Disclaimer:  Don’t own any of it.  My world, their characters.  Capiche?

Pre-Edit Count: 1,927 Words

Song: Blackbirds by Linkin Park

Previously:

Eric crouched in front of her and kissed her with all his thousand years of experience. There were no teeth knocking; no there was only him pouring forth his passion, his need for the woman in front of him.  His mouth soon took over hers when she moaned out in pleasure from his kiss.  His fangs clicked back down with their passion.  Soon he leaned back and pleaded with her, “Don’t give up.  Give us a chance.  I will come for you, but I can’t until I clean up this mess.  I will not have you come to war from the one you are coming from.  Just give me a month, lover.  I will make it up to you.  Can you do this?”

Now:

That day, Bella had not hesitated and agreed.  Eric bit into his wrist, begging her to drink.  That had started it all; Bella started fighting back, and it started the following night.  When Alice came in and waived the clothing she had picked out for Bella to wear, Bella had said one word.

“No.”

With that one word, it started the war.

Since then, Eric and Bella meet every ‘night’. He passes on the findings that his team has discovered to help her have the knowledge to stand up for herself.  Knowledge is power, and Eric is intent on giving his mate all the power he can.  He is also working to give her as much ammunition to use to delay the wedding, such as putting a marriage certificate in place.

He also has her make decisions on their future home. Per his Pam, women like to have input in their homes.  He remembers his own mother doing the same, giving the same advice to new husbands as well as giving the advice to new wives not to harp on it too much.  He ruefully smiled as he thinks that same advice is going to help him with his new mate.

Bella had been shocked that he is planning to have their home built by the end of the month.  Eric had sighed as he reluctantly explained. “It may be constructed, but it will take longer for it to be operational.  Nevertheless, I plan, with your help, to have it ready.  I want it to look like a natural resort; have it give the feeling of being outdoors in the mountains both inside and out.  It will take a bit, but if New York, New York can have Central Park, I can have a natural interior.” He had decided on it, not wanting to surround himself in the fakeness that is Vegas.  He wanted something of his homeland, and though he teased his mate, he yearned for the natural world.  Something that is disappearing from the world as it is now.

He planned to marry his idea of water and rock with using trees to blur the reality of being outdoors, blending the three together as much as possible, using the clearest glass to help with the impression.  As well as some minor witchcraft to help keep it all looking like new.  He also wanted the feeling of being in a resort casino instead of the gaudiness that surrounded them at this time.

During this time, Eric started showing his care for her. She laughed at how he planned to have so many windows in his casino, asking about the sun. His reply had her staring at him in shock. “It is more for you than me. I don’t want you losing the sun.  And when you are like me, the sun will be down when you are awake.” He said it as though he didn’t think twice about it. After all the time Bella had spent with Edward, how she had to bow before his wishes, Eric’s selflessness just blew her away.

That started the process of the two of them finding out more about each other than most ever did.

The time together has also been put to good use. The two slowly fell in love with each other, but when you meet your soul mate, there is little to prevent it. The reason you are mates is that the other one is the most compatible person you will ever meet in your life; literally the other half of your soul.

This is not to say they are identical, it means that often the other is the strength behind the others weakness.  They complement each other like no other ever will.

They had spent time going over information, Bella learning as much as possible about the rules of the supernatural world so she can hit the ground running.  They talked about their pasts, and they both found things they hate about the other’s past.

Eric even told her of his fuck and feeds, telling her that he has not bothered since they met in Vegas. There is no reason to. Why mess with finding your mate by wasting his time with those who are not worthy?

He told her about killing Felipe.  She had been shocked but slowly got used to the violence in their world. After being exposed to the Cold Ones’ side of it, there was not much difference, except that Eric didn’t try to give her rose colored glasses to view it through.  He told her how ruthless it is, and on the other side how they lived with a zest for life that if it ever failed, often made them meet the true death.

Bella appreciates his honesty.  It is something so long forgotten to her in the world she is in presently.

They also talk about when they finally meet in person; they need to finish the bonding process immediately.  Once they are back in Vegas, Eric will have their pledging ceremony take place immediately before the coronation, making it their coronation. He wants to make sure all know how much he values his mate.

He knew that there will be those that will hate her being a human and a Queen, but he refuses to have his mate as anything less than his equal.  He told her that one night when Edward had been especially hard on her.

They have also gotten used to the other, finding that they both like to cuddle, which had Bella laughing at Eric.  It amuses her that a self-proclaimed man whore is a cuddler and that this is the first time he has done so in thousands of years.  He turned around and teased her back that she is simply drooling over his books.  He actually saw it though she claimed she was thinking of food.

Sadly, it could be true since one of the reasons why Eric is rushing to get to her, is the fact that Edward is forcing her to eat things he wants her to.  One day while lying in each other’s arms,  Eric had noticed her body was still not as healthy as it should be.  She admitted it was one of the battles she has picked not to fight.  He was not happy but had nodded.  He was almost to the point of giving her his blood daily, hoping it will continue to help her fight.

Eric had gotten his lawyer to cause a hassle with the wedding license, even going to the point of making one up for him and Bella.  It helped with the stalling, but then the Cold One got sneaky and is ignoring the marriage license, trying to bury the thing as far away as he can.

Bella knows about the marriage certificate, and she uses her knowledge to a gain of a few more days.  Nevertheless, they both know the stay of execution is ending. In fact, today is the beginning of that end.  The wedding is only a day away.  Technically less…

Eric has spent a lot of his time making sure their new home will be suitable for his mate.  He had taken items shipped in from his different treasure caches around the world, items that he likes to think she will enjoy.

He dealt quickly with her belief of not being worthy of anything but love.  Part of the reason she didn’t like it is all because of Assward’s doing.  His little talent he has been using on his mate had made her feel unworthy.  That had been what Fuckward had wanted to do; he just was unprepared for what happened as a side effect.

That need to please him had morphed into something else: pride.  It made giving her things hard.  Eric determined this from the talks and discusses his thoughts with his little mate.  He bluntly informs her he will be giving her a kingdom, so she better get used to his gifts, since he plans to make the kingdom the least of what he gives her.

Their quarters are the best he can make.  They are separate from the casino.  He had made their home impressive but hidden.  His family, who were among the ones who stayed with him on the grounds, also had little spots hidden away.

Godric was impressed with them, the bulk of all their resting places are underground, but there are parts throughout the grounds that were vampire’s lairs.  His was the most impressive; there is a section that would be shown to guests since it was their official home.  However, the majority, the places that they would spend most of their time, were down a long hallway that would be nothing to them with their abilities to move.  Best of all were the safety features Eric had installed; there are many traps that can be switched on if needed to protect as they withdraw to their most sacred place, the lair.

No amount of money, nor cunning not employed for the endeavor of hiding their nests. Since Eric had to dig up the area to rid of the remnants of the Desert Inn, he had hidden the vampire’s nest of tunnels, lairs and so on from the public.  It had made it easier to build at this time, using so much that was not available in the times they lived.  Eric also utilizes tricks from back in the pharaoh’s time to make sure they were safe, even if there is a backlash because of the revealing of their presence to the humans.

Godric is walking along the pathway now, doing a look over of everything, making sure all the ways for the vampires to defend their home are unable to be seen by the eye.  He chuckles as he can barely notice the little details that make it safe;  the stones that will fall away to reveal silver tipped stakes; the walls with hidden traps in them that most would not notice.  Even though one wall looks to be made of only wood, it would take an eye knowing what to look for to see the stakes hidden in them.

Eric is doing what any newly mated male does, strengthening his lair for his mate.  Even had he not killed Felipe and needed to build his own place, he would have created something requiring the additional security.  Moreover, he would have probably taken a state if none of his bloodline had one.  Eric had just made it possible for not only he to keep his mate safe, but to allow his bloodline to mate and also feel protected enough to stay here.

Godric soon comes to the end of the tunnel, and here is another safeguard.  You have to move through sunlight to attack his child. This defense is nothing if you are anything but a vampire, the length would be long enough to harm one older than him. However, anything not vampire would have a hell of a time to pass the tunnel.  Moreover, it will allow his mate to go out of the room while she is human.  She will have the clearance to enable none of the precautions to attack her.

Godric nods as he looks around the home.  He knows the glass is the strongest in the world.  No bullets, not even  a wrecking ball, will break through; nothing he knows of will break the glass.  Moreover, unless Eric deactivates it, there is a thin space between the panes of glass that will be unfilled with the gas that make the UV rays not able to come through.  There is no difference in color, but the effects are deadly.  Eric was working to see if it could be on a time lock.  However, as Bella had pointed out, there is not that often that they will leave the lair before full dark.

Even with Godric’s eyes, he cannot tell there is anything there.  His chuckles get louder as he thinks on how nothing but the best will be suitable for Eric’s mate.

Not that there will be anything done that Godric will not do for his own mate if he ever finds her.  However, all the pluses that Eric has for himself and his mate are in his own home.  As Eric’s second and Sheriff of Las Vegas, Godric will have his own things to deal with.  Moreover, Eric had been lavish with his quarters, giving his Maker the same quality as his own.

This is why Godric is checking everything out.  He doesn’t want anything risking his child, and he admits privately, the one he loves the most out of all the children he has made.  Part of that is the fact he has gotten to know Eric on a level he has not gotten with the others.  Therefore, he makes more effort checking out what to him is his son’s residence.  The others may be his children, but Eric is his acknowledged heir.

As it is, he is doing the last walk through, being the eldest of all of them to be able to test the UV qualities of Eric’s resting place.  Eric will be finishing moving here later today, and they will be working to complete the casino and getting past the humans.

Eric had wanted to wait until he could bring his mate home to move, but his brothers had interfered with that one.  While he has many brothers over the years, he is close to three.  So close, that they all have jobs here in the casino itself.  There are others, and they are being sent to Reno and such.  Nevertheless, these three each have their specialties that make them additionally valuable to Eric.

Ewan is the master of the bow, as well as guns.  They had fascinated him and he quickly became an expert.  He is their master of security, being able to watch from on high for risks.

Benedikt or Benedict as he has modernized his name is their bodyguard.  He doesn’t look like it, but his body contains more strength than one would expect.  He follows his older brother silently, and others often forgot that he is there.  He takes pride in his ability.  Benedict claims the capacity to be so stealthy and forgotten he learned in the forest where he was born.

Matteo… well he’s just Teo.  He is the mischief-maker of the group and has no problems embarrassing anyone.  Nevertheless, he has a head for numbers that rivals no one.  He is also a genius with computers, saying it is nothing but numbers and easy to figure out. He is trusted with a lot of information that in this day and age can make or break their bloodline.

These three make up the core of the group trying to get the state back together.  It doesn’t surprise anyone that Molly, the prodigy that Eric lured away from the Authority is the child of Teo.  Eric is looking forward to her meeting his mate.   He has called another female to be the alternative to Benedict, not wanting to leave anything to chance in the protection of his mate.  She has agreed to do so, but she has some jobs she needs to finish before she is free.

Walking into the room, Godric sinks into the chair that he generally sits in by the bedside of his eldest.  His hand holds his chin as he thinks on all that they have done to stall the wedding.  The date is set, and since it is at night, Eric has decided that this will be the date he will go to claim his mate from the Cold Ones.

Having listened to Eric each night, though he hates that they had to wait this long, he knows the two have fallen in love with each other.  Bella has become the stronger person the AP had mentioned, and she takes on Eric with no problem lately.

At first Eric had been nicer, more giving, but as time has elapsed, his ire at being apart from her leaked through to their meetings.  To the point that Eric has told him one night, with a smirk on his face, that his little mate has a fire all of her own.

All she needed was the chance to show it.  Moreover, Eric has allowed it.  She has fought him, according to Eric, standing in his face yelling at him.  He had been amused at his tiny mate standing up to her tall Viking, but as Eric puts it, she can make him ignore her size, and feel like he is arguing with someone his size.  Also, he needs it. Eric needs love, tons of it, but he needs someone who will tell him no, to deny him.  To make him not be all cocky with his age, which could endanger him.

Eric deserves the kingdom he has, he deserves the mate he has found, and he deserves the bloodline being around him.  However, he also needs to remember the fight to have it all; the luck to be able to attack the Kingdom of Nevada, and take them all by surprise.  Godric feels that this Bella will do it all.

With a smile, Godric acknowledges that he is looking forward to meeting Bella, and watching the two of them together.

Final count,  3,041 words.

Fairfarren~