....Why were these little things so damned uncomfortable? He couldn't even turn properly in this little coffin provided by the hotel. Eric had left Tara with hopefully enough to show her that she did nows really belong to him. The necklace was a brilliant touch of genius that had her all wide eyed and speechless, just as he'd hoped. One can't deny anything, if they can't talk. He knew it wouldn't be long before it was finished and as soon as all this work was done and the stacks of meaningless paperwork signed, stamped, and approved he would be on his way to making a little more money from the beginnings of the Fangtasia chain. Although, the planning stages for these things were always a bitch, he couldn't help but feel restless. And he wasn't really one for celebrations but he would have to celebrate with his lover, of course.

Sleep usually hit him like a brick, instantaneously pulling him back into those Elysian fields where he could wander and think on things he'd done and wanted to do, even talk with Godric who gave advice and warned him of his vices. But tonight his eyes roamed around the inside of the plush box, her face plastered on the inside of his eyelids so he tried to close them repeatedly, finding it nearly impossible. The usually pinkish hue under his eyes turned darker crimson, and this could only mean he had the first symptoms of the bleeds.

“Fuck.” he mumbled feeling a little of the cool red liquid seeping from his ears. His nose would bleed next if he didn't feed. He thought to wake up Pam but decided she deserved an undisturbed rest.

He flicked the switch in his coffin, waiting for the automatic release to rise. He slowly sat up, placing a finger to his ear, inspecting where some of the life dripped slowly down to his jaw and onto his tunic. His long legs swung around and he stood from the small prison. Walking into the bathroom, he noticed the cracks he put on the counter earlier, when he'd been venting to Pam and thinking of her. He pulled a monogrammed hotel towel from the rack and began wiping away the blood. He held the towel firmly to his ear and walked towards the mini-bar which was stocked with all flavors of True Blood. He grimaced at the bottles reminding himself just how much he hated the stupid drink.

“It doesn't even taste like blood.” he whined, pulling one out as he walked to a chair near Pam's coffin.

Suddenly, she emerged from her coffin in a daze. Flinging her lid back, forcing the release mechanism to move faster, she sat up and looked around settling on her maker who sat cross-legged in the chair.

“Rest.” he said between forced sips of the liquid

“I can't. At least not when you keep yelling at me in my sleep.” she noticed the bloody towel in his hand and the bottle of True Blood which now sat on end table. “You've got the bleeds?!”

“Yes.” he closed his eyes again, trying to avoid the worrisome stare Pam was sure to be giving him at the moment.

“I can call room service and they'll send someone up.” She got out and walked to the phone. “Blonde, brunette...or if you're feeling ethnic we can get a black girl, since you're doing those now.”

“No.”

“What d'ya mean...no?” she furrowed her eyebrows trying to recall the last time she'd seen him refuse a meal to the point where it gave him the bleeds.

“I'm drinking this.”

“You know you hate that stuff....and plus we don't do faux anything...not even blood.”

“Just rest. I will drink this and be just fine...I might actually get used to its taste.”

“Liar. You're only drinking it now because you only want her blood.”

“Good night, Pam.” he smiled.

She smiled too. Satisfied with his reply she returned to and closed her coffin quickly falling back into her slumber. He would be weak for a while without her blood in him but when he did reunite with her it would have been well worth the wait. He might even punish her a little for giving him the bleeds. Her blood was a taste that could always take him to another place. The bittersweet intoxicating brand of live giving nourishment from his lover was now all that he would ever need... along with Bill's head on a platter.

Feeling as if he could finally get a proper rest, he tossed the bottle in the trash and carefully maneuvered his way back to his coffin. With the sound of birds outside breaking his concentration, he thought once more about what she might be doing at this moment, giving someone hell, he hoped. He lay back down remembering the amulet he'd given her and for the first time since he'd had it, he believed in it, if only for her sake.

At Merlotte's

Alcide and Sookie had been introduced and they sat and talked for a while on one of Sookie's little breaks. Alcide found her attractive but her moments of vapidness outweighed her beauty for him and this renewed and strengthened his affections for Tara even if she couldn't return them, yet. The fact that she could read minds was also a bit too much for him to handle as he tried to come to terms with the fact that she could pick his brain for information at will. He began guarding any thoughts related to Eric as Tara had instructed him. He thought it was silly at first to only be thinking of one particular thing every time she passed him, but when he'd heard her voice in his head that in itself was proof that following Tara's instructions was more than wise.

“I'm gonna go outside for a while Tara, ya know, get some clear thinking space.” He glanced at Sookie who was smiling crazily again at a customer who'd probably been thinking negative thoughts about her. He almost felt sorry for her in that respect.

“Don't go too far, its starting to get late and you know who will be here soon.” She talked as she mixed a drink for a female tourist from up north who insisted on having sweet tea mixed with all her alcoholic beverages.

“I won't. I just need to stretch my legs, maybe take a quick run out back, if that's okay?”

“Yeah, I don't see why that would be a problem...you can go a little farther back in the woods, if you want.”

He got up yawning, his shirt lifting slightly revealing a little bronzed skin as he raised his arms over his head.

“Stop that, before you get raped.” she laughed looking around at all the females, young and old, that watched eagerly as he stretched.

“You don't have to worry about that, darlin' ” he announced loud enough so that some of his audience could hear him. He leaned over the counter placing a kiss on Tara's forehead, which got mixed reviews from the gaggle of lusty patrons watching them.

“That's enough of that.” Lafayette called from his window in the kitchen. “Imma have to kick yo ass myself if y'all keep showin off and shit.

Behind Merlotte's (In the woods)

When he'd made it deep enough into the thick woods behind the bar he felt secure enough to take off his clothes he morphed. Surrounded by the shade of the tall trees and the comfort of the slowly sinking sun he ran around, stripping his mind off of the duty of having to sit and pretend to be something he wasn't.

Soon, he began to get the feeling that someone or something was watching him. He let out a low tonal warning growl, which would usually scare away anything minor. The feeling faded but then it returned stronger and more pronounced as if whatever was watching him was coming his way. He began looking around, ready to face it his teeth showing, sharp and dangerous. Then from out of nowhere a large golden retriever ran out of the thick brush barking ecstatically at him as he stood there.

They had a little growling match trying to back the other one down, but the golden retriever held his own being just as strong and wily as the wolf. Right before the wolf's eyes, the dog began to change, and a familiar face met Alcide. He backed up slowly changing as well.

With the sun's last stretch falling beyond the horizon, the two men stayed crouched down in their nudity. Sam squinted at Alcide, realizing his hunch had been right. He had one part of Tara's crazy puzzle together and maybe this boyfriend character could put the rest together for him, hopefully without much of a fight.

“You're a shifter. Well, ain't that somethin' special.”

“And you're a were-wolf. That's something I ain't seen in a long time. The last time a seen one of them is back when I was stayin in Mississippi.”

“Well, I'll be damned. That's where I'm from. There's whole mess of us over there.”

“So, what's a wolf from 'Sippi doin' here in Bon Temps?”

“I live here now with Tara.” he smirked seeing Sam's discomfort.

“No. Really, what are you doing here?”

“I'm here for the same reasons you are and I'm thinking that's about all you need to know.”

“I don't think you understand. Why are you here and what business are you in with Tara?” Just as soon as he uttered those words a blur whizzed past settling between them.

“Good Evening, gentlemen.” Bill stated with a hint of sarcasm.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Sam barked at him, standing up to level himself with the vampire.

“I might ask you two the same question, but I could guess a romp in the woods between two mutts wouldn't be far from the truth.” he laughed, swiping his thick hair back in place.

Alcide growled furiously, feeling the urge deep in his gut to attack the vamp with everything in him. He detested vampire blood, but wouldn't be so foolish as to miss an opportunity to kill one with a smart-ass mouth.

“Bill, I don't know what's going here,” Sam said holding up his hands. “I thought you were with this guy.” he pointed to Alcide.

“Bill?” Alcide chimed in. “So you're the ass-wipe I'm supposed to watch for... You'll be no problem at all. It just sucks that I can't lay claim to your body myself...” he transformed again, a gleam in his eye that could kill any man or vampire.

“Ah, Tara's whipping boy, I can't begin to imagine what that trollop has been polluting your mind with, but I can assure you I am not your enemy. It seems the kind sheriff Eric, has you both fooled.” He dropped his fangs and hissed at Sam and Alcide.

Sam had never really liked Bill's overbearing demeanor. He was sneaky and paid to much attention to anyone who got close to Sookie, even if they were already in her life before he sauntered in with his dark quiet pompousness. Anyone who was lucky enough to be with Sookie should be strong but not controlling and to him, Bill had violated that one glaring rule.

“I'm not siding with any of you.” convinced that anyone who was for Tara was better than anyone against her, he added, “But I don't know this guy here well enough to hate him yet,” He too transformed running over to Alcide's side.

“Fine. All the better for me to have a quick snack before dinner.” he laughed lowly and began to charge at the two of them.

Sam and Alcide charged at Bill dividing when they almost reached him. Sam ran around the back and Alcide leaped straight at Bill, making quick work of his leather jacket. Trying to claw and bite his way to Bill's face, Sam leaped on to the vampire's back trying to pull him down further. Bill sped quickly out of the way, forcefully throwing Sam into a tree which caused him to pass out, reverting him back to his human form. Stunned at the shear strength that Bill could exert, Alcide who finally got close enough, without being thrown, bit Bill around his neck. He instantly tasted the sweet yet repulsive flavor of Bill's life. Feeling the extreme rush that the blood had given him, he became ravenous and almost uncontrollable as he tore away at his flesh.

Bill, who was becoming weaker by the second tried bashing the wolf in the head several times, grabbing whatever was nearby to try and stab him, but to no avail. Alcide continued ripping and gnashing his enemy with complete abandon. With his last bit of strength, Bill got an arm around Alcide's body and with one swift movement flung the blood-thirsty creature into a tree adjacent Sam who still hadn't moved. He too ceased moving, his blood covered mouth still dripping with the coveted liquid as he reverted back to his human form. Small wounds on his back and a gash near his temple dripped with his own blood from the strikes and blows he'd received.

Picking himself up, Bill brushed the foliage from his tattered clothes. His wounds which were deep, had already started to heal but slowly. Though he'd been drained a great deal he sped off, back in the direction of Merlotte's, leaving the two nude men, collapsed under the trees, in the dark.

Eric's Hotel Room

Having finished all the required paper work and mapping out all the necessary provisions, Eric and Pam checked out of the hotel ready to make their way back to Fangtasia. Feeling a great sense of urgency, Eric tried furiously to make their leave as expedient as possible, glamoring people into rushing their things along. He had even purchased a case of True Blood, to slake his thirst for blood. In his mind there were so many things he couldn't wait to tell her, show her. He was no longer thinking of Bill, or anyone else but her, so much so that it alarmed him. He wasn't going to force her anymore, force her to be apart of something he'd constructed as a coping mechanism, all he wanted now was to keep her with him....He searched his pockets until he felt the cool slickness of a cell phone. He opened it and texted Alcide. Just minute or so and he should've received a confirmation from the bodyguard that Tara was fine....fifteen minutes and nine texts later.....still nothing. His next move was to try and feel anything he could from Tara. Happiness, sadness, confusion...anything really that would tell him why Alcide wasn't answering. He erased everything from his mind and closing his eyes, he felt her heart beating and instantly felt a sense of worry.

Behind Merlotte's

Alcide's eyes were heavy and sharp pains caught him from all over. He tried moving slowly pulling up with the aid of the tree he was thrown into. He cursed as he struggled to stand, pains in his back, his shoulders and his knees made his movement slow. But the more he moved the more he felt the pain subsiding as the blood he'd ingested took effect. He had no idea how long he'd been laying there he looked around and saw that the shifter, Sam, had already gone. At least that was one less body he had to worry about. Now, he was focused on finding his clothes and getting back to Tara as quickly as he could. This day was turning out to be more trouble than it was worth. He perked his ears hearing the tiniest of vibrations. He knew immediately what it was....his cell phone!. He finally found it, out of breath he pulled it from his pants pocket and flipped it open. He scrolled down the lists of texts he'd received seeing he'd gotten ten texts from Eric. He didn't bother to read any of them, he knew things were about to get three kinds of terrible.

He closed the phone shoving it back down into the pocket and shifted one last time. He carried his clothes in his mouth until he was not too far from Merlotte's. He was close enough to see the lights on but not close enough to hear the noise. Changing back into his human form he put on his clothes quickly and waited....his phone buzzed again ringing accompanied the buzz and he had to answer.

Merlotte's

Back at Merlotte's it had been dark for some time and no one had seen Sam nor Alcide since before

sunset. Tara started to panic. Just as she was asking Sookie if she'd seen them, Sam burst through the back door. He looked bewildered, deranged and very angry. From where she stood, Tara could see Lafayetted trying to soothe whatever seemed to be giving him a problem. He snapped at Lafayette who proceeded to snap back, giving him an ear full. Sam, soon set his gaze on Tara who stood unfazed by the display. He marched over to her snatching her arm once again and taking her into the office.

“Eric Northman!....Eric Northman!....you're fucking 'working' for him?”

“Sam, it's not what you think.” she let her body sink to the floor as she felt the room spinning around her.

“Then, what the hell is going on? And I want the truth this time, dammit.”

She looked up from her spot on the floor and noticed Sam bleeding through his shirt.

“What the hell happened to you? How'd you get that cut there?”

He looked down cursing his poor bandaging skills and covered the arm. “This isn't about me, Tara. This is about you. What are you doing with Eric and that were-wolf?”

“Tell me who did that to you and I'll tell you what happened.”

“Fine, but you're gonna have to tell me everything so I can help you get out of this!”

“Yeah, like you helped yourself with that bad cut.” she rolled her eyes, feeling a little sick but was feeling well enough to tend to his wound while he answered her questions. She walked over to his file cabinet with little slips of paper peeking out of the drawers. She knelt at the last drawer, opened it and found a first aid kit and Sam's emergency pistol. She walked back to his side and pulled up his sleeve. The slash was not as bad as it looked but it still needed her attention.

“I decided to follow your boyfriend into the woods when he left.”

She began forcefully rubbing away the excess blood from his arm.”Ow, Tara damn.”

“I told you not to worry about him.” she eased up a little applying gentler strokes to the area.

“I thought we would have been alone so I could talk to him and we were for a minute or two.” he didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt for trying to look out for her.

“Then...” she took out the anti-bacterial spray, the kind that stung and she sprayed a great amount onto his arm.

He gritted his teeth, wincing at the pain. “Then that's when Bill came along told me that you work for Eric and something about he's got everyone fooled....including you.”

She stopped tending the wound and stared blankly at his arm. Her heart dropped into her stomach and she felt as though she was going to be sick. “You don't believe him do you?” she finally said.

“ I don't trust Bill. I never have....but, I don't know who or what to believe in all this, tell me what to believe and I will trust you.”

She thought really hard about how to tell Sam, the whole story. As she searched for the right words, it occurred to her that Alcide hadn't come back yet. She looked around quickly getting the gauze and Neosporin and wrapped his cut. “What happened next?”

“Bill charged at us and me and the guy charged back....Bill knocked me unconscious and when I came to your guy was knocked out and bleeding so, I ran back here as fast as I could....thinking he might come here looking for you.”

“Sam! So you just left him there!? He was bleeding?!” she ran out of the room slamming the door behind her. Making it back to the main area of the bar she looked around frantically. Still no sign of Alcide and she began to get scared all over again. She decided to go out back and yell for him. Before leaving she alerted her cousin that she was going out back.

“Lafayette!” she yelled through his window

“What you need?”

“I'm...going on a break.”

“You know you done had your break already.”

“Well, dammit, I'm taking another one. If I ain't back in ten minutes then get Sam, okay?”

“Wait the fuck a minute, what are you about to do where you need me to get help from somebody else in case your boney ass don't come back in ten minutes.” He fixed his du-rag again and came out the kitchen. Staring at her face he could see the panic and fear in her eyes.

“Alcide ain't came back, yet and I'm just gonna go look for him...So just say you'll do that for me, okay?”

Not really sure about the whole thing Lafayette still agreed and took her spot at the bar.

People started lining up and he smiled wearily staring after Tara who was slipping through the back door.

Shutting the door behind her she began walking near to the forest. She stopped suddenly and looked down at her good luck charm. She held it u kissed it and then reached into her pocket and pulled out her silver chain. Just as she was about to put it on a whoosh of cool air rushed by her and she felt as if she was being strangled. She tried moving back but felt a body right behind her. Holding her across the neck with one strong arm.

“Tara, how nice of you to join me out here.” he spoke up.

“Let me go!” she struggled her hands to her side and he jerked her about. “Get the fuck off of me!”

“If you make so much as a tiny noise, I will bite you. I am quite hungry, so there's no telling when I will stop....if I stop at all.” he smiled eerily.

She still clutched the metal chain in her hand waiting for the right time to get away. “Bill, you don't have to do this....” she whispered.

“It's no use pleading with me now Tara. I know you're with Eric. And Oh, how it will break Sookie's heart to find that he killed you.

“He wouldn't do that.” she stopped struggling.

“But I would....without a second thought I would rip you limb from limb and feast on your blood.” She began whimpering tears rolling down her face and on to the sleeve of his white tunic. “Don't cry. I won't let you feel a thing.”

As they stood there, Alcide ran out of the forest, staring at Tara who was sobbing hard muffled tears under Bill's grip.

“Tara!”