16

While I was Sleeping

Here is chapter 16 but I have sort of a dilemma. I don't know how to proceed with the next chapter. I wanted the next chapter to give an idea of what happened at Pam's house the night of the massacre. It wouldn't be too long but just enough to give an idea of what happened. Is that something that y'all would be interested in reading? Let me know what y'all think and it is done.

Jake drove me to Pam's house and I think that we were going at about ninety miles per hour all the way there. I can't remember him stopping at a single streetlight. And to be honest, I'm glad that he didn't stop. I needed to know what was going on and what happened. I needed to make sure that my friend was still alive. "Tell me," I ordered Jake as we pulled into Pam's driveway.

"When the next shift of Weres were coming for the night," Jake explained as he turned off the car. "Tray Dawson called to let me know that something was wrong. He could smell blood as soon as he pulled in the driveway. None of the Weres were outside as they should have been. They were nowhere to be found. The humans; the human servants and the guards, they weren't answering their phones."

I got out of the car and stared up at the house. "Has anyone been inside?"

Jake followed suit as he shook his head no. "I told them that no one can go inside. Eric wouldn't want that."

It then dawned on me that whatever happened was what I was feeling from Eric earlier this evening. Those were his feelings of uneasiness, anger, frustration and dread. He knew that something happened. He knew and there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it. That pained me to my heart to think that he could be blaming himself for what may have happened to Pam.

I agreed. "Yeah. You're right. We can't have our scents mingled in with the ones that have done this," I said. "Pam," I whispered. "Does anyone know if she's okay?"

He looked at me from the corner of his eye and shook his head no. I could hear in his mind that he felt sorry for me because they all seem to know that they, the vampires and the Weres, are my only real friends. They know that I have associates in Bon Temps but no real friends. They know that even though I've only known her for a week, Pam is the best friend that I've ever had. "She's going to be fine," he assured me. "Don't worry about her. Pam is a fighter. She is strong and she is determined. If she's gone," he said. "We'll get her back. I promise."

I dropped my head and looked down at the ground.

"Hey," he said as he placed his hand on my shoulder. "She's okay."

I straightened my back as I looked up at him. With a smile plastered on my face, I said, "I know. It's Pam. She's still in her bed and having sweet dreams. She's probably smiling as she sleeps the day away."

Jake chuckled. "I doubt that she's having sweet dreams and I'm damn near positive that she isn't smiling. She's probably dreaming about draining some fangbanger or kicking Maxwell's ass but there are a couple of things that I know for sure. I can damn well guarantee that they're not sweet and she's not smiling."

I know that he was trying to make me feel better but it wasn't working. I wanted to go inside to see what I could find. To see if there was anything that I could see or hear. What if someone was still alive and had a flicker of their memories left? I could be reading them. I could at least get a jump on what's going on. I was about to tell Jake my thoughts but he stopped me. From the look in his eyes, he knew very well what I was thinking.

"We can't, Sookie," he said. "We can't let our scents get in the way of what's going on." He looked at his watch. "Eric will be here in less than an hour. Don't worry. It's going to be fine."

"Okay."

"Come on," he said. "Let's get in the car and wait for him to get here."

I did as I was told and we waited. I couldn't stop thinking about what could possibly be waiting for us in Pam's home. I know that more than likely all of the humans are dead. I began to hope that at least the vampires were able to fight off their attackers but that didn't seem to be too likely. They were probably dead as soon as they were ambushed. I did find it a bit odd that the Weres weren't outside because that's where they were supposed to be. They were supposed to be patrolling the grounds. None of them were to be in the house. It was the one rule that Pam put into place. They could guard her as long as they stayed outside. She didn't want her house smelling like dog when she woke up. Plus, she was allergic. Don't ask me how a vampire has allergies because I don't know. Those were her exact words. And now, as I look around the front of her home, I don't see a single Were body anywhere. Not one.

"Why?" I whispered.

"Why what?" Jake asked as he looked at me.

"Why aren't there any dead Weres outside?" A puzzled look was on my face as I stared at Pam's house. "Where are they? Pam didn't want them in her house because of her non-existent allergy to dogs, so where are they? Did Tray take them with him? Did he even see them when he got here?"

Jake stared straight ahead.

"Were they in on the kidnapping?" I asked. "Did they fool us into believing that they were with us when they were against us?" I turned to face Jake head on. "I don't want to think the worse of your pack members … your friends but tell me that I'm wrong. Tell me that they are somewhere close by. They are hurt and can't get to us. Tell me that they wouldn't do this."

"They wouldn't do this."

I placed my hand on his arm and asked again. "Then where are they?"

Jake opened his mouth to speak on it but nothing came out. He looked out into the yard and back at me. "It won't hurt anything if we just look around outside."

I agreed. "I think that would be fine. You know," I began. "If you'd shift, we'd probably have a better chance of sniffing out who was here. We could probably even find out if they even left or if they are still hanging around here somewhere. Not that I'm telling you what to do." I shrugged my shoulders as I said, "It's all your decision, you know. I was just theorizing … making a suggestion. This entire idea was yours. I'm just here."

Jake laughed at me as he got out of the car. He began to take off his clothes. With his back to me, he said, "Yeah, right, Sookie. Whatever you say."

I giggled and clapped as I got out of the car. I went to the driver's side and took Jake's clothes from the hood. I folded them up and placed them neatly on the driver's seat. When I looked back at Jake, he was nuzzling my hand and he was the most beautiful gray wolf I'd ever seen. I stroked his head and said, "Let's go."

Jake and I looked around the front of Pam's house. He sniffed the ground as I checked the shrubbery that surrounded her home. I was crawling around on my hands and knees as I looked for whatever clues I could find. I found nothing. No Were bodies. No bloody blades of grass. No clothes. No shoes. No nothing. I found nothing. But Jake did.

While I was crawling around on the ground, I heard Jake howling. I ran to where he was and pointless to say, he'd found the bodies of the five members of the Long Tooth Pack. They were in Pam's shed and it looked as if they'd been torn apart. I'd never seen so much blood in all of my life. There were arms and legs that were no longer attached to bodies. There were heads that had been placed neatly on the shelves of the shed. My hand instantly went to my heart as I stared at the Weres that I'd only known for a couple of days. My heart bled for their families and their pack members.

"Sookie." Jake had shifted back into human form. He was angry and he didn't try to hide it. A ferocious growl was building up in his chest.

I looked at the dead bodies of his friends as I spoke to him. "I'm sorry that this happened to them."

He growled before speaking. "There's no need to be sorry. They weren't. They were my friends," he said. "If I knew them at all, I know that they fought until the bloody end." I could feel him looking at me. "Are you going to be alright?" There was a hint of uneasiness in his voice.

I looked up at him and nodded my head. "I'm going to be fine. I don't have time to cry right now. We have to figure out what happened here … who happened here." I stepped closer to the shed and stared at the bodies. "At least we know one thing."

"What's that?" he asked.

"Vampires didn't do this," I answered.

"As far as we know," Jake added.

"Yeah," I said as I looked at him. "As far as we know. Did you get a whiff of anything?"

"Humans," he said as he looked down at me. "I smelled only human flesh."

It made perfect sense. The vampire that wants Pam could have hired some thugs to come in and do this. He or she could have hired some unknown humans to kill the Weres and take Pam. But as I think about it, it doesn't make sense. How could the humans have ripped those Weres apart like that? Were they doped up? What types of weapons did they have? Were they really humans? They could have been out of state humans. Humans that we don't know. Humans that would hard for us to track. I was about to say something to Jake but I lost my train of thought. I looked a little further down than I'd intended. "Come on, Jake. We need to get you back to the car but first, you need to put some clothes on."

Once Jake was dressed, we got back in the car and waited for Eric to rise for the night. My mind was going a mile a minute. My thoughts were about Pam and if she's safe. I hoped that she wasn't in the same condition as the Weres that we found in the shed. I hoped that she was alive and not because she is my friend but because her death would devastate Eric. I notice how he touches her and stares at her. I notice that she feels the same about him. I'd hate to think that he would have to go through his life … well his death … his life? … without her. They need each other. More than anything I want her to be alive for him.

I sighed as I looked out into the night. "He should've been here by now," I said. "Where is he?"

That's when the passenger side door to the car came open. There he was. Looking regal and powerful. I shivered as I stared up at him. A small smile played across his lips. "I am here, lover." He helped me from the car and pulled me behind him as we walked to Pam's front door.

Jake got out of the car and followed us. "Allen, Grayson, Daniel, Landon, and Chase are in the shed. They are dead. They were torn completely apart."

Without missing a step, Eric stepped onto Pam's porch. "Did you catch any scents?"

"Yeah," Jake said.

Eric didn't like the sound of that yeah so he turned around and looked at the Were.

"The scent belonged to humans," Jake said as he ran his hands through his hair. "How could humans tear five adult male Weres to shreds, Eric?"

I stared up at Eric as I waited for his answer. I wanted to know too. I wanted to know how humans could do something like that. He thought and thought about what Jake asked him but he didn't answer the question. "What about inside the house?"

"We didn't go inside," Jake said. "We didn't want to taint the crime scene."

Eric nodded. He pulled his keys from his pocket and opened the door.

And once we were inside, we just stood there … me, Eric and Jake. We just stood there. There was nowhere to walk really. Blood and bodies covered the room. The formerly white walls of Pam's exquisite living room were now a deep, bloody burgundy. Her white carpet was covered in blood stains and bodies. Pam's couch was no longer a couch. It was broken in half and bloody. There were lumps on the floor that had clothes on top of them and in them. They had to have been the bodies of Eric's vampires. I looked around the room and there were bodies of the humans scattered throughout the room. The humans that were loyal to Pam had been murdered ... three of them. The idea that they couldn't defend themselves broke my heart. For them to know that death was inevitable, was devastating.

"Eric," I whispered.

He continued to hold my hand as he stared at the carnage that was before us.

Before I knew what was happening, Jake had stripped down to nothing and had shifted once again. He was sniffing each body and pile of clothes as he went around the room. He whined a couple of times when he'd reach a familiar lump. He pushed the pile of clothes as he sniffed deeper into the pile.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I don't know," Eric said. He said nothing else as he pulled me down the hall.

We stopped in front of a wall and just stood there. We were looking at a picture of Pam and she was holding a glass of blood. She was dressed as if she was going to the Ball of the Century. She looked beautiful in her Victorian era gown and perfectly coifed hairdo. She almost looked happy. I was going to give Eric some words of encouragement but I didn't get a chance to. He touched the top of the frame and the wall came open. We looked out into a dark space. Eric clapped his hands and a light came on. He was holding my hand once again as we stared down at the empty bed. There was no blood. There was no pile of bloody clothes. Pam was still alive.

I looked up at Eric and his face showed nothing but I could feel his pain and his sorrow. I could feel it as he blamed himself for what happened to Pam. "I could feel you as you slept during the day."

He looked at me but said nothing.

"You knew that she was gone, didn't you? Is that what I felt from you this evening? Did you know?"

He turned away from me and looked at her bed.

"This isn't your fault."

He did a very human thing and sighed.

"We'll find her."

He acknowledged my words with a nod.

"Eric," Jake said from the doorway.

"Yes," he said.

"None of your vampires made it," he said. "Maxwell, Charles, and Heidi are gone. Indira and Clancy have met the true death as well. Pam's servants, the humans, they are gone."

I released Eric's hand as I walked towards Jake. "Are you sure?" I tried to keep the tremble out of my voice but I failed. "Are you absolutely sure? Maxwell and Heidi are very strong fighters. I've seen them." I swallowed down the lump in my throat. "Clancy is very good with that machete. Are you sure?"

"I am," he promised. "There scents are unmistakable."

"What else do you know?" Eric asked as he continued to look at Pam's bed.

"The human body guards that the vampire agency sent over," Jake began. "They're all gone. Not a one of them in sight. Not one body. Not one trace of their blood. Nothing. Tray has gone to get Alcide and Bassir. Colonel Flood is on his way over to collect the remains of our men. They should be here within the hour."

Eric finally turned around to look at Jake and the look on his face was terrifying yet soothing … to me. I knew at that very moment that we were going to win. Regardless of what we've lost, this was far from over. We were going to find her and bring her home.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After I'd gone back to my apartment to change into my work clothes, I met Eric at the bar. I'd been given my orders for the night. While he was meeting with Colonel Flood, Alcide, Tray, Bassir, and Jake in his office, I sat out in the bar to keep an eye on things. The humans were having a great time. The vampires that owed Eric fealty were doing the jobs that his regular vampires would have been doing. A few of them asked Eric where Pam and Maxwell were. He ignored them. They knew that something was wrong but not quite sure what it was.

"Hey, Sookie," Palomino said. She had a drink in her hand. "I brought you a drink over."

I smiled up at her. "Thanks." I took it from her and slid it over to the side. I wasn't really all that thirsty.

She looked as if there was something that she wanted to say but she wasn't sure if she should say it. I decided to help her out. "You'll have to ask Eric."

A bloody tear fell from her eye. "You don't have to tell me anything. I know that something is wrong. I could feel my maker die this morning. Heidi was always so good to me." She folded her arms in front of her as she stared at me. "Whatever the master needs of me, I will do it. I am with him." She walked back to the bar without another word.

After my little conversation with Palomino, everything was rather quiet. There were no issues with the fangbangers. The vampires did as they were told. There was no fighting. No arguing. Everything was smooth sailing. That is until these vampires dressed in black uniforms marched into the bar. They had weapons in their hands and they stared straight ahead. They were the deadliest looking vampires I'd ever seen.

"Everyone out," the first vampire soldier said.

The fangbangers didn't know what to do. They remained glued to their chairs. I think that it was because of fear that they didn't leave as ordered. At least not at first.

"Now!"

And just like that, the fear made them leave without saying a word.

The vampires that owe Eric fealty, they lined up in front of the vampire soldiers with arms crossed behind their backs and their head held high. They looked as if they've had to go through this in past. It was nothing new to them. The marched out of the bar in a single file line and didn't look back. I wondered what Eric was going to think about that.

What did I do?

I stayed seated in Eric's booth. I wasn't going to leave. And no one was going to make me.

The first vampire soldier, the one that made everyone else leave, walked over to where I was and just stood there.

"Hi," I said as I stood up from my seat. "I'm Sookie Stackhouse."

"You need to leave," he ordered.

I shook my head no. "I can't leave."

He stepped in closer to me. "You can and you will by the order of the king of Louisiana."

Again, I shook my head no. "I can't leave."

The vampire soldier dropped fang on me.

"Leave the girl alone," a vampire said from behind him. The vampire that emerged from behind the soldier didn't look like a king … not a first. He looked kind of plain at first glance but as I studied him more, I could see his status. He was short with dark brown hair. He was handsome but he wasn't Eric Northman handsome. He had dark brown eyes and he had the chiseled features of the Romans from so long ago. His black suit fit him perfectly and it looked quite nice on him. He looked very becoming. Muscular and powerful. He was soon standing in front of me and staring. Not saying anything but just staring. It appeared that he was now studying me.

"Hi," I said. "I'm Sookie Stackhouse."

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "You smell of the Northman," he said as he opened his eyes.

"I do."

"You've had his blood yet he hasn't taken your virginity," he proclaimed.

Why did he say that? Every vampire that was in the room began to inhale. I could hear their fangs snap into place as they made an appearance. I can only guess that they haven't met very many virgins that have had vampire blood in this day and age. Remaining respectful and calm, I said, "That is none of your business." I was still smiling.

The vampire king smiled just a bit. "Are you happy with the Northman?"

"I am," I answered. "I am his."

The king slid into the booth that belongs to Eric. He pointed to the seat across from him. "Sit with me, Sookie Stackhouse."

"No, thank you," I said. "I will go …"

"I insist," he whispered.

I did as he ordered … still smiling no less. "Okay."

He rested his arms on the table as he stared at me. "You're quite beautiful, Sookie Stackhouse."

"Thank you," I answered. "I get it from my mama."

A chuckle escaped him as he snapped his fingers. One of the vampire soldiers then handed him a bottle of blood. Once it was opened and handed to him, he took a long sip of it as he stared at me. "I am William Compton. I am the king of Louisiana."

"Very nice to meet you." I gave him a slight nod of my head to acknowledge his status.

"I am a king," he said.

"I heard you the first time," I said.

"Eric is a sheriff," he said. "He is my underling."

I didn't know what to say so I said nothing.

"I want to make you mine," he said.

I rested my hands on the table as I smiled at the king. "I appreciate the offer but I not up for grabs. I belong to Eric. As I said previously, I am his."

William laughed. I didn't realize that I'd told a joke so I just sat there and stared at him. "You haven't let him make love to you. Has he not earned that pleasure? Is he not worthy of taking your virginity?" He closed his eyes and inhaled once again. "Your pussy smells so sweet. Almost as sweet as your blood."

I stood up from the seat and stared down at the king as I smoothed down the back of my dress. "I don't care who you are. You will not speak to me like that. I am a lady and I will be treated like a lady. I don't take to kindly to that kind of talk, sir. You may talk to the fangbangers in such a way but you will not disrespect me. My parents have raised me to be respectful and respected. I mean no harm with my words but you, sir, will not say such things to me again."

The vampire soldier walked towards me but stopped when the king raised his hand. "Stay where you are," he ordered the soldier. Looking at me, he said, "Forgive me for being vulgar, Ms. Stackhouse. I didn't realize that you are a true southern belle."

Still standing, I said, "I am."

"Sit down," William ordered.

"I'd rather stand," I said.

He banged his fist on the table. "Sit down," he ordered.

I didn't hide my fear of the king. I let it fill the bond. I'm so glad that I did.

"Sookie, come to me."

I turned to see Eric coming down the hallway from his office. I did as he ordered and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Bite me," I whispered in his ear.

He pressed my body against the wall. He bit into me and though I didn't want it to be, it was the second most sensuous thing I've ever felt in my life. The first time was the most sensuous thing I'd ever felt in my life. He licked the wounds closed before kissing me. As the kiss ended, he led me back into the bar and to his booth. He bowed to the king as he let me take my seat. He was soon sitting next to me. "It's always a pleasure to see you, Your Majesty. To what do I owe this impromptu visit?"

The king looked angry as he stared at us. "She is yours."

"She is," Eric replied.

He looked at me and said, "I thought that you were a lady, Ms. Stackhouse. You let a vampire feed on you in front of others." He shook his head in disappointment. "I don't find that to be too lady like."

"Because we were in a darkened hallway," I said. "I felt that it was fine. There were no prying eyes … or so I believed. When my master calls me to him, I do as he asks of me. He wanted to taste me so I let him taste me."

Eric growled as he looked at me.

I smiled as I looked up at him. "I am his," I repeated.

Eric placed his hand on my thigh as he returned his attention to the king.

"She is yours but I find it troubling that you haven't fucked her. Why is that?" the king asked. He glanced at me; expecting me to react to him as I did when Eric wasn't with us. I wanted to sock him in the nose but I didn't do that. I didn't say a word.

I expected Eric to answer him but he didn't. "Why are you here, Your Majesty?"

William smirked as he pulled at his suit jacket. "I heard of what happened this afternoon. I am here to offer you the services of my kingdom. I know how much Pam means to you. You two were lovers for many, many years. It has to be devastating for you to have lost her. It is well known in our world what she means to you. It pains me to know that you have lost the one that you love and hold so dear." He eyed me when he said that.

Eric continued to caress my thigh. "She is no longer my lover but she will always be my child. The fact that my child is gone is what devastates me. And I appreciate the help that you have offered me. I appreciate whatever support that you can give."

The king was still staring at me. I could feel pressure behind my eyes and so I dropped my head. I squeezed Eric's hand to let him know. "Master," I said.

"Yes, Sookie," he said to me.

"I have a headache."

He looked at the king and his soldiers. I could feel the anger as it thundered through the bond. "Which one of you is trying to glamor my human?"

William sat back in his seat and stared at me. "What do you mean, Eric?"

"Whenever anyone tries to glamor her, it causes her to have a headache," he shared. "I decided to add a little extra insurance to Sookie when I made her mine. I want to be sure to keep her so whenever anyone tries to glamor her, it causes her pain." He smiled as he looked at the king. "I know that it couldn't have been you, Your Majesty. It had to be one of your soldiers that has tried to glamor my Sookie. That is an offense punishable by death. So," he began. "Which one of you tried to glamor her?"

The vampire soldiers looked at each other … wondering which one of them had tried to glamor me.

William, still staring at me, asked, "Was it you, Hebert? Were you the one that tried to glamor her? You have been giving her hard time since entering Eric's fine establishment this evening. Was it you?"

Hebert, the vampire that first confronted me, looked terrified. He began to rapidly shake his head. "I would never do that, my king. I know our laws very well. I would never …"

William raised his hand. "Take him out back and kill him," he ordered.

Two of the guards carried Hebert out back to do the king's bidding.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He was going to kill an innocent vampire for something that he'd done. Though I couldn't believe what I'd seen, I kept my face blank and my body relaxed.

"Forgive him, Ms. Stackhouse," the king said. "He will never try and glamor you again."

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Well," William said as he slammed his hands on the table. "I will take my leave." As he stood, he said, "Whatever you need in order to get your lover back, I am here to help you. Ms. Stackhouse, if you decide that you want to change masters, please, give me a call." He pulled a card from his pocket and slid it in front me.

I looked at it for a brief second. I picked it up from the table and handed it back to him. "I won't need it."

I could see the anger rolling in his eye even though he laughed. "Keep it," he suggested. "You'll never know what might happen."

Eric and I watched the king and his minions as they left. Once they were gone, I said, "He killed an innocent vampire."

Eric shook his head no. "Vampires are far from innocent."

"You know what I mean," I said. "He killed Hebert to cover up what he'd done."

"Yes."

I guess that's a normalcy in their world. In my world. "I guess I'll go home," I said as I sighed. "Since the king has closed the bar early, I can get some more of my boxes unpacked. I have a lot of boxes to unpack." The thought almost gave me a real headache.

Eric turned to look at me. "Have you had dinner?"

I shook my head no. "I haven't eaten since the peanut butter and jelly sandwich from this afternoon."

He stood up from the booth and offered me his hand. "Come," he said. "Let me buy you dinner."

Smiling up at him, I asked, "Are we going out on a date?"

He stared at the wall behind me before answering. "We are," he finally answered.

I slid out of the booth and stood tall and proudly in front of Eric. "I am starving."

And I did leave the king's business card on the table.