It was the first sunday in September and Layla was bustling around the house, cleaning up the mess she'd made. She was about to do something, very, very stupid.

She had been flirting with the idea for a while, but what she saw today cemented it. She had been visiting Moon Goddess and as she was walking back to her car had seen Alcide and Debbie pelt walking down the street, hand in hand, smiling happily. Luckily neither of them had spotted her. She was surprised it had hurt as much as it did.

Alcide didn't deny himself his primal urges. Sookie never had when she'd been around. She'd taken what she wanted despite what other people thought or felt. It seemed the only person who still played by the rules was her. In that moment she thought to herself,

"Screw that noise."

So now she was hurrying to clean the kitchen before the sun went down and Eric woke up. Her hair was down and dyed back to it's near black. Her eyes were once again covered with black, smokey eyeshadow. Her skin was still glowing from all the sunshine she was allowing herself, and there was plenty of it to see since she was only wearing black, lace lingerie. She was trembling slightly and tapped her nails against the counter. The sun was sinking fast and she could hardly believe what she was about to do.

Layla was going to seduce Eric Northman.

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The concrete was cold on her bare feet as she stood across from Eric who was still asleep in his bed. Without opening his eyes he spoke.

"What's wrong? I can feel how nervous you are, and you never come down here." he said, with one arm still over his face. Layla took a few steps forward and sat down on the edge of his bed.

"I thought I'd bring you breakfast in bed." she said quietly, brushing her hair off of her neck. Eric sat up fast and stared at her.

"What did you say?" he asked. Layla smiled a little.

"You heard me." she said. Eric frowned.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Layla took a deep breath before responding.

"I'm sick of denying myself what I want just because it might be bad for me. I miss the dark." she told him honestly. "You've been trying to let me have both, but I'm greedy, Eric. I want more."

"Are you sure?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Do you think I would be down here in my underwear if I wasn't?" she asked. Eric leaned forward and kissed her hard on the mouth, pulling her up and laying her on her back as he hovered over her. Layla's hands gripped his waist and traveled over his back and his butt. Pulling his head down for more kisses and he ripped at her underwear, kissing his way down her abdomen. He threw her panties on the floor and gripped her thighs hard before sinking his fangs into her inner thigh. Layla arched her back and twisted her fingers in his hair as he drank.

"God, I missed you." she sighed. The past few months felt like a lie. All of the bullshit seemed like a hazy nightmare she could barely remember. When she was with Eric everything felt right, even when it was going horribly wrong.

Eric pulled back from her thigh and leaned up to kiss her. The taste of her own blood on his tongue worked like an aphrodisiac. She was pulling at his hips, urging him further into the frenzy they were succumbing to. He complied readily.

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They two of them sat on the front porch with a sheet wrapped around them. Layla was sipping her own blood-wine spritzer creation while Eric sipped on blood he kept in the fridge.

"Layla Minerva Dahlin, you are just full of surprises." Eric mused. Layla inclined her head and raised her glass like it was a compliment, which made him smile.

"How are the protests?" she asked, referring to the protesting that had been going on outside Fangtasia recently. The Russell Edgington fiasco had sparked a brand new fire under the asses of anyone who had ever been against Vampires.

"Well, I haven't killed anyone yet." he said with a shrug. Layla took a deep breath.

"I wish everyone could just get along." she said wistfully. Eric rolled his eyes.

"You are such a hippie." he said. "How is the meditation going, anyway?" he asked, referring to her meetings at Moon Goddess. Layla hadn't told him they were practicing magic. There were some things she wanted to keep to herself. Besides that there was a little voice inside her that told her it was a bad idea to mention it.

"They're good. This girl Casey just joined. She's really nice." Layla told him.

"Are you happy?" Eric asked. Layla smiled wide.

"I really am." she said, smiling wide. "I still want to get this house painted though." she added, flicking a chipped piece of paint off of the bench they were sitting on.

"I'll call the painters tomorrow and have them get it started." Eric said. Layla put her wine down and got up in his face.

"No. Give it a week or two. I want some uninterrupted time with you." she said, leaning forward and kissing him.

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It was late October and Layla had been at a spa all weekend, courtesy of Eric. She had been exfoliated and pampered six ways from sunday and was eager to get home to him. As she drove the shiny new Lamborghini Gallardo Syder that Eric had bought her. It was the prettiest car she had ever seen in her life, completely blacked out, sleek and powerful. It was love at first sight.

The sun hadn't gone down yet so she called Jesus.

"Hey stranger." she said. "You going to the circle tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm trying to convince Lafayette to go too. Are you going to be there?" he asked.

"Yeah I just have to make a pit stop. I'll see you in a bit." she said before saying goodbye. Layla was almost to Shreveport, sipping on travel mug full of blood from Eric's private stash, excited to see him.

When she pulled up to Fangtasia she parked a block or two away, just in case the protestors had any ideas about fucking with her car and walked to the club. No one said a word to her about walking straight to the back. She and Eric hadn't exactly gone public, but everyone there knew that she was just allowed to do what she wanted. Eric spoiled her.

She was barely down the stairs when Eric jumped out of his coffin.

"Hey!" Layla said brightly, throwing her arms around him. "I've missed you."

"Miss you too. What are you doing here? I thought you had your meditation circle-"

"I really...really missed you." Layla said, as her fingers unbuttoned his shirt. Eric growled low in his throat and pulled her quickly into his office.

"I have business to attend to." he warned her. Layla laughed.

"We can make this one a quickie, but you owe me." she said, ripping off her top and shoving him into his chair. Eric pulled her down on top of him and fisted a hand in her hair, using it to slant her mouth over his. Layla let Eric guide her hips as she moved on top of him.

"Eric..." she sighed. "I love you."

"I love you." he said.

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"So you filmed a commercial yesterday?" Layla asked as she pulled her jeans back on. "You didn't even mention Nan was in town. What else are you keeping from me?" she asked with a smile.

"You're going to be late for your group, sweetheart." Eric said with a smile. "Do you want to meet me here afterwards?"

"No, I'm just going to go right home. I'll see you before dawn, right? Please remember to call someone about the back door okay?" Layla reminded him.

"What's wrong with it?" he asked, sounding distracted.

"It squeaks." she said, leaning up on her toes to give him a quick kiss goodbye. "I love you. See you at home."

Eric escorted Layla back out to the bar and watched as she walked outside. Pam walked over with her face impassive.

"I take it from Layla's calm departure you neglected to tell her Sookie was back in town." Pam said.

"She said she loved me." Eric said quietly.

"Then just imagine how pissed off she's going to be." Pam reminded him, before walking back out to check i.d.'s.

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Layla took a seat on a cushion between Lafayette and Holly.

"What are you doing here, stranger?" she asked. Lafayette raised an eyebrow at Layla's happy disposition which did not match her dark makeup and clothes.

"Jesus talked me into it. Now can someone tell me what the fuck we're doing with a dead bird up in here?" Lafayette said.

"Minerva was much more than a pet to me." Marnie told the group, with tears in her eyes. "She was my friend, my companion. My familiar. I-I had wondered why she'd stopped eating but now I realize it was her way of telling me she had more work to do in the spirit world. I've, uhm, looked up a ritual to ease her passage there. Would you all join me? For Minerva?" Marnie asked them. Layla pitied Marnie. She was a very shy, sweet woman who had spent most of her life alone, speaking to the dead. The member of the circles brushed away the negativity from their bodies before joining hands.

Layla held out a hand to Lafayette but he just looked at her like she was nuts, so she let it rest on her knee instead.

"Guardians of life, shadows of death, we summon thee." Marnie began.

"Guardians of life, shadows of death, we summon thee." they echoed.

"Guide Minerva from our realm to yours."

"Guide Minerva from our realm to yours." they chanted. Then they repeated it again. Layla could feel the low hum of energy along her skin, but beyond that there was a knot brewing in her stomach.

"Restore within her the spirit of life. E vocares le motes le multuous. And return her to the plain of the living." Marnie said. Layla opened her eyes and glanced around the circle. That did not sound like it was a way to ease passage. That sounded like bringing back the dead.

"Uh... Marnie?" Holly asked. Marnie didn't answer except to repeat the line in the chant.

"Marnie, we haven't studied this." Jesus said, looking confused.

"You!" Marnie said, looking hard at Lafayette. "Join!" she commanded. Lafayette rolled his eyes but accepted the hands Layla and Jesus offered. The minute the circle was completed the energy of the union surged through everyone, and Layla, for the first time in months, felt a little nervous about what she was doing. She could feel the pulsing of energy around her and her whole stomach felt queasy as Marnie suddenly broke into a stream of what sounded like latin. When she finished they all stared at the green bird jumped up and flew for a moment before collapsing. A bird that moments prior had been dead. Layla ripped her hands away from Lafayette and Holly and held her stomach. Was it possible that the blood she'd had earlier had gone bad? Could blood go bad?

Layla made an excuse and quickly got the hell out of Moon Goddess and she had no intention of going back. Whatever energy had been in there just now it did not feel like it was good, and if she had learned anything from living in Bon Temps, it was to trust her gut. She got into her car and drove home.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxx

Layla was surprised to see lights on. She didn't think Eric would be home yet. There went her plans of cuddling up on the couch and watching the new flat screen she had bought. She would have to heat the blood up on the stove for a snack. The microwave she had originally brought with her had finally broken. Walking in the front door she saw Sookie in her bathrobe with wet hair and Eric standing in front of her.

"Well, then I seriously overpaid." Eric was saying.

"Sookie?" Layla said, looking stunned. "What are you-" she paused and then gauged Eric's overly blank expression.

"Oh, my, god." she seethed