A/N: I feel like it's been so long since I've posted a chapter! But I'm back, baby!
str8jacket: I'm glad that you liked that bit. I don't usually agree with characters that know everything right off but I couldn't just let him get away with it when she has those abilities.
X Blue Eyed Demon X: As you requested.
HarryPotterFreakie: Aw, thank you! I'm so happy that it's a story that you like.
permisable: While I was writing it, I was even a little bit grossed out.
Martha Van Vires: Thank you! Hope you like this chapter!
Nekokitten1123: Thank you! And here's your update!
Chapter Six: Plaisir D'Amour
"Do I look like a waitress, Sam?" The shaggy haired man standing just outside my bar ran a hand over his face, his eyes tired. Taking the towel from my shoulder, I wiped down my counters where some beer had spilled over from the taps. Not only did I have to serve my regular drunks at my bar but I also had to give the waitresses their drinks. And tonight Merlotte's was packed to spilling over.
"You get half of the tips that my waitresses earn," he said sardonically and I gave him an indulgent smile as I grabbed my shaker and the whiskey from my wall.
"That's because everyone in fucking Lousiana drinks, honey." I gave Tim a sharp glance as he made an indignant snort, his flabby double chin going red as he puffed up like a rooster. He was one of the drunkest motherfuckers in Bon Temp. And that was saying something in a town full of drunks. I glanced back at Sam as I poured some ice, Scotch Whiskey, vermouth, cherry heering, and orange juice into my shaker and started in on the task. "And who makes the drinks here, Sam?"
"You do, Runa," he said tiredly, rubbing a hand over his face as Old Lady Margaret snorted, the sound going off into giggles as she swayed over her gin and tonic. I quirked my brow at him.
Snapping my gum, I took a tip where Dave had just been sitting, shoving it into my back pocket and poured the sandalwood liquid from my shaker and into a martini glass, taking a wedge of orange from the cutting board and onto the rim. My heels clicked dangerously as I stalked toward him, my feet already aching in these Timberland stiletto boot death traps as I took up the drink. Carefully, I set the drink down in front of him, leaning in to run a hand over Sam's heavily stubbled jaw.
I gave him a slow smile as the familiar scent of smoky citrus drifted from the glass. "Unless you want to pay me double…"
I had had a long day. My cat had died and her skull had been removed as some sick psychos trophy(although that excuse seemed to be getting old quickly.) Bad sex. No coffee. Shitty tips. By the way that Cooper and his little hoard of redneck homophobes were looking over here and snickering, the blonde was making a couple quick jibes at my expense. If I took up the extra slack of serving my alcohol out to the crowded mayhem of Merlotte's than I would surely be going to their table. They couldn't go a meal without a beer. And if I had to do that I might as well make it worth my while.
"Dammit, Runa," Sam snarled, his blue eyes flashing angrily as he frowned at me, moving his head away from the touch as Sookie walked past. His eyes flashed as he stared at me with a frown. "Why can't you be more like your sister?"
It stung. He knew that it would. I let my hand drop, leaning away from him as his eyes suddenly went soft, his expression almost wilting in regret. Apparently, he had been dealing with some shit too.
"Aw, damn," he cussed softly, tugging at his hair again. "Runa, I didn't-"
"I'll wait the fucking tables, Sam Merlotte but after this is done you better pray that I don't come back here and kick your shaggy ass," I hissed, grabbing up a clean towel to throw over my shoulder and an apron from under the bar and tied to harshly over my ripped jeans, fumbling angrily with the belt around my waist.
"Take off your clothes, sexy lady and I'll give you a bigger tip!" Dave yelled from down the bar, wandering back from the bathrooms and I gritted my teeth, pushing out from behind the bar before I could do anything that would get Sam a lawsuit.
"You can get that double, Runa," Sam whispered, his eyes flicking to the ground as he moved out of my way as I stormed over to the area where the trays were kept. I glanced back at him.
"If I got the double now, I would feel like a bitch," I answered honestly, wishing for the millionth time that I had brought along my Merlotte's shirt instead of worn a black beaters tank and these fucking heels. But skimpy got me tips. Tara stalked past me into the bar right after Sam, her eyes flaming and her stride long as her fingers convulsed on a envelope in her hands.
I was half tempted to stick around and see what the deal was.
"What's your goddamn order?" I snarled out, flipping open my pad and staring down at Cooper and his Queen, Royce. I couldn't say that I particularly knew the other little pups name. Bon Temp was a small town but I wasn't particularly into the habit of hanging around with Royce's little boy band. The only reason I knew Cooper was because he had worked at Merlotte's as a waiter. Up until he got involved with Royce and decided that he was too good for the place.
"Woah, honey," the dirty blonde drawled out, leaning back in his chair like he was the fucking King of England. Cooper's eyes were razor sharp and mean as they stared up at me, a nasty smile curling his lips. Across from him, the other one snickered. "I thought you were supposed to serve us. Customer service. Being nice."
So that was how we were going to play it. I gave them a thin smile, shifting my weight to a hip. This was going to take some time apparently. It was a good thing that they had picked a table so close to the main entrance, situated right in the middle of the bar and grill like a stage. The moment I had walked over here, I had drawn most of the attention. Now the masses had grown muted as their radars for gossip beeped, Arlene stopping to stare as she sat beside Rene. The new girl, a curly haired brunette with her hair pushed away from her head with a scarf, gazed over at us with wide eyes.
"Well, ain't you a peach," I said acidically, flipping my notepad shut, I leaned onto the table, watching as Royce gave a hoot like he was getting a fucking strip show. I met his eyes, lowering my voice so that only him and his little crew could hear me. "Now you listen to me, Royce Williams and you listen real good. Either you give me your fucking order or I'm going to go into the back and pull it out of the trash. Now... What'll it be, honey?"
"You can't talk to me like that-" he snarled out, trying to rise but only stumbling back into his seat as I shoved him.
"I can talk to you backwater hicks any fucking way I want to. This is my goddamn job and Sam Merlotte and the rest of this fucking town know what little dicks you and your puppy's are. Who do you think is gonna get kicked out of here tonight? Runa Stackhouse or Royce Williams?" I gave him a patient stare, my hand still pressing into his shoulder. Both of the other two had gone oddly quiet. It was Royce who wore the balls in their relationship and it was Royce who spoke for everyone. I rarely heard Cooper speak two words when he was around the other man.
"The customer's always right," Royce said weakly, his teeth baring back in a snarl as he threw out his last attempt at fighting back. I gave him a smile, leaning back to flip open my notepad and click my pen.
"Why, you're quite right, Royce," I said, letting my smile drop. "And I choose who's my fucking customer. Now, you gonna play nice or do I have to go get my sister's vamp so that he can suck the living life right out of your hick skin?"
The way that they reacted to that last part unsettled me. Royce gave a low snicker along with the one I didn't know and Cooper glanced down at his bandaged arm, fiddling with the gauze like a child caught with his hand in the molasses jar. My eyes narrowing, a tingling starting in the back of my mind. I wanted to look through their dreams - my fingers and mind itched for it. Against the back of my mind, I felt the familiar press of Sookie but I pushed her away roughly, concentrating on the task in front of me.
"Yeah. You go and do that, honey," Royce snorted. "Tell him that I'll bring my fucking lighter fluid."
"I got the matches," the one that I didn't know howled.
My jaw set. I didn't fucking like Bill Compton. I was big enough to admit that. But there was an odd protectiveness that came with Royce saying that. It probably came from the knowledge that Sookie was infatuated with the vamp and that there was no way that I would let her be hurt like she had been when we had found those coffins.
"What's your order, Royce?" I forced out and he ran a cool eye over me. "And if you fucking say my name, I swear to god, I will make sure that everyone in Bon Temp sees how much of a little bitch you are. Right here. Right now."
"Not like everyone hasn't already gotten a piece of the great Runa Stackhouse," I heard Cooper mumble out and I resisted the urge to flinch.
"How do you plan on doing that?" Royce said, his hand reaching out lazily to stroke along my thigh.
I slammed the heel of my Timberlands into his toe, sending him slamming forward into the table on reflex as he cussed. Lunging forward, I grabbed a good chunk of his greasy hair and jerked it back, his adam's apple bobbing as I sneered down at him. Royce's eyes flicked to my teeth. I wasn't sure if Cooper had let out the fact that I had bit a good chunk of his skin off or not but there was no way that he could hide that, the skin still raw and bleeding a bit, exposed as though Cooper hadn't even thought to put anything on it.
"What's your fucking order?" I hissed out slowly, forcing a little bit of the fucked up reality into his mind. Afraid of being gay. Afraid of liking men because he had too much ignorance and stupidity forced into him by his daddy. My fingers tightened even more in his hair as I saw his eyes dilate, sweat rolling down his neck. Still afraid of his daddy and wanting to force some of that back out onto the world. I turned it all in, staring down at his quivering lips as I saw Cooper lean away, shuddering.
"Fried - fried ste - steak," he whispered out and I gave him an indulgent smile, leaning away from him. I glanced to the other two, quickly scribbling down the order.
"Runa, I can take this table." It was the new girl, she was approaching me like I assumed a zoo trainer would approach a pack of wolves. She gave the table a tight smile and a nod like she was some fucking savoir that had wandered across them in the wilderness.
"Well, that's real nice of you…" I searched for her name, trying to filter through my memory before giving up. "But I think we're all having such a nice evenin', it'd be a shame to split us up. Aint we, boys?"
I flicked my eyes back to the table. With Royce thoroughly disarmed, the remaining two were left to nod meekly, their eyes flicking to their pale leader. I gave her my best smile, staring at her until she eventually had to wander away. Expectantly, I turned back to the table.
"Ribs with potato salad," the one I didn't know mumbled. At my quirked brow, he gulped, looking back at the menu. "Corona."
"Fried chicken with corn and kale. Coors," Cooper said, his eyes flicking worriedly to Royce.
"I'll be right back with your order," I said sweetly.
And with that I stalked to the back window.
"You one nasty hooker," Lafayette mused as I handed over the ticket, giving him a sardonic smirk. He gave me a tsk and went to his grill, flipping a couple burgers. "Who taught you to be that down and…"
My brows furrowed. Lafayette had gone two shades lighter, his words stumbling off into mute silence and his whole body stilling as his eyes wandered over my shoulder. Very few things could shut him up. Shut the whole bar up for that matter. I turned, my breath freezing in my lunges as I saw a familiar figure wander lazily through the doors of Merlotte's, a smirking blonde and a chubby Asian man just behind him. Eric's eyes flicked over the place, clearly unimpressed.
Standing just by the bar with Sookie, Bill looked like he was about to go to his own funeral, his eyes downcast and his smile sad as he talked with my sister.
My mind flashed uneasily back to the last meeting that I had had with all three of these vamps and my sister. That had ended with a dead Native American on the ground like a spille slushie. Haltingly, I made my way along the wall, stalling out just at the bar.
"Try and behave yourself," Bill whispered to the taller blonde as he headed to the back where Sam's office was. I crept closer to my sister, placing a hand on her back as I watched her brows crease in worry. Three vamps in our bar and they looked like they were scanning it for repossession.
Do you know what's going on? Sookie's voice seeped into my mind like diluted liquor. I had an odd feeling that Eric knew exactly where I was even though his back was turned to me, his head tipping to the side like he was listening in on every single breath that I took. Across the room, Pam gave me a toothy smile and a wink.
All I know is that we are so fucked, I forced back at her. Every human in this place had stilled, all of them like rabbits sensing a much larger, much more lethal animal.
"Aren't I always?" I heard Eric murmur. The Asian man walked past me, following Bill to the back. A monitor wasn't something that a secure man with his freedom usually had.
That can't be good, Sookie thought, her eyes following the men as she started to gnaw reflexively at her nails.
Maybe he's like a security guard, I thought back. Protection. That would be good. Everyone needs an extra safety blanket.
She gave me a sardonic glance. He's a vampire not Madonna, Runa.
"Humans!" I jumped at the sudden, booming voice, glancing up to see that Eric was taking in the bar with a slow, sarcastic kind of consideration. His eyes met mine for the briefest of moments, his lips quirking up before he was continuing his inspection. "Those who present this card at the door when you get to Fangtasia - first round's on me."
Booze. I smirked. He was completely leaving out the fact that it was a vamp bar made for fangbangers and the like. The marketing was probably pressed towards the people who were either too dumb to car or too out of the loop to know. Cuz everyone knew that free alcohol would get Bon Temp anywhere.
"Also," Pam chimed in, handing out a stack of cards like she was giving out free cupcake coupons at a marketing event. "Thursday nights are ladies nights so be sure to bring a date."
Her mouth flicked down as she came to Royce's table, the man in question taking a card meekly. The one who I didn't know was looking at her legs like it was an all you can eat buffet.
Smiling thinly, she handed it over. "If you can get one."
My eyes rolled to Cooper as he gave a snort and Pam moved his way to give him a card.
"She got you," he smirked, leaning back to take the card.
"Not him," Eric suddenly snapped, his attention diverted from the table that he was at. I stilled, my stomach knotting up. Beside me, I felt Sookie's eyes boring into the side of my skull, her mind pushing against mine until I forcefully shoved her out. Briefly, Eric's eyes met mine, his nose flaring like he was scenting the air and then slowly flicking back to Cooper. My heart wiggled it's way into my throat, my palms going sweaty. "He doesn't get one."
"What gives, bro?" I physically flinched, reeling back at Cooper's complete lack of situational awareness. Maybe with Bill this comment would have been handled with the familiar southern civilness that scented Louisiana like a bouquet of flowers. But in my short time knowing Eric, I got the sense that he wasn't Southern. And that he was far older than the terms of civility. Eric Northman was born and bred of something a lot hardier and deadlier. Blood and metal.
Eric was on him in a second, one hand grasping the back of Cooper's chair until I saw it splinter a bit and the other leaning on the table until all I could see were a few wisps of Cooper's hair peeking around the broad shoulders. Pam's lips tipped up a bit, her eyes flicking to watch me.
"Whatcha do to your arm there?" he rumbled and I couldn't help the resulting shiver that rolled through me. Slowly, he leaned even closer, his eyes closing for a minute as he breathed in and then moved to the gauzed part on Cooper's other arm. Arctic pools met mine. I gulped, heat rolling up my neck, my hands clenching. He knew every little dirty secret I had. Lazily, he turned back to Cooper. "Bro?"
"N-nothin'," Cooper whispered out, the words quivering.
"Hm?" Eric rumbled darkly, the muscles in his back tensing. I stiffened even more, my arms curling around my waist as Cooper's eyes caught mine. Cautiously, he moved both of his arms out of view, under the table.
Fear rushed through his veins like a stampede of horses across the plains. If he wasn't afraid of vamps before, he surely was now.
Two dark figures came around the corner, Bill's face set in grave lines, his lips thinned as his eyes zeroed in on Sookie who straightened beside me.
"I take it your business here is done." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Bill's new shadow definitely wasn't a new bodyguard.
"I came here to talk to Sookie," he snarled and I stiffened as Eric straightened, the two men turning to face each other. The hairs on my neck stood on end. If this turned into a brawl, I was pretty sure that Bill would lose. And there would be nothing that me or my sister could do.
Eric considered, his eyes wandering lazily to me before he nodded. "I'll give you three minutes. I have a tribunal to get to."
"What?" Sookie hissed as Bill made his way towards us, his expression somehow darkening even more from the thundercloud of graveness that it had been before. It was all and all storming inside the man's mind at the moment.
"Come with me," he whispered, his eyes flicking to me briefly as he gave me a curt nod and took my sister by the shoulder to lead her into the parking lot. I stared after them, my heart twisting painfully in my chest.
There were two options in front of me: Stay in the safety of the bar and leave my sister to her lovers and their current situation or weather the storm with her like a personal bodyguard.
In the end, I didn't get to make the decision.
"It seems like you've been keeping bad company while I was away, nótt elska." I gulped back a shudder at the deep voice, turning to stare up at the imposing figure looming all around me, his eyes like bullets piercing my flesh. He gave me a slow smile, his hand coming out to rest in the curve of my back. "Come on. You are needed as well."
What was there to say? What was I supposed to do? Throw a tantrum and kick and scream in the middle of Merlotte's? I set my jaw, giving him a withering glare as I ripped off my apron and pushed past him to make my way to the door. Egotistical vampire-douche.
"My, my," I heard Pam murmur appreciatively. "You always did like them feisty."
A deep rumbling chuckle. "Like you're one to talk." And then suddenly his voice was booming around the bar again as my hand pressed to the door, just about to open it. "Oh, before I go, a word of advice… We know when a human has wrong us. We can smell it."
I could smell it. The stench was almost suffocating, fear and more fear piling on top of each other like creatures clawing at each other to reach the top of a mountain of dead bodies. I gagged, pressing a hand to my mouth as the stench overwhelmed me, my teeth aching like I had eaten too much candy.
"So do not make the mistake of letting the pretty blonde vampire on the television make you feel too comfortable." Eric's cool presence pressed into my back, a hand coming to the crook of my spine again as he looked around slowly. "We may not have retaliated. Yet. But we know who you are. Have a nice night."
It was like giving someone a lollipop after beating the shit out of them. There was nothing but mocking consideration in that last line, his nod less than sincere as he gently pushed me to open the door. I did so with more than a little relief, my insides twisting around the needs and terror of the people still sitting in the bar and grill like sardines in a can. They were fermenting in their own nightmares.
"Well, that was fun," Pam drawled as we made our way into the parking lot. Sookie and Bill standing in the middle like two lovers, one about to ship off to war. Pam took my other side, her smile indulgently indifferent. "We should make more nights like this in the future."
"I didn't take you for the social type," I whispered as I picked up on bits and pieces of the conversation between Bill and Sookie.
"Oh, honey," she said, flashing me a smirk. "Social is my business of choice."
That was an oddly eerie way to put it.
"You smell like human," Eric suddenly rumbled and I glanced up, to see his nose wrinkled up as he leaned closer. Did he have to practice speaking in that mind-meltingly intoxicating way or did it just come naturally to him?
Looking away, I tried to wiggle my way from his grasp and only succeeded in having him pull me flush with his body, two big hands wrapping around my hips as he buried his face in my hair. He was breathing me in like I was a fucking cigarette.
"I am human," I snarled out, my hands trapped against his chest. Which felt like stone coated in fucking metal.
"Close but not," he corrected, his lips mumbling the words into my ear and sending a jolt of awareness through me. "Ykkarr mara."
My head buzzed. My skin burned. My stomach clenched as a deep ache started inside me. He was speaking in that old, foreign tongue. One that I didn't understand but that made my head ache with familiarity. Like a place that I had grown to love long ago and had to leave. I took in a breath, gasping as the scent of salt on frigid air stung my nose along with the sweeter, hardier scent of fir trees. Why was it like this with him? Why did it feel like I didn't know myself?
"Why do you keep doing this?" I lashed out, my nails digging into the skin just beneath his black shirt. He didn't pull away from me, a low sound of interest roll through him as his nose made a cool line from my hair to my ear. He took a deep breath. I gritted my teeth. "I'm not your property. You cannot - will not haul me in and out my work place like I'm your fucking furniture. Do you hear me, Mr. Northman?"
Beside me, Pam snorted but kept her mouth shut. Against me, I felt a - was he purring? His chest was vibrating against mine, a slow kind of rumble rolling through him like a volcano before it erupted. His hands tightened on my hips, forcing a yelp from me and then stillness as I felt his lips reach my throat.
"Actually," he drawled and I gasped as I felt something chill move along my pulse. Was he - He was fucking licking me! Anger rolled over me. "According to the agreement that your blood made on your behalf, you are my property. For an indefinite amount of time."
"LET GO OF ME!" I shrieked, flailing wildly as I felt him lap along my jaw, one of his hands keeping me pinned against this front while the other tangled in my hair to keep my neck in his range. My vision popped, my hearing going dull as rage - simple and pure - took over. "YOU VAMPIRE DICK DOUCHE! You didn't even turn that vampire in. You can't hold us to that-!"
"Ah, but I can," he whispered, pausing to answer me. "You're sister's chosen one killed Longshadow. Not myself. Not Pam. You will be held to the same agreement that was made before your mistakes."
"I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD-"
He was too strong. Damn him. And I couldn't think of anything else to yell at him. What was I going to threaten him with? He had no trouble keeping me contained. If he wanted to, he had shown that he could take my heart out at any moment that he wanted to. I slammed my foot down, hoping to get at least a grunt if nothing else as I dug my heel into his foot. Not so much as a peep. He didn't even stop as he dragged his tongue along the side of my face, the hand on the small of my back making slow, coaxing circle. Damn him. Damn his stupid undead ass to hell and back.
"This is more fun than my last bar mitzvah," Pam drawled out and I pressed my lips together, making sure that every fucking bone and tendon in my body was plank board straight as the man continued on with his purring and licking like he had a fucking ice cream cone. Indignation was my main instinct. Indignation and anger. Like I was some pissed off old lady who hadn't gotten the right coffee cake from her servants.
Finally, he pulled away, staring down at me with a critical expression as he turned my head this way and that, sniffing. "That's a bit better."
"Finally done, you oversized heathen?" I seethed, glaring up at him.
"I haven't been called that in a very long time," he mused, smirking as he released me and I hurried to wipe off his saliva from my face. "Good. You should probably try to rub that into your wrists."
"What?" I hissed, turning to stare up at him.
"You're going to a tribunal, Runa. Not a tea party," he drawled, giving me a pondering glance. His nose wrinkled. "And smelling like bad habits and human isn't a good introduction."
"Well, excuse me," I hissed. I thought I smelled fucking amazing. After washing off the stench of Coopers - Oh. My mind clicked. We can smell it. If Cooper had done something wrong and I had slept with him, plus sunk my teeth - I cussed, grimacing as I rubbed my arms over my face and neck. Ew. Ew. Ew. Couldn't they just take me home?
"Tick tock, Bill." So that would be a no on the shower thing. Taking down my hair and combing through the series of braids, I sent a silent question up to my Gran on what I had done to piss God off and then rubbed my hands over my cheeks and began to comb it through my hair.
"At least this one isn't stupid," Pam said.
"Am I good?" I inquired blandly, trying not to think about the fact that I had just rubbed Eric's saliva into my skin like it was fucking lotion.
Blue eyes met mine with a bit of humor as he slowly leaned down and breathed in. His eyes dilated, his fangs clicking out as he met my gaze again. "Better. Now it smells like you just fucked me instead of that nasty little rodent inside your bar."
Then he just leaned away like it was the more normal thing to say, leaving me staring up at him like a sexually aroused bartender who had just met the sexiest man alive. Or dead.
"And time!" Eric called and I finally took in the fact that Sookie looked like she wasn't coming.
"Wait," I breathed, confusion clouding my vision. "You said you needed my - My sister, she's the mind reader-"
"Whoopty fucking doo," Pam drawled, leaning to one hip as she stared at the couple in the middle of the parking lot.
"Tonight we need a mara, not…" His head tipped to the side. "Whatever your sister is."
I really needed to find out what this mara thing he kept talking about was. Angry tears collected in my eyes as I watched Bill and Sookie kiss. This was bad. I was going to a tribunal - whatever that meant. And if Bill looked like this - I tried to swallow around my sudden fear, irrational tears brought on my irrational, unwarranted circumstances and promises bringing it all crashing down on me. There was a legitimate chance that I wouldn't come back from this. And that made me legitimately scared out of my mind.
"If I had any feelings," Pam said. "I'd have the chills about now."
"Not me," Eric drawled, indifferently, his eyes flicking to me. Slowly, curiously a hand came out to run through my hair, giving one of my braids a gentle tug. "You will be under my protection at the tribunal. You have nothing to fear."
But I was. I was so scared that when I caught sight of Tara coming out of the bar, I wanted to run into her arms and weep like a babe. I didn't say anything, looking away.
"Bill," Eric barked in a warning so harsh that even I jumped. Tara's eyes met mine from her place near Merlotte's front door. She wouldn't come any closer. But in that one gaze I knew exactly what she was thinking. What the fuck have you Stackhouse's gotten yourselves into? "Now."
Bill and Sookie pulled apart and I finally noticed the tears tracking her face and the anguish on his as he walked away. Her eyes followed him for a moment before suddenly clearing as they settled on me.
"Runa-" she started but I shook my head, pushing my mind open to embrace hers as I opened up a live projection.
"I'll make you a deal. If you promise to hand over the person who did this to the police, I'll agree to help you anytime you want."
Her words thrown back at her like a slap that I never intended. Her face went paler than paint, her eyes widening as more futile tears spilled out.
"Runa, no-" I shook my head again, following Eric's direction on the base of my spine haltingly. She had used up all her time. I didn't have any way other than that memory to explain to her. My sister's eyes turned to Eric as Bill reached us, his expression contrite and pained as he met my gaze. "You can't-"
"I'll be back," I promised but my voice was shaking. I winced as I felt Eric's eyes on me. I refused to cry. I refused to cry. My jaw tensed. "Don't you dare be stupid, Sookie. Don't you dare end up like Dawn and Maudette. I swear to God if I come back and you've gotten yourself killed-"
I stopped, close to breaking, my lips quivering as I looked at Sookie's stupid, doe eyes. She knew how to take care of herself. But so did Dawn. So did Maudette. They were skanks through and through but they knew how to survive in Bon Temp being open fangbangers and proud of it. My nails dug into my palms and I quickly turned away, stalking towards Tara as I felt Eric and Bill and Pam, and the other one following after me. I wasn't going to be the sulking human, stumbling along behind them. If I was going to this vampire only fiesta, I was going to damn well own it.
"Take care of her," I whispered, squeezing her arm as her eyes went wide. Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to form coherent words. But my clock was at zero. I walked away.
"Sookie is under my claim," Bill murmured when we were far enough away from the others. His eyes flicked up to meet Eric's. I lowered mine to taken in the gravel. "I will take her."
There was a long pause. "Very well."
Fingers tugged at my hair, a final reminder before there was nothing but air where they had been. Bill's sad eyes met mine and for a moment, I just stared up at him. There was something about him that made me like him in an odd way. Maybe it was the fact that he was empathetic. He felt sorry for me and in this moment, we were in the same boat.
"Shall we?" he whispered, gesturing to his car which was only a bit away. Mutely, I nodded. What else were we going to do?
Woo. Bit of a cliffhanger, huh? Review and follow/ favorite if you want to see more! (A bit of blackmail, I know. But a girl's gotta make a livin'.) Next chapter: Tribunal fun and Runa finds out what a Mara is.
Ykkarr mara: You're mara.
