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Jason, Remy and the twins go back to the woods to retrieve Alcide’s body. Not one of them will let me go along and after seeing him in Jason’s mind, I understand why. My stomach lurches and Hadley has to go get one of the death kits for me from my supplies. Andre leaves the house with Sophie-Anne in tow and by the path of their brains I know they’re returning to the tent they share outside.

I also know that Andre is pissed off that he has to sleep in a tent instead of inside the house. I have yet to respond to his mental whining and so far it seems that a dirty look from one of the twins is good enough to get him back in line. While Jason and the guys are off collecting Alcide’s remains I keep my mind occupied by meeting the other vampires that will be staying nearby.

“I’m Sookie. This is Hadley,” I gesture to my cousin. We look quite similar except her eyes are blue and she’s curvier than me since she had Hunter.

“Who wants the other blonde?” the woman who bit me asks with a smirk.

A redhead steps forward and offers a kind smile.

“Ignore her,” she says with a glance at the snarky bitch vampire. “That’s Pam. I’m Jessica. We appreciate y’all takin’ us up on this deal. We’re not all scary like Pam and Eric.”

“We’ll see about that,” I reply.

“It’s alright that you don’t trust us,” another one says as he steps forward. He looks young, maybe eighteen when he was turned. He has dark hair and bright blue eyes. “My name is Godric. Eric is my child. Pam is his.” He points to the remaining vampires and gives us each of their names. Chow, Thalia, Felicia, and Indira, who only nod once he names them.

“Will all of you be takin’ turns feedin’ on us?” Hadley asks.

“No,” Pam says. “Sookie here is Eric’s. I’ve got my eyes on that brother of yours.”

“I think I’ll leave it up to Jason to choose,” I tell her. “It only seems fair that we each choose the vampire we feel most comfortable with.”

“We’d like it that way too,” Jessica says. “None of us want to force any of y’all.”

“But she said you’re Eric’s,” Hadley says. “What does that mean? And Eric is your child?” she asks Godric. “This is so confusing.”

“It means I turned Eric into a vampire, just as he turned Pam,” Godric explains.

“I’m sorry to go burstin’ your bubble there, Eric, but I didn’t agree to be yours. Far as I’m concerned, I’m up for grabs just like everyone else here,” I say. It’s obvious he’s unhappy with this decision.

“Then I will just have to convince you that I’m your best option,” he says.

“When do we have to choose by?” Hadley asks.

“It would be best if the decisions were made tonight, but I understand your group has suffered a bereavement. It can wait until tomorrow night,” Eric says.

In the distance I can see the white shroud from the death kit being carried from the woods. I suck in a breath and I have to go back into the house. I’m not ready to look at what’s left of him yet.

“Excuse me,” I whisper and go back inside.

I go straight to the bedroom and close the door. When I lie down the sheets still smell like him and I can’t stop myself from sobbing. I curl into a ball and clutch his pillow. I’m not alone for long before the door creaks open and I can tell that it’s Hadley lying down beside me.

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” she whispers, and wraps an arm around me.

I don’t even bother to say that it’s not fair. We all know it’s not fair. None of this is fair. I’m not the only one that lost him. He’d become friends with everyone living here and even though it wasn’t official, he was pretty much considered to be my husband. My brain can’t yet reconcile the notion that I am never going to hear his voice, see his smile or wake up beside him. I’m never going to snuggle up to him at night, go for a long ride on our horses or sit by the fire at night when we’re on watch. There are a million little things about him that I’m going to miss. There are so many things I’ve taken for granted.

“We’ll bury him in the morning,” she says.

I nod but I have nothing to say. I can’t think of anything fitting at the moment so I just let myself cry it out. Hadley stays with me until I fall asleep. I toss and turn and when I wake up it’s still dark outside. A terrible nightmare where a zombie version of Alcide was chasing me through the woods chased me right out of my sleep. I wake up in a cold sweat, gasping for air.

I slide out of bed and count the brains. Jason is asleep in his room across the hall. It used to be my bedroom when I was a kid. Hadley and Remy are asleep upstairs, as is Hunter. It’s the twins’ night to patrol but I count their voids inside one of the tents, along with Rasul’s. Sophie-Anne is in the other but Andre… the dining room.

What the hell is he doing in the dining room?

I open the bedroom door and slip out of my room. I know which floorboards to avoid to keep from making noise as I walk through the house. From the entryway I can see Andre is going through the drawers of the old buffet. The gleam of silver catches my eye right before it disappears into one of his pockets.

“What the hell are you doing?” I demand, making him jump.

“Nothing,” he says with a glare, like I’m the bad guy for being here.

“What did you just put in your pocket?” I ask. I fold my arms over my chest and lean in  the doorway.

“You’re seeing shit,” he says, and starts moving towards the door.

“You’re damn right I am. I just saw you stealing my grandmother’s silver,” I say with conviction and block the front door. “I’m going to give you the chance to put it back where you found it and apologize.”

He stops moving and keeps staring at me, then says, “Fuck you, lady.”

With that he shoves past me and goes out onto the porch, and before I can even follow after him I hear him yelp in pain. I turn to see that Eric has him. His large hand is wrapped around Andre’s scrawny neck and his fangs are out.

“Eric, put him down please,” I say softly. Andre might be a thief but Eric doesn’t need to kill him.

Eric sets Andre back on his feet, but doesn’t remove his hand from his throat.

“You insult your hostess by stealing what is hers,” he says. “Reach into your pockets and hand her back the silverware.”

Andre doesn’t hesitate to do as he’s told, and as soon as all the silverware is in my hands Eric tells him to apologize.

“Sorry,” he chokes out.

“Have you taken anything else?” I ask.

“No,” he says, and I notice Eric’s hand squeeze a little. Andre coughs and then says, “Just some food!”

“Unbelievable. I open my home to you and this is how you repay me?”

“Would you like me to take care of him?” Eric asks.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“That I fly him away from here and drop him on his own to take care of himself. I don’t tolerate liars and thievery.”

“You may as well kill him here if I let you do that,” I sigh.

“He deserves it if he is fool enough to fuck up your generosity.”

“He’s a child,” I say. I can’t let Eric drop him in the middle of nowhere on his own. My conscience won’t allow it. “This is your one chance to get your shit together and be a decent human being. If I catch you stealing from me or anyone else in this house ever again, I’m going to let Eric do whatever he wants with you.”

Andre nods as much as he can, and Eric finally releases his hold. In a flash Andre sprints around him and runs for his tent.

“Forgive me for listening in,” Eric says after a moment. “While we are alone I would also like to apologize for biting you without your permission.”

“Apology accepted. Don’t do that again. Technically, you stole from me too,” I point out.

“I did. I will not do it again.”

“I hope that’s true,” I say quietly. “Goodnight, Eric.”

“Goodnight.”

He turns and moves at speeds so fast he’s nothing more than a blur. I step down off the porch and walk around to the side of the house where I suspect Alcide’s body is waiting for burial after sunrise. The moonlight gives off a faint glow on the stretch of white material, now soaked through in some places with bloodstains. My breath catches and I kneel down beside Alcide’s remains. I reach out to pull the sheet back but a cold hand gently grabs my wrist to stop me.

“You don’t want to see,” he says gently, and I see that it’s Godric.

“I need to,” I whisper.

“No, you don’t. You will never get the image out of your head. As someone who is two thousand years old, you can trust me on that. Remember him alive.”

Two thousand? Holy buckets.

“How… how have you been alive for so long?” I ask. “I’m twenty-eight and I can hardly fathom someday being seventy-five.”

Assuming I live that long.

“For starters I was made vampire, and am therefore immortal,” he says with a small smile.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but you know your son is a bit of a hypocrite, right?”

“How so?”

“He bit me without my consent and drank my blood. Just minutes ago he wanted to take a thief out to the middle of nowhere to fend for himself, yet Eric wanted to lay claim to me,” I explain.

“He bit you because he was nearly starved. That is no excuse, but even poor people once risked getting their hands cut off for a loaf of bread.”

“I’m not without sympathy,” I tell Godric. “I’m sorry that your food supply has been cut short. I suppose the difference for us is that there is no consent involved for our meals. Can you tell me why Eric has an interest in me?”

“At first it was just the smell of your blood. It overwhelmed him. I know this because I feel what he feels,” he explains. “But then he saw such a spark of life in you, and he is drawn to that. Eric is over a thousand years old. Not much excites his blood anymore, but you did. It’s humans like you that keep vampires like Eric and me going.”

“Me? I’m hardly exciting,” I snort. “I spend my days tending a garden and shooting deadheads. That is hardly interesting or glamorous. It’s barely worth talking about.”

He smiles and says, “You’re clearly very smart, and the head of this group. You didn’t hesitate to threaten a vampire in order to protect those you care about. You’re strong, and clever. You are very exciting. Not many humans figured out how to last during these times.”

“You fellas need to get out more often if you think I’m exciting,” I chuckle. “I don’t know if I would consider what I did smart, but it needed to be said. We figured out how to survive because we didn’t have any other choice. We’re stronger as a group than we are as individuals and the only reason I’m the ‘leader’ of this band of ragamuffins is because this house and the land it’s sitting on belongs to me.”

“That’s not the only reason.”

I’m not really sure what he means by that but I don’t bother to question him. I’m not sure there’s much point in arguing with him either.

“If we had rejected your offer, what would you have done?” I ask instead.

“We would have moved on,” he says. “Eric and Pam were the only starving ones, and they fed. We would have been fine for a few more days.”

“And if you found no other humans?”

“Deadheads. Only if we’re desperate.”

Purely out of curiosity I ask, “What does blood smell like to you?”

“Do you know how when you think of your favorite food, your mouth waters and you can almost taste it even though you are nowhere near it?” he asks.

“Yes, and it’s been months since I’ve had it. I try not to think about it, actually.”

“Well it’s a lot like that when we can smell blood, only a thousand times more intense. It’s a craving. Certain types taste better than others, but I’m not sure what to compare the smell to.”

“When is the last time you ate?” I ask him.

“It has been three days now.”

“Oh…” That’s a long time to go without eating. “Are you hungry?”

“I am.”

“I’m not sure I have much more to spare but…” I hold out my wrist to him.

He looks tempted, and I think I see him lick his lips quickly, but he shakes his head.

“You shouldn’t feed anyone for a couple of days. I would not disrespect my child in that way either.”

“He has no claim on me, Godric. I don’t much care for the idea that he thinks he’s entitled to my blood just because he’s decided I’m his.”

“He has made no claim on you. Pam said that because she feels in Eric’s blood as I do that he desires you. He will not claim you unless you wish to be his, I promise you. For now he only hopes you will,” he says. “I do too. You would be good for him.”

Again, I find myself unsure of what to say. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I have no clue what time it is, not that it really matters much anymore. It’s not like any of us has anywhere to be.

“You know it’s strange how time doesn’t seem to matter much anymore,” I say quietly. I figure if anyone can understand that notion it’s a vampire more than 2,000 years old.

“You have no idea,” he grins. “One century has become the blink of an eye to me.”

“That’s just… I can’t even imagine.”

“It has not been without its rewards,” he says.

“I would hope so or why would you bother?”

I pick up on another void closeby and I turn my head to look for it. Before I can find the eavesdropper, the void moves further away from us.

“I think someone’s spying on us,” I tell him.

“It’s Pam,” he says.

“She’s lovely, by the way.”

“She would appreciate your good sense of sarcasm.”

“I think I’ll be staying as far away from Pam as possible.”

“Perhaps at first. She grows on you.”

“Like fungus?”

He laughs and says, “Something like that.”

“Thanks for the warning,” I smile. “I should probably go back inside and get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be…” I trail off because I don’t even know what the right word is. “Do you need anything? Blankets, pillows… I don’t know where you’re going to be spending your days.”

“We have found an abandoned home near here. Across the cemetery. We will rest for the day there. Vampires do not let off warmth so blankets would do no good, and once we are dead for the day we feel nothing. Don’t worry about us,” he says. “We will keep an eye on things until sun up, so try to rest.”

“Thank you, Godric. I suppose I’ll see you at sunset.” I stand up and smile softly at him.

“We will be here just after. Hopefully we can make some more decisions then,” he says. “And Sookie, we all really do appreciate you and your group for this.”

I nod and then turn to go back into the house.

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