Chapter Forty-seven

Under the Full Circle

Sookie swears that she has watched over 4,000 movies in her life, almost around 2,000 of them are horror. She has seen many scary scenes are played over and over again, sometimes they scare her, but most of the time she laughed to see how stupid they look. Either it is about vampires, werewolves, zombies or some silly creatures from a lagoon, which name she can't pronounce; she thought she had seen them all.

Until now.

In front of her was the woman with the white hair. James stood closely right behind her. She did not know if the Hounders were also behind her, but she could hear thoughts so loud and clear that she had to force herself to concentrate only on the woman with the white hair. It looked somehow out of place that a woman with a body like a bikini model was standing in the middle of the woods surrounded by werewolves. She looked like she was in the end of her twenties or early thirties. But her face was hard and cold. There were no traces of smile at all on it; and the eyes that had the colour of amber shone coldly sent out thousands of needles and made Sookie shiver. Sookie pushed those feelings away. That woman may not know that she had such a feeling.

"So, you are the mother," that woman said. Her amber eyes explored Sookie with a disgusted feeling that she did not hide.

"Yes, I am the mother," said Sookie. Her blood was boiling. There was an urge in her to jump on her and slap her face.

"You realize how...," suddenly she stopped. Her eyes, for a short moment looked blank. Then, she shook her head.

From behind her, Sookie heard James' thought. You will show some respect to my mother! Sookie wanted to turn around to tell him to stop whatever he was doing, but she changed her mind as soon as she had realized that by telling him, she would reveal that James could tell dogs and wolves to do his biding.

"How dare you!" That woman hissed. Her eyes were now at James. Slowly she moved forward. "How dare you to use your power..."

Step back, wolf! Now! Or my brothers will make you.

This time, Sookie turned around and saw the Hounders were in alerting position. Their hands and faces were covered with gray hair and their arms were spread with hands formed like claws. Sookie shuddered. Jesus, what had James done?

"Enough." A calm voice stopped the woman and the Hounders from moving toward each other. Three figures came out from behind the trees. When they were nearer, Sookie could see that they were one man and two women.

One of the men reached out his hand. "James Stackhouse, it's about the time to meet you, young man."

James did not accept that hand. "You are not a werewolf," he said in a matter-of-a-fact voice.

"I am not. I am a witch. Our Warlock wants to see you. Alone." He emphasized the word alone as if he had wanted to tell anybody not to follow.

"Richard..." the woman with the white hair looked at him.

That man raised his hand and the woman stopped her sentence. "It must be done, Hallow." Then, he turned around and walked away. "It's your choice, young man. But you'd better be hurried." The other two followed him and shiftily they moved farther away.

James looked at Sookie and when he saw her nodding, he ran after them. Sookie knew, it might not be a good idea to let him go, but James had the right to know why he was called to come to this place. If whoever asked him to come had answers, better than any of these werewolves could give, then so be it.

Now, she only had to wait for James to return, and for the night to come. Eric would be here. Suddenly she felt better already.

xxxxx

The moon could not get through the thickness of the leaves of the trees in the Square Stones woods. Only some of her soft ray of lights managed to escape the net of the leaves and created soft pillar here and there. When a pale figure literally fell down from the trees, the shadows of people under the trees jumped on their feet, alerted.

Eric Northman, a vampire, Sheriff of Area 5 Shreveport Louisiana moved his head, set his hair to dance in the air by doing so, stood firmly on the ground with arms formed like claws. Sookie could not see clearly, but she was certain, his fangs were out. "James is not here," his voice was growling.

"The Elders took him to the peak, Sheriff," said Colin. "It won't be long anymore."

It'd better be, thought Sookie. They had been waiting there, on a place where they had been since afternoon, slowly, she lost her patience. Nobody was dared to answer her question if they could go there and see what was going on with James. Nobody was even dared to move! The woman with the white hair had been long gone. Sookie did not know where she had gone, and frankly, she did not care. Prescott told her to be patience. Any sudden or hectic decision would not good for anybody. Those people were witches and sorcerer. They were influenced by moods and desires, it would be better for them not to act against them, at least for the moment.

"Godric's son," Prescott came to him, "there is something I have to tell you..."

Eric sniffed. "Witches. You let him alone with witches?" he said, almost screamed. Sookie realized his sentence was directed to her. "You should have known better that they can't be trusted!"

The werewolves growled. It was clear that Eric's sentence had offended them. Slowly they moved forward toward Eric. Instinctively, Sookie went to Eric. Whatever happened, she did not want to be too far from him. Prescott and Luna did the same. Prescott even took out his stick.

Why don't we shoot him with the stake? It will end our misery.

One of the thoughts clearly rang in her head. Sookie moved and put herself in front of Eric. As if Luna had known what it meant, she did the same. She stood behind Eric facing the werewolves. Prescott took the right side of Eric. And out of nowhere, Jason jumped out from the darkness to take Eric's left side.

"What is this?" Eric hissed. "You are out of your mind, Stackhouse!"

"I suppose I am," said Jason. Sookie smiled. She knew Eric was talking to her and not Jason. Strange, but she liked it that Eric called her Stackhouse. Once Aude had told her, Eric called women with their surname, only if he loved those women. It was very appropriate to think about that at time like this, but Sookie did not care. She reached out her hand to Eric and smiled wider when she felt something very cold squeezed it.

A long howling made the werewolves broke the circle. From a distance, under the dimmed moonlight six figures were approaching. The nearer they were, the looser Eric held her hand. Sookie turned around to see him, and maybe it's only her, but she could swear there was fear on his face. Eric Northman, one of the older vampires whom she knew was afraid...of what?

"A faery, among us, this must be a new beginning," a soft voice filled the air as the figures came closer. There were the four witches and sorcerers whom Sookie had seen, James and an old man with a walking stick in his hand. He looked at Prescott with twinkling eyes. "Ah, the one who would do anything for a werewolf...indeed, this is a new beginning."

There were some murmuring and noises sounded their protest or amusement, but none of them seemed loud enough for anybody to say anything. Sookie could not see Prescott's face, but he had lowered his stick and nodded to the old man. "Greetings for the forest of Bon Temps, Old man," he said. "May the grace of the moonlight show you the way."

"You travel that far for a love that might not be yours, Faery. May the forest give you a mercy and protection when the time comes."

Prescott bowed a little. "Fair enough, Old man."

Sookie had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, but somehow it sounded sad. Did Prescott really love Cooper? Would he do anything for his love?

Then, the Old man came to her. "Mrs. Stackhouse..."

"Northman," Sookie cut him. She knew it was crazy, but she did not want to hide any more. If there was time to tell, then it would be the time. She had a strange feeling that it would be better that way. She could not explain it, but she was certain, that by telling them that she was Eric's wife, somehow, it would help Eric too.

The murmurings were suddenly dead. Not a single sound. Then, Sookie heard a lot of noises coming from their heads, like the sound of not so correct tuned radio station, they came and went. Sometimes they were loud and sometimes they were low. They were married? But the loudest came from her brother, Jason.

"You two got married?"

"Yes, we did, Jason," it was Eric, who answered him. "Sookie is my wife; she is mine."

Under the dimmed light of the moon and the shadows of the trees in the depth of Square Stones, somewhere in Arkansas, in front of werewolves, werepanthers, witches and a shifter, Eric Northman declared their marriage and his claim over her. It was a crazy and dangerous thing to do, she had been the one who said it first, and she could not take it back. She realized, she did not want to; and it seemed, Eric did not want it either.

"In that case," the Old man broke the silence. "Mr. and Mrs. Northman, welcome to Square Stones."

The Square Stones was a circle of stones on a hill. There were seven stones in the circle facing a square stone on a wall of the peak of the hill. The road to reach it was not easy. There was a narrow path with hundreds of stairs. The stairs, which were made of flat stones, were slippery from the moss that grew on them. On the right and left side of the stairs were loose soils or roots. Sookie had walked on the stairs for some time, when Eric grabbed her waist and took her flying with him. "You're too slowly," he said. "You blocked the others." Sookie held Eric's neck tightly and she gave him a deep and long kiss as soon as they had landed. "You are brave, Sookie Stackhouse," he said as she let him go, "to claim me in front of the werewolves."

"Somebody has to do that," she touched his nose. "It seems to me, you can't live without a woman who's willing to take care of you."

Eric snorted. "You know something, Stackhouse. Your mouth is too big for a breather." Then, he kissed her. His eyes were flickering. Then, he whispered. "I can't wait for us to go home and I'll show you where such a big mouth like yours will lead you to."

Sookie smiled. "I am glad that you are here, Eric."

"That is the sweetest thing you ever said to me. Don't say it too often, I might think that you love me."

This was the wrong place and time to say those words, but Sookie didn't care. She looked at him straight into his eyes and said, "I love you, Eric Northman."

Those blue eyes were narrowing and the lips which mostly gave her smirks now drew a straight line. He reached out his hand and touched her face. Sookie took that hand and kissed it. She knew, it must have taken him by surprise that he lost all his wits and cynical remarks. Or was he not able to say it?

Eric craned his neck and his nose was only an inch away from her face when he said, "I am yours, Stackhouse. To love you is to let you live within me until the day I meet my death. And I have been doing it since the day we met."

Jeez, Northman! Can't you simply say you love me? Sookie touched his face. "My husband..." how strange it was to call Eric that way...

Eric smiled. His eyes looked soft. "Your husband...," then he kissed her forehead and took her in his arm, "Your husband..." His cold arms held her tight; Sookie shivered from the coldness, she enjoyed it nevertheless.

One by one, the werewolves arrived at the peak. Sookie could hear how loud their breaths were! It was just like the sound of old locomotive running down the track. The sweat dropped from their faces and complaint came out from their mouths. It was never a good trip for them. It was always a hard bone breaking journey.

James didn't look quite different either. In fact, Cooper and Doc helped him walking his last steps. He threw himself on the ground as soon as he reached the peak. "Easy for you to say," he said, nobody knew to whom. Blue came short afterward. And like any faithful dog, he went to his master and sat down beside him. His tongue was out and Sookie could see how his whole body shook from breathing.

After some times, one of the witches asked Sookie and Eric to follow him. James was trying to get on his feet, as the witch said. "You stay here, James." The witch took them to a small house not so far from the circle of stones. Eric hesitated to enter the house, but when Sookie grabbed his hand and gave him a smile, he sniffed. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Sookie heard a low voice, but clearly recognizable as Eric's. Witches! I hate witches! She let her hand go. Had she just heard Eric's mind? Eric looked at her. His eyes were narrowing. Clearly he wanted to ask her something, but he didn't say anything.

Inside the house was the old man with a stick. His stick was white, just like his hair. It was leaning on the wall at the corner. The smell of some sweet flower and coconut oil reached Sookie's nose. This house was old, as old as the man, if not even older. Everything inside it represented the age of the owner. There was no electricity, no telephone line and no TV. Desperately Sookie looked for a sign of modern world, like a mobile phone laying somewhere, but no, there was no such thing. What she could find was a set of armour – two swords and a shield. By the look of it, Sookie was certain that it was a hundred year old or more. The colours were worn off and on there were scratches and broken part on the surfaces.

The old man gave a sign for the witch to leave. The witch nodded and closed the door behind him.

A strange deja-vu came to Sookie's mind as the room became quiet. She had been in the same situation like this before, around fifteen years ago with some music on the background and Wilson, rocked himself on a lazy chair.

"You have a very determine son, Mrs. Northman," the old man's voice destroyed Wilson's image. "He knows exactly what he wants and how to get what he wants."

Sookie wasn't surprised to hear that. James was always like that. Knowing who the father was, she wouldn't expect him to be somebody different.

"But I don't invite you to talk something that you obviously already knew," that man continued. "Tonight, when the moon reaches its peak, he will be asked and looked by the clans if he is suitable as a werewolf or not. After that, there will be no turning back for him to return to his previous life. He has to adjust himself to the life of his clan, and make everything fit. It will include his education, Mrs. Northman."

"Education...what do you mean by that?"

"Of course, he will still go to the human school, but he will also attend his wolf-training and I am afraid in his case, his ability to manipulate the others."

"Manipulate the others?" Eric looked at the old man. "He can learn at home."

Sookie didn't know if she should be happy or sad hearing Eric blatantly admitted that he was a manipulator or that he knew how to do it, to put it mildly.

"I believe he can," the man smiled. "You must have known a lot of things, Vampire. You wouldn't live this long, if you didn't learn to fit in. But it is not you, whom I am talking about, it's your son. Your son has a power beyond his control, at least for the moment, that if he doesn't use it wisely, he will put himself in danger. At the beginning, his power will make him to be able to gain what he wants, but slowly, his own power will manipulate him. Power is greed, a hunger that is not easy to be satisfied. It will influence him bit by bit and at the end, he will be the tool, the way of his own power. When it happens the way I say it, he will be the most dangerous person you will ever know. Therefore, Vampire, he needs to learn to control it."

Sookie felt her chest becoming heavier. What kind of power was this man talking about? She knew that James could read vampire's mind and control the wolves...did he have others, which she didn't know yet?

"You seem to know that your son has powers."

Sookie looked at the old man. "Why did you say that?"

"You don't seem to surprise."

Sookie didn't react. Yes, she knew, but only recently. Besides, what should she say? James' powers or condition was a secret she would like to keep. She already had said it out loud in front of Alcide and Jack. She would not repeat the same mistake again; even obviously, James himself had already revealed his power without knowing it when he had tried to fight Hallow – the witch.

"When will the ceremony begin?" Eric suddenly asked. He knew that she didn't want to broaden James' powers subject.

"As soon as the moon is above the stones and the full circle is created, we will begin. You are welcomed to witness."

"What are you doing with him?"

"Nothing. The clans are the ones who will take care of the initiation."

Sookie and Eric looked at each other. Initiation? It sounded as if James was entering a gang! Would it include beating, killing, blood drinking?

"If you hurt him in the process," Eric's head moved like a snake's, "I will hold you and the entire clans responsible."

xxxxx

Something was wrong.

James could not say what, but he could feel it. Mom looked worried and Papa didn't even look at him. Beware, James. Beware, said Papa in his head.

Beware of what?

"James..." Cooper touched his arms. "I need to talk to you."

James looked at his parents and then at Cooper. "Not now, Coop. I want to know what the Warlock told my parents."

The warlock, what a weird way of addressing somebody, but James didn't know his name. The witches that had taken him to the old man never said his name either.

"You will have plenty of time for that, James." Cooper's fingers slowly turned black and got longer. Between his fingers, long gray hair started showing. What was he doing? Why was he changing? "Trust me, James. It's for your own good."

"Cooper, you are transforming..."

"I am the Keeper of The Moon secret." He let his hand go. "I can transform without losing my shape as a human."

"Is it possible?" Luna looked at him. "I'd never heard such a thing."

"Like any bitten werewolf, which can only transform himself in the full moon, I can control my transformation during the full moon."

"Full moon...Uncle Jason..." James looked around, but he didn't see his uncle.

"The Werepanthers took him away. It's too dangerous for him to be here. He could lose his control and start attacking us. He could injure himself. Come, James. We have to talk."

Cooper took him to the stone circle. Some paces behind, Prescott stood, gleaming. The silver light of the moon made that faery somehow looked surreal to James. He looked like the elves from the dragon and dungeon game that sometimes he played; and like couldn't be more contrasting, Cooper was covered with gray hair all over his body. His face, which was also covered with hair, was not more like a face of an ape than of a man. Honestly, that was weird! He preferred to see him in his complete wolf form, or man form, but not half-half like this.

"When the moon is exactly on the top of the circle and creates a ring, we will make a circle and you will be asked to step inside."

"Who is 'we'?"

"The clans. We will see you, that means, you will be checked by us if you fit to be a member of the werewolves society or not." The ape-face Cooper smiled. He looked sinister now. "I believe you will surprise them with what you have."

"Will they ask some questions like how the members of the Grey Hound did? Will they ask me to fight one of them?"

"I can't tell you that, James. It's a part of the ceremony, which I can't and may not reveal. But like I always say to the young Hounders. You are what you are. Sooner or later, it will shine through. Just remember the reason you agreed to accept Colin's invitation to be our brother. Good or bad, it was your first choice, your purest decision before you see the reality."

"I did it for..."

"Don't tell me," Cooper cut him. "It is your secret, and I don't want to know."

"What if my decision to join you is not strong enough for the clans? What if they think it's a ridiculous decision?"

"Does it matter, James? What matters is your intention to do it." Cooper tapped his shoulder. His yellow eyes blinked. "No matter what happens tonight, James, you are still our Little Brother and the Hounders are notoriously known for defending their brother." He winked. "I hope it eases your mind a little."

Eased his mind a little? How? With all those yellow eyes looked at him and observed every little moved he made?

James watched Cooper walking away. Cooper was absolutely not helping. They had dragged him here and then left him alone and confused. The warlock, whom he had talked some minutes ago, had not said a word about what he was going to do to him. He had asked his name, shaken his hand, looked at him whilst doing it, and that was it. He was asked to sit by the other witch and offered something to drink, which he refused. Then, the warlock looked at him again, smiled and then they left the house.

He sighed. If only somebody had said something to him, anything!

He looked around to find Prescott. The faery was still where he had been. He came to him. "Prescott, you got to tell me what to do!"

"Follow your heart, James. Remember your dream and what Godric had told you."

That was so not helping. Godric hadn't told him anything, except that he believed that Papa had trusted him making the right choice. Papa had let him go, he even had accepted his decision to be a member of a werewolf clan. Wasn't it enough?

The faery touched his shoulder. "There is time when we are not certain about the decision that we took. Sometimes it is just the way it is. What we can do is make the best out of it."

Fintan and the wolf had told him the same thing. If only it had been easy!

The moon created a perfect circle as the werewolves gathered themselves around the stones. James had wondered why the place was called square stones, if there had been no square stone at all, until he saw the Warlock standing on the top of the hill. He was in fact standing on a square stone. James turned his head around and more astonished than afraid, seeing many pairs of yellow eyes looking at him. He had never thought that there would so many werewolves. Heck, he had never thought that they had existed at all! Godric said once, if vampires existed, then any supernatural beings, which had been told from generation to generation, probably existed too. He caught a glimpse of orange eyes. Victoria was standing among the werepanthers, who had two panthers sitting among them. One of them was Uncle Jason, he was sure about it. Then, he saw Mom in Papa's arms. He smiled. In his head Papa was mumbling about taking Mom to Bon Temps as soon as it's over and buying a new bed. It's about the time. Papa said, over and over again. As if he had wanted to tell himself that it was the right choice. Yes, Papa. Buy a big bed for Mom. He said in his head as loud as he possibly could so that Mom could hear him. Make her happy, it's about the time! Mom looked at him and then at Papa. What? Papa said in his head. His eyes were now at him dangerously. James, get out of my head. Now. It was supposed to be a secret! He smiled. Perhaps, some other time, but not now. Now, Mom had to know that everything would be all right. She didn't need to be worried. If something happened to him, Papa would take care of her.

"James Stackhouse-Northman," a calm, but loud voice echoed on that hill. The Warlock had called his name. "Enter the ring."

This is it. He said in his head. Wish me luck, Mom. Tell Papa, I love him.

Colin came to him and reached out his hand. James could sense how tensed Colin was as he accepted his hand. Out of nowhere, long black nails popped up on his fingers. "This is my brother," Colin said. "We are bonded by blood and oath. I am Colin Purefoy of Grey Hound clan, Beaumont – Texas. I challenge the Gathering to accept my brother as their own."

James looked at him. What did it mean? Would Colin fight against all werewolves for him? "Colin..." However, before he could continue his sentence, Colin pulled him and threw him to the ground. What the fuck...? Confused and anguished, he got up on his feet. He was just about standing straight when he seven or eight figures suddenly circled him. Colin was not there anymore, he had stepped backward to return to his clan. Somewhere on the background, Duke barked vigorously.

"Silence the dog!" somebody said.

"No!" he screamed. "Don't touch my dog, I warn you!"

"You warn us?" a sneering voice was heard among the werewolves. "What do you want to do if we touch your dog? What can you do?"

Focus, James. Out of nowhere, suddenly he heard Godric's voice. Focus.

He smiled. Godric was here, somewhere. He tried to meet Papa's eyes, but those eyes were cold as ice and his head was blank. Either Papa couldn't feel Godric's presence, or he didn't want anybody to know that Godric was there. "I can make you as my dog, if you touch him," finally he said.

There were murmurings among the werewolves. Some said that he had a big head and they couldn't wait to rip his body apart, some said that they didn't want to try.

Come here, Boy! He called Duke.

Somewhere, Duke was gnarling. James couldn't see where Duke was, but he was sure that his dog was now fighting to get his way through to come to him. And like what he thought, his blue fur was glimmering under the moonlight as he was running to him. Suddenly, he stopped. The sound of bones cracking told him why. The eight men who were surrounding him were changing. "James..." he heard Mom's voice among the howling that filled the hill. Duke started barking. His ears were standing and he bared his teeth which were nothing compared to the werewolves'. But he wasn't afraid, he didn't even feel worry. Papa was here, and so was Godric. Moreover, his brothers and sisters of The Grey Hound were here. And Alcide, too. Something had happened in the woods, between him and Mom, but it wouldn't stop Alcide from protecting him against any danger. He had made his promise. Until now, Alcide never broke it and James had no reason to doubt him.

One by one he looked at the eyes of the wolves. "You are my brethren," he said calmly. "I am not afraid of you..." he reached out his hand. The wolves whimpered and one by one approached him. But before too long, a loud noise stopped them.

"Stop using your power!" The woman in white cloth...the witch emerged from behind the stones. "Face them like a wolf!" she was standing not so far from the circle of wolves. Her hands were spread and her face was stone cold. Her eyes, which were yellow-brownish, looked at him with full of disgusts. "You are nothing without the dirty blood in your vein. You will not take charge of the wolves!"

A loud growl was heard. Papa was now standing right behind her. "What do you call him?"

Papa...I can do it. It's my battle, now. Not yours.

Papa looked at him. His smile looked sinister under the pale moon. "Make her crawl on her paws," he said in Old Norse. "I'll buy you a beer, if you do it. Just don't tell your Mom."

James smiled. On the corner of his eyes he saw Mom being annoyed. Mom should really learn some Swedish!

"Phew!" The witch spat on the ground. "You will not leave your ground unnoticed, Undead!" Her arms were raised.

"Let him," said James. "This is between you and me. Leave my father alone."

A shrilled laugh came out from her mouth. "Your father? Who told you such nonsense? His body is dead, and so is his seed!"

James fought her stares. Those yellow-brownish eyes were like bright lights that blinded him. Then he heard echoes; asking him whether he was sure that Eric Northman was his father or not; whether he really felt fitting in the world of wolves, where strength was the supreme power, or not; whether he was prepared to accept the consequences to be turned into a werewolf or not. A werewolf? Nobody said about being turned into a werewolf! He stepped back. No, he didn't want to be able to change into a wolf, or change himself automatically into a wolf every time the moon is full. He wanted to stay as he was. A normal person, who could talk to the dog – if that could be called normal, of course.

WHY DO YOU COME HERE?

A noise, almost like a scream hit him. It was so loud that almost push him to the ground. He looked around. None of those wolves did that, he was sure. They were now sitting on their back legs and looking at him. Their ears were standing, but they didn't open their mouths any more. They looked more like dogs than wolves. The witch and Papa were also still there. They were facing each other, ready to attack the other.

Who had asked him, then?

YOU DON'T BELONG HERE. LEAVE NOW.

Yes, he did. He belonged there. He had two fathers, who were wolves. He belonged to be there, as much as the next werewolves.

THAT IS THE KEY, ISN'T IT? WOLVES. YOU ARE NOT A WOLF.

Yes, yes, he was. His great grandfather had told him. Filtiarn was the name of the wolf. And he was his father. Filtriarn's blood had saved Papa's life. Great grandfather said, he was made when Papa still had Filtrian's blood. Knowing Papa's thoughts, he believed that. Papa couldn't stop thinking about Mom most of the time. Even now, when Mom was old. He could imagine, when Mom had been younger, Papa must have...James closed his eyes. He didn't want to imagine what Papa had done with Mom when Mom had been younger, really not. That made him somehow feel like a freak.

STILL, YOU CAN'T TRANSFORM, YOU CAN'T RUN, HOWL AND HUNT LIKE A WOLF. YOU WILL ONLY BE A BURDEN FOR THE WOLVES.

No, he couldn't do all of those. But he could talk to the dogs and he could talk to the wolves. Great grandfather said, he even could make the wolves do what he wanted, when or if he wanted. Filtrian was the King of the Wolves. Did that make him a prince?

YOU ARE A PRINCE? THAT IS RIDICULOUS!

Yes, wasn't it? He was not a prince; he didn't feel like a prince. He was just a normal human being.

THEN WHY DON'T YOU LEAVE? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR HERE?

Yes, what was he looking for here? He had made Mom worry most of the time. Mom hadn't said a word about it, but he could see it on her face. Victoria liked him as he was. She hadn't even known about him, when they kissed each other for the first time. Surely, she would accept him if he decided to leave. Why would he go through all these problems? He could go back to Bon Temps or Baton Rouge, continue his school and lead a normal life.

What about Uncle Jason?

Hadn't he done it for Uncle Jason? Wasn't it the main reason he had done this? He wanted to find a home for Uncle Jason. He wanted that Mom and Uncle Jason could be together again; love each other as a family. If he left, the Grey Hound Clan would refuse him too. No, he couldn't do that to Uncle Jason. Aunt Arlene had told him that Uncle Jason had been bitten by a panther when he had tried to save her. They had been kidnapped by some people, who worked for a man called Daniel Wilson. This man had had a long history of hatred against Papa. Even it was nonsense to think that Papa had caused all of those, he felt sorry for Uncle Jason. This was his chance to do something for Uncle Jason, like paying the debt.

LEAVE NOW, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE. THE WOLVES WILL NOT ACCEPT YOU.

No, he would stay. He had found friends and home among the Hounders. In reflex, he touched the necklace that Laura had given him. Laura, yes, Laura. He had promised her to go to Italy together. He smiled. She wanted to have her necklace back. Besides, they didn't go the waterfalls yet and he still wanted to see them. Yes, he was a Hounder and he would stay that way. There would be nothing in this world that made him change his mind. Perhaps, when Mom asked him, but Mom had agreed and he knew Mom. Mom was not a woman who changed her mind easily.

Yes, he was a werewolf, not in body, but in heart.

I'LL ASK YOU ONLY ONCE. LEAVE!

"NO!" he screamed. No, he didn't have any attention to go anywhere!

The wind blew strongly against his face. He was pushed some steps backward, but with all his might, he tried to fight it. And when he felt that his feet were lifted and he was sure that he would be thrown away, he heard Mom's voice, "James!"

Then everything was quiet. He didn't see or hear anything any more, as he fell to the ground. He tried to get up, but he felt his hands numb. "Tomorrow," he said to himself. "Mom will tell me everything tomorrow."

He closed his eyes. Yes, tomorrow.

xxxxx

Mom's face was the first thing he saw, as James opened his eyes. Her eyes were swollen and her lips were shaking. "Hey, Momma," he tried to smile.

Tears fell on her cheek. "Hey, Sweetheart."

He looked around. Papa was standing behind Mom. It meant, it's still night. Alcide was beside Papa and on his left side was Colin. Prescott was also there, standing beside the door. "What happened?"

"You fell to the ground," Papa answered. "Bleeding to death."

Had he? He didn't remember that. What did Papa mean with bleeding to death? Did he die now? "But I wasn't dead, was I?"

"You would, if your father didn't give you his blood," Mom wiped off her tears. "You scared me, James."

"I am sorry, Mom," he smiled. "Where am I?"

"In the Warlock's bedroom."

The Warlock...he sighed. He was still at the Square Stones. "I want to go home, Mom." he said.

"We will, Darling. Tomorrow. We go straight to Bon Temps."

"No, you misunderstood. Beaumont is my home now, not Bon Temps."

"Don't say that to your mother, James," said Papa.

"I am sorry, Mom," he said. "But it really is. Beaumont is my home. Besides, I promised Laura to return her necklace."

"If it's only Laura that you want, she can come to you, James, in Bon Temps. At any time."

"No, it's not Laura, Colin. It's the clan. I don't want Laura. I want Victoria, I love her."

The heaviness came to him. He needed some sleep. "I'll sleep now," he said. "Tomorrow we talk again." He closed his eyes. Soon, everything was black again. When he opened his eyes, there was nobody there, but Victoria. Her eyes were just like Mom's, big and swollen. "Hi," he reached out his hand. "I didn't see you during the Gathering."

"I was behind," she took his hand and kissed it. "You're too stubborn. You should have stopped it, given up and not continued fighting. Look at you, all bled and almost died!"

"I didn't want to stop. They are my friends and family!"

"Who? You have no friends, except me! Your mother is not a werewolf, why did you have to fight that hard? Don't you love your mother any more?"

"Silly, of course I love my mother. I have her blessing to do it!"

"Don't you love me? I can't be with you if you are a werewolf!"

He looked at her. In dimmed light, her face looked pale. "Really, Victoria? You are a shifter, you can shift yourself into a wolf, if you want to. I can't. I am still a human; I can't shift myself into anything. What is the difference?"

"But if you are a member of a werewolf clan, you have to follow their rules. What if they don't allow you to be with me?"

He smiled. "Then we run away. I love you, Victoria. I don't care if they don't agree; I don't even care if Mom doesn't agree. We will be together one day. I am sure of it!"

"Then leave the clan. Go with me, now."

He stared at Victoria. Her orange eyes changed into dark red. Weird. Victoria would not say that. She would never ask him to go with her. She had even left him alone in the room after she had kissed him and made him all hot. He was still angry with her about it, because he had been so sure that the night would have been the night that he would get to know what it meant to have a woman for the first time; to become a man, but then she had left him high and dry. No, Victoria would not say that. She knew how important it was for him to be a member of the Grey Hound clan, she would not ask him to leave them.

"James...please, go with me and leave the clan..."

"No," he said, taking his hand off hers. "And if you love me, you won't ask that." He pulled the blanket over his head. "Go, please. I want to sleep now."

"You don't know what love is. If you do, you won't behave like this!"

Maybe he didn't. Since it was the first time that he fell in love, but he knew what family meant. He wouldn't leave the clan and let down Uncle Jason.

"For the last time, I ask you James Stackhouse-Northman. LEAVE THE CLAN!"

He removed the blanket from his face and said, "NO!"

All of sudden, the room spun. He grabbed the bed, but soon, he was thrown off the bed and spun with it. He screamed and held on the bed as strong as he possibly could. The room spun faster and faster. He closed his eyes. Where was he? What happened to him? His head was getting heavy and his hands were getting loose. Sooner or later, he would be thrown out of the room and end up somewhere in the darkness. Then, he heard a howl and he saw a shimmering light. He knew who they were, they were his great grandfather and Filtiarn. "Great grandfather..." he called out. "Father...help!" He spun faster and faster and when his hands were no longer able to hold on, he was thrown away. James screamed loudly. "Heeeeeeelp!"

Boom! He landed on the ground. He opened his eyes, only to find he was still where he had been, surrounded by the werewolves on the peak of the Square Stones. He tried to get up, but soon, he fell on the ground.

"James!" he heard Papa's voice. The wolves turned around to Papa. They were all snarling at him.

"Let me come to my son," Papa growled. "Or you will get to know me."

Before the wolves or Papa did anything, from the top of the hill somebody shouted. "Help! The Warlock is bleeding!"

The circle of wolves broke. One by one they changed into their human forms. To James' surprise, one of them was Alcide. He turned around and nodded, before he walked away. Papa followed him with his icy stares, but soon he also turned his face away and came to him. His fangs were bared and without saying anything, he bored them into his own wrist, and still in his growling voice said, "Drink it."

James took his hand without protesting. He knew Papa was angry. It would be better for everybody if he simply did what he had been told.

"James!" Mom came to him. "James..."

"These werewolves!" Papa hissed. "They are out of the line."

Mom touched his hair. "James..." her tears fell on his face. "Never ever do this to me again..."

Papa's eyes flickered dangerously. "If you don't listen to your mother again, I will teach you how."

Warm feeling crept into his body. Slowly but surely, he gained his strength again. Softly, he pushed Papa's hand away. "Drink from me," Mom said. "You don't look so good, Eric." The next thing James heard was Mom's gasping. James pulled himself and sat down. Everybody was running around. It seemed chaos had ruled this place. And among that chaos, he saw Victoria, standing. As soon as their eyes met, she walked toward him. He looked at Papa, who was feeding on Mom. Mom was right, Papa looked...grey. He must have given him a lot of blood. Soon, Papa's skin was again pale. He let Mom's hand go, and licked his lips as if he had eaten delicious food. Then, he kissed her. "Thank you, lover," he said as he let her go.

Victoria came and sat beside him. Ignoring Mom and Papa, she hugged him tightly. "I thought, I would lose you."

He kissed her hair. No, Victoria. Never. Ever.

Xxxxx

Never in her life had Sookie felt so much fear like tonight. The picture of James falling on the ground was playing over and over again; it made her shudder. She would have been catching him, had Prescott not caught her. "Be patient, Sookie. There is nothing you can do. He has to go through this test alone."

How could she be patient and pretend that nothing happened? James was surrounded by eight werewolves and Hallow was there too. She was facing Eric now, but it seemed, Eric didn't want to take the first blow against her. Everybody was waiting, whilst James was on the ground. She couldn't see what was happening to him. And when James could get up only to fall again, Eric jumped to him. Strangely, Hallow didn't do anything against him. As she also ran to James, she could see that Hallow was bleeding. And so was James. Luckily, Eric moved fast. He was giving James his blood as she arrived.

"These werewolves," Eric hissed. "They are out of the line!"

Sookie touched James' hair. "Never ever do this to me again," her tears dropped on his face. Or she would never forgive herself to let everything go too far like this. What kind of power did James have that made the witches eager to know? Why had they done this to him?

"If you don't listen to your mother again, I will teach you how." Eric's voice sounded rusty and in pain. She turned to see him and was shocked to see that Eric was turning grey, just like when she saw him lying in his coffin. What happened to him? It was as if James had sucked the life out of him! "Drink from me," she gave him her wrist. "You don't look so good, Eric."

Eric took her hand as James finished his drinking and drank her the way he had drunk her on the first time; with a big appetite and thirst that he seemed to have had for years. His skin soon returned to its normal colour. He licked his lips, and then kissed her. His eyes shone brightly as he said, "Thank you, lover." He put some drops of his own blood on the wound to close them.

Sookie took a deep breath. James was sitting already and in his arms was Luna. He looked...content, as if what had happened to him had meant nothing to him. Somebody screamed about the Warlock bled, but Sookie didn't care. She didn't even care if that son of a bitch died!

When everything and everybody calmed down, they gathered beside the stone circle. The Hounders stood still behind Colin and his lieutenant. James was sitting on the ground. He seemed not to care that every pair of eyes were at him. One of his hands was striking Blue, the other was holding Victoria's. The other leaders of the werewolf clans sat on the ground with hard faces. Sookie could hear them murmuring about James. It was not clear what they were saying, but from their tones, Sookie could only guess that it couldn't be good. None of the witches were there.

No word was speaking among the leaders of the clans. They looked at each other and then one by one shook Colin's hand. "He's yours, Colin," one of them said. "But if he enters my area, I want your words that he won't interfere with our business."

"He won't attend any meeting until he's on age."

"That means next year," again, they looked at each other. Sookie could see that the fear on his face.

"In the meantime, he will stay under Long Tooth's responsibility." Colin looked at Sookie. "Of course, his mother can voice something different."

Oh, she can, can't she? Sookie was annoyed. She was the mother, but she didn't seem to have any voice in this meeting. What about Alcide? What would he say? She shot Alcide with a demanding look. Why did he keep quiet the whole time?

"I take the responsibility," finally, Alcide opened his mouth. "I'll share it with the Sheriff of Shreveport." He added it hastily.

Eric lifted his eyebrow. "I am not a werewolf. I don't live under your law." his head moved like a snake's. "He's my son; he's my responsibility, whether you recognize it or not."

That seemed to be a clear answer for them. The circle broke; one by one they left, until there were only the members of Grey Hounder, Luna, Eric and Sookie.

"What does it mean, Colin?" asked Sookie. "Is it over now?"

"Yes." Colin looked at James. His eyes turned yellowish. "He's a werewolf now."

xxxxx