54

CHOOSE/WANT

Hello, all. I'm back and as I've always said, I'll keep coming back. Work isn't as harsh, but my caseload is still more than one person should have. Until they restrictions have been lifted, I still must put by family and job first. I will continue to update when I can. It's not my intention to make any of you wait months for an update but until things go back to normal and my caseload decreases, I can only do what I can do. I want to thank you all for sticking around and understanding. Thank you for reading and alerting. And thank you so much for allowing me to entertain you with my sporadic writing and storytelling.

P.S. I tried to make it extra long to make up for what y'all have missed.

Enjoy!

Everything in the room was suddenly still.

"You killed him." The vampire that was just laughing with the now dead Victor seemed mighty upset to me. All slack jawed and wide eyed at what he'd just witnessed. Poor thang. I couldn't tell if he knew whether to cry or run. Call me insensitive if you want, but I giggled. I'd never seen a vampire look like that before tonight. It was funny. I even laughed to show him just how funny the entire situation was. "You fucking killed him."

I looked down at the front of my dress. It was completely ruined. There were globs of goo that was splattered all over the table and booth. The tablecloth was ruined too, and I'm sure there was goo on the floor, though I didn't bother to look. I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head as I looked up at the disgruntled vampire. "So? He deserved it. Look at my dress. I came here tonight looking to have a good time with my vampire, and Victor ruined it. I think that he got off mighty easy if you ask me."

He then dropped fang. "You fucking bitch. Now, I'm going to have to kill you."

The nameless vampire never got to keep his promise because Eric was on him like white on rice. He, too, was dead. To see Eric in action is quite phenomenal. I'd never seen anything like it. He was violence in motion, and it was beautiful. To see his hair flowing behind him. To see him tear into our enemies. To see him covered in the blood of our enemies. To know that he was fighting for his child. For him. For me. In that one moment, I knew that there would be no other for me. I fell totally and hopelessly in love with him. Weird, right? Who falls in love with a guy that's just killed a room full of vampires with his vampire friends? Me, that's who. Who'd have thunk it?

I didn't get to get in as many kills as the vampires, but I could hold my own. Well, until that one vampire sneaked up behind me. I was slapped across the room but thankfully, I didn't break anything, any bones at least, but I was a bit bruised. There was one female vampire that was determined she was going to kill me. She didn't, but she sure as heck tried, I tell you that much. My vision blurred a bit after that slap across the face. My lip was a bit busted. Thankfully, I didn't lose any of my pearly whites. My head was throbbing after she tried pulling my hair from my scalp. When I screamed out in pain, she smiled. Eric didn't. He wanted to help me, but he was fighting his own battle. Anyway, I didn't need his help. A few slaps and hair pulling have never stopped Sookie Stackhouse. It wasn't going to stop me now. The female vampire, she died just like the rest of them. A silver dagger to the heart works wonders. I stood up from the floor and rubbed my jaw. "That's going to leave a bruise," I mumbled. "Bitch." I kicked her, well what was left of her, before leaning my backside against a table. I looked over at my vampires and smiled. They were fine.

Every vampire that was with Victor was finally dead. Every single one of them. None of our vampires met their end. Eric, I and the other vampires were covered in blood. I don't recall everything that happened once the fighting started other than the fact that I started it. I just know that we won, and we did what we had to do. I did what I had to do. The main objective to get Pam back home with us. Whatever he needed, I was willing to do and that included killing our enemies with him. If Victor had to die to make things right, he had to die. We couldn't get too comfortable. We can't just them get away with what they've done because they will do it again. I was so ready to go home but that was not an option. We had to question Selah but from the look in Eric's eyes, I knew that wasn't going to happen any time soon. We probably weren't going to speak to Selah at all tonight, but I had to make him realize the importance of ignoring his sexual impulses and getting down to business. Whispering, I said, "Someone has to make sure Selah is still here. We need to question her. We need to find out what she knows and how much she knows." A light then went off in my head. "And the humans that were in here, where are they?"

"Safe," Thalia assured me. The glazed look in her eyes didn't go unnoticed. "Glamored. They don't know what happened."

"Good," I said. "So, Selah? Can we go question her now?"

They were still staring at me.

Eric's stare was the most intense. I don't think he heard me. I don't think any of the vampires heard me. We'd just fought a good fight. We needed a long, hot shower … at least I did … not with them … by myself … or with Eric. The vampires didn't seem to care about the blood at all. Their fangs were down, and they were watching me. They were looking as if they wanted a piece of me. They were lost in bloodlust. I get it. They needed some type of satisfaction. I hope that the vampires get what they need to tame their wildest urges, but they wouldn't be getting it from me. If they think they're going to get a taste of Sookie Stackhouse, they had another thing coming.

"Selah's probably in Victor's office waiting," I said. "Remember, that's where he told her to go and wait. We need to make sure she's still there."

Again, I was ignored.

From what Eric has taught me about vampires, they love a good fight and they need sex after that fight. And if I was being honest with myself, I was feeling what Eric was feeling. The way his eyes bore through me caused chills to flow through my entire body. My heartbeat had quickened, and my lady parts were throbbing. My goodness were they throbbing. I smiled at him. I closed my eyes as I let him get a glimpse of what I was feeling. He sent those same feelings back to me, but they were much stronger. Much more urgent, and I wanted him but for right, now I couldn't have him. I knew what I was doing was wrong. Teasing him. Playing with his emotions. I didn't mean any harm. I was just giving him a glimpse of what's waiting for him once we're done here.

Eric had other plans. He took a step toward me as he inhaled. His eyes clouded over, and he growled.

I stepped away from him … still smiling. "We have work to do. We can do … that (whispered) later." I looked around at the vampires that surrounded us. Thalia was smirking. I was embarrassed.

"Sookie," he warned.

I shook my head no. "Eric."

He dropped fang … piercing his lip. Letting me see the thick droplet of blood trail to chin.

I didn't want to give in to him but what choice did I have? He is my boss. Insubordination is frowned upon in the supe world. I can only imagine what his fellow vampires would think if I denied him. So, I reluctantly decided to give in to my boss because insubordination is frowned upon in the vampire world. I can only imagine the looks he would get if an employee told him know. The talking that they would do behind his back. Modestly, I stated, "Make them leave us and, you can have whatever you want." I added a sigh for good measure because he's my boss and insubordination is … never mind.

Growls were heard from all around.

"Don't let Victor's human leave," he ordered them. "Go."

The way he stalked towards me caused my body to stiffen. He looked like he was on the prowl, and I was going to be his victim. Willingly, I might add. I thought that he was going to ravish me right then and there. He didn't. He used his thumb to trace over my swollen cheek. He growled when I winced in pain. Using my head, I pointed in the now dead vampire's direction. "She's a lot worse off than I am."

He grunted.

I guess he didn't like my joke.

He viciously bit into his wrist and held it to my mouth. And I drank until the wound closed. I could feel the pain lessen with each pull of his blood. My vision was no longer blurred. My headache was gone. And I'm pretty sure the bruise was fading into nothing. "Thank you," I whispered.

He nodded.

I tilted my neck to the right.

He did not hesitate.

And just like that, I was in his arms. He pressed against me, that sexy growl of his filling my ears. My mind. My body. My blood filling his mouth. I could feel Eric in every inch of me … and I didn't want him to let go. This was what I wanted. "Oh, Eric," I whispered. My grip on him tightened.

He began to slowly lick the puncture wounds closed. He kissed and licked his way to my mouth. My heart was hammering with anticipation. The rush of the night's events surged through me. I intensified the kiss as I twisted my hands in his hair, crushing my lips to his. I wanted this. I wanted him. Eric's length throbbed against me as he held me closer. My legs were wrapped tightly around his waist. The feel of him caused me to gasp, and my tongue pressed against his fang … filling his mouth with more of my blood. He hissed as he pressed himself harder against me. "My Sookie," he whispered. And just like that, my dress was gone … ripped right down the middle. My undies were shredded to nothing. He cupped my breasts and thumbed the nipples. The sensation was more than I could stand. He carried me and rested my back against the wall. He brushed the bloody strands of hair from my face. He stared deeply into my eyes. "Mine," he whispered. In one swift movement, he was fully inside of me. He quickly swallowed my gasp.

We groaned with pleasure as we melded into one. I wrapped my arms around him and cried into his neck. I needed him. He deepened his thrust as my orgasm rippled around him, through us … arching my back, pulsing around his thickness. Wave after wave of my orgasm followed as he continued to pound into me. The wall had to have the shape my body imprinted in it. I didn't care because I wanted more of him. So, I bit into his neck. He went deeper inside me. He lifted me higher. He spread my legs wider. He rammed himself deeper. "Mine." My words were muffled because my face was still buried in his neck, and my orgasm took control.

That single word 'mine' caused him to erupt in me. His seed and his love filled me. He threw his head back and cried out my name. "Sookie!"

I continued to milk him as he throbbed inside of me. I hope that he didn't think we were done. Selah can wait just a few more minutes. Using his shoulders and the wall as leverage, I whispered in my vampire's ear. "More. Give me more."

He promised to give me what I want and that's what he did.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Go down the hall and take a left. Victor's office is the last room at the end of the hall. The Sheriff's waiting." The vampire nodded at me and Thalia before walking away.

"What happened to your dress?" Thalia asked once the vampire was out of earshot.

Blushing, I said, "Shut-up, you."

She laughed long and loud. "What you're wearing now, is fucking outstanding, my friend. Who is the designer?" Thalia asked. I could hear the humor in her voice. "I may take it upon myself to make such a flattering purchase in the near future."

"Very funny," I said. It was Eric's undershirt. As I said previously, my dress was ruined. Ripped to shreds. "And it's Hanes … I think."

Tahlia led the way to Victor's office to question Selah. As the vampire said, Eric was already there. He had to call Bill. I could've gone with him but in their right mind wants to talk to Bill Compton on purpose? I wasn't in the mood for his snide remarks about Eric's and my relationship. I didn't want to deal with him right now. We had more important things to do, and Bill wasn't one of them. "You had nothing to worry about when you wanted to make sure the human was still in Victor's office. She was still there. She would've been there all night if Victor didn't tell her to leave. Stupid woman," Thalia mumbled. "When we went into his office, she was fucking hysterical. Crying her eyes out for a piece of shit like Victor. She asked if he was dead." She snorted. "She should've asked us to kill him."

Now, that surprised me. "They had a blood bond?"

Thalia shook her head no. "Knowing Victor," she began. "No. He took her blood to keep track of her. I seriously doubt if he gave her his. No. I know for a fact that he didn't give her his blood. Victor cared for no one. Victor has always been all about Victor."

I frowned. "Then why keep track of her? Why would he care what happened to her?"

"He didn't," she answered. "If she died any time during his daytime rest, he'd need a replacement."

Damn.

Thalia shrugged it off like it was nothing. "She was a means to an end. I guarantee you that if things had happened the way Victor wanted them to, he would've killed her in the end." She had a smirk on her face. "That's who Victor was."

I wanted to feel sorry for Selah. I wanted to say that she deserved better. I wanted to say that she was a good person and was just caught up in a bad situation. I would've been wrong. She knew what Victor was, and she wasn't a good person. She knew that she was nothing to him and was willing to do anything he told her to do, regardless of who got hurt in the end. Her thoughts of jealousy towards me when she watched my interactions with Eric told me that she knew she deserved better but settled for less. Just like Dawn Greene.

"That's not Eric," Thalia said.

I looked to my right to see her studying me. I smiled and waved my hand at her. "I know that's not Eric. He's never given me the impression that he's anything like Victor or Maxwell Lee. No," I repeated. "That's not who he is. He could never be like they were."

She used her head to point at me. "Why the look?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know," I answered. "I guess I could've been them. Selah. Dawn Greene. The girl that I met the first night I met Eric and Pam. If things had been different for me, I could've been them."

Thalia only stared.

"I never really had very many friends growing up. I was the oddball … Crazy Sookie. I had two friends … Tara and Lafayette. They knew about me, and they accepted me. They didn't judge me. They didn't ridicule me. They didn't like it when I read their minds, but they accepted me."

She frowned. "Who called you that … Crazy Sookie? Who said that?" Before I could answer, she offered to kill them. "Give me their names. I will rid the earth of such stupid people."

I laughed. "You'd have to kill everyone because most of Bon Temps thought that of me. I don't blame them, though. A bunch of hicks in a small town. They have a routine to their lives. Breakfast. Work. Lunch. Merlottes. Dinner. Home. Anything that veers them from their normal life … their daily routine, it's odd. It doesn't fit. It's not normal." I sighed. "I guess what I'm saying is if I didn't have my grandfather in my life, I never would've accepted who I am. What I can do. I would've been ashamed. Afraid." I smiled at her. "If I weren't secure in who I am, I would've settled for whatever I could get. That's my point." I shook my head no. "I don't want to settle because I'm better than that. I just wish that they … Selah and Dawn and all the other women out there … had realized their worth. I could've been them."

Thalia laughed. "No, Sookie Stackhouse. That is not you."

"You've only just met me," I replied.

"So," Thalia said. "I can differentiate between the good and bad people. Smart and dumb people, and you're good and smart people, Sookie. Your grandfather did an amazing job."

"Thanks," I said. I then cleared my throat. "How are you holding up?"

"I am fine," Thalia answered. "Kendra is not taking it well, but we will be fine. We were together for over six hundred years. My children and I have always been remarkably close. I released them many centuries ago, but we've always been together. They would travel for periods time. Enjoying the world … doing what makes them happy, but they would always come back home." A far away look appeared on her face. "But we will be fine. I assure you."

She looked sad. I wanted to console her, but I could tell that it would not be a welcomed gesture. Not in this setting.

Before I could respond, she said, "We're here." She opened the door for me and trailed in behind me.

Eric was standing closest to the window and yes. He was still on the phone with that blowhard, Bill Compton. I looked at Eric and shook my head. "Unbelievable," I mumbled.

Eric nodded. "I'll call when the interrogation is done." He ended the call quickly. He came to me and pulled me in his arms. "Are you well?" He stroked my formerly bruised cheek with his thumb.

"I am." I looked up at him. "The bruising is going away?"

"It is," he answered. He kissed the top of my head. "Ready?"

I looked over at Selah and nodded. I went around Victor's desk and pulled a chair to place in front of Selah. It was hard to look at her. Don't get me wrong. She put herself in this position for a vampire that didn't give two cents about her. It's the sadness and pain that get to me. Her swollen face. Her teary eyes and snotty nose. I looked around for Kleenex on Victor's desk. Surprise! He didn't have any. Selfish a-hole. "Does anyone have any tissue?"

"No," Eric and Thalia said simultaneously.

Selah shook her head no. "I don't need it."

I smoothed down the back of Eric's t-shirt as I took my seat. The least I could do was try to be as professional as possible. I daintily crossed my legs and placed my hands on my knees. "Hey, Selah. How are you?"

"How do you think?" she asked. "My vampire is dead, and I'm still here. I not feeling too great." She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you here to gloat?"

That caught me by surprised. "Why would I do that?"

She briefly glanced over her shoulder and sneered at Eric. "You know why," she whispered.

I soon mimicked her movements. "Tell me."

She snorted. "You saw how Victor treated me. You saw how he embarrassed me. He's always talked down to me and made me feel like shit, but my dumb ass stuck around. I hoped that one day he'd treat me with a modicum of respect. I guess that one day will never come. I'll bet Mr. Big Bad over there doesn't do that to you. I'll bet that he doesn't force you to sleep with other vampires to prove that you love him." She angrily swiped tears from her face.

I sat tall in my seat. "Why did you let him treat you that way?"

She dropped her head. She didn't say anything, but I could clearly see why she did what she'd done. Her memories of a lonely life … never belonging anywhere. She's only ever had her job and intelligence. Being an attorney … owning her own law firm were her call to glory, and she still didn't get the respect she felt she deserved. The people of Bon Temps had always fucked her over. Never paid their bills when she worked her ass off for those lowlifes. Got them out jail. Saved their homes. Got them out of financial jams, and she still wasn't good enough. When she opened her law firm in New Orleans, she just knew that things were going to change for her. She'd met a man. A vampire. He hired her. He paid her. And then he wooed her. She thought that when she met Victor, her life was going to change for the better. She was going to have supernatural clients, and they would respect her. And that respect would trickle to the human community. Things didn't go as planned. Victor treated her nicely at first. He seemed to respect her. He took her to parties. To meetings. To his home. She even spent some nights with him. She never slept with him in his sleeping chambers, but she could stay in his home. She was in. She was finally somebody that everybody would want to know. They would be jealous of her life and wish that they were her. She was going to be his permanent partner. He was going to turn her if things went as planned. If she did everything he told her to do. She was going to spend the remainder of her days by his side … as his equal … as his lover. She believed him with her whole heart and soul. She was finally going to have the love she's always wanted. She would have someone that cared for her and wanted to take care of her. She was finally going to be happy, but for her. For Selah Pumphrey, things never go as plan. She should've known before getting involved. She should've known.

It was all a lie.

Victor no longer respected her. He no longer sought her advice or expertise. She was nothing more than something he could use to his advantage. Something that he could turn off and on at his whim. She was nothing more than something he could use. He was passing her around to his vampire friends. At first, she was just giving them legal advice. Telling them how to maneuver within the human laws without being held accountable for their actions. She didn't mind doing it. The money was good. It was great actually. She could've retired after meeting the third vampire, but she kept going. She loved the accolades they bestowed on her. She loved the power she thought she had. It didn't last long. She was soon being made to sleep with the vampires. They used her in every way possible. There wasn't a part of her that hadn't been defiled by a vampire. Letting them feed on her. Use her until she had nothing left to give. Victor was now dead, and he'd taken everything away from her. Her self-respect. Her dignity. And now, her life.

Selah's sad eyes bore a hole into me. "Did you like what you saw?"

I shook my head no. "I wouldn't wish what happened to you on my worst enemy. You didn't have to do those things, Selah," I said. "When we first got here, you could've warned us and told us what was going to happen, but you did everything in your limited power to get me to follow you to the VIP room to meet Victor. Just like the others, you had choices."

Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open from surprise. "Do you actually believe that? Do you think they give us choices? Is that what you believe?" She began to laugh. "In this world … in their world, we don't have choices. We're nothing to them. We're just food and a quick fuck." She had the audacity to sneer at me. Like I did this to her. Like it's everyone else's fault but hers. "You're not as smart as I thought you were. We're just alike, Sookie. You're no different than I am."

I cocked my head to the side and sighed. "Do you really think I'm like you? Is that what you honestly believe?" I leaned forward and stared her in her eyes.

When she looked at me, she would see that we were nothing alike. Instead of answering me, she looked at the floor.

"Look at me, Selah," I ordered.

I noticed the tears that hit her shoes before she did as I told her to. She steadied her shoulders and straightened her back as she stared at me. "What?"

"We're nothing alike," I assured her. Angrily, I said, "I'm very independent. I'm very strong. I don't need anyone to tell me who or what I am. I don't need a vampire to determine my worth. I don't anyone to determine my worth. I am Sookie Stackhouse, and I am more than capable of making my own choices. I CHOOSE to work for Eric. I CHOOSE to be with him. I CHOSE him. I WANT him because I want him. It has nothing to do with being led blindly or being lonely or needing someone to make me feel important. He doesn't make me do anything that I don't want to do. It'll do good that you know that."

Selah nodded. She looked terrified. "I'm sorry."

"I don't need your 'I'm sorry'. I need you to recognize your betters when you see them." I looked down at her before continuing. "I also need to know where Pam is and how to get her back."

"I don't know where she is, but I know where she was." Selah gave Thalia the address of where Pam was being held.

"I'll go there to see if there are any clues. I'll be …" she began.

Eric stopped her. "No."

Thalia stayed put.

Selah continued. "She was supposed to be used to get Eric to help kill Bill. Victor wanted to become king. He spoke often of how rich and prosperous Louisiana has become since Sophie Ann was removed from the throne. He knew that he couldn't get what he wanted on his own, so he came up with a plan with some other vampires. Maxwell Lee and some European vampire called Apples or something like that. He believed that by keeping Pam with him, he could control Eric. He could get Eric to do whatever he wanted him to do." She shrugged her shoulders. "Everyone knows what Pam means to him, and she was going to be used to control him but then you came along. The plan changed. Pam's collateral damage."

She was telling the truth about everything.

Eric blurred to where Selah was. He gripped her by her arms, and she was soon eye level to him. "What do you mean?"

She closed her eyes and did the best she could to steady her breathing. She was terrified and the scent of her fear saturated every inch of the room. "They don't care what happens to her now," she whispered. "They want Sookie. Maybe that's why Apples escaped with her. Victor was angry, but he didn't confront Apples about it. He said that the vampire wasn't all there anymore. He said that he could smell the madness in him. He said that he didn't care what happens to Pam. Apples could do what he wants with her. The goal is to get you."

I stood next to Eric. "What do they know about me?"

She continued to stare at Eric as she talked. "That you can read minds. That you're different and not quite human."

"Who told them this?" Eric asked.

She swallowed and closed her eyes.

"Tell me!" he yelled as she shook her.

"Michelle."

Eric looked me.

"My mom." I said as I stared at Selah.

"Should I kill her for you?" Thalia asked. "I will kill her if you request it of me. Traitors don't deserve to live."

"You don't have to do that," I answered. "I appreciate it, though." To Selah, I asked, "Where is she?"

She shook her head no as fresh tears fell from her eyes. "I don't know. I haven't seen her for a couple of weeks now."

Eric placed her back on the chair and stared down at her. "Is she in the area? And don't lie to me," he growled.

She sighed. "She was supposed to be in Shreveport last I heard. She was supposed to get Sookie to trust her because she's her mom." She shook her head no. "It didn't work. She went back to Sookie's apartment, but she couldn't get in. The guards stopped her. She was going to get you to go out to eat with her under the guise of wanting to be a real mom to you … improve the relationship between you two. She said that you were so desperate for her approval and love, you would do anything she told you to do."

Again, she was telling the truth.

"When she couldn't get me to come with her, what happened?"

"I haven't seen her."

"Is she still in Shreveport?"

She shook her head no. "I don't know. We were never friends. She didn't call me. I didn't call her. She's Victor's other lover." She closed her eyes. "She WAS Victor's other lover."

That made me sad for my dad. He loved mom. He loved her more than anything in this world, and she betrayed him. I wondered, for the first time, if he knew what she was doing. My dad was no fool. He was very aware of what was going on around him. Did he know and not care? Did he love her enough to allow her to be with someone else?

"The witch," I began. "Where she is?"

"New Orleans," Selah said. "Her name is Octavia Fant. She does work for a vampire called Sophie Ann."

"Andre," Eric whispered. He looked at Thalia and said something that I couldn't hear.

She smiled and nodded. "Done." She whipped out her phone and made a call. She smiled as she hit the end button. "And done again."

Eric nodded his thanks.

"Are you going to kill me?" Selah asked.

"Yes," Eric answered. "You plotted against me and mine. You planned to take Sookie away from me. Sookie is mine, and you can't have what is mine. Because planned to take her, you can't live. I can't allow it." He then looked at me. "I'm sorry that I have to do this, but I can't let her go. She will die tonight and in this room."

I looked at Selah. "I know."

Thalia placed her hand on my shoulder. "I can take you home. You don't have to stay here. You don't have to watch this." She glanced at Eric. "I'm sure he'll allow me to accompany you home."

"I will."

I looked at them both and shook my head no. "I know, but I'm not leaving. It's not my fault that she's here. It's not my fault that she's going to die." I looked at Selah. "You realized what could happen if you were caught. You've always known that Victor would do the bare minimum when it came to you, and you still put your life on the line for him."

She dropped her head and cried. "You're not going to glamor me? You could glamor everything that happened from my mind. You don't have to kill me."

Eric stooped down in front of her. With his arm resting on his knee, he said, "If I do that, you will have learned nothing, Ms. Pumphrey."

"I can …"

"This is not a negotiation," he assured her. "You worked with my enemies to take what is mine and now, you owe me." He stood tall. "Anything else?"

She shook her head no.

"Sookie," he began. "Do you have any other questions?"

"Just one," I said. "Who else is working with Victor? Dawn Greene said that there is someone else in Bon Temps that's a part of this. Who is it?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. If I did, I'd tell you."

"I believe you," I said. "One more. Is there anyone would that you'd like for us to call … to let them know."

She slowly shook her head. "I don't have anyone else. After meeting Victor, I signed my law firm over to my partner. I have no family to speak of. What few associates I had, I cut all ties with them when I met Victor. I have nothing and no one." She sobbed. "There's just me."

And just like that, that was the end of Selah Pumphrey.