Chapter Thirty-Nine:
"We are not watching this," Eric refused, shaking his head as he tried to take the remote from the girl.
She had searched for nearly half an hour until she found something suitable to watch. Godric had just sat there quietly, content on being with his family once again, while Eric was being a pain in the ass, moaning and complaining every five minutes. Mackenzie just ignored him as she flicked through the channels before stopping on a movie that had a grin spreading across her lips.
"No this is perfect," she shook her head, sticking the remote safely beside her. "I love this movie!"
"But it's some stupid Disney cartoon," he groaned.
Mackenzie's mouth dropped open as she punched him in the arm. It did absolutely nothing except earn an annoyed glance from the Viking and cause an ache in her knuckles, but it was the thought behind the hit that counted in her mind, though.
"Tangled is the absolute best Disney movie, excuse you," she huffed. "It's not my fault you're uncultured."
"Uncultured?" he raised an eyebrow. "I'm a thousand year old Viking. Who is the uncultured one here?"
"Don't be so mean to my Disney movie, Eric," she stuck her tongue out at him. "I feel a kinship with Rapunzel."
Eric snorted, rolling his eyes as she crossed his arms over his chest moodily. "Is that so?"
"Hm, I wonder how that could be? Eighteen year old locked away in a tower for her entire life and desperately wants to break free and explore the world? Yeah, doesn't sound like anyone we know at all."
A soft chuckle sounded from the vampire on Eric's other side. Mackenzie's grin widened as she tried to glance around Eric and catch his gaze. But Eric only yanked her back against the couch, earning another hit to the arm. She cursed under her breath this time, rubbing the sore spot as she glared up at him.
"Godric agrees with me," she shot at Eric smugly.
"I was actually going to say that Eric has a point," Godric surprised her by saying, her mouth falling back open. "I find Disney movies to be…"
"Do. Not. Finish. That. Sentence," Mackenzie warned. "Y'all are just absolutely insane, you know."
"Glad we got that clear. Now lets change the channel," Eric tried to reach around Mackenzie for the remote. Mackenzie however gripped onto it like her life depended on it. She just really wanted to see this movie, damn it! "Mackenzie."
"Who here was kidnapped by their psychotic family and tortured?" she glared at them both, raising an eyebrow for either to try and say anything. When both simply looked away in guilt, she grinned victoriously and settled back to watch her movie. "That's what I thought. Now shh, Flynn Rider is coming on soon. Huh, I wonder who my Flynn is if I'm Rapunzel."
"I know who it isn't," Eric grumbled.
Mackenzie's head snapped to him in surprise, her eyes growing wide. "Eric!"
He didn't utter another word and she was caught between being mortified and amused. Sookie was most definitely right about him. But she also didn't like him assuming anything about her and Godric. Because there was nothing to assume. She just happened to be having dreams about him, dreams that were caused by his blood and nothing else.
Though a small tiny part of her was wondering if it were more than that.
But then her conscious would slap that thought away, the guilt filling her, and she would go right on back to being horrified about it all.
Sighing, Mackenzie tried once again to peek at Godric, catching a glimpse of the vampire around Eric's form. But Eric soon made sure to shift so she couldn't see the ancient vampire at all. A sigh sounded from Godric, but for the rest of the movie that was the only indication that he was even there at all.
The whole protective father thing was getting old quickly. She was just glad it was directed at Godric and not some poor human boy who she was certain would have wet his pants by now and run off. The thought actually amused her, a giggle sounded from her lips.
"What's so funny?" Eric questioned gruffly, his eyes narrowed.
"Nothing," she tried stifling her laugh. "Nothing at all."
It was somewhere near the end of the movie that Mackenzie had begun drifting to sleep. She had struggled to remain awake at first, going as far as lightly slapping her own cheek to keep awake. Eric had tried to urge her just to sleep, knowing she was exhausted, but she refused. He only rolled his eyes and drew his arm out across the back of the couch, just in case she let herself succumb to what her body desired. Eventually she couldn't help it any longer and she curled up at Eric's side, drifting off to sleep. It brought a smile to Eric's face to see her so peaceful, so happy as she slept. It only made his smile widen when she shifted closer to him, laying her head against his chest.
"Sleep well," he murmured softly, kissing the top of her head as he wrapped a protective arm around her. He would do his best to battle away whatever nightmares she had been having. And perhaps certain dreams as well.
"She is finally asleep," Godric mused, taking the opportunity to glance around his child and gaze upon her sleeping form. He had tried to force the smile back, but it was impossible when she looked like an angel. "Let us hope another nightmare does not waken her."
"Or anything else," Eric grunted, tearing his gaze away from her only to glare at his Maker.
"You know I cannot help it when she has a dream," Godric sighed, settling back against the couch. "It is uncontrollable. You know this, Eric."
"I still believe they could be avoided," he grumbled.
Godric rubbed his temple, soothing the pain that was starting to form. "We've spoken about this. Would you rather I hadn't of given her my blood? Would you rather she not be alive right now?"
"You know I don't want that," Eric argued as quietly as he could. "You know I'm grateful that you saved her."
"Then why are you acting this way? You know the consequences of our blood."
Eric frowned as he glared straight ahead. "That doesn't mean I'm happy about it."
"She's alive, Eric. That is all that should matter right now," Godric shook his head as he stood. He shot one last glance at Mackenzie before turning towards the door. He needed to speak with Isabel concerning his sheriff duties. He was set on resigning and he wanted to offer her the position should the Authority approve. "I have matters to speak of with Isabel. Perhaps when I return you will no longer be acting like an immature little child."
Eric hissed, but before he could utter a retort, a soft moan sounded from beside him. His head snapped to her form and he was horrified as another moan escaped her lips.
"What the hell!" he growled, sending Godric a dark glare. "She's having another god damn dream."
Godric was rock solid, however, staring at Mackenzie with wide eyes. He could feel it. It had suddenly swept through him like a wildfire, the pleasurable touches the dream version of him was leaving over every inch of her skin. His entire body shuddered, his eyes fluttering close as the pleasure only seemed to increase with every passing moment. It felt like there were hands on his own body, stroking him like his other version was stroking her. It was driving him mad.
"You've got to be kidding me," Eric set Mackenzie against the side of the couch, placing a pillow beneath her head before shooting off of the couch and into a crouched stance. "You are not enjoying this!"
Godric had to clench his teeth together to stop himself from moaning. He could only imagine what he was doing to Mackenzie in order to create this reaction. It was only when a growl sounded from his progeny that he was able to force open his eyes and ignore the pleasure for the quickest of moments.
Eric was pouncing on him in an instant, knocking him to the ground as the entire floor shook from their strength. Godric lay beneath his child as Eric grabbed onto his shoulders, gripping them tightly as his fangs flashed into his face. Godric was stunned not only at Mackenzie's dream, but his child's reaction.
"Stop it," Eric growled. "Stop it right now. Stop whatever the hell you're feeling."
Godric struggled with the bond with his child, the rage brewing inside of Eric. He needed to close his son off from his own brewing emotions, or else risk Eric attempting to tear him apart.
"God damn it," his fingernails dug into Godric's shoulders. He had felt it the moment Godric closed himself off from him, but it didn't change a damn thing. He could still see the effect Mackenzie's dream was having on him. And it horrified him. It angered him beyond belief. This was not supposed to be happening.
With his bond closed to his child, Godric was able to think just the slightest bit more clearly. He was very aware of the fact that Eric's fangs were close to his face, every intent on ripping him to shreds in his orbs. "Eric, you will get off of me."
"You will stop enjoying this," Eric snapped back.
"I cannot help that I feel her…" when Eric attempted for his neck, Godric growled and quickly turned them over. He held Eric to the ground with a single hand around his neck. His own fangs had extended now, though he remained over top of him as calmly as possible. "You will remain calm, my son. I do not want to hurt you."
"This is sick," Eric struggled against his maker's strength. "She is my daughter and you're enjoying this."
"Neither of us can help this," Godric reminded, his grip tightening to keep Eric in place. He rarely had to raise a hand to his child, and he hated it every single time. But Eric's temper was flaring and he was worried about Mackenzie's safety. If he could not force Godric to end this dream – a dream he had no control over – then he could possibly harm Mackenzie out of sheer anger. And he would not let that happen. "Control yourself."
"Control yourself," Eric hissed.
Taking a deep breath, Godric closed his eyes and tried to tame the beast that was threatening to escape. Eric, however, took that moment to attempt to kick Godric off of him. This only sent Godric flying over the edge, grasping onto Eric's throat so tightly, bones began to snap and a hiss of pain was sounded.
"You will stop this," Godric lowered his head, baring his own fangs at his progeny. "You did not give her your blood as I recall. This could have been avoided if you had just given her your blood to begin with."
"You know why I didn't," Eric gasped out.
"No, I truly don't."
"It might not have worked. I didn't want to give her my blood and have her die anyways."
Godric's eyes narrowed. "It would have been worth the risk. Is she not worth it to you?"
"She would have had these dreams about me," Eric countered, disgust crossing his face. "My own daughter would be…" he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
Godric knew it was true, that she likely would have been having dreams about Eric instead of him. The idea felt wrong, suddenly a surge of jealousy surging through him. He didn't like the idea of her having dreams of anyone besides him.
"You would have simply let her die then?" Godric's grip eased just enough that the bones began to slowly heal.
Eric cringed, inhaling sharply. "If it was an emergency, I would have."
"Would it not be better for her to be alive, even if she was having these dreams, than for her to be dead," Godric pointed out. "We should not care of the consequences. She is alive. She is…"
He never had the chance to continue as another moan escaped Mackenzie's lips. "Godric…"
This only threw Eric into another fit of rage as Godric tried to control him. Even he had to admit, these dreams had begun to happen in the worst possible moments
"Stop making fun of my movie choices," Mackenzie slapped Godric on the chest. "Beauty and the Beast is the best. You're just jealous because the Beast is totally smoking when he's human."
Godric snorted. "Is he now?"
"Mhmm," she stuck her tongue out at him, giggling when he pulled a face. "Now shh, we're getting to the best part."
Godric rolled his eyes as he tightened his arm around her. "So I suppose I shouldn't distract you then."
"No, definitely not," she slapped his chest against, her gaze entirely focused on the TV.
She was so focused on the movie that she never even realized his hand that begun trailing down her arm and to her waist. His fingers tickled the skin that was showing as her shirt rose. She shifted into his side from the touch, trying to brush his hand away, but her eyes never strayed from her ridiculous movie. Godric chuckled to himself as his hand moved to the top of her shorts. He played with the flimsy material, slowly but surely pushing his fingers below the elastic waist. It was only when his fingers began dancing across the front of her panties that Mackenzie realized Godric's mind was not on the movie at all.
"Godric" her eyes widened, shooting him a surprised glance. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing at all," a smirk grew across his lips. He caught hers with a quick peck, his fingers moving further south. A squeak sounded from her lips as she jolted, trying to pull away from him. "Nuh uh uh, my love. You are mine."
"Godric we should really just watch the…oh god what are you doing?" she found myself flat on her back on the couch, Godric settled just over her waist. He smirked widely at her as he quickly tugged down her shorts. "Godric!"
"Shh, love, watch your movie," he yanked down her panties to join her shorts at her ankle before parting her sweet thighs. A soft moan escaped Mackenzie's lips as he leaned down, inhaling her intoxicating scent. Oh he was going to enjoy the pleasure he was about to bring his human.
"You really shouldn't be…oh my god!" her eyes were as wide as saucers as Godric's tongue flicked out, catching her sensitive bud as he parted her lips with his fingers.
"You taste so sweet," he purred, tasting her again.
"Oh, oh god!" her breathing grew labored as her head was thrown back. "Oh god you really should…" she was silenced as he took the ball of nerves between his lips and began sucking.
She bucked against him and he couldn't help but smirk. His fingers began tracing her entrance, slowly maneuvering one inside of her. She gasped at the sudden intrusion, her hands curling into fists as she bit her bottom lip hard. He slipped a hand beneath her, supporting her as he thrust a second finger inside of her, moving them at a slow speed and enjoying the build inside of her.
"Godric…" she moaned. "Oh…oh Godric!"
A third finger joined before his pace began to pick up. He could feel that she was ever so close to the edge and he continued to push her farther and farther. He enjoyed having her twitch in sheer pleasure below him.
"Oh god!"
Mackenzie's eyes suddenly shot open as she tumbled right off the couch with a loud thud. Godric and Eric both froze at the sudden sound, their heads snapping to her direction.
"Ow," she mumbled, rubbing her back as she drew up into a sitting position. Her eyes were still hazy as she blinked the sleep away. It took her a moment before she realized where she was. Her eyes focused on Godric on top of Eric and frowned. "What are you guys doing?"
They just stared at her in disbelief. The longer they stared, the more uncomfortable she became. And the more uncomfortable she became, the quicker she remembered what she had only just dreamed.
"Oh god!" her eyes widened as she jumped to her feet. Did she really just have a very inappropriate dream about Godric while they were still on the couch with her? She was absolutely mortified. "Oh my god! This is so not happening!"
"Don't run away again, Mackenzie," Godric quickly removed himself from Eric and began towards her.
"I-I, er…" she looked between the two vampires as Eric picked himself off of the ground. Oh she was beyond embarrassed. There wasn't a word in the English language to describe how incredibly horrified she was. Of all times, of all places, why had she had a dream then? Was the universe actively working against her?
"I can't fucking deal with this right now," Eric grunted, turning his glare onto Mackenzie. Her eyes grew even wider as she jumped. She was used to his glares, but there was something in his eyes that actually worried her.
"Eric," Godric warned, sensing her concern.
"I'm going to find Pam," he grumbled, storming passed the couch and out of the room, the door slamming behind him.
Mackenzie grimaced at the rattling of the door, shooting it a saddened glance. If nothing else, these damn dreams were pushing Eric away and she hated that. Just when they were having even the tiniest bit of a happy family moment, her dream had to come along and ruin all of it.
"Mackenzie?" Godric stepped forward. "Are you…"
"I just need a minute," she started inching towards the bedroom. "I just…I just need to think for a minute. Alone."
Godric sighed but nodded, not stopping her as she darted into the room. He glanced between the two doors and shook his head. He would never regret giving Mackenzie his blood, but he was beginning to regret his enjoyment of her dreams. He was only ripping Eric and Mackenzie further apart, and that was the last thing he wanted.
Mackenzie didn't leave her room for the rest of the night besides to grab the door when her ordered food arrived. She found that the other bedroom door was closed, and she guessed Godric was inside. She thought about talking to him, but she found the embarrassment stopped her. Instead, she took her meal back into her room and stayed there until Eric returned. She needed to talk to her guardian, apparently concerning many different things. She knew Sookie's guess was likely right, that Eric was just being overprotective. But she didn't want to lose him because of the dreams.
And then there was her family. She still wanted to know what happened that night fourteen years ago. She still wanted to know what happened to her parents. She didn't want to believe her aunt; she didn't want to believe anything she had to say. But that didn't mean she hadn't planted her seeds and made her wonder. She had never really cared before. She loved her family, even if they were extremely dysfunctional. But they were a family and that was all that mattered.
Now, however, everything had begun to change. She already had so much on her plate that she shouldn't be adding this. But she found she just couldn't move past it. She needed to know what happened, and the only one who could provide her the answers she needed was Eric. She just hoped these dreams didn't get in the way of getting those answers.
It was turning late, only a few hours until sunrise when she heard the hotel door open. She shook away the sleep that had tried to consume her and quickly shot off the bed. She adjusted the pajama pants and shirt she had changed into, hoping Eric would at least be pleased at her covered body, before slipping out of the room.
"Eric?" she called out to him as he fell into a plush chair, looking exhausted. She frowned when he leaned forward, rubbing his temple as if he had the world's biggest headache. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he muttered, turning his head slightly towards her. "What is it?"
"I was just…" she felt wrong asking him about this when he looked so tired, when he looked so sad. "Is everything okay? Did something happen?"
"Everything is fine," he sighed heavily. "Now what is it, Mackenzie? I won't ask again."
She chewed on her bottom lip as she moved towards him, settling on the arm of the couch. Her hands fiddled n her lap as she tried to find the words to begin. "I was just wondering if you could tell me about that night."
His shoulders tensed. "Not tonight."
"But…"
"I can't right now, Mackenzie," he shook his head. "Not tonight."
"But you said…"
"We'll talk about this later," he suddenly stood. He couldn't deal with this right now. He couldn't deal with her questions and he couldn't handle Godric's lecture he was certain would come. "I'll be in Pam's room if you need anything."
"But, Eric!" she jumped to her feet, trying to stop him. Even without his great speed, his long legs still brought him to the door before her. "Please, Eric!"
"Go to bed, Mackenzie. Enjoy your dreams."
Her mouth dropped open. "Seriously?"
"I can't deal with this right now. I can't deal with your questions," he yanked the door open. "Just go to bed."
"Why are you being like this?" tears began forming in her eyes. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"I'm not doing anything to you, Mackenzie," he glanced over his shoulder only to quickly look back away. He could not deal with her tears most of all. "The sun is rising soon. I need to rest."
"You always do this. You always pull away. Every single time I think we make progress, you start acting like this," she swallowed back the emotions that were threatening to unleash. "I thought everything was supposed to change. I thought we were supposed to be happy."
"Mackenzie…"
"All I want to know is what happened. Is that really so bad? I just want to know how you found me. I don't care about anything else. I just need to know. Please."
His frustration was reaching it's boiling point. "Not. Now."
"Then when!"
"I said not now!" he roared, twisted around as the door slammed back shut. "Why can't you just do as you're told for once in your life?"
"I just want to know, Eric. Just tell me and then we never have to talk about it again." She pleaded. "Please!"
"You want to know?" Eric's hands curled into tight fists at his side. "You really want to know what those monsters did to you?"
Her expression faltered. What did he mean what those monsters did to her?
"Is that what you want to know? You want to know that your once happily married parents who worked as professors dug a little too deep into one of their projects. You want to know that they discovered vampires and sought them out for information. You want to know that they traded information with their blood. Do you want to know that they started tasting the vampire's blood and grew addicted? Is that what you want to know?"
Her eyes grew wide, the colour draining from her face. She didn't know what to think or feel as she just stared at him.
"You didn't realize any of that, did you? You never knew that when the addiction set it, their own blood wasn't enough to trade for theirs. You never knew that what the vampires wanted was something so much sweeter than their blood could offer. You didn't even realize that your own god damn parents traded your blood to feed their addiction."
Mackenzie's heart stopped as she choked a sob back. Her hand rose to cover her mouth as she stomach churned. She wanted him to be lying. She wanted him to be telling her some ridiculous tale to get her to leave him alone. But as she stared dead into those eyes, she knew he was telling her the truth.
"They didn't give a shit about you. They let the vampires feed off of you just so they could get their fix. They didn't care at all that you were only a four-year-old girl. They didn't care at all that you likely would have died after so many feedings. All they wanted was their drug of choice," Eric's anger began to subside as he saw the effect the truth was having on Mackenzie. He suddenly wanted to take her into his arms, but he knew if he did, he would never continue. He just wanted to get it out and never remember that night again. As much as it horrified Mackenzie, it destroyed him as well.
Eric sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose as the first tear slid down her cheek. He really hated seeing her cry.
"One of the vampires, the older of the two, he couldn't feed off a child, not when he used to have a daughter of his own. He had come to me to inform me of what was happened and I…" he paused, his eyes closing as he recollected the memory. "The are many things I have done in my life, Mackenzie, that would be considered cruel and inhumane. I am a vampire; I am a monster. But there was always a line, one that included the feeding off of children, that I could not cross. Children were sacred. They were too innocent. They were not to be touched. Ever."
He couldn't deny their sweet smell. But the mere thought of sinking his fangs into a child sickened him.
"I knew I could not let this continue. I banned the vampire that came to me from my area and I went in search of your parents. The night I found them, the vampire was inside and feeding off of you. I was angry. I was furious," the anger began to return little by little as he remembered seeing Mackenzie's small little form struggling through the living room window. "I set the house on fire. It was my intention to burn every single person inside, including the vampire. Pam was there to ensure the vampire could not escape. If the Authority discovered this had been going on for so long in my area and I hadn't stopped it earlier, it could have been all of our deaths. So I destroyed each piece of evidence I could find, including that house."
The flames. She remembered the flames from her nightmares, the flickering fire that had encased her. And then there was the pain in her neck, the stabbing sensation as her blood was drawn. She was beginning to realize those nightmares just weren't dreams that haunted her.
They were memories.
"Oh god!" she sobbed out, her bottom lip quivering as her tears began spilling over her cheeks.
"I heard your cries, Mackenzie. I couldn't just let you die that night. I couldn't just leave you in there to die alongside of those monsters," Eric crossed the room and was brushing away her tears within seconds. She should have pulled away, and she even tried. But after a moment, her shaking legs forced her into Eric's arms as he held her tightly against his chest. "The moment I laid eyes on you I knew I couldn't let you die. I knew I couldn't let you suffer. So I took you. I grabbed you and I never looked back. I covered it all up; I insisted you had died. You aunt never believed it and she searched for you for years. But damn it, I was not going to let them have you. You were mine from that day forward."
She was sobbing into his chest as his arms tightened around her. He tried to comfort her, he tried to soothe away the pain, but he knew that he couldn't. This was what he had been trying to avoid. This wasn't just the tale of how he found her; she was learning how truly terrible her parents had been. She was discovering that the real monsters had been her biological family all along.
"You told her," Godric had left his room, his hand hovering over his chest as he felt her pain. It was consuming him and all he wanted was to rip her from Eric's arms and hold her himself. But he couldn't. Because she did need his comfort in that moment, she needed Eric.
"I didn't want to," Eric murmured, rubbing Mackenzie's back before lifting her sobbing form into his arms. "I'll spend the day with her."
Godric nodded as he watched Eric carry the sobbing teen into her room, the Viking whispering soothing words into her ear. Once the door was closed, he hovered before slipping back into his own room. Eric needed to comfort his daughter just as Godric remembered comforting him over his own past so many centuries ago.