AN: Thank you for a wonderful feedback! Chapter 3 just 'written itself' somehow, so please enjoy an earlier update.

As always big thanks to my beta, keiman and kei.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.

Chapter 3

Daddy's Girl

SPOV

I almost whimpered when a particularly nasty mental slap landed on my mind. Ben was furious with me and his anger was more than palpable. I turned in my bed and strengthened my shields. I knew that I had messed up when I ran outside to greet him back. I couldn't help it though – I was so happy when I realized that he was back and safe that I made a mistake. A rookie mistake, something that my guardian pointed out brutally.

The second that I had embraced Ben, he took hold of my brain and yelled at me. I almost fainted when I realized that there was a vampire hovering outside the barrier. I felt ashamed that I hadn't scanned my surroundings and I knew that Ben was disappointed in me.

"Now, this cocky asshole knows that there is a human living with me. A human who is hugging me in greeting. What do you think he'll do with that knowledge? He will explore it, of course! You put yourself in danger because of a stupid, rash action!"

Outside, Ben was laughing and petting me for the vampire to see, but on the inside, I was being disciplined. For one tiny moment, I was afraid that he was as mad as he had been a couple of years ago. I involuntarily shuddered when I remembered the only time when Ben – or maybe it was rather Warlow at that moment – used a real punishment on me.

I was sixteen back then when Tara Thornton and Dawn Green had talked me into driving with them to Shreveport for a frat party. I knew what Ben would say at the prospect of me driving to Shreveport at night without him. Shreveport, with its vampire population of sixty two vampires at that time (yes – he was keeping records of it) was far too dangerous for a delicate fairy princess. I was an inexperienced fighter back then and two human girls would be no help to me during a vampire attack.

Ben told me bluntly that I was too weak to wander outside smelling like some vampire's wet dream and at my most rebellious teenage moment, I did what any other teen would have done – I disobeyed him.

The preparations for my adventure were immaculate – I shielded my thoughts about the event using the technique that Warlow had taught me, I created a story of a sleepover at Dawn's, I even hid my clothes at Tara's place.

I was excited when I was able to fool him and drive to Shreveport. It was a great victory – I had outsmarted an ancient telepathic fairy-vampire hybrid.

In the beginning, the party was amazing – I danced and I even got drunk on alcohol. Boys were smiling at me and thinking how pretty I was. It was all so new to me… Every boy in Bon Temps was scared shitless by my English uncle. People around town were joking that my mother's cousin was more protective of me than my own father would have been. They had no idea…

It was around midnight when I felt sick and wanted to head home. In this house full of people, my brain was assaulted by the mix of thoughts, emotions and fantasies and the drunker I became, the worse it got. I was not able to find neither Tara nor Dawn and I ended up in the bushes emptying my stomach of the cheap beer.

I am not able to recall when the boy with the relatively quick brain (a werewolf, as I've learnt later) picked me up and walked me out to the backyard. Although, I remembered very vividly his assault on me and my poor attempts to fight him off. Ben's words were ringing in my head when I was trying to push the attacker away from me.

You're not strong enough.

He was right; I wasn't.

It was only Ben's arrival that had saved me from being raped. I ended up with a cut lip and a few bruises, but werewolf boy was not so lucky. The next night after the party, I learnt one thing about my guardian – he never lets a crime go unpunished.

Ben was taking my safety very seriously; I have never doubted that. He was a man willing to murder my parents just to keep me safe. During the eight years that we have been living together, he has never showed me his violent side though. I was aware that he was taking care of my uncle Bartlett, but the last time that I had checked, my disgusting relative was still alive. After the party, Ben had tucked me into bed and kissed my forehead, assuring me that I will always be protected by him. He warned me though, that my reckless behavior wouldn't go unpunished. I was sure that the werewolf would end up hurt and I truly believed that he deserved it. I naively expected to be grounded or maybe yelled at, but the following night, I saw the side of Ben that truly terrified me – I witnessed Warlow in all of his glory.

I was not prepared to be sat down in our spotless basement and witnessing all the unspeakable things that Ben did to the young wolf. He had started at sunset and he was carrying on his tortures until dawn. I was disgusted and scared by his cold sadistic behavior. At one point, I started to beg him to release the boy or at least, to kill him quickly. The poor boy's actions were blameworthy, but I was not prepared for this... There was no mercy shown to him though. Warlow dragged down to our basement the boy's father, his two brothers and even his mother. He killed them all and only then did he finally end the young were's life. He had even considered slowly destroying the whole Shreveport pack.

"Just in case," he explained emotionlessly. "You must be aware than when you kill your enemy, there will always be someone close to him, eager to carry on with his revenge. That's how I have survived for so long – I don't leave survivors behind. Except Niall, but you know how that ended… "

For the next months, I was so scared of Ben that I didn't even dare to raise my gaze when he was next to me.

I got his message loud and clear – sure, the boy had committed a crime, but if it had been a different girl, he could have ended up in jail or by being punished by his pack. But, because it was me, four completely innocent werewolves lost their lives. They paid for my disobedience.

It took me a few months to fully understand his lesson and his motives.

"If you were pushing really hard, I would have let you go..." he whispered one night when I finally found the courage to face him. We were lying in his bed and he was hugging me, allowing me to sob and cry into his chest. "I find it impossible to deny you anything, moeto dete. Sure, I would have followed you and intruded onto your mind from time to time. I might have even sent you some snarky remarks about drinking at such a young age, but after everything was over, I would have taken you home and laughed at your first hangover. But, you decided to lie to me. You've chosen to deceive me and put yourself in danger – you did all of this without any good reason. What's worse – you used my own teachings against me. If you don't want me to snoop around inside of your head – say so – but never close your brain from me."

"I'm really sorry," I sobbed desperately. "But, you didn't have to kill them. His mother and brothers… His family was innocent."

"Yes, they were."

"You want me to have their blood on my hands!" I accused, completely forgetting about my fear for a moment.

"At one moment in the future, you will have blood on your hands, my little. I can shield you, but I am not naïve; I know that I cannot shield you forever. Someone will attack you – maybe because of what you are or maybe because of what I am. I want you to remember what I did that night. I want you to remember and embrace the fact that there is nothing more valuable to me than you. If I have to slaughter thousands of innocents to protect you or in the worst case scenario, to avenge you, I will do so without any trace of hesitation."

I sighed when the details of those periods came back to me. The vampire sheriff was no longer outside spying on us and I knew Ben was still in the library. Giving myself some prep talk and putting on my big girl's panties, I walked downstairs.

He greeted me coldly, not raising his gaze from his laptop.

"What are you doing?" I asked quietly, sitting on the chair opposite to him.

"I am checking the database that this New Orleans vampire is creating for me. There is not much 'intel' about Eric Northman though. His progeny, Pamela Swynford de Beaufort, is listed as his only progeny. No shock here – I've met her tonight. She is more like a lap dog and than a fighter. She can be no older than a hundred years and ending her will be just a minor inconvenience. There is a short note that Northman's maker is alive and that the sheriff probably has a vampire sister – but no names are known."

I felt a terrible sinking feeling in my stomach. "Why do you need this information?" I questioned, even though I already knew the answer.

"Just in case… If he gets too close, I may be forced to arrange some accident and you know – better to be safe than sorry."

"Will you hunt down the whole bloodline?" I was surprised. Ben usually avoided confrontation with vampires and this action seemed to be almost rash.

"He's getting on my nerves," Ben answered petulantly and I rolled my eyes.

"You know, that's not really reason enough to kill someone."

"I have this hunch…" my guardian growled. "When he was outside, I could almost feel it."

"What hunch?" I moved in my chair, sitting on its edge, intrigued. Sometimes he had his 'premonitions', like short views into the future. Usually they were correct too. We believed it to be his fairy gift that had never fully developed because of a turning.

"The feeling that he's going to take you away from me," he hissed and I jumped when his fangs ran down. It was a rare occasion to see his fangs extended as he had perfect control over them. Deep down I knew that he is also ashamed of those sharp canines that were forced on him by his maker. I rushed behind a desk and sat on his knees, taking hold of his scruffy cheeks. Due to his age, Ben's fangs were longer than most vampires' – they were reaching to slightly below his lower lip.

"No one will take me away from you. You're my father, my friend and teacher. Ben, you're my confidante, my business partner and my guardian. You're my most beloved family…" I assured him gently, sending my love through our telepathic link.

"I know… But I am not your lover."

I frowned. "So?" I was puzzled by this sudden change of topic.

Once, in the past, shortly after my seventeenth birthday and that whole sordid ordeal with the werewolf, I had developed a huge crush on Ben. What could I say – I was maturing up and there was no way to escape from my basic needs. Even though Ben was the paternal figure in my life, there was no blood or genetic link between us which would have made our relationship incestuous. And yet, it felt so when I had lunged myself at him one night and experienced my first kiss. It was the only thing that had happened between us that night because Ben pushed me gently away, saying that he had long lost any interest in creating such a relationship with me. In his eyes, I was his daughter and friend, not a potential lover. I was embarrassed enough to move to Gran's for a week.

Ben was very understanding though – as he usually was. He explained that there is nothing to be ashamed of, that fairies (whose blood is running though my veins) are very sexual creatures. According to Ben, "a lovemaking's a magical experience" and my desire was completely understandable.

He clearly changed his mind when, a few months later, he had found me in a compromising position with one of the fae guards that my great grandfather had sent to practice fairy magic with me. Ben clearly saw nothing magical in catching Preston kneeling in front of me with his head buried between my legs. The fact that he almost drained the Fae was testimony enough. There was also a weretiger from Nevada, whom I had met while he was working as a party planner at the opening of one of our restaurants. I went out on a few dates with Quinn and I was ready to go for it on our fourth date. Unfortunately, my guardian was constantly calling me that night and eventually he arrived at the restaurant where we were eating our dinner. John Quinn was a brave man when he boldly asked what kind of Supe Ben was and to quote him, "I have never met someone smelling so freakish."

True, I'd learnt that night that Quinn was a spy for some Nevada king and an impolite loon, but I would have kept his mouth occupied. Furthermore, it was extremely mean when Ben glamored him into oinking out loud like a pig every time that tiger thought about any other woman than me. During our next date, that was the most frequent sound that Quinn was making. To put it simply – a magnificent tiger turned out to be an ordinary pig.

I tried with a human boy for a moment. I had to swear to JB that my uncle would not harm him, but even though I was keeping an eye on the boy all of the time, Ben was still able to use some mind trick and force my potential boyfriend to run away crying. Literally. I heard that JB ended up in therapy because of some nasty nightmares. After this stunt, the silent treatment lasted for two weeks, but Ben was too smug to take my anger seriously.

"You weren't willing back then," I reminded him. "And now I don't feel like it, buddy. That ship has sailed…"

He sighed. "It's a shame that you will die a virgin then…"

I huffed, outraged. "I will not if you will just stop scaring everyone!"

"Please, let's drop this subject. It makes me feel… uncomfortable."

"You know, I'm twenty two, right?"

Ben frowned. "So what?"

"It's time for me to have some action."

"Ridiculous!" Ben actually snorted like I had just made a hilarious joke. "You're still a child."

"I'm an adult," I hissed.

"Not to me!" he growled, collecting his things and walking outside. I was right on his heels huffing with outrage.

"Surely not! Everyone is a kid to you, you're old like dirt! It's hard to compete with a walking fossil…"

He turned briefly and glared at me. "How did we end up at this place? I thought that you came down to apologize for your rash actions."

"Well, I am sorry…" I mumbled, deflating. "But, you're overreacting just a bit; you have to admit that."

"Eric Northman may be young compared to me but, he's still one of the oldest and one of the most cunning vampires on this continent. I know that he is scheming because his precious pride has been hurt." Ben stopped in midstep and turned to me with fury burning in his eyes. "Do you know that he actually assaulted me? I should have ripped his head clean off and then gone after his child…"

I felt my own anger building. "He dared to attack you?!"

"Well, yeah… that was mildly annoying, really."

Clearly, the assault wasn't serious, but the sole fact that this disgusting arrogant prick had laid a finger on my mentor made me see red. I would not let it go so easily. "What did he do?"

"He crushed my neck." I cringed – it was no doubt painful. "Because I healed so fast, he soon realized that I'm older than him. He also ordered me to serve humans at his bar… And maybe scrub the toilets, although I believe that one was a joke." Ben rolled his eyes while I clenched my fists.

Sending the oldest creature in the world to scrub fucking toilets? And Ben… no – Warlow – was willing to do this to stay with me in my hometown? Just to humor me?

"Get me some of his or his progeny's blood," I hissed, passing him on the stairs and heading to the attic. Besides his phenomenal oral skills, Preston was a good teacher of Fae magic. I had some treasures in my possession and I had a spell in mind that will at least partially cover our asses from this obnoxious joke of a vampire who calls himself a sheriff.

Ben raised an eyebrow at my fighting mood. "What do you have in mind, moeto dete?"

"I will track down everyone with his blood and if he ever dared to attack you or disrespect you again, I will make him regret!" I promised gravely, fully understanding Ben's motives from the past.

Eric Northman will not be threatening my father!

AN: Ben/Warlow is no saint and I guess it's crystal clear for everyone what Eric will have to face to get to Sookie. Hopefully, Eric will be able to warm telepath's heart...

You can expect E/S first encounter in chapter 4. Please, feed my muse and leave a review :)