A/N: "An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place and circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle. But it will never break." -Ancient Chinese Proverb

I think that is the perfect way to describe this story and I wanted to share…

oxOXoxOXoxOXoxOXox

"Mother… fucker!"

I heard Sookie scream from downstairs as I woke from my day death, jumping from the bed and vamping to the kitchen in an instant, readied to attack whatever was distressing my Lover, my heart. Appearing by her side – accidentally startling her, evidenced by her quick gasp and an earned swat – I discovered she was alone, quickly flitting my eyes about her form, looking for an injury that might explain her anger, confusion, shock, mixed with the smallest tinge of happiness…

It was a veritable cocktail of emotions coursing through her side of our bond, and I was unable to discern which demanded priority.

"It's just… what the… of all the bull… ri-fucking-diculous…"

She muttered to herself, palm to her forehead, as I quirked an eyebrow to indicate my misunderstanding. She glided her hand down to her cheek, cupping it, as if she was trying to determine how to break some uncomfortable news to me – our bond mirroring the same sentiment. I reached for her hand and folded her into my arms, wrapping them around her in a comforting embrace.

What could have happened between dawn and night's break? That I did not know.

"Whatever it is, min älskade, we will brave it; we can overcome anything together."

I whispered reassuringly into her hair, trailing my fingers up and down her exposed back in lazy oblong circles.

She nuzzled her face into my naked chest, pressing her lithe body against mine, planting a kiss on the spot over my unbeating heart. A wave of calm bounded through our bond, and I knew she was sending it to me – though for what purpose I could not be sure.

"It's not like that, baby; I'm sorry I worried you. I'm just so… so…"

Angry.

My Lover's emotions were resting squarely upon irritated anger. My curiosity spilled through our tie as Sookie pulled back from my arms, remaining within them, and ripped an object from her pocket dangling it in front of me while her face held an expression of exasperated annoyance, mixed with the smallest tinge of resolved defeat.

I gasped, an unnecessary and very humanlike response.

Flabbergasted did not begin to describe my reaction; about her fingers, she held a necklace I had owned from my human days, one of the final vestiges of my time before turning vampire. But past that, it was the necklace, from our time before, the one we had magicked accidentally when we had bonded – and incidentally it reeked of my smell, like the North Sea.

Fuck.

Again!?

I found, independent of my lover's emotions, I was also a bit… infuriated.

"I mean, seriously," She went on to say, "Fintan implied these things were so damn hard to make, but literally this'll be our third fucking cluviel dor – the second one we've made ourselves… and AGAIN by fucking accident!"

I tamped down my urge to chuckle; she would not appreciate it if it appeared I did not understand the gravity of the situation, or her completely valid concerns over having another world-changer in her possession.

It had not gone quite so well the last time, and she had suffered for it – as had I.

I understood her frustrations, and shared them – those wishes had in many senses made our lives more difficult and give us a much more tragic love story than we had deserved – but I could not ignore that our newest cluviel dor was also a veritable symbol of our love, our undying devotion for one another. It was the smallest bit funny that she could not yet see the forest for the trees; blinded by the still raw wound that had been our absence from each other's lives. I felt it to – passionately, unwaveringly – but I was less disturbed by the magical object because we could always just throw it in a fucking lake…

"Perhaps, Fate believes we need more… kryp-to-nite in our lives?"

I said with a shrug, trying to piece together the word Sookie had used so long ago. I had yet to decipher its meaning, but she had made it seem like a good thing and I hoped to offer a positive spin on the slightly annoying turn of events.

Sookie threw her head back in uproarious laughter, slapping her hand against her knee. She went on for nearly a minute, and I could not help but wonder if there was something I had missed that made it a much funnier statement than I had meant for it to be. As her laughter subsided, she set down the necklace onto the counter; her eyes became hooded as she drank in my still naked form as if she was a desert traveler eager to satiate an unquenched thirst.

"Yes," Her voice dripped in wanton need, "Maybe that's a good way to look at it… and we should busy ourselves with much more important endeavors… like relearning each other's bodies," Even though she, as well as I, knew that neither of us had forgotten – both of us imbued with memories of our old reality, of our times together, "and bringing each other to the brink of ecstasy over and over until dawn."

Yes fucking ma'am.

I swept her into my arms, crashing my lips into hers and seeking entry to her body. I took her against every surface of the kitchen before swapping out our scenery, christening each and every room, some twice, until the sun took me from my lover and she drifted into peaceful sleep; our mutual elation overwhelming our bodies and souls.

A week or so later…

"Do you think I'll be in a lot of pain… you know, when it happens?"

Sookie asked, grasping my hand in her own, clinging to me a little more closely than usual as we waited for the Doctor to come back and give us the news we had waited more than a week to receive.

"I cannot say for sure, min älskare... let us not dwell on that part of it. It is what comes after, what we will gain, that should take precedence in our minds."

In truth, I could not remember the answer – it had been a thousand years since I had shared the experience – but I did not want to frighten her, or cause her distress. My lover was not fragile, but I enjoyed our peaceful existence and the quietude it had brought to both of our souls and hearts. I did not revel in her anxieties, her worries she would find herself in pain – the last thing I wanted was to be the cause of my Lover's discomforts.

Why it had taken over a week for results, I did not know…

"Girlie…" The little doctor paused – not a good sign, "honestly, you would have to go back to a time before the two of you bonded," Cannot undo that, "or before Miss Stackhouse got her powers," Again, not exactly possible, "for her to be able to be turned into a vampire. She is too Fae for the vampire blood to take hold – despite how potent yours is," Doctor Ludwig looked me squarely in the eye, "her body will simply reject the change, and possibly kill her in the process. But… if it is any consolation," There was nothing she could say to abate my shock and disappointment, "She will live longer than a human lifespan; not infinitely, but still…"

Eternity would not be enough, less than that was unacceptable.

My Lover and I exchanged glances – and I fought, successfully, the urge to growl. Doctor Ludwig accepted that as her cue to leave, popping out of our house within seconds, leaving us to the silence pervading my office space, to our unresolved miseries and thoughts. Although both were short-lived.

"Well I guess we have only one choice at our disposal then..."

I said, thinking of our magical object, the one we had not thrown in the lake.

"It would appear so..."

Sookie replied, a knowing smile replacing her previously despondent expression.

oxOXoxOXoxOXoxOXox

Some time later…

The wind whipped through Sookie's hair as I followed behind her, running in the moonlight away from… what? That I did not quite know. Our pursuers had yet to make themselves known, toying with us in attempt to cause a slip-up, a mistake; it was an ingenious ploy – but it was not working. My Lover was unfazed; each move she made was deliberate, strategic – I could not have been more proud.

She paused briefly, slumping over and panting a breath reflexively before she began to stalk the treeline with a finger pressed to her lips to indicate the success of our task at hand hinged upon stealth.

Her head turned quickly as an unmistakable sound breached the quiet of the night and her ears perked at the howling in the distance.

Wolves.

My Lover did a roundabout, facing me, silently asking me for guidance, and I gestured forwards, pointing with my finger towards the path carved out by time and travel, indicating we should continue along our current route. She continued her course – trepidation tremoring through our bond – looking back every so often to ensure I was still behind her.

I was. Of course I fucking was.

The wolves were closing in, and I wondered how my lover would handle their encroachment, and why she had allowed them to close the space between us at all. While she could not fly, I certainly could – I could lift her into my arms and launch us away in seconds, if only she said the words, asked me to take charge. But this was her night, and I was following her lead. Still the nagging voice in my head rattled its questions about my mind: Did she have a plan? Or was she conceding?

As it turned out, I should not have been worried.

Much to my surprise, despite the wish, her powers had remained.

Sookie stopped suddenly, sensing our enemies proximity, and began to light herself up, pulsating as she glowed in a hazy bubble about her form. She threw her arms out from her body, in an open stance, and I folded myself into her form, her head resting under my chin. She began to shimmer, engulfed by light as it shimmied through me, igniting my urges and simultaneously suppressing my ability to react upon them.

She was in complete control – and it was sexy as fuck.

As the howling ceased, her light engulfed the space, manifesting in a powerful ring that shot out in all directions from our bodies. Our supposed enemies had managed to come within striking distance but the force of Sookie's light launched them back from us by, injuring a few of them in the process – I knew she would be none too pleased once she found out. All noises ceased, and I waited for the wolves to regain their composure before accepting victory.

Sookie swatted at the dust about her clothes – being silly and she knew it.

"What?" She queried me, "I want to be clean."

How does one respond to that? I did not know so I ignored her odd sentiment, but continued all the same.

"We need to keep running…" I implored her, "We are not out of the woods yet."

She chuckled at my pun, but then donned a more serious expression.

"Do you think they'll be okay? I was just kind of hoping to stun them…"

Her voice drifted off as she sprinted once again away from me, acquiescing to my request, not waiting for my answer – perhaps not wanting it. She moved gracefully through the trees, traversing the trail easily, dodging branches and other scattered foliage as if they failed to exist at all.

As she reached the farmhouse porch, she shouted her glee, jumping up and down, unable to contain her excitement. I smiled, pulling her into my arms and planting a not-so-chaste kiss on her lips. She eagerly accepted my attentions, slipping her tongue inside my mouth and pressing her taut body against mine, writhing against me, as I contemplated ripping her clothes off and taking her on the porch in the moonlight...

"A-hem!"

The sound broke our reverie, and Sookie's lips left mine as she turned her head – a slightly guilty expression overtaking her countenance. I would definitely miss getting to see her blush.

"Well I did win!"

She retorted to Alcide, her wolf friend – who had somehow dressed between now and the chase. I had met him once before, and my Lover counted him amongst her friends – I tolerated his existence, and he tolerated mine. Vampires and Weres were not exactly… friendly to one another – wolves always smelled of wet dog; it was unappetizing, off-putting.

But she was my heart, so I soldiered on and played nice despite my overwhelming urge to vomit in his presence.

"Yeah, you won alright," Alcide conceded, "By the way, what was with the light show? I didn't think vamps had those kinds of powers."

Sookie laughed softly, smiling widely, exposing her fangs, "No, but apparently faery-vampire hybrids do! I didn't hurt y'all much, did I?"

Sookie had insisted we test her newfound abilities, push them to their limits by way of a sneak attack – and she had not failed to impress. But I had never had my doubts – my Lover was the most impressive being in the entire universe.

"Mostly just our prides, but damn, Sook, that was freaking amazing," He turned to me, "Got yourself a great woman there, Northman."

I nodded; he was not telling me anything I did not already know.

"Have a good night!"

Sookie yelled into the darkness as Alcide shifted back into his wolf form, and sprinted away to join his pack. She nuzzled her face into my chest once again, dragging her fangs against my skin, causing me to shiver from the sensation as she flooded our bond with lust.

Pop.

"Oh hell!"

Sookie called out, breaking from our embrace, and twisting around to face our newest interloper.

"So you used a cluviel dor to help her turn then, gamed the system, so to speak?"

Doctor Ludwig said, her voice awash with irritation as she visually examined my Lover's new state of being, correctly ascertaining how we had managed the feat.

It had not quite gone as expected, but it had worked, which was all that mattered. Eternity was ours.

"Yeah, I guess so…"

Sookie replied sheepishly while I held a wolfish grin about my countenance.

"Well," Ludwig threw her hands up in the air, "At least this time you didn't fucking change the world!"

Pop.

And she was gone, seemingly vanishing into thin air.

"But she is wrong, min älskare," I whispered to Sookie, drawing her into my arms once again, "Because you have changed my world forever."

oxOXoxOXoxOXoxOXox

A/N: And that's all she wrote folks!

I'm working on an A/H piece called Kiss Me, Kill Me but it's a slow roll and I'm going to post for it intermittently. In truth, I'm actually going to take a much-needed break now that RitM is done. Whew guys, I'm drained (pun intended)! – since Oct. '16, I've written 8 stories, day and night, totaling over 225k words! Exhilarating, but exhausting…

Don't worry, I will be back – Mrskroy has already told me she won't let me rest of my laurels forever. In the interim I'll def be around, reading and editing for Mrskroy, eagerly devouring new works and hopefully experiencing new authors. Plus, I may or may not have had inspiration strike (I DID I DID) just the other day with an awesome TB story idea – (UPDATE) Born to Die, which will launch 5.7.17!

Summary: What if Breandan had begun to wage his war on halfings before Sookie was born? To what lengths would the faeries go to hide her, and how will their interference change her and her story – forever?

(UPDATE) First lines: She had intended to kill herself, but I was not quite so ready to let her go, let her soul suffer the consequences of her turmoil – so I did it for her. Needless to say, she and I were no longer on speaking terms, and I could not help but wonder how long she would hold her grudge. But I hoped it would not last for an eternity…

Y'all let me know if that intrigues you! Otherwise, love for y'all always! And thanks for reading. Bye!