A/N: I am posting this earlier than I'd planned because I have no self-control. 31 is done and betaed. 18 has been started and I'm plugging away at it. Oh, and I apologize in advance.

Chapter 30

When Tray dropped her off near dawn, Sookie dumped her stuff on the table inside the door and ran into Eric's office to find him. She wanted him again and wanted to tell him all about her night. When she got there, her smile disappeared. Her eyebrows drew together and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Something was terribly wrong. She hadn't seen him look so cold since that night that she'd run into his office after being dropped off by a different wolf and Eric had accused her of sleeping with Alcide.

He motioned her to sit down in the chair across from his desk. Not on his lap. She did and her stomach sank further.

He said, "There has been a change of plans. I was given proof tonight that Sophie-Anne is the one who ordered Pam's final death. She and her vampires will die the night after next, at the ball. It will be very dangerous. You will need to stay here at the safehouse with Tray."

He looked down and shuffled the papers on his desk, dismissing her. Hoping that she would leave, although knowing that she wouldn't. She didn't. After a few minutes, she said, "But… But Eric. You won't be able to beat them all by yourself. You'll die."

He looked up again and grinned, but it didn't meet his eyes. Worse, she thought that they got even colder. There was rage boiling just under the surface and, although she knew that it wasn't at her, it scared her. He felt so distant. It was almost like the Eric she knew wasn't there. Or maybe she just kind of hoped that that was true. His voice was nearly a hiss.

"I will not be alone. Queen Freyda of Oklahoma gave me the proof. I have signed a contract and she and those aligned with her will work with me to defeat Sophie-Anne and take Louisiana. I want to be the one to cut off her head and give her her final death."

Sookie frowned. "A contract? What kind of contract?"

He looked almost like he had the night that she'd risen. Like he was a cold and angry stranger again. A monster. But she had seen something in his eyes. Something that had looked like guilt. It was gone so quickly that she'd wondered for a moment if she'd imagined it. But she knew that she hadn't. She waited for his answer but it never came.

"What kind of contract, Eric?"

She was reminded again of that night that Alcide had come to Shreveport. She and Eric had had a contract of their own at the time. A verbal one, anyway. They were free to have sex with whomever they liked. But she'd chosen not to sleep with her wolf and Eric had assumed the opposite and had lost his mind. That night had changed everything, and not just because of their vow of monogamy. She had very nearly left him and he had promised to treat her as an equal when it came to their relationship. There would be no more unilateral decisions. He would only act as her maker when it came to things like vampire etiquette or their safety. She was very afraid that a promise had been broken.

Eric looked down at his papers again, although not to dismiss her this time. This time it was just because he was being a coward.

He gathered himself together. This had been necessary. He couldn't let the queen get away with killing Pam. Retribution, for Sookie's maker and for his child. Sookie would understand. Eventually. When she finally realized what it was to truly be Vampire. And he had been right to make this decision. This had nothing to do with their relationship and everything to do with war and diplomacy.

He sounded matter-of-fact. "It is a wedding contract, but it means nothing. It is just a business arrangement."

He was expecting tears. Had prepared himself to harden his heart against them. Instead of teary, her voice was steady. Almost neutral.

"You're taking her to the ball instead."

It wasn't a question. And it wasn't something that he'd planned to mention. Not beforehand, at least. He picked up a pen and signed the bottom of the paper in front of him where indicated. He had no idea what it said. He glanced at her, but right back down to the page again.

"It will be war, Sookie. Dangerous. You need to stay here. I don't want you to get hurt."

He looked at her and tried to soften both his face and his voice. "I can't risk losing you, too."

He was telling the absolute truth, but he was being terribly dishonest at the same time. Despite how hard he'd tried, it had sounded like bullshit. They both knew that that wasn't his real motivation. His stomach felt like it was full of snakes.

He dropped his eyes too quickly. She scrutinized him for a long time as he pretended to be engrossed in whatever page his hand had landed on. "You've already fucked her, haven't you?"

He actually flinched, and it pissed him off. This was not how any of this was supposed to play out. He had prepared himself for hell, but not like this. He looked up and snapped at her. "I am not going to speak any more of this until you stop behaving like a child."

She didn't take the bait. Her voice stayed calm and even. "Admit it, Eric. Just say it. I know you did. It's all over your face."

"Sookie, enough. You need to leave. Go to bed. I have work to do."

"No. I deserve an answer. Did you or did you not fuck Oklahoma?"

He tried to sound matter-of-fact again and knew he was going to fail. And then he gave up. He couldn't meet her eyes. His mask had slipped. His voice was low. He sounded bone-tired. "Only because it was required upon signature of the contract. It meant nothing, Sookie."

The silence stretched on, but he saw that she wasn't going to be the one to break it. He didn't think that she had any intention of leaving. She just sat there, looking at him, waiting. He tried one last time. He set his chin and looked her in the eye and managed to sound at least a little more firm. It was meant to be a maker's command. "You will let it go."

He could see that she wouldn't. When the tears hadn't come, he had been steeling himself for anger. She had destroyed him with words the last time, but that didn't come, either. Instead, she held his gaze and didn't let him look away for a couple of minutes that felt like hours. He had known that it was going to be awful, but somehow this dead calm was far worse than tears or anger. He'd called her a child, but there was nothing childlike in her face. No innocence or softness or wonder or light left in her eyes. She was the one who managed matter-of-fact.

"You just broke my heart."

She got up and left. He heard the front door close quietly. Even if it hadn't been so close to sunrise, he wouldn't have followed her. He had seen how she'd looked at him. It was pointless. He would not spend his time pleading with her and worrying that he had made a terrible mistake. He needed to keep his head in the game or else he would be killed and it all would have been for nothing.

…

Eric's safehouse was ten miles or more from the French Quarter, and she didn't really even know where the wolves were parked, so she just headed northwest. She hadn't thought to grab her stuff on the way out the door and didn't have her phone, her sunglasses, or any money. So she walked.

She was so numb. She'd nearly broken down on the way out the door when her control had started to crumble, but she had been able to hold off until the numbness had set in.

The sun broke over the horizon and Sookie already had to squint, even if it was mostly behind her. The higher it got in the sky, the more exhausted she became, and the reflections off the road and the cars and the buildings felt like there were daggers in her eyes and that her head might explode. She couldn't get sick or cry or pass out because she might expose them all, but she wasn't going to be able to help it soon. The cocoon of numbness was starting to slip.

There was a payphone outside a gas station and she nearly sobbed, but held it in. She had to call collect, so calling Tray or her wolves' cellphones was out. She didn't really know anyone else who wasn't at rest right then and she felt a pang at how much had changed since the night of her birthday-cum-deathday. She dialed zero and then called Tray's parents collect.

Tray called Alcide, and the Cadillac and the Volkswagen met her there at almost the same time. She was huddled in the shade around back with her face pressed against her knees to hide the blood on her cheeks. She hadn't been able to hold it in anymore. Alcide picked her up and carried her into the van and laid her on the bed in back. He climbed in behind her and she turned over and sobbed into his chest. He held her, singing softly and rocking her.

Tray, Maria-Star and Jake stood off to the side. Tray ran his fingers through his hair.

"She has so much skin exposed and doesn't have her sunglasses on. She must be hurting bad."

Maria-Star wrapped her arms around herself. Sookie looked terrible and it scared her to death. "How long do you think she's been out in the sun?"

Tray shrugged. "She didn't have her things so probably before dawn. We're about nine miles from Eric's and it's three hours or so past sunrise. Slow going, but she sure doesn't look much up to running."

Jake said, "The van has curtains, but it doesn't get really dark. But I guess we can find a shady place to park."

Tray grinned. "Get in the van and follow me."