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To the 'guest' that told me to take Sookie down off the filter, my answer is no

I have explained this previously; she is a main character in this series and as there is no OC filter, she remains, especially when not everyone read Eric/Sookie relationships

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Apologies for the smaller chapter, it's mainly an important filler, but I'm so excited to write the following chapters, so much more happens!

Let me know what you'd like to see happen, concerning Russell, Mel/Eric, Alcide Bill and Sookie - the more detailed review the better

As always folks, enjoy, review and stay tempted

The wolf's sharp teeth snapped towards my throat. Screaming at the top of my lungs, I inched my head to the side, trying to get as far away from the werewolf's jaws as possible. His weight was bearing down on me, making it hard to breathe. My fists were tangled in the dog's fur, desperate to keep him at a distance.

A yelp came and the weight of the wolf was lifted. My eyes followed the dog as he was kicked away. A hand shot down towards me and I grabbed at it gratefully, only realising that it was Alcide who had rescued me from a gruesome end. His arm swiftly supported my weight as we raced towards the exit, hopeful the wolf would bring no attention to our escape. Fresh air filled my lungs but we continued to run until we reached the van. Inside, Sookie was waiting with an expression of relief.

Alcide yanked open Sookie's door and guided my body in with a slight lift before running towards the driver's side. He got in, started the engine and rammed his foot against the pedal.

Sookie's small hands checked me over.

"What the hell happened back there? Are you ok?"

I nodded, barely able to get my breath back. "Got thrown by a wolf. Alcide got there just in time." I looked to him, an expression of relief plastered over my pale skin while Alcide's furious eyes remained on the road.

"Why were they all shifting?" Sookie spoke loudly over the rev of the engine. The jerky movements of the speeding van clashed our bodies side by side. "You almost shifted!"

"I couldn't help it," Alcide barked, his voice rough, trying to stay in control. "Once the energy starts rolling it takes over."

"You turning into a dog wasn't part of the plan, Alcide," I muttered.

"Hey, you're lucky we got out alive!" he yelled back. He took one look at my face before slamming his palm against the wheel. "Fuck!"

"Listen, I know it was terrible for you–"

"You don't know anything!" Alcide snarled at Sookie.

"I know that if you don't slow down, you're gonna kill us," Sookie yelled back, "and I am not gonna die because of your shitty girlfriend and a Mississippi pothole!"

Alcide promptly pulled over, causing our bodies to jerk forwards with Sookie's hand in front of my tired body to keep me in my seat. Silence shrouded us until Sookie sighed heavily, looking at a pissed off Alcide.

"I had to be mean to make you listen," she explained. "I'm sorry."

His voice was gruff. "She wasn't always shitty." He looked at us. "We used to be great together, when she weren't drinking or cheating. She used to play horseshoes with my dad, help my mom plant tomatoes..."

"But tonight she was half naked in a wolf skin getting branded," I added.

Alcide had no answer to that.

Sookie sat forward and demanded, "Tell me more about Russell Edgington."

Alcide sighed, "He's just some rich vampire."

"I gotta talk to him," Sookie insisted.

Alcide sharply turned to her. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"The brand, the blood, the vampire…He knows where Bill is," Sookie said. "Or he knows who knows."

I looked at Sookie. "If we find him, maybe we'll find Bill?" My enthusiasm brought Alcide and I to blows.

"You've gotta be shitting me," he growled, pointing a finger at me. "I promised Eric I'd keep Sookie safe on this damn trip. You ain't even supposed to be here, Mel! Getting you killed would make me a dead man with Northman." He glared at us. "You girls ain't going anywhere near him."

I looked to Sookie, surprised to see her biting her lip, not keen to argue with the wolf.

For the drive back home to Alcide's place, there was complete silence. Squished in the front, Sookie and I used each other for support, resting our heads one on top of the other. The clock was ticking well into the night and my arms were trembling with exhaustion from holding a wolf above me like some heavyweight champion.

Finally, we got home, and not one of us spoke to the other. Sookie and I headed straight for the bedroom and the blonde waitress slammed the door shut as a statement to Alcide that she was not happy with his decision. I flung my body down onto the bed. How many times in the past few months had I almost been killed on the spot?

Sookie quickly got changed in the bathroom before joining me on the bed, her head propped up by her elbow.

"We've gotta find out where this Russell lives," she said, speaking her thoughts out loud. "He's got something to do with Bill gone missing, I know it."

I rolled onto my side to face my friend, touching her arm with a smile. "We'll find him, Sook. Whatever it takes."

She returned my smile warmly.

"I never thanked you, Mel."

I frowned. "For what?"

She shrugged, settling back on the mattress. "All this time, you've been there for me," she looked at me, "even after all you've been through. I can't tell you what that means to me." She took my hand in hers and squeezed. "If Gran were here, she'd be real happy that you're taking care of me."

We laughed and I nudged her with my shoulder. "I think you take care of me just as much as I look after you." My laughter died down and I looked at her solemnly. "God knows how my life would've turned out if I hadn't moved to this crazy town of ours."

She grinned at me, resting her head next to my shoulder as we lay on the double bed, thinking about how mad our lives were but being friends gave us some sort of stability, able to survive.

Before I knew it, Sookie and I had fallen asleep next to each other. Well into the night, angry voices came from the next room. The raised voices were getting louder by the minute, forcing my peaceful slumber away. I sat up, noticing Sookie had woken up too. When I realised it wasn't Sookie fighting with Alcide over Russell Edgington, I focused in on the owners to realise the voices belonged to Alcide and none other than the bitch we had had the pleasure of meeting just hours earlier.

As silent as possible, Sookie pushed off the bed and made her way towards the bedroom door. I remained on the bed, too exhausted and bruised to pick a fight with Alcide's crazy ex-girlfriend.

"Give me back the fucking key–" Alcide's muffled voice sounded.

"Shut up!" Debbie screamed. "Don't tell me what to do, it's my fucking key. I'll use it whenever I want!"

"You walked out on me. You got no right!"

"We'd still be together if you weren't so weak."

"Keep it down!"

"Don't tell me to keep it down! I don't give a shit about the neighbours."

I grabbed the pillow and shoved it over the side of my head, muffling the noise as I tried to get some sleep. This was one fight Alcide and Sookie could fight together. For now, I needed some z's.

The next morning we were on the road by eleven, driving towards a meeting place on a closed road. Alcide had set up a time and place with the Mississippi packmaster, the alpha wolf that kept all the others in line. We pulled over at the side of the road to see an older man, waiting with a grumpy look on his face. One look from Sookie gave me a bad feeling this guy wasn't about to give us anything useful.

"What's this about, Alcide?" the packmaster's voice called out to us.

Alcide came to a stop in front of the man. Sookie and I stood behind him, wary of the glare the packmaster was sending our way.

"Sir, we got a serious problem with Coot's gang. Like I told you over the phone, Colonel Flood, these ain't some ordinary Were-junkies running on the streets," he said. "I wouldn't be here if they were. They're organised and they're drinking from the source." Alcide gestured to the two of us. "The girls were there, they can back me up."

The packmaster promptly pushed himself off of the hood of his car when he heard this.

"You'll be disciplined for exposing us to a couple of humans, Alcide," he warned.

Alcide's expression showed he was expecting this.

"Yes, sir."

Sookie stepped forward to stand beside Alcide. "It's not his fault and we only wanted to tell you what we saw."

"I already know all about it," he confirmed.

I asked, "So you have a plan?"

"Whatever it is, I support you, sir," the noble wolf beside us said. "One-hundred percent."

The packmaster faced Alcide head on, giving him one simple order.

"Do nothing, tell no one."

Alcide stared at his packmaster blankly before asking, "Well, how does that help the pack?"

I opened my mouth. "Russell Edgington is–"

"There's nothing I can do about him," he shut me up. "He's the God damn vampire king of Mississippi!"

Silence fell over the three of us as I looked to Alcide and Sookie.

"Bill…"

"Colonel Flood, that gang is recruiting. We can't just sit back and let some fanger pick us off one by one!"

"Edgington is ancient!" the packmaster exclaimed helplessly. "He's had a pack of Weres serving him for centuries, all over the world." I thought back to what Eric had told us in Bon Temps. This Russell Edgington had control over werewolves, making them do his bidding for all these years. How were we supposed to go up against him when two of the strongest vampires I knew, Godric and Eric, failed to find him?

"Now he's on our doorstep," Colonel Flood continued. "Now we're gonna be smart," he informed Alcide. "Let him do what he wants to do until he goes away."

"If he's a part of our history, you should have told us about him." Alcide was deflated, disappointed with the man he looked up to.

The packmaster had a look of certainty about him as he argued angrily, "I am saving us from extinction."

"Well I'd rather be extinct than a slave to a dead man!"

I looked to my friends and noticed how Sookie was looking up at him, with admiration. Colonel Flood however made towards his car door with a gruff. His movements caught Sookie's attention as she turned to stare at him, her head tilted to the side in interest.

"Don't question your packmaster, boy!"

Alcide moved forward. "Colonel Flood, we gotta do something–"

"Let him go," Sookie called. "He can't help us, he's afraid." Her tone was nothing but honest, not spiteful or condescending.

"Bullshit," the packmaster growled, causing the blonde's back to straighten. He sat down inside the car and slammed the door shut. He looked out of the window at the werewolf and barked sternly, "Alcide, obey!"

Colonel Flood pulled away just as Sookie crossed her arms and called over to Alcide.

"I wasn't bullshitting!"

Alcide watched the car drive away until he turned round to Sookie with a look of certainty about him.

"I know," he spoke softly. He walked straight up to Sookie and touched her arm reassuringly, looking straight into her soft eyes. "I trust you."

Sookie stared back with a warm smile and I couldn't help but smirk at the two of them. When they continued to look at each other without a word, I cleared my throat, shocking the two of them back into the real world. Alcide coughed and turned to me, offering me an awkward grimace.

"We better head back," Alcide muttered. "No good standing in the middle of nowhere." The wolf headed straight towards the van while I stepped next to Sookie, rubbing her arm.

"Don't worry," I assured her, "we'll find Bill soon enough."

The look in her eye told me Sookie was slowly losing hope. Our allies were few and resources even less. The way things were going, our return to Bon Temps would be sooner than we thought.