Pre Edit Count – 2,622 Words

Song I listened to for this chapter: Demons by Imagine Dragons

Previously:

And with that, they both clean up and are ready in seconds, but still chuckling. Godric pulls her into his arms, kissing her temples, and just enjoying a second of being close to her. He finally sighs and asks her, “Are you ready?”

She nods, and with that, the three of them exit the office, ready to face the beginning of their future.

Now:

The three of them glide out of the office area of Fangtasia. Eric moves them through the crowd that opens up for him then he makes a production of seating Sookie between them. When he is sure she is comfortable, he is soon slouching in his own seat.

Sookie can’t help the laugh at the thoughts going through the fangbangers. “They have no idea what to make of me. Nor of Godric. They cannot tell if we are human or vampire. Which I don’t understand, I am obviously human.”

Godric chuckles, “A stoirin, there is nothing obviously human about you anymore. The otherness is coming through loud and clear, so there is nothing to tell them what you are. Since they don’t know what else there is out there, and you are not human, then you must be vampire.”

She looks over at him, trying to see what the difference in both Eric and Godric that the humans can see. Her eyes furrow, and she finally asks, “Eric they know is vampire, but they are confused by how human he looks right now. I am not seeing that either.”

Eric leans towards her, taking her hand in his, “It’s because of our mating, lover. Godric has only a first level blood bond with you, and I am fully mated and bonded with you. Somehow, this gives us a more human appearance. I noticed the paleness is gone. And since this is all after our mating, then I am suspecting it will be the norm. Godric had been unusually pale when you met him in Dallas. I had often indulged nightly until meeting you, so it is not a question of drinking.”

Sighing, Godric puts his elbow on the arm of the throne like chair Eric had added for him and Sookie. He rests his head on his hand, an eyebrow lifted watching the idiots below them compete for the attention of the three on the dais. “I am not sure what happened. But, if I remember correctly, is this not the night that you two originally met?”

Eric thinks over it, and then glances at his Mate, a smirk on his face. “And we will be getting that dress as soon as we can, min älskade. I have many day dreams that revolved around that dress.” He shifts in the chair remembering some of them.

She lifts an eyebrow then tells him frankly, “When you get your hair cut, I will think about wearing it.”

He laughs, bringing her hand up to his mouth for a kiss, enjoying this much more than any other time. Then his eyes darken as he takes in Longshadow.

Godric notices and tells him, “We can deal with that tonight. Ginger is here so it will work.”

The three nod, then before they can talk about anything else, Sam barrels up towards them, growling out, “Sookie!”

She looks down at him with an eyebrow lifted.

He shakes his head, “What the hell are you doing here? You said you were going to be an assistant. Instead I find you here, sitting beside Northman! He is a womanizer of the worst type, and he will only use you!”

Godric and Eric have low level growls starting, both leaning slightly in their chairs. The vampires around the club also move closer, looking forward to blood being spilt. They had caught the tell tale scent of the woman being bonded to their Sherriff, and therefore their new Lady of Area Five. But now, they can also scent Godric’s scent and hers reflecting the beginnings of a blood bond between them also.

Then there is the looks of all three, causing the elders of the vampires to smile, knowing they are witnessing something rare, a true mating.

But, they are also waiting to see how their Lady reacts to this. They already had an example the prior night with Compton, but in front of them all, they wish to see how she handles this two natured who is being too familiar with her.

Sookie cocks her head to the side, looking Sam over. Her eyes reflect all the pain she had gone through with him and his lies. “I am here with my Mates. I am not sure what you are trying to imply, Shifter. It is not like you have been all that honest with me in the past, even knowing the few secrets I have.” Her voice is hard by the end, letting him know she knows, and she is not happy.

Growling, Sam makes a movement towards her, to yank her off that throne she is seated in, “What has he done? There is no way the Sookie Stackhouse I know would be sitting here on a fucking throne when her brother is in jail.” He is growling, and reacting. This is the woman he has loved for such a long time. What is she doing here?

A corner of her lips lift as she asks, “Is he? You may want to check your sources before you demand information.”

A thought came through her mind, and touching both Godric and Eric for a second, she barely reels, but she passes the information regarding the police officer that just walked in and would call in a raid later because he was so nervous being in here. None of them want to deal with that issue.

Eric quickly texts Pam on his phone. He watches as she leaves to deal with the issue immediately, and Eric caresses her hand in thanks for catching that.

The whole thing is done in seconds, but Sam caught it. “What the hell, Sookie? You letting this fanger use you like this?”

Her eyes snap, and he rears back even more as he catches the difference in eye color. He then  notices that the woman he has loved for the past couple of years, who he has yearned for, looks nothing like the Lady sitting on the throne next to her Sheriff and his Maker. No, this is a true Lady, and more fitting for those terms than most nowadays.

Sookie stares down her nose at the former friend; former because she has decided that those that had not supported her choices last time, nor look like they will this time, she didn’t need. It will hurt, but the last time taught her that those that truly care about her, will be there for her no matter what.

Eric and Godric are still lightly touching her, and they hear her decision. They look at each other both acknowledging the pain their Mate is taking on now, instead of later. They suspect she still hasn’t realized that the long life she has now from being Mated to Eric will make these life decisions easier as time comes, but they both know how much they hurt now.

Sam shakes his head, trying to clear what is obvious to his eyes and he finally demands, “Are you not going to talk to me? Has he already made you into his pawn, seen but never heard?”

Sighing, Sookie tells him, “Obviously you don’t want to support my choices. For your information, I am not his pawn, nor his fuck and feed that I know you are thinking. No, I am his Mate and his Bonded. I am also Godric’s Mate and we are forming a blood bond. Now, what does your limited experience with Mates and Bonded tell you I am?”

The rest of the vampires kneel. The fact that neither vampire on the dais made any objection to such a serious claim, tells them all they need to know. She truly is their Lady. And she is the Lady of Area Nine also. The woman in between the two vampires is as powerful as any monarch, especially with the two she is Mated to.

Before anything else can be said, a clapping noise is heard from the shadows, and Roman emerges. He nods to the two in front of him, “Congratulations on your Mating. She is exquisite. And perfect for being a queen.”

Godric lifts his eyebrow to his Child, waiting for the reason. Eric, though, as the Sheriff of the area, greets him, “Welcome, Roman, to my club. How may we help you?”

With a slight smile on his face, Roman tells him, “Your Queen is dethroned, Northman. After you announced that you were Mated to this beautiful woman beside you, she hired an assassin to kill you. With this information brought to my attention, I also looked into her past, and let me tell you, your loyalty is to be admired. You have helped bail out your own area many times that they are probably not aware of. But either way, as per our traditions, I am here to offer Godric the Kingdom of Louisiana.”

The entire club grows quiet, even Sam just staring at who he realized is the Guardian, his mouth opening and closing.

Godric on the other hand, looks at his Mate, and smiles. “I accept. I also name my Mate as my Queen, and my intention to pledge in love to both my Mate and my Child, Eric the Northman. He is also to be my Second.”

Roman smiles as he nods. “All hail his majesty, Godric and his Queen, Sookie. Eric the Northman is hereby named Second to his Maker.” He grins, knowing how many plans have been thrown awry with this move.

He then looks around. “Let this be a warning also. The Authority is taking action. The three in front of you are the only Mated beings in the world right now. Mating is considered sacred to all races. There will not be any interference in their Mating tolerated. We are also going to be cleaning house. For all those of you who are spies, let your masters know that they better get their houses in order.” His eyes sweep the club, letting all know he means business.

Then he turns back to his Maker and the brother he has never been able to acknowledge along with his Maker’s Mate. He smiles and bows to them, “May you reign long and justly.”

With that the rest of the room bows to the new royal family of Louisiana.

Then Roman accepts Godric’s wave of a seat near him, and the four turn back to the Shifter standing below them.

Sam is staring at Sookie, shocked. He had come to see the woman he loved, maybe rescue her when he heard that she was here at Fangtasia. He was in the middle of confronting her, and then to find that she is not only Bonded to the Fanger, but she is Mated to him and his Maker!! And now it has been confirmed by the Guardian of the Vampires, who is answerable only to the Ancient Pythoness!

And now, she is named Queen of the State. How can he compete with this? He cannot, not unless he pulls in some big guns…

Sookie’s eyes widen and she tells the Shifter, “Don’t you dare, Sam Merlotte! I will never be with you, especially with the attitude you have right now!”

He growls at her, “Children, Sookie! How can these fangers give you the white picket fence, the children of your dreams?” He smirks, knowing he has her there.

Her fingers tighten on the arm of chair as she retorts, “And how much of a normal life would I have if those children are like me? And who exactly could I have those children with? You? Why would I want puppies with a man who wouldn’t make a move in five years in his attraction to me? Who wouldn’t tell me what he was, knowing I would not blab the secret cause of my own? How could I trust someone like that? And knowing what I do, I am best not ever trusting a two natured with being in a monogamous relationship.” Then her eyes widen as she reads his intent, “Don’t you dare. You know what a Mate is. How rare they are, the fact that none of them, once mated to each other, can mess around without being in pain.”

Roman stands up as he hears this, but before he could do a thing, Godric is there, holding the shifter in the air. “You insult my Mate, my Queen?”

Sam growls around the hand holding him in the air, “She ain’t your Mate!”

Godric’s eyes glow, and he tells him, “Because you wish it otherwise, does not make it so. She is the Mate of Eric and I.”

He shakes him, and turns him to stare at her, his face next to his, “Look at her. You can tell there is something different about her. Remember the legends? For that, look at Eric! You know him! Has he ever looked more human-like before? You know there is no shortage of blood for him, so if it was a question of that, it would have shown much earlier. Let go of your wishes. If you try to kill us, she will die along with us. If you try to take her from us, we will hunt you down, with your own kind helping us!”

At that Godric drops him on the floor, and he steps to his Mate, smiling at her gently. He tells Sam, “She has already rejected you. If she truly wanted you, neither Eric nor I would stop her, and we would refuse the Mating. But instead, she has accepted Eric completely, and she is now Mated and Bonded to him. She has accepted me as her Mate, and has started the Bonding process. Know now that there is little I would ever deny my Mate, and then only if it endangers her life. I have answered her every question, I have answered questions she didn’t know to ask. What of you?”

Sam snarls, “It is not my secret to tell!”

The crowd laughs around him. Eric shakes his head. “Leave, Shifter. And think not of trying to get her. She does not want you, nor can I think of any reality she would want someone like you – someone that is already fucking around on the woman he claims to love, someone who would not tell her the truth of him, who did not make a move until she was taken already.”

Sookie lifts her eyebrow at Eric, and he tells her, “I can smell trouble on him, one that I had not smelled in years. And he is willingly fucking her, min älskade.”

She turns to him, and bluntly asks, “Who?” And when she receives the picture, she shakes her head. She looks to Godric, “We have trouble.”

Roman watches her, and smiles. “This will be interesting. I also will tell you Shifter, you may want to ask your Guardian about Mates. And the changes coming for all species.”

With that, Eric nods at Longshadow and Thalia to remove the shifter.

The rest of the crowd jeered the man as he was thrown out, the fangbangers, as always, taking their cue from the vampires in the crowd.

Godric settles back in his seat and shakes his head. “Maenad already?”

Sookie nods her head. She leans back in the seat, and within seconds, Eric is holding a Gin and Tonic for her. “Lover?”

She smiles as she accepts the drink. “Looks like it is beginning, gentlemen.”

Roman just smirks, “But the ending will be much different. Much, much different.”

Final Count: 2,668 words

Fairfarren ~