Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story except Gemma. Some of the plotline associated with her is my own, but the rest comes from True Blood Season 3, the property of Alan Ball, based on the Southern Vampire series written by Charlaine Harris. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 3
Eric Northman
The idea of facing Queen Sophie-Anne so soon after our little confrontation earlier that night was more than I could bear. The Magister was dangerously close to discovering our roles in the surges of V sales and uses. He had managed to work out that a vampire was willfully giving his or her own blood up for sale and seemed to have Sophie-Anne and me in his sights as the culprits. As a result, the lovely Queen was demanding that I get rid of all the V immediately to cover our tracks. She also wanted me to sell Fangtasia along with everything else I own to give her money to get the IRS off her back.
Selfish bitch.
And the worst part of it was Bill Compton, the only one who could link us to this entire situation, was missing without a trace. Evidently, after proposing to Sookie, he had been kidnapped, but by whom, I had no idea. I hoped he was dead. Not only would it destroy the only solid link the Magister could find, it would also leave Sookie wide open to me. She would be alone, grieving, and in desperate need of some male affection. And I would be there to give it to her.
As if I didn't have enough on my plate. Now I had a lost baby vampire on my hands. As appealing as the idea of staking her was to me at this moment, I did not need any more vampire blood on my hands. After everything I was being accused of, even a whisper of the death of a vampire in my area, by my own hands none the less, would spell the end of me.
Sophie-Anne had better understand the severity of this situation, particularly at this very critical time.
Something about this fledgling fascinated me, though. I had never dealt with a Maker abandoning his progeny before and somehow this vampire either released her before she awoke or was killed. I was almost positive the latter was the case, considering the werewolves that attacked Gemma shortly after her awakening. Something was very important about her to them and I highly doubted they were the only ones that thought so. It was obvious they were sent to retrieve her, most likely by the Alpha of their pack. As much as I wracked my brain, no valid reason came to mind.
Though I hate to admit it, this baby vampire awakened a strange feeling in me. It was a sort of sympathetic protectiveness, the kind of feeling one would get when finding a cat at the side of the road with a broken leg. I felt compelled to take her in and nurse her back to health. A ridiculous, worthless feeling this was. I hated myself just for allowing this weakness.
Suddenly, her words snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Then why did you save me from those werewolves?" she asked. I looked down into her emerald-green eyes. So much vulnerability filled those words, it made me ache for her. She had a beautiful face, milky white and looking at me like I was some sort of savior. Quickly, though, I regained my composure and managed to plaster a self-assured smirk on my face.
"I have been having a terrible week. I needed a good kill to relieve some stress," I forced myself to say. It was true, but only partially.
I turned away, but not before seeing the crestfallen look that overtook her. Unable to handle the rush of emotions I was feeling, I yanked the door open and strode out.
Gemma Leland
Tears threatened to fall from my eyes as I watched Eric walk out that door. I had never felt as alone in my life as I did standing in that office. Even after my mom died when I was 16, I still had some friends and my boyfriend at the time to make me feel like I had somebody that cared. I may have been completely wrong, but at least I had the illusion of love for a little while. In that office, though, I had absolutely nobody on my side. On top of that I was hundreds of miles away from home, stuck with a group of vampires who would gladly have me put down like a stray.
What am I doing feeling sorry for myself? I thought angrily. Okay, so Eric was a self-righteous asshole. So what? He wasn't my father, I was not stuck with him. This was nothing like being stuck with my mother for my whole life.
My mother was a drug addict, blowing every cent we ever got chasing her next high. For most of my childhood, we lived on the street or couch-surfed, staying in the filthy homes of drug-dealers my mother was sleeping with to get drugs and food or fair-weather friends she found who just wanted somebody to smoke with so they could temporarily forget how sad and lonely they were. Then, I was forced to put up with her until she finally released me by killing herself. I had no ties to Eric. He could not keep me there.
With a new sense of determination, I stormed out of the office and down the hall to the main club area. The room was empty, save for Eric and Pam, who looked like they were in the middle of a very heated discussion before I walked in. I only spared them a passing glance, making sure they saw just how aggravated I was. With quick steps, I walked straight out the front door before anybody could stop me.
I was halfway across the parking lot when I was stopped in my tracks. Eric Northman ran in front of me, blocking my path. His eyes were filled with fire. It would have struck fear into me if I were not already determined to leave him behind.
"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded, his voice low, barely speaking above a grumble. I clenched my jaw, returning his irate stare tenfold.
"What does it matter to you?" I shouted. "You aren't my 'Maker,' so you can't keep me here. And it's obvious you don't want me here, anyway, so why not just let me go?"
A look passed over Eric's face so fast, I could not quite decipher what it was. If it weren't for my heightened vampire sense, I probably wouldn't have even noticed it before it was gone, once again replaced with his signature condescending air.
"Miss Leland, you have not had a chance to feed, you are not thinking clearly. Come back in and I will give you some blood, then tomorrow we can see the Queen and get her ruling on where you will go," he answered levelly. The mention of blood reminded me of my hunger, which I quickly realized was even worse than before. Eric must have noticed the crack in my stony façade because he quickly descended on me. His hand was on the small of my back, leading me back toward the club. The rational part of my brain was telling me to dig my heels into the ground and tell Eric to take his blood and shove it up his ass. Unfortunately, that part of my brain was being drowned out the by the screams of my vampire brain, dying for a drink of human blood.
As we walked into Fangtasia, my mouth began to water. The scent of humans tainted every inch of this place, something I hadn't noticed earlier when I was overcome with fear, telling me it was not strictly a vampire bar. I imagined those humans walking around, blood pulsing through their veins. It scared me that I thought of humans only as a meal, but in my hungered state, I had absolutely no control over my thoughts.
Eric quickly led me back to his office. This time, however, he allowed me to sit on the couch.
"Stay here while I find you someone to eat," he said, smiling coyly at his own joke. With that, he exited the office, pulling the door closed behind him.
I quickly jumped to my feet, desperate to find something to at least temporarily take my mind off my hunger. However, still unused to my new strength, I misjudged the jump and flew several feet across the room, knocking into the filing cabinet. The large, heavy filing cabinet slid almost a foot to the side from the force of my hit, revealing a small cooler. I stared down at it for a second, more than a little surprised to find this item in Eric's office. He did not seem like the type to have a cheap plastic cooler. Then again, I knew very little about vampires, in particular Eric. I picked up the cooler, curious about what a vampire would possibly need to keep cool. Was it a human heart or something else equally as morbid?
My nosiness got the best of me. I looked to the door, listening hard to make sure nobody was coming. When I was satisfied it was safe, I opened the top, high on excitement and anticipation.
A gasp escaped my lips when I saw what was inside. Several large vials were packed carefully into the cooler. I plucked one out, examining the dark liquid within. I was elated to see that it was clearly blood inside the vials. A sharp click sound came from my mouth at the thought of drinking the precious liquid. My finger reached up to my mouth, feeling for the source of the sound. I nearly jumped out of my skin when my index finger was met by two razor-sharp fangs, descending from my top jaw.
Suddenly, everything became real. I was really a vampire. I had the fangs to prove it. The heightened senses, the inhuman strength, even the excessive desire for blood had not solidified the idea in my mind. It all felt like a dream before, but the feel of those fangs bathed me in a feeling strangely like waking up.
Frantically, I dropped the cooler on the desk and unscrewed the cap of the vial, ready to dump the whole thing into my mouth. However, before the blood even touched my lips, I was met by a strange smell. Sniffing the liquid, I quickly pulled it away, repulsed by it. This was definitely not human blood I was holding. Though the thought of human blood excited me, this stuff didn't smell appealing at all. A strong feeling of disappointment filled me as I replaced the cap and returned the vial to the cooler.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps coming from the other side of the door. Fearful of what Eric would do if he saw me going through his things, I slammed the lid of the cooler closed. As soon as I returned the cooler to its hiding place, the door swung open and Eric walked in, followed closely by a young woman with black hair, black clothing, and very thick black eyeliner. Eric shot me a suspicious look as I leaned against the filing cabinet, trying to look innocent.
"What is wrong with you?" he asked, then his eyes traveled to the item I was resting my weight on. "Why is my filing cabinet moved?"
"I jumped up too quickly and I flew into it," I said truthfully, trying to look bashful. "I guess I'm not quite used to my newly-acquired strength."
Eric's blue eyes lingered on me, obviously doubtful, but did not dwell on it. Instead, with a cunning smile, he led me over to the couch where the goth girl now sat.
"Gemma, this is Skylar. She is willing to 'donate' some of her blood to you," he said, placing his hand on the girl's shoulder. Skylar looked over at me with a smile, though I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was scared. I would have told her it would be alright if I weren't so transfixed on her pulsing jugular vein.
Kneeling down before her, Eric locked eyes with Skylar, his icy blues hard and focused. Skylar's face suddenly went slack as her eyes glossed over. I watched in rapt anticipation, anxious to get a taste of this girl's blood.
"Now, Skylar," Eric began, speaking to the girl in a slow, soothing tone that even made me feel a little more relaxed, "Gemma is going to drink your blood. You want her to do this, remember?"
Still looking as if she was in a trance, Skylar answered, "Yes, I want her to drink my blood."
"And you will not scream, no matter how much it hurts, do you understand?"
"Yes," she answered. Confused, I looked back and forth between the two, trying to decipher what was happening.
"Um, Eric, what are you doing to this girl?" I inquired.
Breaking his eye contact with the goth girl, Eric's eyes met mine. "I glamoured her. I do not want Skylar here screaming while I teach you how to drink from a human. Feeding from a human is…frowned upon in public settings."
I looked over at Skylar, unsure how to answer the vampire. I was scared of feeding directly from this girl. I didn't want to hurt her, but I need the blood so bad. And how was I supposed to know where to sink my fangs? Or even more important, how would I know when to stop?
As if he was reading my mind, Eric grabbed my attention. "Do not worry, I will make sure you do not kill her."
Skylar's gaze shot to him at those words, her face the image of shock and fear. Ignoring her, Eric continued talking to me.
"Now, first, you need to push her head to the side so you get a good view of her neck," Eric said, putting his hand on the side of Skylar's face and pushing her head to the side. Her jugular vein pulsed beneath the skin, the sound of her blood whooshing in my ears. My fangs clicked again as they descended, obviously responding from the desire I felt.
"Bite her."
I didn't need to be told twice. Without even thinking, I sunk my fangs into Skylar's neck, eliciting a small yelp from her, but she did not scream. The blood gushed into my mouth, tasting better than anything I had ever tasted in my whole life. I swallowed it in huge gulps, completely lost in my own euphoria. I moaned softly, unintentionally, but the pleasure this girl's blood gave me was beyond any pleasure I had ever felt. More than anything, I wanted to suck every ounce of blood out of her body.
Skylar's breathing was short and rapid, her heart pounding as I drank from her. After a few seconds, her breathing slowed, as did her heart. I did not stop. I would have sucked her completely dry if a pair of arms did not circle me, yanking me away from the helpless girl.