A/N: Short chapter this time. I'm hoping to have the next chapter completed by Friday night if all goes well. Thanks for continuing to read my story!

Sookie's POV: Two and half months later

It has been over two months since I had last seen Eric. Over two months since I had last seen any of my family members and friends. Two months living under the radar and using a fake name. I never dared to try and open the bond though there were many times that I could feel a strong pull from him trying to reach me. That just made me feel worse than I already felt. When I had reached Toronto I had to make the choice of going either east or west. I went to a bookstore and looked at some tourism guides to help me decide where I wanted to go. After careful deliberation I decide to go west. After spending two days in Toronto buying new clothes and toiletries, I boarded another bus that would take me westward to the Rocky Mountains. I was initially worried that Eric could find me by my bus ticket purchases but thankfully they didn't ask for identification. For three days I travelled on the bus and found that I was only ΒΌ away from my destination in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I never realized how vast this country was. Finally I had reached Regina, Saskatchewan. I decided to stay in this area for at least a few weeks because I was tired of travelling. I got a motel room on the outskirts of the city where I spent most of my time sleeping and wallowing in self pity. I wasn't sure how big the vampire population was in this city but just to be safe I remained in my motel room at night. I spent six days in Regina before making the decision to go back to my original plan; which was to stay out of the major cities. Again I looked at some travel brochures to find a small town to reside in. Eventually I found some information on a town called Rockglen. I jumped on another bus and stayed in Rockglen for two weeks but still was not certain that I wanted to remain there indefinitely. I still wanted to live near the Rocky Mountains.

So I boarded another bus that took me to Alberta. Eventually we stopped in a tourist town called Canmore. As soon as I got off the bus I knew this was where I wanted to remain. The atmosphere was cool, clean and breezy. The air smelled like pine trees and fresh wildflowers. The landscape was picturesque with the Canadian Rockies serving as the background.

I rented another motel room for a few weeks. I had so much free time on my hands that during the day I would take hikes in the woods. I would spend most of my time thinking about my situation and how much I missed my family and friends. I would think about Eric constantly. I missed him immensely; despite the fact that I knew that there was no way I could ever be with him again. I had spent over three years of my life with him. He had been my best friend, my husband, my lover, my everything. It felt strange and utterly lonely being single once again.

There were many factors that I also had a lot of time to think about. One of which was whether or not I should change my hair colour. I bought a bottle of hair dye but never got around to applying it. I figured I wouldn't be recognised anyway since I only went out during the day. I also didn't think that Eric hired bounty hunters to look for me as they could be dangerous and try to hurt me physically. In taking other precautions, I abandoned my email box and cell phone.

In Canmore, I rarely spoke to anyone and I was starting to feel even more depressed from the lack of camaraderie. I also needed to find a job and a place to live because Bill's money would eventually run out. I had only taken $15,000 from the account and I wasn't sure if Amelia had been forced by now to confess my secret bank account. Unfortunately finding work was another problem. I had no work visa and if I applied for one, Eric might be able to trace me. I went to a grocery store one day and browsed the community bulletin to look for work that I hoped wouldn't require a work visa. I came across an ad that was looking for help in a small bookstore. I wrote down the number and called there later. An older woman answered and asked me to meet her at her store for an interview. When I got there she introduced herself as Anna Pember. I told her my name was Adele Blackwood, using my grandmother's name and a last name that I came up with. We got along extremely well and we talked for over two hours. She was a widow in her mid 70s and had no children. She was very nice and reminded me of my gran. She offered me a job and a place to stay in her house. The house was large as it used to be a bed and breakfast. It was about a fifteen minute walk from the bookstore that she owned. She explained to me that she was getting too old to run the store by herself and had wanted someone to help, someone she could trust. I probed her mind and saw that she felt that I was trustworthy and didn't harbour any suspicions towards me. I had told her that I had no work visa so she decided to pay me by free room and board and a weekly allowance. I moved into her home the next day.

Today time has been going by so slow. There have only been a few customers who have come by the store to browse. I sit here in front of the cash register and look out the window towards the mountain and see the top covered in white mist. I hate days like these when it is not busy and it allows me more time to think. It's during days like these that I miss everyone I care about, especially Eric even more than I already do. I think about my nephew and how much he must have grown by now. I think about my brother and Tara; they must be overcome with worry for me. I think about Pam, one of my best friends who is probably angry at me for leaving. But especially I think about Eric the most. I try to focus on the good times with him but my mind always torments me with my last memories of him. I still feel a constant ache in my chest that never seems to go away and it also seems that I cannot go one night without crying over him.

"You wear that sad face too often, Adele," Anna says who is standing by the back door of the bookstore. "I've seen that sad look before. As a matter of fact, I have had that same look before."

I gaze at her wearily and give her a tired smile.

"I can tell that you are a woman who is suffering from a broken heart and whoever was the cause, you still love."

"Yeah well... I guess my love wasn't enough for him because he betrayed me with other women," I say sadly. A few tears come out of my eyes.

"Oh my dear," she says in a sympathetic tone. "I want to tell you a story. I married my husband when I was 20 years old. For fifteen years we were so in love, just crazy about each other. We were completely devoted to each other despite the fact that I couldn't have children. The one snag in our marriage was that he travelled a lot for his job, but I always had complete trust in him. I never doubted that he would betray my trust. One day he left on one of his business trips and returned three days later. He had changed; it was like he was keeping something from me. A week later while I was washing dishes he came up to me and told me that he slept with another woman. I was absolutely heartbroken and devastated. I threw some plates at him and swore at him, told him that I would never forgive him. Afterwards for two weeks I never spoke one word to him."

I shed a few tears for her.

"Adele, I am not telling you this to make you feel pity for me, I tell you this to help you learn from my mistakes. It took me six years to forgive him. But when I look back my most deepest regret is that we wasted six years those years with feelings of sadness and hatred. Six years that we could've been happy together if I only just gave him another chance in the beginning. I don't want you to make that same mistake. I don't want you to wake up ten years from now realizing that you have wasted your youth feeling only despair and bitterness. I know that you must have run away, but you will not heal yourself by fleeing from your problems. You have to face it before it consumes you and all you have left is hatred."

I close my eyes and breathe in deeply. I know that she is right. I know that emotionally I wasn't getting any better, I was getting worse. But returning to Eric was something that I wasn't ready to do.

"You're right," I tell her. "But I don't think I'm ready to take that step towards forgiveness just yet."

She comes up beside me and takes my hand, "Well then my dear, take all the time that you need because you are welcome to stay in my home for as long as you want. I think that if I had a daughter, she would have been just like you."

I smile back at her and squeeze her hand gently, "Thank you Anna."

"Okay, back to business," she says, "You know about my weekly book club meetings?"

I nod my head.

"Well tonight the meeting is scheduled to be here. Unfortunately I do not feel very feel right now and I think it may be a cold," she says.

I look at her with concern. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Yes as a matter of fact there is. I need you to open the store for them tonight so they can have their meeting," she says.

I look at her hesitantly. I had spent over two months avoiding the outdoor darkness for fear of running into vampires. "Ummm yeah that's fine," I reluctantly reply.

"Thank you my dear," she smiles at me. "I am going to go home now and rest. I will see you later on tonight when you come home," she says giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"See you tonight Anna," I kiss her back.

She leaves and for the rest of the day I sit there waiting on the few customers who have made purchases and reading some of the new stock of books. As it gets darker, my anxiety begins to grow.

As soon as Anna`s club members arrive, I put the closed sign on the front door. Most of the members are old women close to Anna`s age. There are a few women close to my age as well. Occasionally I still listen in on people`s thoughts just to see if they suspect anything about me. Most of them think of me as a nice woman who doesn`t smile enough. I also check to see if they have seen any strange vampires in the area that may pose a threat. Canmore does receive vampire tourists, but thankfully I have been lucky enough not to have run into one.

"Adele, would you like to join us tonight?" one of the older women asks me.

"Ummm, thank you for your kind offer," I respond, "But I should probably finish stocking the new books and supplies."

I resume my work while they have their meeting in the back where the couches and fireplace are.

Finally they finish about 10:00pm and they all leave one by one.

Rather than heading home myself, I decide to clean up the store now than doing it early in the morning. I sweep the floor and throw out the garbage.

As I wind down I realise it is about 10:45 so I decide to head home. I get ready, turn off the lights and go outside. I lock up the store but suddenly get an eerie feeling as though someone is watching me. Chills run down my spine as I look around. It is completely dark with only the street lights providing illumination.I quickly put my keys back into my pocket and start speed walking home.

Five minutes later as I walk I hear a sound like the breaking of a tree branch. I stop to look around feeling terrified. I drop my shields and probe to find anybody but can sense nothing. Suddenly I sense a couple of blank voids; it has to be vampires. I start running in the direction of the house.

I only make it about ten feet before I run into a vampire. I try to scream but unexpectedly a pair of hands covers my mouth from behind.

"Are you Sookie Stackhouse?" the vampire in front of me asks with his fangs out. He has short black hair and is about as tall as me.

I try to lie so I shake my head.

"I think that you are lying," he says to me in a sinister voice. He sniffs me. "You smell wonderful." He looks over my body and licks his lips.

"She smells delicious, don't you think?" he says to the vampire who is holding me from behind. I can feel him sniffing my neck as I struggle.

"She smells good," he says. I can feel his erection on my back. This is not good; my memories of the fairy incident creep up in my mind. I fight the urge to vomit or pass out.

"It's too bad our employers gave us specific instructions that she was not to be touched," the vampire says in front of me. "But I think we can still have some fun with her. We'll just heal her bite marks and glamour her afterwards," he says with a menacing smile. They obviously don't know that I cannot be glamoured.

"This is going to be a special treat. Not only will we be able to taste her, but we will be getting paid an enormous amount of money when we deliver her to the king and queen," the vamp behind me comments. My heart breaks a little bit more from his comment. It is painfully apparent to me that they are referring to Eric and Rosamund and that Eric is now with her. They must have hired bounty hunters to find me despite the danger. Just get it over with, I think to myself as I give up my struggle.

"I get first taste, since I was the one who spotted her first," the vamp in front of me says. He comes closer to me and leans in ready to bite my neck. I brace myself but all of a sudden he is snatched up and swishes up in a blur into the sky.

I could tell that the other vamp who is holding me is confused as he looks around for his partner. Suddenly we hear a short piercing scream in the air and then nothing.

"Leo!" the vamp yells calling for his partner.

We start to hear the wind whistling around us as though someone is moving at an incredible speed.

He tightens his hold on me.

"Come out!" he demands to the anonymous individual who has probably killed his partner. "Show yourself!" he yells.

The sound of the rapid movements around us stops. "If you come anywhere near us I will kill her!" he yells out holding onto me as though I'm his lifeline.

Without warning the vamp lets me go and I stumble forth a little bit. My first inclination is to run but I know that I cannot outrun him so I turn around to face him. I see the vampire slowly walking backwards away from me with a look of fear in his eyes. I can tell that somehow he is being forced to move away from me; like a magnet is drawing him away.

"Help," he says to me in a terrified voice as he suddenly stops. I can feel some kind of energy building up and spontaneously he bursts into flames.

I scream and start running in the direction of the house. I continue to run down the road but all of a sudden I trip on a stone. A strong pair of arms catches me before I fall to the ground.

My heart is beating rapidly as I see a man's chest in front of me. I look up into a pair of familiar blue eyes.

"What are you doing here?" I ask feeling shocked and surprised.