Chapter One

Pulling up to Fangtasia was equally exciting and scary. This was the first vampire bar that Sookie had been to. It was still crazy to think just a few years ago no one even knew they existed and now they were running clubs and businesses. Some people still fought against the idea of vampires living out in the open, but Sookie liked the idea of something different. She came from a small town called Bon Temps and nothing ever happened there, so the fact that there was a vampire bar just a few towns away in Shreveport was pretty awesome.

Today wasn't just a random visit either. The sound of Arlene's shrill of excitement filled the air as Sookie's attention was brought to the bride-to-be. This would be her fifth wedding and tonight was her bachelorette party. What better place to have it than at Louisiana's most famous vampire bar!

"Oh my gosh. I am so excited you guys! Thank you so much for this!" Arlene beamed as they all stood outside the bar and looked up at the flashing red sign.

"I don't know. Like I get it that they want to have a place for themselves, but should we really go inside." Tara felt anxious and it was written all over her face. Her and Sookie had been best friends since they were kids and even though she wasn't as happy about the vampire movement as Sookie was, she still decided to go out.

"Listen this is going to be fine, ok. It's just like a regular club inside." Maudette grinned as they all looked at her in shock. Her face turned as red as her hair.

"Do not tell me that you have been inside Fangtasia?" Dawn's eyes were wide as was everyone's else.

Before she even spoke Sookie could already see Maudette's thoughts. She saw a bald vampire thrusting wildly into her screaming body. She wasn't screaming in pain either. It was in pleasure. Sookie immediately looked away.

Sookie wasn't like other girls her age. She had the ability to read people's thoughts. It was more of a disability than anything else and for the most part, she hated it. It was always very loud and chaotic in her mind.

"Oh my god, you slut!" Dawn laughed as they all joined in.

"Hey, don't mock it until you try it," Maudette smirked.

"A fang banger, who would have thought." Arlene laughed.

"I could have. Maudette will fuck anything with legs." Tara rolled her eyes as they all looked at her. "Sorry, did I say that out loud?"

"Listen I ain't even mad. I am a fang banger and proud of it." Maudette shook her large breasts and did a dance.

"Come on let's go inside. I wanna do body shots off some hot vampire!" Arlene laughed.

They all made their way inside and to say that the scene before them was overwhelming would have been an understatement. Inside there were flashing lights, a dance floor, a bar, and even a gift shop. They were met almost immediately by a tall brunette who was checking ID's. She was dressed in a flashy red corset and black leather pants. She looked like a mix between Sandy from Grease and a modern-day vampire queen.

"I haven't been carded in years." Sookie laughed as they all pulled out their ID.

"Sookie Stackhouse, huh?" The woman grinned as she looked at the ID.

"This is a great place. I love your shoes." She grinned and the woman looked at her with amusement. A hint of a fang showing as Sookie swallowed hard. This was her first time seeing an actual vampire up close and personal. She had only seen them on tv, but this was surreal.

"I'm getting married. We're doing a girl's night here." Arlene interjected with a huge smile.

"Oh joy. Sounds like a blast." The woman handed Sookie back her ID and then stepped aside. Sookie smiled nervously and walked past her. Suddenly coming here was making her stomach do somersaults.

"I need a drink." Tara huffed and made a beeline for the bar. The girls all followed.

Sookie took a minute to look around the club. Even with the loud music she could still hear everyone's thoughts all jumbled up. Sex. Everyone there had sex on the brain. It was something that Sookie knew very little about. She was twenty-five years old and still a virgin not that she hadn't had many occasions to lose it. The fact that every man she had dated turned out to be either a pervert or a freak of some sort. She couldn't help but read their minds and men, well they all had one thing on it whether they liked to admit it or not.

"I can't believe we're actually here!" Arlene yelled out as the tall bartender poured them shots. He too was a vampire. All fangs seemed to be out at this place.

"I'm glad you came with us," Sookie spoke to Tara who looked less than happy to be there.

"Only for you Sook." She downed her shot and then ordered another.

Tara wasn't one for going out like this. She was angry a lot of the time and she had a hard time keeping friends because of her temper. Truth be told she didn't like any of the girls that had come out, but she came for Sookie. Tara didn't have an easy childhood and unfortunately, it leaked into her adult life. The child of an alcoholic mother will do that to you.

"Well, I am still happy you came. We're going to have fun."

Tara rolled her eyes as she looked at Maudette and Dawn already flirting their way through the men at the bar.

"I wanna dance!" Arlene took back another shot and then she pulled them all onto the dance floor.

It had been a while since Sookie had let loose. Most days she was working at Merlotte's as a waitress and then headed home to spend time with her gram. Not that she was complaining, she loved her gram and they talked every night about shows and news stories. Occasionally her gram would question Sookie about finding herself a man to grow old with. That in itself was easier said than done considering the disability that Sookie had. All the men she knew were either childhood friends or people just passing through town. At this point, she assumed she would be single forever.

Her brother Jason on the other hand couldn't seem to stay single for long. He had slept with both Maudette and Dawn. There were even rumors that they had a threesome, but Sookie tried her best to stay out of his mind. The one time she did it was like reliving a porno.

They all danced in their small group. Even Tara had a hint of a smile on her face. This was actually fun and soon Sookie was able to drown out the majority of the racing minds. It was a difficult task but if she tried really hard, she could keep them at bay. She spun around and her eyes locked in on a blonde-haired man sitting across the club. His chair resembled a throne, and his body was huge in it. She would guess he was close to six and a half feet tall. His eyes drifted around the club and then landed on hers. For a moment she was frozen. His stare was so intense that she felt her heart race something awful. She could tell from here that he was most definitely a vampire and a powerful one at that. She didn't know much about vampires except what the news station had spoken about. She was intrigued by them. Some were even rumored to be hundreds of years old. She couldn't even imagine the stories they could have. She gave him a hint of a soft smile and then he looked away.

"I'm going to get another drink." She told the girls before heading back up to the bar. She was parched from the dancing but also now because of the blonde-haired man.

"Gin and tonic please." She smiled sweetly at the hardened vampire behind the bar.

"Are you sure you don't want something stronger?" A deep male voice said beside her and for some reason, before she even looked at him, she knew it was that man. The blonde vampire from the throne. She turned and looked into those intense blue eyes.

"Gin and tonic is fine. I'm Sookie by the way." She put her hand out to him in a polite gesture. He looked at her hand and then back into her eyes without touching her.

"I know who you are, Sookie Stackhouse." He grinned as his fangs flashed and she swallowed hard.

"Oh um."

"How do you like my club?" He held himself with so much confidence and authority that she felt her mouth becoming dry yet again.

"Your club? Oh, it's great. It's a lot of fun," She smiled nervously.

"I would like you to come with me Sookie. I think we could have a lot of fun too." He stared hard at her.

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It wasn't that she was afraid of this man, well maybe a little but he was gorgeous even more so this close. He looked like a Viking god. He towered over her. His shoulders and chest were broad through his black t-shirt. His jaw structure was immaculate and his lips were full. His hair was long and drifting past his shoulders. He was beautiful.

"I said let's go, now." His voice was more demanding.

"I'm sorry I don't quite know you and um…" Her voice trailed and he looked at her perplexed. Just then Tara came over. She looked at the man and then back at Sookie.

"Hey, come with me to the bathroom?"

"Yeah sure." Sookie turned and then looked back at the man who was still watching her. "It was nice meeting you. I didn't catch your name?"

He turned from her without saying anything. He looked annoyed and she swallowed hard once more.

"Come on Sook." Tara grabbed her arm and led her to the bathroom. "Who was that?"

"I'm not quite sure. He said he owns the place."

"Yeah, ok." Tara rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he does."

"I think he may have been telling the truth. He was sitting in a large chair overlooking the place."

"You're not like interested in him or something, are you?"

"What, no."

"I know that look Sook. Just let it go. This place is full of freaks."

"Listen I'm just here to have a good time at Arlene's party. Trust me I am not looking to hook up with anyone."

"I don't know, just be careful. This place is really weird and that's a lot coming from me because I have seen a lot of crazy stuff."

Meanwhile, Eric made his way through the club and over to Pam who was still at the door carding people.

"Another fantastic night Eric." Pam was as sarcastic as ever.

"I need you to get me as much information as you can on that blonde chick Sookie."

Pam smirked now with amusement behind her eyes. "And what exactly are we looking for?"

"Everything." His tone was dry.

"Hmm? Why everything?"

"Just do it, Pam." He walked away from her, and she smirked.

"Whatever you say, boss."

There were only two times in Eric's life that he couldn't glamour a human and she didn't look like a witch or a wolf. He would know too; he would be able to feel it. She wasn't entirely human either which was odd. He couldn't figure out what she was, and he was a thousand years old. He thought he had seen everything.

Sookie made her way back to the dance floor. Dawn and Maudette were making out with two guys and Arlene was grinding against a man dressed completely in leather.

"See that's why I will never get married." Tara looked at Arlene dancing provocatively. "You can't trust anyone these days."

"Oh, she is just having fun. She wouldn't cheat on Rene." Sookie looked back over at Arlene and then back to Tara. "Ok, maybe she is being a…"

"Slut. Yeah, a slut." Tara smirked.

Sookie sighed. "Come on you need another drink."

They made their way back up to the bar.

"Can we get two shots?" Sookie smiled.

"On the house." The bartender placed them on the bar.

"Oh, well that's nice." Sookie smiled and Tara looked on suspiciously.

"Who are they from?" Tara interjected.

"From the owner Eric, of course." He glanced in the direction of the blonde-haired man who was sitting back on his throne. He was staring at Sookie again.

She looked at Tara and raised an eyebrow as if to say, told you so.

"Oh, whatever. Free drinks are free drinks."

They both took back their shots.

The night progressed as they drank and danced. Overall, it was a win. By the time two am rolled around, they decided to head home. They had a wedding to get to the next day and they were all going to have to sleep off the alcohol. Sookie had done one last look around the club, the owner Eric was nowhere to be seen. Not that she wanted to see him again anyways. She left without another thought of him in her mind.

Sookie had been to every one of Arlene's weddings. This one was by far the most beautiful. The after-party was held at Merlotte's, thanks to their generous boss Sam. It seemed like the entire town was there and they may have been. Everyone was dressed simply and not in extravagant dresses. It was a nice spring wedding, and the weather was cooperating for the most part.

"How long do you think this one will last?" Tara drank a beer and smirked.

"You be nice, Tara." Sookie smiled playfully back at her.

"Look at you all dressed up Sookie Stackhouse, looking like a snack." Tara's cousin Lafayette came strutting over.

"Why thank you. You look as handsome as ever."

"I know." He grinned and then he looked at Tara. "You on the other hand look like…"

"You should choose your next words wisely," Tara warned, and then her eyes darted across the dimly lit parking lot. Sookie's eyes followed and got wide when she saw the vampire from the club, Eric. He was dressed in a white button-down shirt that was cuffed on his forearms. He wore black slacks and finished off with black shoes. His hair looked silky smooth and sexy as hell. "Oh no he didn't come here." Tara stood up taller.

"Oh damn, we gots us a vampire situation," Lafayette smirked.

"They think they can just show up anywhere uninvited. Well, I am going to let him know." Tara passed her beer off to her cousin and Sookie got in front of her.

"We can't kick him out of here. He didn't do anything wrong."

"He wasn't invited. This is a private occasion." Tara snapped angrily. Her disdain for the vampires showing her true colors. She tried to walk around Sookie, but she was blocked once more.

"The entire town is here. This is far from private." Sookie sighed and then glanced across the parking lot. She watched Eric walk over to Arlene and Rene. He handed them a white envelope. They looked at him with apprehension but then opened it. Both of their eyes got wide and then a huge smile crossed their faces. Arlene actually hugged him.

"What the hell?" Tara huffed.

"See. It's fine." Sookie locked eyes with Eric and then quickly looked away. Her heart was racing. Why had he shown up? How did he even know that a wedding was happening? Then she remembered a rumor she had heard; it was that vampires could read minds sort of like she could. Is that what he had done? Had he read her mind? Her face flushed with embarrassment as naughty thoughts of him raced through it.

"Great he is coming over." Tara rolled her eyes.

"He is?" Sookie turned and sure enough, Eric was sauntering his long legs her way. His eyes never left hers. She was frozen yet again as she watched him. Damn, he was a beautiful specimen of a man.

"Oh, Sookie wants to get some of that nookie." Lafayette laughed and she turned red as Eric closed in the distance.

"Hello, Sookie."