I know it's been forever since I last posted chapter 16, so thank you to everyone who is still here, reading along! As always I look forward to hearing what you think! So please read and enjoy!
Sookie and I arrived at Fangtasia at quarter to twelve and waited anxiously for Alcide to show up. The vampires had spent most of the previous night making calls to try and narrow the area we would have to search. We had a list of neighbourhoods to tour. New vampires to the area had been spotted in all of them. They ranged from upscale neighbourhoods filled with manicured lawns and expensive houses to run down neighbourhoods full of abandoned warehouses and the homeless.
A large black pickup truck pulled into the otherwise empty parking lot and stopped next to our car. The man that I assumed was Alcide stepped out and my eyes widened. He was a mountain of a man, with tanned skin and a lumberjack-esque appearance. He ran a hand through his thick black hair and sighed as he approach our car.
Sookie and I stepped out of our car to meet him. A lopsided grin spread across his face at the sight of Sookie and he raised a hand in greeting.
Sookie smiled back "Hi there, Alcide. This is Alyssa," Sookie introduced us motioning to me.
Alcide turned bright eyes on me and offered me his hand. I placed mine in his, noting how in comparison to his my hands looked like a child's.
"Eric mentioned you last night. It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, Alcide," I nodded "shall we get going?"
We were on the road a moment later, Sookie squeezed in between Alcide and I.
Sookie directed Alcide to the first neighbourhood on our list. It was an old industrial area and Alcide's shiny truck looked out of place in the abandoned factory parking lot where we left it. I wondered what the chances were that someone would break into his truck in the middle of the afternoon. I didn't envy the person who tried. As a werewolf, I suspected Alcide would be able to pick up the scent of whoever did and I didn't doubt he would track them down. Supernaturals seemed to have a tendency to take the law into their own hands and punish as they saw fit.
We walked up and down the streets mostly in silence. Sookie was concentrating on the thoughts around her, though I wondered how many minds she could really pick up in an area like that. Surely there weren't that many people squatting in the empty buildings around us. Alcide's nostrils flared and he motioned for us to come to a stop. He motioned to a building on the corner of a street. It looked like it might have been an office of some sort at one point. There was a sign in the parking lot but the letters were too faded to read.
"Vampires in there," he explained.
Sookie paused for a moment then shook her head "no humans inside, there's no way to tell if it's them or not."
I pursed my lips. "We could go check it out. There's no way they're awake. We could sneak in, see if it's them, and be out without them even knowing."
Alcide shook his head and held up his hand "Not a chance. Eric said you weren't supposed to go anywhere near them. If they are the vampires you're looking for, they'll be able to smell you when they rise."
Sookie shrugged "It wouldn't matter by then, if it is them, we'll have told the boys before sundown. It'll be too late for them to do anything."
Alcide huffed, "no Sookie. It's too dangerous. Just write down the address. If we dont find them your way, let the vampires handle it."
I rolled my eyes. What was the point in us investigating if Alcide wasn't going to let us get within 100 feet of the nest?
When Alcide wouldn't budge on letting us get any closer Sookie and I gave in and agreed to check out the other areas on our list. Sookie marked down the exact building and how many vampires she could sense inside and we moved on.
The next neighbourhood was a residential area in which you would expect a family to raise a child. It was complete with a park and an elementary school.
We walked for much longer in this neighbourhood than the last, winding through the streets as Sookie listened for any signs of the nest. I felt useless, there was nothing I could do to contribute to the search. Alcide at least could smell the vampires or any potential threats. I was just there for the ride. It bothered me that there wasn't anything more useful that I could do.
It was over an hour before Sookie picked up on something related to the vampires that were supposed to be in the area. She called us to a stop outside of a brick house that seemed entirely unassuming. It had a small front porch with a wicker rocking chair. The curtains were drawn tightly closed and several of the rooms looked like they had black out curtains. Alcide took a deep breath and nodded.
"There's two people inside...a man and a woman. They own the house but they've been glamoured," Sookie paused, her head tilted to the side as she listened. "There's two vampires in there. Neither of them have a clear image in their minds of what the vampires look like though."
"Eric expected there would be more than two, that they would be gathering their nest to attack them," I reminded her.
"Maybe this isn't the nest you're looking for. We should move on," Alcide glanced up and down the street tensely.
"But what about those poor people. They're being forced to let these vampires stay in their house. We have to do something to help them," Sookie exclaimed.
I shook my head at her "There's nothing we can do today for them. Tell Eric when we get back. He's the sheriff, maybe there's something he can do," I suggested.
As much as I agreed with Sookie, there were much worse things the vampires in that house could have done. The humans were alive and going about their day rather than being buried in the woods somewhere or tied up in their basements.
Sookie looked like she wasn't going to leave for a moment before she finally heaved a sigh and nodded. We made our way back to Alcide's truck and on to the next area.
This was the nicest area, a gated community, we had to lie to the guards in order to get in. Beyond the gate, it was row after row of mini mansions. Shiny new sports cars were parked in every driveway. Alcide parked the truck along the road just out of sight of the gate and we started the trek through the streets.
Nearly a half hour had passed with nothing when suddenly Alcide tensed up and grabbed Sookie and I. "Weres" he hissed, pulling us both behind him.
Sookies eyes widened and her head snapped to the right. Several houses up, at the end of the street we were on, two men sat on a lawn. They must have caught scent of us because their heads whipped in our direction and both men stood up.
I looked up to see what Alcide wanted to do and was surprised to see his eyes flashing an unnatural yellow. His lips curled at the men in front of us and he slunk into a defensive posture.
"There are vampires in that house. Why would weres be guarding a vampire nest?" Sookie questioned, eyes narrowed at the men on the lawn.
Alcide's brows came together "I don't know."
the weres had begun to approach us, sauntering down the sidewalk.
"We don't want any trouble," Alcide called when they were within shouting distance.
The men snorted as if they didn't believe him "Sure you don't. You just go ahead and turn around then and there wont be any trouble," one of them instructed.
"Come on, let's just get out of here" I suggested, reaching forward to grab Alcide's arm.
"Oh no, little doll" the other were shook his head, even though I had barely spoken loud enough for him to hear me. "You and the blond can stay with us. Boss'll be real happy if we bring the two of you in."
"How do you know who we are?" Sookie demanded.
The weres laughed. They were slowly closing the distance between us, inching forward. They eyed Alcide cautiously, watching for any signs that he was going to make the first move. "Boss told us to keep an eye out for two pretty little humans that smelled like you two."
"Didn't think we'd find both of you waltzing right up to his doorstep though."
A low growl built up in Alcides chest "They're coming with me. You two can fuck off."
"What are you going to do to stop us? You're out numbered buddy" they taunted.
I squeezed Alcide's arm "I can help," I mumbled, hoping it was too low for the other two to hear.
Alcide glanced back at me, confused, before turning his attention back to the approaching men.
"Get back to the truck and go. I'll keep them busy as long as I can" Alcide instructed.
I opened my mouth to protest but before I could, Alcide had leapt forward. The two weres reacted instantly and jumped forward to meet him. Alcide landed a solid blow to one mans jaw, sending him staggering back.
"Sookie, run" I urged, pushing her in the direction of the truck.
Sookie looked at me, eyes wide and panicked "we can't just leave him."
I shook my head "I'll stay and help. Go get the truck and come get us" I instructed, watching Alcide try to keep both men focused on him rather than coming back to us.
Sookie hesitated another moment but she must have known she wasn't going to be able to help fight against a werewolf as she took off down the street.
One of the weres had Alcide around the neck and was landing blows to his stomach. "Get the girls" he shouted to the other.
He turned and started towards me, a creepy grin stretched across his face. "Come on, doll, lets get you inside."
"You don't know what you're messing with. You're both going to die" I threatened him, walking backwards to keep distance between us.
I wasn't strong enough to hold a person back let alone a werewolf. But if I could find something to hit him with I would be able to fight him off. I glanced around anxiously, looking for something, anything that could be a weapon.
The werewolf laughed at me, "you think so, do you? Tell me, doll, what am I messing with? All I see is a scared little girl."
my eyes finally landed on a small pile of gardening supplies. From the pile rose a shovel. It flew through the air behind him and I sent it as quickly as I could into the back of his head. He stumbled forward and spun around to face his attacker. I slammed the shovel into his face and heard his nose break.
"What the fuck?" He cursed turning again to face me. He was clutching at his nose, blood running down his chin. "How the fuck did you do that? You little bitch," he snarled.
The man's eyes flashed the same haunting yellow as Alcide's had before. But it was followed by the sound of snapping and popping as he turned into a wolf. It snarled at me, flashing long sharp white teeth and lept. Panicked, I reacted without thinking, and sent a trowel straight into the side of his neck. The wolf made a terrible howling sound and staggered to the side. Blood matted in its fur and it collapsed into someone's lawn.
I gasped, hands flying up to cover my mouth. I hadn't meant to kill him, it hadn't even been a conscious decision to attack him with the trowel. He slowly transformed into a man again, naked now, the trowel still stuck in the side of his neck.
I slowly forced myself to look away and back towards Alcide. The tides had turned and Alcide had the man on his back on the ground, delivering punch after punch to the man's face. His features were no longer distinguishable and i wondered whether Alcide would kill him just as I had killed the one who had come after me.
I had said they were both going to die but I hadn't thought it would be right then. I had imagined Godric and Eric hunting them down after we had returned.
The sound of an engine caught my attention and I spun around to identify where it was coming from, mind racing as I tried to think of how I would explain this to some random passerby. It was unnecessary though, as it was Sookie driving towards us. The truck stopped beside me and Sookie motioned urgently for me to jump in. I didn't waste any time sliding into the cab. Alcide looked up and stood when he realized we were waiting for him. He landed a final kick to the mans ribs before stalking towards us. His eyes landed on the dead body laying in the grass and he blinked at it for a moment as he processed what he was seeing.
As if it was an every day occurrence, Alcide picked up the body easily and threw it into the back of his truck, covering it up with a tarp before motioning for Sookie to move from the drivers seat.
He climbed into the truck without a word and drove out of the gated community. It wasn't until we were well out of the area that he spoke. "Northman is going to kill me" he grumbled.
"We don't have to tell him," I suggested with a hopeful smile.
It wasn't just Alcide that would be getting it when we got back. The only way we had managed to convince Eric and Godric to do this was because we promised we wouldn't get in any trouble. They would be furious that we had been attacked by werewolves. And since it was my idea, I knew Eric would blame me over Sookie. It didn't help that I knew Godric would be mad as well. It was the last thing I wanted. And although I was a somewhat shocked that I had killed someone, I couldn't help but be excited that we had found their nest.
Alcide shook his head "better we tell them than Northman finding out I tried to keep it from them. They'll be coming for you now anyway."
We stopped to pick up the car and Alcide followed us back to the nest. There had been a brief debate about whether it would be alright for Alcide to know where the nest was. But it seemed the better option considering the vampires would no doubt want a word with him. It didn't seem fair that Alcide get the brunt of their anger when all he had done was protect us. It had been my idea in the first place and Sookie had thought to bring him along with us. Despite how much danger he was likely being put in because of it, I was glad he had come along. Sookie and I would have likely been dead or held hostage if it wasn't for him.
We arrived at the house nearly two hours before sunrise but the nest was already awake and waiting for us.
They were on guard the moment we walked through the door. Fangs dropped and Eric snarled at Alcide.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing here?" Eric demanded before spinning to glare down Sookie and I, "you were instructed not to bring him back to our nest."
Godric was at my side in an instant and although I could feel the anger and tension coming off of him in waves, he cupped the side of my face gently. "I smell fear on you, little one. What trouble did you get into?" although his voice was soft and concerned, the demand was still clear under the surface.
I frowned at my feet "we found the nest," I had been trying for cheerful but it had come out as a wary question.
"Did you listen to nothing we spoke about? You weren't supposed to make contact with them!" Godric hissed.
"They had two weres guarding the property. They saw us approaching and recognized Sookie and Alyssa," Alcide informed them.
Eric growled deep in his throat, "explain."
We recounted the afternoon in turns, each supplying details we thought might be important. I did my best to stress the importance that we hadn't been hurt and had, after all, found their nest. But it did little to ease the anger of the two vampires in front of us.
"I will have your head, you stupid dog," Eric growled when we had finished, "and if you think for one second that either of you are going to have a say in the remainder of this ordeal then you are sorely mistaken."
Sookie's eyes narrowed at him and she stepped between the viking and the werewolf. Angrily, she poked him in the chest as she spoke "you listen here, Northman. Alcide saved us today. He is the only reason those were's don't have us locked up in a basement somewhere. You ought to thank him for doing such a good job and keeping us safe. Since that's what you paid him for in the first place. So you can be mad at me and Alyssa all you want but don't you dare take it out on Alcide."
Eric seemed as surprised by her reaction as I was. He stared down at her for several moments, deciding his next move. "Yes, I am very angry with you, Sookie. You could have gotten yourselves killed today rather than letting us handle it as we had planned. You still owe me a debt, Werewolf. Don't forget that. I'll let you keep your head this time. But make a mistake like this in the future and you wont be so lucky," he threatened.
"I trust we don't have to stress the importance of not telling anyone where our nest is?" Godric prompted darkly.
Alcide turned to look at Godric with narrowed eyes "no, I've got the idea. Now if we're done here, I've got other things to do."
Sookie spoke before Eric had the chance to. She turned and placed her hand gently on his arm. "Of course. Thank you Alcide. It was good to see you again."
Alcide gave a last nod to the two vampires in the room before turning on his heel and leaving. The sound of an engine starting up followed shortly after.
"You two have no idea how much danger you have put yourselves and this nest in" Godric snapped.
I had never heard Godric sound so angry. His usual even tone was gone, replaced by a sparking fury held under tight reigns. I thought we would be in for several hours of scolding and lecturing, between the two of them. But they shared a tense look and Eric nodded before turning and stalking off down the front hall.
"We have much preparing to do. They will have risen by now and know you were there. This must end tonight," Godric informed us brisquely.
I pursed my lips anxiously "what can we do?"
Godric narrowed his eyes, pinning me under a harsh glare that I felt to my bones, "you two have done quite enough. Eric, Pamela and I have much to discuss."
A moment later he had spun around and followed after Eric.