A/N: Greetings readers! Here is the next chapter of Blood Secrets. It's mostly filler, but it's necessary! Enjoy!

The Bodyguard

I couldn't lie and say that the man standing before me wasn't gorgeous. Everything about him just oozed sexiness from his dark hair and bearded jaw, down to his red plaid shirt, loose jeans, and brown boots. The wideness and height of him alone was enough to make any girl faint and I could just imagine all the sculpted muscle he was hiding under that shirt. I struggled to remain breathing as I stared at him. I fought hard to ignore the surprising lust fueled heat that rushed through me as I finally calmed down and the world stopped spinning around me. Alcide was still holding me, his hands on my hips, and my hands resting on his strong forearms. I realized bitterly that I hadn't read his mind the first time he touched me, which made me frown. This was the first time, aside from Sookie that it had ever happened to me and I attempted to read his mind, but found that in my weakened state all I could catch were thoughts and no images.

Sure is pretty, too pretty to be involved with Eric Northman. I see how she could get into trouble…

"Eric Northman sent you?" I asked coming out of his thoughts and looking up into brown eyes.

Alcide nodded. "Yeah, he told me I could find you here. I take it he didn't warn you I was coming?"

I shook my head.

Alcide growled softly, eliciting a surprising throb within me, and looked down at my feet. "Are you steady enough to stand on your own?"

I looked down at our embraced limbs again, before withdrawing feeling as if my face was turning red. Was I blushing? I forced myself to focus on the situation at hand. Eric had sent him, but for what, was still to be determined.

"What did he send you here for?" I asked, dusting dirt off my shirt and shorts. "Not to attack me in the dark I hope."

He smirked, and I felt like my insides were melting. "No, not at all. I'm actually here to keep that from happening. He said you need someone to look after you."

I frowned and felt my insides stop melting and begin to boil with anger. He sent me a bodyguard? I shook my head. Typical Eric, of course he thought that I couldn't take care of myself. And yes, Alcide was big- and ridiculously handsome – but what could he do against ancient thousands of years old vampires? He was just a guy. Did he even know what he was getting himself into?

"Look Alcide, don't get me wrong, I appreciate...you wanting to help, but I don't think you know what you are getting yourself into," I said sincerely. "And I don't need protecting. I am a big girl. I can take care of myself."

Alcide huffed, touching his face where I had hit him. "I can see that, but Northman doesn't seem to think so. And trust me I know what I am in for. I have dealt with vamps before."

Sookie suddenly wasn't the only one on my shit list. I needed to call Eric and give him a piece of my mind about hiring an unnecessary, albeit sexy, body guard. "I need to talk to Eric about this," I sighed looking at Alcide. "I don't need guarding so you don't have to watch me. I hope you didn't travel too far."

"I'm from Jackson, Mississippi," Alcide replied absently, waving my statement away. "And Northman asked me to look after you until he said otherwise and I have a debt to repay to him so until he gives me the okay to go I am staying."

I raised an eyebrow at him. Well aren't you a stubborn one, I thought. "Okay well I am going to go home and give Eric a call and have him tell you himself that you can go home. This is just silly."

Alcide gave a short nod. "Works for me. I'll follow you there."

"Okay…" I hesitated as I turned, looking back at him. "I am sorry for punching you in the face…I hope it doesn't hurt."

He chuckled, deep and sexy, and I throbbed again. "No worries. I have a high pain tolerance."

I smirked as I walked away from him toward my mustang. I turned back to see him heading for a cubed work van parked behind Merlotte's. It was navy blue and had the words 'Herveaux Contracting' etched on the side. I raised a thoughtful eyebrow as I retrieved my purse and keys from the ground and climbed into my mustang. I started it and pulled out toward the exit, checking my rearview to make sure my bodyguard was following me.

I was still angry at Eric. It seemed I was always angry at Eric, for not loving me the way I loved him, for kidnapping Lafayette, for doubting me, for keeping tabs on Sookie, for not being honest about how he felt about Sookie, for forcing humans to sell vampire blood, and now to add to that list, I was angry with him for hiring a body guard that I didn't need. We still weren't even sure if anyone knew that Annabelle had come to Bon Temps to find me, or if they knew of my involvement in Dominic's death. What was I supposed to do? Make this poor Alcide guy follow me around for the rest of my life, to be there just in case some vampires came looking for me? And then there was still the fact that he was just a human, or so I thought, what if he got hurt or worse died? I was supposed to be okay with having that on my conscience for the rest of my life? But then again it didn't make sense for Eric to send someone to protect me, that couldn't actually protect me. He could have some kind of power. Or he could have been a shifter like Sam. There had to be something about him to make Eric trust him with my safety.

When I finally arrived at my house I parked in my driveway next to Cassandra's covered car, allowing Alcide to park in front of the house. I climbed out of my car at the same time Alcide exited his, brown eyes taking in the sight of my house. I blushed again, embarrassed as he looked at it with a curiously arched eyebrow and then at me.

"I got attacked by a vampire," I explained before he could ask.

Alcide nodded and turned his eyes back on the house. "Did she try and rip the house down to get you out or something?"

I shook my head, chuckling softly at the thought. No, I sent her flying across my porch and then staked her with a piece of my railing. "No, she uh…." I paused not wanting to get to graphic. "It's complicated."

"I see," Alcide mumbled following me to my front door. "Well I will have it fixed for you in no time."

I paused as I stuck my key in the lock, turning to look at him over my shoulder. "You will?"

"Yes, Eric sent me to look after you and fix your house," he answered. "I'm a contractor."

I had gathered that much from his work van, but I didn't know that was one of the reasons Eric had hired him. I turned the key and unlocked the door, pushing it open, thankful that my mother had cleaned the house spic and span before leaving and that I hadn't messed it up yet. I hadn't had time really. Aside from the porch.

"How much would something like that cost? Fixing the porch I mean?" I asked stepping back to allow Alcide inside. "I don't have a lot of money; I am just a waitress…."

Alcide stepped into the house behind me, looking around as I flicked on the lights. "Northman is paying for it," he answered simply with a shrug. "You must have him wrapped around your pretty little finger, if he's going through all this trouble for you."

I huffed. If only you knew how wrong you are. "It's actually the complete opposite. Make yourself at home. Can I get you something to drink? Water? Juice? A beer?" I asked shutting the door and locking it.

Alcide took a seat on my couch. He sunk deep into the cushions from his weight. He seemed a little uneasy. "Sure I'll take a beer."

I moved to the kitchen, opening my fridge and retrieving the last beer from the back of the fridge. I was not a big fan of beer, but Cassandra was. I hoped it hadn't gone bad, but checking the date it hadn't. I reminded myself as I looked at my bare fridge that I needed to grocery shopping. I brought the beer to Alcide and offered a weak smile as he thanked me, opened it, and took a long swig. I didn't know what to say to this man who was being forced to babysit me and apparently fix my house. I wondered what debt he owed to Northman that would make him have to put his life in danger to get out of it, but didn't want to invade his personal life by asking questions. I would much rather call Eric and get him out of the babysitting job. I didn't mind him fixing my house.

"I'm…going to go call, Eric," I said motioning to the kitchen where the phone was. "Like I said make yourself at home and I will be right back."

"Okay, thanks," Alcide replied raising his beer and offering a small smile.

I could feel his eyes on me as I turned and walked to the kitchen. I resisted the urge to look back at him and ducked into the kitchen, retrieving the phone from the cradle and dialing Eric's number. I made a mental note to add 'getting a new cellphone' to the to-do list along with get groceries. My old cellphone was lost somewhere in Dallas. The line clicked and I could hear Pam's voice on the other end, deadpan and sounding bored as usual.

"Fangtasia."

"Pam, it's Chase," I said quickly. "Is Eric in? I need to speak with him."

"Eric is busy at the moment," Pam replied dryly.

I sighed and leaned against the wall of my kitchen. "Well can you tell him this is important? It's about the stranger he hired to guard me," I said irritably.

"You mean the werewolf?" Pam retorted, a bit of amusement in her voice.

My throat went dry. Werewolf? "The what?" I breathed.

"The werewolf dear, Alcide," Pam continued. The amusement was obvious and clear in her voice now. "I will be sure to let Eric know that you do not like the watch dog he hired. Gotta run."

"Wait, Pam-."

The line went dead, cutting me off. I cursed softly under my breath and hung the receiver up peeking around the corner of my kitchen to check on Alcide. He was still on my couch right where I had left him, looking magnificent and delicious, and nothing like a werewolf at all. Great, of course he is one of the most attractive men I have ever seen in my life. Apparently I am only attracted to supernatural men that can kill me, I thought bitterly. I suddenly felt uneasy as I watched him sipping his beer and looking around my living room. I wasn't surprised that werewolves existed, hell how could I be when I was in love with a vampire, my closest friend these days was a telepath, my boss was a shape shifter, and I was a half witch, half fae (and still had no idea what the hell that was)? What I was surprised about was the fact that Eric had hired one to protect me. He obviously trusted Alcide, despite his lycanthropy. So that meant that I could trust him too. Right?

"Right," I mumbled aloud to myself smoothing my hair. "Vampires aren't so bad….werewolves can't be that bad either."

I took a deep breath and stepped out of the kitchen, trying to remember whether or not it was a full moon. Alcide looked up as I approached, his brown eyes locking with mine. "Everything alright? What did Northman say?" he asked, sitting forward and placing his elbows on the tops of his knees.

"I couldn't reach him, he was busy," I answered sitting on the far end of my couch, careful to keep a good distance away from Alcide.

I watched as his brown eyes took in the space between us. His face turned sincere. "Chase, I know you don't know me, but I ain't here to hurt you. I'm not going to bite. I promise," he said softly.

I felt an urge within me and my hands tingled. I had to know if Pam was telling the truth. "Are you a werewolf?"

Alcide blinked in surprise at my question, but nodded slowly. "Yes I am."

"Oh." I couldn't think of anything more to say besides that.

"Does that scare you?" he asked.

I hesitated. Did it? "No not really, I mean I have dealt with vampires and werewolves can't be much worse can they?"

Alcide nodded. "I think me being a werewolf is one of the reasons Northman asked me to look after you. Werewolves are just as strong and fast as vamps, if not stronger and faster. Northman said you could have a serious vamp problem on your hands. Some real old ones might be looking for you."

"Yes, but then again no one could be looking for me," I sighed. "It's…complicated."

"How about the short uncomplicated version?" he asked with a smirk. "I at least would like to know what I might be ripping vamps to shreds for. Not that I am complaining. Vamps and werewolves don't get along. Never have, but the reason behind it might make it a little more exciting."

I took a deep breath and launched into the story of how I got into this situation in the first place. Starting with what I was, my being adopted, my trip to Dallas, then my psychotic mother, my biological father, then Dominic and Annabelle, then Eric, Pam, and Connor saving me, and then finishing with Annabelle showing up on my doorstep and me killing her. Alcide had remained quiet the whole time, a serious expression on his face, his brown eyes fixated on mine. It wasn't until I was done talking that I realized that I had been talking for more than half an hour. It hadn't been the short and uncomplicated version, and I was sure that most of it sounded like a crazed woman's ramblings, but it had actually felt good to get it all out in the open and actually talk to someone about it. I hadn't really told anyone, not even Sookie. I had been holding it all in, but I felt a little better.

"So…now some vampires from the 'Authority' as Eric calls it might come looking for me for killing a vampire queen and I might die…or worse I will be kept alive so they can drain me whenever they want," I finished nonchalantly with a shrug.

"Wow," Alcide said finally looking away as he took another long swig of beer.

"Yes, wow is right," I said with a sigh.

"What I don't understand is, if you have had Northman's blood and all, why he can't look after you himself?" Alcide analyzed.

"He's worried about me getting attacked during the day I assume, or not getting here fast enough?" I reasoned with another shrug. I didn't know the answer honestly.

"Well you are his aren't you? I suppose it makes sense for him to want you constantly guarded."

I frowned. "I'm not his," I said looking down at my hands. At least that's what I keep telling myself. "We were…something…but now we aren't. I actually wanted him out of my life, but for some reason I just can't keep him out. But I'm not his. I'm not anyone's."

I felt my cheek's flame as I looked back up at Alcide and found him gazing at me deeply. I couldn't shake the feeling that he was looking right into my soul. I hadn't seen any judgment from him so far, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that he was judging me.

Alcide removed his eyes from me finally and gazed off thoughtfully for a moment before looking back at me. "So the whole witch thing? Is that how you knocked me on my ass earlier?"

I nodded. "Yes, although using that much power will leave me weak. That's only a fraction of my power apparently; my father bound them before I was adopted. He hoped that if I didn't have powers I would have a normal life and never know I was adopted, but things didn't work out as he planned."

"So you can what? Punch really hard?" he questioned further.

I chuckled. "Well it's more like telekinesis backing the punch up and before that I could read minds if I made skin to skin contact with someone."

Alcide's eyes widened a little. "Son of a bitch…"

"Yeah…I feel a little weird asking this, but I told you almost everything there is to know about me…." I trailed off, waiting for his reaction.

"Go ahead," Alcide nodded.

"How are you in debt to Eric?" I asked hesitantly.

Alcide frowned a little and placed his empty beer bottle on the coffee table. "I'm not. It's my old man. He has a construction company in another Parrish. He came up a little short on a project and went to Northman for a loan," he explained, not sounding too proud.

"Oh." I found myself at a loss for words again.

"The only reason I am here is to get my father out of his debt," Alcide continued. "I don't do favors for vamps."

I nodded in understanding. I honestly felt a little bad for him, but he had to be a good and loyal son to do this for his father. And now I felt obligated to get Alcide out of having to guard me. He was not just some watch dog. Eric shouldn't have used his father's debt as a bargaining chip.

A knock on the door cut off my reply. Alcide rose to his feet immediately and I tensed. "It's a vampire," he warned looking down at me. He must have sensed something in the air that I couldn't.

"It's okay Alcide," I said moving toward the door. "It's probably Eric."

I unlocked the door and pulled it open. To my surprise it was Pam standing on my porch, clad in pink, and holding a handbag over her forearm and envelope. She smiled that smile that always made me feel uncomfortable for some unknown reason and cocked her head to the side.

"Did you do something new with your porch?" she asked me sarcastically.

My frown deepened. "Hello Pam, it's always a pleasure." My voice was laced with blatant sarcasm too.

"Well aren't you going to invite me in? I would love to see what you have done with the inside," she continued her smile widening.

I hesitated, unsure if I really wanted Pam to be able to come into my house whenever she wished, but frowned when I remembered that she had already been invited in once before. She was toying with me as usual. I pulled the door open wider and stepped back.

"Come in, Pam," I mumbled motioning inside of my home.

She stepped inside, looking around until her eyes landed on Alcide who stood in my living room looking tense. He frowned at her and she returned the frown.

"What are you doing here, Pam?" I asked hoping to ease the sudden tension between them. She turned to me next and handed me the envelope she was holding. "What's this?" I asked peeking inside. She didn't get the chance to answer my question. It was a check, for twenty thousand dollars from Eric. I remembered that he still owed me money for going to Dallas, but it was only supposed to be ten thousand dollars. I looked back at Pam. "Umm…this is way too much, Pam."

"We know, Eric wanted to give you and Sookie a bonus for going above and beyond," Pam answered crossing her arms.

I felt my stomach sink a little. Eric had given Sookie this much money as well? Apparently I wasn't the only one who was in Eric's favor and who he didn't mind giving extravagant gifts too. It only reassured my thoughts that he cared for Sookie. Why else would he do things for her that weren't necessary?

"Well tell him thank you," I said bitterly, closing the envelope and tucking it under my arm as I crossed them.

"I'll tell him you sounded a little more appreciative than that," Pam replied with a smirk. "By the way, he says the dog," I heard Alcide growl softly behind me, Pam passed him an unphased glance before continuing. "He says the dog stays until he can sort the situation out, and if you don't like it, then oh well. Apparently Eric cares for your safety."

There was that sarcasm again. I glanced over my shoulder at Alcide, who stepped forward. "And you tell Northman that when this situation is sorted out and Chase doesn't need my protection anymore that I am done and my father is out of his debt."

Pam rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

In a blink of the eye she disappeared out of my front door, closing it behind her. Of course things were going to continue to go Eric's way; it didn't matter to him whether or not I wanted a body guard, or if Alcide wanted to guard me. I sighed and looked down at the envelope in my hands before offering a weak smile to Alcide.

"Well, it looks like you are stuck with me," I said putting the envelope in my pocket.

"Seems that way," he replied putting his hands in his pockets.

"Look, you can go if you want. I will deal with Eric-," I started.

Alcide raised a hand, making me fall silent. "I want to be here believe it or not. You seem like a good person, and if me being here keeps you alive somehow then I will stay…until Eric says you are in the clear."

I nodded, feeling myself blushing again. "Look if you are going to stay and fix my porch and all at least, let me pay you with my own money. And you can stay here. In the guest bedroom of course," I felt like I owed him at least room and food. He was going to risk his life for me.

Alcide smirked and nodded. "That would be nice about the room and food, but you don't have to pay me to fix your porch. Northman-."

"It's my porch and I will be the one to pay to have it fixed," I said firmly cutting him off with a smile. "And that's that Mr. Herveaux."

Alcide looked taken aback for a moment before a smirk slid across his face. "Okay then, Ms. Morgan."