Hallo my dear readers! Thank you for all your reviews! It's good to know there are still people enjoying SVM stories out there, even after the disappointment that was the last book.

Breathesgirl takes credit for betaing this story.

Disclaimer: Sookie belongs to Eric - even if she doesn't know it yet.

Previously:

"Is there anything else I should know about?"

Eric fell thoughtful for a moment.

"Your brother is missing."

"Jason?" I asked, alarmed.

"He stopped by the first day of the New Year and nobody has seen him since. You were looking for him."

I did some quick math and my stomach dropped: He had been gone for too long to dismiss it. Jason wasn't the brother of the year but that didn't mean I didn't love him.

"I think I have an idea where to look for him," Eric said unexpectedly.

"Really? Where?"

"Hotshot."

"How do you know that?"

"There was panther's blood on the dock by the pond on your brother's property. When you got home after meeting with the search party I could smell the were panther's scent on you. I didn't recognize it back then and I didn't remember there was a were panther pack in the area."

"In Hotshot? There are panthers living in Hotshot?"

He nodded.

"Oh my God!" I clasped my hand over my mouth. "Jason's date on New Year's Eve was a girl from Hotshot!"

I jumped to my feet and picked up the phone from where Eric placed it on the table after he had ended his conversation. He stopped me by catching my wrist when I was already pressing the numbers.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm calling Sam to tell him that I can't make it tonight after all. I have to find Jason."

"And how exactly are you planning to do that?"

"I'm going to Hotshot, of course."

"Alone? After dark? In this weather? To the were panthers' community?"

"Eric, there is nothing I can do about it. I have no other choice, I won't leave him there!"

"Out of the question."

"Dammit, Eric! You don't tell me what to do. He's my brother! I'm going and it's none of your business!"

"I'm coming with you."

I stared at him for a moment before I understood what he was saying.

"Oh," I said finally.

I thought of at least a dozen things I'd like to tell him; one of them being to tell him to go fly a kite and that I didn't need his help but I realised that it would be really stupid of me because the truth was I could use his help very much so in the end I just mumbled: "Thanks."

He nodded.

I had no idea why he was doing this. Maybe he felt that he owed me after I had helped him when he'd been cursed and he was eager to pay off the debt. Something told me that vampires didn't like to owe anyone favours.

I called Sam who agreed to find somebody else without any argument when I told him that it was about Jason. He also asked if I would be okay – I told him I already had someone to help me. I glanced at Eric from the corner of my eye, but for some reason I didn't feel like giving Sam any details and fortunately he didn't ask for them.

"This jacket is too thin," Eric spoke up unexpectedly when I was getting ready to go.

"Well, it has to do. My coat is ruined."

"Put a sweater on," he said sternly. "You'll get cold."

I opened and closed my mouth, shocked, but he used such a stern voice that instead of arguing with him I obediently went to my room and did exactly what I'd been told to do. Sadly he was once again right. I can be a stubborn ass but I wasn't looking forward to shivering from the cold just so I could make a point, nor did I want to hear the whole `I told you so' speech during the half hour drive.

Jeez, other than my Gran I couldn't remember the last time anyone talked to me like that!

We stepped outside just in time to see the first snowflakes dancing in the air. Eric's face lit up, making him look like a kid at Christmas.

"I love snow," he told me.

And that was the first time I smiled all night. I couldn't help it. It was a pleasure to look at him. It's not often that you see a pure and completely innocent joy on the face of a thousand year old vampire.

Eric smiled back at me and for some reason I felt an ache in my chest at the sight.

Of course Eric's good mood evaporated when he realised that we had to take my car but he managed to survive the uncomfortable ride. Halfway to Hotshot he offered to change with me behind the wheel. I thinned my mouth, offended, and didn't even reply, but my pride lasted only about one more mile – the road was not in the best shape, bumpy and poorly lit, and it was snowing and I had to be really careful not to swerve – but I didn't tell him that he might have been right.

"Where should I park?" I asked when we were almost there.

Eric directed me to the house of the pack-master, a man called Calvin Norris. He also hinted that everyone in Hotshot was two-natured. That would explain why even the simple people of Bon Temps could see that there was something different about this town. I shivered when I stepped out of the warm car. I rang the doorbell with Eric standing right behind me. I wouldn't admit it aloud but his presence made me feel safer.

A short muscular man opened the door. He looked like he was in his early forties. He had short, salt-and-pepper hair and a trimmed beard and he radiated authority. He seemed pleased to see me – that is, until he noticed Eric.

"Sookie," he said and then, after a pause he added, "Northman."

Great. Someone I was supposed to remember.

He tipped his head at each of us. I wasn't surprised that he knew (or at least recognized) Eric. They exchanged level stares.

"Are you his?" Calvin (I assumed it was him) asked me unexpectedly.

"What? No," I said surprised with the sudden turn in the conversation.

Eric's hand momentarily closed on my shoulder in a quick and painful grasp. I glanced at him and I saw that for a second he looked as if I slapped him across the face.

"She's under my protection," he said in a cool, steady voice.

The silence that fell after that sentence wasn't the pleasant kind.

"I'm here because of my brother, Jason," I said in order to move the things along.

Calvin looked at me surprised.

"We already established that I don't know what happened to him."

A trip to Hotshot must have been one of the mysterious pieces of the puzzle that belonged somewhere in my missing days.

"The police found a panther's print on Sookie's brother's property," Eric said.

This time the tone he spoke with was completely neutral – there was no accusation in his voice. I suspect that Eric realised the only thing it would do would be making the two-natured pack-master defensive. He knew this game well.

There was anger in Calvin's eyes.

"I didn't know about it," he said after a pause. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but I was at loss. I didn't remember.

"Sookie wasn't aware what kind of weres you are," Eric came to my rescue.

I don't know if I talked to him about it or if he deduced it himself, or maybe it was just a blind guess, but it looked like his explanation worked, because Calvin didn't question it. I was glad because something told me that it would not be to my advantage to show any kind of weakness here.

"You think one of us took your brother," Calvin said and I nodded.

"You think that Crystal got upset with him and decided to hurt him?"

Crystal was the name of Jason's New Year's Eve date – I remembered with an effort.

"They are your people," I hedged trying to be diplomatic.

He had strange, golden eyes: They widened when I spoke.

"Are you afraid of me?" he asked out of nowhere.

"I'm not."

I have a silent, but very effective Viking with an impressive set of teeth guarding my back and I won't hesitate to use him.

Calvin fell thoughtful.

"Felton," he said suddenly, as if solving the riddle.

I didn't say anything because I didn't know what he was talking about but he had come to some sort of decision because he gave a sign for us to follow him. He led us through the village in some unknown direction.

It was dark and cold, there were no streetlights and the snow was blowing in my face: I was walking almost blindly, tripping on the uneven ground. Eric gripped my arm again and this time I was grateful because it helped me keep my balance. Of course his night vision was great which certainly helped.

We approached another cottage and Calvin knocked sharply. A younger man answered the door. He had thick eyebrows, dark, unreadable eyes and the way he was moving reminded me of a cat.

"Where is he?" Calvin asked, not beating around the bush.

The man (Felton?) shivered and he looked like he wanted to run but he didn't answer.

"Where?" Calvin asked again.

Suddenly his hand turned into a paw and he hit Felton across the face leaving parallel cuts behind. Felton dropped to his knees and I covered my mouth with my hand.

"Is he alive?" I heard Calvin asking.

My heart jumped. It was less than an hour since I learned that Jason was missing and Eric presented me with a way to solve this problem right away so even though Jason had been missing for days it didn't fully hit me how dire the situation was until then – I'd been holding onto the thought that I would find him soon and all would be well, but in that moment the fear caught up with me.

Some remote part of my brain registered Eric's hand on my shoulder, but I didn't care at the moment.

"In the shack behind the house," Felton muttered.

I spun on my heel and ran across the dark backyard. I stumbled on a pile of wood around the corner and was sure would lose my footing and fall face first and I would have if it wasn't for Eric's vampire reflexes allowing him to steady me before I hit the ground. I was so agitated that I didn't even thank him for his help, just continued running.

Calvin broke the lock and opened the door. A horrible odor hit me. When Calvin flipped on the light and I saw the inside of the shack I didn't understand what I was looking at at first.

There was a blond man lying on a blanket which was thrown carelessly on the cement floor. He had only his pants on and his skin had a strange grey and bluish hue from being cold and dirty. It was difficult to recognise him as my own brother. He was the source of the stench.

Fighting the shock I kneeled next to him and hugged him as well as I could.

"Jason," I said weakly.

He opened his eyes.

"Sookie?" his voice was full of disbelief. "Is it you? Am I saved?"

"Yes," I said.

I looked over my shoulder at Eric, desperately seeking confirmation on his face. After all, he came here to help me, so he would get me out of trouble if there was any, right?

Eric wasn't looking at me, however, he was staring intently at Jason and I found it unsettling. I turned my eyes to Calvin and I saw that he had a similar expression on his face as Eric had. His line of vision seemed to be the same too: I followed it.

There were bite-marks all over Jason's body. Many of them.

All of a sudden I realised what it meant.

"Oh no," I said quietly.

"I didn't kill him!" I heard Felton's voice coming from the outside.

"You bit him!" I cried, devastated. "Why did you do this? Why would you do this to him?"

"The only reason why Crystal liked him better than me was because he wasn't like the rest of us!"

Crystal. The girl. Felton was a jealous boyfriend?

"So you decided to turn him," Eric finished emotionlessly.

"You abducted him, you held him locked here and you bit him," I said in a voice that didn't sound like my own.

I felt a wild fury rising inside of me. I knew that I had to get out of there while I could still control myself. Nothing good would come out of releasing my anger.

"Take him to my car, please," I said stiffly.

Jason was too weak to stand on his own.

I got my wish and Jason was moved to the back seat of my car.

Calvin stopped me, "Felton will be punished," he said. "Tonight."

I nodded.

"If we handle Felton, will you call the police?"

There were so many unsaid things left in that question that I didn't even know how to start answering it. I hesitated. I could see the tension in Calvin under his deceptively neutral stance.

The supernatural world was a separate reality which was ruled by its own laws. When I had agreed to work for Eric for the first time I had made him promise to hand the humans over to the police but I had no doubts that it was the right thing to keep it secret when he had staked Long Shadow and killed the Weres that had set a trap for me in my house after returning from Jackson. Hell, I even hid a body with Alcide once so I wasn't one to point fingers. Calvin was a pack-master. He was in charge of delivering justice here and Felton was a part of this world. He had known what he'd been doing and who he would be answering to.

"I won't," I said. "I trust your judgment."

I thought about what Alcide had told me once about the bitten weres.

"Besides, Jason might be one of you now," I added fighting to keep my voice calm. "He might need you."

"I'll come for your brother when the next full moon comes," Calvin said and I knew that I was right to say what I did.

I could hate the reality of it all I wanted, but I knew that if Felton succeeded in turning Jason, Hotshot would be the place where my brother would need to look for help so I thanked Calvin. This time I didn't protest when Eric walked to the driver's side without saying a word and I just gave him the keys.

"You did the right thing," Eric said unexpectedly after we got into the car and he started the engine.

"Um, thanks, I guess," I replied awkwardly. I had no idea what to say to his comment and why he felt the need to share it with me.

I focused on Jason, anxious to learn what exactly had happened to him and how he was. He seemed more lucid, unfortunately his odour got stronger as he warmed up in the enclosed space of the car. Of course it wasn't his fault, so I decided to be a good sister and try to ignore it. I shot a nervous glance at Eric, whose sense of smell must be a dozen times stronger than mine, but his face was blank and he didn't say a word for the rest of the ride.

After we got to my house I placed Jason in the bathroom. I think he poured half of the bottle of liquid soap on himself in his need to get clean. I managed to find some fresh clothes for him (and came across a few Eric-sized articles of clothing in my drawer in the process) and gave him something to eat after tending to his injuries. Jason and I didn't have a very close relationship but in time of need I was ready to do everything within my power for him.

When I finally got him settled in a guest bedroom and wished him a good night I went back to the kitchen, only to find Eric waiting for me there.

I was surprised that he was still there. He was sitting at the table with an empty bottle of True Blood in his hand. He had to have taken it out of the fridge himself. Honestly, his apparent level of comfort in my home was a little unsettling. He seemed to be in downtime but he woke when I entered the room.

"How is your brother doing?" he asked, standing up.

I looked at him suspiciously.

"You care about my brother's well-being?"

A shadow of a smile crossed his face – not the reaction I expected.

"We already had this conversation," he explained.

Oh. Great.

"And what did we establish?"

"Your brother's well-being concerns me if it affects you."

I wasn't sure if this morally-shady and psychologically complicated statement should bother me or maybe, in case of the individual talking to me, I should see it as a very peculiar, degenerate version of being nice.

"He's better than I expected," I said, still a little wary.

Eric nodded.

"I need to meet with Pam and see what I missed while I was out of Shreveport," he told me.

"Okay."

I didn't see a problem with that.

He smoothed my hair, once again using one of those suspiciously natural, not fully conscious gestures that I found so alarming. It was really throwing me off balance.

Whatever the reason though, I had to give it to Eric – he definitely surprised me in a good way with all his help in the second part of the evening… and the fact that he didn't boast and spared me any suggestive comments. Jason was safe and my emotions calmed down as much as possible considering the circumstances. The day was ending much better than I expected.

"Thank you, Eric," I said, suddenly awfully grateful for that simple fact.

Then, not really thinking it through, I hugged him the same way I would if he was any other of my non-vampire friends.

Eric immediately hugged me back – and that was the exact moment when I realised, or more accurately felt, that what he told me had to be true.

When I stood there, stunned, in his embrace for a few seconds too long, unintentionally turning the simple hug into something more, I felt my body relaxing without any conscious thought on my part, sinking into a familiar comfort as the feeling of contentment and safety swept over me. Gosh, it felt good to be in his arms. My body's instant reaction told me that I'd done it before. Often enough for this to feel natural.

Crap.

I stepped back and walked him to the door.

"I'll be in touch," he said.

I nodded although I wasn't sure what he could possibly want to talk to me about. He leaned down and after a momentary hesitation brushed his lips against mine in a deceptively innocent way. It was yet another confusing and tender act on his part. I froze. I had no idea what all of that meant so for once in my life I sensibly decided not to say anything until I solved the mystery. I stood completely still and raised my eyes unsurely to look at Eric.

He seemed ready to go, but he paused at the threshold. He looked like he considered saying something but changed his mind so we just stood there for a while in silence. I wasn't sure what he was waiting for.

"Maybe you're right," he said finally. "Maybe this is for the best."

But, even when he already left, I couldn't shake the feeling that he sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.

Ooooh, don't worry! It's not the end - it's just Eric being his stubborn self. Cut him some slack - he had a rough night. I'm afraid they're both going to keep making mistakes for some time.

Next time: daytime. You didn't think there would be only nights it this story, did you?