I woke up in complete darkness, confused entirely until I remembered the events that had taken place yesterday. Godric's bare arm was draped against my waist. It was, for lack of a better term, dead weight since he was unconscious for the remainder of the day. I reached out, letting my fingers trail down his face softly. A smile reached my face as I removed myself from his grasp (with a bit more difficulty than I would like to admit). I threw on some pajamas before going downstairs to make breakfast for myself. I hadn't eaten properly since being abducted by Debbie and her posse.

That meant I was all but famished.

As I went down the stairs, I found that Michael was nowhere to be found. Which was a relief. I wasn't quite sure I could be as friendly as I had been with him given my latest suspicions. Surely they were simply that: suspicions. But I wasn't entirely sure. And I'm often a rather bad judge of character. I like to think that people are, for the most part, kind. I'm often proven wrong. Very, very wrong.

When I entered the kitchen, I found an older woman standing over the stove. She turned to face me when I entered, a warm smile on her face. "You must be Miss Herveaux," she greeted. She had a faint German twinge to her English. "I'm Elissa. Mr. Northman and Master Godric have asked me to see to it that you're comfortable in your stay here."

Within seconds, she had a plate of bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast on the table. I thanked her gratefully and sat down to eat. She sat down herself, nursing a mug of coffee. There was also one of those and a glass of apple juice in front of me. She was a kind woman—somewhere in her fifties, I guessed—and she tried to make conversation as I ate. Reading her brain pattern, I discovered that she was neither human nor shifter. She was a witch. That struck me as something of an oddity. Most witches highly despise vampires for anything other than their blood.

"You're wondering why I work here, aren't you?" Elissa smiled kindly at me.

"Sorry," I said honestly, "but I'm unfamiliar with witches and vampires being able to even tolerate one another."

"I could say the same thing about werewolves and vampires," her eyes sparkled humorously. "But you and Master Godric seem to be getting along quite well." My face tinged a light shade of pink as I bit my lip, an amused smile breaking across my face. "I met them while they were serving here during the Second World War." So she was a little older than she looked. Witches must age more slowly than regular humans. "Natural witches age more slowly," she grinned. "Mr. Northman and Master Godric saved me from being taken away by some of their comrades after my parents were shot. I had been nine at the time, so I was naturally quite terrified." I caught brief flashes of her memories. Her parents had been shot in front of her by one of the members of their trouble That hadn't been part of the plan and, for some reason, it had upset the vampires. "But they simply told me that I was free to leave once the other men had moved on from the home. I didn't have anywhere to go then. My mother's sister had already been a casualty of war and my father's brother had disowned our family for being sympathizers. When they found this out, they invited me to live here with them. Now of course they were barely here because of the war and the fact that sunlight was a little bit of a problem for them. But I didn't mind. They were always very kind and generous to me. Eric even had my own small home built in the back of the property. It wasn't until they had both moved to the United States that I began using it, though." She took a sip of her coffee. "It's been quite awhile since they've been in Germany together. They had had an awful fight the last time they were here."

I tilted my head slightly, interested in this piece of information. It would explain why Godric and Eric weren't as chummy as most makers and progenies tended to be. I sipped my coffee, silently urging her to go on.

"I don't know the specifics, to be honest, but it had involved something to do with their blood." She frowned. "I believe that Eric had given his to someone Godric disapproved of."

"Godric believes in the purity of their blood," I supplied. "He hasn't told me directly, but I can tell simply by how he reacts whenever Eric suggests giving blood to anyone. Even giving it to me caused some hesitance," I chuckled. "But I suppose that was another reason." The smile disappeared from my face as I frowned in thought. I wondered exactly what had transpired between the two to cause such a fracture in their relationship. They had that natural draw to one another that most makers and progenies have but it did seem rather distant. Instantly, the problem solver in me was thinking of ways to fill that little ridge. Surely there was something the two could bond over. Again.

The majority of my day was spent learning some German phrases from Elissa. I had only known her for less than a day, but I was entirely sure that I liked her. Her intentions were pure and she had no desire to be anywhere other than she currently was. Something told me that she never had after the day she had met Godric and Eric. Before either of us realized it, both of the vampires were roaming the house freely. Michael had stumbled downstairs, apparently having stayed in his room sleeping all day. His brain was locked down tighter than any other I had seen, however. That just made me all the more suspicious.

"Is there a phone I can use?" I asked the vampires suddenly. Work. I was supposed to be in to work in an hour. How the hell was that going to work when I was in Germany? Simple: it wasn't. That meant I at least had to give Sam a courtesy call.

"You can use my cell phone," Eric nodded. "It's untraceable. Just don't tell anyone where you are."

"I'm not that daft," I grumbled, punching in Merlotte's number. Sam answered on the fourth ring.

"Merlotte's, this is Sam speaking," he sounded stressed.

"Sam, it's Aline," I greeted him.

"Aline," he sounded relieved. "Where have you been? We've all been worried sick about you."

That thought touched me. The people in Shreveport and Bon Temps were sweet, for the most part. I wouldn't mind living there full time. "I know, I'm sorry," I apologized.

"It doesn't matter as long as you're okay. You are okay, right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Something just came up. I'll be away for awhile."

"How long is awhile?"

"I'm not sure yet. I wish I could have given you more notice, but—"

"Don't worry about it," he chastised me. "Whenever you come back, you can tell me all about it. Just come back. A good waitress is hard to come by." I smiled on the other end. "I gotta go, a tourist bus just pulled in."

"Alright, take care, Sam."

"If you need anything, you know where to find me. I don't need specifics. Just know that I'm here. And Sookie would bend over backwards for you, too."

"That means a lot to me, Sam, it really does."

"You're a good person, Aline. Stay safe." He hung up. I hung up the phone, resting my chin on my knees. I hadn't thought about how much I would be missing the people I had made friends with, however brief our friendship was.

After a few moments, I returned Eric's phone to him. I immediately turned and went upstairs to the room Godric and I shared. The sound of the shower running in our room informed me that he was in the shower. I sat on the bed, staring out at the ocean. It was a beautiful sight, really. Much prettier than I had expected Northern Germany to be. I wondered if Alcide and Jackson knew where I was. Calling them wasn't on the top of my list of things to do. Somehow I knew that one or both of them would be on the first plane over here. And that would be suspicious. They don't usually leave the country—and I'm pretty sure that Debbie would have given Edgington a detailed report of my life. Unless Talbot had distracted the madman as he had promised. Somehow I doubted that someone like Edgington could really be that deterred. He was a pretty insistent man. And insane, apparently.

"You are worried," Godric noted. I hadn't even heard him come out of the shower. There was a frown on his face, a shirt in his hands. He had been out here for awhile, having gotten partially dressed without me even acknowledging his presence.

"Sorry," I tried to force a smile. It must have looked more like a grimace because he pulled the shirt on, sitting beside me. He was silent, leaving the option to start the conversation up to me. "I was thinking about Alcide and our father. Do they know?"

"Eric thought it would be unwise to inform them," Godric confirmed my reasoning. "They would more than likely come here to try to protect you. And that might make Russell suspicious if he is aware of your familial ties."

"Which I can imagine he is since Debbie is one of his minions." I frowned. "I don't want them to worry. But I know that if they don't worry, they'll be suspicious then, too. And I can't risk them knowing something. Who knows what that bat shit crazy vampire would do." I scowled. "I just hope Talbot is good to his word."

"He seems to be for now. But that was my first time meeting him."

"Only time will tell, then." He said nothing, simply drawing me closer to him and placing a gentle kiss on the top of my head. The ring of the doorbell caused me to pull away in confusion, meeting his equally as confused eyes. We descended the stairs just as Eric moved to answer the door. Godric deliberately kept me behind him as a form of protection.

Eric opened the door to reveal a rather disgruntled looking Pam. "Germany, Eric? You leave the country and don't even have the decency to let me know." She walked by him, her eyes landing on me. "Sharing your pet now?"

Instantly, my eyes narrowed at her. I fought back the growl in the back of my throat just barely. Godric's hand found mine, overwhelming me with a sense of tranquility. That bastard was sending emotions through our bond. I smirked, sending my irritation back through it. A chuckle escaped his lips. "I warned you," I said simply. He shrugged, a smile on his face.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

"Aline is not my," Eric's eyes landed on me as his mouth curved into a smirk, "pet. She was put in my charge as a form of protection."

"Protection? From what?" She wrinkled her nose. "What smells like wet dog?"

"I resent that," I snapped at her. Maybe I'd get to test my vampire flavor theory more thoroughly tonight. Godric shot me a look. He was clearly unamused by my amusement. That just made me grin darkly at the blonde vampire woman, who took a startled step back.

"Mind your manners, Pamela," Eric chuckled. "Aline is Alcide's sister. The vampire Marc was her former boyfriend. He died selling her out to Edgington."

"You're risking your life for a wolf? Have you gone totally insane?"

"I owed Jackson a favor."

"Enough to warrant this?"

"No, but now he is in my debt."

"So let me get this straight, you're protecting Little Red Riding Hood from the big bad, crazy vampire because some construction worker deserved a favor from you?"

The growl I had been holding back escaped. Her blue eyes darted to me, an amused smirk on her face. I did not like the way that she was speaking of my father. It made me want to sink my teeth into her pretty white flesh even more. "Godric, please keep Aline from eating my progeny," Eric said dismissively. Then he turned to Pam. "Respect Aline," he chastised to my surprise. Pam was clearly taken aback as well. Her maker was stick up for me? Fuck yes. "She intrigued me and now that she is bonded to Godric, it is my duty to protect her. That means it's also yours."

"I didn't agree to this," she protested angrily.

"You did when you came demanding answers. Honestly, Pam, you should know better than to expect simplicity."

"I keep forgetting that you like to be in and around trouble at all times. What about Fangtasia?"

"I have full confidence that you can run Fangtasia in my absence."

"Well isn't that just fucking peachy." She shot a look at me, trying to clearly see what was so special about me. Godric's hand tightened on my own, causing me to poke him sharply to remind him that I was, for the greater majority, still breakable. He relaxed, but his gaze stayed hardened on Pam. Eventually she glanced away from her maker's maker. Eric then led her out of the room, conversing in Swedish.

Godric stared after her until he could no longer see them. I had no doubts, however, that he could quite clearly hear them. "Uhm, Godric," I brought him out of his staring contest with the empty doorway. His green eyes snapped to focus on my blue ones. "Can you loosen your grip a bit?"

"Sorry," he apologized, immediately inspecting my hand for damage. The light bruising that would have appeared instantly went away thanks to his blood that was still in my system. He rubbed my knuckles, placing a gentle kiss on the back of my hand.

"You don't trust her." Since it wasn't a question, a simple nod was all I received in return. I nodded in agreement. Pam didn't strike me as the type that would save my skin if it meant harming her own. And she certainly wouldn't pick me over Eric. But there was a certain fear in regarding Godric from her. She seemed to clearly remember the vampire he had been before I had existed. Some day, I would have to snag those memories from someone. I was rather curious about them. But I have a morbid sense of curiosity. Hey, I'd like to see anyone that comes out normal when surrounded by werewolves and vampires twenty-four-seven. Trust me, it doesn't happen. Ever. At least not that I've found. Even if you aren't a werewolf and you hang around them, there's at least a little bit of a morbid curiosity that becomes embedded in your mindset. Those that hang around vampires are a little (just a little) less gruesome, usually. Vampires value privacy more than weres. It's why we're more prone to be caught walking around naked, I think. (That and replacing clothes becomes a pain. They tend to tear easily when we shift if we don't remove them first.)

"I'm sorry," he apologized again, but his eyes clearly stated that his mind was elsewhere. I frowned at him, shaking my head.

"Don't be," I reprimanded. "You don't think she's going to throw me under the bus, do you?"

Godric gave me a reassuring smile, patting my arm comfortingly. But saying nothing. The fact that he was saying nothing was what worried me. I made a resolve to have a little chat with Eric the next time the opportunity presented itself.

Pam ended up staying in Germany so long that the sun had already risen in Shreveport. That meant she was spending the night here. If I hadn't been wary of her already, I would have been after seeing her reaction to the fact that Godric and I had the spare master suit. I've never heard a vampire make that noise of exasperated frustration before. It was something like a dying cat—except that this cat was on steroids and some sort of hallucinogenic. So, instead, she kicked Michael out of his room. The man took it in stride—not really having a choice anyway.

And then made her dislike for me crystal clear. Well, two could play that game, sweetheart.

This is what led me to angrily taking a brush through my long, choppy dark hair and ignoring just about everything else. Even Godric couldn't get me to spare a few words in his direction. By the time I was calm enough to even talk to anyone, it was almost noon. Godric had fallen asleep in the chair behind me, patiently watching and waiting for me to be open to speaking.

Despite knowing that he couldn't see me, I gave him a saddened, sympathetic look on my way out of the room. Elissa was, once again, in the kitchen. But this time she was reading the paper with a frown. She looked up at me in concern. "Oh, honey, you look awful," she observed.

"Gee thanks, Elissa," I muttered, getting out the ingredients for a sandwich.

"Here, let me—"

"No, thanks," I cut her off.

"Miss Pam got under your skin a little, didn't she?"

"A little? No, grilled cheese gets under my skin a little. She made me want to snap her fake little neck with my teeth." I accidentally put the knife through the slice of bread in my hand at that admission. It quite easily sliced through my skin. "Oh—fucking son of a bitch!"

Instantly, Elissa was pulling some glass vials out of one of the cupboards and leading me to the sink. She washed the wound before splashing a bit of one of the vials on it. It was instantly healed.

"What was that?"

"An old family recipe," she winked at me. "Nothing too exotic but it will cure small wounds like that. It was one of the first things I learned to brew as a witch. Eric is an excellent maker—but a rather piss poor guardian for the living." She chuckled before smiling at me. "He has improved over the past few decades, I see."

"He just hires people to do that dirty work for him," I laughed.

"He looked rather upset last night," she ventured. "What exactly happened?"

"Pam can't deal with my presence," I shrugged. "She was especially upset that she had to take the guest bedroom."

"And that would be why Michael was on the couch this morning."

"Speaking of, where is he?"

"I believe he went out for a morning run. But then again that was several hours ago. I'm not entirely sure where he is now."

"That doesn't strike you as odd?"

"I don't know him well enough." I was silent, ruminating a bit on this information. "It worries you."

"There's just something about him. I don't know what it is. But I don't trust it."

"He doesn't seem to have a hidden agenda. But I wouldn't really know him as well as you." She paused. "Out of curiosity, what is he? He can't be human if he's been hired as your protection."

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "Nothing I've ever come across before." I glanced at the calendar. "The full moon is soon?"

"Next weekend."

Slowly, a plan began forming in my mind. The full moon is a pull for all shifters. No matter how much we may not wish to shift, we simply must shift at least for a few hours on the night of a full moon. The moon offers a completely primal form of energy, drawing us in with the promise of nothing more than feeling absolutely alive and unstoppable. Images of my pack hunting flashed before my eyes. If I had had a weak stomach, the sandwich I had just consumed would have been all over Elissa. But, thankfully, I've never been one to shy around blood, gore, and destruction. Maybe it was my werewolf nature—or even the fae blood—but I never had problems with it. Some weres need to get used to the idea of hunting. Or eating the former packmaster when he is overthrown. (A particular rite that I've refused to take part in. Alcide never has, either. Eating one of our own just crosses one of the very few lines I have in place. And, trust me, I don't have very many lines drawn. But I don't have to walk away as Alcide does.)

So, in short, I'm something of a little psychopathic cocktail waiting to observe the world's destruction. It's really no wonder I tend to surround myself with the supernatural over human company. Humans have too many reservations. Good. Evil. Nothing is ever really that simple. As these thoughts progressed, I realized something. Maybe I was judging Pam too quickly. I still really, really wanted to inflict bodily harm upon her. But I wasn't really looking at it from her angle. Technically I was encroaching on her territory. She's been the only woman in their lives for so long. I mean, of course Elissa has been here, but Eric didn't show as much of an interest in her. That was something more akin to guilt. He was forced to have an interest in me because of my father. But lately he had been taking that job to an above and beyond standard. It couldn't be easy to be the pampered little apple of your maker's eye and have some odd little hybrid come along and steal his attention. Naturally some of this blame shifts to Godric from her since I, well, am his in vampire terms.

I objected to this terminology once—but, honestly, is it any different than referring to him as my boyfriend? Technically I am claiming him. Just in a less permanent way. But when you've been around for thousands of years, the only thing left is permanence.

With these thoughts, I told Elissa I would be upstairs resting since I had skipped sleep. Godric was still in the same chair I had left him in. He looked so peaceful there. It was easy to see why Eric loved him so much. Even in sleep he looked kind. I crawled into bed, falling into a light and restless sleep. Aggravated, I looked over at Godric again. A slow smile spread across my face. I took one of the blankets with me as I crawled into the chair with him.

Hey, the man makes a pretty comfortable pillow. In seconds, I was asleep.

The gentle feeling of fingers being run through my hair lured me out of my slumber. I grinned. "Morning," I said, my voice muffled by his shirt. He chuckled.

"Good morning," he returned. "Did you sleep well?"

"You're far more comfortable than the bed." I looked up at him. "How well do you know Pam?"

"You're still angry?"

"Not exactly," I shook my head. "I'm just curious. I was talking to Elissa earlier and I got to thinking." His brows furrowed in confusion.

"Who is Elissa?"

"Elissa—the woman you and Eric saved from the war."

"Aline, she died nearly twenty years ago." I stared at him, pulling away from his embrace to stand up. I glanced outside at the house that Elissa had said she was staying in.

"No, that's not possible. I cut my finger this morning and she put something on it to heal it. She made me breakfast yesterday."

"That is not possible."

"What color were her eyes?" I asked, a picture of Elissa's slate grey eyes at the forefront of my mind.

"They were brown." A chill washed over me, my face visibly paling. Godric stood over me in worry.

"Who have I been speaking to then?"

Thank you so much to treewitch703, Beatrix, and downbelowgirl for the reviews! (And everyone who has subscribed!) :)

~ Lynn