Hey everyone! I'm so so so so so so so sorry that I haven't posted in so long. I have a good excuse though, my stepmom and -sister left me and my dad, so my life's been kinda upside down for the past couple of weeks. And in addition to that I had my first important testweek of this year (I'm in my Senoir Year of High School) and since I want to go to university I need to keep my grades up. Well enough of my rambling about me xD

I want to thank everyone for the story alerts en reviews! I really appreciate it :D I hope I can keep this story up to your expectations :)

I've decided that I do not like Bill and Sookie together at all, so I'm giving her and Alcide a go :) Doesn't mean Bill will not show up to cause some more trouble ^^, Gotta keep all options open to keep the story interesting :D And I've decided that this story starts like 6 months after the end of season 3, so that would make it like 7 months after Dallas (important for Eric's character).

Disclaimer: I do not own True Blood, 'cause if I did I would make Alan Ball get Sookie and Eric together already xD I do not own the Sookie Stackhouse novels either, but I do sincerely thank Charlaine Harris for creating this Vampire Viking God and this extremely hot Werewolve o;) . I however do own Victoria, all other characters made up by me and the storyline :D

Now, without further ado, the new chapter :D

Enjoy!

xoxox Christine

PS. Translations at the bottom of the chapter :)

II. Unexpected Breakout & Dangerous Flirts

The next night I pulled into the parking lot of Fangtasia at 07:50 pm. I know, early, but traffic hadn't been a pain for once. I wonder why Eric wanted me to come at 8, sunset's at 8:50, if my research is correct. I parked my car in the employee's section and walked to the front entrance of the club. It was a warm and humid Louisianan night, something I still have to get used to. Sometimes I miss the cold winters in Holland and Germany. I tried the door of the club, and, since it was unlocked, I opened it and walked inside.

"Hi! You must be the new bartender! I'm Ginger." I was greeted by a scarcely clad, good spirited girl. She had short blond hair and was taking chairs of the tables, making the club ready for another nightshift.

"Hey, I'm Victoria," I responded, walking over to the bar to place my bag on it before helping her.

"Thanks!" She answered happily. Okay, she is way to bouncy to be a normal person.

"You're welcome," I smiled at her, hoping her bouncy mood would die down soon. Much to my dislike her mood only worsened throughout the next hour. Don't get me wrong, I like Ginger, she seems to be a nice girl, but I just can't deal with bubbly people for some reason. In that hour Ginger and I got the club ready and she showed me where everything was. She informed me that the other bartenders and waitresses would usually arrive around 9:30 pm, or, in the Vampires' cases, some 15 minutes after sunset. As for Eric, he always arrived at sunset exactly. And at 8:50 pm on the dot Eric strolled into the club, talking on his phone agitatedly, Pam and Chow on his heels.

"I already told you, I haven't seen the DOG in six months, Miss Stackhouse." His voice was cold, though his eyes showed a slight discomfort. Either he doesn't like that the 'dog' is missing, or he doesn't like arguing with 'Miss Stackhouse'.

"I do NOT care for such infinite things. In my eyes he'll never be more than a mongrel." Silence, followed by Pam and Chow quickly disappearing. Where did they just shoot off to? Eric paced around in front of the bar I was standing behind.

"If you want to find him SO BAD, go look for him yourself, Miss Stackhouse!" Eric sneered and snapped his phone shut. His anger, however, seemed to fade the second he turned to face me, his taunting smirk plastered on his lips again.

"Miss Williams, good to see you all worked in." Eric commented, his eyes scanning my body.

"Mr. Northman, I assume you slept well," I greeted him, suddenly feeling conscious of my outfit. Grey skinny jeans, nice, not too revealing red dress top, and black All Star low tops. My raven locks fell down my back in a waterfall of waves.

"Until that irritating phone call, which I'm sorry you had to witness, I did rest quite well, thank you." He nodded, his eyes lingering on my body before snapping up to meet mine, his blue ones gazing into my green orbs. I was surprised by the intensity of his gaze, wondering how in the world just one single look could hold so much intimacy. I felt a blush forming on my cheeks and quickly looked away, focusing on lining up the various bottles of liquor in a way I could reach them all in an even amount of time. I chanted 'stay calm, stay calm' in my head, in my distress missing the 'cling' that indicated Eric's extended fangs. Then I felt a gush of air and became very aware of a presence right behind me.

"Haven't I told you before not to blush in my presence?" Eric said, his lips only an inch away from my ear. "It makes your blood smell even more intoxicating than it already is… It's quite the turn on, to be honest." His voice was low and husky, it's intensity sending a shiver down my spine. I inhaled sharply, not knowing how to react to his comment.

"What are you?" His voice was barely audible. "Why can't I Glamour you?" One of his fangs softly graced my ear, sending a shockwave coursing through my veins. The problem here is, even if I wanted to tell him what I am, I can't. I don't even know why can do the things I can, and believe me, heating up that Vamp's arm was just the tip of the iceberg. Eric took my silence as permission to continue.

"You're definitely not a Fae… you smell different, more… wild…" he mused, his cold fingers softly trailing down my neck, forcing it to bend, my head tilting aside.

"Eric, we have a problem," Pam suddenly entered the club again, returning from wherever she'd disappeared off to.

"What could possibly be more important than this?" Eric snarled in response, his hand never leaving my neck.

"What would you say when hypothetically a hypothetical Vampire King escaped from a hypothetical concrete floor?" Though I initially thought Pam just sounded bored, there was a very nervous edge to her voice. Eric let go of me, a growl escaping his lips as he turned to face her.

"I am NOT in the mood for playing games tonight Pam, so CUT the CRAP!" Guess that mood swing didn't last for long.

"Jag fick bara ett meddelande från vargarna. Edgington rymt. De misstänker att han tog Alcide med honom." Even though I could not understand a word she was saying, I knew it wasn't good, since her voice became more and more nervous.

"WHAT?" Eric's voice was so filled with anger it made me cringe involuntarily, and even stone-cold indifferent Pam seemed to bow her head in shame.

"Edgington escaped, Eric." Silence, followed by a loud crash and the sound of wood shattering. I quickly spun around from behind the bar and saw Eric had smashed a chair into a wall, shattering it to smithereens in the process. Ginger let out a startled scream, uselessly trying to muffle it with her hand.

"SHUT UP GINGER!" Eric snapped, his fangs out.

"Do NOT yell at her!" I snapped back before I could stop myself. Shit, I've not even officially started this job and I'm already pissing off my boss, who just happens to be a Vampire… not the best combination. Before I knew it I was pinned against the wall behind the bar, about two feet above the ground, his hand tightly wrapped around my neck, cutting off my air supply.

"I do not respond well to orders," he said, his voice quiet, but terrifying nonetheless.

"And I do not respond well to threats," I managed to choke out, immediately sending heat rays to his hand, while freezing Pam's pumps to the ground. I will not risk her attacking me because I attacked Eric.

"What the fuck?" Eric exclaimed, followed by a whole lot of colorful curses in a dozen languages, as he quickly jerked his now smoking hand away from my neck. This move would've let a normal Human fall to the ground, I, however, let myself float down gracefully, before freezing Eric's feet to the ground as well. I heard Pam snarl behind me, trying to get her feet to move, but I ignored her, along with Ginger's screams.

"Now you listen to me, and you listen carefully," I hissed, still trying to get my breathing back to normal. "I know you're my boss, and I know you're a Vampire Sheriff, but NO ONE threatens me like that without me at the very least fighting back. Have I made myself clear?" My voice sounded more confident than I in reality was. The only thing that escaped Eric's mouth was a low growl followed by something he muttered inaudibly.

"What? I didn't quite catch that, Mr. Northman."

"Yes." He said, obviously not happy he had lost this power struggle.

"Now, if you would please tell your progeny to not rip my head off when I release her feet, that would be just splendid," I continued, a sarcastic edge to my voice. I saw his eyebrows rise in surprise for just a split second, before Pam's irritated voice filled my ears.

"How do you know Eric is my Maker? Both me and him never told you that!"

"I sometimes just know things." I answered her curtly, not making eye contact. My gaze stayed on Eric's face, curiosity becoming more visible on it with the second. "Will you tell her?"

"Pam, you heard Victoria." He sounded dismissive, already forbidding Pam to argue with him.

"Fine. I will not rip your head off your pretty little neck, honey," she sneered. I nodded and unfroze both their feet.

"We are going to have a little chat after closing time, Miss Williams," Eric said, his voice void of any emotion. I inclined my head, indicating I understood. "Pam, in my office, now." He said while briskly marching out of the room. I turned my attention to Ginger, who was still shaking from what had just taken place.

"Ginger, honey, we'd better clean this up, we're opening in 20 minutes." I made my voice sound as reassuring as possible.

"How'd ya do tha' creepy stuff?" Her voice was trembling.

"I've always been able to do that, I don't know why." I told her truthfully while starting to pick up the bigger pieces of wood.

"You ain't gonna kill me, are ya?" Ginger slowly got up. I chuckled.

"No, of course not. I don't kill people, I just use the 'creepy stuff' to protect myself." Better not tell her the whole truth.

"You swear?" She asked while getting a broom.

"I swear."

"What the hell is she, Eric?" Pam was pacing before his desk. One glare from her Maker, however, made her stop.

"I said I will find out. We have more pressing matters to discuss though. How could Edgington escape?" What Eric didn't want his progeny to know was the change of eye color Victoria had gotten while using her powers. The emerald green eyes had turned blood red. In his 1000 years he had seen a lot, but this was a concept entirely new to him. It was unsettling to say the least. At moments like this he wished he still had his Maker around to offer him guidance.

"Are you even paying attention to what I'm saying?" Pam looked at him wondering how long it would take him to finally get over Godric's death.

"You stated a couple of Vampires must've broken him out, since his army of dogs isn't capable of planning an escape this well. You were just getting to your possible suspects," he said, offering her a meek smile.

"Right… so we know Russell has build up some powerful alliances over the last 3000 years. If we do some research we might be able to narrow the list down to a handful that are capable of this…"

"Why haven't you started then?" Eric interrupted her, his tone accusing.

"I considered researching before filling you in, but we both know that's not the best idea." Pam sneered. "You know, sometimes I really consider sending you to some anger management classes, you could really use them. If you're gonna continue this way we'll have to refurnish the club before the end of the year!"

"Don't anger me even further, Pamela." In the last 100 years after she had been turned Eric had called her by her full name just a couple of times, and only when he was just a second away from losing the last grip on his temper.

"I'll start now," she said, making her way out of his office, only to turn around and pop her head back in. "Shouldn't you inform Sookie? She's too valuable to loose." Eric looked at her, quickly concentrating on the bond between him and the part Fae.

"She's on her way here already, I'll inform her when she gets here." He answered her dismissively. Pam nodded and left. Eric opened his phone and started scrolling down the contact list. If he wanted to find out what Victoria is before Edgington gets his hands on her, he needed to call in some favors. One vampire in particular didn't want to owe him in the first place, and he knew it would take a lot to talk the Roman into helping him. He finally found the number and hit 'send'.

"Non ho il tempo di trattare con voi adesso. Vai fastidio a qualcun altro." A deep bass answered the phone, sounding extremely bored.

"Mi devi, Remus. Ho bisogno di accedere ai vostri archivi." Eric answered him.

"Now why would you need access to my archives, Sheriff?" Remus' accent was very clearly audible.

"That's none of your business."

"I was under the impression Godric taught you better manners when addressing your superiors. Do not forget I am the EMPEROR of Italy." Sarcasm was dripping from the Italian's voice.

"I'll make this clear to you; I have a 3000-year-old, furious madmen of a Vampire King after me, a part Fae to protect and an unknown Supernatural in my jurisdiction. I NEED your archives!" Eric sneered into the phone. How did he have the NERVE to drag Godric's name into this!

"Facile, facile, I'll see what I can do, bambino impaziente. I'll get back to you." And the conversation was ended. Eric groaned in frustration and quickly found the next contact.

"Buna seara, Eric Northman."

"Şi să vă, Nicolaj. Would you mind speaking English? I've not yet mastered your language entirely." Eric sighed, glad this person would take little to no persuasion to convince him to help him.

"Not at all. What iz ze reason for your call?"

"I need to call in my favor."

"When do I chave to leave?" Nicolaj sounded as if he started rushing to get his things together.

"As soon as possible. I need you to make a stop in Rome, help Remus dig through his archives for me. Then your services would come in handy here in Louisiana," Eric knew he was asking a lot of his old comrade in arms, but in this case strength was in numbers.

"I will leave Luca in charge. Does ze Roman know I will join ze search?" The Rumanian never asked too much questions, he was a reliable ally.

"No, but he will be informed before you arrive."

"Good. Anyzing else I chave to do?" Eric contemplated his question.

"Do you still have Van Helsing's stuff in storage?" Most Humans believed the whole Dracula-Van Helsing story to be fiction, few knew the Rumanian Count had actually existed, as had his killer, Van Helsing. Nicolaj Tsarov was his Maker, and had hunted Van Helsing down after his child's true death. He had stored the slayer's equipment after slaughtering him, just in acse it would ever come in handy.

"Da, of course. Chave you found use for it?"

"Yes. I will fill you in once you arrive."

"Okay. I will let you know when I arrive in Rome. Do not do anyzing foolish, prietenul meu."

"I'm over a thousand years old, Nicolaj. I'm old enough to think rational." Nicolaj had 500 years on Edgington, and was one of the oldest Vampires still roaming the planet. He never hesitated to make Eric feel like a newborn, stating at several occasions it was good for his ego to deflate a little.

"Not according to your progeny." Eric growled at his statement. "You should not be surprised. I chad to check on you. I know what Godric meant to you."

"You lost your Maker too, what do you suggest I should've done?"

"I was released almost two millennia before my Maker met chis true death. Ze situations are not comparable." Nicolaj's voice turned cold. "You've been in ze States for too long, your judgment chase become irrational. Now, I chave a lot to arrange, so if you will excuse me. I will call you when I'm at the Emperor's place. La revedere, Eric."

"Goodbye, Nicolaj." Eric responded, pissed off at the fact that everybody seemed to think he can't handle the fact that Godric is dead. It has been seven months since that dawn in Dallas, but the pain and emptiness that Godric left behind don't seem to become less. He hated feeling like this, he hated feeling at all. All emotions beside anger, hatred, lust and hunger were uncomfortable for him. Combine his own load of grieve with Sookie's, who had quite taken to purposefully magnifying her emotions just to piss Eric off, and you have a very irritable Viking.

He looked at his watch, it was almost 10 pm. He got up and left his office, wanting to make a short appearance for the clientele before Sookie would arrive and demand his full attention. The part Fae had quite fascinated him, until her little trip to 'Fearietopia' just after the imprisonment of Russell Edgington. She had come back with more Powers, sure, but a whole other attitude as well. He could no longer get on her nerves, annoy her or make her uncomfortable. She had found a way to take the thrill off the chase, decreasing his interest in her to almost nothing. Not that he minded at this point, he had finally found a new subject of interest: Victoria. He would continue to protect Sookie, but only to make sure the Fae blood wouldn't die with her. His complete interest, however, he was planning to direct at Victoria. The girl will not know how to get rid of me, Eric smirked as he walked into the club and towards his throne. Show time.

Fangtasia had opened its doors only half an hour ago and the place was already swarming with Vampires, fangbangers and tourists. Boy, am I glad I'm not the only bartender around! Eric walked into the club from his office with his smirk plastered on his face, heading towards the stage with his throne on it while I was mixing a Bloody Mary for one of the customers. It hasn't even been an hour since he left for his office fuming with anger, and now he's smirking again? Can you say bipolar much!

I placed the drink in front of the customer with a smile and took the next order while studying Eric as he made quite a scene out of planting his ass on that throne. I snorted and almost choked on my laughter when I saw him wink at a group of 'fans' dramatically, causing cheers to erupt from the girls' throats, but I grew completely silent when his gaze quickly turned to bore into mine. He kept looking at me boldly, even when I turned back to the customers. So that's how you wanna play, huh, pretty boy? Sure, game on!

At that moment the entrance door was thrown open and a blond woman who seemed to be about 25 stormed inside, Pam stalking after her.

"Stop. Sookie. Wait. Not so fast," she snickered, her voice void of real effort to stop the woman. There was a very powerful vibe oozing out of the blond, and her eyes where almost shooting fire. At first her furious gaze was directed at Eric, who looked amused, but then she snapped her attention to me of all people.

"What on earth are you?" she asked me, her eyes bewildered.

"I could ask you the same thing, now, couldn't I?" I retorted smiling. Even though she was quite powerful, I could sense that I was at least 4 times stronger.

"Miss Stackhouse, how nice of you to show up." Eric addressed the blond, suddenly appearing in front of her. So this is that girl he was arguing with on the phone. His sudden appearance seemed to startle her.

"Oh FUDGE! How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing that!" She yelled at him and hit his chest, only making his smirk grow. "Perhaps we should discuss everything in private, don't you think? Too many ears listening in otherwise," he suggested and miss Stackhouse nodded in agreement. They quickly disappeared to Eric's office, leaving a very quiet club.

"Show's over people, go back to your drinks." I shouted while cleaning a glass. All of a sudden everyone was talking again.

"You are a fascinating little thing…" I turned to see Pam looking at me intently, her gaze moving up and down my body. Her fangs were extended and she was making quite the show of licking them.

"Don't touch what you can't handle, you'll end up burning your fingers, honey," I chuckled. Pam shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe another time, darling." She said before turning and walking out of the club, back to bouncer duty. I laughed and turned back to the glasses I was cleaning. I guess working here will never be dull.

Translations:

Jag fick bara ett meddelande fran vargarna. Edgington rymt. De misstanker att han tog Alcide med honom. - I just got a call from the wolves. Edgington escaped. The think he took Alcide with him.

Non ho il tempo di trattare con voi adesso. Vai fastidio a qualcun altro. - I do not have time to deal with you now. Go bother someone else.

Mi devi, Remus. Ho bisogno di accedere ai vostri archivi. - You owe me, Remus. I need access to your archives.

Facile, facile - Easy, easy

bambino impaziente. - impatient child.

Buna seara. - Good evening.

Si sa va - And to you.

Da - Yes.

prietenul meu - my friend.

la revedere - goodbye.

I will try to post ASAP, but school's crazy at the moment, so it could take a little while. Thank you for reading, and remember, reviews = love :D