A/N: Writing has been tough. Well, up until I had my first new idea in a very very long while. It is called Fangs for the Memories and I have the first chapter nearly tweaked enough to slap up here. It broke something loose and my writing-avoidant tummy aches are, at least for the time being, mostly staying away. Writing feels kind of exciting again, and I was able to work on this stuff, too. CD's next chapter has been started, but that one's been a little tougher. Still, I'm going to keep chipping away at it until it breaks loose, tummy aches be damned. I'm going to NaNoWriMo it and make myself write every day in November, like it or not. So, I hope you'll be seeing a little more of me.

Chapter 16

She was running through the forest. There was a rabbit ahead and she was going to catch it, no matter how fast it was going. There were a million other scents on the wind and on the ground, but she couldn't be swayed.

The rabbit veered to the left. She couldn't see it but she knew it was there, hiding in the underbrush. She made the correction and followed it into a clearing.

The opening was overlooking the dark alley behind the Grabbit Kwik. The rabbit forgotten, she watched herself carrying a large black bag over her shoulder. That Sookie held up the lid of the dumpster and struggled to throw the bag inside. The lid crashed down when she let it go.

Wolf Sookie heard a long, low growl, coming from around the corner of the store. Her hackles raised, her fur standing on end. Human Sookie hadn't heard it over the bang of the dumpster's lid and her own heavy breathing. The large greyish-brown wolf turned the corner and slinked into view.

Human Sookie had her back to it and turned just as the wolf leapt. She managed to cover her throat with her arm to protect it. The wolf latched on and knocked her back. There was a loud clank when her head struck the metal wall of the dumpster.

Wolf Sookie couldn't move. She wanted to save her other self and attack the wolf. She wanted to save herself and run. She couldn't do anything except try to tuck her vestigial tail between her legs and watch.

The wolf growled again, let go of her arm, and started to bite.

Sookie sat up in bed, gasping for breath. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

Thanks to the concussion, she had no recollection of the few minutes leading up to the attack. She didn't even remember taking the bag to the dumpster. Had this been what the attack had looked like?

She got out of bed and padded to the kitchen. She drank a glass of water and then looked out the window. The moon cast enough of a glow to see the dark shapes of the trees in the distance. A chill went down her spine and she shivered. The full moon was getting close. She had to figure out what in the hell she was going to do about work. She hoped Sam could book her off, or maybe she could find someone willing to take her shifts. She would have to talk to him on Monday.

She went back to bed and tried to sleep a little longer but she gave up after a while. She got up and made herself a pot of coffee and decided she'd go to church, since she was already up and had ample time to get ready. She was almost ashamed of how long it had been since she'd gone last. And she really didn't want to be alone.

She ate some toast and got a long hot shower and dressed in a pretty white sundress, even if it was after Labor Day. She watched TV until it was time to head to the chapel.

When she made it to church, it was only a couple of minutes before the sermon was about to start, and the churchyard was pretty much empty, save for a few stragglers like herself. Part of her was relieved. She climbed up the steps and took a deep breath to shore up her shields. There were a few whispers when she walked through the door but not many. She smiled and said hello to three or four people on the way to the pew that had always been the Stackhouse's. There were other people sitting there, but there was plenty of room for her. She and Jason were the only ones left now, and Jason wouldn't step foot in a church unless it was for someone's wedding or funeral.

She enjoyed the preaching and stopped outside the church to socialize for a few minutes after the service. She knew everyone in the congregation, to one degree or another, and enjoyed talking to most of them. She caught just a couple of thoughts about how different and strange she was and only one person asked her a question about the supposed dog attack. She stuck to the original story and left out the part about the werewolf.

When she got back home, there was a message on her answering machine. She played it and was a little disappointed that it hadn't been from Alcide. It was her brother instead.

"Hey, Sookie. I guess you ain't home. I'll see you around five, then."

She had totally forgotten that Jason was coming for supper later that evening. She knew he was going to ask her about what went on Friday night, which she wasn't looking forward to. Still, he shouldn't have shown up at her place at three in the morning, either. It was his own fault if he'd seen something he didn't want to see.

She had planned on making a big pot of chili and she had everything she needed, so she had a bite to eat and then got to it.

After she got supper on the go, she turned some music up loud and spent most of the afternoon cleaning. She stuck some cornbread in the oven at around four thirty and Jason showed up a few minutes later at twenty to five. She was surprised he was early. He pulled in behind the house and used the back door. Of course, he didn't knock.

"Hey, Sis."

"Hey Jason. It'll just be a few more minutes."

He was staring at her. She tried not to notice.

"Man. You look tired."

She shrugged.

"I was out pretty late last night."

"Again?"

She gave him a dirty look.

"Yes. Again. I had a date with Sam."

"Huh."

She dished them both out some chili and cut the cornbread. She gave Jason the bigger piece. Before he dug in, he studied her.

"So. About Friday night…"

She blushed but didn't answer.

"I guess maybe I interrupted something."

She almost barked out a laugh.

"You guessed correctly."

But maybe that had been for the best. She narrowed her eyes.

"What was so important that it had you here at three in the morning, anyway? How did you even know I was going to be out late that night and still up?"

"Well, I was talking to Sam for a while after the bar closed and I figured I should come and check on you, just in case."

She frowned.

"Sam was worried? He's the one who told you to come here and check on me?"

"Well, he didn't come right out and say it, but I didn't much like what I heard."

She rolled her eyes. She was really sick of Sam butting into her business. She knew he claimed to be nervous on her behalf, but this was getting silly. She had been perfectly safe. She was going to have a real talk with him on Monday. Hopefully she wouldn't lose her job if she decided to end things with him.

"And what exactly did you hear?"

He shrugged.

"Just that he's kind of a scary guy. Sam seemed really sure of it. Are you sure he's okay, Sookie?"

"Yes. He's been a perfect gentleman."

For the most part.

"Well, he didn't look like much of a perfect gentleman to me."

Sookie rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm a grown woman, Jason. Like it or not. And this is none of your business. I don't get involved in your love life."

And thank goodness for that.

"Well, that's different."

She laughed.

"Yes. I'm not sleeping with half the town."

"Sookie…"

"Look, I'll be careful, okay? But you don't have anything to worry about."

"Alright. But if he does anything to you, just know I'm gonna whoop his ass."

Jason was a lot stronger than he looked, but she didn't think that would be much of a fight.

Jason ate three bowls of chili and half the cast iron pan full of cornbread. He patted his stomach when he was through.

"Next Sunday?"

She laughed.

"Next Sunday."

He kissed her cheek before he left. She thought about what might have happened if he hadn't shown up Friday night.

…

Eric noticed Alcide's pickup wasn't in the parking lot. The employee entrance door was cracked open, so he went in there. He found Sam in his office.

"Where is Alcide?"

"Jackson. He was checking in with Josephine at Club Dead. So far, so good."

Eric nodded.

"Excellent. Have you heard anything yourself?"

"Nope. Not yet. You?"

Eric shook his head.

"I saw Quinn the other night. He was unaffected. Hopefully we will all stay off their radar."

"Should we rope him in?"

Eric wrinkled his nose as if he smelled something bad.

"No. Not yet, anyway."

He didn't care for the tiger.

"Are you sure? We could use him in a fight."

"There are enough egos involved already. I will speak to him. See if he has any information."

Sam nodded.

"Good. It sounds like a plan."

…

Sookie startled awake. She'd had another nightmare. She took a deep breath and waited for her heart to stop beating like crazy, even though she couldn't remember why. The content of her dream had slipped through her fingers.

She heard a wolf's howl in the distance and paused, holding her breath for a moment. It had sounded far away and it didn't repeat itself. She was all alone, a few miles outside town, in what was kind of the middle of the woods. For the first time in her life, she didn't really feel safe in what she would always think of as Gran's house.

She realized she could never really feel safe again. Not when the monster was hiding inside her.

After tossing and turning, she managed a couple more hours' sleep. In the light of day, she wondered if she'd really heard the wolf's howl. She had certainly never noticed hearing one before. Not before the last full moon, anyway.

She was glad she had time for an extra cup of coffee before getting ready for work.