Chapter Seven

Eric arrived back at Fangtasia. His arrival was noted by Pam who cocked an eyebrow at him.

"You're back early. Don't tell me that she wasn't to your liking," said Pam.

"Unfortunately, I didn't get to find out since she threw me out," said Eric, slightly smiling.

"I told you that she doesn't like you," said Pam.

"I have a feeling that she will grow to like me," said Eric.

"You didn't," said Pam.

"I was always going to keep her. And I want to find out where she goes," said Eric.

Eric took out a cell phone and called a number.

"Mr. Ruben, I want you to watch her, but don't interfere and stay out of sight. You will need to have a daywalker follow her as well," said Eric who hung up.

"It would be easier and quicker just to bring her in and interrogate her," said Pam.

"She wouldn't allow herself to be captured without a fight," said Eric. "She has powers, I just don't know what they are since she has been careful not to reveal them, except for being immune to glamouring."

"Then, are you even sure that you can control her?" asked Pam.

"Whoever sent her could and soon she will begin to feel the influence of my blood," said Eric. "If she was susceptible to my influence even before drinking my blood, there is no way that she can resist it now."

Slightly after dawn, Kiley carried her bags to her car. She had waited until dawn which has been a risk in case the Sheriff decided to send someone to capture her. But, he didn't and now that the sun was over the horizon, it meant that she would just have a human to deal with. You have to pick your battles, she thought, and her chances were much better against Mr. Northman's human.

She pulled away and after several blocks, she spotted her tail. Kiley had spent a good portion of her off-duty time familiarizing herself with the town of Shreveport, as well as the area surrounding it. She was well aware of all the streets, roads and alleys. As she drove, she still wondered if Eric Northman had told her the truth. Vampires were the inventors of lies. Of everything that he could have done to her, she had not expected that. It was a serious complication, she thought. If it was true, she would find out soon since, as he had said, his blood was powerful.

Kiley carefully lured Mr. Northman's human off the main roads and finally onto the dirt side roads that went off into the uninhabited area outside of Shreveport. It had rained recently and the road was muddy. She had chosen this road on purpose because her tail's Ford sedan was no match for the power and agility of her Subaru WRX in off-road conditions. As her car powered through the mud without any loss of traction, she smiled. She came across a section of the road that was covered by a huge puddle that obscured the terrain beneath it. She plowed through it, the little Subaru skittering slightly but hanging on. She drove a little farther around the curve until she would be out of sight of her pursuer and stopped the car. She took out a handgun from the glovebox and walked back through the trees.

As she watched from the brush, she could see the Ford was hopelessly stuck. Like a typical man, he kept gunning the engine and rocking the car, thinking that he would power his way out of the clutches of the mud. But, he only succeeded in burying his car deeper. Finally, he exited the car and sunk up to his calves in water and mud. As she stood there, she knew that she could easily shoot him and kill him. And a part of her told her that was the smartest thing to do. He wouldn't be found for days out here. The gun was unregistered and the serial number filed off and was untraceable back to her, if it was ever found. Since, she was sure that if she got rid of it out here, it would disappear forever. And he was certainly no friend of hers. But, she was not a killer and didn't want to start being one now.

She stepped from her cover and crept closer to him. When she was close enough for him to see and talk to her, she stopped and pointed the gun at him. He had been examining his tires and she caught him off-guard.

"Don't move or I will shoot you," she said.

The man flinched but did not move.

"Hold up your hands so that I can see them and turn and face me," said Kiley.

He did as she commanded and stared at her. He was angry and frightened and she could see the wheels turning in his head.

"I know how to use this," said Kiley. "Now, with only two fingers, I want you to toss your gun over her to me."

"I'm not armed," said the man.

"Don't try my patience or I just might decide to kill you and leave your body here," said Kiley.

The man frowned, but pulled out his gun from an underarm holster and gently tossed it to her feet.

"Now, your cell phone too," said Kiley.

Again the man complied and, with her eyes never leaving the man, she picked up both and placed them in her pockets.

"Mr. Northman isn't going to forget about this. He doesn't like for his pets to defy him," said the man.

"Hmmm, if I were you, I might begin to worry about what he is going to do to you. Vampires don't tolerate failure very well, either," said Kiley.

She saw a flash of fear pass over the man's face and she smiled smugly. Still smiling, she shot out two of his tires as the man crouched down.

Turning the gun back on him, she said, "Get inside your car and stay there or I will decide to listen to my better instincts and kill you."

The man wisely chose to believe her threat and got back into his car. Kiley then disappeared into the brush and returned to her car. With a spray of mud from the rear wheels, she expertly drove the car down the road until it connected with another road that led to the highway.

She headed west for Texas and made good time. At least an hour before sunset, she began to look for a place to pull over for the night. If Mr. Northman had been telling the truth, he would be able to find her when he arose. It was imperative that she was settled in before that. She found a lonely motel and parked her car out of sight of the highway. Once inside the room, she anxiously paced. She wasn't sure if this would work or not. But, she thought, she would soon find out, wouldn't she?

A few minutes before sunset, Kiley phased out. She had to hold this condition all night and she wasn't sure if she could do that. But, this was her only defense against the Sheriff's ability to find her and she hoped that it worked.

When Eric arose, he went into his office and received a call from Mr. Ruben.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but the girl evaded our daywalker," said Ruben. "You didn't tell me that she was dangerous and she almost killed him."

"Well, now you know, Mr. Ruben," said Eric, irritatedly.

However, he allowed himself a little smile at Kiley's actions. She was a feisty little thing and was not going to just submit and give up. And, she had not disappointed him so far. He wanted her back already. He felt for her presence and didn't feel anything. He concentrated harder and still could not detect her. Now, he wondered, how was she doing that? He knew the bond was already in place because he had been able to sense her emotions last night. He wanted to see if he could call her, but he wanted to keep that power in reserve. The little minx was trickier than he had thought.

"Stay on call, Mr. Ruben," said Eric. "If I have a lead for you, I'll call you."

He returned his attention to his affairs at Fangtasia, but a part of his mind continued to seek the presence of Kiley. Sooner or later, he would find her, he thought.

Back in Kiley's motel room, she was growing fidgety, but she clung to holding her other form. Her phone rang and she looked at the caller ID since she had left the phone out on the nightstand. It was Shane. He must had heard that her grandmother was gone. Earlier that day, a carpet installation company van had showed up at her grandmother's house. Unknown to Shane's watchers, they had rolled her grandmother up in a section of old carpet and carried her to the van. Her grandmother was now far out of the reach of Sheriff Collins. She didn't want to come out of phase, but she needed to talk to him.

She allowed herself to become just solid enough to manipulate the phone and quickly returned to being undetectable, or so she hoped. She had answered and put the phone on speaker.

"Hello, Shane," said Kiley.

"That wasn't so smart kidnapping your grandmother," said Shane.

"And here, I thought it was, since at least your claws aren't in me anymore," said Kiley. "My term of service is officially over, Sheriff Collins."

"Are you trying to run? I'll find you," said Shane.

"Take a number and get in line. I have more urgent problems than you," said Kiley.

"What's going on?" asked Shane.

"Sheriff Northman is hunting me," said Kiley. "He...he says that he has bound me. I need to know if it is true."

"You weren't foolish enough to drink his blood, were you?" asked Shane.

"Are you seriously asking me that question?" demanded Kiley.

"Then, how else did he do it?" asked Shane.

"He cut me while feeding on me and mixed his own blood with mine. Will that do the same thing as drinking his blood?" asked Kiley.

There was a long pause and Shane said, "Yes."

Kiley's hopes fell and she was silent as she contemplated her fate.

"Can it be broken or will it wear off?" asked Kiley.

"No, as long as the vampire lives, the bond cannot be broken. Eric Northman is very powerful and the effects aren't going to wear off," said Shane.

"You sent me there and forced me to get close to him," said Kiley, hurt and angry. "This is your fault."

"I did not mean for this to happen," said Shane.

Kiley was silent and Shane suspected that she was crying. This was a very bad outcome, he thought. Sheriff Northman would follow Kiley and soon learn of his involvement. If he was smart, he would eliminate her before that happened.

"Come back to me, Kiley," said Shane. "You are still under my protection. I would not give you up and if you bound yourself willingly to me, it would counter the effects of Sheriff Northman's blood."

"That's your solution? To have the blood of two vampires inside me? No, thanks," said Kiley.

"Return to me, anyway. I would still protect you," said Shane.

"No," said Kiley.

"Do you trust me?" asked Shane.

Kiley didn't say anything for a very long time.

Finally, she said, "I...I don't know. I thought that I could, but you held my grandmother hostage to ensure my cooperation."

"I was under orders," said Shane. "Have I ever lied or tricked you?"

"No," said Kiley.

"Did I ever lay a finger or fang on you when it was no secret that I wanted to?" asked Shane.

"No, but you didn't want to anger me either since you wanted me to work for you," said Kiley.

"I could have used my influence over you and manipulated you if I had chosen to do so. I didn't because I wanted you to choose me of your own free will," said Shane. "I hoped that you would come to realize that I have feelings for you."

"You have made it hard for me to believe anything that you say, Shane," said Kiley.

"You know that I am still your best protector. Come back," said Shane.

"I...I can't," said Kiley. "I'm sorry but I can't trust you anymore. And maybe I never could."

Shane was silent and thought how difficult she was being. Did she really think that she had a chance against Sheriff Northman?

"Goodbye, Shane," said Kiley.

"Kiley, wait-" said Shane, but she had hung up.

Shane sat at his desk in his study. The girl had never made things easy. He turned his eyes to the werewolf sitting in the chair facing him. He was casually dressed in jeans. I guess, thought Shane, the boy was attractive for a werewolf. He had light brown hair and soft grey eyes that gave no clue to his Were condition. Like most of his kind, he disliked werewolves. But, he was on good relations with most of the packs in his state. They had a truce with each other and it had worked out so well that both sides saw the benefits to it. The fact that he had punished vampires who broke the truce had cemented his influence with the werewolves. This werewolf worked for him exclusively and had proven himself very useful. Shane might almost say that he liked him, almost.

"Josh, I want you to find her for me," said Shane. "You will need help, take at least two others."

Josh nodded and got up to leave, but Shane added, "Protect her, but remember who you answer to."

"I work for you, Sheriff Collins," said Josh. "I'm not stupid enough to forget that."

Shane watched the werewolf leave and turned his thoughts to who had helped Kiley. Perhaps, she was seeking even more help for this person. There was only one person that Kiley knew who was capable of performing the operation of snatching her grandmother. Shane had thought that he had successfully severed her ties to this person since he made sure that Parker's betrayal of her was shown to her. It had hurt her deeply and she had not tried to leave Shane since she didn't have anyone else to turn to. When he had captured her, he had called Parker and put it on speaker so that she could hear. Kiley had been so sure that Parker would either pay a ransom or fight to get her back. Yet, when Parker found out that the vampire sheriff of Arkansas had Kiley and was willing to offer him a bonus for taking her off his hands, Parker had caved in without even a whimper. The sight of her chained in silver with tears falling down her face as she listened to the man that she had loved abandoning her to her fate had almost melted his cold vampire's heart. It had almost destroyed her since he knew that she wasn't the kind of person to easily put her trust or love in another. She served him after that without complaint, yet an air of misery hung around her. Perhaps, he had thought that she had suffered enough, for he never attempted to take her as a lover even though he wanted her. Perhaps, he had fallen in love with her, himself. It had been so long since he had felt those feelings that he could not be sure anymore.

When Kiley had answered and hung up her phone, Eric received a weak flash of her presence for the briefest of moments. He knew that she had gone west and was perhaps no farther than Texas. He couldn't detect anymore than that since whatever she was doing had made her disappear from his senses again. He called his investigator.

"I need you to find out who Kiley Jordan really is and I want to find out who she knows in Texas," said Eric.

"I already know that her name is a fake. Her ID was an excellent forgery, a real nice job on that," said his investigator with a note of admiration in his voice. "Someone with a lot of money arranged for that."

When Eric did not comment on the ID, he continued, "Her real name is Kiley Matthews and she wasn't lying about coming from Arkansas last. She's an orphan and was a little criminal as a juvenile. No record though since she became an adult."

That's probably because she is too skilled at it, now, thought Eric.

"She has a tie to Texas, find it," said Eric and he hung up.

Eric had expected her to return to Arkansas. Either she was protecting who sent her by not returning back to him or she was also running away from that vampire as well. If he had to choose which one, he would say she was running away from them both. He smiled because it was no secret that the girl hated vampires.

Kiley woke up to find herself still clothed and lying on the bed. She had fallen asleep and the lights were still on. She turned slightly and saw Eric Northman sitting in a chair that was next to the bed. He had his feet up on the bed and was slouched in the chair. She sat up frightened and he smiled. He was wearing black jeans and a simple black tee shirt, his jacket was slung over the back of the chair. For a moment even though it was crazy to be so distracted, she noticed how his blonde hair picked up the light and shone.

"Hello, Kiley," he said still smiling.

"How did you get in here?" she asked.

"Well, it's not hard for me to find you, since you've had my blood," he replied. "And now that I know that you aren't exactly human, well, that pesky little 'invite me in' thing doesn't apply anymore."

"That's not true," said Kiley.

"You're not human or you would not have been able to hide your presence from me," said Eric. "I've only found you since you fallen asleep, foolish girl."

She turned her eyes to the door, and Eric picked up that movement. In a flash, he was over her and pinned her down. Kiley attempted to phase out and it didn't work. She concentrated harder and she still stayed where she was which was being held down by Eric.

He looked down on her and smiled sweetly. His blue eyes were such a beautiful shade of blue, thought Kiley. She thought in a panic, what is wrong with me?

"Have you figured it out, yet, my sweet little pet?" asked Eric with that sweet smile still in place.

Oh, no, thought Kiley, it has started already.

"You're not really here," said Kiley. "I'm dreaming."

Eric smiled and said, "Just because this is a dream, doesn't mean that we can't enjoy it. Here you can give yourself to me without feeling guilty about giving in to your true feelings since none of this is real."

He leaned down and began to kiss her on the neck and whispered in her ear, "Although, I can certainly make it seem real."

He nudged apart her legs and slipped between them. He continued to kiss her and pressed into her and Kiley felt her resistance evaporating. But, she made an attempt to reclaim her sanity.

"Get off me," said Kiley as she attempted to push him off.

Eric stopped and looked down on her. He wasn't smiling anymore and stared at her intensely. Kiley felt that he was reading her mind and she was frightened because she didn't want him to know the secrets that she hid in there.

"I know that you want me. You know that you want me," he said.

He cupped her cheek and softly caressed it and said, "You have feelings for me and I'm very loyal to those who I decide to bestow the gift of my blood onto. You're important to me, can't you see that?"

He leaned down and kissed her, whispering, "Let me show you how much."

Kiley knew that she was being manipulated and that she needed to wake up, but a part of her didn't want to. This creature had a hold over her, even before he had tricked her and mixed his blood with hers. Was it just physical attraction? Was she that shallow to be attracted to him because of how pretty he was? She felt herself put her arms around him and pull him closer to her.

"That's my girl," he whispered.

His hands began to move over her, stopping at all the right places. Before she knew it, their clothes had vanished. She felt as if she had lost control of herself and of this dream. Once again, she willed herself to wake up, but nothing happened.

The only thing that happened was that she felt herself touch him and caress him, even though she knew that she shouldn't. It was like it was her only it wasn't. She couldn't control this Kiley and this Kiley was throwing caution to the wind and letting that vampire have his way with her. This Kiley was even encouraging him. He began to rhythmically move against her and she could feel his arousal evident against her thigh. She only moaned and pulled him into her.

When she could feel the hardness of his cock pressing between her legs, he stopped to look into her eyes.

"When I take you for real, you won't ever forget it or me," he said. "I promise you."

As he began to push himself inside her and she bit into his shoulder in response, Kiley woke up breathing hard and her eyes looked around wildly for a moment. The drapes were closed, but she could see sunlight peeking around the borders. Her eyes flashed to the clock and it was 9AM. Slowly, she calmed down or tried to. Her body still hummed with an arousal so intense that she ached. But she knew that if she were give herself relief, that she would only think of him while she was doing it. She clutched a pillow and cried silently.