Chapter Twenty Eight:

"Are you still mad?" I asked softly, twirling a strand of hair around my finger. I was sitting on the edge of Eric's desk, the vampire in question settled in his chair and going through paper work with a frown on his lips. Godric had slipped out to make a phone call to an associate of his that might have more information on necromancy than we had, and had left Eric and me to our own devices. Both vampires had been fairly silent on the drive over to Shreveport, minus whenever Eric would bitterly remark that I couldn't drive and that my car was a pile of shit. I would just remind him, however, that he could get out at any time. He was being difficult, and it was frustrating me. But I also knew that if this was going to work between the three of us for longer than a week or two, than I was going to have to learn to have patience with Eric's mood swings.

"I'm not mad." Eric insisted grumpily.

"Are you sure, because you sound mad." I chewed on my bottom lip. "I'm sorry, alright? I didn't know what I was doing. It just happened. Do you even think I want to be able to have these powers, Eric? I don't. I want to be normal, not some..."

"You're not a freak, Savannah." He lifted his gaze to stare at me with narrowed eyes. "How many times do we have to tell you that?"

"Did you not see what I did tonight? I'm a..."

"You're not." His hand fell onto my knee, his fingers digging into me almost painfully. I sighed and looked him dead in the eye, searching though blue orbs so a reason to believe he was right. "How can you possibly think that?"

"Because I could control a vampire!"

"Not so loud." He hissed. "Do you want the whole bar to know?"

"What would it matter? I'm a complete freak." I frowned, looking down at my lap. "That's all I am. I don't even know why you and Godric even care about little old me. I'm nothing special."

Eric sighed as he turned in his chair before tugging me down onto his lap. I wouldn't look him in the eye however, feeling ashamed of what I had done in the parking lot of Merlotte's. Why would two vampires want to be around someone who could do that? I had been impressed at my power at first. I had been surprised by what I could do. But the longer I thought about it, the more scared I became. It wasn't normal to be able to hear the dead, to be able to raise vampires from their graves. And it should have been near impossible to control one, to be able to glamour them. But not only that, it was dangerous. What would happen if Bill or any other vampire found out about my gift, or really, my curse? Why would Eric and Godric want to surround themselves with someone who could be so dangerous?

"Listen to me." Eric hooked a finger under my chin. "Listen to me very closely, Savannah, because this is a onetime deal. You hear this once and that's it. Do you understand?"

I nodded silently as he forced our gazes to meet.

"You, Savannah Kingsley, are the furthest thing from a freak. You are a beautiful..." one of his hands began sliding down my side to rest on the top of my hip. "Remarkable girl who I get to call mine."

"And Godric's." I made sure to remind him.

Eric sent me a pointed look and I quickly grew quiet. Eric was having a rare caring moment, and I wasn't about to ruin that. Because as he looked deep into my eyes, my heart began to flutter, my blood began to pump quickly through my veins. I felt my arousal grow between my legs, and I knew he could tell as a smirk grew on his lips.

"Nothing you could do will change the fact that you're mine. Nothing you could say will drive me away, do you understand? Because you are not a freak. I do not ravish freaks. And as I have plans to rip your clothes off and fuck you until you forget your own name, you can't be a freak." I blushed at his vivid comments. "Whatever you might be able to do, Savannah, we'll deal with it. But you can't scare me off. You can't push me away. You should know already that I'm very persistent when it comes to what I want. And you're what I want."

He ended his spiel with a kiss. But it wasn't a soft and sweet kiss, oh no, there was a fiery passion as his lips crashed against mine. His hand gripped my hip, digging his fingers into me as his tongue darted out, forcefully parting my lips. I moaned, my eyes fluttering close as Eric nipped at my bottom lip before his tongue explored the inside of my mouth. His other hand began travelling down to my thighs, his fingertips gliding across my bare legs before reaching hem of my shorts. He parted my thighs just enough to slip his fingers between my legs and to the crotch of the shorts. I jumped, my back arching as he touched my hot core through the layers of clothes. He teased my arousal, applying pressure to my sweet spot as his lips lightly began trailing across my jaw and to the patch of skin just below my ear. I gasped out in pleasure as his fangs extended and grazed over my weak spot.

"E-Eric..." I moaned out, squirming on his lap.

"Shush." He silenced me as his lips returned once again to mine, his fangs slicing across my bottom lip. A low growl sounded from the back of his throat as he gently sucked on my bleeding bottom lip, his own arousal growing inside of his pants and pressing against me.

Eric suddenly stood, his tongue swiping across my lip to lap up every drop of blood as he lifted me up onto the desk, setting me on the edge as he placed himself between my opened legs. I felt him, pressing against me, only our clothes acting as barriers, and I felt myself growing more aroused, more ready for him. My hands slid over every inch of his immaculate body, my fingernails grazing along his back, causing for Eric's finger to rub against me with more force. I was near ready to just plead for him to rip my clothes off, to submit to him finally, but before we could, the door opened and we were no longer alone.

I was panting as Eric pulled away ever so slightly, his forehead resting against mine. His tongue would dart out every so often, catching the last few droplets as they fell before his sliced his own bottom lip and pressed our lips back together. I could feel Godric's presence in the room, I could feel the ancient vampire growing closer to the desk and just taking a seat across from us. I should have pulled away in embarrassment, but I couldn't find the strength, I couldn't find the will to do so. Because I wasn't embarrassed. I wasn't just with one over the other. I wasn't with Eric, and I wasn't with Godric. There was no shame in acting out natural desires with either of these vampires. Because they were both mine. They were mine to do with as I wished. Just as I was both theirs.

After a moment, Eric did pull away, stealing one last short but sweet kiss before taking a step back and settling back down in his desk chair. There was a smirk spread across his face as he stared up at me, lust and hunger in those deep orbs of his. I couldn't help but grin at the vampire as I readjusted myself and glanced over my shoulder to the content vampire on the other side of the desk.

"Hi." My cheeks grew red as I slipped off the table, only for Eric to grab me around the waist and pull me back down onto his lap. I rolled my eyes, but shifted until I found a comfortable position. Of course, the shifting only caused Eric to groan, his eyes closing as I brushed across his still erect arousal. I chuckled as I patted him on the cheek. "Sorry about that."

"Are you going to give yourself to me entirely yet?" He questioned, his voice hoarse as his eyes slowly drew open.

"Not yet." I smirked wickedly at the blonde before turning my attention on Godric's smiling form. "Find anything useful from your associate?"

"He's sending a few interesting books that he thought we might find useful." Godric nodded, eying both Eric and I before shaking his head with a soft chuckle. "You two were enjoying yourself in my absence I see."

"I'll make it up to you later." I winked at Godric, only for Eric's arm to tighten around my waist almost possessively. "Oh calm down Eric, don't be a jealous one now."

"I'm not jealous." Eric insisted, though his tone was borderline jealousy. "I'm just...not finished."

"Oh I can feel that." I teased the Viking. "But we also need to talk."

"About?" Godric raised an eyebrow.

"You're not going to like it very much." I cringed as I remembered that I was going to have to tell both Eric and Godric about my exciting afternoon.

"What happened now?" Eric asked, raising an eyebrow as he stared down at me.

"Well...I...er...you both have to promise not to freak out." My hands were fidgeting in my lap as I looked between the two vampires.

"I already don't like where this is going." Eric sighed.

"What is it, Savannah? You know you can tell us anything." Godric leaned forward.

"Just promise, please." I bit down hard on my bottom lip.

"We promise." Godric spoke for both of them.

"Now tell us what you did." Eric prompted.

"Well I didn't mean for any of it to happen." I couldn't look either of them in the eye as I began. "I was just trying to clear my head after our conversation last night, about the whole necromancy thing, and then I...well I felt something."

"Did you find yourself near another cemetery?" Godric wondered.

I shook my head. "No, it was different than that. I felt this trickle of power, but it wasn't the same as what I feel around a cemetery. This felt warm and almost intoxicating, like I wanted more of it. Probably how a vampire would feel drinking the tastiest blood around."

"And where was this power coming from?" Godric frowned.

"Well that's the thing. It wasn't entirely power and more like...well it was magic." I looked down at my lap. "I may have found the magic shop where the witches Bill told us about convene."

Not a single word was spoken, and besides my nervous breaths, the room was perfectly silent. I swallowed hard as I urged myself to continue, to just get it all out at once. It was like a band aid; better to get the pain over and done with quickly rather than slowly. I already knew Eric and Godric weren't going to be happy that I had found the magic shop, that I had met some of the witches that had come to town. And they would be even less happy to know that I had agreed to join their circle, at least just for one night anyways.

"So to make a long story short..."

"We want the long story." Eric's voice was low, his eyes narrowing.

"Oh fine." I sighed and nodded. "I was curious, alright? I've never felt this sort of magic before and I was intrigued. It felt so...so nice and maybe I was a bit drunk off of it that I wasn't thinking. Because I went inside and..."

"You went inside?" Eric raised an eyebrow. "Are you absolutely insane? What the hell possessed you to go inside that witch's shop? They're evil, Savannah."

"So does that mean I'm evil too then?" I risked a glance up at him and met his glaring gaze.

"You're not a witch. We've already established this."

"Maybe I'm not a witch. But I have this magic inside of me, Eric. There's magic running through my veins. Maybe this necromancy thing is in my blood and I was born with this curse, but I can feel the magic. I can feel the power inside of me. And I guess I've just never seen it that way before. I had been so set on just living my life pretending I could just push it to the side that I never once embraced the fact that I had magic inside of me, that I was magical."

"That doesn't mean you have to go and get yourself into even more trouble. We already have Nan Flanagan on our ass and Bill sniffing his nose around where it doesn't belong. We don't need you to encourage the witches." Eric snapped.

I frowned. "I wasn't encouraging the witches, Eric. I was just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Well it's a good thing I'm a necromancer, I can bring the cat back to life." I shot back.

"Don't test me, Savannah."

"And don't treat me like a little naive child! I'm not an idiot. I know what I'm doing." I burst out, trying to squirm off of Eric's lap, though his arm only tightened around me. "I know it might not have been the smartest idea in the world to walk in there and start talking with the witches..."

"Oh great, you fucking made friends too!" Eric rolled his eyes. "This is just great."

"Will you let me finish already!" I shoved at his chest as hard as I could, though it didn't budge the vampire one bit.

"Eric, just let her say what she needs to say." Godric held up a hand, trying to referee our argument once again. I had a feeling that he would be doing that a lot in the future. Eric and I both were strong people, we both had strong personalities. I didn't like to think I was wrong, and he didn't like it any more than I did. We were going to clash, that was just the honest truth. And while Eric could be a jerk and an ass half of the time, if not most of the time, I still loved him, I still wouldn't trade him for the world. He just needed to learn how to be less of an ass sometimes.

I sent Godric a grateful look before continuing. "I met the witch coven leader, Marnie. She seems...well she seems powerful enough. She gave me a reading..."

"Are you kidding me?" Eric growled. "Are you fucking kidding me right now with this bullshit?"

"Enough." Godric's voice rose, his gaze hardening as he stared pointedly at his progeny. "Let her finish."

"Fine." Eric threw his maker a glare in return.

I sighed and shook my head but went on, knowing that if I didn't get this all out now, then I never would. "Look, I went in there partly because I was curious about the magic I was feeling and partly because I knew that if these were the witches, then we ought to know what we may be up against in the future should they get greedy for power."

"That's not your responsibility to seek out, Savannah." Godric was the one to interrupt this time.

"I think you should take your own advice and just let me finish, Godric." I was growing frustrated now. "Please."

"You're right, I'm sorry. Please, go on."

"This is fucking fantastic." Eric muttered under my breath, though I heard him clearly. I nudged him in the ribs, sending him a glare before I went on with my story.

"I know it was risky, but the witches, they bought that I was just curious about the Wiccan lifestyle. And they were more prone to believe me during the reading Marnie gave me. It was...well it was like nothing I've ever experienced before in my life."

"So you're drunk off the power now. It would explain your idiotic decisions." Eric commented.

"No, you asshole. It wasn't exactly a good experience. It was painful. It hurt like hell. Marnie's power and mine combined, it felt like it was tearing me apart from the inside out. The magic I felt that drew me into the shop, it had had been warm and inviting. But this...this just had been evil and dark and horrible. I never want to feel that again." I shuddered, closing my eyes as I remembered that terrible power cursing through me, clawing at my own magic, ripping right through me. "It was horrible. I ended up passing out and..."

"Are you alright?" Godric's face was full of concern. "Are you..."

"I'm fine now, Godric." I assured him with a forced smile. "I had a headache for a while afterwards, and it felt like my body was on fire, a lot like what happened that first night when we met."

"I remember." Godric nodded. "You were burning. I couldn't have left you that night, even though you just about kicked me out."

"I didn't kick you out; I just insisted that you didn't have to take care of a girl you just met." I corrected him.

"As wonderful as this sounds, can you get on with it please." Eric didn't sound pleased one bit.

"As I was saying," I shot Eric a dark look. "Afterwards Marnie was all excited that she had found someone who had the kind of power that I did and offered me a place in her circle..."

"She did what?"

"For the love of god, Eric, shut the fuck up!" I couldn't control my rage any longer. Eric was getting on my last nerve. "Seriously, just fuck off and let me say this."

Eric gritted his teeth, looking absolutely murderous. I tried to slip off of his lap again, but he still wouldn't let me.

"I didn't say yes or no at the time. I just said I would think about it. I didn't want her or Holly to get suspicious." I shot Eric a quick look, expecting him to interrupt, yet again. He didn't however, and I continued. "Holly felt terrible and offered to buy me lunch, and that's how I ended up at Merlotte's. We got to talking, and I think she really helped me understand this magic that I have inside of me. I never truly understood it before. It was just this annoying power that wouldn't leave me alone. But I have a better understanding now."

"We could have helped you, Savannah. We will help you." Godric insisted.

"I know you both will. But at the same time, you can't really. You're vampires, and while you've been around for centuries and have seen all there is to see, you can't completely understand the power inside of me, not like a witch could." I went back to fidgeting with my hands nervously. "I just want to know what's inside of me. I just want to know how I can control it, how I can harness it. I'm tired of having accidents like in the parking lot with Jessica. I don't want to be a dangerous loose cannon that ends up getting us all in trouble."

"So you thought it would be a good idea to converse with witches." Eric shook his head. "What is wrong with you?"

"I'm desperate, Eric. You don't get it. You've had a thousand years to deal with the fact that you're a vampire, that you're no longer human. Maybe you even wanted it. But I never asked for this. I never wanted any of this power. If it could be up to me, I would wish it all away..."

"Just like you would wish us away." He retorted bitterly, turning his head away and glaring at the wall.

I frowned as I stared up at him, searching his face for an explanation. "No, Eric. Why would you even think that? You and Godric are the one good thing that I've gotten out of this. And that's one thing I wouldn't trade for the world. Even though you are extremely good at being a first class asshole."

Eric still wouldn't look at me however.

"There's this magic inside of me, magic that has never been there before, or at least not like this. And I don't know how I'm going to survive with this power unless I figure out how to control it. I know both of you can and will help me. But there are just some things that you won't be able to do, that you won't be able to understand. But Holly and the others...well they would."

"You said that you didn't say yes or no to Marnie's offer at the time." Godric looked down at his lap as he spoke. "You gave a more final answer afterwards, didn't you?"

"I told Holly I would go to their meeting tomorrow night." I held my breath, waiting for the lashing out I knew was to come.

But it never came, not like I expected it to. Eric did however, stand, letting my form fall to the ground with a thud. I groaned as I rubbed my back, shooting the tall vampire a glare. He wasn't standing over me however, and in fact, he was storming towards the door. I scrambled to my feet in just enough time to watch Eric leave, the office door slamming shut behind him. I sighed heavily as I leaned against the desk and ran a hand through my hair. Today had been a whirlwind of emotions, that was for sure.

"I don't want to hurt you, Savannah." Godric was caution as he stood up. "But what you did today was incredibly stupid."

"Godric..."

"Just let me finish." Godric held up a hand to stop me. "Not only did you seek out potential trouble, but you're thrusting yourself into a dangerous situation without even a second thought."

"I have thought about it Godric." I tried to reason with him. "I never said I would join the coven, just that I would go to their meeting tomorrow night. It might be too intense and maybe I'll run away screaming bloody murder, who knows. But I can't just not find out. This is a part of me now, Godric, and I need help, I need guidance. And these witches, maybe they can give me that, maybe they can bring me peace finally."

"But Eric and I cannot." A look of hurt passed over those sea coloured eyes.

"I didn't say that. Don't twist my words Godric." I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "I'm also doing this for us."

"How exactly?" he raised an eyebrow.

"You can monitor these witches all you want from the outside, but you're never going to find anything out, not real sustenance without having someone on the inside."

"This is too dangerous, Savannah."

"They're not evil, Godric. Not yet anyways. The only one with real power is Marnie..."

"You only need one witch to create havoc, Savannah." Godric sighed with a shake of his head. "What if she manipulates your magic? What if she tries to channel your power and..."

"And what if that never happens. We don't know what's going to happen in the future, Godric. Just like we don't know what's going to happen between the three of us. We just need faith and..."

"I'm a vampire, I don't have faith."

"So does that mean you don't have faith in us?" I questioned, my emotions fraying.

"As you had said, don't twist my words." His tone darkened. "I love you, Savannah. And I love Eric. But this...this is just crazy. You want to infiltrate the witches, and for what reason? Because you can?"

"Because I need this!" I threw my hands up in frustration. "I need to do this. I need to learn about what I am, about what's inside of me. Why can't you understand that?"

"Because we should be enough for you."

"Why won't you and Eric just listen to me?"

"Perhaps because for once, my progeny is right. What has gotten into you Savannah? Are you out of your mind?" Godric twisted on his heel and began towards the door at a human pace.

"Godric, please don't walk away."

"You claim to be ours, Savannah. So why won't you just listen to us?" he stopped at the door, his hand grasping the door handle.

"Because I'm not a slave, I'm not some mindless twit you two might have shared a century ago." I snapped. "I'm doing this, Godric. I'm doing this for all of us. I get what I want, and you get information about the witches. It's a win-win situation."

"No, Savannah, it's really not." Godric shook his head and opened the door. "Stop being so selfish."

My mouth dropped open as I watched Godric step out into the hallway, closing the door behind him. I was alone in that office, alone with my thoughts, alone with my anger. I hated Godric and Eric for being so stubborn. I knew the risks, I knew there were dangers. But this was something I had to do. Marnie was the only witch I would have to worry about. And if I felt another display of power like I had today, then I would high tail it out of there the first chance I got. But until then, I needed to learn more about myself, about this new side of me I was about ready to embrace.

So why couldn't they just let me?


It was closing time when I finally left the office. I had been too afraid of bumping into an enraged Eric and Godric, and thought it would be better if I gave them a few hours to cool down. But now I had to face the music as I slipped into the bar, only to find it deserted besides the two vampires I was nervous to face.

"And she finally comes out of hiding." Eric muttered, taking a swig of true blood. Godric sat across from his progeny at the table they were settled at in the middle of the room. I stood awkwardly beside the bar, glancing at the exit every so often and wondering if I should just leave without saying a word. But I didn't want to go home tonight and lay awake because of the argument we were having. I just wanted to clear the air, though I wasn't so sure we could do that now.

"Look, I just wanted to say one last thing." I stepped forward slowly, inhaling sharply as I gathered up all the courage I could possibly find. "I know you two don't approve. I know you're not very happy with me right now and I'm pretty sure you're both reconsidering this whole agreement we have together..."

"Savannah nothing you could say or do would change our minds on the matter of the three of us." Godric sighed and lifted his gaze to meet mine. "We might have a disagreement, we might yell and argue, but you're always going to be ours. We'll always care for you and protect you."

"Which would be a lot easier if you would stop putting yourself into these situation." Eric glared right at me. "Firs the cemetery and now this?"

"Do you honestly think I wanted to have a hand grab at me in a cemetery, Eric?" I glared back at him. "Because that was the last thing I ever wanted. I still have nightmares over that. You know that."

He just rolled his eyes and glared down at the table.

I felt tears forming in my eyes and I shook my hair out, letting it mask my rising emotions. "I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn't want to be drawn to that magic shop. I had no intention of seeking out some witch coven and joining them. I never even wanted to fall in love with the two of you and have this power that I can't explain. But that's just the thing, I never had a choice. Someone decided this all for me and unfortunately, I have no choice in the matter except to just embrace this. And I can't do that if I don't know what I am. If I don't know who I am."

"This is too dangerous, Savannah."

"No," I held up my hand. "Please just let me say this. And then you can fight me tooth and nail all you want. Just let me say this."

Godric nodded, allowing me to continue uninterrupted. I eyed Eric for a moment, expecting him to comment once again, but he didn't, and instead just tipped his True Blood at me.

"My lips are sealed."

I rolled my eyes but inhaled again before continuing. "I know the risks. I know the dangers. But I need to know. I need to learn as much as I can right now, before I lose my nerve or something horrible happens because I lose control. I'm not saying you two can't help me, because I know if anyone can ground me, can keep me focused, it's you two. My power...my magic I should say, it likes you two. For whatever reason, whenever you two are around, it feels familiar and amazing, and I don't want that to end. But I also need to know why that is. I need to know how this is all happening. I need to be taught how to deal with all of this by people who can relate to what I'm going through. And the closest thing I'm going to get is witches."

"But..." Godric tried to cut in.

"But I'm also doing this for us, for your safety. Marnie, well I can see why you may be concerned. I felt something off about her. I don't know what, but when her magic touched mine, it was horrifying. So yes, I think there is something to worry about, and maybe being around her won't help at all. But we need to know what goes down in those meetings. We need to know if their power is growing. And I can do that. Maybe I can even control it and persuade them not to use too much power, to just stick to the simple things. But we need someone on the inside, and I honestly don't think they'd be very receptive to a vampire just barging in there."

"I still don't..."

"You can say no all you want, but I'm my own person." I stood there confidently, though on the inside, I felt like an emotional wreck. "I love you both, and I hope this doesn't ruin anything between us, but I'm going to do this. You can't stop me."

Eric suddenly flashed before me, a gasp emitting from my lips. He stared down at me with a dark look in his orbs, a look dark enough that I was forced to take a hesitant step back.

"Eric?"

"Do you know why we're so adamant for you not to do this?" He only took a step forward, closing the gap between us. "Do you know why I'm so pissed off at you right now?"

I shook my head, trying to get as far away from Eric as I possibly could. I didn't want to be afraid of him, but it was hard not to be when he was looking down at me with that look in his eye.

"Because we love you, you silly little girl." He grabbed onto my arms, holding me in place as his fingers dug into me. I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. I didn't even bother to struggle; there was no point, Eric was far stronger than I ever would be. Maybe I could have even ordered him to let me go, but I just felt rooted to the spot. "Do you think we want to watch you struggle with these powers? Do you think we want to watch you walk into a death trap? We love you, Savannah. You're ours. Ours, Savannah. I will not lose you. Not now, not ever. You tried to leave me once, and I found you. Now I'm not letting you go. I won't let you go off and get yourself killed. Do you hear me? I won't."

His grasp on my arms loosened, but he didn't let me go. In fact, he pulled me against him, his arms circling around me securely. I was shocked by his words. I was shocked by the sudden rush of warmth I felt spilling through me the moment I was in Eric's arms. I could feel his love at that moment as our bodies connected. I felt emotions that I had never felt before from this vampire. I didn't understand how I could feel those emotions, but I did. And in that moment, everything I had fought for tonight, vanished. My strong will, my determined arguments, it just all faded away. Because as much as I wanted to learn more about myself, about what I was, as much as I wanted to be able to keep an eye on the witches from the inside, what mattered to me more than anything in the world were these two vampires. And to hear, to feel the love Eric had for me, to know that I wasn't just some mystery to him that he would bore of, that I wasn't just some sex toy or blood bag, it meant the entire world to me.

"Okay." I whispered softly, my eyes closing as a single tear slipped down my cheek. I quickly brushed it away as I returned the embrace, my arms lifting to wrap around Eric's torso. "I'll let it go. For now. Not forever, and we will talk about this again. But for now, I won't do it."

"Thank you." Eric breathed out in a low, relieved tone.

"We'll figure something else out, Savannah, we will." Godric spoke from a few feet away, and he too sounded relieved. "We'll get you through this."

I wasn't exactly sure how that would pan out, but it would.

Right?