Disclaimer: Unbeta'd, so all mistakes are my own. All copyrights belong to Ms. Harris and Mr. Ball.

Chapter 5

ADDIE'S POV:

I was so shocked that I hadn't noticed a hit coming; it shocked me more than the actual slap did. And seriously, a bitch slap?

Once I got over the shock I noticed the group that was surrounding me and my slapper. Lex had her on the ground by her throat, growling.

Forming a circle around us are our Royal guards Alexius, Hasan, Nathan, and Kat, along with my Fae family Niall, Dermot, and Claude. What truly surprised me was Pamela joining our circle, seeming to be on our side even though the slapper was her Mistress.

"You dare to raise a hand to my bonded. Explain yourself!" My love demands.

"She carries my pledge's scent! She's had his blood and that is a strict breech of our marriage contract. Her mother was a big enough nuisance to me." Freyda wheezes out.

As soon as she brings up my mother, I become livid. She had her flaws, but she was my mother. And this bitch has cost me enough.

I vamp over to her struggling body on the floor.

"What bothers you more, the fact that he chose her of his own free will instead of being forced into a marriage with you by his maker, or the fact that she wasn't a Vampire?" I ask, trying to control my rage. Like I said, Lex has much better self control than I do.

"Your mother was nothing more than a 'feed and fuck' that happened to be mind reader!"

I instantly start to inflict pain on her, without moving from my spot. I keep going until she starts to shake from the pain.

"And you are nothing more than a worthless bitch who happens to be an American Queen. If you ever touch me or mine again, I will send you to your final death myself. Oh, and I smell like him because he impregnated my mother. My King, please release her."

LEX'S POV:

"My King, please release her." I honestly can't believe that Addie is asking this of me. I can't believe that she doesn't want vengeance of some form for the disrespect that she has shown Sookie.

But, Addie has the advantage of knowing what everyone in the room is thinking and feeling. I had almost forgotten that we were in the presence of every important and influential Supe in the realms.

Smiling at the idea Addie transmits to me, I find it perfect to make both of our points.

With one hand still on this….queens…neck, I use my free hand to pry her mouth open.

"Does anyone have a pair of pliers?" I ask the crowd. I could do this without them, but I want them intact and the best way to accomplish that will be with pliers.

"I do," says a voice from the immediate circle that has formed around us. When I look up, I see the Vikings child smiling holding out a pair of what appears to be bejeweled pliers.

"You realize what I am about to do to your Mistress, yes?" I ask before taking the pliers.

"She is my maker's pledged, not my Mistress. I have only had one Mistress and she died giving birth to your bonded." She states quite seriously. Well, it appears Sookie had even more allies than I knew, which means so does Addie.

Taking the pliers from her, I turn to my bonded and raise my eyebrow in question. She kneels down next to me and keeps her slappers jaw open for me to extract her fangs.

Vampires are obsessive of our fangs since they are our tools for gaining food. But, she attacked my bonded, which is a blood offense and I could kill her if I wanted. But I don't want to deal with the complications of killing a Vampire royal who is also politically pledged.

Making sure to put the perfect amount of pressure on the fangs, I yank them smoothly out one at a time.

"These will make lovely earrings for my bonded." I say to a now crying queen. Pathetic, she should have known better than to attack my bonded.

Handing the pliers back to a smiling Pamela, I rise up off the floor and then assist my lovely bonded up.

"You didn't specify when to release her." I say before leaning down and kissing her roughly. What can I say? Bloodlust can become quite intense.

ERIC'S POV:

After leaving the Ancient One's presence, I find the first female with a donor sash on and take her to the private feeding room to sate my needs.

As I am finishing up with her, I feel excitement and joy from my child and fear, pain, and anger from Freyda.

I know that Pam hates Freyda, but she would never be able to instill these feelings in Freyda. My pledged is only about 300 years younger than me, and is therefore much more powerful than Pamela.

Releasing my meal, I put myself to rights and make my way toward both of them. By the time I get there, I see Alexander kissing Adeline, with Pam close by and Freyda lying on the ground crying.

Walking through the group surrounding them, I get a few growls from the Fae but everyone parts for me to get a better view of what's going on.

No matter how I feel about Freyda and our 'arrangement', I am duty bound to defend her and what honor she is supposed to possess.

"What is the meaning of this?" I ask, aiming my question at Adeline, Alexander, and Pamela.

"Your Queen physically attacked my bonded. As punishment, I removed her fangs. You know, better than anyone, that I had the right to kill her if I wanted," Alexander states calmly, but I can see the anger in his eyes.

I just nod my head at him, and help the 'Queen' up off the floor.

"Kill him Eric!" Freyda demands of me.

"Even if that was physically possible, he had every right to defend his bonded. I have done the very same in the past. You should be thankful all he took was your fangs." I mean he has at least 1,000 years on me, plus I know Adeline would have joined in and I have already felt that she is quite strong herself.

Freyda just stalks off, while I hear my child snicker next to me.

Looking to both Alexander and Adeline, I respectfully bow my head towards them, "I apologize for Freyda's behavior. I hope you weren't injured too much by her. And I thank you for only removing her fangs and not her existence."

"It takes more than a bitch slap to injure me. Honestly, she calls herself a queen?" Oh yes, she is just like her mother. I can't help but smirk before bowing yet again and leaving the group.

PAM'S POV:

"You are so much like your mother, majesty." I tell the Empress.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment. And please call me Addie." She says with my master's smirk on her face.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to speak with the Prince before he does something rash." Addie says before walking toward Prince Niall and a group of other Faeries.

"If you don't mind me asking, why don't you consider Freyda your mistress? She is pledged to your Master." King Alexander asks me, the curiosity clear in his voice.

"It's quite simple really. My master did not choose her; therefore I do not find her worthy of that title. Plus, it pisses her off to no end." Oh, yes, this has been brought up many times by Freyda.

"Northman is ok with that?"

"Even though I didn't know everything that was going on, I was able to decipher enough to know that he would have chosen Sookie a hundred times over. He was livid with the situation he was put in. I kept telling him to tell her, but they were both to stubborn for their own good. When she left, he turned cold again. He became his old self. He pushed a little too hard about Freyda and I said I was going to leave again, to live on my own. We came to an understanding. I respect her as his politically pledged, and as nothing else."

"I can see why Sookie was so fond of you."

"You knew her well?" I ask, trying to keep my emotions at bay.

"I did. Would you care to join me for a blood?" Alexander asks, gesturing towards the blood fountain.

After agreeing and each filling a goblet with blood, he continues.

"I guarded Sookie during her pregnancy. Most of which she spent in the library. After a few months, she started to open up; not only to my mistress and me, but also to herself. She finally allowed herself to look at the situation, but by then she thought it all too late. Then she found out about how Northman had become and she knew she had lost him. She kept herself together enough to allow her child to grow to be a healthy baby. Once Addie was successfully delivered, she faded. She had come to terms with everything she had done and seen and found peace in that. Sookie is one of the few I would consider to be a friend. And I will always be grateful to her for giving birth to my mate." He says with sadness in his eyes.

"And you, Pam, were one of her best friends." I hear from behind us. Turning I see Addie drinking blood from a goblet.

"Well, she was my favorite breather and kept Eric on his toes."

NO POV:

The rest of the opening ceremonies, as well as the Supernatural Summit, continued on without problem. Alliances were formed, decisions were made, and positions were strengthened.

None of the Swedish, Oklahoma, or Louisiana Vampires would see each other again for six more months.