From Chapter 9

"So, now, since I've had Eric's blood, I keep having these sex dreams about him, and I'm finding myself attracted to him, and it's almost like I crave his presence. It's starting to really freak me out."

"Okay, Sook. Seriously. I think that you need to talk to Godric about all of this. I'm no expert on the effects of vamp blood, but, it seems that you've been misinformed."

Oh, I did not like the sound of this at all. "What do you mean?"

"It takes a whole hell of a lot more than just a few drops of blood to make you desire the vamp whose blood you've had. Even WITH as old as Eric is. With the amount you had, he should be able to sense your emotions and your location, and that's about it."

"But if that's the only effects it would have, then why did he do it? That doesn't make sense."

"That's why I think you need to talk to Godric. I have a feeling that there's something else happening here that we're not aware of."

Chapter 11

SPOV

Ana and I had decided to go out for dinner, rather than stay in. She pulled a black, button down blouse on over her tank top, leaving it open, pulled on a pair of flip flops, and grabbed a piece of paper from her bedroom before joining me in the living room.

"Godric left me all of the codes for the security systems. At first, when he showed me all of this, I thought he had overdone it. But, I know that he had gotten pretty comfortable in Dallas and had been taking it easy, and with the bombing, I think he's trying to compensate," she said, giggling a little as she showed me the various panels she'd have to enter codes on.

We went out through the garage, because that's where Eric had left my car. I saw that there were several cars here, and wondered if one of them was for Ana. When I mentioned this, and asked if she maybe wanted to drive, she replied, "Oh, no. I don't even have a license. I'm not allowed to have one on account of the seizures. I'd hate to think what would happen if I was driving and suddenly had one. I'd not only hurt myself, but, probably others, and I can't have that on my conscious."

We crawled into my nova, and headed for a Chinese restaurant that was situated in the middle of a strip mall about a mile or so from Fangtasia. It wasn't crowded, but the service was slow, so, by the time we had finished eating, the sun had just set.

"We'd better be getting back. I'm sure that Godric will be worried if he rises and I'm not there. Besides, we need to talk him into taking us to Bon Temps tonight, right?" she said enthusiastically.

"Yes, yes we do! I'll just run to the restroom and meet you outside, okay?" I used the restroom, washed my hands and took a minute to fix my hair in the mirror. When I walked outside of the restaurant, I spotted Ana and immediately knew I shouldn't have let her go outside on her own. She was surrounded by a group of 4 human men, who all looked to be in their early twenties. I lowered my shields and reached out to their minds, suddenly wishing I hadn't. Every one of them had been picturing doing several debaucherous things to poor Ana. I made a move to help her, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Godric standing behind me. Just as I was about my open my mouth and apologize for getting her into this situation, he silently said, "watch," and I returned my attention to Ana.

Just as the men were acting like they were going to beginning putting their hands on her, I saw Eric walk up behind her, and wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her to him.

"Everything alright here lover?" he asked her. The men shifted their gaze and took the full picture in. He was wearing dark wash jeans, and a skin tight black t-shirt. He was showing full fang. He looked very sexy, and very dangerous.

Ana smiled and moved her arms to cover his. "Oh, I think so. These guys were just asking me whether or not I thought I was tough enough to handle all four of them."

Eric gave a hard laugh. "That goes without saying. But, the real question is, would they be able to handle you?" And with this, her turned her around in his embrace, put his arms underneath her knees and picked her up so that she was straddling his waist. She tipped her face in and kissed him full on the lips. After a moment, Eric broke the kiss, looked at the men over his shoulder and said, "Run along now children," making sure to bare his fangs at them with his words. They men slowly backed away, and when they felt they were far enough from Eric, turned their backs to him and ran.

Eric put Ana down, and the two of them strode over to us, laughing. "Oh, that was fun!" Ana said.

"Yes, well, as much as I'm glad you enjoyed it, I would prefer you not be out after dark without Pam, Eric or I with you from now on," Godric softly chided her. She grinned and shook her head.

"Godric, Sookie and I were wondering if you might be willing to drive us to her place in Bon Temps tonight? She's arranged with her boss to have a week off of work so she can stay with me while Mark's still on the loose, and we wanted to get some of her clothes and things." She looked so sweet and innocent as she said this, and, I could tell from the look on his face, Godric was putty in her hands.

"Yes, of course. I was honestly going to try and talk you into staying for a while Sookie, it's nice to see that is no longer necessary."

"Well, I've grown pretty attached to our little Ana here, and I'd hate to see anything more happen to her. Besides, there are a few things I'd like to discuss with you, if that's alright?" At this, I noticed Eric stiffen slightly, but he recovered so quickly. I wasn't positive it really happened.

"Of course, my wealth of knowledge is at your disposal. Eric, will you be joining us this evening?"

"Not right away, no. I have some paperwork I need to go over at Fangtasia. But, I'm hoping to be able to see more of you later." As he said this, I turned my head slightly and noticed that he was watching my hips sway as we walked. He really has no shame.

As we got to my car, I asked Eric if he wanted a lift to Fantasia. He looked at my car with distaste and said he would fly. Just as I was about to yell at him for judging my car, Ana ran to him and pulled him into a fierce embrace. I saw her whispering something in his ear, and his eyebrows lifted suddenly in reaction. He pulled away from her, looked at her and said, "Oh, really?" She smiled and nodded her head, and came back to the car. Eric bowed his head slightly to Godric, winked at me, and took to the air.

Ana climbed into the front seat, Godric in the back, and I started the car to head towards Godric's house, where we agreed we would switch to Godric's car for the ride to Bon Temps. "So, um, what the heck was that all about Ana?"

"What, you mean the kissing scene, or the goodbye scene?" she asked giggling.

"Um, both."

"Well, for the goodbye scene, that's just between Eric and I. As for the kiss, well, it's happened a couple of times that human men try to force their unwanted attentions on me, and Eric's always been kind enough to intimidate them just enough to get them to leave me alone!"

"Oh. Well, he can be quite…intimidating. I thought the whole thing was pretty hilarious myself."

"You think that's hilarious, think about this. Eric's the only person I've ever kissed!"

At this, she laughed quite hard, and as I looked through the rearview mirror, it was impossible not to notice the flare of jealousy on Godric's face.

Fifteen minutes later, we had changed cars, and were now speeding down the highway towards Bon Temps, with Godric behind the wheel of his Audi, Ana in the front seat, and me in the back. We spent the first few miles of the drive chatting idly. Godric was interested in what classes Ana was thinking of taking at her college this semester, and wanted to know when her interview at the dance school was. She was excited to teach dance, but, was nervous about the interview, because she realized that if any of her classes were in the evening, she'd have a vampire with her, and she wasn't sure many of the parents would like that.

After a moment or two of comfortable silence, Godric said, "Now, Sookie, earlier you said you had some things to discuss with me, did you not?"

"Yes, I did. I have some questions about, well, the effects that drinking vampire blood would have on a human."

"Aww, I was wondering when this might come up. I've been expecting these questions from you since the night of the bombing in Dallas."

"Yes, well, after speaking with Ana about it this morning, she seems to think I've been misinformed at some point."

At this, Ana turned in her seat so that she was able to look at Godric, but also slightly turn my head and could see me.

"Godric, someone has seriously misled her about what having vampire blood would do as far as mind control goes."

"Yes, Eric and I have suspected as much for quite some time, now," he said turning to look at her. Out of the corner of his eye, I'm sure he saw the confused look on my face. "Let me explain what exactly it is that I mean. First, there's the obvious. It can heal wounds and injuries, increase speed and stamina, and enhance beauty. Beyond that though, there are several variables. It all depends on what quantity is taken, and how old the vampire is. The older the vampire, the stronger the blood is, requiring less quantity be taken for the most potent results. And also, if the human has been weakened by an injury, or, more specifically, blood loss, the effects are magnified as well. Sookie, when was the very first time you ingested Mr. Compton's blood?"

This surprised me a little at first. I wasn't aware that Eric and Godric knew I'd ever had Bill's blood. "Well, that was quite a few months ago. The first night that I met Bill, I sort of saved him from a couple of drainers outside of Merlotte's. The next night, I had arranged to meet him after I got off work, but when I left the bar, instead of finding Bill, the drainers attacked me. They beat me pretty good before Bill finally showed up and got them off me. He carried me away, and he knew my injuries were quite severe, so, he told me I had to drink from him or I would die."

"Yes, I suspect he was probably right about that. Do you remember how much of his blood you took?"

"I'm not sure. It was quite a bit, several mouthfuls at the very least."

"And, what did he tell you the effects of this would be, other than the obvious healing of your injuries?"

"Bill said that I would have keener senses, that he would always be able to feel me, and he could find me fast. And, he said that, um, my….."

"Sookie, I realize that some of this is information of a more private nature, and I don't want to intrude upon that. However, in order to best answer your questions and help you understand what's happening to you, I need for you to trust me. I can promise you that nothing you to say either Lilliana, or myself concerning this will ever shared with another."

"He said that my libido would be more active."

"Alright then. Was that the only time you have taken his blood?"

"Yes. He offered it later on when I had been beaten by the man who was killing women associating with vampires in my town, but, I told him no."

"I see. Now, other than that once with Mr. Compton, when else have you ingested blood from any vampire?"

"Besides Bill, the only time was when Eric tricked me into it by telling me I had to suck the silver out of his chest or else he would die, after the bomb went off."

"Yes, well. What did Mr. Compton tell you would be the side effects of that ingestion?"

"He said that Eric and I would be connected. That he would know how I was feeling. And that I shouldn't be surprised if I should find myself attracted to him. You know, um, sexually."

"And, have you been?"

I felt my flash flush at this, and knew that I must be blushing head to toe. Ana reached over and put her hand on my shoulder, I looked up at her, and she winked and nodded for me to continue.

"Yes, I believe that I am."

"And, before you took his blood, did you ever find yourself thinking of Eric in that matter?"

"No, not whatsoever."

"Alright. Let me tell you my thoughts. As you are aware, Vampires have the ability to glamour a human, therefore using mind control over them. However, what is not as widely known, is that, if you were to ingest blood from a Vampire, again depending on quantity of the blood, and age of the vampire, that also gives the Vampire a form of mind control over you."

This was completely new information to me. "Go on."

"Well, it sounds like with the amount of blood that you needed from Mr. Compton in order to heal from your injuries, gave him the ability to sway your emotions. He was not able to control them, but, he could influence the intensity of them. I'm sure that you would've been attracted to him, and possibly fallen in love with him eventually, however, I do believe that he used this influence over you to make it happen on his time schedule. Now, I have been informed of the circumstances surrounding the first time you met Eric. From what he tells me of his behavior, you, naturally, would've been bothered by this. However, it seems that Mr. Compton took that to his advantage, and enhanced it, making you feel sure that you were disgusted by him, and hated him. He continued to do this when you were involved in exposing Longshadow as a traitor. Because these things happened within a small amount of time after you ingested Mr. Compton's blood, he wouldn't have had to push hard for you to feel the way he wanted you to. However, by the time of your discovery of your friend, Lafayette I believe his name is, in Eric's basement, the power of Mr. Compton's blood had began to wane slightly. I'm sure that is one of the reasons he tried so very hard to give you some after you were hurt by the man who murdered your Grandmother." I wondered how he knew so much of the details of things that had happened. But, I'm sure he had his ways, and that wasn't the issue at hand.

"When you discovered your friend being more or less 'tortured,' you were disgusted with Eric, rightfully so, and Mr. Compton wouldn't have had to push very hard to enhance that. By this time, you were completely convinced that Eric was a complete and utter savage, and that the only emotion you could ever feel for him would be hatred. However, when he came and found both of us in the basement at the fellowship stronghold, he told me that he could feel that you were softening towards him. At first, he thought it was just that you were grateful that you were being rescued, and that it was your relief for your own safety that he felt. By the time that the, incident, at the fellowship had come to an end, it became apparent, to both of us, actually, that, if you were in Mr. Compton's presence, your emotions where Eric was concerned did lean more towards hatred. If he was not there, then, you felt more, well, for lack of a better word, indifferent. While we were making our way back to the nest, Eric and I briefly discussed this, because I told him that I was very interested in the human woman who seemed ready to sacrifice herself for a Vampire she'd never met. The more he told me about you, the more I came to suspect that Mr. Compton held some sort of power over you. We discussed a few possible ways we could uncover more information, and it was decided that I would try to speak with you in private, away from both Eric and Mr. Compton, and get a better read from you then. However, when the bomb went off, and Eric knew that Mr. Compton was outside of the nest, and that he was injured, albeit not seriously, he took it upon himself to try and speed up the process. I believe that the reason why Mr. Compton was so upset about this, was, simply because he was unsure how much of Eric's blood you had ingested, therefore, he was not sure if he would still have any influence over you, or if Eric would have any as well. Because Eric is quite a bit older than Mr. Compton, it would've taken quite a bit less blood for him to have the equal control, plus, considering how long it had been since you'd had Mr. Compton's blood, that would've been a factor as well. However, you had not ingested enough for Eric to have as much power as Mr. Compton did in the beginning. He did, however, tell me that he knew he had enough power that, if he should so desire, he could completely throw Mr. Compton's power off of you, so that you were finally without any influence whatsoever. This is, in all actuality, what he did eventually do."

"But, that doesn't make sense. Because, after I'd had his blood, it was like someone had hit the fast forward button on my emotions, and I felt my emotions, in just a few hours, change as much as they normally would've done over the course of a few months! Plus, even as early as the next day, I started having sex dreams about him!" I clapped my hand over my mouth the minute those words left it. How embarrassing! Had I honestly just admitted to Eric's maker that I was having hot steamy dream sex with him?

"Please, Sookie, do not be embarrassed. You cannot control what your subconscious mind plays out for you during your sleeping hours. When you drank Eric's blood, and he used his power to more or less throw Bill's influence off of you, it's as if your emotions were pushed back to level zero, if that makes sense. You immediately went from hating Eric, to, emotionally, not knowing him whatsoever. If you began to find him attractive, that was simply because, if Mr. Compton had not been influencing you, you would've been feeling those emotions long ago. As for the dreams, well, that's another matter. And, this is where things become more speculation, because, we must remember that your mind does not work the way an ordinary human's mind would. You have telepathic abilities, and, you cannot be glamoured. That is not at all normal for a human. My guess would be that, part of your subconscious knew the entire time that you were being manipulated, so, as soon as that force was gone, it more or less began showing you what you should have been feeling long ago. I honestly believe that it was your mind's way of telling you that, had Mr. Compton not allowed it, you would've found yourself attracted to Eric many months ago."

This was so much to take in. Had Bill really been lying to me the whole time? If he hadn't been pressing his will on me, would I have felt love for him? Would I have wanted to be with Eric? My head was spinning. "And, how do you know that Eric isn't using his influence to make me feel attracted to him now?"

"That is simple. Because as his maker, I forbad it. I respected the courage you showed to our kind, and I ordered him to not use his influence on you, but to simply free you from the influence of others."

"I received a phone call earlier today from my boss, Sam. He told me that a friend of ours who had been dating Jessica, had received a call from her saying that Bill was hiring a moving company to pick up all of their things from his place in Bon Temps, and move it to New Orleans, and that they weren't coming back. He said that Jessica said that Bill and I had broken up. When I heard this, I'll admit, I was upset, because I felt betrayed that he would just abandon me, and not even have the grace to tell me to my face that it was over. But, I was more angry than anything else. I don't actually feel hurt, or broken hearted. Just, well, pissed off. What does that mean?"

"Well, that means that you felt betrayed that you kept in the dark about your own relationship, however, it also means that, since you were not sad, your heart really didn't hurt at it being over."

Yup, that did it for me. I had nothing left. I just said in silence for the rest of the drive. When we got to my place in Bon Temps, Lilliana and Godric came inside and helped me pack some things, and load them into the trunk of Godric's car. I told Godric that I wanted to stop by Merlotte's and pick up my latest paycheck, and also find Jason to let him know I wouldn't be home for a while. When we pulled into the parking lot at Merlotte's, Jason's pick-up was there, so, I guess we wouldn't have to make two stops! I asked Ana and Godric if they'd like to come inside, and Ana was excited about meeting Jason, and since Godric didn't want her out of his sight, he came in as well. There weren't that many people there, beings that it was a Monday night, so I took a minute to introduce Ana to Arlene and Lafayette. I left Ana chatting with Lafayette as I went back to Sam's office, but, he wasn't there. When I went back out to the bar, Arlene told me that he'd had to run a quick errand, but that he left my check in an envelope in one of his desks drawers, and I went back and grabbed it. What I saw when I went back out to the bar made just about made me double-over in laughter. Jason had made his way over to where Godric and Ana were standing. He was flirting with Ana, and, I could tell by the look on Godric's face that, if this person wasn't my brother, and wasn't someone who Godric held in high regard because of his help in Dallas, he'd be on the floor with a broken nose by now! I went over to them, and started to tell Jason that I wouldn't be around because I would be helping Ana get used to living in Shreveport (there was no need to tell him the whole story and make Ana uncomfortable). I guess that one of the tables in Arlene's section must've felt neglected, because they were starting to get a little rowdy, and one man even threw his empty beer pitcher on ground, shattering it. At the sound of the breaking glass, Ana screamed, buried her head in Godric's chest, and began trembling. Godric began stroking her hair, and whispering to her, telling her she was safe, and that no one was going to hurt her. He turned to me and motioned that he was going to take her outside, and I simply nodded.

After they'd left, Jason turned back to me and said, "Hey, Sook, is she okay?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine. She just had a bit of an accident recently where she ended up falling through a glass wall and getting hurt pretty bad. I think the sound just brought it all back to the surface."

"Wow. Well, I hope she's okay. You know, I wouldn't mind it so much if you brought her back around sometime. She's pretty cute."

I just laughed. "Ya know Jason, I know you wouldn't mind, but, I think that Godric would mind."

"You mean? Oh….I get it. Too bad. She's a looker."

With that, I shook my head at him, told him goodbye, and walked outside to where Godric and Ana were.

"Sookie, would you mind driving? I think I'd like to sit in back with Lilliana and try to help her calm down," Godric asked, with loads of concern in his eyes.

"No, I don't mind one bit." With that, we were back on the road to Shreveport. No one spoke a single word the rest of the way."

Once we got back to Godric's place, and I had moved all of my things into Eric's room (since I had already slept there once, I figured it would just be convenient to stay), and came out to find Godric sitting on the couch, still cradling Lilliana in his lap.

"Well, um, if you two are okay here, I think I might head over to Fangtasia," I said.

Godric looked up at me with a smile. "Oh?"

"Yes, I would say that, at this point, Eric and I have a LOT to discuss."

"Yes, I believe I agree with that," he said with a chuckle. "Please, go and enjoy yourself. I would just ask that you try to be back before sunrise, so that I know someone is here with Lilliana, and so that I can reset all of the security codes before taking my rest."

"Sure thing." I walked over and pressed a light kiss to Ana's head, and she reached out and held my hand for a moment, and then, I found myself walking to my car, feeling my heartbeat speed up with the prospects of seeing Eric.

A/NI know it feels like there's been basically 11 chapters of buildup, but, I PROMISE that some major things are coming in the next 2 chapters! Enjoy!!