Chapter Six

Out of the Wolf's Lair

It was a bad landing.

Eric managed to land on the ground, wiggled himself for a moment, and then suddenly, he lost his balance. Bump! Both of them fell to the ground with her on top of him. Thank God! She couldn't imagine how it would've been if it had been the other way around!

Cssss!

"Aaargh!" Eric growled.

Her necklace must have touched his skin. Dear Lord, it must have been painful for him. Arlene wanted to get off of him, but his hands cupped her ass. "Don't move," he hissed. "And take off that fucking necklace!"

"No. It's dark here... I don't know where to put it."

"Put it in my trouser pocket! Quick!"

Arlene took the necklace off and her lower body and searched recklessly for his lower body when she touched something hard. Jesus! Eric was having a hard-on. "Eric!" she said. "We are in the middle of nowhere, in the darkness and you are horny?"

"And?" he said as if it was the most normal thing to happen. "I told you we have some unfinished business."

"And you said sex was the last thing on your mind."

"It was. Come on, Arlene. Do it fast!"

Arlene shoveled the necklace into the first pocket she could find. Eric growled as her hand again touched his dick.

"But I change my mind," suddenly he said, grabbing her waist, and with one flip, he was already on top of her.

"Eric...please...," she pushed him, but he didn't move. "Werewolves and only god knows what other beings are chasing your ass right now...,"

"Yes, I know. But I am busy right now...,"

And he was. His hands were crawling along her side and went to her back to open her bra. "Why do women wear so many clothes," he muttered, "what for, if at the end they will be taken off anyway...,"

"Eric...!" Arlene tried to catch his hands and stopp him from doing it.

Now, both of them moved carelessly in the dark, down on the ground, rubbing each other bodies, without Arlene wanting it. And the stronger they rubbed each other, the stronger her heart beat, and the more she wanted to feel his cold and yet silky skin. When Eric gave up and didn't continue trying to open her bra, Arlene ran her hand under his t-shirt.

"I am hungry," Eric growled. "I am so wanting your blood...," he touched her face. "I want to suck you and then fuck you until I can't move."

He was hungry, and horny!

Arlene shivered. One way or the other, he wanted to be satisfied, and sooner or later, he would get what he wanted, with her or anybody else. "Take me to your place," she whispered. "You can have me there."

"No," he said.

"Why not?"

"Too many people. And I want to have it now, but I can't feed on you."

Somehow, that was a relief. "Why not?"

"The werewolves will notice that you have a new wound. You can't have a new wound, otherwise they would know that you had left your room," he lifted his body and sat beside her.

Arlene got up. "Let's go," she said. "I don't want to be here too long. And I feel uncomfortable – being half naked like this. Somebody might see me."

"We are nowhere. Besides, it's dark. Nobody can see you, not even me, which is a pity." Arlene felt his cold hand on her waist again. She held those hands. "How did you find me?" she asked.

"You have my blood, not as strong as before, but I still can sense it. You were terrified."

"I was; I still am. What happened to your bar?"

"Some werewolves came and demanded to see Herveaux."

"And...?"

"We talked."

We talked? "I saw a lot of blood at your place! It doesn't look like a result of a conversation to me!"

Suddenly he lifted her. Arlene couldn't do anything else, but instinctively grabbed anything she could reach with her legs, which happened to be his hip. And before long, she found herself answering his kisses.

"Conversation," Eric said between his kisses, "doesn't always have good results. Sometimes, some people just can't listen." Then, he said something in another language. Arlene didn't understand a word he was saying – no, he wasn't actually saying them, he was growling them. His 'r's were rolled heavily and there were some sounds she couldn't even pronounce.

Carelessly and greedily Eric touched her. His cold hands pressed, squeezed and sometimes scratched her. And as he laid her down, she felt something rough touched her back. Perhaps, it was the grass, or maybe insects, or other small animals. No, she didn't want it. She didn't like imagining some unknown insects crawling on her body, entering her... she pushed him.

"Arlene...," Eric sounded surprised and annoyed at the same time.

Arlene sat down. "You know what, this is really not the right place to do this. I don't want to have animals or insects crawling all over my body!"

"I don't hear or see any. Besides, if there are some, trust me, you will never feel them, if you let me...," he came closer to her, his hands started touching her again.

"Easy for you to say, you're not on the bottom."

"That can be arranged." He pulled her to his arms, and with one movement, they were on the ground again. This time, she was on the top. With one hand, he strongly pushed her ass to his body, touching his dick, which was hard and ready; with the other hand, he held the back of her head and started kissing her.

"Eric," she said as she managed to break his kisses. "I really am not into this. What if ants or spiders enter my ass, or my crack or your? Or maybe a grasshopper suddenly hops on my back, or what if a frog spits at me?"

"Now you are turning me off," he said. "Grasshopper? Frogs? Where do you think we are? In a swamp?"

"How do I know? I can't see a thing."

His cold hands touched her legs. "You are far away from the werewolves."

And on a vampire. Arlene got off him. "What happened, Eric? What did you do to me? Why was I suddenly at Jason's place?"

"It seems, I have scared you to death. I flew at you; you screamed and collapsed," his hand crawled softly on her back. "I took you to the bar and asked Merlotte to take you away from there."

"You didn't bite me?"

"Why? Are you sorry that I didn't? I can do it if you want me to."

"Oh, shut it," said Arlene, smiling (she didn't know how she could smile! Shouldn't she be angry or something?)

"We have to go," he said, pulling her off the ground.

"I can't go like this. I need a shirt, t-shirt, something!"

"Take mine," Eric said. A moment later, he handed her his t-shirt.

"But you said, they could sense you. If I wore your t-shirt...,"

"I lied. I wanted us to leave that place as soon as possible. Their smell...upsets my stomach."

Arlene put his t-shirt on. The familiar soft smell wasn't there. Eric didn't wear his cologne. "Where are we going?"

"You'll find out," Eric took her hips, and with her in his arms, he flew into the darkness again.

Xxxxx

"You're late."

A woman, who wore all black leather, stood at the door with her hands on the hips. She's was pale as Eric wearing much too much make-up on her face. Her bright red lipstick was like a beacon on that white marble face. It made her look intimidating.

"Arlene, Pam. Pam, Arlene," said Eric ignoring what she had said.

Pam, one of his assistants. They had met before. Now, she was eying her like an eagle eyed a rabbit. She clearly wasn't happy to see her, or the fact that she was wearing Eric's t-shirt sans trousers, and Eric wore trousers sans t-shirt.

"How's Chow?" asked Eric.

"He fed. He'll survive."

Dear Lord, that was a nice attitude. Didn't this woman have any feeling left?

"She needs a new cloth," Eric said.

"What am I now? Her stylist?"

"Pam," said Eric without turning around. His voice was flat, but the reaction was astonishing. Pam came to Arlene and gave her a sign with her head to follow her.

Pam took her to a room. "There are some clothes in the closet," she said. "You can wear whichever you want."

"Are they yours?" asked Arlene, stealing a look at her. Pam was dressing in bright red glittering disco jumpsuit. Her hair was twisted and curled and she wore such a glamorous make-up, complete with glitter that Arlene thought Pam was going or hosting a party somewhere.

"No," she turned around, walking away.

Perplexed, Arlene went to the closet and opened the door. Woman's clothes. A lot of them. Whose were they? Had they belonged to the women Eric brought here? Her skin crawled. If they were, did it mean the women had been dead?

Arlene stepped away from the closet. There was an urge to close the door, but she realized, she couldn't run around only with Eric's t-shirt. Yes, it was long enough to cover her ass, but still, she didn't feel comfortable wearing only that. She took a deep breath. "Easy, Arlene," she whispered, telling herself it would be just fine.

She took a soft blue blouse. She shrieked when suddenly she heard a voice,

"You will look great in those."

Eric. He was standing right behind her, wearing a black wife-beater and jeans. Showing clearly the shape of his body. Lean, but muscular.

"Jesus, Eric! Can't you knock?"

His eyebrow was lifted. "Yes, I can."

That wasn't a question! Arlene put the blouse on. "Whose house is this anyway?"

"Mine."

"You live here?"

"No, but I use it for some purposes."

"And these...clothes?"

Eric smirked. "One of the girls'."

"One of the girls'?"

"Yes. Some girls come here from time to time. They..."

"Don't tell me," Arlene snatched the jeans. She didn't want to hear whatever he did to or with the girls.

"Pam and I feed on them," Eric ignored her. "They gave their blood willingly for some money."

"No sex?"

"I never pay for sex," Eric sounded annoyed.

"Yeah," Arlene rolled her eyes. "You just glamour them."

Within a blink of an eye, Arlene found herself laying on the bed with Eric on top of her. His fangs were bared; his lips formed a lustful smile. "You'll never forget it, won't you?" his hand touched her neck and slipped down to her blouse.

"No," Arlene looked at his icy blue eyes. "And I don't want you to forget it either. What you did to me was wrong. Morally or legally. If you want to live with us, side by side, treated like an equal, you'd better start learning to respect our law."

"Who said I wanted to?" his face was getting closer.

"So what am I to you? Your food? Your sex toy?"

"Among others," he smirked. "Hmh, the idea of making you my sex toy is not bad at all."

Arlene put her hands on his hips. Eric growled as she slipped them into his jeans' pockets. Something reacted wildly as her hand touched it. Now it's pushing his trousers and touching hers. Dear Lord... this man... this vampire...

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I want this back," said Arlene, taking the necklace out of one of the pockets.

Eric grabbed her hand, but when their eyes met, he let it go. Slowly he raised himself. "I'll let you go this time," he said. "But when everything is over," he straightened himself and pulled her up so she was sitting face to face with him. "You are mine and you should start learning what it means."

"I am nobody's," Arlene, said putting the necklace on and tidying her blouse. "If you want this relationship – whatever it is – to work, you should start learning the meaning too. There's no way that I will let you or anybody else to possess me like some kind of goods!"

He smirked. "I'd like to see how you defend yourself against me," he said. "I promise," he continued quickly. "I will never use any force, unless of course, you want me to."

Arlene lifted her eyebrow. What did that mean? Was he implying bondage? Arlene looked at him, and he looked back at her, smirking. "No way…," she shook her head. "No fucking way…

He came to her and took her hip. As if she weighted nothing, he glided with her in his arms out of the room. Arlene knew, Eric would never tell her what he had meant, and if she asked him, she would have him put that smirk on his face again. Besides, there were more pressing matters she was facing right now; like how to get back to Herveaux' place without getting noticed, and where was Eric taking her?

Her question was answered right away. He took her only to the other room.

"Arlene!" a sound of surprise welcomed her. Sam.

Arlene unwrapped herself from Eric, almost violently that made her feel guilty afterward. It was as if she didn't want to be seen with Eric…she wanted to apologize to Eric, but soon her attention was taken away by a figure, who was lying on the bed. Jackson Herveaux. Pale and wounded. There were some nasty scars across his face and on his left arm.

"I thought you were with Jason," said Sam.

"I was," said Arlene. "But they found out where I was, so Jason and Mel decided to take me to Mel's uncle." She turned to Eric. "You know that the Long Tooth Pack is looking for Mr. Herveaux, don't you?"

"I asked him not to tell anybody, Mrs. Fowler," Jackson was the one who answered. "I don't want them to see me like this."

"But your son is worried about you, Mr. Herveaux. If he thinks the werewolves of Mississippi killed you...,"

"He'll know what to do," Jackson cut her off. "It's better that they don't know my real situation."

"I don't understand," said Arlene. "You are deliberately making your son look for you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want him to know who has done this. At least not now. There's a bigger problem we all have to face and I don't want his focus to be divided."

"But you could send somebody to them!" Arlene said in disbelief.

"I couldn't even if I wanted to."

"But why?"

Sam came to her and dragged her out of the room. Arlene looked at him perplexed. She had never thought Sam would've dared to do that to her!

"This is a question of life and death for a lot of people, Arlene," he said. "I urge you not to divulge Jackson's whereabouts to anybody. Not even to Alcide."

"He is his son, and he's worried sick about him. He has the right to know, Sam!"

Sam took a deep breath. His brown eyes moved rapidly before he said, "He was attacked by his own people. Somebody inside his pack wants him dead. Do you remember what happened at the office?"

Arlene nodded.

"I knew one of them. He's a Long Tooth Pack member."

"And the massacre that happened at Eric's bar?"

"It wasn't a massacre," Sam drew himself away, as if it was hard for him to continue the next sentence. "It was self-defense. They crossed the line, Arlene. They attacked a vampire's property! It's good that Eric agrees not to continue the feud. Otherwise, the Long Tooth Pack would face a bigger problem than losing their leader. Eric could've brought this attack to the vampires' meeting, and it would be the end of werewolves societies if the vampires got together and retaliated."

Arlene turned her face to the room. Eric didn't want to continue the fights or retaliate. Perhaps, he didn't want to spill more blood. Somehow, it made her see him differently. Eric wasn't as blood thirsty as she thought he would be. And in his own fashion, he knew how to handle matters.

"Why didn't you tell me about who you really are, Sam?" Arlene decided to ask the question.

Sam smiled wryly. "Would you believe if I told you I could change myself into a cat or a dog?"

"Probably not. Did Selah know?"

"Yes."

"Why wasn't she surprised? And all this artificial blood, vampires and other stuff, did she know about that too?"

"Yes."

"And nobody had decency to tell me? I am her business partner, for God's sake! God! I feel so stupid! All these years and knew nothing about what people, whom I call my friends, have done behind my back!"

Sam closed his mouth tight.

"Where is Selah?"

"I don't know."

"Don't lie to me, Sam. I swear to God if you lie to me...,"

"I don't know, Arlene. I swear, I am telling you the truth."

"Don't get so worked up like that, Arlene," Eric's deep soft voice made her turn around. His fangs were bared. "You make it so hard to control my hunger," he walked slowly to her. "Your adrenaline smells so sweet."

Sam pulled her and made her to stand behind him. "Northman...," slowly, but surely his hands changed into an animal's claws.

"Humans!" the cold voice of Pam filled the air. "They cause nothing, but problems."

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" said Arlene, pushing Sam and she took Eric's hand. Eric was hungry. And the way she saw it, there was no other choice but to give him what he wanted. He wanted blood. The earlier he got it, the better it would be for everybody.

"Arlene, I don't think it's a good idea…"

"Shut it, Sam," Arlene cut him off.

"Yeah, shut it, Sam," Eric smirked.

"Where's your room?"

"Hmh, I like a woman who is straight to the point."

"Oh, shut it!"

Eric took her back to the first room she had been in. Arlene stretched her neck and gave it to him, when he said, "No, not there." He touched the neck. "You don't know how much I want to sink my teeth into it, to claim you as mine in the vampire style…,"

"Why don't you?" Arlene was shaken from lust and nerves.

"It's not the right time. Besides, I will only claim you when you are willing to give yourself to me, completely, not because I am hungry." He sniffed the neck. "Until then, our relationship whatever it is," he emphasized the 'whatever it is', "is just sex and blood." He pushed her down to the bed. Soon his hands were busy opening the zipper of her trousers.

"Eric, I said blood and not sex."

"I know," he pulled down her jeans. "And blood it is." He rubbed his nose on her panties, before he licked the inner part of her thigh.

Arlene gasped and grabbed the mattress as she felt Eric's fangs tear into her flesh. Soon her tears rolled down on her cheek, not because of sadness, but because of pain. After awhile, Eric lifted his face. His lips were covered with blood, her blood. His blue eyes were brightened by strange lights.

"Thank you, Arlene," he wiped off his lips and then licked his fingers, as if he was licking something delicious. "I owe you one."

Later that night, when Eric brought her back to the Long Tooth Pack's building, and helped her climb back into her room, Arlene felt weak. She didn't know how much of her blood Eric had taken, but the next time Eric had his hunger attack, she would try the idea of calling the blood prostitute.

As she reached the bed, she let herself fall on the bed and could only thank god when she felt sleepiness win over her mind.

xxxxxx