Chapter 27

EPOV

Her words make my undead heart melt. Thoughts of a peaceful future play in my mind and my determination to see it to fruition.

I dress in simple jeans and a tee, aiming for comfortable rather than stylish. I blink into the center of my office. I am frozen in place as I stare at the being sitting in my desk chair.

"I do so love the modern trappings of these times. Better than bonfires and tree trunk benches." He says this as if it is a normal occurrence for the God Odin to be in a home office.

"I agree. What brings you to our home? I was just about to contact you." I'm nervous and try desperately not to show, although I know it is futile.

"I know that you were going to call upon me and decided to come in person. In addition, it gives me the opportunity to visit with you and your liten Fe Drottning... She looks so much like Freya" he trails off as his eye closes.

"She was very upset last night after we decided that I need to turn myself over to the enemy in order to free some of our comrades." I told him the about last night, along with Sookie's reactions during and afterwards. He listened intently, considering my words as if wrapped up the tale.

"I can confirm that your Drottning has gained some enlightenment today, however, she no doubt has questions. I will help her understand as much as I can. As for your plan, I am even more proud to have you as a son. You were smart to only allow them a certain amount to hold you. Too long way from her can weaken all four of you. You need to ensure that you all stay strong, especially her."

"I realized that this morning. I…I…believe some of my power…or your power has been transmitted to our children." I confess. I wasn't sure how he feels like weddings and baby shit, but I needed to know that I was making the right decision.

"I know that you are usually not this indecisive or unsure of your path. What has changed, my son?" Really, is that what he asks me?

"Everything." I mumble. "These powers…they are incredible. Mix with that that my wife is pregnant with children that are supposed to be impossible to conceive. Instead of preparing for their both, I have to run my kingdom while destroying my enemies.

"Calm yourself. I understand and I'm here to help. Surprisingly, the advice I have for you is the same as what your Drottning has been told. Do not doubt power and love you have for one another. It fuels you both since this power is new to you. You may not know this, but her rule in this universe does not stop with the Fae. As her ultimate protector, you teach her what she needs to learn in order to handle all that is to come. Your children will not only help you both rule the many realms, enforcing the law to ensure the survival of all."

His words calm me and I feel that I am approaching this correctly. "What about their birth?" I ask, slightly fearing the answer.

"This will be the most difficult birth of all the children you both will have, being that the war will begin at that time. This is why once they are born; I will take them to Fólkvangr until they are not so vulnerable." I was happy to hear this, but then I pictured Sookie's reaction to our boys being taken away so soon after their arrival. Having read my mind, he says, "She knows what is to happen and will be more determine to end this conflict quickly. In the presence of Freya, they will grow quicker as time works differently in Asgard." I nod and sit quietly as I contemplate all that I have learned.

I sudden feel her. She is coming closer to the office and I grow excited. Odin has a huge grin on his face as he watches me. "You remind me so much of myself in the early days, soon after my marriage to Frigga" he comments as we here are knock on the door. My beautiful Sookie walks in and is just as surprised to see Odin as I was.

Bowing, she greets him. "Merry Meet, God Odin. Welcome to the palace. Can I get you anything? Wait…I'm sorry. I don't know if you eat." The hostess in her will never die, no matter what she endures. Her short strides bring her to me. I lift her and set her in my lap, running my fingers through her strands.

"Ah, you are too sweet. I am fine." He says this as he conjures two golden mugs of mead. Nodding to me to grab mine, he raises it and stands. "This toast is to honor you, Sookie. May your reign for all eternity." We take large gulps of the mead, which I am surprised to find tastes just like it did when I was human.

"To bad I'm all preggo, otherwise, I would drink with you both."

"What is this…preggo? Is it a beast that I can kill? I would love to give my children tribute." Sookie giggles, but then scowls.

"Your children?" she inquires.

"Yes. Eric is my son. He is their father. Hence, they are my children." He now looks confused too. They stare at one another for a few tense moments, but he must have practice dealing with strong women.

"Come here, Drottning. I want to talk to them." She looks to me for permission, which is an ego booster that I plan to thank her for later. I nod and whimper when she leaves my lap. Odin chuckles as she makes her way around the large desk. Taking one of her small hands in his larger one, he spins her around like a ballerina. Her face lights up with his touch like the little girl she used to be when things were right in her world. The sight before me brings a smile to my face as I believe this is how my human father would have received her. I felt the same way when we reunited with Godric. Odin stops her spinning and holds her in front of him. He closes his eyes and lays a hand on her stomach.

"Hello, sons of my son. I am here to tell you that we love you and will protect you." His words cause her stomach to glow blue. The blue begins to spread to his hand. His eyes begin to glow with the same blue light. Then, he pushes the light back into her. "My, they are strong. Much more so than any in Asgard expected. Then again, they are from me. They are also as polite as their mother." We were both grinning like fools.

"They are also very stubborn. They tried to give me some power and when I tried to give it back to them, they got…upset." This was something that surprised us as we had not had any conscious interactions with them yet.

"I will take responsibility for that. I have a history of talking out of my ass before knowing all the facts." She, obviously, feels very comfortable around Odin for her to use such language. I thought that he was offended by the look on his face, but it was caused by something else.

"What condition do you speak of? How long have you been doing that?" He is very concerned and holding her by the hips, spins Sookie so he can talk to her. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" he yells into my wife's ass.

"Father! It is a human expression for speaking out of turn or without all the necessary knowledge. Unhand my woman!" I bellow, vamping to her side. Sookie turns around to face him and surprises me again. She falls into peels of laughter. She bends a little to cup his face with both of her hands.

"You are so funny. I apologize for my words and will be sure to explain their meaning if you are ever confused again." He nods and looks embarrassed. Leave it to my Sookie to make a god blush. Releasing him, she walks into my embrace.

"Let me leave you two. I have caused enough trouble." She stand on her tip toes and kisses me deeply.

"No worries, liten Fe Drottning. I am old and haven't been in this realm in thousands of years. He nods to her as she bows. Giving me a wink, she pops out of the office.

"I will tell you this, my son. There has only been one woman that could make me flush in that matter." It is now his turn to confess. I thought I already knew the answer.

"Goddess Frigga." I reply.

"No, my son. It is the Goddess Freya. My Frigga is the love of my life, but my other half is Freya. And the fact that she is the most beautiful and deadly Goddess to have every existed. She is my best friend."

I return to my seat and listen to tales that no human could fathom without being there. And this was the being that lived them.

SPOV

Wow. I can't believe I just had a conversation with the God Odin like his was my uncle. Or should I say 'father-in-law'? Although it is probably my imagination, but when he touched my stomach, it felt like the boys became very excited. I don't know what is going on with the lights, but I hope I get used to it soon.

As I make the journey to the foyer, I still in awe at how normal he seemed. When I saw him for the first time, I was going through too many emotions. This time, with Eric, it wasn't my place to consider him in any other way that the intimidating god that he is. Now that I think about it, I had the same weird feeling about Eric when we first met in Fangtasia.

I am glad to see that Odin and Eric are bonding. It's been a while since I have done so with the Goddess Freya, even though I thought I had this morning. In my past life, the concept of meeting my future self was something that my little mind couldn't handle. It probably would have exploded and we wouldn't be where we are now. Here in the present, I'm happy that I fearlessly got through it and learn so much about what to expect in the coming years. Exactly how many, I can't be sure.

I have just reached the foyer when a huge POP echoes through the halls. Two members of my Royal Guard have returned with two guests; one human and one vampire in a coffin. I nod to them as the rise from bowing to me. They step away and now I can be a proper hostess.

"Hi. Welcome to New Orleans! I'm Sookie Northman-Briggant and you must be Jessica." I say this with my most sincere smile. Her mind is racing a mile a minute over the fact that two men just appeared in her mansion and teleported her here with her vampire companion still in day rest.

"Hi…I…yes, I'm Jess. I wish my asshole of a best friend would have told me how I would be getting here. Now, I have to cancel our plane tickets" she said as she motioned towards the coffin.

"We have already taken care of that, so you can rest easy. Would you like to join me for lunch? Our chef can fix anything we want." She nodded and took a step, but paused.

"Don't worry about Tina. All of the vampire guests that are sleep are being taken to lightproof rooms until they rise. She won't be harmed." I was to relieve her stress because it was kind of bringing me back to desperate thoughts that I was trying my hardest to forget.

"Yea, I'm starving like Little Miss Boo Boo right about now." I was beginning to like her more and more. She was crass, brutally honest, and extremely intelligent. I look forward to getting to know her better.

She followed me to the kitchen, but then I thought it would be better to enjoy lunch out back. I continue on through the pantry and out the back door to the pool area. I sat down at one of the multiple tables.

"So, Mrs. Northman…" she began before I cut her off.

"No, it just Sookie. Although we have just met, you are now part of our family." She looked at me as if I was a hallucination. "Don't fret, I am real." Her eyes went wide as she tried to pick her jaw up off the ground.

"Ok…Sookie. So how did you meet Bets and Sinclair?" I thought she would already know this, but with all the commotion, they obviously hadn't been able to catch up. Hopefully now that she was in the safety of our home, they would be able to as they normally would.

"Well, Eric and I met them at the wedding…" Now it was her turn to interrupt me.

"Wait! Eric? What Is GOING ON?!" she was about to lose her shit and I couldn't have that. I laid a hand on her and send her a little light. She calms immediately.

"Mr. Sinclair and my husband have the same first name. We call your Eric 'Sinclair' as well." She let out a heavy sigh of relief, her mind happy that she didn't have to kill me. Ha. Not possible, but I like her warrior spirit.

"I'm sorry I was about to go into crazy mode. I'm very protective of them, even though I'm only human." She looked down as if she was ashamed by this, but it was just that she was fragile compared to them.

"It's not a problem. I understand. I used to feel the same way when I started dating a vampire. It can be very unsettling if you don't have a strong stomach." She nodded adamantly in agreement. Mari brought us each a grilled chicken and mixed green salad with raspberry vinaigrette. Both are stomachs growled and we laughed.

"How long have you known them?" I ask. I know I could have picked out of her mind, but I was finding that I loved talking to this woman.

"Bets and I go way back to middle school. I was one of the first people she came to after she turned. It was crazy, but what other choice was there? Abandon my closest friend just because she may get a hankering for AB- instead of Ben & Jerry's? Fuck that. We survived her death and resurrection, so I plan to be by her side forever.

"You are going to let her turn you as some point?" I was beyond curious.

"I'm not sure if she will have to. Not long after she turned, I found out that I had cancer. I was fading fast and didn't know how long I would last. Bets is no ordinary vampire. She came to me on my death bed, did her 'voodoo', and cured my cancer. All my tests show that I'm still your average human and complete healthy. That was about 20 years ago and I still look the same as I did then."

"Wow! That is awesome. I love to meet people with strong relationships that can get through anything. That's how Eric and I are." Thinking about him made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I felt a burst of love through the bond that made me shiver. Jessica looked at me confused.

"It was the hubby using our bond. What about Sinclair?" I added, hoping to avoid going into detail about the bond.

"Well…Sinclair contacted Bets right after she turned, but he blew him off. It wasn't until another vampire tried to kill her that he stepped in and took on the King. She ended up being the one to dispatch of that waste of immortality, became Queen and Sinclair couldn't stay away. I used to give him a hard time, but they were meant for each other. He's the only man that can handle Bets." I see Betsy and I have a lot more in common beside the first names of our husbands.

"What about you and your Eric?" she asked, curious about the type of people her best friends were hanging out with.

"When I was about 25, I met my first vampire. I thought he was a gift from the heavens, but he ended up being from hell. A couple of girls I worked with went missing, so I had him take me to Fangtasia. It is a vampire bar in Shreveport. I walked in and saw my love. I didn't know it then. My boyfriend was very jealous of Eric, but couldn't do anything because he was older and had more authority then he did. As we got to know one another, my boyfriend filled me lies to make sure I hated Eric. But the situations that I ended up in caused me to rethink my attitude since he was there to save me every time. And I rejected him almost as much, but he stayed with me. Eric found out what my boyfriend's true intentions were with me and forced him to tell me the truth. After some time apart, we go back together and that was it from there." I had practiced this cliff-notes version so many times, that I said this in one breath.

"That's cool. I hope that ex-boyfriend of your met the true death." She said. If only she knew.

"Yes, he did, very recently in fact." This surprised her that I was so nonchalant about it and she was actually impressed.

"Did you kill him? And if so, how? As a human, how did you get the jump on him?" She was just adorable.

"I believe Eric may have. I'm not sure. After we tortured him, I didn't think twice about him. I know he will never rise again." I said. Suddenly, I feel so happy and giddy that I start to blush. Jessica looked at me funny.

"Are you ok?" she asks.

"Yea, I think it's the babies. Their father must be close." I said. As the last word leaves my lips, Eric blinks to stand next to our table.

"Lover, Turner has arrived. I thought I would come tell you personally. I didn't mean to interrupt…" I was so going to rape him soon.

"Whoa! This is your Eric?! I thought he was a vampire. How is he up during the day?" she blurts out, barely taking breathing. She was shocked by how handsome he was and even more impressed that he was my husband, and I not just his pet.

"Yes, I am her Eric. And you must be Ms. Watkins. Sinclair has told me many pleasant things about you." He outstretched his hand, shocking the both of us. She took it and visibly relaxed.

"He better had. He'd hate to feel may wrath" she countered. "I don't mean to offend you, but I have never seen a vampire other than Bets outside. Pool side, no less.

He chuckled and I smiled proudly at the unintended compliment. As he walks to stand behind my chair, he responds. "Unlike Eliza…uh Betsy, my ability to day walk comes from my wife."

"What? No, this comes from your father." I clarify. Our playtime in the sun was limited to my 'past' life until after we returned from Folkvangr. I don't understand why he's giving me all the credit.

As if he had read my mind, which I knew he hadn't, he says, "Everything I am is because of you. I was made for you. I just arrived first." He drapes his arms over my shoulders and hugs me. I immediately feel his love and lust, which I wanted to indulge in at this very moment.

"Well, I know that look. Thanks for all of your hospitality." She rose from her seat and turned to walk back into the palace, but paused. "By the way, I am extremely wealthy. So if there is anything I can do to help find Marc and anyone else those fuckers took, please don't hesitate to let me know." We both nodded to her and she was gone. Eric sat down in the seat she had just vacated, staring at me with those entrancing blue eyes.

"It is about 2:30pm. Those in day rest will be rising in a few hours and I have finished all of my preparations. What else do you need to do?" he asks.

"I'm also done. Mari and Kaitlin are overseeing Turner in getting everyone settled, so…" I trailed off as I rise from the chair. His eyes never leave mine as I slowly walk backwards towards the pool's edge. I pull my t-shirt over my head and discard it haphazardly. Eric's eyes began to glow, letting me know that I wasn't the only one barely controlling oneself.

He rises from the chair as well, ripping his t-shirt off. The sight of that simple action sends shivers down my spine. I slowly remove my bra, using my hands to cover my breasts. Wait. They feel bigger, plumper. My inspection of my chest causes his control to slip and he yanks me to him by the waistband of my shorts. The way he is looking at me is making me wetter and I am begging through the bond for him to take me. As my feelings wash over him, he slowly pulls both my shorts and panties down to allow me to step out of them.

"You cannot fathom what the site of you naked does to me. I want to taste every inch of you." His words have now scattered my control and I have to have him. I pop myself into his arms, attaching myself to his chest and taking his lips. He groans, the vibrations from his chest going through me as well. I don't when he removed his jeans, but next thing I know we are in the pool.

Author's Notes:

Thoughts?

Here are the translations for this chapter:

"min Drottning?" = my Queen?

liten Fe Drottning = little Fairy Queen

*The characters in this chapter belong to Charlaine Harris.

**I OWN NOTHING**