Chapter Seven

Merlotte's was busy as usual for a Friday night. Sookie was full of energy but was having a hard time tonight filtering out everyone's thoughts. She knew that vampire blood opened up her ability but she was usually able to control it better. She didn't even realize the effort she was making to drown everyone out until Sam touched her shoulder.

"Sookie, are you alright? he asked.

"Oh sure Sam I'm fine," she said automatically.

He pulled her a little closer and whispered "I think you need to come and sit in the back for a bit."

She started to refuse but saw the stubborn look on his face and knew he was serious.

She followed him to the back of the kitchen, grateful that the noise had dimmed a little.

"What's going on with you tonight? I can tell by the faces that you making that you are having a bit of a problem."

"I don't want to talk about it Sam, not with you. I don't mean that in a bad way but I just don't think you would understand."

"Try me," he answered.

Sookie bit her bottom lip, a move that did not go unnoticed by Sam. She was so damn sexy and she did not even know it. His was projecting his thoughts to her unintentionally.

"I want her, I love her...," he thought.

"Sam cut it out! " Sookie yelled.

She heard his thoughts clear as a bell and the intention behind them as well.

"I'm sorry", he said immediately. "It won't happen again. I just want to make sure you're alright. She could tell he was embarrassed and felt bad for him.

"Sam you have to control your thoughts a little better than that" she said.

"I will, but can't you just block me out?"

Sookie sighed and wondered how much she should tell him. He was not too happy about her and Eric. The last thing he needed to know were intimate details.

"I'm having a hard time tonight Sam, blocking everyone out. I was with Eric earlier and my ability is heightened. When Eric and I are together sometimes we…" she paused. "Well we sort of.."

"You exchange blood." he stated.

She looked at him surprised that he would know that.

"Sookie I'm a shifter, the supernatural world is my home. I know you are bonded and that is what mates who are bonded do. They share their bodies, blood, everything. They have to."

"Wait, what do you mean they have to share blood? You mean they choose too right?"

"No Sookie, they have too, physically have too. Your body craves Eric's blood now. Didn't he tell you any of this?"

She felt a huge wave of anger hit her and thought it was Eric's at first, but then realized it was her own. She was so angry she couldn't breathe.

Her head ached, everyone's thought were amplified. The feeling was too much for her. She put her hands over her ears attempting to physically block the noise.

Sam reached out to her to touch her, but she backed away. She was unable to shut anything out. She tapped into the bond to get some relief but there was none. She heard screaming and realized it was her own.

She felt Eric's immediate worry and then the calm he was trying to send through to her. It wasn't working. She felt as though her brain was going to explode.

Sam shouted toward the bar for help, within seconds she felt two cold hands on hers, she looked at the hands and then up into the blue eyes of Bill Compton.

"Sookie concentrate on my face," he whispered to her. "You can do it, look at me and listen to my thoughts."

"I can't listen to vampires." she lied. Since the bonding with Eric she was hearing stray thoughts. She hadn't told a soul. Not even her bonded.

"Exactly, you can't read me but try as hard as you can to listen." he said.

The pain awful, the steady stream of thoughts were unbearable. She looked at him and tried. She concentrated hard to hear him, through the pain. There was nothing there, no sound, no thoughts, just silence. Slowly the noise faded. She stayed there holding his hands,basking in the silence.

Her head was still aching. She thought of what Sam had said and started to panic. How could he not tell her? It was all just another trick. She would never be loved the way she wanted to be. First Bill, now Eric. Her Eric. It was all too much for her to take in. She felt warm, too warm even with Bill's cold hands on her. Her knees buckled and she passed out.

Bill caught her effortlessly. He brought her closer. He caught a whiff her hair and melted. She would always smell this good to him. He would always desire her. He wanted her even now, here in this bar. The aching for her would never go away.

He thought of taking her and running away, somewhere, anywhere. But he knew she would not survive the loss of Eric. He often wondered if she could be re-bonded to someone else. The thought had crossed his mind so many times. He was so tempted to take her, to force her to take his blood and try but he knew it would be against her will. It would be like the time they were locked in the truck of the car together. She would never consent, and he could never do something so awful to her again. There were days that he could not stand the sight of himself. That was perhaps his darkest day, when he realized what had happened between them.

He knew Eric would arrive any minute. He looked up at Sam, who had been quietly observing him.

"She'll be fine Sam" he said.

Sam smiled and said softly " I envy you Bill."

"Why on Earth would you envy me Sam? I had her love and I lost it all."

"Yes there is that part, she loved you too. But that's not what I mean. I envy that she can't hear your thoughts. I envy that you are free to love her just as much as me, if not more and she cannot hear a single thought. I have to work hard to hide my feelings from her on a daily basis because our friendship is all I have."

Bill thought it over and realized there was some sense to what Sam was saying.

"You see I sometimes I slip and she knows how I feel about her, but it puts more of a strain on our friendship. It makes her not want to be around me and I can't have that. So I hide it as best I can. There are days when I don't want her to come to work because it's so hard to see her and not be able to feel my feelings for her. So I really envy you."

Bill looked down at Sookie. Yes he was free to love her, to think about her, to want her. He understood what Sam was getting at, but he still suffered. There was not even a friendship he could have with her. Too much had happened and she had not entirely forgiven him. Maybe one day they could be friends.

For now his duty to Eric was to protect Sookie at all costs. His life depended in it. As he looked down at her he knew the one person he could not protect her from was Eric. Eric would be the death of this beautiful girl.

He knew at that moment holding her in his arms that he would never give up hope that one day things would change and that she would be his again. He would always protect her.

There was a loud bang of the front door to Merlotte's and a booming voice yelled "Where is she?"

Bill looked at Sam, who rolled his eyes. Sam hopped off the stool he had been on and called out " She's here Eric."

Eric was there in an instant. He looked at Sam, then at Bill, lingering on where Bill's hands were. "Compton?"

"She passed out and I caught her," Bill explained.

"You will remove yourself from my bonded. I will take over take over from here"

Sam cleared his throat. Eric did not look up " You have something to say Shifter?" Sookie was still out as Eric picked her up in his arms.

"Sookie had a hard time tonight Eric. We're lucky Bill was here to calm her down."Sam said. "Also I think there are some things you may need to talk with her about."

" I am fully aware of the situation and it will be dealt with tonight. I am taking her home now."

He walked out the back door with Sookie in his arms.

Sam nodded at Bill and went back to the bar. Bill followed out the back door in enough time to see Eric fly off with Sookie.

He would follow through the woods to make sure she was alright.

As much as he wanted to protect her, the sad thing was that he could never protect her from what she herself wanted most.

That was the problem, she wanted Eric.