A/N: I have a question for my readers, would you be interested in an Eric POV for this story? I was thinking of switching back and fourth but i've already done the first few just Sookie, Let me know what you think!

When I'm finally finished packing, I've calmed down a little so my walk downstairs might still have a stomp to it but it's much less pronounced than before. I've decided to look at this as an adventure, instead of the forced imprisonment that it is. When I get down the stairs Gran is still in her room packing so it's just Eric and I. I can't look him in the eye because of how I acted just a few minutes before and that little interaction we had on the side of Merlotte's. Apparently, he had no such compunction.

"Sookie, I promise, this is for the best. I only want to keep you safe."

"I know Eric, I wasn't mad at you, I'm just mad at the situation and the psycho that's making me run away from my home."

"It will not be long min stjärna, I already have people on it. We'll catch him in no time. I promise you'll be back here safe and sound soon."

Eric walks up to me and pushes a strand of hair that must have fallen out of my ponytail behind my ear then uses his hand to cup my face. I look up at him and slightly lean my head into his hand. I hear him mumble my name so low I don't even think he consciously knows he's saying it as he leans his head down, closer to mine. I stand on my toes to get closer to him and our lips meet.

This kiss is different from the other ones, it's soft, intimate. There's still passion in it but it's not the desperate, passion-filled kiss from last night or the possessive one from earlier. No, this kiss feels real. It also feels dangerous because I know I could fall for this man and fall hard if I'm not careful. Eric pulls away and I stare at him dazedly for a few seconds, wondering why he stopped. Just when I'm about to voice my question, Gran comes out of the room, dragging her bag. Oh, that's why he stopped kissing me, I start to walk over to help her but Eric uses his vamp speed to get there first.

"Adele, while I was waiting for you two lovely ladies to pack, I took a look around your bookshelves. I have a feeling you'll be quite pleased with the selection I have in my study."

"You don't have to try to talk me into going with you Mr. Northman, I'm quite looking forward to this, I'm due for a vacation," Gran says happily. I want to roll my eyes but refrain. How can Gran be excited about going into hiding and running away from our home?

"I hope you two are hungry, since Sookie and I weren't able to make our reservations for tonight, I ordered food for us, it'll be there when we get home."

My stomach lets out a timely growl and Eric smirked. "Yeah, I guess I am hungry, actually."

"Good, it will be there waiting for us, I called my Dayman and told him to get everything two human women would need for a few nights. When you guys get up tomorrow, you can make a list of anything he might have missed. Along with my vast selection of books, I also have a pool and a decent entertainment system with more movies than I know what to do with. I know this is not ideal for you, but it won't be long. Now that we know he's done this before, I'll get my private investigator on it to find crimes similar to this in towns around the state. Is there anyone who's been new to town in the last few years?"

"A few but I know all their voices, it just doesn't make sense to me."

"We'll figure it out, Sookie" Gran says as she puts her hand on my shoulder.

"Yes, you won't be away from your house for more than a few days. Are you ladies ready? I'm sure you'd like to get settled in sooner rather than later, right?"

Gran opens her mouth to say more but there's a knock on the door that interrupts her. Eric goes to answer it when I stop him and go to the door myself. Cheese and rise, that man is full of himself. When I open the door, there's this handsome man who has dark hair and dark eyes, that I've never seen before. He's clearly a vampire if his glow means anything.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"Hello Ma'am, my name is Bill Compton. I'm new to the neighborhood and I thought it'd be neighborly of me to introduce myself."

"It's mighty nice to meet you, Bill. Wait, Compton, like the Compton home right on the other side of the graveyard?"

"Yes, I built the house with my own two hands, that was a few lifetimes ago though." I open my mouth to respond but Eric comes up behind me.

"Bill Compton, what's the queen's procurer doing in my neck of the woods?"

"Eric? What are you doing here, with Miss Stackhouse?"

"Compton, I'm the one that asks the questions, you forget your place. You didn't come down to Fangtasia, you know the rules when coming into my territory."

"I'm sorry, Sheriff. I just got into town tonight. I was planning on coming tomorrow. I just wanted to let my neighbors know that a vampire is moving into town. I see now that wasn't necessary because they are already acquainted with you."

I'm definatly picking up on the tension between the two and really want to ask what a procurer is but I figure it's best if I hold my tongue until Bill is gone. Gran moves around Eric to get a look at Bill for herself but she's picking up on the tension just as much as I am, so she's weary. I look back at Bill and decide it's time for him to go.

"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Compton but I'm afraid we're going out of town for a while. I'm sure we'll get to know you better when we get back."

"Oh, yes, of course, Miss Stackhouse. It was lovely meeting you." He tries to grab my hand, I assume for a shake or to kiss it, but it's in the barrier, so he can't. Instead, he just nods his head and vamps away.

"Okay, I'm going to have to know what all that was about because I don't think it was just some male possessive bullshit."

"Sookie Stackhouse, watch your language!"

"Sorry, Gran."

"As I was saying before the interruption Eric, you're probably right, I'm already tired, this is a lot of excitement for one night. On nights Sookie doesn't work, I'm usually asleep by ten." Gran says.

"No problem, Adele. We'll be at my house in less than an hour." He says as he leads us to the car.

The ride is quiet, Eric is obviously lost in thought and Gran is definatly tired. When we pull up to his house it isn't what I expect. I thought I'd see either a huge mansion or something super fancy. I don't really know why I thought that, but I did. Either way, that's not what I see. It's a nice home in an upper middle-class development. The lawn is kept clean and there isn't anything to distinguish it from any of the other houses in the development.

"Not quite where you expected me to live?" He asks and I realize I'm staring.

"No, honestly."

"This is only one of my homes but it is where I stay most often nowadays. I have homes much more suited to my tastes but this house is meant to be indistinguishable, just one among the many. I like my privacy. In fact, only three people know this is where I usually reside. Well, five now, I suppose."

At least that means I don't have to worry about seeing a bunch of his one-night stands parading in and out of here. Try as I might, I can't help but to be getting attached to him and feel hurt at the thought of him being with other people.

"I get the feeling you don't like Mr. Compton much, why?" I ask to get my mind off that train of thought.

"I don't like or dislike him, it's his profession and the fact that he moved right next door to you that I have a problem with."

"What do you mean?"

"He is, or at least was the queen's procurer. His whole job is to attain things the queen wants."

"Queen? As in the vampire queen?" At his nod, I continue, "Queen of what, America?"

"No, Louisiana." I have to use all the restraint I've learned over the years of hearing people's thoughts not to laugh at the thought of a queen of our state and I only just manage.

"Okay, what type of things does she usually want?"

"People." He says simply as he opens the front door to his house. I can tell Gran is just as nonplussed, today's word of the day, as I am at that statement so neither of us knows how to react.

"What type of people? Like specific blood types?"

"Sometimes but for Queen Sophie Ann, she likes the unusual. Things that are uncommon that the other monarchies don't have. Let me ask you this, is there anyone that knows you're a telepath that might talk? Because any monarchy would love to have a telepath."

"But I can't even hear vampires! What good would I do for them?"

"Humans are important for vampires, they're our sustenance. We need to trust them to do our work during the day, and some keep them as pets. There's a lot one can learn about a vampire by listening to the humans around them."

"Pets?" I ask indignantly, humans are not pets. Gran is just listening calmly. She's taking this information a lot better than I am, apparently.

"I can see how it might sound bad from your perspective, I suppose. Pet is just a term we use. They are a human that a vampire keeps close for their nutritional and carnal needs. Most of the time the pet is treated well and taken care of. They are free to leave whenever they want."

"It's a terrible term," I say.

He shrugs nonchalantly, "I don't keep pets, myself. Now, is there anyone that knows of your gift? Who might have said something to a vampire?"

"Well, I didn't always have my shields. The first 17 years of my life I heard every thought that every person around me had. I'd answer questions that weren't asked. I'd get overwhelmed and have a breakdown. I'd accidentally spill other people's secrets. So yes people around town know about it, but they like to pretend it's not real. It's easier for them to just believe I'm crazy and leave it at that. Plus, most people in my town are racist against vampires, I doubt it would have come from them."

"I agree, besides Eric, you're the first vampire that's come into our town anyway."

"Okay, what about family?" Eric asks.

"No, Gran and Jason are the only family we have." I say.

"Well, there is Hadley but we haven't heard from her in years." Gran chimes in looking a little sad, like she always does when Hadley comes up in conversation.

It's strange, seeing every muscle in Eric's body go still. I knew he could fly, I knew he was super strong, and I've seen him use vamp speed but it's only right now that he really feels like the predator he is. I feel the danger.

"Hadley?"

"Yeah, my cousin. She dropped off the face of the planet a few years back after she stole a bunch of money from Gran."

Eric drops the bags that he was holding and starts to pace. After a few seconds, he starts speaking in what I think is a Scandinavian language, maybe his original dialect. It's clear he's angry though, and I'd bet dollars to doughnuts he's cursing up a storm too. After a full minute of Gran and I just watching him, he stops and looks me in the eye.

"Sookie, this changes things. I know where she is, I saw her a month ago sitting on the floor by the queen's feet. She's Sophie Ann's favorite pet. This means that the queen wants you, Sookie. She sent Bill here to take you back to her."

"What? What does that mean? Wait, is Hadley okay? We were scared she OD'd and was dead."

"When I went to see the queen for our quarterly Sheriff's meeting, Hadley was well. The Queen takes good care of her pets. She lives in luxury."

I get very mad when I come to the realization that Hadley must have sold me out. She told the queen about her crazy cousin to gain favor or something. I can't see any other reason she would talk about me, Hadley hates me and always has, so it's not like she has some favorite memory of us hanging out together. She hated that I heard her thoughts so I knew all the bad things she did,all the lies she told, all the things she stole, and all the guys she slept with in high school, including the teachers and she hated me because she thought I was Gran's favorite. Gran just gave me more attention because everyone else was mean to me and I needed help with my telepathy. Gran could only help so much because she didn't have telepathy herself but she did what she could and she put the time in to help me, Hadley hated not having all the attention on herself.

"So what does this mean for me?" I ask after I work through my thoughts and my anger. Even though Hadley didn't like me, I always loved her. She, along with Gran and Jason, were my only family. Of course, I loved her and tried to be close to her but she didn't want to be associated with 'crazy Sookie' so she treated me just as horribly as everyone else.

"Sookie, I'm not sure yet. I must think about this. If I was a good Sheriff, I'd bring you to Sophie Ann right now and gain her thanks and favor. Fortunately for you, I do not like nor trust the queen. I am only here because she mostly leaves me alone. It is not safe for you now Sookie, she's not one to give up easily."

"So what am I supposed to do? Just give up, pack my bags, and call her to tell her I'm ready to be kidnapped?"

"No. I just need a little time to figure out how to handle this. I told you I'd help you stay safe, and I will. Let me show you two to your rooms and you can unpack. Then meet me in my study." He says as he grabs my hand for a second, calming us both down.

"Okay," I say because what other choice do I have? And it's not his fault I'm going through this. I shouldn't take my anger out of him even though it would be easy to and might make me feel a little better.

I look over to Gran and she looks very worried. Crap, I shouldn't have started this conversation in front of her, she doesn't need the extra stress. I take a deep breath and follow Eric to the bedroom on the ground floor. He gave that to Gran, it's a beautiful and tastefully done room.

"Thank you, Eric. This room will do me quite nicely. Your home is beautiful."

"Of course, Adele. Bobby should be here soon with the food and other things you might need. Other than Bobby coming to pick something up now and again, and Sonya coming in to clean for me, you are the first humans to ever come here, let alone stay the night. So I'm sure we'll need a lot. I know this news about the queen has changed our plans but feel free to look around and enjoy yourself."

"Okay, thanks again, Eric." She says with a smile.

I can tell this is a lot for her to take in, heck it's a lot for me too. Then again, I've never had a murderer and an apparent vampire queen after me before, so of course I'm feeling overwhelmed. Eric nods his head and I follow him out of the room and up the stairs. There is an open door to what must be his study, the walls are covered in shelves of books, from what I can see while walking past, only about half of them are in English. There's a closed door on the right that we walk past then he opens the next door on the left side of the hall. It's very… pink. Expensive and tasteful, but very pink.

"Yeah, it's a lot. This is only a three-bedroom house and this is Pam's when she stays here. So she decorated."

"Pam? Leather and spandex-wearing, looks like she enjoys whips and chains Pam? She chose to decorate her room like this?"

He chuckles. "That's only her work attire, she hates it as much as I." He says with a shrug.

"Okay, I get that but this is her style?"

He shrugs again. "You should see her house. Then again, she decorated the rest of the house too."

"You two must be close then," I say as casually as possible, but I'm obviously fishing for information and trying to ignore the jealousy i'm feeling. I put my bag down on the bed and open it up.

"I should hope so, she's my progeny."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm her maker." I take a few seconds to think about that because I still don't really know what he means. He made her? Oh!

"You turned her into a vampire." His only response is a nod. I don't know how I feel about that, what it comes down to is that means he killed her first. I have to think about this later when I'm alone. "How old is she? Is that okay to ask? There are so many questions I have but I don't know what's okay to ask or not."

"You can ask me whatever you like, and I will answer truthfully when I can. It'll be different with other vampires though, Sookie. We are very secretive as a rule and most would not like you asking personal things."

"Why are you different?"

"I'm not. You are, there's something about you that intrigues me, so I'll allow it." The way he says that rubs me the wrong way but I move past it for now. "I will leave you to settle yourself. You saw my study, yes? Meet me there when you're ready."

"Okay, thanks for all this, Eric. I know this must be real inconvenient for you, especially because I was being a brat about it earlier. I don't like feeling like my freedom is being taken away from me and I might have taken it out on you."

"It's quite alright, Ms. Stackhouse."

I close my eyes when he leans in to give me another quick kiss, by the time I open my eyes again, he's gone. Damn, vamp speed. I guess I'll get used to it eventually, especially because I'll be staying here for the foreseeable future. I quickly unpack the things I'll need tonight, like my toothbrush and shower products, along with a pen and paper to write down the mega list of things we'll need to buy when we go to Walmart. After I'm done that I make my way to his study because now I'm freaking out about the vampire queen.