Spellbound
Surprise! Here is another chapter. I have been on a roll for the past couple of weeks. I have been trying to edit up the chapters so that I can get them posted as soon as I can. After this chapter, I have three more to go and I'll try to get them posted with the next week or so. I love the getting the reviews. They keep me writing. As always, I can't thank you guys enough for reading and reviewing.
The main characters belong to Ms. Charlaine Harris but the story idea is mine.
With the maidens walking behind them, Sookie linked arms with Andromeda as they walked out of the backdoor of the restaurant. The cold November air bit into her hard even though she was wearing her heaviest coat. She right away missed the warmth of the restaurant. As she shivered and pulled her coat tighter to her body, Sookie leaned down and planted a loving kiss on the wrinkled cheek of her friend.
"Though I didn't want to be away from home, I've enjoyed your company. It was good seeing you tonight. Thank you for calling me to you." Sookie looked down at the beautiful, old lady and smiled.
Andromeda patted Sookie's hand. "You needed to be conscious of what awaits you and your Viking tonight. You must prepare. André has set up the meeting with the board members. They will ask you and Eric questions concerning the girls and what you've learned from talking to the police. Tell them enough to keep them satisfied but no more than that. Tell them nothing of what you two saw when you went to the crime scene of Connie Babcock. They will also be discussing the matter that you had earlier today with the shifters." Pointing at the maiden to her left, she added, "Aella has made them aware of what has taken place. The head and body of Hondo is already there." She moved in closer to Sookie and said, "They have other concerns as well. The loudest one should be one of concern."
"I understand. There is also the issue that we have with …," Sookie began.
Andromeda stopped her with a lift of her hand. "In time," she said. "As I've said sweet, sweet girl, I'm always at least a mile ahead of the rest. Everything will not fall on your shoulders at once. Most things will coincide." She tightened her grip on Sookie's arm. "Now listen to me, girl. Tonight everything changes. You must prepare yourself for this. You will be seen as ruthless and merciless with your decisions. Don't cower from it. Acknowledge it. Take pleasure in it. You'll need this. You have to make them see that you and your Viking are strong. Keep him calm because things will happen to test him. He must not fail."
"I promise you, Andromeda. He won't," Sookie replied. "What do we do about André?"
"Approach him with a long handled spoon." Andromeda looked Sookie in the eyes. "He's a slick one, he is. Keep him close and watch him. He has eyes everywhere. They are always watching. He'll do anything to keep his hold on that council but he's deteriorating. His mind isn't as strong as it once was. His strengths and his powers are fading and at a rapid pace. Be wary of him and his cohorts. As I said before, he'll do anything," she repeated.
She looked at her watch as she pondered the cryptic messages of the seer. "How much time do we have before the meeting starts?"
"A couple of hours," she warned. Andromeda looked even more intensely into Sookie's eyes as she touched her belly. "Dress appropriately. Things are moving at a hurried pace. We can't have your little secret getting out before you and the Viking rule the council, now can we?"
"Okay, Andromeda. I will take to heart everything that you've warned me about. I swear to you, nothing will go unnoticed. Eric and I will be on alert. We will let nothing pass us by," Sookie answered. They soon stopped walking. She looked down at the AP and smiled. "Now, old bird, we need to get down to the serious stuff. I never thanked you."
The vampiress had a perplexed look on her face. For the first time in a long time, someone has caught her off guard. "What are you speaking of, girl?" Andromeda looked at Sookie as if she'd lost her mind.
"Godric … Stan … do those names ring a bell? My possible husbands if things didn't work out with Eric? Don't play coy with me. You know very well what I'm speaking about. The night that you sent me to the Black and White Ball was nothing more than a match making scheme you put into play for me and Eric." Smiling at Andromeda, Sookie added, "I know you, old bird. I know you very well. As you said earlier, you're always at least a mile ahead of everyone else. I take that to mean me as well."
Andromeda's face remained scrunched up and in a grimace. Though she was pretending to not know what Sookie was talking about, Sookie knew otherwise. Andromeda was playing the role of the puzzled old woman very well. She continued to stare at Sookie; saying nothing but all the while waiting for an explanation.
"You know, I was thinking that you knew the entire time that I was speaking of leaving Eric that I wouldn't. You knew good and well that I wasn't going anywhere. You used those vampires and very brilliantly I might add. Godric would be highly upset if he found out that he was nothing more than a pawn in a game of love. His ego is quite fragile."
"What about Stan?" Andromeda asked. "Aren't you concerned about his feelings? How do you think he'd feel about it?"
Sookie smiled slyly at her old friend. "He wouldn't care in the least. He was never interested me. He was only interested in antagonizing Eric. You played me and you played me very well, Andromeda; kudos to you."
Andromeda waved off Sookie's observation. "You speak such preposterous twaddle. I haven't an inkling of what you're talking about." The corner of her mouth threatened to twitch into a smile.
"Thank you just the same," Sookie repeated.
"I knew love once and it was a beautiful thing. One shouldn't be so willing to give up on it. I hated to see you and the Viking suffering so. I was sorry to hear that Fintan had intentionally set out to devastate someone he purportedly loved. In the end, he was the one to fall at the end of his own sword. That Fintan always has a plan, does he not?" Her blind eyes peered deeply into Sookie's.
The image of Adele ran through her mind as Sookie inhaled the cool November night air and smiled up at the night sky. "I guess I'll be going. I've been away from Eric long enough. May I trouble you with another question?"
"Proceed," Andromeda ordered.
"This yearning for him, this need to always be with him, is this permanent? Will I always feel this pull when I'm away from him?" Blushing, she added, "Eric is my first everything. All of this is new to me. I've never been through this before. It's beautiful, yet agonizing. I've been away from him no more than two hours and it feels as if I've been away from him for days."
"It's in its early stages; the bond, the interlacing of the souls. As time goes on, it'll ease up but it'll never go away. He's your life mate. You two will always have an uncontrollable longing to be close to one another. You two will need each other for always. There is no in between. Your destinies have been written in stone." She patted Sookie's hand once again. "You get on home now and prepare yourself for tonight's events. Be swift with your justice and retribution will follow. This event will set you and the Viking on the path of the missing fae girls."
The maidens surrounded the faery and the vampire as to conceal Sookie so that she and her guards could safely transport home.
Before leaving, Sookie decided to tell the seer what she's always wanted to tell her but was never given the chance. Andromeda would never let her say it. She believed that it was not possible for anyone to feel anything for her. She was a commodity and nothing more. She was a freak of nature and no longer a Greek goddess. She wasn't worthy of being worshiped. She was a monster that stayed hidden from the rest of the world. No one could care for a monster.
"Good night, ladies," she said to the maidens. Taking the chance, Sookie said it as slowly and as lovingly as possible. To Andromeda, she said, "I do love you, Andromeda. I really do love you … always." She blew her friend a kiss and gave her a smile.
Andromeda's wrinkled hand immediately went to her chest. She hadn't heard those words said to her name in over three thousand years. When Sookie popped away, the former goddess was staring at the spot where Sookie once stood. She was happy and she was smiling.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
When Sookie popped herself home, Eric was in the middle of a meeting with his vampires. As she walked down the hall, she hung her coat on the coat rack and walked quickly to where he was. When she reached his office door, she faintly closed down the bond as not to disturb him as she admired him. He looked absolutely glorious and in complete control. She had to stifle a giggle as a stray thought entered her mind.
If he hadn't been the all powerful Eric Northman, there was no way Gran would have wanted her with him. He was every parent's nightmare. Their worst dreams come true. He looked like the bad boy that all good girls were warned about. He was the bad boy that all good girls wanted. He corrupted them and with much pleasure. Those cool smoldering blue eyes, the sneaky smile, and those broad shoulders; yeah. He was the one bad one alright. And the bad ones were always so good.
She tilted her head to the side and admired him. His broad shoulders looked massive in his turquoise v-neck sweater. His butt never looked as tasty as it did at that very second in those tight black jeans. The very sight of him had her blood racing and her lady parts throbbing. Her scent was what finally broke his concentration. He looked at her as soon as she'd fully opened the bond. She gave him an innocent wave from the doorway as she seductively bit her bottom lip.
"The meeting's over," he loudly announced as she walked into the room. Because they weren't moving fast enough, Eric barked his order a little louder and with a little more bite. "Everyone get out. Be at André's compound within two hours."
Before the last vampire was gone, Eric swept Sookie off of her feet and kissed her passionately. He kissed her as if she'd been gone for longer than two hours. The intensity and the taste of his mouth made her feel wanted, loved and needed. She moaned softly and wrapped her arms around his neck. She whispered his name against his lips.
"Eric."
"I missed …," he began but he wasn't allowed to finish his sentence. Sookie demanded more of his mouth. She continued to kiss him lightly, softly until she finally decided to break the kiss.
"Andromeda called you?" she finally asked. Her voice and her face were both flushed from that one kiss. Her lips continued to brush every so lightly against his.
"She did." He tried putting her down but she wouldn't let him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and tightened her arms around his neck.
"No," she whispered as she nibbled at his ear. "You want me, Eric. You want to claim me before we go the compound. You want to claim me." She bit into his earlobe hard enough to draw blood. She sucked the sweet nectar down until the wound closed. "You want me," she repeated.
He held Sookie closer to his body. He breathed in her sweet scent. Her heart was racing. Her breathing was fast and low. He slid his hand underneath the back of her dress and caressed her warm skin.
She melted into his embrace as she played with his hair. As she twisted a strand of his hair around her little finger, she said, "I want you to bite me and fuck me."
Those words drove him to distraction. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and jerked her head back. He let his fangs scrape along her neck. He could smell the sweet faery blood as it flowed through her veins. He sniffed and licked at her sun kissed skin. She moaned at the thought of him feeding from her.
"Feed from me, baby," she begged. She rubbed herself against the hardness in his jeans. "I'm yours. Everything that I am belongs to you … blood, body, and soul." She then grabbed a fistful of his hair and forced him to look into her eyes. "Take what belongs to you," she growled at him. She then leaned her head back and waited for the impending bite.
Eric reared his head back and bit into her neck. Just as he bit, she ripped his pants from his body and pulled her panties to the side. She inserted him inside of her. He pressed her body against the wall as he fucked and fed from her. She opened her legs wider as he pounded inside of her over and over again. She held in his head in place as he pulled the blood from within her.
"Yes, baby," she screamed. Her legs were soon tightening around his waist as she was about to reach her moment. She gripped his ass and tried forcing him closer into her. He did all that he could to oblige.
"Ohhhhhh, Sookie," he said as he threw his head back; her blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
As they came together, her glow enveloped them. Her breathing was labored as she rested her head on his shoulder. He supported their weight with the help of the wall. A sudden sense of overwhelming need washed over him. He buried his face into her hair and groaned. In his thousand plus years, Sookie was the only woman to ever make him lose complete control. His entire body ached and throbbed for her. The very idea that his wife could be taken from him or called away for long periods of time at a moment's notice, terrified him to no end. His very life would stop.
Sookie could feel his anguish as it filled the bond. She wanted to know what was going on in his mind but she wouldn't invade his private thoughts. She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked into his eyes.
With her hands cupping his face, she asked, "Baby, what's wrong? Is it Antony? Don't worry about him. I swear to you, nothing happened last night. I would never betray you or our love in such a manner." He dropped his head again and again she lifted it. "Look at me. Tell me what's wrong."
He rested his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes and inhaled. "It's you, my lover. It's always you."
Her bottom lip began to tremble. Fear filled her. He wanted out. He once believed that this is the life that he wanted but he's changed his mind. This was more than what he'd bargained for and he couldn't do it. What vampire wants to be saddled down with a faery princess for a wife and a child?
She swallowed deeply before responding to his statement. "Do you want out? Is that it?" she whispered; almost choking on her tears.
Eric froze as he looked at her. "Never speak such hateful words again," he said as he kissed her. "You've given me life. You've given me love. You're everything to me. My joy, my laughter, my pain, and my fear but most of all, my lover, you are my weakness. You will be the death of me."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "As you are mine."
The lovers remained connected for a few more minutes before preparing for the council meeting. "We have to get ready," Sookie replied.
"Let's go," Eric said. He held Sookie in his arms and carried her to their bathroom and to shower. Once he put her down, he turned the shower on and retrieved their towels from the linen closet.
"Will Sal be joining us tonight? It would be nice to see him."
As Eric stripped off his clothes, he nodded his head. "They all will be there. Your favorite were-tiger is in New Orleans tonight. He's not going to be at the meeting but he will be around. He called when he got into town. He said that he couldn't wait to see his sister."
"Yay," she said. "That is so good. Are you going to let him call me Sookie?"
Eric looked up at the ceiling before answering her. "No," he finally said.
She laughed as she began pulling her dress over her head. She soon began telling Eric about the events that during the night. Needless to say, Eric couldn't hear most of what she was saying. Her voice was muffled because of the dress.
He chuckled. "I couldn't understand you, lover. Would you mind repeating that?" he asked as she threw his shirt n the clothes hamper.
She giggled. "Sorry about that," she said. With her back turned to him, she started over. As she unclasped her bra, she restarted her statement. "Last night, something happened. It happened during your daytime rest. It was surprising to me because I'd never seen it happen before. I called Dr. Ludwig while I waited for Andromeda to rise. When I told her what happened, she was just as surprised as I was. She'd never heard of it either. Andromeda said that it was inevitable. She said that it's the faery in me. She said that it would've happened sooner if we had been smarter. We're behind schedule. I laughed at her and told her that I was glad that it finally happened. It's great." She shook her head as she giggled. "I guess stranger things have happened. Faeries are funny creatures, you know."
Eric immediately began thinking the worst. His thoughts went directly to the male faery that wants his wife. He'd done something to her and she doesn't know what it is. The possibility that the faery had some type of hold over her came into his mind. Being close to her could have caused some type of connection to take place between them and nothing could stop it. Anger and jealousy filled the bond once again.
"I'll fucking kill him. I will rip his head from his fucking body and …."
Glancing over her shoulder, she looked at Eric and frowned. "Antony did nothing to me … not in the way you're thinking. You know me better than that." She turned around to face him as she put her hair in a bun.
When he looked at her, the anger and jealousy was gone in an instant. Eric stood stock still in the middle of the floor. His eyes were wide and his mouth agape. "To the gods," he whispered.