Chapter 46: War with You

Her breath hitched in her chest. No air came in or out, locked inside with the rest of her emotions. Those ocean eyes that knew her so well were consuming every part of her, taking and claiming every inch of her soul. There was no escape.

Life had thrown a lot of painful truths at her tonight, and this was not going to be an exception. From the moment Eric stepped inside her house, Olivia felt the veil of this nightmare being lifted. The heaviness that crushed her lifted the second his hand grabbed hers. He washed off much more than the blood off her skin. His voice told part of her body to stand down; that the storm had passed, and she would be okay because he was here.

No one had taken care of her in a very, very long time. It was usually her taking care of everyone. She took care of her father when he appeared bloodied in the kitchen at 3 in the morning. She took care of her cousin Tommy who always got in trouble by swimming with sharks much bigger than him. She took care of her sick mother. She took care of her client's money as if it were of her own. But whenever roles were reversed, she always pushed away anyone who tried to help, until tonight. Olivia spent all her adulthood trying her damn best not to need anyone. It just wouldn't be fair, would it? For someone who cared for her ending up hurt because of a mess that she made?

Olivia did not know how or when Eric discovered what she was. He had stopped asking that question for a very long time now. Did he know when the bomb went off at Godric's house? Did he know when he stood up against his Queen? Did Eric know when he let himself be arrested just so she wouldn't be alone? Did he know when he kissed her? Did he do any of these things because of what she was or who she was?

Was he protecting her out of obligation or emotion? She told herself it had all been because of the edict of protection on her head. That pesky little contract that was a curse disguised as a blessing. But the truth seemed to supersede everything tonight. She could no longer ignore Eric's true intentions. It was right here, looking straight at her with ocean eyes.

Olivia could feel the bitter taste of betrayal in her mouth. She could see it in the way he looked at her. On his clenched jaw. On his stiff body. He looked… Broken-hearted.

But don't you understand? He knew. He knew what she was. Who she was. A vampire knew - more than one! Three! They could enslave her, they could sell her off to the highest bidder, or tear her apart to find out how she functioned. They could drain her just for the hell of it. They could bottle her blood and sell it like a drug. Wouldn't that be ironic?

Conflict was breaking havoc inside her. Being discovered went against every core belief, every rule she had ever learned. Tell no one. It was the first thing her father taught her. No one can know you are different - reinforced by her mother. Outside her family, Olivia had never told a single soul that she was different. Not a childhood best friend, not her first love, not any love after that matter. It was a part of herself she kept hidden under many locks and even more keys. It has always been rule number one: never, under any circumstance, tell someone you are a telepath.

But Eric knew.

He stood at the foot of her bed, holding her passport that looked so tiny in his hand. She had no idea how long it had passed since he asked the longest, heaviest question he had ever asked. You were leaving?

What else was she supposed to do?

The water dripping off her wet hair felt cold now, trickling down her back. Olivia was still wrapped in the towel, but it was the most naked she had ever felt in her entire life. She simply did not know how to react, feel, think, or navigate a world where other people knew what she was. It had always been so unfathomable.

Too long went by, because he persisted. "Why?"

Because you know what I am.

Olivia couldn't produce the words. She just couldn't. "It's..." Complicated. Painful. Terrifying. Vulnerable.

"Where were you going?"

"I don't know..."

He dropped her passport back in her duffel bag with dismay. If Debbie hadn't knocked on her door; if Olivia had packed faster, left a little sooner… She wouldn't have to watch Eric undo himself right in front of her eyes.

"What happened? What changed?"

Words seemed to have suddenly found her. "You did."

He raised his brows, taking two very hesitant steps towards her. "You gave yourself away. You made it abundantly clear-"

"That's not what I'm talking about," the words tasted acidic on her tongue.

"Then why the hell are you leaving?"

She felt tears burning in the back of her eyes. "How long have you known?"

All the air in the room, perhaps in the whole world left. No breath she took seemed to satisfy the fire simmering inside her. Her chest felt so tight her heart could barely beat inside.

"Know what?" Eric shifted on his feet, looking at her concerned. His expression changed suddenly as if he understood it all at once. "I've known for a while."

Just when she thought her world could not be obliterated any further, she felt more raw than ever. Olivia could not believe she was having this conversation. "What's a while?"

"Does it matter?"

A part of her brain seemed to wake up. The damage control part. "Who else knows?"

He let a small grin appear on the corner of his lips. "Making a kill list, are you?"

"Who else knows, Eric?!" Her body vibrated.

"Pamela," obviously. And now Bill Compton and his daughter. "And Godric."

What - "You told Godric?"

"He knew before any of us. He knew what you were from the second he met you at the Fellowship."

They had spent maybe four collective hours together. "How?"

"Scent," Eric explained as if it were obvious. "We all pick up your lovely smell, but very few know what it actually means because it's so rare. Is that why you always wear perfume? To hide it?"

She had no idea she smelled any different from other people. She just wore perfume because she liked it. Her father never told her telepath smelled different. How could her own father, the best telepath she had ever met, not know?! He was supposed to have taught her everything! Olivia had never felt more exposed or unprepared in her entire life. Look at what Eric was asking her! Look at what they were talking about! It was forbidden! She had to disappear, vanish without a trace. Leaving this place behind would not be too hard. If she left, she wondered if her eyes would scan the darkness for him for the rest of her life. She didn't know if she would want to find him or not.

Actually… She did know. The truth was undeniable.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I thought about it," he sighed, looking at her softly. "Blackmailing you with it. Toying with your secret next time I needed you to do something risky. But somewhere along the way…" His voice trailed off, trying to find the words.

"What?"

He shook his head, gathering courage. "I don't want to play these wicked games with you anymore, Olivia-"

She frowned. "Bullshit."

Fear left her and was quickly replaced by a strange sort of anger. Was this why he had been manipulating her this entire time? Because whatever she was this rare and coveted thing? She was something to be collected?

"Is it?" His eyes sparkled, confronting her.

Olivia's skin no longer felt cold. She was now burning hot. "Is this why you are so obsessed with owning me? Because I'm little shiny object everyone wants-"

"No-" he cut her off. "I've wanted you far before I knew what you were, or what you can do."

What you can do. Her mouth was dry. "Why?"

"You know why!" Eric took another two dangerous steps forward, ending the distance between them. "I may have lied to protect you from the Queen, yes. But the fact I want you for any other reason other than I care for you is just a lie you keep telling yourself. It seems that you find it easier than facing the truth."

I care for you.

His hands reached her waist, his lips grazed the very top of her head, sending shivers that rippled down her skin like a cascade of stars. He knew her secret. He knew it and he did not take advantage of her. He knew it and the world did not end. He knew it, and he cared for her. Even before he knew - he cared.

He looked deeply into her eyes, in the passionate way only he could. "You know my stance on forcing people to remain under my control against their will," he pulled her closer. "Anyone is free to leave."

Olivia felt a tiny pang in her chest. Eric was not going to ask her to stay. However, there were words lingering in the air, words that now worried her more than what she felt.

"But?"

He then just stated what a part of her had feared for a while. "The Queen will send me after you."

Air escaped her again. Life was just pounding her entire world flat to the ground. "She will never let me leave, will she? Even after my contract is over."

His brows pinched together. "Does she know?"

Olivia thought back of Sophie-Anne's body shimmering in the sun. Her blood stained the front of the Queen's dress. Her howling at the discovery of what her blood could do. Did Eric know that too? It didn't matter if Sophie-Anne knew she was a telepath or not. She knew she was different and that was dangerous enough.

Olivia nodded, looking at his chest. Her entire body wanted to lean against it. To let him catch her and hold her broken pieces just like he had since he arrived. Everything she had ever worked for, every risk she's taken, everyone she had ever hurt, all these years spent away from her family - they were in vain. They were for nothing. She would never get out. Exhaustion replaced the anger.

"So is that it?" She muttered. "I'm stuck here or you will hunt me down forever?"

Her knees wanted to give away from under her. Her retirement plan was… Gone. She would never leave Louisiana. She would never travel the world with her mom. She would never buy a house in the Caribbean. She would never climb Fiji, party in Rio, ski in Mont Tremblant, go backpacking in Europe, or scuba diving in Hawaii. She would never know peace and freedom.

The bitter truth was that for her, life after vampires didn't exist. You dealt in the blood business, you got stained for life. This wasn't Limitless - this was Scarface. There was only one way out.

His hands gripped her waist gently now. "I must say, there are some beautiful places in Europe I'd love to find you in. Ever been to Rome?"

A small chuckle escaped her lips. Imagining running away to beautiful romantic places just so Eric would chase her there was ridiculous…. And romantic. It was certainly an unusual twist in their relationship.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

He smirked. "I'm always nice."

Olivia glared at him, feeling a bit more like herself. He tried his best not to grin too big. His fingers caressed her jaw, his thumb running over her cheek catching a tear she hadn't even realized she cried.

"Because I know the feeling of being caged very well, Olivia. I don't wish that for you."

God… They had spent so much time and energy fighting each other she didn't even realize they were actually both locked in here together this entire time. And probably forever.

Olivia put on a dress since pants would stick to the wound on her thigh. Olivia did not own a first aid kit, which Eric found a little strange. Humans nowadays got too comfortable living such safe lives. But he knew he had one at home somewhere, and he would bandage her up once they got there. Vampires healed almost instantaneously whenever hurt, but werewolf wounds were poisonous and took days if not weeks to heal. So he stocked sterile needles and thread, gauze, bandage, iodine, and peroxide in a shoebox somewhere. Still, he sent Dr. Ludwig a message requesting a daytime visit to check on the wound just in case.

He noted she left her bags still packed on her bed, and part of him wondered if she would leave at first light. It would be a very predictable move and he knew she was smarter than that. As much as he would love to see the world while chasing her, it would only be a matter of time before the Queen grew tired of leaving Area 5 uncovered and issued a much worse fate for her accountant. The best course of action for him would be… Giving her a reason to stay.

All Olivia packed in a cotton tote bag was a nightshirt, a toothbrush, and a phone charger, after asking three times if it was for one night only. She dried off her hair, grabbed her cellphone, and put on flip flops, all while having the saddest little limp.

Eric had flown here, and much to Olivia's dismay he was planning to fly home with her. Any excuse to hold her in his arms, really.

"Can't we just… Drive?" She sighed.

Flying would be much faster but… He did miss his old Corvette, so he agreed on the condition that he drove. She didn't seem to mind. Once they started driving, he had to fight the urge to put his hand on her left thigh, knowing she had a deep claw scratch on it. But she had definitely caught him staring at her beautiful legs. It made his mind drift.

"How did you find out I know?" He asked, curiously.

Olivia looked at him wide-eyed. He got the feeling she didn't like talking about her gifts and getting anything out of her would be like pulling teeth. The unspoken answer lingered in the air. She was fine earlier in the evening. He had left her for a few hours with-

"Pamela," he answered himself, and her eyes confirmed it. God fucking dammit. "Where the hell did you two go all dressed up?"

"You don't know?" Her head tilted, confused. "We visited The Collector."

Eric's fingers choked the steering wheel. He could feel his entire body tense with anger. The car's engine roared, echoing on the streets like an angry animal. There is only one fucking reason Pamela would take Olivia to Bill Compton's house, and it wasn't to sell shares of a Casino. No, his progeny had gone behind his back to get rid of Olivia before he risked himself to have her. And now that The Collector knew… There would be only one way this would end.

Pamela had done exactly what Olivia was probably most afraid of in the event they found out she was a fairy. Pam tried to sell her off. No wonder Olivia was ready to abandon the empire she built, and everything she worked for and disappear in the middle of the night. He felt a little guilty for being happy Debbie had intercepted her escape plans. Regardless, this act of treachery would not go unpunished.

"Fucking Pamela," he sighed. "He will not have you."

He didn't even want to think what Bill would do with her.

"Well, this is what's gotten me confused. I belong… Belonged to Chow. Why didn't she bring him to negotiate? I wasn't hers to sell away."

"Bill Compton is a procurer, not a buyer. He would be more than willing to kill Chow to have you."

Olivia frowned. "Isn't that against some sort of rule? Vampire killing another vampire because of a human?"

She was catching on quickly. "Yes, I would have to take him to the Magister, our judge, where your existence would be disclosed in front of a much bigger court."

And neither Eric nor Bill Compton would want that, and Pamela knew this. Fucking Pamela-

"My existence?"

"What you are is very rare."

Her voice dropped. Olivia had never looked so serious in her entire life. "No one can know what I am. No one - do you understand?"

Judging by the fact she wouldn't even say the word 'fairy' herself, he knew this was really important for her. Plus her fears weren't unfounded - Bill Compton was a known cold-hearted asshole. If Eric were to guess, Bill would try to get more fairies and breed them for sale. Or… He would put her in one of those glass cases and display her like a zoo animal. Maybe sell off her blood to anyone craving a taste.

Eric felt nausea. "I understand."

However, something else was bothering him about all this… Werewolves have packs, witches have covens. Vampires have their own secret societies, nests, and Kingdoms. Who did Olivia have? Were either of her parents faeries? Her father was dead, but what about her mother? Did she have siblings? How did they live among humans and other supernatural creatures unnoticed? Or was she going through life all alone?

They arrived at his house, hidden behind the overgrown trees. Pamela's car was not parked out front or in the driveway, which was probably for the best. He may quite literally tear her a new asshole the second he sees her. Eric helped Olivia get out of the car, and carried her all the way up the steps, up to the very top floor. Pamela had the whole second floor to herself, and he had the third. He sat her down on the chaise lounge by his bedroom window while he went to look for the first aid kit.

"It's like being in a treehouse," Olivia said distractedly, looking out of the window. His view was right at the top of the edge of the tree canopy of his backyard. It was all green, covered by the dark starry sky - the moon hung like a crystal chandelier.

They marveled at the beauty of the night for a quiet moment. Olivia sitting there just made the view even more stunning.

"Makes me forget I live here."

Eric found the werewolf bite aid shoe box inside one of the drawers of his dresser, underneath a pile of non-black sweaters. It wasn't often he had throw downs with wolves, so it got lost back there. He turned his attention back to his accountant. Olivia looked like a beautiful french renaissance painting, sprawled on the chaise, looking outside, her dress was hiked up to her hips, showcasing her beautiful sun kissed legs. He couldn't blame her, it was a very comfortable piece of furniture. He had sex on it a lot.

Olivia sat up once he approached, and she looked through the box and unraveled bandage and gauze, layering it herself with the confidence of a battlefield nurse.

"You should put some peroxide in it-"

"Actually you should only put peroxide if it is infected. It tends to eat away the good tissue along with the bad, creating more dead tissue. Though this is looking like I might need stitches."

A woman of many talents. She never ceased to awe him. "My father was a boxer," she explained, wrapping her thigh. "I grew up fixing him up."

"Where was your mother?" Her gaze left him once again, and he knew he shouldn't have asked. Did something happen to them? "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

She shook her head. "It's fine." But still, she did not answer.

"I contacted Dr. Ludwig while you were greeting dressed and she will be here tomorrow morning to look at this. She's an expert on this kind of injury and is very… Discreet."

Olivia nodded, repacking the box. She was a person with many secrets, parts of herself that she did not trust with others. Did someone break her trust before? Or was there more to her than he knew? Eric helped her to the bed, tossing all the extra pillows to the floor and making sure she was comfortable before he… Well, it was time to get some answers.

And revenge.

Eric thought about the fire at Fangtasia a lot that night. It wasn't a particularly successful attack - other than the pretty significant financial hit they took for being closed for a month. But no one had died. No, what kept clouding his mind was the fact he had no idea who had done it when it happened. He remembered standing in his bedroom, just in front of the velvet curtains waiting for the sun to set. The memory of his mind racing in circles trying to figure out what happened and who was behind it; His mind running through an impossible list of culprits and coming up blank.

It was like an invisible game of chess. He was always aware of his enemies, always aware of their moves - even if not against him. He had never been snuck up on before like that. Maybe it was because he trusted Longshadow too much. Maybe he was too distracted with Olivia. But the Arkansas vampires trying to eliminate Pamela and Eric before attacking Sophie-Anne LeClerq by hiring a human to set the bar on fire was… Genius.

Think about it: vampires don't kill other vampires by fire - we are far too flammable. That's what was on his mind as his palm held the rubberized handle of the weapon in his pocket. Eric landed softly on the Motel parking lot. The neon sign above the office was red and blue, the only light shining in the otherwise dark lot. She was smart to pick this one. It was out of town and the woods ran deep just behind the building. She can assume her wolf form and disappear into the woods in a pinch - it's how she got here. Eric traced not her scent, but Chow's. Debbie cutting through the woods in her wolf form had been the smart move. You can't really go incognito into the streets of Shreveport as a wolf - you'd make three blocks before getting shot by a redneck from a pickup truck.

Eric walked by the rows of doors and windows, listening, picking up the smell of sex, sadness, desperation and cheap sanitizer. He had found the unmistakable smell of dog - room 12. Hotel rooms were a tricky thing to get into. Vampires can enter any unoccupied room, but once a guest rents one out they have to be invited inside just like any residence. But tonight… He could work around that. The Arkansas vampires had inspired him.

He knocked on the door, listening to the sound of trashy late-night TV echo inside the room. With the amount of vampire blood she had ingested, he knew she would be awake. There was the sound of footsteps, a deadbolt turning, then the door revealed a woman - Debbie Pelt.

Her eyes were clear, no signs of crying, despite her mascara and eyeliner being smudged all around her eyes, pupils blown out. Her hair was matted and tangled, and she wore a white tank top and shorts with the button undone. She smelled like him, like Chow. She carried his quiet confidence in her posture. He had to bite back his fury. He could not give her the satisfaction.

"What are you doing here? You can't come in," her raspy voice was unwavering.

"I don't have to. Is Alcide here?" He asked, hopeful. Two dogs, one bone.

She snorted. "Fuck you."

That was a no. Eric took a good look at her large black pupils. He wanted her to take all of him in. It was better this way. Chow wouldn't have necessarily approved of it, but he hoped that somewhere in the stars he would find the poetic justice of it all. Eric nodded at the art piece above the TV to the left of Debbie.

"That's a neat painting for a place like this."

It was quick, which he thought was more dignity than she deserved. The second Debbie Pelt turned her head to look at the cheap sailboat print, Eric pulled out the gun in his pocket and shot her right in the temple.

When Eric returned to the quiet and dark house, he checked on Olivia. He could barely believe his eyes as he watched her being fast asleep in his bed, not a nightmare in sight. He felt guilt for being happy. He knew that to have her here, she had to lose almost everything. She was realy to give it all up, to leave it all behind. But here she was, dreaming with her head on his pillow.

Closing all the doors he could on his way down, he summoned his demon child from the depths of whatever hell she was hiding in. Eric knew Pamela would be doing her best to avoid him right about now, and if he let it go it would be three or four nights before he saw her again. It had always been the pattern whenever she misbehaved. And he had often let her. He always thought it was his way of showing affection - giving his childe luxuries he himself couldn't partake in.

But this time… She had gone too far. She had twisted the knife a little too deeply. Crossed lines she should have known better not to. Pamela should have trusted him, and now there would be consequences. So he sat down on the chesterfield sofa in his study and reached deep and wide into their blood bond and summoned her. He himself was only summoned a handful of times, and he still remembered how unpleasant the feeling was, despite Godric always making it a fleeting one. This time, he summoned her for a very long minute.

Not long after, there was a car outside. Then slow steps came up the porch and into the house, across the marble floor on the foyer. She strutted into the study chin up high as usual, as if she owned the place.

"What's the emergency? I thought the house had burnt down."

Eric looked at his beautiful progeny. She was a fierce and loyal woman, intelligent, ambitious and practically unstoppable. It's why he loved her so much. It's why he agreed to turn her in the first place. He knew she deserved much more than what life had given her the first time around. But tonight she used her skills against him. And that came at a price.

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

She dropped her confident mask, and looked at him with wide eyes. She hesitated in her answer - wrong move. Eric was up on his feet and across the room before Pamela could even think of a lie. He towered her, his fangs were so close to her face it almost dragged against her smooth skin. He felt every bone inside him vibrate, holding back the beast his wrath had turned into. All he could see was red.

"How could you-"

Her eyes grew and a crimson line appeared at her bottom lashes. Tears from shame and fear, or perhaps the crocodile kind. He could no longer tell.

"I had to stop you Eric," she whispered, cowering away. "You couldn't let you go through with it."

His fingers tightened around her arm, not letting her escape his wrath. "You think I haven't done my fair share in assassinations in the past thousand years?"

"I know you can do it," her voice was raspy now, fighting off tears. "But the second Chow went home they would have known it was you. He shouldn't have asked you that - Chow shouldn't have asked you to kill his Maker."

"So you tried to get rid of her? You took her to the fucking collector?" Eric snarled, trying not to raise his voice. He didn't want to wake Olivia.

"I tried to get rid of him!" Pamela cried. "Bill would have killed him, and -"

"And claimed her," he growled. "Do you have any fucking clue what you've done, Pamela? He's about the last fucking person on Earth who should know about her!"

Eric pushed her down on the marble floor, and she landed sideways on her hip. There was red streaking her face. Anger prickled his skin, his fingers wanted to tear her apart.

"I thought the edict of protection-"

"The Queen owes Bill far too much money for her to enforce that contract. He sold off part of his collection to fund her hurricane relief efforts and he's been living off the interest of that loan ever since. Do you really think Sophie-Anne is in any position to protect Olivia if he owns her? I take you for a lot of things, Pamela, but a fool isn't one of them."

Her sad eyes lingered on his as she was trying to find the right words to get her out of the deep grave she had dug herself into. "I thought-"

His voice roared, full of anguish. "You thought wrong! And you fucking betrayed me-"

"Betrayed you? Eric, a century together and never once have I ever done anything to hurt you - to hurt us! You are my Maker!" She cried, her voice breaking in pieces along with his own heart. "And I would die for you, gladly, a thousand times before I would ever betray you. You know this!"

"Then why-"

Anger rose within her, her fire matching his. "All I was doing was trying to save you from your fucking self!" Her violent words echoed in the room. "Sure, yeah, losing Chow would be-"

"Chow's dead." He interrupted - his tone final.

Her brows pinched together, trying to piece it all together. "Well that was quick."

"It was Debbie Pelt. She attacked Olivia when you left her unattended."

Her lips parted, trembling. A multitude of emotions passed through her - none of them were regret. "Shit," she cursed, slowly getting up, smoothing her dress. He hoped her pride and ego was left fractured on the floor. "Eric, I know you're fucking pissed at me, but listen to reason, okay? Debbie Pelt is part of the Long Tooth pack now, if you kill her…"

But it was already done.

The second Debbie Pelt dropped dead on the already stained cheap carpet of her motel room, the magic barrier of protection in the room was lifted. Eric stepped inside and planted the gun in her hand, staging her suicide. For a moment he enjoyed watching the blood escape the bullet hole in her skull. He stayed until the light of her eyes faded into oblivion. He had granted Debbie the gift of a second chance, and she had killed his friend instead. She threatened and hurt Olivia. Debbie Pelt's death was inevitable.

Eric even took a minute to imagine Alcide Hervaux entering her hotel room and discovering his lover's dead body. He would spend the rest of his days thinking she had killed herself. His punishment would be knowing he could not save her from herself. That he had failed her in every sense of the word. That was the poetic justice they both deserved for what they've done. He knew Chow's stance on guns, but it was one of the few things the two never saw eye to eye on. Chow agreed with the common vampire opinion that killing a human with a gun was not honorable - it was the coward's way to do it. Eric thought there was no honor in killing at all, just in your reasons to do so. The means had nothing to do with the ends.

The revenge for his friend was dark and subtle, and it would never bring Chow back, he knew that. But it brought him a tiny sliver of satisfaction which was more than you ask for. Most people only get grief, something Eric had plenty of.

Pamela saw the coldness in his eyes and her shoulders slumped, defeated. "Oh, Eric, what have you done?"

"Chow had to be avenged. You know the Authority's rules, and this is one of the very few I actually agree with. You kill a vampire, you have to die."

She was concerned now. "Patrick Furnan has enough reasons to fuckin' hate us, with stealing the casino from right under him. Now that you killed one of his, it will become his life's mission to end you."

He didn't think that would be the case. Anyone and everyone who knew Debbie Pelt knew she had troubles. He very carefully staged it as a suicide, putting the gun in her hand, locking the door from the inside, and flying away from the bathroom window. The amount of drugs she already had in that room was just the icing on the cake.

He looked at his progeny, his anger was unwavering. "I would rather hunt, fight and kill a thousand wolves than have you plot behind my back."

She pursed her lips, fire in her eyes once again. There was nothing to say at that. "And Olivia?"

"Upstairs."

"Oh," Pam softened. She shouldn't have. "Well shit, if I had known that all of this would have happened, I would never have gone to Bon Temps and nearly bore myself to death at the Collector's house."

"Bullshit," he hissed. He did not find her little note funny. "How much did Bill offer you for finding her?"

"He didn't-"

There was only so much fury within him that he could hold. Her lying to his face pushed him to the edge. His fingers curled tight against her throat, and her feet left the floor. "Do not lie to me." His whisper was deadly.

Blood tears were dripping from her face, running between his fingers. He had trusted her with information and she had betrayed him. If she thought that this was taking care of him, he didn't want it. "How much was the finder's fee-"

"Three million dollars," she said in a broken whisper.

Fuck. The amount only confirmed what he already knew. Bill Compton wanted a fairy and wanted one badly. Bill would not let Olivia go so easily. He had made a name for himself as a top-tier procurer. Once the Collector set eyes on something he wanted, there was very little wouldn't be willing to do to have it. However, there was a tiny ray of hope. Bill may have been willing to kill Chow Lin, a young and exiled vampire with no local blood ties, but he would not be crazy to go up against him. Bill Compton may be incredibly clever and devious, but he wouldn't be so bold as to go against his own Sheriff who was five times his age.

Eric didn't know what Compton had planned for her, but he knew deep in his heart it had to be something vile and cruel because Bill was vile and cruel. So Eric was left with no choice. Eric would have to take Olivia, whether she wanted or not. Whether she loved him or not. He felt a stillness and a sadness overtake him. This is not how he wanted it to be. Eric wanted to be worthy of her. Now he would never know if he ever could have been.

Do you know what happens when you trap a fairy?

A.N:

ERIC noooooooooooooo

Oof, this chapter was crazy. RIP Debbie Pelt, RIP Olivia's dreams. I hope you enjoyed the Chapter as much as I did! Can't wait to post the rest but at the same time... I can see the ending taking shape on the horizon. It's going to be difficult to say goodbye to Wicked Games, I can already tell.

Until next time xoxo