Chapter 36: Hurt Me
Cindy and Quinn's mother took the opportunity to change as well and attack Madison, Alcide changed and he and Bill started fighting Quinn. The sound of snarls and growls filled the air, Sookie screamed as Quinn in his full tiger form threw Bill across her yard and rounded on Alcide. Madison was fighting off the attacks of two tigers, Quinn's mother lunged at her and she dodged her, Alcide's blood was wearing off quickly and she wasn't as strong as she could be, Cindy took the opportunity to sink her large jaws around Madison's shoulder.
Eric sat in the office at Fangtasia, Pam was reclining on the couch and she jumped when Eric stood up abruptly,
' What is it?' Pam said staring
' Madison' his voice was full of darkness and anger.
Madison screamed as Cindy bit down on her shoulder and felt her bones crack, there was a blur as Quinn was thrown off Alcide, Cindy and her mother were thrown into the side of Alcide's truck, Pam stood over Quinn who was changing back, she hissed angrily and kept her fangs extended. Madison knelt on the ground, blood was gushing down her arm and body, Cindy had managed to sever a couple of her main arteries and she was weakening quickly, Eric knelt down next to her and extended his arm,
' Drink' she pushed his arm away, Alcide had changed back and he knelt on her other side, Bill, Pam and Sookie joined them,
' Maddie you're losing a lot of blood you need to drink from Eric, he's the oldest you'll heal quicker' Pam whispered to her,
' I'm fine'
' You're not fine' Alcide said firmly, she looked at him and clutched her shoulder,
' I'll heal' Eric was losing patience and an idea occurred to him, he leant closer and whispered in her ear,
' Madison do you remember how angry you were when you saw prudence and me in my office? Do you remember how much you wanted to hurt me? Why don't you let that rage out now Madison, hurt me, bite me, drink me dry' he knew he was having the desired effect, her anger was growing, he could feel it through their bond, she wanted to bite him, she wanted to tear him apart and hurt him like he'd hurt her.
Madison pushed him away and staggered to her feet, she walked slowly away to the woods, to her friends watching her it was like she was dragging her own body,
' Eric' Pam said forcibly, he nodded at her and stood up, Alcide looked at him sternly,
' Do I have your permission to let her feed from me?' Eric asked him
' As long as she comes back out of those woods alive I don't care if she kills you' Eric nodded curtly and began to follow her towards the woods.
Madison trudged through the undergrowth; she could feel herself getting weaker with every step and she stumbled on a tree root that protruded from the ground, she was about to hit the ground when two strong hands gripped her body. Eric held her tightly, making sure he avoided her shoulder,
' I know you hate me but at least let me help you' he said softly, Madison closed her eyes tightly trying to ignore the familiar comfort his arms brought,
' I said I didn't need your help' she said stubbornly and pushed him away again, Eric rolled his eyes and tried to provoke her again,
' Fine I'll get back to my evening with prudence then' that did it, he felt the rage rise up inside of her and she had knocked him to the ground in seconds, her fangs sprang out and she sank them deeply into his throat.
Madison stood in her bedroom and threw her towel across the room, she pulled on some sweat pant and a vest and looked at her mauled shoulder in the mirror, there wasn't so much as a scratch there. When she had finished feeding from Eric she had stood up and started walking away, he arms had gripped her waist again,
' We need to talk'
' No we don't, I'm grateful for the blood Eric but we have nothing to say to each other'
' Maybe you don't but I do Madison, can we please talk?'
' I'm seeing Alcide now, I don't need this Eric'
' I'm aware of that but I'd like you to know the full story' he moved his face closer to hers,
' I have to go' she pulled away and Eric didn't stop her
' We are going to talk about this Madison' she didn't look back at him but she knew he was there watching her.
She leant against the bathroom counter and looked at herself in the mirror, she looked better than she had in months and she knew it was down to Eric's blood. She wondered what he had meant when he'd said the full story, what else could he have to say. She heard the front door open and close and Alcide came upstairs,
' Hey how are you?' he asked
' I'm great' she said smiling, he smiled and walked over to her, he kissed her gently and she couldn't help comparing his kiss to Eric's, she shook herself from her thoughts,
' Did you kill him?' Alcide said jokingly
' No but it was tempting' she said laughing, he sat on the bed and groaned as he pulled his shirt off, he had a large bruise forming on his ribs,
' They got away' he said as he groaned at the pain in his side
' I figured they would' she sat next to him and rubbed his back
' What do you want to do about it?' he said as he reclined his head back enjoying the massage,
' They wont come back for a while, they're not that stupid' Alcide smiled and turned around, he laid down on top of her,
' So where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?' he said smirking, his eyes sparkled with warmth and she smiled back, he kissed her again but she couldn't stop her mind wandering to Eric.
Eric sat in his lounge alone, he hadn't even considered taking one of the dancers from Fangtasia back with him, he ran his fingers over his throat where Madison had sunk her fangs into him and he groaned, he missed her touch. He could feel her now it was a mixture of pleasure and confusion, he hated that Alcide was with her but he knew he had brought this on himself. He stayed there until the oncoming dawn forced him to sleep, his thoughts and focus stayed on Madison all night though.
Madison lay on her side in bed, she made love to Alcide that night for the first time and she had to admit he was very good and she'd enjoyed it but she felt like something was missing. Several times while they were making love her mind had wandered to Eric and she'd started comparing the two men again, she'd never compared men before and she hated herself for having feelings for Eric while she was with Alcide. She rolled over and looked at Alcide, he was in a deep sleep, his breathing was shallow and he looked so peaceful, she felt like slapping herself for being mentally unfaithful to him, she'd never cheated and she had no intention of starting now. She lay on her back and willed herself to be angry at Eric, he had betrayed her and at the time what had hurt her most was despite her telling him not to come after her, she had hoped he would, that he'd show up and tell her it was nothing and he'd fight for them but he didn't. He'd moved on with his life and so had she, so why was it every time he said a few little words to her they echoed in her head for days on end and made her doubt her feelings for Alcide. Alcide opened his eyes and pulled her closer to him, he kissed her forehead and she snuggled up to his warm skin and closed her eyes, he fell asleep again but she didn't she was determined to make herself believe she wanted Alcide and the normal life he could offer her but something just wasn't there.