Chapter Ten
Elena forced down some pizza. She still felt out of it, and she spent most of the day sleeping. It was amazing how she had been knocked out for days and yet she was exhausted.
The sound of a chair creaking in the room made her eyes open. The room was dark, but she could still see him sitting there.
"You didn't text me back." She sat up and reached for the light on the nightstand.
"Don't." Eric's voice was quiet as he stood up and walked over to her. She swallowed hard as he came and sat on the side of her bed. The only light in the room was that of the moon. Somehow, he looked even sexier in this lighting. Damon said you are barely eating."
"I'm not hungry." She touched his arm, and he groaned deep. A look of pain on his face.
He moved his arm as hers dropped off. "It doesn't matter you still need to eat."
"I wanted to thank you for saving me."
"You're no good to me dead." His voice was cold again as he stood up.
"You know you keep saying that, but I don't believe it. You could have let me die." She tried to stand up and nearly fell over, but he caught her in time. Their eyes locked in the darkness for a moment.
"You need to rest." He sat her back on the bed and she sighed.
"I'm tired of resting. I have been out for days. I want to talk about what happened." She found strength in her voice.
"You humans always overthink everything." He walked to her door.
"I'm sorry about your wife and your son." The words squeaked out and within seconds he was in front of her as she gasped.
"What did you say?"
"Her name was Elli, right?"
"Who told you that!" He grabbed her upper arms, and she sucked in a deep breath. "WHO!"
"Godric. He... He showed me." She stuttered.
"Don't ever bring up that name again, do you understand?" His fangs descended. "Do you!?"
"Yes." She swallowed hard.
"Get rest. Your due back at work tomorrow!" He snapped and then with a gust of wind he was gone as she let out the breath, she was holding in.
Eric got back to Fangtasia. His mind racing with memories that had been buried. He hadn't thought of Elli or his son in hundreds of years and by the way, the emotions were running through him, he would have much rather kept it that way. When Godric had changed him, he had been able to get his vengeance on those wolves, but it nearly cost him his life. Wolves were poison to vampires and yet now there was going to be a hybrid. He could only imagine the destruction it would cause.
As he made his way inside the club, he stopped when he saw Godric standing in there. He was shocked to see him. He had disappeared that day in New Orleans. He was still irritated with him. He walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink.
"Wasn't expecting you to come back around." Eric refused to look at him as he sipped his scotch.
"You're angry with me." Godric walked over to him.
"Damn straight I am! Why the hell did you let them go!"
"Have you lost all of your compassion and your humanity?"
"I don't want to talk about compassion. That wolf is carrying a hybrid child!" Eric threw his glass across the club, and it shattered against the wall. "This goes against everything that we stand for!"
"And what exactly is it that we stand for? The killing of innocence?"
"This is insanity!"
"Our existence is insanity. Don't you see that?" Godric's voice was low. "Nothing has changed in two thousand years. We still behave like monsters. We don't deserve to be here."
"But we are here, and those wolves are still trying to take us down!" Eric paced angrily. "That abomination will be the end of us all!"
"That child could bring us together. All the species finally living in harmony."
"You taught me there was survival or death. This is me surviving!"
"I was wrong. The only way to survive is to coexist."
"Bullshit!" Eric got in front of him and towered over his small frame.
"I steered you wrong and for that, I am so sorry."
"Why are you doing this?"
"The world is big enough for all of us."
"No, it's not. I won't stand for it." Eric turned from him, and Godric touched his arm. A sudden feeling of peace washed over him, and he jerked his arm back. "Don't do that to me." Eric walked across the room to get distance.
"You have suffered for so long. I want you to find peace. I want you to find love."
Eric laughed bitterly. "Maybe you don't know me at all."
"I know that even after a thousand years your heart still aches."
"Enough!" Eric shouted and then turned to look at him. "Why did you tell her?!"
"She can be good for you. Her heart is big."
Eric cut him off. "It wasn't your story to tell!" He grabbed the scotch bottle and took a long sip. "And might I remind you that her ancestor nearly drained this world dry!"
"And if I remember correctly, you were helping Katherine to do so until you saw her for who she was."
"I should have killed Elena when I had the chance! Maybe I will just do it now and be done with her!"
"You will do no such thing." Godric was right in front of him. He grabbed onto Eric's arm hard but this time he couldn't shake him off. "As your maker, I command you to keep her safe no matter what."
Eric's eyes got wide and then Godric was gone as he stood there.
By the next night, Elena was heading into Fangtasia even as Damon tried to tell her it was too soon. She needed to go there. She needed to see Eric but once inside the packed club he was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, look who decided to show up." Pam walked over to her and rolled her eyes.
"Nice to see you too." Elena's tone was sarcastic. "Where's Eric?"
"Busy." Pam walked past her.
Elena huffed and stormed over to the basement. Her heart raced as she made her way down the stairs, not knowing what she would see but surprisingly enough it was empty. She made her way back upstairs and looked at the hallway that led to his office. She walked over to it. She could already hear moans. Part of her was tempted to walk away but instead, she sucked in a deep breath and knocked.
"Go away!" He barked with annoyance. She sighed and pushed the door open. She blinked in shock at the scene before her. Two naked girls were hanging off him. He was fully clothed and covered in blood. The girls had multiple bite wounds all over their bodies. He pulled his fangs from one of the girls. "Did I say to come in?"
"I need to talk to you." She swallowed hard.
"You are relentless!" He huffed and then stood up as did the girls. "Sorry, ladies we're going to have to finish this up later."
The girls pouted and sighed as they grabbed their clothes. They shot her a nasty look on the way out as Eric wiped his mouth unceremoniously on his sleeve.
"What do you want?" He sat back down and kicked his booted feet up onto the desk.
"Listen I just..." She stammered.
"Just spit it out already. What the fuck do you want, Elena!"
She swallowed hard. "Why are you so angry with me!"
"Why am I angry with you?" He laughed bitterly. "Maybe because you won't leave me the hell alone!"
"I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you! You dragged me to this fucking place!"
"Hey, don't you raise your voice to me!" He yelled as he got in front of her. She gasped as her back hit the wall. His fangs descended as he hissed at her.
"You said I wasn't good to you dead." She squeaked the words out. He really looked like he was going to truly kill her.
"Let's get one thing straight. I may keep you alive but that's the extent of it. Got it? You mean nothing to me, Elena except a means to an end." He retracted his fangs as she held her breath. "Go back to work." He turned from her.
"Screw you, Eric!" She yelled with tears in her eyes and then she stormed out of his office.
Eric looked at his desk and yelled. "FUCK!" He flipped it over as things went flying.
Elena ran down the hallway and out the back exit. She hated that she was crying over him. She didn't even know why she allowed him to affect her this much.
She got to the back alley, and she began to cry. She refused to let anyone see her like this.
"Now what has caused such a beautiful girl like you to cry, or shall I say who?" A male voice startled her as she turned around and saw a tall dark-haired man standing in the shadow. His eyes lit up in the darkness and she swallowed hard. She turned to go back inside but then he was right there. "Where are you going, honey? You just got here." The man smiled devilishly as his fangs descended. She backed up with wide eyes. "Shhhh now, there is no reason to cry. In fact, you want to be out here with me, don't you?" He smiled and she couldn't move. She couldn't scream either as she felt a sense of peace come over her. "That's a good girl." He closed in the distance. His hand came up to her neck as he brushed her hair aside. He inhaled deeply and then licked his lips. "So sweet." He groaned as he bit into her neck. Seconds later he was being ripped off her as she fell to the ground. She could see someone else out there with them and then she heard the man scream as his body was torn into two.
Moments later she saw Eric's blue eyes hovering over her and then she was passing out.
She awoke in a dark room. She was lying in a soft bed, and she blinked her eyes open. She was disoriented but then the flashes of memory came back as she sat up. She was gasping for air as she tried to make out the room, she was in.
"You can't help but get yourself into trouble," Eric spoke next to her, and her eyes adjusted to the darkness. He was laying in the bed next to her. The light of the moon was silhouetting his features and he looked so beautiful. "I can't even leave you alone for a moment without you stumbling across someone."
"You... you killed him." Her words came out in a whisper.
"Would you have rather I let him drain you dry?" He sat up now and that's when she noticed that he was shirtless. His pale skin covering taunt muscles. "Can you stop thinking so much? It's distracting." He went to stand but she reached out for his arm.
"You are so beautiful." She couldn't help the words leaving her mouth.
"That's my blood talking." He tried to move again but she didn't release his arm. He could have easily yanked it away but this time he didn't.
"You saved me again."
"Don't look at me like that. It makes me feel disturbingly human." He stood up now and she swallowed hard. He grabbed his shirt from the chair across the room and began to put it on. Elena got out of bed and wobbled. He sighed heavily and then he was in front of her. His hands steadied her arms as she looked up at him.
"Please don't shut me out." She whispered softly. "I can't stop thinking about you."
"Because my blood is running through our veins. It's a chemical reaction." He spoke matter-of-factly, and she reached her hand out to touch his chest. He stiffened.
"I want you, Eric."
"Trust me, you don't." He moved back from her.
"Fine, you win." She breathed heavily. He turned from her. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to get distance from her. This wasn't like him. Normally he would just take what he wanted and there was no denying that he wanted her, but he couldn't bring himself to be selfish with her. "Kiss me then and let me get this out of my system."
He stopped at the door. "You need to rest."
"Why bring me back here to your place? Admit it that you wanted me in your bed, again."
"I brought you here because you're incapable of keeping yourself out of trouble and the only way I can assure your safety is by watching you like a child." His voice was cold and distant.
"Then just kiss and be done with it." Her heart raced and then seconds later he was in front of her, and her back was hitting the wall. His fangs descended.
"You wanna play with fire, Elena?" He hissed dangerously at her as she gasped. "Kissing you means nothing to me. Hell, I could fuck you and not even blink an eye. You are food and nothing more."
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Fine, I'm food." She reached her hand up to his mouth and touched one of his fangs. The pointiness of it pricked her finger and she went to pull it back, but he grabbed her wrist. His eyes locked with her. He brought her finger into his mouth and sucked hard as she let out a shuttering breath. He was quickly losing all control and that never happened to him before. He removed her finger from his mouth and then she was closing in the distance with her body. Her lips touched his in a soft kiss as she continued to look at him wearingly. He threw caution to the wind, and he opened his mouth against hers in a needful kiss. His hand wrapped into the back of her neck as he deepened it, eliciting a soft moan from her.
He quickly pulled back and turned for the door.
"Please Eric. Don't go." She finally managed to get the words out and when he looked back at her, his body reacted in such a way that he was a goner.
Within seconds he was in front of her again and his mouth was attacking hers more urgently now.
They began pulling off each other's shirts. The room echoed with the sound of heavy breathing and moans. Eric spun her quickly and then her back was on the bed as she gasped.
A knock on the door interrupted them and then the door was opening as Pam stood there.
"Are you fucking kidding me, Eric!"
"Not a good time, Pam." He looked at her. His body weight still deliciously pressed into Elena. She could barely focus on anything else.
"You're needed at the club." Pam huffed as she put her hands on her hips.
Eric groaned and then got up as Elena lay there, her body still reacting to his touch. "You're more than capable of running the club by yourself." He walked over to her.
"Not when Russell is here and asking for you." She raised an eyebrow.
Eric's entire demeanor changed, and he quickly grabbed his shirt. His sudden change wasn't lost on Elena.
"How long has he been here and why are you just getting me now!"
Pam rolled her eyes and then glanced at Elena. She smirked darkly and then followed Eric out of the room. Elena had no idea who this Russell guy was but apparently, he was someone important. She quickly got dressed.
"You're becoming distracted Eric and I am worried." Pam shook her head as they made their way down the hall as he buttoned his shirt.
"I have everything under control."
"Uh-huh. That's what it looked like." She rolled her eyes again. "You know that she is going to cause trouble."
"Just mind your own business."
"I've been with you for two centuries Eric. I've never seen you get like this over a human."
"I've fucked many humans, Pam. You included before I turned you."
"That's not what I mean. She is toxic and the sooner you see that the better."
He made his way into the club as Russell sat at the bar. He was the King of the northeast district of the United States. If he was in Fangtasia then it was not a good thing.
Eric forced a smile as he walked over. "Russell what a pleasant surprise." He bowed dramatically.
"Oh, please no need for pleasantries here. I love what you have done with the place." Russell grinned.
"Let me get you a drink." Eric waved over one of the dancers and Russell shook his head.
"I ate before I came." He grinned. "I have been hearing some very discouraging rumors, Eric."
"Shall we take this into my office?"
"Of course. Let's not mix business with pleasure."
They made their way into Eric's office and Russell walked over to his chair and sat down in it. He put his feet up on Eric's desk.
"So how have things been?" Russell brought his hands behind his head as he leaned back in the chair.
Eric stood on the other side of the desk. "It's been uneventful."
"Really now? Because I am hearing a lot of chatter." Russell grinned darkly.
"You know what they say, you can't always believe everything you hear."
"And normally I would agree but the things I have been hearing, Eric. Woah, they are crazy to say the least." He sat up now and smiled big.
"Well let me put your mind at ease. Everything is fine."
"Stop bullshitting me, Eric!" Russell got in front of him within seconds. "I hear you are holding a human here against her will."
"It's not what it looks like." He was happy that he hadn't brought up the hybrid.
"Then do tell. Who is this human?"
"She is no one, just a way to start blending in more so when we finally come out of the shadows there will be trust built."
"Oh, what a fantastic plan, Eric! I am impressed." Russell's fangs descended and then he pressed him up against the wall. "If only that was the truth!" He hissed angrily.
"What? Russel, it's the truth."
"No, it's not and the fact that you lie to my face disappoints me!"
"I can explain."
"Bring her to me."
"Can I just..."
"I said bring her to me!"
"Ok. Let me get her for you."
Russell let go of him and Eric backed out of the office. As soon as he stepped out of the office, he saw her coming down the hall.
"We need to talk." Elena walked up to him, but he had a very strange look on his face. A mix between panic and worry then his office door opened. A brown-haired man dressed in a very expensive suit came walking out. He smiled devilishly at her and pushed past Eric. She felt the hair on her arms stand on end.
"There is the woman of the hour." He walked up to her, and Elena looked between them. The look on Eric's face made her incredibly uneasy. "Well, are you going you introduce me to your friend?" Russell looked at Eric.
"Elena this is Russell. He is the king of the northeast territory."
Her eyes got wide as she looked at this man and then at Eric. King? What the fuck!
Russell put his hand out to her. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."
She gasped as her hand moved on its own accord and right into his as he closed in the distance. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it softly before bringing his nose to her wrist and inhaling deep. She swallowed hard. This wasn't good.
"The family resemblance is impeccable." Russell looked at Eric and grinned. "And yet here you were holding her all to yourself. Tisk tisk." Elena let out a shaky breath. "Oh, no need to worry my child. I go back a very long way with your family."
"I'm not like Katherine." Her voice shook as she spoke, and she looked at Eric for reassurance, but he said nothing.
"Oh, but you are. I can feel your power already. Witch blood runs through your veins."
"But I'm not..."
He cut her off. "Shhh, my child. No need to fear me. I would simply like to extend an invitation to my home."
"Russell." Eric began.
"Enough of you." Russell snapped angrily. "What do you say we blow this popsicle stand."
Elena's eyes got wide. She couldn't speak, literally. Words would not come out of her mouth.
"Oh, look she is so excited, she is speechless." Russell laughed and then he yanked her incredibly close. Fear raced through her.
"Russell, wait." Eric began to say and then they were gone with a gust of wind. "Fuck." For the first time in over a thousand years, he was actually scared.
