I own none of the characters in this fan fiction. They are based on the Sookie Stackhouse series. This story is located somewhere between "Dead as a Doornail" and "All Together Dead". It takes parts from the whole series, but there is a twist I promise. I was devastated when the author did away with the blood bond and ultimately ended the relationship which I think defined the series. This is very Team Eric / Sookie. This is rated M for sexual content and violence.

Chapter 4

The next evening when Eric rose, he walked slowly downstairs, looking around for any sign or anything out of the ordinary. He turned down the long hallway into the sitting room he had been in the day prior to see Bertrand sitting there drinking his dinner, a slightly plump but pretty blonde.

"Good morning Mr. Northman. I hope that you rested well. I notice that you are without your companion, Pam, I believe her name is." The king nodded with a knowing look.

Inside, he wanted to shred the King. "Yes King. She had to return to run the business since I am to be indisposed for a length of time."

"…And to no doubt check up on me." The King sneered. "It will do you no good Mr. Northman. You will never find her."

"I have no intention of making a bad situation worse King. I love Sookie. I would never risk harming her to save something as inconsequential as a piece of land, regardless of my loyalties. My number one loyalty is to her." He said as he stared down at the bottle of True blood sitting in front of him. He was making things up as went at this point. For the first time in a long time, he could not figure out how to handle a situation and that was perhaps as annoying as the not knowing what to do itself. He always had a plan, usually several. Here he was at the Kings mercy with no idea how to react. The King was well aware of his inability to react.

"Good. I'm glad to see you are coming around Mr. Northman. You might actually walk out of this alive if you keep cooperating." Eric looked away and rolled his eyes out of the view of the King.

"So what is the end game, your majesty? I sign over a piece of paper and you release Sookie? How does this go down? How much land do you want?"

"All of it Sheriff Northman. " The king paused for a moment. "However, now I have decided to up the ante."

Eric did not lose sight of his hatred for a second. Indignantly he responded. "And what do you want now, your majesty?"

"I would like the promise that you and Miss Stackhouse will remain in my service."

Not letting the shock register on his face, he replied cooly. "That is up to the Authority, is it not? Surely they haven't given you the power to just reorder the entire kingdom and all its territories."

"Well as you will soon see, Sheriff. Some things are negotiable when you hold the right cards in your hand."

The King paced around the room like he was waiting for something. At that moment a tiny little human with a bald head and thick spectacles walked in and whispered "he's here". I guess it slipped his mind that Eric would hear him anyway since he was a vampire. The King disappeared from the room which couldn't have been better timing because Eric's cell rang and he looked at the screen, it was Pam. He opened the patio door and stepped out onto the marble terrace. "Yes?"

"Master, it's a mess here. The king sent reinforcements to Fangtasia. The building is surrounded by armed guards and weres. I cannot get close enough to see what is going on and no one is answering the phone. I called the Council's consort and no one is answering." Pam sounded a little more concerned than usual. The line went silent. "Master?"

Fuck…he thought to himself. "I'll call later. Lay low. Do NOT go home!" He tried not to sound panicked, but Pam could tell different. With that he hung up the phone.

It seemed as if the King had thought of every contingency. How the hell did he get the Council's approval for this? And if he didn't have their approval, why couldn't Pam reach the consort? He thought about trying to call his King but in his head he knew that would only make things worse and he just couldn't risk Sookie's life. Sookie…just the thought of her sent pangs of sadness rippling through his body. He knew she was alive, even though he couldn't feel her. She had to be. He couldn't even think about the other possibility.

Just then the King re-entered the room. "Mr. Northman. It seems that your progeny did not return to the club after all. I'm going to have to request your phone."

"King, this is highly irregular. What do you want? If it is land that you want, you have that. Do you want me to resign? Is this what you are after?" He asked flatly.

"Mr. Northman. To be frank, my interests have changed. I still want you to relinquish control of Area 5, that is true, but additionally, and this is where we will truly test the resolve of your love for this human... I will assume control of Area 5 but not immediately, I want you to go back to your life, and act like everything is normal and then, you will help me assume control of all of Louisiana and Arkansas. Afterwards, you and Miss Stackhouse will remain in my service." The King stared him down as his face drew into a frown. It occurred to Eric that this was a game to him. He was testing his honor and his love. The warrior in him was screaming, but the love in him, compelled him to save her. He sat there almost dumbfounded at the choice.

"Your Majesty, when exactly was it that The Authority approved you taking control of three territories? Two is highly irregular, that said, three is unheard of. I will need to speak to Roman prior to accepting any terms. However, if the Authority approves, then I will acquiesce to their request."

Eric could see the King's face twitch from his response. So he didn't have the Authority's approval. How interesting. What was he going to do? Try to over-throw the Authority too?

Bertrand studied him for a few minutes, before speaking. "Fine Sheriff. I'm sure that I will have all the means to convince you within hours."

What the fuck did that mean? Deciding that he needed to get out now rather than later, he waited for an opportunity to escape. Once the King had left the room, Eric waited for his opportunity and walked out on the balcony. Looking around, he took to the sky, not stopping until he reached a store where he picked up a throw-away phone and dialed Pam.

"Pam, where are you?" His voice was urgent as he listened. Alcide had located Sookie! He instructed Pam to gather as many as she could and meet him and Alcide at the coordinates that Alcide had given them the next day.

Upon arriving, he caught Alcide slightly off guard. The were regarded him. Something was going on that was for sure. Eric knew that Bertrand must have found him gone and was preparing for an attack, knowing that he would never leave unless he knew Sookie's location, which in this case was untrue. He just knew that Bertrand didn't have approval and that he wouldn't hurt Sookie as she was too valuable, especially in his clearly desperate attempt to take over three territories.