Chapter Eight:

I was jumpy the next few days, even in the daytime when I knew a vampire couldn't just jump out at me. I had no idea when Eric was going to just show up. It could be tomorrow; it could be months from now. I think that was all part of this little game. He wanted me to be looking over my shoulder. Hell, he could be watching me from afar every night until he decided to show himself. And that nerved me. I wasn't afraid of the vampire attacking me, draining me dry. I was nervous about that first meeting, of what I would say or do when I saw him next. Would I slap him for causing this damn power to curse through me? Or would I throw myself at him for a repeat performance. The latter was what scared me, because against my better judgement, I knew that was a real possibility. Because despite everything else, that vampire still roamed my thoughts, that kiss still was the best kiss I believe I could ever have in my life.

I thought about telling Godric about Eric. Maybe he could help me; maybe he could frighten the other vampire away. What were the odds that Eric was older than Godric?

But did I really want to drag Godric into the mess I had gotten myself in? This was all my fault. I should have said no when Sarah persuaded me into going to Fangtasia that night. I knew it would be a bad idea but I went anyways. Just like I knew I shouldn't have gone that second night. That's what he wanted; he wanted me to show my face again. And once I had, he began popping up at my own house to annoy me. And then New Years Eve came, and I was kicking myself for satisfying Eric by going. I should have just stayed home. But even I knew that he would have come looking for me eventually. So I went, and now I was regretting it. Because we had kissed, and it wasn't just some silly little kiss. It was a whole lot more than that.

"You seem distracted." Godric mused from beside me on my couch. He had come over a few nights after I had gotten the message from Eric, a few nights since we had seen one another last. The moment he had walked through the door, the beast had roared quietly before settling back down. It was as if it felt connected to Godric in some way, and I couldn't understand it at all. Would it be the same with Eric?

I wasn't so sure I wanted to find out.

"Is everything alright?" he questioned in concern.

"I'm just...thinking." I shrugged, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. "Sorry."

"You continue to apologize." He smiled slightly as he raised a hand up to brush a stray strand of hair out of my eyes. "You amaze me."

"I'm not all that amazing." I chewed on my bottom lip as I gazed into the now cold mug of hot chocolate in my hands. I sighed and set the mug down on the coffee table beside Godric's barely even touched bottle of True Blood.

"You seem upset. Have I done anything to offend you?"

"It's not you, Godric. I'm sorry; I'm just lost in my head tonight." I tried to offer him a smile but failed miserably. "I'm not in the greatest mood."

"You're allowed to be a little less than perfect, Savannah."

"No I'm not." I shook my head. "Because then I lose focus, and I can't let that happen right now."

"School is very important to you." He nodded.

"It is." I agreed. "It's everything. I've worked so hard for this. I'm finally graduating next month. I just need to keep my focus right now."

Godric fell silent for a few minutes and I watched him curiously. A battle seemed to rage in those brilliant coloured eyes of his before a frown settled on his lips and he rose to leave.

"Godric?" I scrambled to my feet, my hand lying on his arm just below where his sleeve had been rolled up. It felt like an electric spark at first when my hand touched his bare skin, but we both knew better than that. I sighed and quickly snapped my hand back, the beast retreating and falling silent once again.

"I don't want to distract you, Savannah. I can understand how important this is to you and I don't wish to ruin that for you."

"I don't want you to leave, Godric." I shook my head. "You're not distracting me at all."

That wasn't entirely true. All I could think about were the two vampires that had suddenly been thrust into my life. I thought more about them than my studies, and my slowly slipping grades were beginning to reflect that. I just had to hold on for another month and a half and then I wouldn't have to worry about it any longer. I would have plenty of free time to figure out these confusing feelings of mine. But that didn't mean I wanted Godric to leave. Because after getting to know Godric in such a short period of time like I had, I've come to realize that I liked him being here in my life, in whatever form that was in. I liked being able to talk with him when I couldn't talk to anyone else. No one would understand whatever was happening to me, whatever this power, this beast was. But Godric, while he may be just as confused as I was, he knew I hadn't gone crazy, he had felt this himself. I needed that support right now when everything was just so new and confusing.

"Please stay." I was all but begging now. I raised my hand back to his arm, but made sure to touch the sleeve of his sweater and not his bare skin. We had come to realize that skin on skin contact helped surge the power inside of me, it was what caused it to flow between us, connecting us even further. "I want you to stay. You're a distraction I welcome with open arms, believe me."

He hesitated at first before nodding. I sighed in relief as we both resumed our previous spots on the couch. Neither of us spoke at first, we just stared at anything besides the other.

"What's bothering you, Savannah?" Godric finally broke the silence and questioned. "You're upset. I can practically taste your unshed tears."

I snapped my head towards him, surprised at his words. I rubbed at my eyes and realized they had been watering. I quickly blinked them away, not wanting to cry in front of Godric.

"I'm fine, really." I tried to assure him, but I knew he saw right through the lie. My shoulders slumped forward and I leaned my head back against the couch. "I...er...I have a problem."

"What sort of problem." He encouraged me to continue. "If possible, I will help you in whatever way, Savannah. I would like to consider you a friend. I may not have had a human...friend before, but I do value loyalty. Whatever troubles you, I will fix for you."

His kindness made my heart swell. How could he possibly be a vampire when he was just so gentle and kind? How had he gone from the monster he may have once been to who he was today? It just didn't seem possible for someone to make such a change.

"You're far too kind to be a vampire."

"I wasn't always this nice."

"I know, you're determined to make me believe that you're a monster." I rolled my eyes. "Newsflash, Godric, I will never think of you as anything but the sweet, kind, caring vampire that you are right now. So you're just going to have to live with that."

"I'm the one who should be making you feel better, not the other way around." His lips twitched upwards.

"Or we could keep talking about you..."

"Tell me what's wrong. I want to help." he cupped my jean covered knee with his hand, and even with the thick material, the beast roared to life for a brief moment.

I sighed but nodded. Maybe if I told Godric, I wouldn't have to struggle through this alone. Maybe if I had him on my side, then Eric would just go running for the hills and just leave me alone. I didn't want to drag him into my mess, but there wasn't anyone else I could turn to right now. Godric was offering to help, though I doubt he would expect what I was about to say.

"Do you remember how I told you there was a vampire that I...that I kissed?" I turned towards him, his hand still on my knee. When Godric nodded, I continued. "Well I met him over the Christmas holidays when I went home for a few weeks."

"Who is this vampire?" Godric questioned.

I hesitated, not sure if I should tell him Eric's name. What if Eric never showed up and was just trying to put me on edge? What if Godric went on some rampage and went out to try and kill Eric? I knew Godric wouldn't just suddenly do something like that, especially for some girl he hardly knew. But he was a vampire; they could be unpredictable at times.

"It's not that important." I shrugged. Godric didn't look convinced but he nodded and allowed me to continue. "When we kiss, that power, whatever it is that's going on inside of me, well it was like it was unleashed or something. And it just sort of scared me so I ran. I left home earlier then I was supposed to and I came back here."

Godric squeezed my knee gently, silently encouraging me to go on.

"Everything was fine and dandy. I mean I met you, I threw myself into my schoolwork and everything was great. But then..." I began chewing nervously on my fingernails.

"Something happened." Godric offered.

I nodded. "A few nights ago, the night that you brought me up to the top of Harkness Tower, well I came home to a message on my answering machine."

Godric sat up straight, his eyes narrowing as he began to realize where this was headed. "He threatened you."

"Not exactly. He said...he said that I was his human, whatever that means, and that he would be seeing me soon."

Godric didn't say a word and I grew worried. He's been alive for longer than I could have imagined. He knew vampires better than anyone else possible could have. If he looked worried over this, then I knew I had a reason to be.

"What's this vampire's name, Savannah?" Godric's voice had lowered an octave.

"It's not that important." I shook my head.

"It's very important, Savannah."

"Why?" I asked slowly. "Why is it important?"

"Do you understand what's happened?" He shuffled closer on the couch as he moved his hand from my knee up to my cheek. My eyes fluttered close for the quickest moment as the surprisingly warmth touch of his hand battled against the raging power from deep inside of me. "From what you've told me, it sounds as if this vampire has claimed you."

"Claimed me?" I raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"It means that you're his human. It means..." he sighed heavily. "It means that you are his, whoever this vampire is."

"That sounds very medieval." I frowned. "He can't just claim me. I'm my own person."

"It's a very old tradition. Vampires will claim a human as theirs, either for blood or sex, or perhaps even both. Since the Great Revelation, with humans now knowing of our existence, it's become more common for a vampire to lay claim to a specific human, to ensure that no other vampire can taint them in any possible way." Godric explained, his lips curving into a frown.

"But what if I don't want to be his?" I asked in a soft voice, my eyes growing wide. "I don't want to be his blood bag or his sex toy."

And that was true. In a way, anyways. I didn't want to be Eric's chew toy or some sex object. I wouldn't exactly mind getting a few hours of bed time with him, but that was besides the point. It didn't mean I wanted to be his. It didn't mean that I wanted him to claim me like some prize he had won. I was independent and I always had been. I wouldn't just let Eric come sweeping in to claim me, to drag me back to Shreveport to parade around as his. That just wasn't going to happen. Not in this lifetime.

"I'm afraid there is nothing that can be done." He caressed my cheek with his thumb, brushing away a tear that had slipped down my cheek. I pushed his hand away as I wiped away my tears myself, turning my head so he couldn't see the emotions on my face.

"Well this is just great." I rubbed at my eyes in hopes that the tears would stop. But they didn't. They only continued to multiply until I could barely see through my blurry tear filled eyes.

"Savannah." Godric sighed as he reached his hand around to my cheek, cupping it as he turned my gaze back to his. "Please don't cry. I...I don't like to see your tears. It pains me to see you upset."

"Why?" I asked suddenly. "Why do you even care anyways? I'm just some human you met two weeks ago. Why would you care?"

A look of confusion swept across his face. "How could I not?"

"You don't even know me, Godric."

"You barely know a single thing about me, and yet you refuse to see me as every other human has." Godric reasoned with me. "You deserve the same."

I think I was reaching my breaking point. Within only a few months I've met one vampire, falling for the typical bad boy like every girl my age did. We kissed and something supernatural had been unleashed inside of me. When I ran away, I ran right into another vampire, one who was just too kind and caring. Toss in the fact that I was falling way too hard for this vampire so soon and the power that only grew stronger with the days that passed, and I just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. Knowing that at any moment Eric could come bursting in didn't help anything. In fact, it only made it worse. Now I was somehow his and I just didn't know where to compartmentalize it. I was having just about enough. I wanted to go back to my old life, before I had gone home for Christmas, before I had met any vampires. Everything was so much simpler back then.

"You should go." I pulled out of Godric's reach as I stood, wrapping my arms around myself. My hair fell into my face, shielding my emotions from view.

Godric was on his feet in seconds however, brushing my hair out of my face. He clasped a finger under my chin, causing me to gaze up at him. "I'm not going to leave you like this, Savannah. What kind of friend would that make me?"

"Please just go. I want to be alone right now." I shook my head, the tears slipping down my cheeks.

"I can help you, you only need to let me." he tried to wrap his arms around me, to embrace my form.

But I stepped back, his arms falling down to his side.

"I just...I need to be alone right now. I don't want to deal with vampires right now. I just want everything to go back to normal." My voice wavered.

"Savannah, please just let me help you. Tell me who this vampire is."

"And what are you going to do when I tell you, Godric? Huh? You said it yourself, there's nothing anyone can do. I'm screwed." I swallowed the rising lump in my throat. "Just please go. I don't want to deal with this right now."

"I can help you. He can show up at any time and if you're unguarded then..."

"What, will you fight him?" I scoffed. "You don't even know me Godric."

"I know all that I need to know." He stepped forward, his accent growing thicker as he argued with me. "Let me help you."

"I don't need your help." I shook my head. "I never should have told you. This was a mistake."

"Savannah..."

"You know what, you stay, I'll go." I grumbled, storming around Godric and over to the front door. I grabbed my jacket and keys and was out of the door before Godric could even stop me. Of course, he could have run after me, stopped me with his super strength. But he never did. He just let me storm out of my own apartment, giving me the space that I needed.

I didn't know where I was planning on going as I left the confines of the apartment building. It was passed midnight, and even a few blocks away from the university, the streets were silent and dead. I sighed as I turned and just began walking. It was freezing cold, the wind slicing right through me, but I needed even just a few minutes to clear my head, to calm down before returning back to my apartment. I wasn't sure if Godric would be back when I returned, though I hoped he would be. I knew I was acting like a childish five year old. He was offering to help. That's what I wanted, wasn't it? I wanted a knight in shining armour to sweep in and save the day. So why wasn't I happy? Was it because a small part of me didn't care that Eric had supposedly claimed me? It was stupid and I hated myself, but I knew that was partially true. I still thought about him, I still wanted him, even after that kiss that had changed everything. What was wrong with me?

"I'm a complete mental case." I mumbled, stuffing my hands into my jacket pockets.

Maybe this was what would drive Godric away. If it wasn't my embarrassing behaviour, that it would be my complete insanity that would do the trick. Who would possibly stick around after what had just unravelled back there.

"Stupid. I'm so stupid." I kicked at the snow packed down on the sidewalk with a frown. I was regretting how I acted. Even if I hadn't wanted Godric to do anything, I never should have gone off on him like that. He was only trying to make me feel better, and I should have been thrilled that I found someone who wanted to comfort me when I was upset.

"Well well well, look what we have here."

I jumped at the unexpected voice that suddenly appeared before me. I froze in place as I raised my gaze to the form that stood in front of me only a few feet away. I knew without hesitance that he was a vampire. He flashed his fangs around threateningly, and I was sure he enjoyed hearing the racing hearts of his victims before he attacked them. I tried not to give him the satisfaction, but my heart was racing like no other in my chest. I had spent nearly four years roaming around the streets of the neighbourhoods surrounding Yale and had never come across even a criminal act. And now suddenly vampires were just roaming about.

Unfortunately, I didn't think this vampire was going to be as kind as Godric.

I began inching backwards, trying to get away from the vampire without making any sudden movements. When my back hit the hard chest of another however, I let out a yelp and scrambled forward, twisting around to find another vampire behind me. I gulped, knowing just how much trouble I was in now. Maybe I could have figured out a way to get away from one vampire. But two?

"I think we've caught ourselves a delicious one." The one before me licked his lips as he stepped forward.

I tried to dart across the street, but the vampire closest to me only caught me around the waist and began dragging me with ease to the nearest alley. I struggled against the grip of the vampire, trying whatever I could to break free. I let out loud, ear piercing screams in hopes that I would wake someone and they would call for help. But the police couldn't exactly help me against two vampires. Only Godric could and he was back at my apartment.

"Shut her up!" the other vampire shouted with a scowl on his face.

I was shoved up against the wall, a wince emitting from my lips as the back of my head came rebounding off of the hard brick exterior wall. I tried to push away from the wall, to escape, but the vampire that had shoved me against the wall pinned me there without any trouble, his fingers digging into my shoulders. I whimpered but wouldn't give up hope. These vampires might kill me, but I wouldn't go down without a fight. So I kicked, I screamed, I scratched at the vampires, trying whatever I could think of. It did nothing more than piss the vampires off, but it was all I could think of doing.

"I said shut her up already." The first vampire shoved the other vampire out of the way before his hand came flying at my cheek, snapping my head to the side with force. I cried out in pain, my struggles stopping as my cheek stung from the sheer force of the hit. "This won't hurt as much if you just stay quiet, sweetheart."

I squeezed my eyes shut as the tears formed. This was it, wasn't it? I wouldn't even have to worry about Eric because these two vampires were going to do the deed before I even had the chance to figure out my confusing feelings.

"You smell..." the vampire sniffed at my neck, pushing my hair over my shoulder as I felt his tongue lick the length of my neck. I cringed in disgust, trying to inch away from him only for the other vampire to hold me in place. Fangs grazed over my pulsing vein and I knew what was coming. "You smell so delectable, sweetheart, did you know that?"

"Please..." I begged, the tears flowing down my cheeks. The hands holding me against the wall pressed into me harder and I knew there would be bruises littered across my arms in the morning.

"Beg all you want, sweetheart, nothing's going to help you now." The first vampire poised his fangs above my pulsing vein, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

I tried to muster any sort of strength. I tried to call upon that power inside of me. The beast roared, but it was powerless against these vampires. It was an internal power. There was no super strength that could save me now.

I had never been bitten before in my life, and I had never planned on it ever happening. Except tonight, that will had been taken away from me as those fangs suddenly sunk into my neck. I screamed as I flailed my arms, trying to kick at the vampires. But it was no use. The vampire with his fangs sinking deeper and deeper inside of me was pressed so hard against me that the other vampire stepped away, not being needed as he waited for his chance to taste my supposed sweet smelling blood.

"Please...please stop...please." I begged over and over again in hysterics. But no matter how many times I pleaded, there was just no stopping this vampire. All I could do now was hope for a miracle. "Please stop it...please...please just stop...STOP!"

And just like that, as if the vampire just had a change of heart, his fangs slipped from my neck and stepped away from me. Silence rang over the alley as my eyes grew wide. The vampire with my blood dripping from his opened mouth looked confused, as if he couldn't understand why he had stopped. The other vampire looked just as confused but quickly ignored his companion and grabbed at me, tearing right into my neck with ease. My mouth opened in a silent scream as I felt the blood pouring down the side of my neck, too much of the red liquid even for the vampire to consume. Black dots began appearing in my vision as my life force was slowly drained from my body, staining my clothes and the alley floor. My body began slumping against the wall, and if the vampire hadn't been pressed against me, I surely would have fallen.

This was it. This was how I was going to die, how I was going to meet my end.

Almost like God had answered my silent prayers, the vampire attached to my bloody neck was suddenly ripped away from me. My legs collapsed from underneath me and I crumpled to the garbage littered ground. I whimpered, trying to raise a hand to press against my wound, only to find I had not a single ounce of energy to do so. There was a tug at my consciousness but I fought it tooth and nail. I knew that if I fell asleep, there was a possibility that I may not wake up again. So I kept myself focused on what was occurring before me.

Even with my blurry vision, I could make out Godric's form as he slammed the vampire against the wall with such force, I could hear the vampire's spine snap. The vampire screamed out in agony, but Godric was hardly finished with him. For the first time since I had met Godric, I saw his fangs right before he tore into the vampire viciously. I had to look away at the sound of tearing flesh, and instead gazed at the other vampire. He still stood frozen in place, panic and confusion written on his sunken in face. His eyes darted from side to side, and it took him a minute to realize he could move on his own free will. He didn't even attempt to help his friend out, or what was left of him anyways. He just shot right out of the alleyway, hoping to make it out alive. And he did, as Godric was solely focused on the other vampire.

A sudden wave of tiredness swept over me and my eyes began to flutter close. I fought with all that I could to keep my eyes open, but I just didn't have the strength."

"Godric..." I let out a soft cry before my heart began slowing, my consciousness slipping away completely.

The last thing I remembered before falling unconscious was Godric's arms wrapping around me, his soft words sounding in my ear.

"You're safe now."