Spellbound
I'm glad that you all enjoyed the last chapter. Thank you so much for your time and your reviews. I especially want to thank you all for reading the story. You guys are the greatest.
I received several messages that I've made Eric completely unstable when it comes to Sookie. In their opinion, Eric has never lost control when it comes to Sookie. I beg to differ.
In the book with Charles Twining, he dropped everything that he was doing and came to Merlotte's to save her, to warn her about the vampire. In the book 'Dead in the Family', Eric has lost control before but it was in the privacy of his own home. When those vampires came to kill Sookie and Pam, he called Pam and he was extremely upset when he thought that something had happened to Sookie. He called Pam and he was going to storm out of his house and come to save Sookie. The only reason he didn't act on his emotions was because Pam reasoned with him. He listened to her and realized that she was right. Even Pam said that when it comes to Sookie, Eric loses all control. She said that to Sookie. So those of you that have said that I've changed Eric's character need to reread the books. When it comes to Sookie, Eric hasn't always been Mr. Cool, Calm, and Collected.
The characters belong to Charlaine Harris but the story is mine.
"Eric, no!"
A flash of light filled the living room and suddenly, Antony was gone. Sookie was standing in the doorway while Eric was standing in the middle of the living room alone; mouth agape, fangs down, and his hands empty. He looked around the room to make sure that his prey was gone. He wanted the faery dead. He wanted to taste his blood. Anger and jealousy fueled him. He blurred through the room like a Viking hurricane and destroyed everything in his path.
"Antony!" Eric roared as he searched the room. The reflection of the smirking faery's face appeared in his mind. "Where in the fuck are you!" he yelled. "I'm going to fucking kill you!"
"Eric," Sookie whispered.
He never heard her. He continued to storm through the room. He could only think that the faery wanted his wife. How dare he believe that only he can comfort her! If the faery hadn't vanished, he would surely be dead. Extreme emotions of protectiveness and fury continued to fill him. Murder and revenge were the only thoughts in his mind.
Sookie placed her hand to her chest. She's never known for Eric to feel such strong emotions before. He's always so cool and composed. He's never shown his emotions so openly; not even at home. Even though she's fae, she wasn't prepared for them. They were almost as strong as she was. She needed to calm him and she needed to calm him soon.
Using her hand to steady herself in the doorway, she called out to him again. "Eric, look at me." She spoke louder but still in a soft and loving voice. "Please, baby, look at me."
He finally heard her. He stopped his whirlwind of destruction and looked in the direction of the doorway. His fangs were still drawn, his hands were still clawed and he was ready to kill. He looked like the murderous vampire that he has always been. And yet, there she stood. He expected her to run from him; to fear him. She's never seen him act in that manner before but she didn't run. She didn't fear him. Her heartbeat was steady and eyes were just as loving as they were before.
As he watched her, he very slowly began to calm down. All he could think was that it's her. It's always been her. He needed and wanted her. He almost lost her once. There was no way that was ever going to happen again.
He stood tall and stared into her eyes. "You're mine," he whispered.
Never hesitating, she walked towards him and nodded. "Yes, baby, I'm yours. I've always been yours." She stopped at the crumbled coffee table and looked at it. She then looked up at him. "I love what you've done to the room."
The corner of his mouth twitched but no smile formed.
She then opened her arms and said to him, "Come to me."
Within seconds, he engulfed her in his arms. Her legs swung beneath them as he held her. He rested his head on her shoulder while she lovingly stroked him head. Calm immediately washed through him. His emotions were no longer getting the better of him. A soft smile appeared on his lips as she gently kissed his nose. Unadulterated love and total contentment passed between them. The cold murderous vampire was gone. The loving husband from earlier tonight had returned.
"And I didn't even have to use my magic on you," she said jokingly.
"Yeah, you did."
She hugged him tighter.
With his face buried in her hair, he said, "I'm not going to lose you. I've made mistakes in my past and …"
"Hush," she said.
He wouldn't. "But I …," he tried to say again.
"Hush," she repeated. "We're leaving the past where it belongs. It doesn't matter anymore. Right here, right now; this is our future" She kissed his nose once more. "Carry me to our room and tell me what happened."
Eric nodded and did as his wife requested. Once they were secured safely in their bedroom and with Sookie sitting on his lap, Eric began replaying the conversation that he'd had with the almost dead Antony and the more he talked, the angrier he became. "He said that I have no true connection to you because I'm not fae. He said that I am of no comfort to you; not as he is. He spoke as if he is meant for you … as if he is your fated one."
"You are the one for me," she confirmed. "The very first time I saw you, I knew that you were the one. You will always be the one. He doesn't matter."
"But he does. He angered me, my lover and I let that anger get the best of me." A sad and disparaging look appeared in his eyes. He almost looked ashamed. "If anyone finds out …"
"I'll never tell."
He smiled at her. She didn't give him the chance to tell her that he wasn't talking about losing his cool with Antony. He couldn't care less if anyone found out that he was going to kill the faery. His concern was that the faery saw it. They'll all see it. They'll discover that she is his weakness. He's never wanted to want anyone. He's never wanted to need anyone. That was not how it's supposed to be. He's not supposed to need her or anyone else.
"Sookie, you don't understand. If anyone knows …"
She placed her finger to his lips. "Don't worry about it. He deserved it for talking to you the way that he did. It's just a good thing that you didn't kill him." She smiled again. "It's okay."
He needlessly sighed. "Do you forgive me?"
"Oh, Eric," she said. She lightly kissed him. "There's nothing to forgive. Do you think I'd not behave in such a manner if someone had spoken such hateful and vile words to me? You did nothing wrong but I feel that I do have to clear some things up with you. Some of things that Antony said are true. We, the fae, have our ways. We're drawn to our kind. There's nothing that we can do about it. It is in the blood."
As she talked, he frowned. Eric's eyes went flat and were emotionless. He was doing everything in his power to remain calm. He even had a stiff smile on his face.
"That's how it is for our people. When we suffer tragedy, it's easier for us to heal when we're with our own kind but listen to me, my dearest love. Antony was wrong about me. I'm not like the others. I'm a Northman. I can't get the comfort that I need from him or any other fae. You are my fated. I am connected to you. My heart and soul are a part of you. We are one, Eric. All of my comforts, all of my happiness, all of my love; everything that I am, is wrapped up in you." She took his face in her hands and said, "I love you."
Eric's mind and body were calm once again. He decided to say what he was going to say earlier but in a different way. "It would be impossible for me to live without you."
Sookie let out a heavy sigh as she rested her head on his chest. "You won't have to because I'm not going anywhere."
"I wanted to kill him."
Sookie giggled. "Like you wanted to kill Quinn?" she asked.
Eric shook his head as he chuckled. "No, this was different. Quinn's a friend of mine. We've always had a hate/hate relationship." He shrugged. "He's my friend but Antony, I wanted to kill him. I wanted to see the life drain from his eyes. I wanted him dead."
"I could feel it. That's what made me come back downstairs. You can't go around killing faeries because they make you angry. You are my vampire husband. I am your faery wife. If you had killed him it would have been ugly for us. You can't do that. You have to remember that he is of no consequence to us."
"He insulted our relationship."
She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "I can send him away. We'll never have to see him again. I can have him banned from this realm forever. What good is it to be a princess if I can't use my power against the little people?" She winked at him. Turning serious, she said, "Just say the word, baby, and he is gone."
"No," he replied. "We need to keep him close. We need to watch him."
"Are you sure? I don't want you doubting me when he's around. There are other fae guards that we can use. I can call Colman …" she started.
"No," he repeated. "I want him here."
"But not to kill him?" she asked before resting her head back onto his chest. "I'm responsible for him. I'll take care of him."
Eric pretended to be thinking. When Sookie playfully punched him, he answered. "I won't kill him but we need to keep him close."
Sookie knew that 'we' really was supposed to be an 'I'. "Okay, that's the plan."
"What if he deserves it? Can I kill him then?"
"Eric," she said. "You can't decide if he deserves it. You'll kill him for the slightest reason. I'll handle him. Faery punishments are handled by the faeries. And whatever punishment he receives, I will hand down."
"Where did you send him?"
"To Claudette's," Sookie answered. "He knows to stay there with her until I send for him. I'll talk to him about the way he spoke to you." She frowned as she fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. Innocently, she asked, "Do you think he provoked you on purpose? Do you think he wanted to get under your skin?"
Eric nodded. "I do. You should've seen the look on his face when he said that he is the only one of the two of us that can give you what you need. Yes, lover. He provoked me. He wanted me to kill him."
"I see," she said as she nodded her head slowly.
"I should've handled myself better. I am a vampire and I lost control."
"It's okay and do you know what? We're not going to dwell on it." She lifted her head from his chest and smiled. "Wanna take a hot soak before it's time for us to turn in? It will do us both some good. We need to relax after the night we've had."
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Yeah," she answered. "You go and run the bath water and I'll be right behind you." She kissed him before standing up from his lap. She looked over at the bedside table and said, "We only have two hours left."
Instead of walking in the direction of the bathroom, she walked the other way. He had a puzzled look on his face. "You're not coming with me?"
Sookie shook her head no. "Not just yet. I need to call Claudette and let her know why Antony's at her house. If she's not there, she's going to be pissed to find him sitting in her living room when she gets home. She's not very nice when it comes to unannounced guests."
Eric stood up from the bed. "Do you want oils or bubbles?"
"Bubbles," she called out. She would've preferred oils but she knows that Eric likes the bubbles. He's always liked the bubbles. He pretends that he's neutral but he's loves the bubbles.
Once he was gone to prepare their bath, Sookie called Claudette. She answered on the first ring.
"Why the fuck is Antony in my guest room? Do you realize what my boyfriend would have thought if he'd not been here when that fucker popped into my house? The idiot was smiling when he got here. I didn't find it comical at all. I almost killed him," Claudette said. And from the way that she sounded, Sookie knew that she would have.
Sookie's eyes widened. "Boyfriend? You have a boyfriend now? Hmmm; the clues are dwindling down. I now know that it's not a woman. Is he human?"
"Don't try and change the subject. Why is he here, Sookie? You only send faeries to me when …" She didn't finish the sentence. "Tomorrow?"
"I have a meeting with some local shifters. They want to discuss something of extreme importance. They had Sam call me and set up a meeting. They want me and Eric to stand before the council for them for some unknown reason. I shouldn't be there too long but as soon as I'm done there, I'll come to you. I need for you to find out what you can from him. I've learned some things from him while his guard was down but it would be helpful if you could see if he's hiding anything else."
"Sure," Claudette answered. "Do you need me with you tomorrow when you meet with the shifters?"
Sookie shook her head. "I need for you to keep Antony. Carson and Bella will be with me at the meeting."
Claudette nodded and said okay. "Does Eric know why you sent Antony here?"
"No."
"Are you going to tell him?"
"Yes but afterwards," Sookie replied. "We have too much going on for him to worry about this. Tonight was pretty bad. If I hadn't appeared when I did, Eric would have killed him. Antony provoked him, Claudette and he did it on purpose."
"Shit," she whispered.
"I know. I have to handle this quietly."
"Fuck. It's a good thing you sent him here then. What did you learn?"
Being vague, Sookie said, "I know that he was sent here. He has an agenda. That's why you have to keep him with you. It's the reason Carson and Bella will be with me when I visit you tomorrow but cloaked. They have to be the witnesses to what he says."
"I understand. It's a shame. He was pretty good tonight with Pam and Sal. He held his own. I could see him moving up in the ranks." She looked in the direction of the guest room and said, "Damn."
"We can't trust him, Claudette and if we can't trust him, we can't use him. He won't stand with us. He'll do anything that he can to destroy our union."
Sookie could almost see her cousin frowning. "What do you mean? What exactly happened tonight?"
"After tomorrow, you will see." The subject was quickly changed. "How's Claudine?"
"She's doing great. It's almost time for her to have the baby. She said that the essence is very strong."
Sookie smiled. "I'm so excited for her. Be sure to call me when it's time. I don't care what I'm doing, I want to be there. Deal?"
"Deal."
"Did Pam fill in you on what's going on?"
"Yes but I can't talk right now."
Her boyfriend must have been standing nearby. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow as soon as the meeting with the shifters is over. And tell your boyfriend that I can't wait to meet him." With a smirk on her face, she added, "Is he good … at handling you?"
Claudette's voice softened. "I'm not telling you that."
Sookie couldn't believe her ears. Claudette was never one to shy away from sex talk. She has to be in love. "Are you blushing? Oh my God. You're blushing." Whispering, she asked, "Is he right there with you? Is that why you won't tell me? I'll bet he's right there with you."
"Good-bye, Sookie."
"You're in love, aren't you?"
Sookie didn't hear Claudette's answer. All she heard was the dial tone.
"Are you ready?" Eric called from behind her.
She turned around to see Eric standing in the doorway of the bathroom; butt naked and waiting on her. As she walked to her husband, she pulled her sweater over head and stepped out her jeans and panties once she reached the door. Sookie got in the tub first. Eric got in and sat between her legs and rested his body against her warm and welcoming breasts.
"Nice," she said as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
"Very."
"I love you so much, Mr. Northman."
"I love to hear you say that, Mrs. Northman."
"Well, let me say it again. I love you."
Eric sighed as he settled deeper into the water. "I almost killed him."
"I know," she whispered. "It's my fault."
He glanced at her over his shoulder. "How so?"
"When you came home tonight, I could feel your jealousy. I never should've left you alone with him. I certainly didn't expect him to talk to you the way he did. I should've used better judgment."
"You can't blame yourself for my actions. I almost killed him. If I'd killed him, I would've lost you. Again, another careless mistake on my part," he added.
She rested her cheek against his head. "You stop that. You didn't and you didn't."
"I'm a vampire and I'm possessive. I'm extremely possessive."
"I'm a faery and I'm possessive. I'm extremely possessive." She draped her arms over his shoulders. "It's our nature. What's ours is ours. That's the way it is but don't fret, my love. I'll take care of everything. I'll keep him close as you've requested. If you believe that he intentionally provoked you, he knew what he was doing. He understands that you don't wholly know our ways. What he did was unforgiveable and I promise you, after tonight, everything will be fine."
Eric chuckled. "What are you going to do … take his glitter dust away from him?"
"Ha, ha," Sookie said as she nudged him in the back. "We don't have glitter dust. Pixies have glitter dust, jackass."
As she wrapped her arms tighter around him, he asked, "How are Claudette and her new boyfriend?"
Sookie looked at the top of her husband's head. "You know about him?"
"I do."
"And you didn't tell me?" Sookie's voice went up an octave.
"I did not."
"Are you serious? Tell me. Who is he? What's he like?"
"I can't tell you."
"Eric Northman," she whispered. "Stop playing. Tell me."
"I promised that I wouldn't."
Sookie gasped. "No!"
"She'll tell you in time. She wants to be the one to tell you."
She wanted to argue and voice her concerns; though she had none. She sighed and rested her chin on Eric's shoulder. "Okay. I'll wait."
The lovers sat in silence and held each other for a few minutes longer before it was time for them to end their night. "Sun's coming," Eric said.
Sookie pouted. "No. I don't want this to be over yet."
Eric leaned back and kissed her. "I'd stay in here with you all day if I could."
"I know." She kissed his wet shoulder and repeated her earlier statement. "I know." She then pushed him and said, "Move. Let's get you in bed before you melt."
He laughed as he got out. "Melt? Do you know nothing about my people? We don't melt, Sookie. We burn. The sun burns us."
"And we don't have glitter dust."
He filled the bathroom with laughter as he offered her his hand and helped her out of the tub.
Once they were dried off and in bed, the lovers spooned with Sookie holding Eric. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and rested her head on his. "You need to get to sleep."
He snuggled in her arms. "I love you."
"I know."
"And you love me."
"Since the first day we met."
"Tell me," he said. "Send me to my daytime rest with the story of how we first met. I think that the baby would love to hear it."
Sookie giggled. "The baby, huh? I guess I'll tell both of my babies the love story of Eric and Sookie. Are you ready?"
"Not quite," he said.
He removed himself from Sookie's arms and rolled her over on her back. He then rested his head on her stomach. He wrapped his arms around her waist and closed his eyes. He could now hear both of the heartbeats of the two loves of his life.
"Now, I'm ready."
She tenderly smiled down at him and began stroking his head. "Once upon a time, there was a vampire and a fae. Though, they came from two different worlds, they were destined to meet and become the loves of each other's lives. The first time she saw him, he was standing at the bottom of the glass staircase looking up at her. Right then and there, she knew that he was the one."
"How did she know?"
"His eyes told her. She was supposed to wait for the prince to introduce her to the vampire but she couldn't wait. She walked down those stairs with her eyes holding his. She knew right away that her life would never be the same. She was …"
The sun had taken him under in only minutes. She easily placed her husband on his side of the bed and watched his sleeping face as one thought ran through her mind. She wasn't thinking about the police station or the crime scene. She wasn't thinking about the part fae girls. She was thinking about Antony. Antony was preoccupying her mind. He believed that he was so smart but tomorrow he was going to find out differently. Tomorrow was going to be an entirely new day for him. No one was going to get away with trying to tear her and Eric apart. This was their life; hot soaks, kisses and love stories. They've worked too hard to get to this point and no one, no one, was going to end what took them so long to rebuild.
She'd kill them first.