric. "For example, if you come to work here."

Anamaria threw her hands up in frustration. "Oh, my god. Why are you pissing me off so much today?"

He shrugged. "Could it be because my Mate has all but said that she would rather shrivel up and die before the next century comes, than become a monster like me?"

"Fuck you, Northman! I never asked for this!"

"Neither did I," Godric added from behind her.

She whipped around. "You've had two thousand years to get used to this; I've had, like, two weeks!" she screamed. She shook her head. "I'm getting outta here."

Godric held her arm. "Anamaria-"

"Get off me, Gaul," she snarled, smacking his hand off her, and stalking to the front door.

Eric challenged from behind, "This isn't wise, you shouldn't leave."

She turned the key in the door and pushed it open an inch. A line of weak sunlight filled the room, and Eric darted out of the way.

"Then come out here and stop me, pollo." She stepped halfway out of the door, allowing more light to come in. Both vampires hissed as light hit their skin. "Oh wait, you can't come out here 'cos you can't be in the sun. Later, assholes!" she flipped them both off, and left.

Anamaria shook her head in shame as she remembered what she had said to the two men she would spend eternity with.

Trying to take her mind off those deplorable words, she walked her hands forward on her mat and shifted into a Plank. Bringing her right knee close to her chest, she pushed it back and up into the air, repeating the motion as another event filled her mind.

Two days after her argument with Eric and Godric, Anamaria got a call from Lafayette. She was immediately relieved, she hadn't heard from him in over a week, and was starting to get worried.

"Hey, Lala!" she cried cheerfully into her phone. "Where have you been, I've been wanting-"

"Ana, you gotta get over here. Now."

Her stomach twisted at the desperate and pained sound of his voice, and she started to panic. "What's happened? Are you okay?"

"Girl, just get over here," and the line went dead.

She only just made it to Lafayette's house in one piece without crashing her car. She spun into his driveway, killed the engine and ran up to his house.

She burst in without knocking. The house itself looked fine, no fires or blood. She looked to the couch.

"Oh, my God."

Lafayette lay on the couch, barely alive. He was covered in blood, both fresh and dried, and there was something wrong with his leg. A gunshot wound?

Anamaria rushed to her friend's side, gently touching his cheek. "Lafayette? Can you hear me?"

He groaned, obviously in pain. "Yeah, girl."

"What happened? Who did this to you?"

He scoffed. "Ask your boyfriend, the tall one."

Anamaria's heart froze, her hands paused on Lafayette's arms. "Eric? Eric did this to you?"

"Bet yo' ass he did."

She floundered. "Wha-? Why?"

He sighed. "Found out I been dealin' V, and wanted information."

"V?"

"Vampire blood."

"I know what V is, Lafayette! So, he...I don't...What the fuck?!" she fell back onto her butt beside him, looking down between her legs as her head spun.

"Jesus, girl. He asked me all these questions, wanted names and stuff. I tried to escape that club o' his, but they caught me. They let me go last night, after I told 'em all I knew."

Anamaria lifted her head. "Last night? He let you go last night?"

"Yeah. Him and the scary-ass lesbian vamp."

She swayed and felt sick. If Eric had only let Lafayette go from Fangtasia last night, then he had been there when she had been two nights ago, with Doctor Ludwig. He was right below her feet. She could have gotten him out.

She rushed to her feet and into the bathroom as her stomach forced itself up her throat. She made it to the toilet, thankfully. When she'd finished and rinsed her mouth with mint mouthwash, she headed back to her tortured friend.

"Why did he let you go? If you were dealing V..."

"He said I'd given him enough. And – I gotta thank you for this, girl – but the short, young-lookin' vamp said you'd never forgive 'em if they killed me."

"Short, young… Godric was there, too?"

Lafayette lifted the bottle of vodka he'd been nursing. "Yeah. Not for all of it, but some."

They sat in silence for a few seconds, Anamaria with her head in her hands, Lafayette with his vodka, before he spoke again.

"Listen, baby doll, the real reason I asked you here... I told 'em about Jason."